DREAM ON . . .

'DON'T BE AFRAID TO FOLLOW THAT DREAM'

6 x 6" Acrylic on canvas . . . with a lot of movement going on!

Maybe sometimes with a little trepidation, but don't let it get away.

I'm still out and about walking just about everyday with trusty camera in hand and I have been fortunate to get a few more nice shots that I thought I would share with you.  Some of you may have seen some of these before.  If so, I hope you enjoy them for a second time.

this photo is from behind the baptist church in ajo

One of my favorite photos taken over the last few weeks.  

This piece can be interpreted in so many ways.

'Death is not the greatest loss in life. 
The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.'

~ norman cousins

from a small strip mall on our main road

Self explanatory :)

marcellas restaurant, ajo, az

I wonder how many people ate here and never noticed all the mis-matched fans?

main street ajo, az

Al Capone and his buddies must have been to town.

around the corner and down the street :)

How often do you get a burro, (looking at me!) a Raven and a flowering Saguaro all in one photo?  This looks to me like something from the old west.  And just to show you what it looks like in color:

Not nearly as much personality as in black and white

(in my humble opinion).  I love the black and white version,

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CLOUDS OF THE DAY . . .

'slow dancin', swayin' to the Music

no one else in the whole wide world . . .'

  Morning sky over Ajo, May 20th, 2021

Have a great weekend everyone!

Charleen

'DANCING UNDER THE MOONLIGHT'

These gals were just waiting for the music to start!

10 x 10 Acrylic on Acrylic Pour

For more information on this piece, Please click HERE

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On my morning walks around Ajo, I see some fun, and sometimes unusual, facets of Ajo life.  I post my morning walks on Facebook so if you follow me on FB, then there is a good chance you may have seen some of these photos already.  If not, I hope they bring a few smiles . . .

His Mother should have taught him not to scratch his butt in public.

The Sun peeking around the Palm

Sun Star Plant. Isn't the color delicious!

"Whadda ya lookin at?!"

Brittle Bush over the wash. 
I took out all the color and then just put back the yellow.

The rich color of a Bougainvillea

From the top of my street looking down to our Plaza at the end of the road.  Are the clouds mirroring the road?

I love how the morning light makes this plain, old alley look like a magical place.

And you never know what you'll find walking down some of those alleys.

Things are starting to bloom!

It's your road, and yours alone. 
Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you.

~ rumi

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CLOUDS OF THE DAY . . .

This was last nights sky as seen from our front porch.  No color changing here, this is just as it was. Stunning.

  Stay well . . .

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

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.

AND JUST WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM ...

PROBLEMS ARE NOT STOP SIGNS, THEY ARE GUIDELINES.

                          - Robert h. schuller

Neighbors of ours had a pet rooster. It recently went to Rooster Heaven.  It was the family pet for over 10 years and it even went camping with them! 💛

"YOU HAVE A PROBLEM 

                       WITH THAT ...?"

12 x 12 Acrylic over an Acrylic Pour

'COLUMBO'

6 x 6" Acrylic

For more information on either of these Pieces Please visit my Website at

www.charleenmartin.com

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My friend brought this little box of mints back for me from a recent trip east. Of course, the mints were just a little side bonus. It's the box they are in that has the meaning! 😊

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CLOUDS OF THE DAY ...

I see the profile of an 

old fur trapper . . .

Charleen

DO YOU REMEMBER THE SPIRIT GUIDES WE FOUND ALL OVER AJO LAST SEASON WHEN WE WERE HERE ...?

WELL, HERE ARE TWO NEW ONES WE JUST FOUND LAST WEEK AS WE DROVE AROUND AJO RECONFIRMING :) OUR DECISION TO SPEND OUR WINTERS HERE.  i THINK THERE WAS SOMETHING LIKE OVER 80 LAST SEASON!

BECAUSE I REALLY DON'T HAVE A STUDIO AT THE MOMENT MY WORK TIME/SPACE IS SOMEWHAT LIMITED AT THE MOMENT.  WE HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THE STUDIO SPACE (AS A FRIEND SAID ... OUR SHABBY CHIC WHITE HOUSE WITH THE HUMMINGBIRD FEEDER!) ALMOST DAILY.  THE INSIDE IS NOW AT LEAST HALF GUTTED. (yes, this is a BIG job!)  TODAY, FOUNDATION REPAIR WORK IS BEING DONE.  ANYWAY, I DID MANAGE TO GET A FEW RAVEN PIECES DONE SPECIFICALLY FOR A GALLERY DOWN HERE CALLED 'THE RAVENS NEST-AVITA BOUTIQUE'.  I HAD SPOKEN WITH THE OWNER JUST BEFORE WE LEFT FOR HOME LAST APRIL ABOUT POSSIBLY CARRYING SOME OF MY WORK.  SHE WAS ESPECIALLY INTERESTED IN, WHAT ELSE (!) MY RAVENS. SO, I AM PLEASED TO SAY SHE NOW HAS 7 OF MY RAVEN PIECES IN HER GALLERY.  THIS FELLOW BELOW IS ONE OF THEM ...

