STRUT YOUR STUFF!

WELL, THAT'S IF YOU HAVE STUFF TO STRUT!

LIKE THIS GUY . . .

'STRUT'

5 x 5" Acrylic painting over an Acrylic Pour

More information on him can be found HERE

And this is what the original pour looked like before I added Sir Strut . . .

Strut original pour

I've given myself a  little challenge to do at least several of these.  I have another waiting in the wings to show you next time but for now I thought I would introduce you to Lars.  I did not get to meet Lars personally.  He showed up at the Depot Museum (where I work one day a week) and my friend, who also works there, asked if she could take his photo.  It seems that this young man, who is from Germany, has taken it upon himself to skate across the U.S. from one coast to the other.  

Evidently he did not want to carry a backpack, so he devised this carrier to pull behind him as he skates.  Since I wasn't there to ask any questions, I'm not quite sure how this works.  I'm guessing it attaches somehow to his waist because I would think you would need your hands free as you skate.  However it works, if this young man has skated all the way from New York (where he started) to Wallace, Idaho, and is still smiling like that, then all I can say is he must have an indomitable Spirit.  Many kudos to him and a safe journey.

(WHAT FUN!!)

"Strength does not come from physical capacity.  It comes from an indomitable will."
                                                            ~  Mahatma Gandhi

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CLOUDS OF THE DAY . . .

photo by Indy Behrendt

My friend, who took the photo of Lars, also sent me this photo of a 'Bird Cloud' that she took.  It took me a minute or two (or three) to see it, but once I did, it was pretty evident.  Especially the head and beak.  Appropriate since I've been on a bird kick in my painting this week. :)

Charleen

P.S. If you are interested in seeing and/or bidding on, Art that has been donated by Artists to help the Victims of both Irma and Harvey, then you can just Click here at the DPW AUCTION

ITS GOING TO BE A HOT ONE MARY ...

BUT NOT HERE.  NOT YET ...

IT'S GOING TO BE A HOT ONE MARY ...

6 x 8" on  Wood Panel

For more information on this Piece

Please Click HERE

We may hit 70 by the end of the week.  That would be very nice.  After spending several months down in Arizona and then coming back to snow and 30 degree temperatures has not been fun.  Here it is the beginning of May and there is not one Tulip or Daffodil to be seen.  That's just cruel.

These are both 6 x 8's.  I like doing these little landscapes.  Half the fun is imaging what life would be like actually living in or near these places.  I could just see Grandpa standing on the front porch, coffee in hand, looking out past the barn, and saying to Grandma "It's going to be a hot one Mary."

Of course, my grandparents lived in a brick row house in New York when I was young, so this definitely wasn't them.  Imagination is great.  :)

LILAC MOON

6 X 8" Acrylic on Textured wood panel

For more information on this Piece

Please Click HERE

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CLOUDS OF THE DAY . . .

This one was hard, even with all its dark and light, fluff and depth.  But, I finally found a face up in the right corner.  He looks a little mystified and I don't blame him.  I would be too, if someone was invading my privacy and putting my face all over the internet!

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Artists live in unknown spaces and give themselves over to

following something unknown.

~ Kiki Smith

Charleen

READY. SET. GO! FOLLOW ME.

IN WHAT DIRECTION ARE YOU HEADED?

"THIS WAY.  FOLLOW ME."

12 x 12 x 1.5"  Mixed Media on Wood Panel.

Second one in a set of two.  More information can be found HERE .

IF EVERYBODY IS DOING IT ONE WAY, THERE'S A GOOD CHANCE

YOU CAN FIND YOUR NICHE BY GOING EXACTLY IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION.

~ Sam Walton

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CLOUDS OF THE DAY ...

I see 'The Man in the (Quarter) Moon'.  He's laughing and

he's over on the right.  :)

Charleen

HAPPY SPRING!

HAPPY SPRING EVERYONE! 

FRESH FLOWERS TO HELP CELEBRATE THE DAY . . .

Just wanted to share a smile with you ...

'SMILES IN BLOOM'

4 x 4" Acrylic on Wood Panel

WHAT'S AROUND YOUR CORNER ...?

'ROUND THE CORNER, CATCH THE PENNY.'

12 x 12 x 1.5" Mixed Media on Wood Panel.

