Winter Monotones

We've been having very gray days lately with small snowfalls and fog. It hasn't been particularly cold, although we've had a couple of weeks with nighttime temperatures in the single digits, but overall it has been another mild winter. Above, the small lake by the condos near Pink Gardens on a foggy day.

This particularly foggy day left me alone on the boardwalk with this great blue heron standing on the frozen lake. 

A recent snowfall left behind a small amount of very "clingy" snow, perfect for snowballs and snowmen, but with less than an inch of snow, they would have been teeny tiny snow creations.

 The other side of this small lake is barely visible in this midday fog.

There are sculptures all over the downtown area of Madison. These are next to the supermarket and balance the glacier-era boulder precariously perched on the granite ledge behind them.

Having fun with a recent snowfall.

 The frozen lake on frigid day. Overall thought, it has been a mild winter.

Vintage grates found buried on Pink Garden's acreage. I'm a sucker for any "natural" stripes and patterns created by snow.

Our vegetable garden's Hummingbird Gate hasn't been opened since Fall. Our "Peace Bench" and square granite "flowerstand" on the side in the background hasn't seen any activity either.

 Late afternoon's long shadows as I trudge my way home from my daily walk.

One of the Victorian cast-iron planters enjoying its winter respite with pine boughs and red-berried Barberry stalks.

A natural "room" in the brambles is almost a perfect half-cone in shape and volume about 10 feet wide and 15 feet tall.

The vegetable garden's deer-fencing mesh on top of the regular fencing takes on an almost gossamer appearance with a recent sticky snowfall.

An arrangement of vintage iron train hardware and planter lie under a dusting of snow.

My tomato cages lined up waiting patiently for next Spring.

Chicken wire, deer fence mesh, dead morning glory vines, and tomato cages all add texture to this snowy photo.

"American Beauty Goes," . . . to Colorado!

I'm VERY happy too announce that one of my pieces has begun its journey to its new home across the country! American Beauty Goes, above, is en route to Colorado, and will join its sibling, Left Behind, in the Durango collection of Gail Harriss. The images in this piece, as in all of my work, are personal and historic. My uncle and his friends, ca 1943-47 are represented in the motorcyclists and in the closeup on the top right. The image in the lower left corner is a scan of a vintage candy box which was home to hundreds of the antique negatives I use in my art. This piece measures approximately 23" x 16" on hardwood. There is paper-thin hammered aluminum foil on the right to give the suggestion of a silver frame. I'm so thrilled to have my art hanging around the country and beginning its life away from "home!"

Left Behind, above, will soon have a familiar piece hanging next to it. The two pieces are just about the same size and are both on reclaimed wood. They will look great together, and my little 2-3 year old mom in the central image, will now have more family to hang with!

A HUGE thanks to Gail, a friend of mine since 1976 when we were both students at Vassar. My closest college chums from then have remained lifelong friends, the type you can start up a conversation up right off the bat even if you haven't seen each other in years. I treasure them.

Note:

My friend Woody Thompson's car site has a new URL now: woodyscarsite.blogspot.com. The old links won't work for it. Please adjust your bookmarks and head over there today!

Congratulations Mr. President!

Today is Inauguration Day in the United States, the solemn and momentous occasion that marks our peaceful transitions of power. President Barack Hussein Obama has taken the oath of office for the second time, and I'm just so happy and relieved we continue to have a fierce warrior for ALL Americans and not just the "corporations are people too, my friend" candidate fielded by the increasingly marginalized xenophobic, homophobic, anti-feminist, anti-poor, anti-Labor and, frankly, racist factions within the "Party of No," GOP.

I found this single, bright yellow Dandelion blooming yesterday—in January in Connecticut! It's a perfect symbol of the indomitable spirit of life and liberty in our country, and to the hope for the next four years of fair and progressive policies leading us to that more perfect union written into our Constitution.

I Have Been Here Many Times Before

Breathe Me, by SIA.

Sailors: Swaggers and Smiles

One of my earliest pieces, dating to 2005, is "Dad, St. Peter's, 1946." It's based on a photo of my Dad on shore leave in Rome, just after the war was over. He is the one near the center wearing the white sailor hat, with his swagger down just about perfectly. It seems as if the group of them may have just bought new cameras from the guy standing behind them. When you look at it closely, every sailor is either taking a photo or posing for one. I can just imagine how good it felt to be on land and to have peacetime after such a long war. My Dad was in the Navy from 1938-50 and then transferred to the Army until 1960. This piece is approximately 3 feet wide by 20 inches high and is done on two joined antique chestnut floorboards.

 

An early example of a consumer color camera, sailors enjoying some sunny decktime with a cute little puppy that looks like a Cocker Spaniel to me.  My dad is the tall one in the back.

A few more sailors have joined the group posing with the puppy. My Dad must have been the photographer for this on. I love the various ways these young men are wearing their caps.

Hello Dolly(s)

 

Some of my vintage dolls and figurines scanned for a piece of art I made in 2008. Above—All I have left of this Victorial bisque doll is her head and shoulders piece. She's so serene and beautiful though, she'll remain with me forever.

Adorable little fairy figurine. So impish!

One of my own little dolls from my childhood. He's a tattooed warrior in a fabulous feather-and-leather outfit. I used to talk to him for hours as a child.

Disney's "Sleepy" chose to pose without his floppy felt hat. The better to see his sleepy eyes!

 

 Hoohoo's prized Roly-Poly from the late 1920s. Still the pride of my collection.

Sleeping Dolly. She will rest in peace in my collection as long as I am around to curate it.

Happy Birthday to a Special Gal!

