Art

11.10.2012 Art, Starbucks

Destination: Art

I love the artist Dale Chihuly. If you’ve been to the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas, you’ve probably seen his work on the ceiling (right.)

The photo to the left was taken at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix in 2011. It was freakin’ hot, even at ten a.m. My sons and I were there to look at the plants, but were delighted to find some artwork of Chihuly’s near the entrance. Those two “plants” on the right are made of glass. Even though they’re this vibrating neon green, they don’t seem to clash with the natural surroundings. Weird, huh!

Anyway, Chihuly is from Tacoma, Washington and in Seattle they’ve built the Chihuly Garden and Glass installation. I’m dying to go see it.

If I went there, I could also see the first Starbucks location, too. I’ve heard there are always long lines, but I wouldn’t need to buy a coffee there. Come to think of it, a trip to Seattle would guarantee we’d have good coffee at least. There’s nothing worse than going on vacation and having to suffer bad coffee. (Carnival Cruise Lines have horrible coffee, FYI.)

03.17.2012 Art

Artist: Megan Aroon Duncanson

Winter Wind by Duncanson

I haven’t posted weekly art in forever. I’m going to start up again. 🙂 This piece caught my eye immediately. It reminds me of Miro’s stuff, which I’ve always liked. It’s whimsical. It looks like a yo-yo tree on a windy day. 🙂

Carnival of Harlequin by Miro

This one is brighter. Still fantastic in the original sense of the word.

Dreaming in Gold by Duncanson

And this one, titled “Flaming Desire…” What can I say? It’s tumultuous yearning on canvas.

Flaming Desire by Duncanson

To view more of her work, go here.

08.10.2010 Art, Characters, Portraits

Harnessing My Inner Picasso

A few months ago I felt inspired to do a little painting. Here are some small portraits of a few of Jane Austen’s characters from her novel, Emma. Each portrait also has a quote about that character. The first is Emma who had “a disposition to think a little too much of herself.”

Next is Mr. Knightley, who said, “Men of sense…do not want silly wives.”

Here is Miss Bates, “a great talker upon little matters.”

Here is Jane Fairfax, the portrait I actually sold! Her quote is, “A style of beauty of which elegance was the reigning character.”

Finally here is Mr. Woodhouse, Emma’s father who thought, “Where health is at stake, nothing else should be considered.”

It was a fun little lark and I was pleased with how they turned out. 🙂

04.17.2009 Art, Bettas

Artist: Vicki Greene

I’m really tired from work so I didn’t spend much time searching for artwork. On my desk I have a bowl with a betta fish in it. His name is Chow and he’s red and blue, even violet in places. He’s very fiesty and is always busily blowing bubbles for his nest, in case a female betta shows up. So, in his honor, here’s a lovely watercolor by Vicki Greene. Go here if you’d like to see more or inquire about purchasing her work.