ONE POPPY. TWO POPPIES. THREE POPPIES ...

O.K. THERE'S A WHOLE POPPY DANCE TROUPE!

POPPY'S DANCE TROUPE

10 x 10" Mixed Media on Canvas

This is on a Mixed Media 'Crackled' background.  It just called out for the Poppies to come dance.  :)  And while they are up dancing the folks in the home below are all sound asleep. 

'THE NIGHT SINGS BRIGHT'

6 x 8" Acrylic on Wood Panel

BOTH OF THESE PIECES CAN BE FOUND ON MY WEBSITE HERE

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NO CLOUDS TODAY ...

I thought I would share this photo with you.  For Mothers Day my Grandchildren bought me a Butterfly Net ... as a joke.  Catching Butterflies has not been a recent pastime of mine.  Last night I went out to the garage to turn off the lights, (that someone else in this family had left on), :/ and I found this little Hummingbird flying wildly around.  He kept banging into the lights, probably thinking they were daylight and a way out.  No, I couldn't turn off the lights because this is a newly finished garage and I have no idea where all the light switches are.  (I know, sounds strange, but there is nothing in this family that runs the gamut of normal. :)   At that point, I happened to remember the Butterfly net, so I went, retrieved it, and then proceeded to climb over piles of wood, tools, ATV's, and an un-hooked up Wood Stove trying to catch this little guy with my nifty pink Butterfly net.

But ... as you can see, I did catch him.

I think the poor little guy (or gal)  was so traumatized by the whole thing that he stayed in the net for 2 or 3 minutes before flying off.  I was able to bring him outside, lay the net handle across the arms of a Patio chair, run inside for my camera, and get this photo before he said "Enough!" and off he went.

Moral of the story ... if your children or grandchildren buy you a Butterfly net, don't laugh.  You just never know ...

Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings.

~ Salvador Dali

see you next time

Charleen

FIFTY SHADES OF GRAY ...

NOT THE MOVIE ... THE NECKLACE!

FIFTY SHADES OF GRAY

This one can be worn long or doubled (above) for a completely different look. 

(Obviously I need a little taller 'Bust' to display these long ones ... )

For more information on 'FIFTY SHADES OF GRAY' Please click HERE

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CLOUDS OF THE DAY ...

ME AND MY SHADOW

That was the first thing I thought of when I looked at this photo. Too obvious not to take you to the song ...   Here's Frank and Sammy.  The original singer of this song though was 'Whispering Jack Smith' back in 1927.  It sounds VERY different from the above version as you can well imagine.  (Think Tiny Tim for those of you that remember him :)  Like a lot of music, it has been covered many times.

 I have to say that I am forever randomly shooting photos of the sky and most times don't really know what I have until I get home and put them on my computer.  A LOT of photos get deleted!   :/    

Have a great Day!

Charleen

PUFF THE MAGIC DRAGON

DIDN'T LOOK LIKE THIS ...  !

'THE HAPPY DRAGON'

The Gemstones are called 'Dragons Blood 'Jasper ... thus the name.  :)

For more information on this Piece Please Click HERE

“Puff, the Magic Dragon, lived by the sea,

and frolicked in the Autumn Mist in a land called Honah Lee,

little Jacky Paper loved that rascal Puff, and gave him strings and sealing wax

and other fancy stuff.” 
― Peter Yarrow, Puff, The Magic Dragon

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CLOUDS OF THE DAY ...

With some imagination I can see a Happy Dragons Head (with a 'Puff' of smoke!) peering out over the top of the Clouds.  :)   I can also decipher a caricature of a Blackbird walking through the top of the Clouds.  'Man with a Purpose'  :)

Have a Great Day!

Charleen

NINA ... WHERE ARE YOU?

That's Nina Simone ... often called 'The High Priestess of Soul'.  I love her music, which was often very controversial.  She was considered a Musical Storyteller.

'SIMONE'

In 1968, an interviewer for New York public television asked the singer and pianist Nina Simone what freedom meant to her. “It’s just a feeling,” she replied, seemingly flustered by the question. Then, suddenly, an answer occurred to her. “I’ll tell you what freedom is to me: no fear. I mean really, no fear!”

I would have to say, that that is one of the best definitions of Freedom I have heard.

To hear Nina Simone sing "Don't let me be Misunderstood" Please click HERE

For more information about 'Simone' (the Necklace :) Please click  HERE

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CLOUDS OF THE DAY ...

Ohhh ... I see a Puppy dogs face!  Actually, it reminds me of our two dogs ... another Mutt and Jeff situation (one big and one small).  Big dog on the right and little dog on the left ... licking the big dogs face.  That goes on constantly here.  I asked the Vet about it and she said it was a form of submission and respect on the little guys part towards the big guy.  Sounds good, but in this house the little guy rules the roost!

