Dust Off the Butterfly: May 2010

Monday, May 31, 2010

Remembering

On this Memorial Day, 2010, it is important to honor those who have served, as well as those who have died in the line of duty and service to our country. As Andy Rooney states,

"These men did not 'give their lives', they were 'taken from them'."

'War is not healthy for children and other living things.' Let all of the world move toward a goal of peace - in this remembering on today and every day.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Where I Stand - Memorial Day Weekend

Barbecue-in', cold brews, old and new friends and acquaintances.

Family get together in Edwardsville, Kansas.

Have a safe tomorrow!

Friday, May 28, 2010

Saw this on Facebook and wrote to the wonderful artist who painted it, Paul Jackson, to get permission to post it here. These sentiments cross my mind (and hopefully yours, too) a lot of my day. Paul, who grew up on the coast of Mississippi, wants to get this word out there to as many people as possible, so here is my contribution. You can buy t-shirts and other things with this great painting on Zazzle. Go to Paul's blog!

Friday, May 21, 2010

A Pastel Portrait for Today

"Granny Gray"

pastel on a 12" x 16" Ampersand pastelbord

I may have a few tiny tweaks on this one, but will let it sit around for awhile, while I look at it. Done from a FLASH photo - which creates these dark shadows...where they wouldn't normally be. Then it makes it hard to read where the edges of the figure are but I think, knowing my Granny Gray, it is correct. She passed away many years ago. A tiny lady, she often talked and expressed herself with her hands. Miss you ♥Granny.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

It's My 3rd...

581 posts, 15,101 visits, but who's counting?..lots of art, alot about life. Some people do special things on their blog for their blogiversary. Sorry, nothing special planned..I will just say thanks for stopping by. I started this blog because I moved away from the Denver area, where I lived most of my life and thought perhaps by writing about living here in Kansas and returning to being an artist would be one way to keep those I left there informed. I never imagined I would keep it going this long - although it is waning these days.

It's funny how when you are out of an area for this amount of time (4 years), distance strains the relationships you left behind. By writing this blog, so much is to be said for the power of it. My world of friends/fellow artists/acquaintances has grown exponentially! I want to thank those who have become "followers"/my audience - I hope to keep writing and posting so that you have a reason to visit. I have seen that you can make a book from your blog posts - I may do that. I have found it helpful to look back, when dates or events are being discussed - it's a good 'time reference'.

Happy Blogiversary - spell check says that (blogiversary) is spelled incorrectly, but I bet that word isn't in the dictionary as of yet.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Where I Stand Sunday

Other things have taken up so much of my time lately - like this planting season. Sweet corn is in the ground, vegetable garden has been partially planted, some rosebushes have been added to the landscape (one seen here)...it's the time you need to spend to reap the benefits later. Lots of projects going on.

I know a lot of you stop by for the art...little - to - NO art right now. Getting back to the easel soon. There is one there right now, about 1/2 way done.

Be patient...I have to be also. It kills me when I don't do art. However, these seasonal things take time when you are managing 8 acres. In the meantime, here is a photo or two...

Our Weimaraner, Bailey, doing some serious running from one of us to the other one - he loves it!

I try to catch it with "panning" the camera. He looks a little strange in stop action!

Where I Stand Sunday is an ongoing photo essay examining the different places I spend my life standing. Too often we take for granted the everyday places we spend our lives walking on. If you'd like to join me by posting a photo on Sunday of places you've been on your blog/photo hosting site/website, leave a comment on this post telling me where I can find you/your photo and I'll add a link to my sidebar so others can find you.

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Where I Stand Sunday

Happy Mother's Day!! I am standing in the kitchen this morning with my mom.

So happy to be with her today!! Love you mom!

Seeing the Sights in S.E. Kansas

We recently took an RV trip to southeastern Kansas to Crawford Lake State Park. It is sort of the headway - going east - of the Ozarks. Beautiful country, nice people and dare I say - travel in wind - is it ever different in Kansas? Well, some days aren't always windy. Here are a few photos from our journey. Dogs in tow - not a lot of campers around - which is always fun to be able to feel like you have the place to yourself. Lots of wildlife and good hiking trails...