The Garden & Bluebonnets

Hi Friends,

The past week I have not been painting much, the weather as been perfect in South Texas (except we need some rain as usual).  It will soon be hot here and I will be inside in the air conditioning.  I have been working on this garden patch for a couple of years now, being new to the sand, deer, my big pets and ants -it has been a battle.

                                                 Click on pictures for larger views.

Bluebonnets are the state flower of Texas and it is illegal to pick them. There are bluebonnet trails where the blueness looks like a ocean. These just came up last year in the garden area I did not plant them.

                                  

The bluebonnet is similar to snapdragons for those who have never seen one.

This is a thorn less blackberry, with it first flower bud.

My recyclers

                                                                   the llama shed being built


Someday I hope to have this garden section a formal sitting garden, I have some blueberries growing, crepe myrtle, angel trumpet, jane magnolia, couple roses and rose of sharon (all made it through the winter)...I will post their pictures when they are in bloom....
peace and love, joyce

Poppies

Dear Friend,

I have sold several poppy paintings over the years.  In the past they have always been red/red orange with white or olive background.  This is my first pink (honeysuckle) and turquoise poppy painting.


                                                 Click on Pictures for Larger View

                                                                Closeup

   

                                             In a virtual room
                                             (size not exact)                                                                   

Painting details, this work is 16x20 a standard size that fits department store frames.  It is painted in acrylics and is on gallery wrapped canvas with the sides painted, ready to hang. (My standard pricing applies to this work 1.00 per square inch length x width).


It is only right that I mention my best teacher (I have had many),  he was the only one that showed me the artists eye.
Fred  Leach OWS AWS/DF 1924-2006 , I was fortunate enough to study under him for over 6 years.  This link has some of his art.
 http://www.cantonart.org/ArtGateway/collection/l/leach-graywaters.html
Fred worked for American Greetings for many years, he also taught at the Cleveland Institute of Art, he was a chartered member of The Ohio Watercolor Society, and had the prestigious Dolphin Fellowship award from the American Watercolor Society.  I learned from him in his retirement years.  I met Fred at Baycrafters and after some time the class was moved to my garage studio, (about 12 artists).
Over those years I collected several of Freds paintings which I will share in a later blog.

joyce

The Blue in the Mountain

Dear Friend,

The title for this blog and of this recent painting is The Blue in the Mountain. 

Click on picture for larger view.

In order to write this I need to go back and date myself, back maybe three decades ago, at a time when I first started selling my artwork.

I met a older Calif. artist who was getting ready to retire.  Some of his family visited him and complained that he used to paint such pretty things, (flowers, barns ect.).  He gave me this painting at the start of my painting career.  Its been in every studio I have had throughout the years. He also gave me a small sort of abstract male clay statue he made. It had no legs and was on a wire stand, the artist told me the legs broke off in the kiln.  This moved me, because he (George Doleys 1909-1978), had polio as a kid and wore a leg brace.

When he gave me Blue Mountain, I did not understand it.  It wasn't until maybe five years later that while reading this book The Notebooks of Leonardo daVinci  by Pamela Taylor that I discovered the following
excerpt by Leonardo himself.

"You know that in an atmosphere of equal density the remotest objects only seen through it between you eye and them---appear blue and almost of the same hue as the atmosphere itself when the sun is in the east."

"Those you wish should look farthest away you must make proportionately bluer."

The author of this book Pamela Taylor states that Leonardo  lonely gentle man, who bought market birds just to set them free and became a vegetarian because of his dislike of killing animals.  Pamala Taylor finished this co-work of her husband after his sudden death in 1957, he was the Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

There is many of wonderful tips about art in this book, I plan on re-reading it soon -joyce

So now know how this title came about.   

Details, 16x20 standard frame size,  acrylic, honeysuckle and turquoise colors, gallery wrapped canvas sides painted like painting.  
The price is my standard rate this year, 1.00 per square inch (length x width)

My First Painting of 2011 -scroll down for larger pic

Those of you that know me, know its been awhile since I have been back to steady work.  This painting is the start of a new era for me.  I'm having trouble with blogger or my computer, but I wanted to post this today so it in two blogs.

I have always loved to paint, even as a child I remember enjoying the process of making letters and numbers.  This can be a curse more than a blessing, as I have the tendency to overwork drawings and paintings.  So on this piece I tried  (kiss) keep it simple stupid - one rule from one of my first teachers. 

Here is my web page which has my bio and some works of the past (it needs updating)...Thanks for stopping -joyce
  GodenFineArt.com

Details-- this a original acrylic on acid free heavy duty watercolor paper, signed by me.  It is 29"x21"  I would recommend a 2 or 3 inch white mat and a simple black frame (not included).  As of 2011 I am offering wholesale prices to those in art related businesses.  Anyone interested in this piece can contact me at godenfineart@yahoo.com satisfaction guaranteed-joyce

First Painting of the New Year

• 

The Privilege of Growing Old or My New Life

Hopefully this will be the last time I will be bringing up c (unless someone needs something I can provide, has questions or if I can add something that may help someone else).

