Gilroy Gardens

Here is one of the photo collages I have made so far of Gilroy Gardens. On my other blog I have a full write up on the park and another collage if you want to hop over and see it click the link here.It has been a full week for us with swim lessons, traveling to Gilroy to go to the Gilroy Gardens with fun in the sun all day long, and wrapping up the week with visiting more cousins nearby. Whew! Summer Fun can be exhausting~ What are you doing with your summer so far?
(besides the creative end that is) Has it interfered with your creative flow? Or has it inspired a renewed spirit? I'd love to know~

High Wire Journal Page- Circus Trees

Partial shot from journal page

Circus Tree Images via Donna62
My journal page high wire partial shot

Just a short post today~ I am going to meet my brother, nephew and niece in Gilroy, CA. about a little over 2 hours away from us and about hour from where he is staying. In the midst of swim lessons and everything else, but it is hard to get together when they live quite far from us and they happen to be in the bay area where is wife is working a conference. We are going to take the kids to Gilroy Gardens where there is 6 gardens and 40 rides now~ Here is a little information about the Circus Trees grown by Axel N. Erlandson (1884-1964) History about Axel click link here & here. I hope to take some pictures when we are there to share and post later this week. Here is a glimpse also of part of a journal page I am working on. I'll post the rest of the photos and full shot of the journal page later too. I find it quite odd that I had been thinking circus and here we are going to see these unusual Circus Trees at this amusement park~ I love when stuff like that happens, a little bit like Déjà vu. Does that ever happen to you? Have you found time to make any day trips this summer? How about work in your journal or on some artwork? Check out the links the history is quite interesting and amazing life art~

Simply Sunday "Happy Fourth of July"

Flickr Page

1. red white and blue quilt, 2. 188/365, 3. Apple Pie Filling, 4. Red White & Blue Quilt, 5. Red, White and Blue, 6. Red, White & Blue, 7. Red, White, and Blue, 8. Cow's Skull Red White and Blue by Georgia O'Keeffe in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, March 2008, 9. Red White and Blue Picnic Quilt, 10. American Watermelon, 11. Apple Pie, 12. Blue-Ribbon Apple Pie, 13. red white and blue buttons and thread, 14. Red, White, And Blue (Plus A Little Green, Brown, And Black), 15. Red, White & Blue Fireworks, 16. Red, white and blue

Happy Fourth of July! I hope this finds you enjoying your day with a picnic or friends. I put together some images of what things evoke the feelings of being American. As an after thought baseball is another that I would of added and there is so much more that I thought of too. I haven't done a Fourth of July journal page yet but now I am inspired to one now and when I do I will post it for you to view~ And nothing says the Fourth of July more than ending it with fireworks and a good piece of apple pie! Write down your thoughts on being American. What does the Fourth of July hold for you? What images come to mind when you think of the Fourth of July? Maybe try a collage of images in your journal? Take some photographs of your Fourth of July~ I would love to see what you come up with and have added Mr. Linky for you to share your work. I hope you are able to keep your day simple and enjoy Sunday for all it holds for you.

Painted Angel from Sketch

Full pic
This lighting shows the indecent silver and gold better
Photo in better lighting
Painting an image can really transform a sketch. This almost has a cartoon like feel to it to me.
I have a few angels in my head we'll see if we can get them on paper and painted~
I played with the wing detailing, and also the hair. I kept the rest pretty simple. Not my favorite thing I made but that is part of the process~
Sometimes, to pursue a new idea, the artist must forfeit his deposit on an old idea. ~Robert Brault

Sketching Angels

Oh hello friends, ~ I wanted to share some angel sketches I did before I was so busy. This is the beginning of a larger journal art page. I will show how I painted it in the next post. I was playing around with eyes, face shape, and her lips. Not my favorite angel face I have done, but I am trying out new faces. I haven't had time to do any art lately. I have been traveling and gave my daughter a bridal shower. It turned out just wonderful! I have another busy month and then it will slow down a bit. So forgive me if I get behind. I took a lovely photograph of my daughter I might have to use her as a model for my next angel. I did not use a model or photograph for this angel sketch at all. What art have you been working on this summer? Have you bee inspired to draw or paint angels? What have you been inspired to draw or paint lately?

Angels aide us in our personal mission. We have to learn to listen, for if we block the angels out, they become only the fairy beings of dreams and pleasant stories. ~ Silver Ravenwolf , Angels

Simply Sunday

Oh hello friends, I am glad to see you. Here is a snapshot of my journal page sharing my flowers I sketched and painted. They are of a Pomegranate flower. I have two bushes with magnificent blooms. In your journal pages this week whether it be garden flowers, wild flowers or some flowers you were given try doing some light sketching and painting of them. You can even write about your favorite flowers or what flowers evoke a special meaning to you and why. You can also take a photograph of flowers, stylized, in the garden or other. When you are done link your creative works in Mr. Linky to your page post~ I hope you are able to share this week. What do you love about flowers? Do you have a garden and plant any? Does someone you know or knew have a special flower and every time you see it, it reminds you of them? I hope you are able to keep your day simple and enjoy Sunday for all it holds for you.

The world is a rose; smell it and pass it to your friends. - Persian Proverb

Mixed Media Journal Page "Vintage Love 2"

I created a collage of the Mixed Media Journal Page For some reason the coloring came out different on the collage so I re posted those two images so you could see the details on them.
This piece is again in reference to things my grandma taught me and shared her loves of. On the journal page I used mixed media music page elements, scraps of her sewing patterns, a vintage needle holder that was ripped, dried flowers, glitter, thread and collage paper elements. I also did a transfer of a photograph of her and acrylic paint on the journal page. I hope you find time to do a journal page and just play and experiment no judgments on yourself and work. Just start and see where the journey takes you~ What vintage loves, or inspirations from the past do you enjoy? Do try and make a page and post a link to your blog page at the Simply Sunday post~

Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.~ Pablo Picasso