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

FAMILY DISCORD ......

BEEN THERE ... :)

"I DON'T CARE. 
I'M NOT COMING DOWN UNTIL YOU APOLOGIZE!"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN
YOU INVITED THE GANG OVER?!"

Both of these are Mixed Media Collage and more information can be found on my Website HERE

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This is my friend and fellow Artist Carrie Jacobson from Virginia.  She was in Arizona doing several shows and she stopped by on her way through.  It was a short but fun visit which included a quick trip out into the desert and a tour of the town (such as it is!). 

That's our old guy Roscoe with Carrie. (She's very much a dog person)  Note her license plate ... I'm so jealous!  

Please check out her website here www.jacobson-arts.com  She does wonderful Palette knife paintings and I know you won't be disappointed!

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CLOUDS OF THE DAY . . .

Another beautiful day in the Desert/

Ghosts.  I a see Ghost.  A really scared Ghost!

"I like to say I believe in Ghosts so I don't get haunted by one."

~ ella henderson

Charleen

NOT QUITE THE ROCKETTES ...

BUT THEY STILL DANCE THEIR OWN DANCE ...

'THE CHORUS LINE'

6 x 6" 

'EARLY EVENING.  END OF SEPTEMBER.'

6 x 6"

Both of these landscapes are Acrylic Paintings over Acrylic Pours.  It's interesting how similar subject matter can look so different just by playing off the abstraction of the original pours.

Someone is sitting in the shade today 

because someone planted a tree a long time ago.

~ warren buffett

A LITTLE  'WHAT THE HECK ...'

 Last winter when we went down to Ajo, Arizona, for 'just' a visit  we wound up buying some property.  As my friend Mel said to me ... "You either get Ajo or you don't."  I guess we got it.  The property we bought has two houses and  I use the word 'houses' very lightly.  More like one that's  "how fast can we get this torn down!"  

And one ...

 "What would Chip and Joanna Gaines do?!

(Probably tear  this down too!)

 

But then, sometimes challenges can be fun so we'll have to see. 😉  Fortunately, we didn't buy the property for the houses, just for the property itself to put our RV on, so we have options.  I'll keep you posted.  

In the meantime, this calendar below was on the wall of the white house.  As you can see, it's from 1997.  That's the last year someone lived in the house.  (And yes, the inside looked as bad as the outside.)  You can also see the calendar has a little something attached to the right corner. It was hanging on the wall in the kitchen just like this.  Fortunately, its inhabitants had abandoned it a long time ago too.😊

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CLOUDS OF THE DAY ...

I'm seeing a tipsy Donald Duck looking straight on at me. 

Do ducks drink? 😎

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Charleen

www.charleenmartin.com

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

THERE WAS ALWAYS AT LEAST ONE SHOW-OFF IN SCHOOL ...

AND HERE WE HAVE TWO ...

THE FAMILY TREE: 
"I DON'T KNOW WHY THEY ALWAYS HAVE TO SHOW OFF."

24 x 36 x 1.5" Acrylic on Canvas

This is the Commissioned Piece I mentioned in my last Blog (which has now morphed into another Commission Piece  :)  I love working on a Black Canvas.  It just brings out the rest of the colors so nicely.  Probably goes along with my love of black walls in my homes over the years (Not all the walls! Just accent walls. :)  Yes, even had a black ceiling in a dining room in one house.  Very dramatic but it looked great.  :)

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CLOUDS OF THE DAY ...

I thought I would include the whole photo this time, not just the clouds.  I took this on our way over to the coast passing through the high desert in Oregon.  The whole yard was filled with rusted old cars.  It was really rather sad.  So many dreams all reduced to a pile of rust.  I would have loved to have gotten some closer photos but it just wasn't a place that had the 'Come on in' feeling about it.  I'm sure you've all seen one or two places like that ...

By the way .... I see a Snail!

''No one writes as slowly as I do, I'm convinced. It's so hard for me.

I learn slowly; I make decisions at a snail's pace.'

~ Virginia Wolff

Charleen

AT LEAST IT'S NOT ME SINGING!

WE'LL LET THE NIGHT SING INSTEAD ...  :)

Carry a tune I cannot do.  I have one granddaughter who has said to me on more than one occasion when she has caught me 'singing' (and I use the word loosely), "O.K. Grams ... that's enough!"  :)

'THE NIGHT SINGS BRIGHT'

6 x 8" Acrylic on Wood Panel

For more information on this Piece Please Click HERE

"I DON'T SING BECAUSE I'M HAPPY ...  I'M HAPPY BECAUSE I SING."~ William James

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CLOUDS OF THE DAY ...

I see large, turbulent ocean waves under a stormy sky.
Or ... is that another Smurf up there?!

Charleen

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE PLACE TO BE ?

MORE FROM THE FAMILY TREE ...

'THE FAMILY TREE:  TOGETHER IS OUR FAVORITE PLACE TO BE.'

