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l'Artista Blog

September 8, 2008
by Bonnie Porter
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MONDAY MONTAGE. Artsy Books for Kids.

A homeschool mom recently asked me for recommendations for art resources. Well, last night I found a little Usborne gold mine in the children’s section at Barnes & Noble. Entitled POCKET ARTIST. The price and size captured my attention immediately. Budget priced and pocket sized. Then flipping through it (almost 300 pages) I discovered a wide gamut of How-to-Draw techniques for the 12 most popular subjects I find kids drawing when they are permitted to “free draw”. One other interesting feature is the Usborne Quicklinks Website links included at the end of each one of the 12 chapters.

Of course my bookcase is bulging with lots of art resources. Beyond books, I gain inspiration from magazines and the internet and my own photos. In fact, I love my messy files spilling over with really cool images and awesome lesson plan ideas.

While it is not a primary resource for “teaching art,” this book I’m currently enthused about, POCKET ARTIST, is a supplementary resource for encouraging children to gain confidence in their drawing skills. Granted, it needs to be on a bookshelf tucked between other Usborne books, like ART TREASURY (featuring 22 Master Artists and projects to do in each style), and THE USBORNE COMPLETE BOOK OF ART IDEAS (over 400 inspiring ideas for things to do with paint, collage, pastels, crayons, inks, ,etc.).

One of our sons was delighted to find a favorite childhood book

A book is like a garden carried in the pocket. ~Chinese Proverb

It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it. ~Oscar Wilde

The smallest bookstore still contains more ideas of worth than have been presented in the entire history of television. ~Andrew Ross

TV. If kids are entertained by two letters, imagine the fun they’ll have with twenty-six. Open your child’s imagination. Open a book. ~Author Unknown

Books are the bees which carry the quickening pollen from one to another mind. ~James Russell Lowell

August 28, 2008
by Bonnie Porter
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Monday Montage. Tuscan Jazz.
Definition of jazz:

a. A style of music, native to America, characterized by a strong but flexible rhythmic understructure with solo and ensemble improvisations on basic tunes and chord patterns and, more recently, a highly sophisticated harmonic idiom.

You’d think I was listening to jazz while I painted this sunflower! Actually, I often listen to opera (NPR Saturday afternoons) when I paint. But it was one of those rare occasions on a weekday when I was home alone, painting in silence. Not even enjoying an audio book, or a classical CD in the background! So I guess I was
thinking like jazz!
Vivid, strong patterns emerged and I went with the flow.

In the past I’ve painted sunflowers in different styles. In the style of VanGogh. Of Renoir. Of Monet. This one simply captures my mood of the moment. My own personal painting style. And I’m thinking that that’s what Jesus would have me do—not try to emulate what He did, but allow Him to guide me “through this barren land.” I want to keep on walking in His ways and exploring the styles of painting He created me to pursue!

August 25, 2008
by Bonnie Porter
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MONDAY MONTAGE. 40th Wedding Anniversary.
Painting roses and painting glass are two very challenging subject matters. But the lovely yellow roses Dan gave me for our 40th wedding celebration this week inspired me to give it a go!

First I experimented with color swatches and painted several yellow pears—deciding between Aureolin Yellow and Cadmium hues. Discovered that Ultramarine Blue mixed w/cad yellow was the best dark green for rose leaves. And either Rose Madder or Permanent Rose would be great for the edges of the petals.

So here’s the set-up on my cafe table, then the work in progress, and finally the almost-finished bouquet. [can one of my computer consultants pls. show me—again—how to rearrange the photo layout?!]

Now I’m trying to decide where/how to add my message to Dan: “Grow old along with me; the best is yet to be.” Suggestions?


August 10, 2008
by Bonnie Porter
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MONDAY MONTAGE. Tastes of Summer. I’m still without upload capabilities for my most recent photos and frustrated because images on blogs can function as more than entertainment or enhancements—they can complement and serve the content. I’m eager to learn more about graphic design after reading “David Carson Rules,” a blog article by Joel Pelsue.

Unfinished Projects was my theme last week. If you know me, you probably guessed which project I chose to work on. Answer: BOTH. Side by side, using the same color palette, I finished the “old” one AND the small “new” one! Not sure when I’ll be able to post them.

Let me share a recipe I’m planning to try this week: Sunshine Tomato Dressing! Don’t you just love the name! Reminds me of a Paul Cezanne quote, “Long live the sun which gives us such color.” Wonder if he was standing in a vegetable and flower garden when he penned that in his sketchbook. . . .

I’ll need to half the recipe because my hubby’s garden is not (yet) that robust! It’ll be yummy poured over Spring Greens and Feta. With basil from our garden, too. I started searching for new tomato recipes because the peak of our harvest is on the horizon. Found this one in a Susan Branch book. I’ve always loved her watercolor illustrations. Gave my daughter-in-law Juliane SB’s Vineyard cookbook some years ago. Recently copied some recipes out of it for myself.

Sunshine Tomato Dressing! Put all ingred. in a glass bowl or jar, cover tightly and set it in the sun for 4-5 hrs. Keep in the fridge but serve at room temp. 8 vine-ripened garden tomatoes, roughly chopped; 3 cloves garlic put through press; 3 shallots chopped; 1C. fruity olive oil; 1/4C. balsamic vinegar; 2 Tbsp. parsley, chopped; 1 tsp. sugar; pepper & salt.
[recipe in THE SUMMER BOOK, Susan Branch’s “From the Heart of the Home” series]

How many shades of red summer vegetables can you think of? A trip to the Farmer’s Market can be a visual delight! Just picturing them in my mind inspires me to experiment with my reds–Cadmium, Alizarin Crimson, Permanent Rose and Winsor Red.

August 4, 2008
by Bonnie Porter
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MONDAY MONTAGE. Unfinished Projects! Eager to start a new painting, I flipped through a pile of pristine white watercolor paper and tablets. A surprise was lurking at the bottom of the box. Not mold (thankfully). Not sketch paper (which sometimes migrates from one file drawer to another).

I found several pages with light sketches of terra cotta pots in a garden setting and a vase of flowers in a country house setting. Guess I never got around to it . . . . And so there I was, torn between starting something “new” or taking up where I had left off with the “old.”

Which do you think I did! I’ll let you know next week. [note: I’m currently unable to upload or scan images into my iPhoto Gallery and will have to use Trish’s until Brian can “operate” on my messed up files.]