'HE WHO LISTENS.  SOMETIMES.'

6 x 6" Acrylic over Acrylic Pour

THE RAVENS NEST GALLERY-AVITA BOUTIQUE

AJO, AZ.

A CLOSE-UP OF THE RAVEN ON THE BUILDING

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CLOUDS OF THE DAY . . .

NOT REALLY ANY CLOUDS BUT THOUGHT I WOULD SHARE THIS AJO SUNSET WITH YOU.  THIS WAS TAKEN 2 NIGHTS AGO, JUST FROM THE OUTER EDGE OF TOWN.  I LOVE THE SUNSETS (AND SUNRISES) HERE.  THEY ARE A TREAT FOR US BECAUSE IN IDAHO WE ARE SURROUNDED BY MOUNTAINS.  WE DON'T SEE MANY SUNRISES OR SUNSETS.

I believe cats to be spirits come to earth.

 A cat, I am sure, could walk on a cloud without coming through. 

~ jules verne

Charleen

MEANWHILE, OUT ON THE RANCH ...

LIFE GOES ON ...

'GAME FACE'

6 x 6" Acrylic on Acrylic Pour

"I LOVE DRESSING FOR THE OCCASION."

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THESE PIECES PLEASE CLICK HERE

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THIS IS ACTUALLY THE NIGHT BEFORE THIS RECENT SUPER MOON.  I TOOK THIS STANDING OUTSIDE OF OUR RV LOOKING THROUGH THE BRANCHES OF A MESQUITE TREE.  THERE WAS JUST SOMETHIG A LITTLE MYSTERIOUS IN THE AIR AS THE COYOTES HOWLED JUST BEYOND THE HILL THAT IS ACROSS THE ROAD.

Charleen

TO PLAY ...

OR NOT TO PLAY ...

'AND THE SEA TAUNTED THE BEAR  TO COME OUT AND PLAY'

This was one of those very happy surprises.  In a Pour, at least at this stage of my pouring 'career' :) you have a semi-plan and you hope for the best.  In this one, the colors are vibrant and I love the story being told ... at least the story I see being told.  What do you see?!

12 x 12" Acrylic Pour on Canvas

For more information on this Piece Please Click HERE

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CLOUDS OF THE DAY . . .

Beautiful Sunset. The clouds look like they are chalk lines in the sky. 

'God writes the Gospel not in the Bible alone, but also on trees, and in the flowers and clouds and stars.

~ Martin Luther

Charleen

BALANCE ...

AND SYMMETRY . . .

'BALANCE AND SYMMETRY'

6 X 6" Mixed Media

Acrylic painting with ink over Acrylic Pour

For more information on this Piece Please Click HERE

Original Pour

Life is like riding a bicycle.
To keep your balance you must keep moving.

                                              ~ albert einstein

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CLOUDS OF THE DAY . . .

                                                                         ~  aimee kenoyer

Our daughter Aimee took this shot from the Space Needle in Seattle.  Besides just being a beautiful photo, it goes so nicely with the painting above, don't you think?!  :)

Charleen

EXPERIMENTATION ...

A LITTLE MORE POURING . . .

So, these 5 Pieces were part of a Pouring experiment I did.  I used the same 6 colors for all 5 Pieces: Black, White, Red, Turquoise, Sand and Cream.  I used the colors for each 'Pour' in a different order.

For those of you that didn't see my Post from June 20th these are what are called a 'Dirty Pour'. Results just depend on the amount and order you pour the paint into the cup (All the paint goes into one cup, but not mixed, one color over another, and then that is applied to a canvas which is turned upside down, put over the top of the cup, and then the whole thing is flipped over.  You let it sit like that for a few minutes, gently remove the cup and let the paint spread over the canvas. : ) 

  The originals are all small 4 x 4" ~ 6 x 6".  

1.   6 x 6"

2.   4 x 4"

3.   4 x 4"

4.   4 x 4"

5.   6 x 6"

Interesting to see how they are all so different.  For the Artists out there, I used canvases that were supposed to be pre-gessoed (acrylic base for sealing the canvas) but, they really were poorly sealed.  Next time I will gesso again myself.   The paint would have flowed easier and the colors would be more intense.

Number 2 reminds me of an old fashioned Paisley print so I'm going to say that is my favorite.  :)

I was playing with these to see if I could come up with some fun backgrounds for some Bird paintings and/or Collages like this Collage below.  I had pre-sealed this canvas before the Pour and you can definitely see the difference in the intensity in the color.

'AND THE BLACKBIRDS CIRCLED THE MOON'

6 X 6"  Mixed Media Collage

For more information on this Please Click HERE

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CLOUDS OF THE DAY . . . 

I picked this photo because it looks like a 'Poured' Sky.  :)

(I wish I could give credit to the photographer but, sadly, I have no idea who it is.)