A little over three years ago I was diagnosed with level 3 colon cancer, had surgery and 6 months of chemo (lost my hair, its back).  I survived all and my doctor say I'm cured.

I was given a second chance at life, it changed me forever.  Life is short please make the most of it.

One thing I realized that if I'm going to be around in the years to come I didn't want to be a burden to my kids, I've been a artist most of my life, and mom about half of it.  For some reason my good health for my kids sake is easier than working on good health for me.  That was the motivating factor, but now good is for me, because it make me feel so good.  This is the truth most days I feel like I'm in my 20ties- inside, mentally and physically maybe even better than back then cause I partied alot.

I have always been thin, except for a brief period when I had milkshakes for a bedtime snack, (gained about 50lbs.), but my lifestyle before was bad.  Red meat daily sometimes twice, lunch meats, fast foods, lots of dairy big chocolate bars, soda, beer, lots of sugar, white bread fried foods ect.  I felt tired and fatigue all the time and could sleep 12 hours at a time, now I only need 6-8.

I painted this self-portrait when I was sick but before I was diagnosed.  Not sure where I put it, may have tossed it but you get the picture.

This next part is for anyone that has or knows someone with c.  When the hospital doc looked me in the eye (this was right after the colostomy and I was still loopy) and said its cancer, I looked right back and thought yea, but I'm a survivor.  At that point I proceeded to do everything in my power to beat this.  This included  1. prayer (mostly thanking God for everything hes given me each day)  2. Green Drinks, please read  the book or visit the web page Crazy Sexy Cancer  3. Visualization - picturing my insides to be clean and c free  4. Positive thinking, this included eliminating negative people if possible  5. plenty of rest  6. found a great onocolgist, surgeon and became my own medical advocate.

OK, back to my new life - With this second chance I kept the Green Drink habit - it really make me feel good (had a recent blood test, everything was perfect).  I have been doing this a couple times a week for about 6 months now.  I call this my 2/6 recipe.  It does not taste too good, I usually chug it, but its sooo worth it.

2/6  (2 of each, 6 items)

2 carrots   2 stalks of celery,  2 apples, 2 tomatoes, 2 leaves of cabbage with a handful of raw spinach rolled inside  Wash everything before juicing.

I saw a Jack La lane infomercial one night (I remember laughing at his pants when I was a kid)  anyway I bought one of his juicers, and I am totally happy with it.  tip-put parts in a sink of hot dishwater after using for ez cleanup.

To continue, still concerned with good health, I saw a doctor on Dr Ozs show -Dr. Ornish he totally amazed me, blew my socks off--he said he knows how to reverse heart disease, (my Dad died of heart disease at 59), stop or reverse early-stage prostate cancer  & diabetes.  He turns off genes that promote breast cancer,and other illnesses, in only 3 months.  Also these lifestyle changes can increase an enzyme that lengthens telomeres (the ends of your chromosomes lenght  controls how long you live. 

I am starting a new blog entry about  "The Spectrum"  Dean Onnish  MD, it will have recipes and helps.   Medicare and other insurance companies are now providing for this program.  I gave out several copies of this book so far, 2 to my docs 1 to my priest, 3 to my kids, and have a couple I giving for Christmas presents. You can do a little bit of this program or a alot, its custom tailored to you by you.  its all good.   Here is a link to the web site.

 http://www.pmri.org/forum/index.php

Here is Dr. Ornish  twitter id, or you can get there on the above link  

DeanOrnishMD

Thanks for taking your time to read this- joyce  

Baklava

Meeting today online with a group of friends to exchange holiday recipes and tips - I'm bring this delicious favorite to the table, I make it every year - joyce

Baklava

4 cups finely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 pound phyllo (studel leaves)- come frozen in a box at grocery store
1 cup butter melted
1 (12 oz) jar honey

(follow the handling instruction on the phyllo pkg- cover with wax paper then a damp towel - phyllo is very thin and get brittle when dry) do not get the phyllo wet

Greasse 13 x 9 (I use a cookie sheet) pan 2-3 hours before serving.  Mix together walnuts, sugar and cinnamon; blend well.
Cut phyllo into 13x9  rectangles (I use the sheets the size right out of the box).
Place 1 sheet phyllo on cookie sheet, brush with some butter,  repeat to make 5 layers of phyllo.
Sprinkle with 1 cup of walnut mixture.

Place 1 sheet phyllo over the walnut mixture; brush with butter .
Repeat layers at least 6 time.
Sprinkly 1 cup of walnut mixture.
Repeat  layers 2 times

Place remaining phyllo on tip of the last walnut layer; brush with buttter.
With a sharp knife cut halfway through layer in a triangle pattern, corner to corner about 1 or 2 inch peices.

Bake at 300 for 1 hour and 25 minutes or till golden brown

Heat honey over medium-low heat till hot but not boiling; sopoon over hot Baklava. 
Cool in pan at least 1 hour;
Cover andleave at room temp. untill serving.
To serve, finish cutting through layers with a sharp knife.