Happy New Year!

I guess I should be able to look back at the receding 52 weeks and say I discovered a better understanding of life, found the true meaning of happiness or at least a better recipe for stuffed chicken...... but I am only looking forward to what awaits me next....what does 2010 have in store for me? I am forging blindly and happily into the new year. Good luck to everyone!!! Oh and don't drink and drive!

Blue Winter Moon

The sirens sing

songs of longing to

the blue moon of winter,

blue-hearted drum

of the seas.

They offer it pearls,minute moons,

votive images wrapped

in blue seaweed& dance it the dizzy

dance of the tides.

Rafael Jesus Gonzalez

A Man Named Pearl

Just watched a wonderful documentary about man in Bishopville SC who created a wonderful visionary topiary garden. No gardening experience and no art experience, just hard work and a deep desire to have a beautiful yard, and share it and his personal wisdom with others.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the warm and wonderful Florida Keys! Check the weather channel out tomorrow for the first ever white Christmas in the Florida keys. http://www.weather.com/multimedia/videoplayer.html?clip=15912&from=tv_whitechristmasstreaming_promo1

This a local family living on Summerland key just a few islands down form me. It should be a wild day and great publicity for the Keys and Howard Livingston who is a local singer much like Jimmy Buffett. I actually did an album cover for him a few years ago. Any way, I hope each of my 2 readers have a wonderful day and a bright prosperous new year!!!!!

Kandinsky

Color provokes a psychic vibration. Color hides a power still unknown but real, which acts on every part of the human body. (Wassily Kandinsky)

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas

On my walk to my car I passed Fran and Bobs house all decked out. Who says it has to be cold and snowy and grey for it to feel like Xmas. I got such a holiday feeling watching the palms sway and the light warm breeze shift the orchids in their trees. This is my idea for a real Christmas. Haven't had a northern cold Xmas in years and certainly don't miss it. We did go to Maine to be with family several years ago and my kids got their first chance to see snow, highly overrated if you have to go outside!

Watched my favorite Xmas movie, "White Christmas" and still got a little teary when they open the barn doors and its snowing outside with a Currier and Ives scene. They certainly don't make movies like that anymore. I always liked Danny Kaye and thought he was goofy not wanting to kiss the girls but now realize he was a gay man being squeamish about the whole idea!

Oh by the way , Fran and Bob won the annual house lighting contest put on by the electric company, hope they won a free moths of electric but I doubt it!

Pallette challenge

Someone challenged me to paint with a new palette. An Italian earth palette. Think ochre, Sienna, umber and mars black. So outside my comfort zone. Painted today with the Sugarloaf group and stuck with it kicking and moaning but I am pretty pleased with the outcome. Definitely a challenge and took some mixing , not so sure the colors vibrate, but maybe they are just meditating. I will use it again and have already thought of some new ways of using the colors, maybe grounding the canvas in a red oxide? All the paintings in today's session were about pattern and more pattern. SOLD

New little painitng

8"x10" "Green Bowl"

Snail Mail update

I'm heading to the post office after finally finishing the snail mail project with Maggie Ruley. Check out the before http://maggieruley.blogspot.com/2009/10/snail-mail-project.html and here is the after. Also check out Kate Millers blog http://circularspace.blogspot.com/

New Painting

Here is a new painting this week. Even with Thanksgiving and a house full of people I was able to finish this one. It is a gallery wrap so no frame and I believe it will be called "key West Morning"

Glitter

Christmas has snuck up on me and I am terribly unprepared. I have been decorating ornaments though and my studio is covered with glitter. We have a tree at the gallery and everyone is bringing in ornament to sell.

Adios 2009 Hurricane Season

Celebrations were held in Key West for the end of this unusually quiet hurricane season. Yeah! Here is a link to the story in the Key West citizen. http://keysnews.com/node/18951