LANA, ARE YOU HOME?

The city of Wallace, Idaho recently celebrated the 100th birthday of one of their most favorite daughters, Lana Turner (or aka Julia Jean Turner).  I am going to guess there may be a few people reading this not familiar with Lana, but she was a famous (and also somewhat infamous on occasion) actress whose popularity was predominantly  in the 40's and 50's. She often played the part of a good girl gone bad, and sadly, life often imitated art in her case. Despite fame, hers was not a life to envy, even from her earliest years. After winding up in a foster home in California, she suffered abuse as a child, and like so often happens, that pattern of abuse followed her into adulthood.

 Lana Turner

Her childhood home still stands in Wallace and several years ago I took photographs of the house 'just because'.  I loved the style of the home, reminiscent of something you'd see in the old south.  Any grand ideas this home may have had though, have long vanished. 

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a wee bit of my art . . .

"BUT, DO YOU THINK SHE MEANT IT?"

4 x 4" Mixed Media Collage 

comes with a stand for display

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 CLOUDS OF THE DAY . . .

INAUGURATION DAY 2021

See the Eagle in the sky? This was our sky over Ajo the morning of Jan. 20th.  I don't think it could have been any more appropriate!

Shortly before the Eagle flew in . . .

'IN THE EAGLE THERE IS

ALL THE WISDOM OF THE WORLD.'

~ lame deer

GRAB YOUR SLIPPERS . . .

AND GET OUT IN THE GARDEN.  OTHERWISE YOU MIGHT MISS SOME GOOD GOSSIP!

'THE EARLY MORNING SLIPPER CLUB:  

GARDEN GOSSIP'

I recently brought The Early Morning Slipper Club back.  I haven't brought them to life for quite a few years but I had a recent request for some ladies along this line so I thought who better than the Slipper Club.  This is the second in the series.  They are fun ladies to play with. You just never know what kind of gossip they might be spreading now. :)

 You can find both on my website at www.charleenmartin.com

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We recently went out for an evening ride with friends to have dinner in the desert.  Thought I would share a few photos with you.

you just never know what you might find

a 'cristate' which is a deformed saguaro. nobody knows why this happens

superbloom of orange mallow after the heavy winter rains

an old well

i saw a dog. my friend saw an elephant.  i think she was right. :)

mexican poppies growing in the roadway

CLOUDS OF THE DAY . . .

and the western sunset reflecting off these mountains ended our day

Happiest of Easters Everyone!

Charleen

Gossip can be entertaining: occasionally, I've heard the most fascinating things about myself I never knew

~ vanna bonta

www.charleenmartin.com

BYE!! SEE YOU IN THE SPRING!

WELL, I'LL STILL BE 'HERE'.  I JUST WON'T BE IN IDAHO!

WAVING GOODBYE TO THE SNOW,
SAYING HELLO TO THE SUNSHINE.

THE BACKSIDE OF LIFE:  JIVIN' TO THE MOONBEAMS'

18 x 24" Collage on wood 

for more information on this piece Please click HERE

'just sayin goodbye in order to take on a new adventure'.

~ me  :)

MORE SUNFLOWER SMILES

Fame is the scentless sunflower, with gaudy crown of gold; But friendship is the breathing rose, with sweets in every fold.

~ oliver wendell holmes

Sunflowers may be scentless, but they are definitely happy flowers!

'SUNFLOWER ADVICE:  ALWAYS SPREAD SEEDS OF HAPPINESS'

12 x 12" Acrylic over an Acrylic Pour

This piece is sold but to see other work Please visit my Website at

www.charleenmartin.com

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CLOUDS OF THE DAY . . .

This is what I woke up to this morning.  It's been mostly wet and dreary here for the last 2 weeks.  Today added insult to injury.  Snow is beautiful when the sun is out, but when it's just gray and foggy, not so much.

But ... this is where I'll be in about 2 weeks.  I am soooo ready!

HAVE A GREAT DAY!