12 x 12" Acrylic on Textured Wood Panel
For more information on this Piece Please Click HERE

HEAVEN GOES BY FAVOR.

IF IT WENT BY MERIT, YOU WOULD STAY OUT

AND YOUR DOG WOULD GO IN.

~  Mark Twain

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CLOUDS OF THE DAY ...

WELL ... I DO KNOW I'M BEING WINKED AT!  :)


CHARLEEN

QUIET.

NO PEN, NO INK, NO TABLE, NO ROOM, NO TIME, NO QUIET,

NO INCLINATION. 

~  James Joyce

EASILY IN TO THE QUIET

6 x 6 x 1.5" Acrylic on Textured Canvas

For more information on this Piece Please Click HERE

I do have to say, I like the Textured look much better in real life than in a photo.  Photos just can't do it justice. 

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CLOUDS OF THE DAY ...

Let's see now ... How about a pair of Sunglasses, a grove of trees, and a 'Shadow Bunny' ~ you know, one of those little animals you make with the shadow of your hands and a light shining on the wall.  :)   Can you find them?!

Charleen

WE'RE ON THE WAY ...

IT'S REALLY NOT MUCH OF A WALK ...

'BETWEEN YOUR HOUSE AND MINE'

6 x 6 x 1.5" Acrylic on Textured Canvas

For more information on this Piece Please Click HERE

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CLOUDS OF THE DAY ...

My granddaughter Kaitlyn took this photo.  She is often seen these days carrying a camera around as part of her photography class.  She knew I was doing a 'Cloud of the Day' for this  Blog so she took this great photo for me.  I should have asked her what she saw in it ...  :)  I see ... an Angel, leaning gently forward, holding a baby.   :)

ALL GOD'S ANGELS COME TO US DISGUISED.

~  James Russell Lowell

Charleen

CAN YOU TELL I'M THINKING WARM WEATHER LATELY?

O.K.  SPRING IS OVER ... now I'm on to Summer!

'DOWN PAST THE SUMMER HOUSE'

6 x 6" Acrylic on Textured Canvas

For more information on this Piece Please Click HERE

'PEOPLE DON'T NOTICE WHETHER IT'S WINTER

OR SUMMER IF THEY'RE HAPPY.

~  Anton Chekhov

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CLOUDS OF THE DAY ...

I see a little piggy laying on his side ... soaking up the rays.  :)

JUST WEST OF ...

FOREVER ...

'JUST WEST OF FOREVER'

6 x 8" Acrylic on Wood Panel

For more information on this Piece Please Click HERE

I had fun with this abstract Piece.  I painted the background without thought to the finished Piece and then 'let it speak to me.'  I can feel myself there. 

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CLOUDS OF THE DAY ...

I love this shot.  I took it two nights ago and every time I blinked there was a whole new 'scene' in front of me.  This reminds me of an angry storm coming in and huge waves crashing against the shore.  The tree is just watching ... and waiting.

THERE ARE SOME THINGS YOU CAN ONLY LEARN IN A STORM.

~  Joel Osteen

Charleen 

THERE'S GOLD IN THEM THAR ... FIELDS

A Little MIDNIGHT GOLD ...

'MIDNIGHT GOLD'

6 x 6 x 1.5" Acrylic on Textured Canvas

For more information on this Piece Please click HERE

This reminds me of the miles of Golden Wheat fields down in the Palouse region of Eastern Washington.  We were down there last week and the wheat is already peeking up through the soil. 

I'm currently working on a Pointillist Piece and it is taking me a lot longer than anticipated.  And ... I'm not even sure I am happy with it at this point. (No pun intended.)  I had a request from a Customer to do more (she's already bought two :) so that is why I am diligently working on this one.  It needs a lot more work so I took a break and did this Abstract landscape.  I needed a break from the minute detail. 

Yesterday was a beautiful day here.  Sunny skies and warmer temperatures (high 40's may not be high to some but for us, it was great!)  We decided to take a drive over to Montana, a whole 6 miles away (although we did go further than that!).  I've been fortunate to have traveled through most of this country and Western Montana is very high on my list of some of the most beautiful landscapes we have.  We drove over to Plains, Mt., had an ice cream in a cute little Shop called 'Ripples' and came back home.  Saw lots of Wildlife on the drive ... Deer, Bald Eagles, Canadian Geese but we did miss the Mountain Goats.  They are all over this area, to the point that there are signs telling you to drive carefully, 'Mountain Goats are on the road ahead'.  They just weren't ahead of us.  :(

"IF PEOPLE WERE SUPERIOR TO ANIMALS,

THEY'D TAKE BETTER CARE OF THE WORLD."

~ Winnie the Pooh

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CLOUDS OF THE DAY ...

I think the Smurfs are back and having a Face-off!  I'm sure you can find more than that!

Charleen