 

As I sit here freezing (it's about 20° outside tonight), the heat isn't working in two apartments at Pink Gardens, mine included, I really need to see some bright summery colors! And today also happens to be Artichoke Annie's birthday, one of my earliest and most supportive readers and now friends. While I can't send Annie a beautiful flower arrangement, I can brighten her day with these flowers from my past gardens. I hope you have a wonderful and very special birthday, Annie, you sure have brightened many of MY days!

Last but not Least:

 

I created this image two years ago of a Tangerine-colored 1969 Porsche 912 for Annie. She had one just like it "back in the day" and mentioned it in the comments section once. She mentioned that she didn't have many photos of it, if any, so I recreated it for her. I'm reprinting it today because it  fits in perfectly with this very "artandcolour" birthday post today.

Radio Orphan Annie Decoder Pin, 1936

 

What better way to start the new year at casey/artandcolour than with something seventy-seven years old? I recently found this Radio Orphan Annie Show decoder pin dating to 1936 in a box of things packed away for generations. I'll probably never finish going through my stuff! My aunt Hoohoo would have been eleven years old in '36 so I'm positive she sent away for this. I can just imagine the little Hoohoo sitting in the family home in Leete's Island, listening to the radio program, twirling the ring and finding out each week's "secret" message. Such a cool piece of history!

I just realized I should have turned the outside ring a tiny bit. The letters of the alphabet appear in those blank squares outside of the numbers. You must have been given a series of numbers to match up to the letters to decode the weekly secret message. 

Happy New Year!

Looking forward to spring 2013 and my Jack-in-the-Pulpits revealing themselves again, I would like to thank each and every one of you that clicks over to my little blog, casey/artandcolour, and joins in my adventure here. I give you my truly heartfelt thanks. And may I wish everyone a very peaceful, healthy and happy 2013.

-casey

Merry Christmas from casey/artandcolour!

It's almost time to display Santa. This is thr life-sized Santa Claus my father made in 1960 or '61. He's plywood and the paint is still almost perfect. My father made things that lasted! This was a kit that my father built from plans in a magazine like Woodworking I believe. Santa spends the year in the attic and then stands outside on Christmas Day. This photo is from 2010. Last year I believe it stormed on Christmas so he stayed inside. The advantage of middle age, lol!

I hope everyone has a peaceful and healthy Christmas!
-casey

Check Out My Pinterest Flower Board

Pink and white dahlia from 2010 or '11.

I've finally started to add "boards" to my Pinterest account. I've started one for my collectibles, my Photoshopped cars and now my flower photos. I'll be adding to them each as time permits. Pinterest has an easy-to-use interface for uploading, and the boards are neat and clean and easy-to-look through. I hope you check them out. The flower board link, here. I'll find a space for a permanent link on the right side of this blog.

• The collectible Pinterest, here. Not yet much on this board.
• The Pinterest board for my Photoshopped cars, here.

I always have blue morning glories in my gardens..

Peachy yellow and pink rose from town, 2011.

A riot of colors of annuals packed in Mary's truck en route to a summer party.

Yellow and white iris, 2012.

Deep purple iris, after an early summer's rain..

1950s Santa: Did the Mesh Hold Candy?

 

Closeup shot of a little piece of a 1950s Christmas. This Santa is about 8-inches long and I think came chock full of gold foil-covered chocolate "coins."  He's a bit worse-for-the-wear, but has a certain charm in his face. I leave him hanging around the house all year long.

The background is one of my late mother's scarves. I'm pretty sure it dates to about 1965 and I've always loved the colors and patterns.

U P D A T E :

My friend, Bob A., on Facebook, mentioned that this Santa looks like the European Kris Kringle in ways. Now I'm thinking that it's indeed German. My family lived in Germany from '55-'60 so this could be from their time there. I love the collective knowledge of everyone!

B O N U S   P H O T O :

I used the same silk scarf a few years ago in this photo entitled, "Hurtling Parked" of my 1:18 scale model 1971 Buick Riviera.

FashionColour: Early 1990s

I recently found this original drawing packed away in a closet. It's by Steven Stipelman, one of the wonderful illustrators at Women's Wear Daily when I worked there. If we didn't care for the photos of the fashions we were featuring that day in the newspaper, we could assign one of our illustrators to render them instead. They were consummate professionals and could "whip up" illustrations like this in just a few hours for that day's front page. Stephen gave this drawing to me when I left the company. It dates to the early '90s and was I believe, RTW, or for the Ready-to-Wear section that week.

• For a bit more on Steven Stipelman, click here.

Red, Green and Blue. And Then Some.

 A recent sunny afternoon gave me a chance to capture some of the last color until next spring... These red berries were so striking against the blue sky and remaining green leaves. Red, green and blue, or RGB, is a way of capturing colors for video devices such as the monitor you're using right now. Once in a while you capture these three hues courtesy of Mother Nature.

"Colonial" lamp in a town shopping center parking lot is actually damaged from the last hurricane, the top of it is completely missing, but from this view, it looks just fine.

Just a glorious riot of colors and textures. I feel like the orange leaf most of the time.

This last image is missing the blue sky portions, but I loved the way the color of the burning bush (Euonymus alatus compactus) was tightly contained in the mainly neutral setting. The hints of greens and yellows accent the red nicely, and the graphic shadow of the boardwalk anchors it all. Yes, that's me on the lower right, sort of looking like a larger, stumpier railing post, lol.

B O N U S   P H O T O S  : )

Works-in-progress. Haven't touched these two in several months, but they've both been aging nicely. The piece above will get a layer of wall joint compound soon, as the image below has. These are both examples of my "cardboard quilts," and get a nice 3D shape as the three-layer cardboard sandwich bases I've created dry out and warp in subtly different directions. When these are hung on a wall, frameless as 99% of my art is, they stand proud of the wall as if trying to enter the room itself. Light plays on their faceted shapes, changing as the lighting in the room changes.