My White/Orwell Tribute for EBSQ's February Online Exhibit: 'Opposites'

"Animal Web": oils upon a 10x12 handmade canvas using a re-purposed frame

Yesterday was the last day of the month of February, which meant the deadline for the EBSQ online exhibit, "Opposites".  I entered last night with this little piece, a tribute to two much beloved pig story authors, EB White, and George Orwell.  I've entitled it, "Animal Web", and it is my interpretation of the theme, 'Opposites'....

EB White and George Orwell, With Their Pigs.

The following is my entry's artist statement over at EBSQ:

"Animal Web: A Tribute To Authors,

EB White and George Orwell":

My entry for the February 2017 EBSQ online "Opposites" exhibit features a whimsical little fantasy piece painted in loving tribute to two of my favorite authors:  EB White, of 'Charlotte's Web', and George Orwell, of "Animal Farm".  Both authors were talented, highly esteemed, caucasion, of similar age (born only a few years apart), and writers of fiction. Both wrote sweeping, captivating tales regarding farms -- specifically featuring complex and endearing characters who happened to be pigs.  However, the similarities between the two men and their fiction likely mostly ends there -- and not only because one was American and the other British.  Both used their porcine protagonists to weaves two very different tales indeed.  EB White's beloved "Charlotte's Web" narrates the story of unity, cooperation, and friendship -- plus what I always personally interpreted as strong, optimistic message as to the value of Nature, and of animals, and of anti-cruelty in general.  And all within the sweet setting of a peacefully idyllic, mid-century farmstead.   George Orwell's "Animal Farm", however, though also set against the backdrop of a picturesque farmstead, spins a very opposing narrative.  Orwell used his setting and plot to outline an allegorical and cautionary story about the rise of Soviet communism and of the brutal dictatorship of Joseph Stalin.  His pigs are far from sweet, passive characters -- they are highly manipulative creatures who get up to some very nasty things.  The intimidate and oppress their fellow farm-mates ("All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others").  They threaten and cajole, assail and even engage in violence -- a much darker yarn for sure.   "Charlotte's Web" and "Animal Farm", two classic and much beloved modern-day fables about intrepid pigs living on farms, that really couldn't be more 'opposite'....

(Note:  In the spirit of creative re-use, this painting support was hand-fashioned using a re-purposed old 10x12 wood frame. I like to upcycle previously used second-hand materials that might otherwise make their way to the landfill into my creative process in lieu of new purchases whenever applicable)....

This is my 2nd in a series of tributes to George Orwell.  You can find my previous piece here...

Side View

This painting will soon be making it's way across the country as a fun project commissioned by a White and Orwell fan.  Very thankful for lots of freelance work at present, with more to write about soon....

UPDATE~UPDATE



Happy to say my little "Animal Web" tribute painting here won 'Member's Mention" (2nd Place) in the EBSQ 'Opposites' online  -- thanks so much to my voters...! 

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My Entry For February's Nibblefest: Buster Keaton Tribute.

 "Railroads are a great prop. 

You can do some awful wild things with railroads."

~Buster Keaton

Tribute portrait of Buster Keaton

~Click for auction link~

What's this...?  

Nibblefest Art Contest time again already? 

I always say that February feels like the longest month of the year, despite it actually being the shortest month of the year.  I suppose it's because usually by this time Winter starts feeling tiresome and relentless, with the promise of Spring a very welcome change indeed.  And so the days of February typically stretch on.  And on.  

 Not so this time around though.  February has zipped right on by before I even had a chance to catch my breath.  It helps that I have a lot of freelance work keeping me on my toes right now.  Nevertheless I did still manage to enter this month's Nibblefest Art Contest.  February's theme is "Better Late Than Never", which is a chance to revisit any monthly theme from 2016.  I somehow missed September 2016's "Balancing Act", so that's the one I chose.   And so I considered and rejected several potential  'Balancing Act' concepts before settling on this one.  An ode to Swan Lake or some other ballet classic was on the table briefly, as was a possible tribute to Harry Houdini.  Eh, I did like these ideas and might want to explore them further someday.  But for now they've been filed away, and I concentrated instead on the late/great slapstick genius of acrobatic silent film balancing acts, Mr. Buster Keaton....:

Oils on 6x10 Wooden Plaque

The following is my Nibblefest auction description...:

"Buster Keaton"

This is my entry for this month's Nibblefest Art Contest (NFAC), the theme for February being 'Better Late Than Never", in which we get to pick a theme we missed in 2016. I missed last Sept's "Balancing Act", so I chose to do a portrait in tribute to the classic vintage film star, Buster Keaton. Painted in oils upon a 6"x 10" upcycled wood plaque, this unique original is signed and ready to hang.  

