Naomi Klein: The Worst Is Yet to Come with Trump, So We Must Be Ready fo...

This is important. I thought I was the only one who noticed, and I couldn't get interest from very many people, but NOW you NEED to pay attention and prepare.

Found an old friend from my past...

Here's Howard. For a long time I tried to find a decent picture of him, and until recently I couldn't. Suddenly there he is again! There seems to be an upsurge in interest. I no longer have my ear to the ground in that area, so I'll wait and see!

Yes, I've been painting, but mostly drawing, but. . .

I maybe posting some drawings later, but I want to get more practice in on that. So, in the mean time, and since it's been so long, here is what has been consuming some of my time:

Sorry about the colors, these are the first pictures I've worked with from my Android phone. It should be chartreuse (bright light green) and a deep teal linen.

Detail of hem treatment and a bit of cuff.

Neck and front detail.

This is all embroidered by hand on an applique of chartreuse handkerchief linen. The gown, or medieval kirtle is of teal linen.

Detail of smaller neck embroidery and some of the front.

A bit more of the cuff.

Shoulder and sleeve seam "guarding" embroidery

I'd been wanting to do this for a while and once I got started, I couldn't stop! The pattern is taken from a medieval bog find. Well, it was found nowadays, but the find itself went into the bog in medieval times. The seam guarding is various stitches that strengthen the seams. Since everything was hand sewn and not very many people had more than one main piece of clothing at a time, it had to last. So this is entirely hand sewn. It was for historical accuracy, but it was also because I was too lazy to get up and go to the machine for the long simple seams. I was either listening to an audiobook or watching a movie on TV. Since long straight seams are simple and don't take a lot of attention, it seamed just as easy to go ahead and hand sew them. Of course then they had to be flat felled by hand anyway. That means that each seam is hand sewn at least twice, and THEN embroidery is worked over them to help take some of the wear to which the are subject!

Ta-Da!

I can't believe I'm posting these, but (chortle) I couldn't resist:

For my Cat friends

For my Artist friends

For my highly reactive friends

For my Theater friends

Because it's just true.

For my SCA Friends

So I don't forget how

I haven't posted for a long time. (Duh) I've spent way to much time on Pinterest!

I'm really doing this because I'm having trouble figuring out how to upload my own picture to it. I know I can Pin from my blog, but I can't get it to upload from iPhoto. Rumor has it you can do this, but my iPhoto remains mute on HOW.

So to give it a try:

Well, finally. It turned out that all that work I did to make a pdf, it had to be a jpg to work. Sigh. My Sister-in-law sent me this one, I couldn't resist!

OK, got a new printer/scanner so this is a test

8X8" water color, Iris I

Well! It's not easy, but it finally worked!  Let's try the other one. . .

8"X8" water color Iris 2

Well, I hadn't figured out how to crop yet with this one. It's really odd, but when I tried to save them to iPhoto I got a blank rectangle, even though it was .jpeg.

Anyway, there are two more pictures in this set of Irises, but I'm "teched-out" now. I need a nap. I spent much of yesterday getting my cheap new little Canon printer/scanner installed and wi-fi set-up (it actually is on my LAN, the old one had to be connected on it's own little Wi-Fi so I would have to disconnect from my LAN and connect to the printer.) This afternoon I realized I hadn't seen anything anywhere about how to scan with it. It was as though the topic was being carefully avoided. You wouldn't believe how weird it is to initiate a scan on this set up.

It's odd the way "they" think. They seem to expect some things one just "knows," like telling someone there is a great party going on and what time it is, how to dress, what to say when you get there to get in, but never giving you the address or directions.

It takes me back to Lotus 1-2-3, I had to keep asking people how to delete instead of just overwriting (they spelled it delit then - should have given me a clue.) until finally I found the right geek. He looked at me like I was from another planet then told me f2 (remember softkeys?) was delete, like I must be an idiot. So I asked him where does it say that? He seemed to think it didn't need to be written down, "everybody just knows." WRONG. And there was a point when he didn't know it either. He just couldn't remember it. Way back then some software came with a template that fit over the upper part of the keyboard and showed what each softkey meant. Lotus 1-2-3 didn't have one. Er, anybody hear of Lotus 1-2-3 anymore? Guess why.

OK, rant over, it's just been sort of a trial.

Too busy to post? Ah, the retired life . . .

