Revisions

I just wanted to show you some of my most recent revisions.

In the drawing above of Christian, I revised it using my new portrait technique which I developed while working on the Count from the Marriage of Figaro.

In this recent icon of Christ in the Garden of Gethsamane, I removed the chalice hanging in the air since it seemed to be a distraction to viewers -- plus it really did not belong there, artistically speaking, anyway.

"Holy Family, Sweet Tenderness" has had a few revisions -- all of them of the Christ figure. His clothing colours have been changed from red to red/gold. His mouth has been made smaller and less colourful.

The face of "Christ the Teacher" has been changed in an effort to make it a bit more balanced. I was never really satisfied with the hairline so that was the main area I focussed on.

Now it's back to work for me.

Peace.

Brenda's Photos

This is a first draft of a drawing entitled "Signs of Spring".

I wanted it to have something of an oriental appearance. What do you think?

The model for the drawing was a recent photograph taken by the photographer I have mentioned to you before. Her name: Brenda Whiteway and the link to her Flickr page. http://www.flickr.com/photos/gimpymom/

She really does excellent work and I find I am often inspired by her photographs.

Do you remember the other drawings I did from her photos recently?

See what I mean?

Her photographs inspired me to do these drawings.





Otherwise, I trust that all my fellow Canadians are planning on having an enjoyable holiday weekend -- for those of you in the U.S. who read my blog, Monday is Victoria Day in Canada.

Then, if I remember correctly, next weekend is a long weekend in the States -- Memorial Day. So everybody gets some time off to rest and recreate.


miz k.d. and I will be lazing around the neighbourhood as usual.


May you all stay safe and healthy.


Peace.

Thy Will Be Done

This is a first draft of my latest icon -- Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane.

This is not a traditional topic for an icon but I have tried to do it in the traditional style.

I have certainly taken creative liberties with it by drawing such things as the chalice hanging in the air before the praying Christ.

The Scriptural account tells us the Christ prayed: "Father, if it be possible, let this chalice (cup) pass from me; yet, nevertheless, let Thy will not mine be done."

This is one of my favourite prayers as it is the favourite of many Christians. This scene is also my favourite "mystery" of the 20 mysteries of the Holy Rosary.

It is also a prayer that I found myself praying yesterday while I listened to a woman in Nova Scotia speaking to me on the telephone.

She was telling me that the young girl whose picture you see above was no longer my foster child.

The girl's name is Sandra Elizabeth and she is from Guatemala. I "adopted" her just before she begin kindergarten through a Catholic organization called Chalice. We have been exchanging letters, cards, drawings, etc. ever since. She had done reasonably well in school and had shown some real artistic potential.

She is about 13 years old now and she has completed grade 6. AND she has left school and gone to work. This means she has lost her place in the program and can no longer be my foster daughter.



It is interesting that just a few weeks ago I had decided to add another youngster to my gang of girls that I am helping to get educated. Last week I received news that little Maria from the Ukraine was now my foster child.

This helped to take away some of the pain over the loss of Sandra Elizabeth -- and over the fact that she won't be continuing her education...

So, I have to say once again: Thy will not mine be done.

Peace.

Birthdays Galore

For me, May is a month of many birthdays of friends and acquaintances.

Two of the most special people in my life have birthdays in May and I like to not only give them cards but also a meaningful gift or two (or three or four).

Then there are several friends that I like to give a little remembrance to along with a birthday card.

The item above is one such remembrance. It is for a friend who, like myself, finds this quote from the English mystic, Julian of Norwich, very meaningful. So I made her a fridge magnet with the quote on it!

Then there are acquaintances that I like to keep in touch with by sending birthday cards each year.

This week happens to be a very "heavy" birthday week which explains why I haven't had time to finish the latest drawing that I have been working on -- I have been creating too many birthday cards instead!


I am not really sure why I get such pleasure from remembering people's birthdays, but I do.

I did grow up in a home where my birthday was often largely ignored since it is so near to Christmas, but somehow it just seems right and proper to me to rejoice in the gift of life -- symbolized by birthdays.

So, happy birthday to all of you born in this lovely month of Our Lady, the Month of May.


Peace.

All Shall Be Well?

Since I am still not feeling well, I decided to focus on horses tonight.

Like many women, I have always been very fond of horses. Yes, I have heard all the rude jokes and comments, but my attraction has always been related to their beauty and gracefulness.

I had a horse when I was growing up which looked something like the one above on the right (your right) and like the one above was also a Tennessee Walking Horse.

His name was Skipper (why I do not know) and he was not registered so he was inexpensive to purchase. Thankfully, he had never been treated with caustic chemicals on his hooves in an attempt to make that famous "walk" more pronounced.

Almost all children grow up with a love for horses and if they can't have the real thing, they will settle for anything from a fancy rocking horse to an old broomstick.

This photo, by the way, is one of my beautiful cousin who lives in Tennessee where the Tennessee Walking horses originated back in the 1800's.

Here is another little girl showing a developing love for horses. This youngster is obviously disabled, but that should not keep her from learning to ride the gentle horse she is getting acquainted with.

As you have seen previously, I have done several drawings of horses although I am not very good at it. The artist needs to be able to show all those well-developed muscles and my knowledge of "equine" anatomy is weak.

This drawing was done from a photograph of Arabian horses running across an open field in Poland. The original photo showed about twenty horses and I tried to draw three of them.

Here is a familiar drawing from my Christmas selection. These were actually the first horses that I attempted to draw on the computer. I remember thinking that they were a good choice since I was showing mainly their backsides!

No one has ever paid too much attention to this drawing, including me. I originally drew it because the idea of making a solitary ride through the snowy woods appealed to me. So, the lady on the horse is supposed to represent me.

But it really isn't a very exciting drawing nor is it particularly expressive of any season other than winter -- and so far we are not sending each other greeting cards just because it is winter ...

So, for a while now I have thought about horses and past drawings and not about the discomfort in my poor eye. Thanks for listening.

As the title says: All shall be well.

Still Struggling

I am still struggling, trying to see without pain after my eye was damaged this past Tuesday. Thankfully, the damage is just temporary.

The poor people of Burma are struggling once again -- this time as the result of Cyclone Nargis. Just a year ago or so they were struggling in their fight for democracy and now the very elements seem to be conspiring against them.

Plus the ignorant people who rule them refuse to allow the world to help the survivors since we have said nasty things about them in the past!

Then those of us who are people of faith struggle to make sense out of all our personal and collective suffering.

Christians have struggled with this question since the day Our Lord, Jesus Christ, died on the cross.

If you look closely at the drawing of the Pieta, you should notice several changes -- some of them are as the result of suggestions of knowledgeable friends and others are ones that seem appropriate to me. I feel that the icon is now very close to being finished.

Meanwhile, I wish you peace and happiness.

Another View of China!

Some more dental surgery leaves me feeling pretty dopey but just wanted to show you this new drawing that I have been working on.

I remind myself frequently that China is simply China -- and the majority of the people are delightfully kind and generous!

May peace be with you.