Monthly Archives: March 2014

Thai Dancer Dolls

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scan0139I love this pair in their glittering costumes and extravagant headdresses. Found them in a thrift store for next to nothing. They fit right in on the shelf with the gilt paper fan, carved goddess head and the camels. I think one is supposed to be a guy–hence the pants– but they used the exact same feminine doll heads for both. Although mine aren’t exact. I like the shiny fabric and hot pink lips and nails. They are 15 inches tall and actually their hats are taller and pointier but I ran out of room. I should unpack the Arabian harem doll from my childhood collection, she is equally beautiful and exotic and might enjoy the company. This was fun to draw…kind of meditative with all the lines and dots. I used a gel ink pen, watercolor, colored pencils, a gold metallic pen and a white pen on Canson tinted paper.

Baby Bird Candles

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scan0136        Well, I’ve been itching to get back to drawing my second-hand treasures so last night I drew these guys. You may recall my blog post Wax Figures from December 4th, which began a category called “candles I just can’t burn.” These charming little wax birds fall in that category, too. So plump and cute. Tuyen found them in a free pile from a yard sale and knew I would like them. Each bird is about the size of my fist and made of solid black wax. I used a black gel pen and a black water-soluble colored pencil (gone over with a paintbrush dipped in water) on Canson tinted paper. Hmm, let’s see…perhaps something colorful, next?

Netting Mask

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rich's card 017“…blocking my view” I ran out of space and had to finish on the back of the card. Well I was in a rush and didn’t plan that out so well. Anyhow it’s The Mister’s birthday today, hence the card. He doesn’t like to celebrate them any more for some reason. Something about there being no semblance of youth left. Doesn’t want cake cause he’s dieting. Hey, I’M the party pooper in this duo, not him. I’ve had dibs on that title for years. And anyway, he’s the one with the handsome, youthful face. All his siblings are like that–look like movie stars. So I have no sympathy in the lost youth department. We should all look that good. Happy birthday, Honey.

Veiled Hat–Bee Bonnet

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scan0133I was trying to think of how to include guys in the veiled hat series. Eureka… bee-keeper’s netted hats. I just wish I had added a few bees on the plain hat. That would have been perfect. So unlike me to not overdo a good thing. But I’ve already sent the card. Guess I’ve been too distracted by our bathroom renovation. Pretty much every room is trashed. How do people renovate a whole house? Good gosh, the mess from one puny bathroom is tremendous. Well, it will be nice when it’s finished and much improved. Sam used to say that showering in there reminded him of summer camp. Which is pretty insulting if you saw the camp he’s referring to. VERY ‘bugs and splintered wood’ rustic. Our bathroom was not THAT bad. Hmph. Kids.

Lemon and Russian Collage

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Fat RussianGiven the recent Olympics in Russia, I thought it would be a good time to showcase this Russian with his mad leprechaun hat and big padded coat. I love this guy. The old photo was found in a Smithsonian magazine–pages of images that they had never published. I think from the late 1800s, but at any rate it said he was a carriage driver and back then it was a sign of prosperity to be fat so they would wear heavily padded coats to look bigger. My friend Anne said, “He’s a real vodka and potatoes kind of guy.” Yessiree. I’m pretty sure he would have shared my affinity for jelly doughnuts, too. The background image is from a decor magazine–I just loved the Black Lemon painting by Donald Sultan ( http://www.donaldsultanstudio.com )–such a striking image and one I never would have thought of making. People are so interesting, the things they come up with. This is a simple collage card, just the two pieces glued together. It reminds me of that Sesame Street song,”One of these things is not like the other…” But I like their similar sepia colors and…oh, I don’t know…the two large things together? I guess I like their randomness. Makes me smile. I hope you are smiling too.