When I would have time for EVERY THING. I have to say it, mother was right.
Well, here are a couple of things:

Neckline embroidery completed

Kirtle hem embroidery, one triangle to go, seam guarding done.

Did I show you this already? The neckline is finished, as are the pocket slits, the hem (above), the seam guarding and all, but the front placket, eeck! All those eyelets. So I decided on some little round bronze buttons I got a long time ago, and a fake placket down the front. Now where did I put those buttons. BTW, where do I keep my buttons?

Then I found the most wonderfully reasonable linen source "down the coast." I have become a linen junky. Fortunately I already had enough light weight white linen to make a chemise/shift/chainse/ well lets just call it a slip. (Use your imagination, it doesn't take a very exciting photo.)

At this new source I found some hanky weight Autumn Gold linen to make a new kirtle with long sleeves that can also function as an undergown. More later on that. My focus has been things I can wear when it's hot to SCA events.

Now that other thing I do:

Redwood - Work in progress, watercolor

I needed to paint a redwood tree. Well, now there are little studies of redwoods all over the house, on the corners of letters and bills, magazines, scratch paper and sketch and drawing paper. They kept getting bigger and bigger, I couldn't even keep them on the page! Above is an early version of the final one. They are a California native, why haven't I painted these more? Anyway, here is the final version, of course it won't fit on my scanner:

Redwood giant - watercolor

So, fortunately my nephew found me a FedEx place that will scan it for me. The above is a photo of it. Today I visit FedEx and scan this and email it out! Oh yeah, did you know that giant redwoods have one of the smallest cones?

Average pine cone

Normal pine tree cone above.

Comparison with redwood cone - watercolor

Comparison of normal pine cone (bottom) and redwood cone (top). Nature is amazing!

Now wasn't that fun? I think I'll put on my kirtle and go out plein air painting. My family knows I'd do it, too.

A few sketches (working on those faces) and one new painting:

Just an eye and part of a nose.

Christmas, New Year's, etc are past now.  I've been having trouble with values, time to buckle down and work on it. I got myself some tan drawing paper, dug out my white charcoal, graphite, and sanguine charcoal. This forces me to really find the darks and the lights. Having no models, I've been sketching from the TV. You can pause Netflix!

Sketch - old movie

Once again, trying to get more angles and positions to work. This was from a movie in the late 1940's. She had a very chiseled face, an interesting jaw line with a very long neck. I overdid the neck, but it wasn't my focus.

Ick.

The photo flash hit on the white a lot more than is real. Still trying to more angles and positions. The neck does not work yet.

Acrylic - over lit by flash

Have to keep painting too, can't be all drawing. I have no teacher to tell me I'm wrong about that!

I'm Baaaack. . . . (echoing) Hellooo?

OK, so this is what I've been up to. Feeding another obsession, or passion, whatever. Two new kirtles. I haven't taken pictures of the the first one and it's embroidery, yet. It was sort of a warm-up piece. For the first one I had some knit fabric(which did not exist in the Middle Ages) in white I knew would be comfy. This post is of the second one in a nubby beige.

Years ago I had purchased these lengths of fabric to make chemises and kirtles for some of my costumed activities. Then life took a different turn. But I'm back.

Kirtle/Lanning - biege, neckline embroidery and beading in progress.

This is turning out to be a "Sampler" kirtle. A basic dress worn by women and men(shorter versions usually) from shortly after the fall of the Roman Empire until about 1500. At that time they still existed, but became more of an undergarment or chemise. That's when corseting began. That's when I STOP now. Been there, done that.
Anyway, here is the neckline so far, all kinds of stitching and over stitching, all kinds of thread, floss, beads and perle cotton including metallic floss in copper. The crosses are in a really interesting DMC copper metallic floss that looks like actual metal. A trial to work with, but with patience (and some language unbecoming a lady) it can be done. These are something called a Syrian cross or a Persian cross or Armenian. Anyway, you embroider an unattached grid, then you weave the metallic threads round and through the grid to make the cross.
The light blue marks are for further elements.

Kirtle/Lanning - neckline and front opening.

This is a little more of the front. Since this easily slips over my head and will be a loose gown, I'm going to fake a front lacing (spiral style). I'll add hand sewn eyelets and a lacing cord, but not open the seam. Gap-osis prevention.

