Mood Board - Tropical

The inspiration came from the lovely orchid my friend Cindy picked up from the florist. The color and delicate bloom really set the stage and color palette for the whole board. The placemat in the background added a definite tropical feel lending a warm of corals to the color palette. The butterfly/moth page lent itself to the creativity from the start and the sparkle of the seashells just completed the picture. The sweater piece added a nice texture and a bit of the unexpected to the scene. Grabbing my camera and I'm off to the beach to see what wonderful things the muse has in store for me today!

Awake and Alive! 16/30

I had forgotten about the photo I had taken at the beach in Florida. I wrote many different words and loved watching my footprints get washed away into the ocean time after time. It is a vast place, standing next to the ocean with nothing in sight but water and the horizon line. A place I feel very small but quite comfortable. The serenity I feel there is beautiful and it gives me a place to just be. I mean sit still, nurture my soul and just listen to the waves going in an out without another care in the world. Oh yeah, I am awake, on a journey, heading to a purpose - it is a glorious day - please celebrate it with me!

Word - Texture

The word for this week is texture.

Its noun meaning - the visual or tactile surface characteristics and appearance of something; essential part; basic scheme or structure, fabric; overall structure.

I absolutely adore texture and look for it everywhere and anywhere. I was out in the yard shooting photos of various trees with lichen, moss and just cool shadows when I happened to look upward and see this interesting little scene. Yes it is out power pole but I loved the various textures it offered in such a small area. The characteristics of each stand on their own yet looked phenomenal just waiting to be discovered. Did you happen to notice the heart shaped knot? Oh yeah, a visually added bonus for your artistic eye, one that might have gone unnoticed had I not looked to the sky for inspiration!

Word - Sanctuary

The word for this week is sanctuary.

Its noun meaning - a consecrated place; a place of refuge.

This lovely place was taken in my friend Margot's garden in Florida. I absolutely loved the texture of the arched plaque but then you notice the wonderful cragginess of the wall behind it. It is a visual treat for the eyes and my creative side is already trying to figure out how in the world to replicate its beauty. The aged statuary makes you feel transported to the crowded streets of Rome or Italy glimpsing these beauties everywhere you look. The color combination represented in the soft patina of the mossy avocado greens and the touch of pale salmon just sends my artistic sensories on overload. The juxtaposition of the warmer hues versus the cooler background tones just makes me want to grab my journal and start painting. Are you going to join me? I sure hope so!

Defined Elegance

This has to be one of my favorite photographs only because the juxtaposition of hard and soft has never been more apparent. The fullness of the crab apples in the wondrous shade of magenta really brings your attention to the beautiful carving of the Venus statuary. I cropped it tight and off center to make you see what brings that little charming smirk to her face. Oh yes, it is the beauty of the garden of course. Wouldn't it make you smile? I can't wait for Spring, it is coming but will not hurry and I am anxious for the glorious sight of blossoms in every shade of white and pink. I know you will be stopping by because I will share the event with you daily in the ever blooming season. Stay tuned...

Vivid Beauty

I love the iris flower and we have a wide variety planted throughout the garden. This one with its rich violet hue just makes me want to grab my paints immediately and immerse myself within its deepest shadows. The intensity and color range of this one iris would keep me painting for many days if not years trying to capture all of its deep intense glory. The final touch for me is that beautiful tiny fleck of golden brown of the bee body. I love that it let me capture it in such a great position of importance. With the wonderful yet subtle green in the background, it really pushes the beauty of the iris to the forefront helping you see all its gorgeous values up front and personal. Can't you just feel its silky texture and satin petals? I love when a photograph just makes you want to reach out and touch. That is the wonderful thing of being a creative artist, helping you see the array of everyday elegance just waiting to be discovered.

Steampunk Series

My second online
e-course is about to go live. Today at midnight in fact.
To say I'm nervous, excited, thrilled, inspired and just plain happy would be an under-statement. This class has made me think beyond myself and embrace a bit of the daring artist inside. Steampunk isn't for everyone. In fact, most people don't even know what Steampunk is. If you can just imagine the melding of the Victorian Era and the Industrial Age, you have it made. Think soft but tattered, mechanical but intriguing, perfection to me. I was able to use my architectural rendering side to come up with wild and strange pieces that just make me happy. It added a quirky twist to my work that even I didn't know existed. I loved the challenge of finding what kind of items I could add that would give me the machine side of steampunk. Believe when I say, it was not what I expected. There are washers, gears, nuts, zippers, beads, charms, nails, clock parts and optical lenses, where else can that seem normal, right? Loved the challenge of making everyday items work in a piece of art.

