AS THE NEW YEAR APPROACHES . . .

This year brings with it a different Holiday Season for most everyone. It's been a year filled with many disbeliefs and much sadness. My heart goes out to all those who have lost friends and loved ones due to this Pandemic both directly, and indirectly. May the New Year fill your hearts with good memories of those who have left us.

Also, my thoughts go out to all those that are now struggling daily to have some semblance of a normal life under very abnormal circumstances. May the New Year bring you many deserved Blessings.

SINCEREST WISHES

FOR A HEALTHY and HAPPIER NEW YEAR FOR EVERYONE. PLEASE STAY SAFE.

Charleen

LOST AND FOUND. OH, THAT'S ME!

It's been a while since this Blog has been graced with the presence of either words or pictures.  You'd think, with life the way it is these days for most everyone, that I should be at home with lots of time on my hands.  I'm home, but somehow I manage to fill my days.  The less I have to do, the more I do.  I don't think I am the only one like this.  

'LET YOUR DREAMS SURROUND YOU'

6 x 6" Acrylic over an Acrylic pour

'PATIENCE IS HER NAME'

6 x 6" Acrylic over an Acrylic pour

Both of these can be found on my website at

www.charleenmartin.com

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CLOUDS OF THE DAY . . .

STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN

This was a morning sky over Ajo. 

"I HAVE NEVER BEEN LOST, BUT I WILL ADMIT TO BEING CONFUSED FOR SEVERAL WEEKS.

~ daniel boone

(Unfortunately, I can relate!)

See you soon.  I promise! 😄

Charleen

DOESN'T THE WORLD FEEL SMALLER?

NOWADAYS, IF ONE STATE HICCUPS, WE ALL HICCUP.  IF ONE COUNTRY COUGHS, WE ALL COUGH.  TO QUOTE A WISE WOMAN "WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER".  THE WORLD IS GETTING SMALLER AND SMALLER.  SO, IN KEEPING WITH THAT THOUGHT, BOTH PIECES BELOW, ARE ONCE AGAIN SMALL.  :)

'SEVEN O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING'

4 x 4" Acrylic on Canvas

'IT LOOKS COLD'

4 x 4" Acrylic on textured canvas

BOTH OF THE ABOVE PIECES CAN BE FOUND  HERE

 If you receive my Newsletter you already know about the new 'Ajo Artisans' website. Ajo is a very Artsy place and several Artsy folks here (I was not one of them) put together this website to showcase the local work.  There are still more Artisans yet to come on, but please go have a look at those that have already joined.  I think you will enjoy what you see, and if you have a moment to share the site with friends and family, that would be appreciated.

https://www.ajoartisans.org

This is an old abandoned house across the street from us.  The owners are gone for the summer but, in the fall when they return, the plan is for this old piece of Ajo history to be torn down.  We had (another) spectacular Ajo sunset last week and I caught it just at the perfect moment as it momentarily brought this old place back to life.

'Strange things blow in through my window on the wings of the night wind and I don't worry about my destiny.

~  carl sandburg

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CLOUDS OF THE DAY . . .

That Sunset.

STAY SAFE . . .

Charleen

PUSH YOUR BOUNDARIES

WE ALL NEED TO DO THIS ONCE IN A WHILE,

     DON'T WE . . .

'PUSH YOUR BOUNDARIES'

4 x 4" Acrylic over an Acrylic Pour (sold)

'JOURNEY TO DAWN'

4 x 4" Acrylic on textured canvas.
Comes with its own stand for display

I still haven't quite gotten everything put away in my studio. Which actually means I have a lot of 'stuff' still sitting on my work tables. :o  Which then means my actual work space is verrry limited so painting miniatures works very well at the moment.  :) There is a madness to everything.

I did make the FINAL decision to end my jewelry designing days. Hard decision, but its done. No more procrastination.  And . . . it did free up some space in my studio.  A good thing.

One of the last pieces I recently did. Available on my Website.

BAHARI NA ANGA (SEA and SKY)

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A lot of people don't associate mountains with the desert but they co-exist here in the Sonoran desert beautifully.  And the ones that surround our area here have the most beautiful skylines.  Rough and jagged and sometimes there are layers upon layers of gradation in the distance.  I just love it! 

Here is the above made into a tote bag . . .

For information on this, please click below:

https://fineartamerica.com/featured/sonoran-life-charleen-martin.html?product=tote-bag

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CLOUDS OF THE DAY . . .

               Sunset over Ajo.

I see a vertebrae, a colorful one. A vertebrae of what I don't know, but one just the same. 😳 I also see a beautiful Sunset!!

"ONLY THE WISEST AND STUPIDEST OF MEN,

            NEVER CHANGE"

~ confucius

(and I would think this goes for women too! :) 

Charleen

HERE'S LOOKING AT YOU . . .

This funny fellow resides on my porch just outside the door. He gets to welcomes all our visitors.  

'HERE'S LOOKING AT YOU' 

Prints of this character can be found at the link below. 

Also available: totes, cards, mugs, and more.

https://fineartamerica.com/featured/heres-looking-at-you-charleen-martin.html

And, the latest in wardrobe accessories  . . . 