Buster Keaton, my entry for the theme "Balancing Act"

 (Note to the winning bidder: As per the nature of oil paints, this piece may need just a little wee extra time (up to a week) to fully cure/dry before being safely shipped to its new home).  

"The Great Stone Face", In Progress....

 (Also to note: Just so the new owner is not too surprised, they will find a 'gingerbread man' cut-out (see photos) on the backside of this piece (which was originally the front of the plaque before I repurposed it. Hey, 2-for-1...! )   

I missed the theme "Balancing Act" back in September, so I was happy for the chance to try again. I chose to paint the late, great silent film star, Buster Keaton, because he was so well known for his physical comedy, or Slapstick. He threw himself around constantly in his movies, performing ever increasingly complicated acrobatic stunts -- at times downright dangerous ones...!  Often involving automobiles and/or trains -- it was a 'balancing act' for sure with all the fined-tuned timing it surely took to pull off. And always accompanied by the most deadpan expression, earning himself the nickname, "The Great Stone face".

.......

We are lucky to have a really neat and unique non-profit here in my town, called The I.D.E.A. Store -- a small 2nd hand shop specifically intended for the re-use and re-purpose of various and diverse arts/crafts odds and ends.  The store accepts donations of used materials and supplies of all ilk -- unwanted assorted sundry bits and pieces that might likely otherwise be destined for the landfill.  Because one person's trash is other one's treasure!  The shop offers these donated items cheaply to the public, with proceeds going to our local school district.  Many years ago I wrote here in my blog about my own personal moratorium against the purchasing of new art supplies, whenever I might be able to avoid it, in favor instead of recycling or up-cycling as often as I can in my creative process.  Obvious exceptions to this over the years have included new paint and brushes -- though now The I.D.E.A. Store can sometimes help even with that as well, managing as I have to occasionally find acrylic and oil paint tubes in decent condition and even a few gently used paintbrushes.  I found a wee table top easel that I was in the market for and that I adore and utilize constantly. I also make it a habit to regularly check for the wooden plaques I so love to hoard -- and have scored many there, including this sweet little 6 x 10 incher I've used here for my Buster Keaton tribute.  The original 'front' of this plaque featured an interesting little cut-out gingerbread man.  I have painted upon what was apparently the 'back' (which is now the 'front') -- so the winning bidder will discover this little gem when they turn Mr. Keaton over....:

A sweet little Gingerbread Man on the back.  Bonus!

 
 In any case, I really love our little I.D.E.A. Store, and wish every community could have one (maybe someday as this up-cycling trend becomes increasingly popular) -- so handy, and helpful too for keeping a lot of random homeless bits and bobs out of our local waste stream....

Mr. Buster Keaton upon a 6x10 upcycled wood plaque

Happy Nibblefesting...!


To see all the fabulous "Better Late Than Never" themed Nibblefest entries this month, click here.




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My Kafka Tribute for EBSQ's January Exhibit Theme: 'Metamorphosis'

"I cannot make you understand.

I cannot make anyone understand what is happening inside me.

I cannot even explain it to myself..."

~Franz Kafka, "The Metamorphosis"

I entered the EBSQ "Metamorphosis" exhibit with this little tribute portrait of Franz Kafka -- because please, "Metamorphosis"...?
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What else could it possibly be but Kafka...?

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'Metamorphosis' In-Progress Photo

The following is my statement over at EBSQ:

 .

 

My entry for the "Metamorphosis" exhibit features a small portrait painted in tribute to Mr. Franz Kafka, author of the 1915 novella, "The Metamorphosis".  Mr. Kafka gazes steadily out to us, his head held protectively within the pinchers of an extraordinary fantasy insect. 

