Happy Feast Day

Surprise! I have been working on another icon -- the first one I have drawn in over a month. I guess the Guardian Angel one was the last one before this one.

Anyway, this is called "Holy Family, Joseph's Hands". I felt like this was a good day to show it to you as it is one of the beautiful feast days of our Blessed Mother -- the feast of the Immaculate Conception. So Happy Feast Day!

As for the icon, I was interested to observe how the expressions on the faces appeared after I finished drawing them. I never really decide beforehand when I am drawing just what the facial expressions will be. I leave that up to the Holy Spirit. To my surprise, Our Lady ended up looking as though she had suddenly remember Simeon's prophecy to her that her soul would be pierced because of what would happen to her Child. The Child is looking at Joseph, it seems to me, as though He wants to be reassured that everything is going to be all right. Joseph looks as though he is just trying to be the strong one in the family at that moment. It is a drawing that brings forth feelings of sadness in me when I gaze upon intently. What does it make you feel?

I apologize for being late with tonight's posting, but I have been very busy working on my book of the Stations of the Cross. I finally finished it and have now prepared it for ordering. I did this with some urgency as I have already had two people look at the draft copy and tell me that wanted copies of it for gifts. So I will be notifying them tonight by email that the book is ready for ordering so that I can place their orders right away and have the copies here before Christmas. Now I have to get serious about finishing the book on Novenas.

My sister in Tennessee is supposed to be calling soon so I had better get this published now or it will be even later before it gets posted.

Peace be with you all.

Milkweed is back!

I felt it was time for another drawing of milkweed. This strange-looking, green variety is called Asclepias asperula or "Antelope Horns".

Asclepias asperula is, like the other milkweeds, from the Family of Apocynaceae and the Genus is Asclepias, of course. It is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Besides the name of "Antelope Horns", it is also known as "green-flowered milkweed" and "spider antelope horns".

Like several other species of milkweed, Asclepias asperula is a food for the Monarch Butterfly caterpillars. The alkaloids in the milkweed make them unpalatable and even poisonous to predators. Of course, since the area where they are found is cattle country, ranchers have to watch out for and try to control the milkweed as it can be poisonous to livestock. As I have mentioned previously, the books always say that it is dangerous for humans as well; however, not if properly prepared for eating.

One Texas botanist is said to have called this particular species of milkweed, "outrageously weird" the first time he saw it on his travels to southwestern Texas! It is pretty strange looking -- you will have to admit!





As I have done with the other two Milkweed drawings, I treated this one with the new software I have to see what would happen. You see the results above. So far only one reader has commented on the changes this software creates in a drawing. Her comments were positive. I would really like to have some more input if any of you find the topic interesting at all.

The software is for creating a "topographic map" of a photograph. I should try an actual photograph with it sometime just to see what happens.
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My friend returned the draft of my second book to me this evening along with her copious notes -- which I must now go through and see if I agree or disagree. Then I will be ready to place the first order for the finished copies of "Station Icons". If you want a copy from the first order, let me know soon, please.

I am tired again tonight as I went to a place near Milton today which was like a little bit of Heaven. A dear friend took me to see the Serbian Orthodox monastery and we had time to spend looking at the walls and ceiling of the beautiful, little church which were covered with icons. Oh, it was so wonderful to be surrounded by marvellous iconography by a real artist working in the ancient way. The location is also quite lovely even though it was very cold. I want to go back again in the warmer weather. There is so much beauty in this old world -- what a shame there has to be so much ugliness and violence as well. Sometimes I think God must be very sad.

Peace be with you all.

A Long Day

I apologize for being totally wiped this evening, but I have just tried to cram too much into one day!

The drawing, by the way, is called "Horses Kissing". As usual with me and horses, it is not a very good drawing, but I couldn't resist giving it a try.

I really am not going to last much longer as I desperately need to get to bed. I am expecting a phone call, so I must stay up for that. However, the phone had better ring soon or else I just may sleep through it.

Here it is just the beginning of December and the Christmas activities are already about to do me in!

I promise to write more on Sunday evening.

Peace be with you.

Milkweed, NOT

Well, I decided to take a break from milkweed plants and show you an entirely different type of floral drawing!

This is a plant I once knew as Aristolochia elegans. However, it name has been changed and it is now called Aristolochia littoralis. Why this change occurred, I do not know, but I am sure a botanist could tell us. Meanwhile, I will just accept whatever decisions they make.

The Family name of Aristolochiaceae remains the same and the Genus is, of course, Aristolochia. It is also called Elegant Dutchman's Pipe (notice the Sherlock Holmes' pipe shape of the unopened flower in the drawing) and Calico Flower. I will be using the more common name of "Calico Flower".

The purplish-brown pattern on the surface of the flower is reminiscent of calico fabric, a popular fabric of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. You may or may not be familiar with the song: "School Days". There is a line in that old song which goes: "You were my maid in calico; I was your bashful barefoot beau; I wrote on your slate 'I love you so'; when we were a couple of kids."

This plant is native to Brazil and is considered an invasive species in the southern United States. However, with its beautiful foliage, unusual flowers, freedom from pests and ease of growth, it has become quite popular. It is an evergreen vine with large, trumpet-shaped flowers with intricate brownish-coloured markings. It produces winged seeds in dry capsules that split and allow the seeds to escape -- floating like small parachutes.

These are very unusual flowers with heart-shaped, bright, green leaves. You will often see them growing in dense clusters hanging tightly to fence wire. I remember seeing the vine growing in profusion along one whole side of the chicken-wire fence that enclosed one end of our large chicken yard when I was growing up in Alabama. It was very popular with the chickens as there were always bugs or caterpillars hiding in the thick, cool foliage.