Face masks!

(at the link below)

(more designs available. Just follow the link)

https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/charleen-martin/shop/face+masks

'SEVEN O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING'

4 x 4" Acrylic on canvas

For more information on this piece please click below

https://www.charleenmartinfineart.com/workszoom/3555878#/

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CLOUDS OF THE DAY . . .

These clouds remind me of my brain when the monkeys have gotten to it.

Stay in (as best you can in your circumstances).

Stay Safe.

Look around you.  All that clutter used to be money.

~ unknown

YOU NEVER KNOW WHO YOU ARE GOING TO MEET IN THE DESERT

We came across this Native woman this past weekend while taking a ride out in the desert.  She caught us both by surprise . . . out there in the middle of nothing.  We both saw her.  We both saw the same thing.  Then we both realized that what we saw was not what we saw. This is the remains of a Saguaro, just like the tall one to the left of  'her'.  Imaginations are alive and well in Ajo!

A few other sights from our ride out there . . . desert flowers.

I'm not sure what this                 These are Mexican Poppies  :)

particular flower is but I

think it may be Gypsophila

                                                                   

and a little bit of art . . .

'WHEN THE FIREFLIES DANCE AT NIGHT'

16 x 20" Acrylic on Textured Canvas

The colors in this are very rich but unfortunately don't really show up very well in this photo.  You can blame the photographer but I'll never tell who she is!

When I was growing up on Long Island  (NY) we used to run and try and catch these at night all the time.  When we did, into a jar they went, and then we used them as lights to run around in the dark and catch more.  When the evening fun was over we let them out to fly away and we'd start all over again the next evening.  Those were simple times.

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CLOUDS OF THE DAY . . .

I posted this on Facebook and asked everyone what they saw.  Answers ranged from dolphins, seahorses, ducks and even one  apocalypse! :O  The ducks won it.

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On a more serious note . . .

There really is no way to say 'Thank you'  to all those on the front lines in the situation we now find ourselves in, whether it be in this country or around the world.  Thank you seems inadequate, knowing that many of these heros may lose their lives fighting in the trenches of this pandemic to save the rest of us.  

But, Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. 

"A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles."

~ christopher reeve

 Stay well.

Gouache (Ga-wash!)

GOUACHE

I recently taught a class to a group of Artists down here in Ajo.  It was a fun 2 hr. class in painting with India Ink and Gouache.  Gouache is like an opaque watercolor but when it dries it has a somewhat velvety finish. In an ink and gouache resist painting, you draw out your subject on watercolor paper, then paint just inside the lines with the Gouache.  (You let your pencil lines show.)  When the gouache is dry (hairdryer!) you cover the whole picture with Black India Ink and then cross your fingers. When that step is dry you wash the ink off under gently running water.  I just use my fingers (with latex glove on) to help it along. This is where you hold your breath a little because you are never quite sure how the painting will wind up. Where there was gouache it will have resisted the black ink and stained the paper.  Some of the gouache will wash off too and that's o.k. because the color is now stained into the paper. Where there was no gouache (or in some cases it just wasn't thick enough to resist the ink) the black ink will show through.  The finished pieces usually have a fun, somewhat abstract feel.

You can easily see, especially on the cactus piece, where there was no gouache, or where I didn't have it quite thick enough.

Just in case you were wondering, no serious art here!

My favorite of the three

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Just a couple of photographs I took that I thought I'd share . . .

The desert is such a fascinating place.  

A restaurant plantscape

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Clouds of the Day . . .

I actually can see a dogs face (barely!) in the cloud in the upper left hand corner, but I just happen to like this photo because of how the grasses stand out against the sky.  It's those simple things.

Charleen

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

THIS COULD EASILY BE THE QUILT CLUB IN AJO . . .

'MEETING OF THE QUILT CLUB GONE AWRY'

6 x 6" Mixed Media Collage

This little piece is currently hangin' out at the Sonoran Desert Inn and Conference Centers small Gift shop here in Ajo. If you  ever think about coming down this way, this would be a lovely place to stay. 

CLOUDS OF THE DAY . . .

So, a friend said to me just before Christmas "I got you something for Christmas that I know you don't have."  Of course, no hints were given and I did have to wait until Christmas to find out if she was right.  She was. My gift was the book 'A Cloud A Day' by Gavin Pretor-Pinney.  It's a wonderful book filled with amazing photos of the sky and clouds, along with some wonderful artwork depicting the same.

I didn't have a clue that there was such a thing as the ' Cloud Appreciation Society', nevermind that they have over 40,000 members from all over the world!  

If you are interested in joining, just google (or Bing-it or DuckDuckGo it, or use whatever your favorite search engine is) at cloudappreciationsociety.org.  The Book is full of smiles.  If you think some of my cloud interpretations are funny, you should see some of what is in this book.  Be ready to smile.  And, be ready to learn. The book is full of a lot of good information too.

I am now member #41,685. :)  

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My Cloud of the Day . . . (and it is one of mine, not from the book!)

Hades, Greek God of the Dead

Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream by night.

~ edgar allen poe

Hopefully I'm back on track now so I should see you soon!

Charleen