When contemplating a subject for this month's theme, but of course this classic tome was one of the first things to come to mind.  For many of us, myself included, "The Metamorphosis" was required reading in school -- a tale of woe about a young man who unwillingly and inexplicably metamorphosizes into a huge and fearsome-looking insect, and how this unusual and unfortunate circumstance negatively impacts his life, as well as the lives of his family, who go on to ultimately reject him in his given state.  Throughout his long and drawn-out ordeal, the young man/insect is stuck within his house, unable to leave the four walls of his room for fear of public reaction to his condition. Hence I felt this little segment of found, wooden picket fencing that I used for my painting support an especially good fit for this project, being as that it is rather "house shaped" at that.  And while I don't want to include any spoilers of the story here to those who haven't read it, suffice it to say the protagonist does not come to a good end by the last chapter of the book, hence we have as part of the insect's body a wee painted skull. 

So let this be a warning to all, shall we....?  Please try not to transform randomly while sleeping into big creepy insects, if you can at all avoid it.....

.......

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UPDATE ~UPDATE

Happy to say that my entry won "Member's Choice" (1st Place) in the 'Metamorphosis' show, yay!  This involves a cash prize -- thanks so much, EBSQ...!   (Plus I have plans to hang this locally, at a cafe here in town that has put out the call for original art).  

New Henry David Thoreau Tribute for Oct's Nibblefest Art Contest "PUMPKINS" Theme

"I would rather sit on a pumpkin

and have it all to myself, 

than to be crowded on a velvet cushion...."

~Henry David Thoreau

7.5 x 9.5, "Thoreau, Pumpkin Sitter", painted in oils for Oct's Nibblefest Art Contest

~ Click for Auction Link ~

Several months have come and gone since I last entered the Nibblefest Art Contest.  I never intentionally blow it off, and for so long -- but often time does just get the best of me, as it did this long (though it actually seemed so short!) and mega-busy summer.  No matter, it's always there for me to come back to whenever I can...., which I finally did this month with its "Pumpkins" theme.  What better way to celebrate 'Pumpkins' than with these wise words by the venerable Mr. Henry David Thoreau?  As a person who tries to practice Voluntary Simplicity whenever I can in my own life, I can so relate to this quote.  Thus we have here my little personal homage, as always painted in loving (if slightly irreverent) tribute:

Side View

I had the perfect plaque for this, one that I dug deep out of storage -- an aged one, of slightly weathered wood.  I had to scrape off some faded, generic print that was hopelessly stuck to it, sanding it down to a smooth finish.  The slightly rough condition  seemed most fitting for this project -- I wanted a folksy feel -- plus in the spirit of Simplicity I tried to use minimal paint and really let the grain show through....

 This is actually my 2nd in a series of tributes to Thoreau.

  Longtime readers might recall this portrait I painted from a few years back, for Nibblefest's "Forest Creatures" theme in August of 2014:

Portrait of H.D.Thoreau, August 2014

 It's been nearly exactly two years since that one so I figured the time was nigh for another visit to that fascinating face.   

So much expression in those expansive eyes....:

Mr. Henry David Thoreau

 RIP, Mr. Henry D.

"Thoreau, Pumpkin Sitter"

(To see ALL the lovely "Pumpkin"-themed entries in this month's Nibblefest Art Contest, 

CLICK HERE....).

UPDATE~UPDATE:

Third Place Tie

My Thoreau tribute tied for Third Place in this month's Nibblefest Art Contest!
A big shout out of thanks to all my lovely bidders....!

"Tennyson's Dragon-Fly", My Nibblefest Contest Entry for Sept's "DRAGONFLIES" Theme

Nibblefest.

"Tennyson's Dragon-Fly", acrylics on a found, 5x7 wood plaque

It's time yet again for the fun that is this monthly art contest.

September's theme is 'Dragonflies', and here is my interpretation.  Another in a series of personal tributes to classic literary poets, this piece is an ode to the famed Victorian English gentleman, Alfred Lord Tennyson, author of the short-but-sweet, 1833 poem entitled, 

"The Dragon-Fly".

*CLICK FOR AUCTION LINK*

Sir Alfred Lord Tennyson is NOT amused.

The following is my auction description...:

~"Tennyson's Dragon-fly"~

My entry for this month's Nibblefest Art Contest (NFAC),  the theme for September being 'Dragonflies', features a portrait painted in loving tribute to the English, Victorian-era poet, Alfred Lord Tennyson. 