As you can see, I went a little abstract.  This is one of two that are quite similar and could easily be hung as a set.  Can you find the Penny?  :)

Both of these can be found on my Website at www.charleenmartin.com

IN THE SPRING I HAVE COUNTED 136 DIFFERENT KINDS OF WEATHER

INSIDE OF FOUR AND TWENTY HOURS.

~ Mark Twain

(isn't that the truth!)

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CLOUDS OF THE DAY ...

I see Oscar the Grouch!

Charleen

FEBRUARY ... THE MONTH OF HEARTS

I must have been in a moody mood ...

IN THE HEART OF THE MEMORIES

6 X 6" Mixed Media on Canvas

For more information on this Piece Please Click HERE

There is a very tiny Heart on a piece of the collage papers that I used on this.  You can see it just to the right of the tree.  Home is usually at the core of our memories thus 'IN THE HEART OF THE MEMORIES'.  :)

'SOMETIMES YOU WILL NEVER KNOW THE VALUE OF A MOMENT

UNTIL IT BECOMES A MEMORY'

~ Dr. Seuss

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Clouds of the Day ...

O.K. ... I'm looking down from above the clouds,  I see the shoreline (the very dark Clouds.  Yes, they were that dark!) along the Ocean, waves breaking and Clouds above. 

Enjoy your day at the Shore!  :)

Charleen

DAY 8 IS LITERALLY FOR THE BIRDS ...

You thought I was kidding?!  

'CONVERSATIONS IN TIME'

5 x 7" Mixed Media collage on Wood Panel

For more information on this Piece Please Click HERE

I decided to take a break fom Painting and do a few Collage pieces.  The Air Mail stamp is an oldie (7 cents!), sent to me by a friend whose Father use to collect stamps.  The seal on the lower left is an actual seal from a property deed. The 'Post Card' is a copy of one from the 40's and the Asian Newspaper is about 30 years old from San Franciscos Chinatown.  


          No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings.

                                                                             ~ William Blake

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I see Godzilla.  :/

Charleen

6 P.M. AND THE NIGHT PEEKS IN ...

A new Painting done on Textured Canvas.  I love working on the Texture ~ especially for landscapes.  I think it adds a lot of dimensionality (word?) to the paintings.  There is a slight problem though if you want to reproduce your work. The Texture doesn't always photograph very well so reproducing those pieces can be a problem. Or, I guess, no problem at all if it just doesn't look good!  If you saw my Blog introducing my Tote Bags (and Shower Curtains and Throw Pillows! :) you'll notice I just have one piece that was done on a Textured Background.  It's called 'Summer Afternoon in Blue'  (http://fineartamerica.com/featured/summer-afternoon-in-blue-charleen-martin.html) I felt that one worked but most others, not.

'6 P.M. AND THE NIGHT PEEKS IN'

10 x 10" Acrylic on Textured Canvas

For more information on this Piece Please click Here:

http://charleenmartinfineart.com/workszoom/1929965

Looking through my Windshield . . .

And yes, this actually is looking through my windshield!  :)  I took this the other morning when the temperature was about 13 degrees.  I was looking through the ice crystals on my windshield at the tree line by my home.  Just goes to prove we don't have to look very far to see the Beauty in Nature.   :)  

It's a strange world of language 

in which skating on thin ice can get you into hot water.

~ Franklin P. Jones

Charleen

THE MARSH. THROUGH THE WINDOW.

Here are two pieces that I recently did for my show in Coeur d'Alene ...

'THE MARSH. THROUGH THE WINDOW.'

12 x 12 Acrylic on Textured wood panel

'SOMETHING BORROWED. SOMETHING BLUE.'

6 x 8" Acrylic on Textured wood panel.

Both more Impressionistic then I normally do.  Hopefully heading in the right direction!  :)

'THE AIM OF ART IS TO REPRESENT NOT THE OUTWARD APPEARANCE OF THINGS, BUT THEIR INWARD SIGNIFICANCE.

                                                                                                  ~  Aristotle

Charleen

WWW.CHARLEENMARTIN.COM

WELL ... I'M ON MY THIRD CUP OF COFFEE ...

