5th layer of Paint on had races and won + other new art

"Had Races and Won"

Acrylic on thin Moleskine paper*

5th coat

I changed the color of the grass, added the head back on the left-most wolf, worked on the turtles and miscellaneous other changes.  I think I am nearly finished.

"Angry Man"
Acrylic and oil pastels on Moleskine Paper
Mary Stebbins Taitt
Click any image to view larger

I wanted paint a picture of anger to go with my Vera House Survivor poems, so I tried to paint an angry man. I tried and tried. I've certainly seen my share of angry men.

But no matter how hard I tried, the man looked as much sad as angry.

Is that deep well of sadness generating the anger?

Or is the sadness in my own heart when I look at the picture and remember?

(It could well be that I am simply not a good enough artist yet.)

"Biker Buddy #20140218"

Acrylic and oil pastels on Moleskine Paper

Mary Stebbins Taitt

Click any image to view larger

This scan looks a little lighter on my screen than the actual painting.

"Skull Sketch with conte Crayon effect added"
sketch in Faber Castell artist pens
including dry one for "dry brush"
Mary Stebbins Taitt

This is an adaptation of my collaboration first half for Mike Kline.

Little Dream Sketches for Aya's Pocket

As you know, I am in a sketchbook exchange program and these are for Aya's pocket.  The pocket is in the back of the sketchbook.  Aya's pocket says, add dreams here (Or something like that).  So even though I had previously done two pocket items, I did two quick little sketches of dreams for the dream pocket.

In my flying dreams, I am not always sure
if I am flying or falling.

Sometimes, I can walk through walls
in my dreams!
Click images to view larger.

These are just little, done with gouche on red-colored card stock.

New Mole Art

Hennie Mavis has added some wonderful art to my mole from the first round. I visited her the day before yesterday, and on the way home today, with ballpoint in the round one mole, I drew this picture of BB driving, then colored it with colored pencils, and then painted over it with Windsor Newton mini-pan watercolors. I was fascinated by the way I could see his chin through his beard in the brilliant light coming in the window of the car. The original pictures in this mole were from May of 2008! The Mole still has a few blank pages.

This was all done going about 80 miles an hour on the interstate highway and I had trouble with bumps and sways etc. I used the watercolors full strength and they acted a lot like gouache. I wanted the beard to be white and not the yellow color of the paper. Below is a photo of the original sketch in ballpoint. Do click on the my mole link above to see Hennie's Hermit Thrush, if you haven't already seen it! It's great!

Two very small quick sketches

In my personal small Moleskine

A couple Quick sketches

Here are a couple of new quick sketches from my little watercolor sketchbook--spring makes me think of FLOWERS! YAY!

New art: Great Fish

Click here to see a large version of "The Great Fish of Fear," and here to read about it.

Hubby at Dinner

Quick sketch with crayola marker and water.

3 quick sketches

I'm working on filling in the final blank pages in a returned sketchbook that circulated around to 12 people in Jim Doran's Sketchbook exchange--I did these quickly with Faber-Castell and Pigma artist pigment pens. On the first chicken, I added a little white gouache. The second chicken is one of about 15 sketches I did on newspaper before I did the sketch in the Moleskine. On the last picture, I added a little colored pencil. The Moleskine is one with yellow paper, so they all look a little too yellow to suit me. Click images to view slightly larger.

"poised"

Poised to Strike, Water color sketch in Jessie's book. Not doing
washes on the yellow mole paper, trying to see what effects I can get
without washes. Water color and a little gouache.

self-portrait sketch, age 8

When I was eight years old, my father took me on a long train ride down to New York City to go to the opera at the Met. We saw the Magic Flute, and the thing I remember most about it was Papageno, the bird man. I also remember how everything was gold and dark red velvet and how I was made to wear a frilly pink dress and bows in my hair. I hated pink. But I was awed by the Met. I have never been back and that was about 55 years ago.

This is a sketch with pencil and colored pencil in Peggy's sketcbook.

Sketchbook Exchange sketches

Five sketches in Peggy's book. One has a poem, a prose poem.