Alfred Lord Tennyson, author and British poet laureate hand-selected by Queen Victoria herself, was extremely popular during his lifetime, while continuing to be much admired yet today.  He lived for much of his life in the country, often writing poetry describing the natural world around him.  The following short poem was one written by Tennyson in 1833, which, as part of my ongoing Poet Tribute Series, I used as my inspiration this month (with the first two lines of the poem written along the edges of the painting)...:

The Dragon-fly
By Alfred Lord Tennyson
Today I saw the dragon-fly
Come from the wells where he did lie.
An inner impulse rent the veil
Of his old husk: from head to tail
Came out clear plates of sapphire mail.
He dried his wings: like gauze they grew;
Thro' crofts and pastures wet with dew
A living flash of light he flew.

 Using a 5 x 7 found wooden plaque, this original, "Tennyson's Dragon-fly", is painted on all its beveled sides, signed, and ready to hang.....

Add caption

To see ALL the lovely and inspired 'Dragonfliy"-themed Nibblefest entries this month, click here.... 

"Dali's 'Stache", My Nibblefest Contest Entry for June's "SURREALISM"

"Dali's 'Stache", My 5x7 June Nibblefest Art Contest Entry

CLICK FOR AUCTION LINK

It's June.  Summer is upon us!  And a lovely one so far it is too, which I have been very much enjoying.  Busy to be sure however (very!) -- so much so in fact, that I found myself skipping last month's Nibblefest Art Contest.  Ugh.  With everything else going on around here, I just wasn't quite able to get my act together enough to pull an entry out of my hat, despite May's interesting "Freak Show" theme.  I really dislike skipping the contest (because I know how that can be a dangerously slippery slope!), and so it served to make me especially determined to have something ready for THIS month's "Surrealism" theme.  Thus, we have my June entry:

Recognize this guy....????  (The Eyes Have It!!)

When considering the theme "Surrealism", what pops into your mind...?  For me, I myself couldn't help but think of one of the Surrealist movement's favorite sons (or not, depending with whom you talk), the late/great Salvador Dali.  Dali was probably (in)famously known as much for his side-show hijinks as for his art -- heck, even his mustache had it's very own book...!   

Well, as creative as Dali got with his 'stache, grooming it into ever more outlandish shapes (someone wrote and told me it took him 15 years to train his moustache to grow upwards) even he never took it quite this far (so I did it for him...!).

Painted on all sides of an old, found wood plaque

My auction description...:

~"Dali's 'Stache"~

 

My entry for this month's Nibblefest Art Contest (NFAC),  the theme for June being 'SURREALISM', features a portrait painted in tribute to a certain late, well-known painter of the Surrealist genre.  Some may recall how Salvador Dali often liked to creatively groom his long, handlebar mustache into interesting silhouettes -- I just had fun imagining what it might have been like to take that particular personal predilection of his to the next level...... 

Painted upon a found, 5 x 7 wood plaque, this original, "Dali's 'Stache", is signed and ready to hang (with the back of the plaque having a small nail hole)......

................................

*To see all the fabulous 'SURREALISM'-themed Nibblefest entries, click here....*





UPDATE***UPDATE**UPDATE


Happy to say my entry tied for 2nd Place in the contest this month!  A big thanks to all my bidders....!

"Dali's 'Stache" ties for 2nd Place Award...!

"Daisy Buchanan", My 'Great Gatsby' Tribute for March's NFAC (Theme: FLOWERS)

It's NIBBLEFEST time...!

March's NFAC Theme: 'FLOWERS'

"Daisy Buchanan", my entry for March's Nibblefest Art Contest 'FLOWERS' theme

My own interpretation of 'FLOWERS'...?

A featured portrait in tribute to everyone's favorite literary poor-little-rich-girl, the fictional (and famously high-maintenance) 'DAISY Buchanan, of "Great Gatsby" fame. 

CLICK FOR AUCTION LINK (STARTING AT JUST .99 CENTS)

"Daisy Buchanan", acrylics on a 7" wooden oval plaque....