Which means it's still early in the day!  :)  By the end of the day it will be at least a few more than that.  And then I wonder why I have trouble sleeping! :/

My knee surgery (at least this first one!) is slowly fading into the background.  That's a good thing.  Got enough work done for my Show Opening last week.  Another good thing.  Working on new pieces for the Coeur d'Alene Artists Studio Tour in a few weeks ... another good thing.  Even though I don't live in Coeur d'Alene (and my Studio is too far out of town to be included) I was asked to participate.  I agreed ... before I realized it was the same weekend as my Step-Sons Wedding.  It's the coffee, I'm sure. :(  By the time I realized the two were colliding it was too late to try and bow out of the tour gracefully. The powers that be were nice enough to get someone to stand in for me on the day of the Wedding but it's going to be a very interesting week!

For those of you in the area the Studio Tour is Sept. 12th and 13th.  I will be at the Jacklin Center in Post Falls along with Artist Sheila Beldsoe.

AND THEY HELD THEIR BREATH IN ANTICIPATION

12 x 12" Acrylic on Textured wood panel.

I'm working on trying to get a little looser in my work.  Above is one of my newest pieces I did for the upcoming Studio Tour.  

EARLY OCTOBER.  LATE AFTERNOON.

18 x 18" Acrylic on Canvas

Early October. Late Afternoon. was done abut 2 weeks prior to And They Held Their Breath in Anticipation.  I feel like I'm on the edge of where I want to be but just can't ..... quite ..... jump ..... off ..... that ..... ledge.  

The two pieces from my last Blog were sold.  

Thank you both very much!

           Evening on the Dunes              Summer Afternoon in Blue

"As daddy said, life is 95 percent anticipation."

~  Gloria Swanson

til next time ...

Charleen

WWW.CHARLEENMARTIN.COM

FROM THE IDAHO STUDIO of CHARLEEN MARTIN

MUSHROOMS ANYONE ...?

Sorry.  These are the legal kind.  Or at least so I'm told!  I've been eating them for the last week and haven't taken any unexplained 'trips' so I think they are right.  :)

These are Morel Mushrooms.  A lot of you may know that already but I'd never seen, or had any before this past week.   I'd heard the name but that was it.  My neighbor introduced me to them.  They had gone mushroom gathering and she brought me some of hers.  I guess they are in abundance in this area and this is the season for picking them.  If you like mushrooms (and I do) these are delicious.  Sorry if you know all about these already but I figure there has to be one or two others out there like me who were not mushroom educated.  :)

I have a couple of small pieces that I've done that I will share today.  I do need to get on the stick and get a few bigger pieces done.  :/ 

MORNING ARRIVES ... FASHIONABLY LATE

5 X 7"  on Textured Wood Panel

This was a fun Piece to do and somewhat of an experiment.  I textured the wood, then used a Brayer to put on the initial background.  After that I used a Brush and a Palette Knife to finish up the piece.  I love how it turned out and I know I'll use this process again in the future.

For more information on this Piece Please Click Here

WHEN THE SUNSET IS IN AGREEMENT

6 x 6 on Textured Wood Panel

This is another Piece done on a Textured background and this is especially striking from a distance.  I also used a Brayer, Brush and Palette Knife on this one.  :) 

For more information on this Piece Please Click Here

You can't depend on your eyes if your imagination is out of focus ...

Mark Twain

A 'toast' to Wonderful Memories of those who have gone on ahead.

Have a Wonderful and safe Memorial Day Weekend.

Charleen

'OH . . . HAPPY DAY !'

     

'Oh . . . Happy Day !'                                'To Market we go . . .'   

Mixed Media Collage on Wood Panel

These are two new pieces which just headed north to Entree Gallery in Nordman, Idaho.  A little different size for me ~ 6 x 12"  I enjoyed this format so have another set this size started.  I think I'll call this series 'The Backside of Life!'  :)

I have a Gallery Show opening on July 11th at Angel Gallery in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho so I am busy trying to get work done for that.  Below are some new Necklace Designs I've recently finished for the Show.  They will be accessible through my Website until about July 7th.  After that they will have to be purchased through the Gallery.  