Charleen

ADOPT THE PACE OF NATURE:

HER SECRET IS PATIENCE

                  ~ ralph waldo emerson

'AND SHE WAITS WITH THE PATIENCE
THAT THE FLOWERS HAVE TAUGHT HER'

12 x 12"  Mixed Media Collage over an Acrylic Pour

for more information on this piece please click HERE

For the longest time I looked at this background thinking it had to have an animal in there somewhere.  Birds ... maybe another Raven.  I put it away for several weeks and when I picked it up again, there she was. 
Waiting.  Patiently.  

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CLOUDS OF THE DAY . . .

I recently flew back east.  At one point this was my view from the plane.  I wish the photo was a little clearer as the clouds were just beautiful and it's a little hard to get the full effect here.  Not just big white billowing clouds, but so much detail within each one.   Mesmerizing.

Have a great week!

Charleen

THE KEY TO IMMORTALITY ...

IS FIRST LIVING A LIFE WORTH REMEMBERING.

 ~ bruce lee

CLOSE YOUR EYES AND REMEMBER

12 x 12"  Acrylic on Textured Wood Panel

I posted this once before but I wasn't quite satisfied with it so I went back in and changed the trees on the right, added the orange bush to bring some color forward, then added a little more depth of color overall.  :)

For more information on this Piece
Please visit my Website at www.charleenmartin.com

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This is the local Golf Course.  Not a lot of green to be seen.
 Of course, this is the desert, but still ...  :)

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CLOUDS OF THE DAY ...

Escape from the storm

CHARLEEN

DARKNESS FALLS . . .

Night Arrives.  With all it's Mysteries ...

'AS NIGHT OVERCOMES THE EARTH'

12 x 12" Acrylic Pour over Collage

More information on this Piece can be found HERE

It's a little hard to see in the photo 

but the shape of the Earth actually shows through.

We are all here on earth to help others;  what on earth the others are here for I don't know.

 ~  w h auden

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Sorry, no cloud photos today. My 'cloud file' is locked away on my computer which, for some reason known only to the computer, will not let me access ANYTHING on my computer at the moment.   I'm trying to figure out what Karma is upset with me over ...

Charleen

THE WISEWALKERS CAME TO VISIT ...

I LOVE DOING MY 'WISEWALKERS'.  I FEEL LIKE I AM ABLE TO STEAL SMALL BITS OF WISDOM FROM THEM AS THEY APPEAR ON THE CANVAS BEFORE ME.

'THE WISEWALKERS: 
COATS OF MANY COLORS, YEARS OF MANY SMILES'

12 x 12" Mixed Media Collage

For more information on this Piece Please Click HERE

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We recently went through the small town of Palouse, which is located, appropriately, on the Palouse Prairie in Southeastern Washington.  This 'bus' was parked on one of the side streets and I thought I would include it here.  It caught my attention because, by the style, you can tell it's quite old.  But, it's licensed and the tires are good, so it seems like someone has converted this to an RV.  It is definitely someone's 'Happy Hour'.  :)

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CLOUDS OF THE DAY . . .

O.K. This is a stretch, but I can see a bear, laying on his back, with his head up in the air, wondering ... what the heck he is doing there.

Palouse Country Clouds.  They have some of the prettiest skies down there.

CHARLEEN

THE DESERTS IN BLOOM!

AND, WE ARE LUCKY ENOUGH TO 

BE HERE TO SEE IT ...

A little more of our Ajo trip.  One more month before we head home.

The Sonoran Desert in Bloom ...

Mexican poppies

And a little purple thrown in ...

" My mother named me after a miracle of nature. 

Waris means desert flower. The desert flower blooms in a barren environment where few living things can survive."

Waris Dirie, Desert Flower 

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Let's stay with lots of Color for now ...

 I

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'I'VE GOT SUNSHINE ON MY SIDE'

12 x 12" Mixed Media Collage

More information on this can be found at

Www.charleenmartin.com 

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CLOUDS OF THE DAY ...

O.K. ... so you have to use your imagination.  :)  This rock, and others like it, are called 'Desert Roses'. A little cloud-like in its shape, don't you think?  It looks like something left over from when the desert was once covered by ocean.  Beauty in the smallest things.