I adore flowers.  I really do.  Especially right now, knowing that Spring is just about to be sprung.  Those early daffodils and tulips, when they finally do sprout, will be such a sight for sore eyes...!  And yet as much as I love 'em, I just wasn't interested in painting actual blossoms for this month's theme.  I know perfectly well how little else bores me faster than a very literal approach such as that.... 

 

"Daisy Buchanan", side view

 Instead, I put my thinking energy into famous, flower-named protagonists of popular literary history..., and then this is what sprang into mind.  

Once I had my concept, I figured it would be a fairly straight-forward project.  I mean please, we're taking a Portrait here -- isn't that, you know, kind of like my thing...?  But no indeed.  True to her flighty, temperamental self, Miss Daisy at first didn't want to play ball.   I had to gesso her over completely TWICE before I felt I was heading in the right direction.  Talk about fickle -- two, precious time wasting false starts later (thanks for that!), it finally felt as though she was going to stick around to stay.  After the 2nd false start, I admit I came dangerously close to just blowing the whole thing off -- too frustrating!  Just chalk it up to 'practice' and sit this one out.  And yet I know the hard way that that's a slippery slope best for me to avoid (one month, turning into two, turning into three, and right on down the slide).  Rather, I gave it my best Hail Mary shot, despite the fact it meant missing the official beginning of the contest, on the 20th, and going for a 5-Day auction instead.  Oh well!  Not the end of the world, and better late than never, right...?   Besides I'm actually rather pleased with the way she turned out, so it's all good.

 The following is my auction description:

~"Daisy Buchanan"~

My entry for this month's Nibblefest Art Contest (NFAC),  the theme for March being 'Flowers', features a portrait painted in tribute to a protagonist of the 1925 vintage classic, "The Great Gatsby", by American novelist F. S. Fitzgerald.  Painted on all sides in acrylics upon a 7" wooden oval plaque, this original, entitled "Daisy Buchanan", is signed and ready to hang. 

As usual for Nibblefest, I thought long and hard about this month's 'Flowers' theme.  I knew painting actual blooms probably wasn't going to keep my interest for very long (too straightforward).  Instead, a women's name came into mind: "Daisy"..., as in Daisy Buchanan, everyone's favorite literary poor little rich girl.  Daisy was beautiful, charming and wealthy, so much so that when a destitute young officer from humble beginnings named Jay Gatsby happened to cross her path, he just couldn't get her off his mind (for like, years).  In fact, he went on to create a whole new identity, fortune and persona for himself, all with the soul intention of luring her high-maintenance self back.  The fact that she had impatiently gotten hitched to a powerful man within her own social circle, presented but small obstacle in his mind.  The jilted Gatsby went on to make his own way in life (never mind the legalities), and years later was able to purchase a ginormous mansion smack dab across the bay from his beloved Daisy's house (hmmm, stalker much???)  Every night he focuses upon a glowing green light that shines across the water -- it's the blinking bulb at the end of Daisy Buchanan's dock.  As it says in the book,"Gatsby believed in the Green Light....".  

Hope springs eternal, no...? 

(Included in my portrait is Daisy's green light, which features prominently in the story (plus for anyone thinking my interpretation may be too much of a stretch for 'Flowers', notice the wee roses I included in the lace overlay of her gown)...). 

F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote, "Gatsby believed in the green light...." (But just look where THAT got him.  No ifs, ands, nor buts about it -- she threw him under the bus, big time)....

*To see all the fabulous 'FLOWER'-themed Nibblefest entries, click here....*

My Entry for EBSQ's February 'What a Doll' Show: 'Beryl Moon'

Meet 

"Beryl Moon"

"Beryl Moon", a sculpted Art Doll created from re-purposed objects

Last month, EBSQ, the online art community I've long been a member of, hosted their monthly art exhibit, with the theme for February being, "What a Doll".  This was my entry: "Beryl Moon", an Art Doll sculpted using paper mache plus a whole host of all-recycled materials 

(click here to see my entry in the exhibit).....