    

Cherry Blossom Moon

More information on this Piece is available HERE

Royal Princess

More information on this Piece is available HERE

(A full size view of this is shown on my Website ~ just scroll down a bit when you get there)

Jwahir  (Golden Woman)

This Piece is not on my Website yet.  (It should be on by this evening)

To go to my Website Please Click HERE

I am now back in Idaho full time.   Missing my Friends in Wenatchee but it's great to be closer again to Friends and Family here.   And, I don't miss that 4.5 hour drive each way if I wanted to come over here!   I think of the days when I traveled and did Art Shows around the country and didn't think anything of driving 8~10 hours in a day to get to my destination.   I always enjoyed the traveling to the Shows ~ it was the drive back home after the Shows that wasn't as much fun!  By then, you are tired and just want to be home.  :)

Charleen

SOMETIMES WISDOM PASSES SILENTLY ...

Did you ever think later 'Why didn't I understand that at the time?'  Because, sometimes that little bit of Wisdom passes right by us without us even realizing it until later.  At least I know that has happened to me . . . Sometimes the lessons take a little time to arrive!  These figures are part of my WiseWalker series which is all about age and wisdom.

The WiseWalkers:  Sometimes Wisdom Passes Silently

18 x 24" Mixed Media on Wood 

For more information Please Click HERE

Two new Necklaces recently finished are below . . .

Black Magic Woman

More information can be found here on my Website

The Cats Meow

More information on this Piece can be found Here

If you remember, the last Blog I mentioned a great little Restaurant and Wine Bar in Wallace called the Fainting Goat (scroll down to read about it) and I included some photos.  I said the only one I didn't get was the Bathroom.  Well, I've been back since and did get a photo of the sink I mentioned ~ the one made out of an old wine barrel.  Photo is below.  :)

I decided I was going to start a Blog about our new adventure of building our home in Mullan.  I have it set up and titled but nothing posted yet.  I get a lot of questions about 'how's it going?'  so I thought this would be a good way to answer the question and at the same time keep a chronology about the ins and outs, the ups and downs, and what I sense is going to be a comedy of errors!  So, when I get it together I'll post a link on here and if you are interested you can Click on over.  :)

til next time . . .

Charleen

FROM THE STUDIO of CHARLEEN MARTIN

"I HEARD SHE REALLY IS A NATURAL REDHEAD . . ."

I think I had as much fun naming this as I did painting it!

"I heard she really is a Natural Redhead . . ."

12 x 12 Acrylic on Canvas

For more information on this piece Please Click HERE

This is the second piece I've done recently where I have two trees in the background 'talking'.  Didn't even realize it until I went to title this one.  I think I might have a theme going here  :)  I'll put the other one just below this so you can it too.

"Say . . . who's the little guy?"

5 x 7 Acrylic on wood panel

For more information on this piece Please Click HERE

I am up in Wallace, Idaho (this week :) and recently I took myself out to a Restaurant up here (Been back twice since!).  It's a fairly new place called 'The Fainting Goat Wine Bar and Eatery.'  

Besides the food being excellent and the prices very reasonable, the decor is great.  I think you might appreciate the Creativity.  It's in an old Bank Building so the vault is now a Wine Cellar.  It's done in a sort of industrial rustic theme.  I took a few photos and the one I didn't get (which I will next time I'm there!) was the bathroom.  It's just fun. The sink is an old Wine barrel cut in half and epoxied on the inside so it doesn't leak.  It looks great and fits the decor so well.  Such a simple idea . . .

That's an old water trough cut to fit on, and around, the wall and then finished off with a wood top for a bar.

This is an old Mining area so the tables are made from old mining equipment.  Simple, but makes a definite statement.  Anyway, if you are in the area it is definitely worth a stop.  

                       ANTS. 

45,000 of them crawling around in your head!!  

For those of you that aren't on my Newsletter email list that's what I wrote about this month  :)  (This months Newsletter just went out last night.)  And just so you know, they are not the ANTS you are thinking of!  (But, that's quite the visual isn't it!  :/ )  If you are curious you can Click  HERE  and then click on the May issue.  I think you might find it interesting.  I know I did when I first heard it.  It's amazing how our Brain works . . .

And, to repeat myself from my Newsletter, I hope that your Memorial day weekend is filled with new memories, new Joy, wonderful remembrances of special people . . . and, hopefully...

No ANTS!

Charleen