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I have almost finished the revisions of the Stations of the Cross book. I have changed all the images of flowers that I had thought of using as divisions in the book -- to more suitable images. I have almost finished changing all the typos I had found. I have asked a friend to read it through one more time and she will be doing this over the coming weekend. So by sometime next week, I should be able to place an order for the first finished copy of the book! I am very pleased and this gives me more energy to continue working on the third book in the series.

May peace be with you all.

More Milkweed

As promised, here is another drawing in my milkweed series.

This particular variety is one of my favourites. A number of milkweed species have the intricate "flowers" you see in the drawing, but in this version, the colours are so beautiful. One of the common names for this variety is "Scarlet Milkweed". In the Caribbean, it is often known as "Red Head" and in Central and South America it is known as "Mexican Butterfly Weed" and "Bloodflower". The plant originated in southern American areas of the planet.

I need to correct a mistake I made in Saturday's posting regarding the milkweed plants. I said that the Family name for these plants is Asclepiadoideae when, in fact, that is the name of the Subfamily (a change was made a few years ago). The Family name is Apocynaceae. The Genus is Asclepias and the proper name of this particular plant is Asclepias curassavica.

Like all milkweed varieties, the Scarlet Milkweed is a source of food for butterflies -- especially Monarchs. As is true for all milkweed varieties, the sap can severely irritate the skin and can also make you very sick when ingested. That is why, as you may recall, you must prepare the edible parts of the plant in such a way as to remove the sap. Once that is done, what remains makes a very tasty vegetable.



Here is what the drawing looks like when I used the special effects I was showing you in the previous posting. I only got one comment about the technique and that was positive -- so I decided to try it again with this drawing. I am not sure I like it as well as the previous one. Of course, the problem with this technique is that it changes the drawing sufficiently so that you cannot really identify the plant -- but that is not necessarily a major concern for an artist, I guess.

I received my draft copy of my book on the Stations of the Cross icons today. It looks pretty good although I see a couple of things that need changing right away. Plus, I want to get someone else to proofread the text before I say that it is finished. I will let you know when it is ready to be sold.

Peace be with you.

Milkweed Fancy

Tonight I am beginning a new series of drawings of the various species of Milkweed.

I have always been fond of our Canadian milkweed plants that grow so profusely each summer throughout southern and central Ontario. I know they can sometimes be irritating to farmers because they quickly cover any unused land, but the butterflies love them and parts of them are also good to eat!

That's right -- even though the sticky sap is somewhat poisonous, the Native peoples taught the early settlers how to prepare the shoots and the young flowers. You start them off in boiling water and bring the water back to a rolling boil, pouring off the water. Do this a couple of times and you will soon have a sweet tasting vegetable. The important thing is not to do anything that will cause the bitter sap to remain. I know all this because I used to cook Milkweed during the summers I spent in Renfrew County learning how to eat wild plants -- among other things.

Now, back to the drawing above. It is Calotropis procera or Giant Milkweed. It has a number of common names. One of my favourites comes from Jamaica where it is called "Duppy Cho-Cho". Evidently, Jamaican children used to be warned not to stand under or too close to Duppy Cho-Cho plants at night as they ran the risk of being slapped in the face by the resident Duppy! If this happened, their faces could remain forever twisted by the blow.

These plants, which can grow to six feet tall, are members of the Family, Asclepiadaceae. They are native to Africa and Asia. In the middle east, they are known as Apples of Sodom as they are found growing in the region of the Dead Sea. In my drawing you will notice that there is a large globe-like fruit -- which is the so-called "apple" of the giant milkweed plant. This fruit was alluded to in John Milton's Paradise Lost as the fruit which Satan and his cohorts ate. It is not edible as it is filled only with seeds plus the flesh is poisonous. As the fruit ripens, it eventually splits and releases drifts of small, brown seeds each equipped with a silky parachute. Milkweed of every variety is skillfully adept at getting those seeds out there!

Now to another topic... I was given some new software. It was included as part of a package I purchased for cleaning files on my computer. This new software contains some features that you can use for creating special effects with your photographs. I decided to try using it on tonight's drawing. The result is below.



I find the special effects very interesting. It is almost like creating a new drawing. I would enjoy getting your feedback on it.

I will be showing you more varieties of Milkweed in the days ahead. I hope you enjoy them all.

Peace be with you.

Another Guardian

It has been a while since I have posted an icon of any sort. However, recently I was feeling very much in need of remembering my guardian angel. So when I came across the image of one that really appealed to me, I decided to spend some time drawing my own version of it.

I must admit that I far too seldom remember my guardian angel or pray the prayer that I learned so many years ago: "Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God's love commits me here; ever this day be at my side, to light, to guard, to rule, to guide." So drawing icons of guardian angels is a very good way for me to be reminded of how blessed I am, how blessed we all are, to have been given a guardian angel at conception.

This icon shows the angel holding an eastern/orthodox cross in the right hand while the left hand rests on the handle of a sword. Our angels seek to lead us to God and also to fight on our behalf against all that is evil when we allow them to do so. They come from God and so, like God, will never force us to accept their help.
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Today is Thanksgiving day in the U.S. I have received several "Happy Thanksgiving Day" greetings from my American friends and family members. It doesn't matter how often I tell them, they can't seem to remember that our Thanksgiving is in October! Not that it really matters all that much -- it is good to get reminders to be thankful no matter what is going on!

I am feeling really tired tonight as I had to get up very early this morning to meet a friend for coffee. I found myself falling asleep while trying to watch the evening news earlier. I hope I didn't miss anything too important. I did hear that we may have some snow flurries at the beginning of next week! Well, it will be the first days of December after all. Wow, this year has really just flown past!

May peace be with you all.