Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Sketches While Camping

I did these while camping at the Pinery in Ontario, Canada.  I was hoping to finish the book up there, but we had too much rain--and you can't paint in the rain.  (I can't, anyway.)  The first two are in Ellen's Moleskine and the the third is in my own sketchbook--I painted it with leftover paint from the other two. I'm including it as a peak into our life in the dunes up there.  I have one more piece to do, the half collab for Ammon.

I like to participate in the Virtual Paintout sometimes, where you go to the monthly chosen city and paint something visible from google maps street  views, as if you were at a real paintout.  Interestingly, in Jerusalem, the old-city srtreet views include scenes inside the bazaar, which is what I painted in Ellen's Moleskine.  It was strange painting these dark scenes in the brilliant sun of the dunes of the Pinery.

Jerusalem Old-City Bazaar #1
"Caught"
in Ellen's
acrylic
Jerusalem Old-City Bazaar #2
"Alcove"
in Ellen's
acrylic
"Reading in the Dunes"
Biker Buddy relaxes
(This is in  my own sketchbook)
acrylic

Thursday, May 24, 2012

"Lone Tree"
water-soluble oil pastels and acrylics
"Lone Tree"
water soluble oil pastels

My trip to Syracuse came to a sudden, early, and precipitous end. The
car made terrible grinding sounds and the ball joint holding the front
driver's side wheel broke. Luckily, it did not happen while going 70
on the highway. While waiting for my husband to arrive after driving
400 miles to rescue me, I sat on my daighter's lawn and drew the tree
across the street in Ellen's mole with water soluble oil pastels.

I wasn't totally happy with the results and last night, I painted over
it with acrylics. (Of course I am never totally happy, but I am
happier.)

We are leaving on yet another trip this morning. This time to camp at the Pinery in Ontario, Canada. Wish me better luck on this trip--we're taking my husband's car--mine got hauled to the scrap yard
(I cried.)

The tree I drew/painted is in the bottom photo, but I didn't have it to look at when I painted it.    In the pastels version, there are white spots at the corners where I taped it to the easel, because it was VERY WINDY!

No internet at the campground, so I will be away still.

I was thinking the scan looked wrong, and I took a photo.


Not sure it's any better.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Away Message



I am going to be away from home essentially through May 30 (and then again later).  During part of the time, I will be camping with no internet access and the rest of the time, my access will be limited.  Have a great two weeks, talk to you then.  :-D

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Poised to Strike

green frog
"Poised to Strike"
acrylic on paper
by Mary Stebbins Taitt
For and in Ellen's Moleskine Sketchbook.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Collab with Gretchen in Ellen's Moleskine Sketchbook

"Wind"
Collab with Gretchen and Mary
in Ellen's Mole

The half collab left for me by Gretchen reminded me of blowing hair.  When we visited Slovenia, many women (and men) had hennaed hair.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Thursday, May 10, 2012

3D Camera Studio Photo Wigglegram bouquet


Wigglegram
it is supposed to WIGGLE but it isn't, sorry.


However, if you click on it, you can actually see the details.

Wednesday, May 09, 2012

honorable mention DSS

Dodge Park Walkway
by me, Mary Taitt
click image to view larger with Holmes or other type stereo card viewer.
I entered my first DSS* competition tonight with this image (It's more
impressive in stereo becasue it has a lot of depeth.)  I took an
honorable mentiona dn was quite pleased.  It was a real ordeal though,
for the past two days, getting the imageds (mine and Keith's) ready.

*Detroit Stereographic Society

The Cloud

The Cloud, digital painting by me,
Mary Stebbins Taitt



















Acting as if

When depression has me reeling
with dark clouds and darker feelings
when I weep and wail and cry
and shout and wonder why
I've lost all traces of hope
(I feel like such a dope!)
I hurry to sing the blues
and read some happy news
I dance a little jig
and wear a silly wig
and laugh and laugh so loud
I'd make hyenas proud
I make gifts for all my friends
and walk in nature's glens
until the sun shines once again
and I know I'm on the mend.


© Mary Stebbins Taitt
for Queenie

Saturday, May 05, 2012

Sawing and Splitting


Sawing and Splitting

Day after day, my young husband and I took our beautiful bright yellow chainsaws to his grandmother’s woodlot and cut down trees.  We needed wood for the woodstove to heat our trailer, way out in the boonies in Cato. 

He cut the trees and I, with my own chainsaw, lopped off the branches and cut the upper part of the tree into stove-lengths.  I was so smitten by my chainsaw that I used to go around singing the company's advertising jingle.  His chainsaw was larger and longer than mine, so he cut the thicker part of the trees.  We loaded the wood into my truck, took it home, and, while my two babies were napping and my husband was at work, I split wood.

Carl, our neighbor across the road, came over to watch and criticize, and then returned with his wife, Helene.  He wanted, her, a pretty, chubby woman with a baby of her own, to split wood like I did.  Hélène was a great cook, mother and homemaker.  Her house was neat and immaculate.  She always wore dresses and fixed her hair with pins and bows.

I whacked away at the wood wearing jeans and with my hair in braids, swinging a small axe or a splitting maul, pounding it in, twisting just so, so that the logs chunks fell into neat triangular pieces.

Helene went home and refused to split wood.  I never told Carl that, having been a tomboy all my life, I preferred to splitting wood to cleaning house.  My house was messier by far than theirs.  I drank Helene’s coffee and ate her little shortcakes and praised her lavishly while our babies played together—and never invited her to visit me.  Instead, I took her cowboy cookies, oatmeal raisin cookies , eggs from our hens, and squash from the garden.  We each clung stubbornly to being exactly who we were.




Mary Stebbins Taitt