"The Moon Was But a Chin of Gold", by Emily Dickinson

I painted and finished her as inspired by the following poem, by Emily Dickinson:

The Moon was but a Chin of Gold
A Night or two ago—
And now she turns Her perfect Face
Upon the World below—

Her Forehead is of Amplest Blonde—
Her Cheek—a Beryl hewn—
Her Eye unto the Summer Dew
The likest I have known—

Her Lips of Amber never part—
But what must be the smile
Upon Her Friend she could confer
Were such Her Silver Will—

And what a privilege to be
But the remotest Star—
For Certainty She take Her Way
Beside Your Palace Door—

Her Bonnet is the Firmament—
The Universe—Her Shoe—
The Stars—the Trinkets at Her Belt—
Her Dimities—of Blue—

"Beryl Moon", a view from behind

She was actually a long time coming, my "Beryl Moon", because I initially began her many moons (ha-ha) ago, only to set her aside for some reason (ADHD mostly, I suppose), abandoned and unfinished.   Started as part of a project to rescue the dead, mangled barbies left behind after my daughter's childhood, it was my intention to breath new life into these hopelessly broken objects so as to keep them out of the waste stream, where they were surely destined.  And I did get a reasonably good and interesting start on a few of them, before I became distracted by something else and rudely shoved them all onto the back-burner (story of my life?)....

An in-progress project I call the "Dead Barbies Society" -- its mission being to turn useless broken junk into Art, people!  ART...!

However, this one in particular was the furthest along....: 

....thus she was the one I grabbed when I decided I needed something to enter into the EBSQ "Doll" show last month...:

And so I got her finished, finally....! 

The following is cut and pasted from my artist/entry statement (because I'm lazy like that):

Buried deep inside 'Beryl Moon', under Celluclay (a commercial paper clay product) and layers of paper mache, is a wee 'injured' action figure, but a few inches tall, and missing an arm. Spared from a landfill life, he now provides some inner armature for this Art Doll, though little of him is actually recognizable anymore, given that an entirely new being was sculpted over and around his original form, using re-purposed items (including but not limited to: a plastic cup, multiple plastic cup lids, and newspaper), for a complete and thorough transformation. A whole new, crescent-moon shaped head was sculpted from Celluclay and attached (the head of the original figure/doll ends somewhere deep within in the present neck/chest area), along with a newly sculpted arm, and new hands. In addition to gaining inches in height (now standing about a foot tall), "he' also became a 'she', complete with a newly sculpted bosom, as well as a big, bustled and flowing skirt of Stars -- using as my inspiration the poem, "The Moon Was But a Chin of Gold", by the wonderful and talented poet, Emily Dickinson....: 

"....now she turns Her perfect Face
Upon the World below—...."

And so there you have it, my "What a Doll" show entry.  

Which..., I'm happy to be able to report tied for "Member's Mention" (2nd Place) in the show...!  Thanks so much, EBSQ...!

My Entry for EBSQ's January 'Winter Landscapes' Exhibit, 'Dust of Snow' (Robert Frost)

"Dust of Snow"

 

The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree
Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued. 

~Robert Frost

'Dust of Snow', Acrylics on 6"x16" found wood....

Such reads the poem that helped inspire my EBSQ's January "Winter Landscapes" online art exhibit entry...(to view my entry on EBSQ, click here)

For their 2015 exhibit schedule, EBSQ, (the online community of self-represting artists I've long been a member of), has reduced their monthly themes from two or three options to choose from, to one theme per month.  I do understand why -- to streamline for one thing, while helping to keep entries up by funneling them into one monthly show as opposed to spreading entries across several shows.  I get it, though I must admit I did like having options.  Nevertheless, the way things are, is the way things are.  I can certainly work with a single theme if need be..., and so we have here my entry for EBSQ's only January theme, "Winter Landscapes"....:

My "Winter Landscape"-themed entry, entitled 'Dust of Snow (Robert Frost)'.....

Anyone familiar with my artwork must surely know my ongoing fascination with people.  I adore nature, things, animals and critters of all ilk, and I'll paint that too sometimes.  And yet, almost always, my most preferred subject matter of all typically filters down to People.   Famous people, strangers, family, friends -- doesn't matter really, when it comes to my subjects, I usually find myself  defaulting to that ever familiar map of the human face.  And so, upon contemplating my entry for a "Landscape" show, I knew it would HAVE to involve a person one way or another.....

There is a wee back-story behind the planning of this painting.  In a way, this entry came to be as actually a sort of collaboration between a couple of folks.....  

