I wish I had thought to do this........

Valentines in the Streets of Amsterdam

clever (cleaver...heh heh) idea

Happy Valentine's Day to all!!!

Florida Highwaymen

I ran across an article entitled "The Highwaymen" by Elizabeth Hoover. This article was about a group of young self-taught black artists in the midst of racial strife in the 1950's - 1960's who painted Florida landscapes. Their works were their way of a deflection against the times of despair.The original members were James Gibson, Alfred Hair, Harold Newton and Livingston Roberts - two of this group formed a relationship with a white painter/artist Albert Backus and eventually labeled themselves "The Highwaymen" who painted sometimes only from memory, and who sold these beautiful paintings from the trunks of their cars. What's even more interesting and is that out of the 26 Highwaymen, there was only one female, Mary Ann Carroll. Their works are breathtakingly surreal and a wonderful historic tribute to Florida's natural beauty.

FLORIDA HIGHWAYMEN

A Heart Awaits

A Heart Awaits

Photography/Mixed Media

8 x 6

The Story Behind The Photo:

For the past 2 years, my artsy daughter and I have created baskets/gifts for various holiday occasions (i.e., Valentine's Day, Easter, Mothers Day and other special occasions) including church fundraiser events, personal orders, etc. delivering to homes and even to nursing home residents. Most of the items gathered for the baskets are bought off season and stored away which saves on costs. Examples of contents are candies of various sorts, brownies, strawberry cupcakes, novelty items , stuffed animals, and her hand dipped Granny Smith apples in dark chocolate, caramel, white chocolate, pecans, walnuts, M&Ms, toffee, chocolate chip, butterscotch and the list goes on. She has branded her product - My Adam's Apples . I must admit it took a while but she has perfected her technique and they are delicious!

WE both really enjoy creativity and exploring new ideas but I must admit sometimes I am wrangled into projects without knowing but to be totally honest, as long as it's for a good cause, I easily bend and I'm in.

So, the above is a photo of the gift tags I created for the Valentine's Day Baskets/Gifts that are going out this week. These tags are made from card stock, ribbon, wire, foam cut outs, and magazines. After creating so many tags by hand and tossing them in a large gold bowl, the colors were so vibrant - I saw a possible artistic photo opportunity. ...

And, out there a heart waits for the gift/basket with one of these tags on this upcoming Valentine's Day....

A ghostly ship

A Ghostly Ship

4 x 5

Mixed Media

Springing Forward

Springing Forward

Watercolor/Mixed Media

18 x 22

Needed some "pick me up" with all the ice, snow and brrrrrrrrr...cold weather - some C O L O U R....in my life and VOILA!!!! Looking forward to SPRING and all the beautiful flowers and colors of life.