Kirtle/Lanning - right shoulder seam guarding

This is the right shoulder and armhole seam. I've always loved the guarded seams look, so I went to town on this one. All seams on this were initially stitched three times. Basted, then the seam allowances tucked and sewn down with gold thread. Then an insertion stitch in a deeper gold to connect the seam securely. Then I went back on these seams and over stittched in green to add that accent of color.

Kirtle/Lanning - left sleeve, braid

OK, here is the funny part. The woven braid at the end of the sleeve is what I bought originally to be the only trim, to go around the neck and the hem, too! Then I began to embroidery it, even adding that tiny row of green right next to the braid at the sleeve end! Maybe I can make a girdle (belt) of the rest of the trim, since it doesn't seem to be going onto the gown. Well, no there's not enough to go around the hem! Hey, I can use it to cover the openings of the pocket slits!

Kirtle/Lanning - seam guarding of gores

This is right below the armhole. The triangles are gores inserted into the side seams and often the center back and front. They were a part of a kirtle because looms tended to be rather narrow and this added width to the gown's hem. Being unable to decide which stitch I liked best, I did a different stitch (and color) on most seems to guard them. This stitching was used to actually sew the seam most often, but it did also strengthen the seam and protect it from wear. Used Grain of Wheat and a Buttonhole variation stitches here.

Kirtle/Lanning - hem treatment

Got a little carried away here. At the bottom I put a double cable stitch in brown, then a double herringbone in rust and deep gold, then another stemstitch row in rust. In wanting to secure the hem turn up from the top, I did a few more things, including some beading for accents in glass beads with copper lining. The little green circles and the gold overstitching are in cotton perle #8, the brown row above that it is perle #5. The one just below is cotton perle #8 in a brighter brown. Thinking it still needed something, I added the green cable stitch triangles. Hmm, still needs ... something.

Kirtle/Lanning - hem treatment - next

Hence the motifs within the triangles, I couldn't decide if I should only put them on the bottom. This is Gutermann metallic copper floss that sparkles nicely. Just not in my photographic attempts. Empty spaces, can't have that. So I added the motif to the top triangles. It looks funny, so I thought I'd fill the motifs. The fill is a lattice pattern, in green, with the crossings secured with rust colored floss. Not visible here. This is a bit more Jacobean than medieval. Medieval embroidery would be filled solid. I wasn't sure I had enough floss on hand and I can't afford to go out and buy a bunch right now. This will have to do. I am not actually a paid up member of the Society for Creative Anachronism, so I fudge a bit. Maybe later I will fill it in more solidly. When my ship comes in.

The entire garment is hand sewn, indeed the seams were sewn at least three times to do it the Medieval way. This is still a work in progress. You should see the To-Do List.

Time for en plein air again,

Sunol Regional - Little Yosemite

This was to be a meet up with some plein air painting friends, but, since I am a declared weather wimp, I bowed out. Well, it became a popular decision when it hit 104 F, and the Park had some major maintenance with big machinery. So, hopefully it will be in the 80's in a few more days and we can get out there to try again.
I took this photo on a sort of scouting expedition earlier in the year as the rains stopped. It's from a narrow dirt road up on the side of the canyon, looking across at this big. . . rock.

Happy Independance Day!

The Red, White, and Blue!

It's the Fourth of July!
In London, Harrod's is having a big 4th of July Sale.
Me?
I'm spending it with Family.
I hope you do to.

Now, I need to learn to let go of my own baggage! Maybe a giant garage sale? Of course, then there would be so much more carpet to vacuum.

Manarola, a Goal

On the easel:

Manarola, Cinque Terre, 8X10 acrylic

An Italian friend gave me some pictures of this area. The other day I was doing my "Gallery sit" and they asked us to bring something to paint while we were there, so it seemed the time was right to start on this one. It's in acrylic, and recently I've been working in oils. Forgot how fast they dry! The Masterson sta-wet palette is wonderful for this, but I forgot and just plopped some "Gray Matters" paper palettes in the case and headed off. I should have used the sta-wet feature!! Fortunately I had a little spray bottle and kept moistening the paints.

This was odd because I started at the bottom of the picture. Perhaps I got entranced by the road system hanging off the cliffs and the reflections in the water.
Putting a lot of water and a little paint worked well to wash in some of the colors intended for certain areas. To keep them straight.