Have a Great Day!

Charleen

LET'S DANCE!

"HEY BABY, WANT TO TAKE A CHANCE ...

SAY YOU'LL LET ME HAVE THIS DANCE ."

J'RANA'S DANCE

(The Frogs Dance)

For more information on this Piece Please click HERE

It would be interesting to know how many of you actually picked up on that tune above and started humming it!  :)  I think it was 1962/63.  (yes, I'm dating myself again! :)  and Chris Montez came out with the song 'Let's Dance'.  It was a great dance tune. To see it in action just click HERE  (You have to get past the three second ad)

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CLOUDS OF THE DAY ...

'CONVERGENCE'

No relationship to anything, I just liked the quote ...

Never trust any complicated cocktail that remains perfectly clear until the last ingredient goes in, and then immediately clouds.
~  Terry Pratchett

Charleen

WWW.CHARLEENMARTIN.COM

BUSY. BUSY. BUSY.

And, I'm sure, we are just like everyone else is at this time of year!  We have out of town company for a week and a half, Two Grandsons graduating High School and both Graduation Celebrations are being held at our home (on consecutive weekends!) Having access to Mountain Trails just a block away, along with two ATV's, evidentially makes our home a fun place to celebrate an occasion.  :)  (Personally, I Love it!  :)

It's easier to work on Jewelry when we have company because I can just walk away if there is an interruption.  So here are the first of several new Pieces I've done ...

ORANGE LACE

ORANGE LACE with HALOMA (Happy Fortune)

I added HALOMA in the photo above for a little extra Drama but they are two separate pieces  !  :)

For more information Please go to my Website at  WWW.CHARLEENMARTIN.COM

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CLOUDS OF THE DAY ...

Today was the Memorial for Mohammad Ali.  It was televised on CNN and I watched parts of it while working. What I knew about the man was primarily what the News had provided over the years.  What I learned today painted a much more Human picture.  He was a man of very deep faith,  loved and admired by many.  He believed in himself and he believed in the goodness of others.  Evidently, he often talked about the fact that he was  'just tying to get to get Heaven.'  :)  I will let you decide what you see in the cloud photo above, but for me personally, I think it is a completely apropos moment for remembering a man that was a Hero to many.

I know where I'm going and I know the truth,

and I don't have to be what you want me to be. I'm free to be what I want.

~ Muhammad Ali

Charleen

JUNE ... THE MONTH OF THE BRIDE

OH YES ... AND THE GROOM!  :)

THE WEDDING PARTY II :  TOUCHES OF LOVE

Limited Edition Print:  25 X18.5"

I am once again offering one of my Sisters Series Limited Edition Prints at half price.  This time I picked the above Piece to celebrate the Month of June ... what seems to be the 'traditional' Wedding month.  The day I sold the Original 'Wedding Party' (I was doing a Show), a woman came in, loved the Piece, and said "she was going to have to give it some thought" and left, saying she might be back.  If you are an Artist you know the odds are not usually in your favor of that happening.  Not too long after, another Woman came in, saw the Piece , and without much hesitation, bought the Original.  Later that day Lady number one came back and ... no painting!  She was devastated.  So, she asked if I could do another 'just like the first'.  Well, first of all my process doesn't really allow me to make an exact copy, nor would I want to do that to the Original buyer.  I told her I could do one similar but it would definitely have its differences.  I also told her if she wasn't pleased she wasn't obligated to buy it.  She agreed.  Above is the second one.  She loved it when she saw it and the last I heard it sits happily in her Living room.  :)

For those of you that may not be familiar with my Sisters Series,  the original on this was 24 x 36" and done on a wood panel.   The background is Acrylic and the rest is all hand-painted, and hand-cut papers applied as a Collage. 

TO GO TO MY WEBSITE TO GET MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CLICK HERE

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CLOUDS OF THE DAY ...

Obviously not my photo (credit in the corner).  My husband found this and sent it to me.  He saw it on the 'Astronomy Picture of the Day'.  This particular formation, called both an Asperitas or Asperatus, was photographed in New Zealand in 2005.  As menacing as this looks it seems they are more likely to form after a storm than before.  We've evidently had a few here in the U.S., usually in the Midwest.  I do see a face.  Not one I'd want to meet anywhere.   If I were standing under this, I think I'd be saying to myself  "O.K., it must be over!"  :(

Our mind is like a cloudy sky: in essence clear and pure,

but overcast by clouds of delusions.

Just as the thickest clouds can disperse,

so, too, even the heaviest delusions can be removed from our mind.

~  Kelsang Gyatso

Charleen