Year of the Dragon

about 6 1/2 x 4 inches

This is the eleventh year I've made a print of the Chinese zodiac animal for an excange sponsored by the Baren Forum group.  The Chinese NY began on January 23 and I mailed them on that day, so they are probably getting to the 45 people that I sent to about now.  Here is my print.

This is a cloisonne matchbook holder which I used for reference.   I used 2 blocks of shina plywood and printed each reductively.... the first printed with yellow, blue and black in that order and the second printed with light red and red.  I used 3 different papers.... this one is Rives BFK.  As usual, I used hanga technique using waterbased paint and methyl cellulose and printed with a baren.

96 FANTASTIC PRINTS

A few days ago I received a fantastic box of tiny prints.... 96 of them.  They are Baren's 50th exchange prints.   100 print makers signed up and 96 of us   made 101 prints each and mailed them to Gayle Wohlken at who collated the collection and sent one of each out to the 96 participants.  They are ATC size which is 2 1/2" x 3 1/2".... all but 3 anyway.  Here  they are:



I've laid them out on my dining room table, sorted them out somewhat and, and enjoying showing them off to friend who stop by.  I find something new every time I look at them.

Gayle did a fantastic job of collating these prints and surprised us all with this lovely little box. You can see Gayle's prints here:  http://web.mac.com/g_wohlken/Site/Welcome.html  

I sure don't know whats going on when I'm trying to link.   I can't get them to work on my preview.  Can somebody give me a hint.  I give up.

If I don't get back here  before Christmas, I wish you all a very happy holiday.

ANOTHER TRIP TO JUNEAU

I've had to go to Juneau more times than usual this past year;  it seems I always have 2 or 3 appointments of one kind of another every month.  I was planning to go on the ferry last Monday but a bad storm kept the ferry from landing here so I flew in on Tuesday morning.  Whenever I fly in winter, I'm somewhat amazed that I've survived the trip. Often my head will hit the top of the small plane in turbulence and visibility isn't always optimal.   It is always beautiful though, especially when we fly through a valley over the Chilkats between Icy Strait and Lynn Canal.  Here's a photo looking more or less southeast. 

Besides the dentist, PT, and a couple of other appointments and shopping, I spent some fun time with my grand daughter, Alyssa.  Every year there is an open house at the Alaska governors mansion and this year I  was there when it happened, so Alyssa and I went.  We waited in the line that went around three sides of the mansion and were served cookies and cider while we stood in the cold for almost an hour, seeing and chatting with passing friends  and waiting for the next tray of cookies to come by.  Inside, we shook hands with Gov. Parnell and his wife and ate more cookies and goodies and toured the downstairs of the mansion which was beautifully decorated and full of music.

It always takes me a day or two to recover from Juneau..... the shopping and walking on concrete wears me out.   I had started a gouache painting before the trip and have worked on it some more since coming home but too much other stuff going on, so no new paintings to show.  I have a few sketches that may or may not get to my other blog this week.   

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A WINNER AND A PAINTING

After getting some very kind comments and emails after my last post, I decided to do a drawing for the little painting on Monday night and  the winner was Jyothi Sethu.  She lives in India and her  lovely art work is here.

I've been waiting to get something new before posting, and did finish a painting on Wednesday, but then couldn't find my cord to download my photos.  Finally found it and here is my painting:

Lamplugh Glacier  watercolor painting8x15"

This is from a photo I took last August when we took our boat up into Glacier Bay.  We also took a kayak, and Van dropped my friend Judy and me off in front of Lamplugh Glacier and we went ashore to the beach in front of the glacier.  I'm not sure if the water here is a tide pool of glacier melt.  The glacier is receding, but at least part of it is tidewater when the tide is high.   I really need to read up on them.... things are certainly changing up there.  There were icebergs in Icy Strait where our beach is 35 years ago when we moved here, but we don' t see icebergs now until we are almost to the glaciers.

GOING FORWARD

PEAR AND CUP watercolor and acrylic about 5x5"

TWO PEARS watercolor and acrylic about 5x5"

The above 2 paintings were originally one wide painting.  I painted the pears and the cup about a year ago and pulled it out of my drawer last week,  finished  it, then cut it in half. The background is done with acrylic and a hand carved  linoleum block. I put clear contact paper over the painting and cut the background off with a razor blade (carefully) and painted and stamped .  This is a technique I learned from Anne Bagby.  I also decorated a bunch of paper to use in collage or handmade books.


Either nobody came here in the last couple of weeks or if they did the didn't want my little gouache painting.... not one comment or email.  I even gave an extra week for the offer of a gift of the little painting.   I realize I don't get many people coming here, and I haven't been conversing much on other blogs lately, but still, its kind of embarrassing.  I thought about offering it again, maybe putting the offer in the title, or maybe offering another painting,  or even lie and say I had lots of emails and gave to so and so and go burn the painting, or maybe delete the whole post.  I think I'll just go forward and forget the whole incident.  No one will probably read this anyway so its forgotten.

Well, going forward.  I've been setting up a website, finally.  Maybe when I get that done, I'll stop putting anything here on this blog and go back to just the watercolor postcard one. 

OMG! MY100TH POST

ONYX RABBIT gouache painting 4"x4"

ANOTHER WINDOW VIEW  gouache painting 4"x5

I didn't realize this was my 100th post here until I was ready to publish.  It has taken me a long time to get here.  I started my other blog in 2006 and  have posted over 200 times..... never even noticed my 100th and 200th milestones there.  I started this blog in 2008.  Sometimes I've left one dormant while the posting on the other, lamenting why I have 2 blogs, but I always go back to the one left behind, just like I flip back and forth from one kind or subject of painting to another, always wanting to do it all. 

I think its time to thank my followers and if anyone might like to own the Window View painting above, just comment on my blog or send me an email at: bogorchid  at gmail dot com.  I will do a drawing this weekend and mail to the winner.


And now to my orginal post:  I've been doing a few small paintings in the last couple of weeks.  Some attempts of something larger haven't gotten anywhere.  I probably need to start using a larger brush for the larger ones.  These are two that I like best.  The bottom one was done with just ultramarine blue and raw sienna and white gouache.



I'll be putting at least one of my other small paintings on my other blog.

FALL VIEW

                                               gouache 6" x 9"

I started this before going to Juneau the beginning of October and when I came back and finished it, much of the leaves were gone on the cottonwoods and willow.