3 Raven sketch details

Three details from three raven sketches from Andrea's sketchbook. See the complete pictures at Imagik.

Fruit and Wine by Night Window

Fruit and Wine by Night Window, by Mary Stebbins Taitt

A Water-color quick sketch in a sketchbook exchange book. For Creative every day.

Four New Sketches

Four New Sketches, by Mary Stebbins Taitt--in my sketchbook Exchange groups' sketchbooks. These are crops. You can see the full sketches at Imagik.

Medusa Detail for Creative Every Day

Medusa Detail for Creative Every Day, by Mary Stebbins Taitt, for
Creative Every Day. Click here for the whole picture.

I've been doing a bunch of other stuff too: Sketch of woman and
Poinsettias, gift card paintings NOTE Mrs. Claus and the elves request
you NOT click here if you may be a recipient of gift cards.

I also created two meatloaf recipes last night for dinner for
different health needs. AND . . . made bunches more cards than I can
ever post here!

Detail from Women are from Venus

Women are from Venus. A small, limited-palette pastel sketch in Tami's sketchbook for sketchbook exchange. See the whole picture here. Also, if interested, see sketch in progress here.

Sunset on Superior

Here's a mole painting from our vacation. We spent some time on Lake
Superior. We loved the sunsets (and the lightning!). This is water
color on gessoed Moleskine. Of course, the sunset tonight over Lake
St. Clair was pretty nice! Not this color, though, it was pink,
purple, grey and black.

You can see two more vacation mole sketches here.

Two more unfinished pix from my sketchbook

These were both done in a rapiidly moving car with lots of bumps. I
don't consider them done, but dunno when I can work on them.

Self portrait with Owl and Pine Branch

This is a crop from a new sketch. You can see it at IMAGIK. It's in my first ever Moleskine sketchbook for a moleskine exchange group I was invited to join. (Dunno why they invited me, but I am happy they did!)

I am working this afternoon.

I never did write about the job I am doing. I am doing PHOTOSHOP work
for a classmate who is working on a children's book! And getting paid
to do it. Interesting work.

Renew the Dream: Angelina at the Window

This is a really quick small sketch on a tiny piece of scrap paper: pencil, charcoal and pen. It also didn't scan terribly well. Click image to view larger (much larger than originally drawn!).

Angelina sees some transitions in American Politics allowing her to have a voting choice in the primaries between an African American and a woman. They might actually each have a chance of winning. She's eager for the transition that will allow her to vote for an African American woman and have some hope for her electibility.

I just read a post over at Boobs and Injuries and Dr. Pepper and I want to Renew the Dream for myself, my community, my nation, and the world.

• I have a dream....
• I, Mary, have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal." And all women, too.
  
• I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia and everywhere in the nation and in the world, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood and that all people will be seen as equals everywhere and that money will not decide who lives or dies.
  
• I have a dream that one day even our country, a desert country, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, and every other country, will be transformed into oases of freedom justice and love.
• I have a dream that all children will one day live in a world where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, their gender, religion or lack thereof or by their orientation, but by the content of their character.
• I have a dream that one day we will unite as a country to care for the deserving ones who cannot care for themselves. We will provide health care for our elderly and not force them into poverty with rising pharmaceutical prices for medicines that enable them to simply live.
• I have a dream that we will welcome our military home with joy and gratitude and not force our beliefs upon them about a war they fought while we watched it on the news.
• I have a dream that one day all schools will be public schools and all education will be good and safe.
• I have a dream that I, others like me and those who differ from me can speak freely and innocently, with no malice in our hearts and listen with an open heart and accept the words of others without seeing harm where no harm was intended.
• I have a dream that people will rise above misunderstanding, prejudices, hatred and old grudges and find ways to bridge the gap between them and work together toward a unified community, country and world.
• I have a dream that we will be inclusive rather exclusive, open rather than closed, loving rather than judgmental, and that we will choose to do no harm.

I am calling this a meme of sorts, and I invite YOU, dear reader to participate and post your dream. (PS, I had already done the sketch and earlier part of the post before I read the post that got me started on this.) What is your dream for America, or your country, and the world?