So, have I convinced you yet to join the class? There is still time but know the hands are moving quickly, we start at midnight...
If you want to check it out you can find more information here http://kellyhoernig.webs.com/ecourses.htm

Sweet Faces

I love these sweet little aging faces. They are reading and sharing stories and it all happens in my front yard. Yes, this little statue sits outside our front porch and I love them. The patina of dirt, sun, and weather has finally made them fit in so you don't notice them until you look. The surprise of them hiding under a crab apple tree is all the more gratifying because not everyone will see them at first glance. I really need to do a painting of this tender moment and what a great title that would be!

Listen Carefully

Some Thesaurus words for "water" - aqua, drink, rain, rainwater, saliva, tears.

I love everything about these leaves. The pointed shape, the inner light colored arrows and the fact that they are sprinkle with water drops. The rain is needed around here in the Midwest and I am glad to see it finally get here after a very hot and strange spring. I imagine the plants all drinking it in with great gulps not sure when the next watering will happen. Can you hear them? Made you smile, didn't I :)

Let it Shine!

I love seed pods and well these just captured my heart. The form, their reach into the sky, the beautiful sunlight casting a golden hue over last years treasure - yes, everything about them spoke to my artistic side. I cropped them extremely to the right to make you give them your full attention for the brief moment you look at my photo. Hope you saw the beauty from my eyes to yours, that was the intention of the post today. To share in nature and really see the details it has to offer, that is my purpose as an artist. Thank you for being a willing participant in my art class today, I really appreciate it!

Art Whispers

While in Las Vegas this past week I had a rare opportunity to visit an art exhibition featuring Claude Monet. The soft palette and interesting impasto strokes made me feel all dreamy and not yet awake while walking the small rooms viewing this impressionistic artwork. Visions of pale peach, mellow yellow, soft lavender and mint julep greens filled my head with calm and gentleness that I really can't explain but will try. Envision waking up while the sky is just turning a soft hue of pink on the horizon, dew still on the ground from the cool evening and the promise of a glorious sunny day hangs in the air. Yes, that is the feeling I experienced while admiring his work. I am amazed that I found this photo of a simple haystack so enjoyable and moving at the same time. When you are transformed into the art for even the briefest of time, I feel the artist has done their job letting you see the subject through their eyes. Just simply breathtaking and it is a day I will remember for a long, long time to come.

PHOTO SOURCE http://www.fineartprintsondemand.com/artists/monet/haystacks_setting_sun.htm

Palette - Kale

I love kale especially this colorful variety. I thought it would be an interesting study of color to be pulled out into a palette. The top three swatches can be found in the lovely magenta center of the kale. The bottom swatch is found deep within the leaves, who knew it would be such a deep dark violet. The dancing curled edging adds so much texture giving the light a chance to sparkle here and there giving your eye a treat in the process. It has to be my favorite part and one day I know I will do a rendering of this plant, maybe an extreme close up just to show the lovely detail of light and shadow on a frilly highway. I hope the next time you see this unobtrusive plant, you stop to wonder what wondrous colors are hiding amongst the petals.

Threaded Beads

Another shot within the walls of Old Green Shutters reveals a charming vignette of thread, beads and button jars. I was intrigued by the vintage red box and thought it did so much for the display as a visual focus point, loved it all. The draping of the white beads over the box, the black front buttons over the shelf edge and the miscellaneous round rusty buttons next to them just made me want to see what else I was looking at. Did you see the crochet hooks coming out of the glass jar filled with buttons? Clever is all I can say! I have gotten some great decorating tips in just this photo on how to combine and layer all similar items without actually putting them in a straight configuration - thank you to the design team for making it so visually pleasing for my artistic eye!

Main Street Station

I took this while being given a tour and history lesson in Richmond Virginia by 3 lovely ladies (Faye, Alois and Judy). It was a great day and I learned a lot, saw some fantastic architecture and gained a lot of perspective into the lives of people in this historically rich town. This was one of my favorite shots because of the fabulous color scheme (baby blue and red), the old time lettering and the fact that it is fastened to a train car that has seen it fair share of rust making it that much more special to me. What did you see first? My eye went straight to the drawing of the clock tower because I love how it looks transparent giving you the impression that it's barely there - great imagery in my book! I need to work with this palette, there is something very powerful yet calming about it. I wonder why that is, hummmm...