A number of months ago, a FB friend posted a new picture as her profile photo, one that I found myself really taken with.  An attractive lady (with amazing bone structure) to be sure -- and yet there was more to it than that.  I was quite struck by the photo overall...the angle of the shot, the tilt of the head, the striking countenance, the classic proportions, the expressive eyes.  As a visual person, I found it all particularly arresting.  I asked my friend if she might give me permission to paint her photo -- not knowing at the time exactly how or when, only that I simply wanted to.... someday. 

And then I have another friend with whom I correspond, who has an interest in the reading and writing of poetry.  We were discussing potential themes for February's Nibblefest Art Contest theme of 'Black and White', when she mentioned her research into info regarding crows for a poem she is in the process of writing.   She brought up the universal symbolism of crows, as well as the mythology involving the colors of Black and White as representing life and death .  She sent me the following passage that she had found somewhere...:

"....In Irish mythology, crows are associated with Morrigan, the goddess of war and death.

The god Bran the Blessed – whose name means "crow" or "raven" — is associated with corvids and death; tradition holds that Bran's severed head is buried under the Tower of London, facing France — a possible genesis for the practice of keeping ravens in the Tower, said to protect the fortunes of Britain. In Cornish folklore, crows — magpiesparticularly — are associated with death and the "otherworld", and proscribes respectful greeting. The origin of "counting crows" as augury is British; however, the British version rather is to "count magpies" — their black and white pied colouring alluding to the realms of the living and dead...."

Plenty of food for thought...!  Fascinating indeed, and so I was ruminating upon all this for Nibblfest..., when it was also time to begin thinking about my 'Winter Landscapes' entry.  After a few snow storms in my neck of the woods, the views outside my window are all about "winter landscapes' right now (with it snowing yet more as I type).  Plenty of white, plenty of snow, ice, and frost.  Well, 'snow' and 'frost' got me to thinking of 'Robert Frost'..., plus 'crows', and 'black and white'.  It wasn't long before I was struck with the recollection of a few winter verses by this most esteemed poet.  Sure enough, a quick search had me finding exactly what I was looking for..., the poem, 'Dust of Snow", by Robert Frost (and really could his name be more perfect for a subject of "Winter Landscapes", lol???), and I was set.  It was then that my friend's FB pic popped into mind, and that's when it all gelled -- I knew exaclty where I was going, with the piece practically painting itself (always lovely when that happens -- very zen!).  So here's a big thanks to my fellow 'collaborators', L. and V., for providing me with such great inspiration.....

Now, not to bore anyone to death, I do have just one last little tidbit of random aside here.  As stated, my painting support for this piece is found wood. I do enjoy working with unusual canvas sizes, which this certainly is, being as that it is approximately 6" by 16".  I like how weirdo proportions can challenge me to play with compositions, while forcing me to think outside the box.  As for this chunk of found wood, let me explain exactly how I came to 'find' it.  I'd been holding onto it for some time -- ever since dumpster diving it from a neighbor's home renovation project many moons ago (shocking, no?).  It sits directly behind our lot, an old house that's probably closing in on a 100 years (if not already).  A stately, large Craftsman, it had seen insult after injury and then some over the years, thanks to the fact I live in a university town, with a high student population and the many urban planning pressures that come with trying to house them all.  The home had been subdivided and re-subdivied into who knows how many individual apartments (I think it was something like 7 by the end, including roomers in the attic and basement).  Let's face it, students don't exactly have the reputation for being the most conscientious of renters.  Then add to that a few absentee landlords and you can imagine the state of the house after a few unfriendly decades.  Ugh, so derelict and run down (like, even more so that my own, and that's saying something)...!  Happily, another neighbor, with an eye to the interests of the neighborhood, and the resources to get things done, bought the house and completely rehabbed it, into what is today a lovely vintage, American Foursquare, single family showplace.  While this work was underway, I had quietly helped myself to a few of the chunks of wood I spied sticking out of the dumpster that was parked behind my house for months (hopefully no one would have minded!).  Perhaps it from the original construction of the house (?) -- if so it would be near a century old or more.  I like thinking of the long gone tree it potentially came from.   In any case, I may be practical to a fault at times, but I knew it could come in handy on day (plus it just goes to show how 'making something from nothing' never, NEVER fails to tickle me.  To no end!).....

To see ALL the EBSQ 'Winter Landscape' entries, click here.....