Priscilla

Priscilla ... a shy girl.

Portrait done on yupo paper using

watercolor and ink, 5.25" by 7.25".

Priscilla was a shy girl, usually camera shy but this year she got up her nerve and showed up for "picture day".  The meaning of the name Priscilla is "ancient".  Of course she was not ancient ... just some of her ideas. 

The Ingenue

 


The Ingenue, an imaginary portrait.
4.25" by 6.25", mixed media
yupo paper, watercolor, ink, graphite



Another mixed media on yupo paper.  This 4.25" by 6.25" portrait is an imaginary portrait, it just evolved after I sat down and started drawing.  Mediums used are grafite, watercolor, ink and a rubber stamp was used in the design of the background.

A Wise Old Owl



A mixed media painting/drawing of an owl on yupo paper,  5.25" by 7".



 

A wise old owl sat in an oak,

The more he saw the less he spoke;

The less he spoke the more he heard:

Why can't we all be like that bird?

           ~ Edward Hersey Richards

Sara Elizabeth portrait from a tintype

Sara Elizabeth

This black and white mixed media portrait was painted on yupo paper.  Yupo paper is a synthetic paper, the watercolor is not absorbed, it literally "sits" on the paper.  It is rather difficult to use but it is good for me. I am trying to paint in a more loose style and no matter how hard I try, I can't help but get a loose style with yupo paper. This is one of my first paintings done on yupo paper.

It measures 8" by 9" and the mediums used were watercolor, ink and pencil.  The watermark shown on this photo does not show on the actual painting.  I am using the watermark because I am listing this painting in my etsy shop.

For the painting, I used as a reference photo a tintype.  I can't remember where I found this tintype, probably at an auction.  I have it propped up on a shelf of our poetry books.  I had been thinking of doing a portrait of her and today was the day she was completed.

Clint named her Sara Elizabeth.  Thanks, Clint ... she looks like a Sara Elizabeth.

Lady in Red Hat Watercolor Portrait

Recently I painted some small watercolor portraits inspired by some pages from an old mail order company.  I can't find a date on the yellowed and brittle pages. The backgrounds and color for the paintings came from my imagination.

The color of this hat was called crab apple, the catalogue photo was in black and white so I came up with this color from a childhood memory of our own crab apple trees.

This little painting was done in watercolor on Arches 140 lb cold pressed  watercolor paper.  It measures 5.5" by 4.5 inches.

Winter of Our Discontent






Where does the white go when the snow melts?

 

All the snow pictures had to be made right outside
our front door, there is thick ice under the snow and makes for very difficult walking.






I smiled when a few minutes ago I noticed tracks atop my neighbor's roof.
Since Santa Claus is back at the North Pole, I suspect these tracks belong to
a squirrel.   Notice the zig zag pattern, it seems a squirrel can never make up their mind.



Our hedges out front ...

A perfect wintry day to curl up with a good book.



Where are you Candy Johnson?

Candy Johnson




Where I first discovered Candy Johnson,
The Perpetual Motion Dancer

 


While a Statewide Power Emergency has been declared in the state of Texas and our electricity goes out for 15 minutes or more every couple of hours due to blizzard like conditions, my thoughts are not turning to spring time but to summer ... hot summers!


I feel like I need to ask for some patience as I indulge in a fantasy of my youthful days.  I have had the old beach party movies on my mind recently.  Beach Party (1965), How to Stuff a Wild Bikini, Muscle Beach Party (1964),  Beach Blanket Bingo and the list continues.  I loved these movies when I was in my pre-teen and teenage years.  I did not identify so much with Annette, she usually sat on the beach without a hair getting out of place and wore that boring one piece swimsuit.  I daydreamed of being one of those carefree girls with long blonde hair that surfed and danced on the beach all day.


In the 1960s, most people were not as concerned about skin damage from the sun.  A tan was considered healthy looking and QT or Quick Tan was introduced to give one an instant tan. ha!  Remember those orange ankles, knees and palms of hands? You had to have a tan to be "in" with this beach crowd!

To this day I love the smell of Coopertone products.

After making this photo, I had to open a bottle for a whiff of that summer scent.



Younger looking skin tomorrow?  I don't think so!



Also for my California surfer fantasy, there were products for lightening hair.  Who remembers products such as Sun In?  I would try every new product that came out.  They didn't show the brassy stage on brown hair in the ad.

Back to the beach movies of the 1960s, there were so many unforgettable characters such as Eric Von Zipper and I was always fond of Beach Blanket Bingo that involved a story about a mermaid named Lorelei.  Remember Eric Von Zipper, he was the leader of the motorcycle gang that wore black leather? :-)



Jerry Van Dyke was in Muscle Beach Party.  I had an unexpected surprise of seeing
Jerry make an appearance at the Clay Cooper Theatre in Branson,  November 2010,
when Clint and I were there.  He was promoting his appearance
in The Sunshine Boys.  Funny as ever!



As a teenager, I loved the water and the sun and daydreaming about

being on the California coast!

The most unforgetable character in the movies was Candy Johnson. I learned her name early on, I can remember sitting there until the credits stopped rolling so I could find out her name. Until recently, I had not been able to find out much about her. I did learn she was born on Febuary 8, 1944.  An early Happy Birthday greeting, Candy ♥ There was no way I could even begin to attempt to dance like her.  The closest I could come to being a go go dancer was being on a local teen dance show in 1967 in Knoxville, Tennessee.  It was called Disco Teen, hosted by Al Adams.  It was fun and made me feel like a "star".  For a few hours, anyway!

Love these fringed dresses, just like Candy wore! Every time I would

see a fringed dress like these above, I would be reminded of Candy.

No, I didn't wear such attire on the local dance program

but being there still made me feel like I was a real go go dancer!

Now ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to introduce you to Candy Johnson ...

                  


While searching for information about Candy Johnson's whereabouts, I could not find much information.  I did find a website for a Candy Johnson that was "under construction".  There is one rumor about Candy being a choreographer in Branson, Missouri.  I feel this is truly only a rumor, no one could dance like Candy Johnson and one thing for sure, her style could not be taught!  You have it or you don't.


So much for my winter day fantasy of beach party movies and Candy Johnson.  Decades have passed and I  live far from the beach but in my little back "yard" I can still dream of being at the ocean with Annette, Frankie and friends ... having a ball dancing, surfing and watching Candy dance!