Sun Glow

Here's another photo from my e-course, this one focused on a face. I couldn't help using the same statue but only one of their little cherub faces. I put the leaf there to give me a nice contrast of not only color but texture as well and you can actually see a piece of the second face through the holes (what a surprise that was). I had no idea how ethereal it would make this sweet child look. I love everything about it and am actually thinking about making a collage of the images for my living room wall. It's amazing to me that a little push of inspiration can make you see things in a whole new light. The muse knows what she's doing, I'll give her that :)

For the love of Texture

Is this photo the greatest? No. Is the composition the best? No. Is the texture captivating? You bet. I just had to share because it was raining and I couldn't get the best shot at all. What I did get was my whole point for stopping and shooting this picture, all the fabulous textural elements all rolled into one frame. I loved the weathered phone pole, the thick branch, the hanging fruit, the rotting seed leaves, the vibrancy of the great orange berries and the blurriness of the white background. This in my book could keep my creative, artistic side going for a long time. I am so inspired by the different visuals that it will make me stop over and over just to see what I have missed looking at it the first time. So, I hope you are keeping a fresh eye out wherever you go, you never know what's lurking at the side of the road just waiting to be discovered!

Ruffles Galore

Some Thesaurus words for "characteristic" - appropriate, differentiating, distinctive, emblematic, essential, fixed, idiosyncratic, inborn, indicative, individualistic, ingrained, innate, marked, native, original, particular, peculiar, proper, regular, representative, singular, special, specific, symbolic, unique.

Well, there is definitely no way to mistake kale for any other vegetable. I just fell in love with all the distinctive ruffled edges and don't even get me started on the great color combinations of this variety. From the palest sage green to the vibrant magenta center, what's not to love about this peculiarity. Add all the wonderful veining that shows on each leaf tipped by the rolling delicate ruffle, oh yeah, I think we have a winner. If only it was a perennial, my yard would have a huge amount of them. I would love to do this in colored pencil but I know my instructions would just be painful, not the intention of a project at all. So, for me, I will just gaze into it one petal at a time wondering if I could actually pull off the drawing. Humm, was that a challenging thought or what?

Word - Characteristic

The word for this week is characteristic.

Its noun meaning: a distinguishing trait, quality or property.

Its adjective meaning: serving to mark individual character such as individual, peculiar, distinctive.

This luscious flower was discovered outside Olive Garden in an urn full of fall specimens. I thought the color was just scrumptious with all its golden yellows turning to the side of warm orange. But oh, the center, that is really what caught my eye. First of all the limeade coloration surrounded with spirals of various textures and specks of yellow flakes. The muse knew what she was doing making me look closely into this flower. Intrigued by the peculiar (loved this definition most) center helped make my decision for this weeks word. Who knew Olive Garden would provide such inspiration, can someone please pass me the bread sticks?

Great Spikes

This little clematis was out in the new garden area of Threads of Time and I just couldn't help snapping the photo. I loved the multi colored spikes against the black trellis. Although it looks quite prickly, the flower is actually nice and soft. This one was newly planted and I can't wait to see how it shapes up next year. Aren't the colors just wonderful. If you were to use that color combination on something, what would it be? I will definitely have to think on that one since I'm not a huge fan of the violet color. But if I could do the chartreuse of the center and the black of the iron, we are now in business. I hope you take the challenge and let everything inspire you, no matter how large, small, young or old - see the creativity and discover its possibilities!

Fragments

Some Thesaurus words for "remnants" - balance, bit, dregs, dross, end, excess, fragment, heel, leavings, lees, orts, part, piece, remainder, residual, rest, rump, scrap, shred, surplus, survival, vestige.

The ultimate seed pod for me is the wonderfully complicated yet extremely organized yucca. Although it has its moments of beauty in the long pale silver sage leaves that end with a pointed spike. Or it's tall slender stalk of little plump white blossoms that hang down and move ever so graceful with the slightest breeze. Ending the season with my favorite shaped pods that stand straight up then pop open to show us the rows upon rows of seeds waiting for extraction. Oh yes, I cannot pass them by without sneaking a peek into their little orderly world. Each pod reveals six seed sections carefully encased with a textured form that just calls to me. Let's not even talk about the tiny black treasures inside all stacked up and ready to go into the atmosphere in a moments notice. Who knew they would give me such joy season after season? Thank you Mother Nature for making me take notice to your creation.