Charleen

A LITTLE MORE OF DESERT LIFE ...

O.K. LET'S SEE HOW MANY OF YOU CAN GUESS WHAT THIS IS ..

I'll give you the answer at the end of the Blog.  I'm going to guess most of you will figure it out.  :)

Here are are a few more 'Ghost Figures of Ajo'  that I thought you might enjoy seeing. These first three are along the highway coming in to Ajo. 

These next three are actually posts from a backyard patio that I happened to spot. They are holding up the roof over the patio.  :)

   

And, for the unusual, how's this for a house ... !

This is two EXTRA LARGE culverts, connected by one smaller culvert, (you can't see it in this photo) to form  a 'house'. This definitely has to be a winter only home because there is no way you could survive in this during a normal Arizona desert summer! :-)

'THE LAST DRIVE-IN'

 (Wood and metal pieces used are from an actual old drive-in!)

12 x 12" Mixed Media Collage

And, yes, I just did give you the answer to the photo at the top of this page!  :-)  The metal post was used to hold an old drive-in movie theatre speaker.  We take morning walks with our dogs through a field, long ago over-run with cactus, mesquite trees and a surplus of weeds, near the RV park we are staying at.  There is a shell of an old pink Adobe building in the middle of this field and for several days we tried to figure out what it could have been. It wasn't until we stumbled across one of these posts that we finally figured out what the building was ... the popcorn, candy, soda fountain , and ... the bathrooms for the drive-in!  And, as life normally is, once your eyes are opened to one thing, its amazing what else you see.  Once we found the one post and looked around us, we realized we were surrounded by these rusted old soldiers who were hiding behind, and under, all the surrounding greenery. It was an eerie feeling actually.   A call from the past begging not to be forgotten.

The authentic 'Last drive-in'

For more information on this Piece Please visit my Website at

www.charleenmartin.com

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CLOUDS OF THE DAY ...

These were all from the same evening so I thought I would share them all together.  Sunrises and Sunsets are all beautiful here. Living in the mountains as we do back in Idaho, we don't see the Sunrises and Sunsets very often. They are obscured by the, uhhh ... Mountains.  :)

So, in the first photo I see the silhouette of a sleeping woman and the face of an old woman.

In the second one I see Oscar and The Cookie Monster after they've had one too many  'spiced' cookies. :/

And in the third photo I see a baby wind cloud trying his best to look adorably ferocious.

Your turn ...

"I had a dream about you last night ... I think I've realized why drive-in theatres are going extinct; you can't yell at the guy in front of you to sit down."
       Marshall Ramsay, Dreaming is for lovers

                Charleen

I HEAR THE MUSIC ...

AND, THEY DO TOO!

'HEARING THE MUSIC'

Pretty Pink Coneflowers keeping time to the rhythm of the Breeze ...

For more information on this piece Please click HERE

'ONE GOOD THING ABOUT MUSIC, WHEN IT HITS YOU, YOU FEEL NO PAIN.'

~  Bob Marley

I have been diligently working away on a Commissioned Piece which I just finished yesterday.  That's why I haven't been around lately to visit with you.  :)  This is another Pointillism Piece which I will post on my next blog.  I do like doing them but they are VERY time consuming. 

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CLOUDS OF THE DAY ...

I can clearly see the face of a wizened old soul up in the lighter portion of the clouds.  I also see a Walrus and I can also see part of an angry Bears head.  :(  What am I missing?  :)

Charleen

IMAGINATION IS ...

 ... THE ONLY REAL MAGIC CARPET YOU NEED.

LITTLE SISTERS:  "I CAN'T EXPLAIN IT, BUT BIG PEOPLE JUST DON'T BELIEVE IN MAGIC ..."

8 x 8" Mixed Media Collage

For more information on this Piece Please Click HERE

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CLOUDS OF THE DAY ...

I see Mr. Gorilla kissing Mrs. Gorilla  :)

'YOU DO NOT TEACH THE PATHS OF THE FOREST TO AN OLD GORILLA'
~  African Proverb

Charleen