Medieval and Earlier Manuscripts

Medieval and Earlier Manuscripts
Wow, Look what I found on the web! I was looking for examples of Or Nue embroidery and heard there was a fairly recent (2010) discovery of a piece at Durham Cathedral. There was also this link to the British Library's Digitized Manuscripts files. These include the Gospel of St Cuthbert, the oldest extant European book! It was buried with him. We know how long something like that lasts, but anyway. It is still nearly pristine, unlike other manuscripts that have been "disassembled" or butchered, usually through greedy collectors and art thieves. The British Library bought it from Durham Cathedral, so it has a good chance of surviving.
The above is (I think) a picture of it. It was attached to the article, but not identified, so I am assuming it's the same book.

Landscapes, etc

One of the City Galleries is going to have a show soon focusing on landscapes and variety, mostly in style, I think. So my juices got to going, and I lost track of time the other day, but the result was this:

Hot City acrylic 8X10

 It's only 8X10 but I am excessively pleased with myself. Lets say it's an "impressionist/abstract." Don't know what else to call it. It's an image that sort of popped into my head and I thought I'd try it. The next thing I knew it was about four hours later. I'd missed a few things I was supposed to do. Gotta watch that. Yesterday I did a little additional highlighting and added a little more color. I just signed it (before I took the picture) and in looking for a dark mahagony frame I thought would look good, found this one. I'm not sure where I got this frame, it isn't my type at all, but I must have been directed to it, because it fits the picture in size and style.

Then there is this one, now an orphan:

Winter of The Seasons - acrylic 12X16

This goes with Autumn (Yosemite) and Spring (Weed Cabin) and they are all framed alike. The problem is that Autumn and Spring have disappeared. It looks like they were taken from my car. They were framed in the same Barnwood frames (Cheap Joe's) and would have looked pretty good together.

This is an old friend:

Square bottle - watercolor 12X16

 This is finally framed. But to my chagrin, I broke the glass! I'm hoping Michael's or someone carries the right size in stock. Otherwise I'll have to get it cut to fit.

These two are much older, they've been sort of on semi-permanent lend to a friend who loves fuschia:

Fuschia I 5X7 watercolor

Fuschia II 5X7 watercolor

Sorry about the plastic covers, they've been on the wall a while. They are both matted in ivory and a narrow band of gold. Most of that got cropped out.

More excuses:

Cousin Red - oil 6X8

It's actually "Cousin Red had too much," but I shortened it. Then I ate the pears. MMMM.

Somehow I picked up some sparkles in the photo, In painting it I probably missed the medium and used turpentine to thin the paint. Not thinking, bad.

This last is too fuzzy. I must have gotten too close with the camera and not used the little "Flower" icon for close up.

Inferno Beneath - 5X7?

Well, there was this documentary on TV about the volcanoes on the Big Island.

How do you make ripples in black. Something to think about.

Love to all, and don't let your paint dry out, unless it's watercolor!

Happy Easter!

Gift Lilly, watercolor 4X8

Have a Happy Easter everyone!

Peace for the world, and for those would needed proof.

Odds and ends from sketch books

America's Cup Trials, 3X5" watercolor

 Last summer we had the America's Cup trials in preparation for the real thing. It was too scenic to pass up! Had to watch it live on local TV to actually see anything. They had boats in the water broadcasting the action.

America's Cup Trials, San Francisco Bay, 3X5 watercolor

This is the truely pocket sized Moleskin watercolor book. It is so cool! It's wonderful quality paper, a sturdy cover with rounded corners, an elastic strap to hold it closed, and a pocket inside for whatever. I highly recommend these to keep with you at all times to get those snapshots of moments.

Oh, come on cat! In or Out!, 3X6" pen and ink

Who with cats hasn't been through this. Have you ever tried to convince a cat that you CANNOT MAKE THE RAIN STOP! Then they give you that look.

Gallery visitor, 2X4" pen and ink

Last summer I did my turn in the city gallery, and this was one of the visitors that came in that day. It's a high traffic spot, so there were all sorts of interesting people, but some just move too fast.

Bistro, 4X5,

Gnarled Tree, 4X5

House on the Park, 4X6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hmm, I was trying to line three up, side by side. Sigh. Defeated. Well, it was a lovely day in Pleasanton last summer.

Tyko Drum performance 4X6

 This was a fundraiser for the city gallery and there was art and performance all evening. This group was well choreographed and very exciting. I caught a few of their poses and moves, but you can't see the precision of them all doing these moves and drumming together. I hadn't been at a live Tyko performance for a long time, it was great!