Moses in the ER

This is a portion of a Chagall copy that I did in the UCLA ER last week while I was waiting to be admited to have my psych medication adusted. It bears little resemblance to the original...other than composition. It was just a way to keep my mind occupied while I was spending more than 12 hours camping in the UCLA ER - which is not a horrible place. I was experiencing some sort of Bipolar Mixed-Episode....a new experience for me. I've had manic episodes, depressive episodes, but this is my first true mixed-episode experience. Something I'd rather not repeat. UCLA spent days taking me off of 3 old medications and my outside Dr. finally settled on one new med - Abilify - that should do the job of all three with fewer side effects. It is specifically for Bipolar patients who suffer from Mania and Mixed-Episodes - it is a fairly new FDA approved med. We will see. I don't think I'm turning this in for homework...I just posted it as a springboard for discussion of mental states and art.

This is a Chagall-inspired painting that I did today in Watercolor class. It is quite different from the original...it is highly simplified when compared to the original lithograph. I really concentrated just on the floral core of the painting. That was about all I had the energy for today. The lithograph that this is based on is owned by my friend Kim who lives in Boston. I may post the digital photo...but this is really a different painting. This was my first attempt at using White Gouache - which is opaque watercolor. I like it - it is a very forgiving paint and allows the mixing of pastel shades...like the yellow in this painting.

Sign near front door

My husband gave me a holiday gift of a $35 gift certificate to Color Me Mine in Brea. I had actually asked for this gift because I love paint your own ceramics shops. I started out making this as a serving plate that would match my kitchen tile - it ended up as a sign to hang over the mailbox. I really like it. Since I had shots to kill on the roll of film last week, I decided to take a photo of it for the blog. If I ever live somewhere that I don't need a mail box sign, I will serve cookies and cheese and crakers on this rectangular plate. I painted this in January 2006.

Peach Roses

These Peach Roses are in my front yard in Fullerton right now. The plant is from the previous owner and I take no credit for it. I don't even care for it well. I was using up the roll of Fuji 400 Professional yesterday and decided to take a photo of the roses. They actually look BETTER in the photo than in real life. My 12-year-old says this is an impossible statement. But it is true. The Fuji film makes the colors brighter and more vivid. This is very special film. It is $8.99 a roll locally - unlike the regular Fuji 400 which you can buy for $5.99 a three pack. I was turned on to it by my nephew Max who is in Photograpy school at NYU. I'm not convinced I need it all the time - but it is amazing film.

These Peacocks were at the large botanical garden on Fisler street in Freno at the end of March. They were standing at the entrance of the Japanese Garden and it was pure luck that I was able to get these photos. They were shot with Fuji 400 professional 35 mm film. Peacocks are a very auspicious bird in Asian folklore.

"The Birthday" by Marc Chagall

The top painting is my copy of a Marc Chagall early watercolor - 1915 - Titled "The Birthday" - I had to copy this twice to get a halfway decent copy. I still feel like it is more a composition study than a creative watercolor. I painted the windows light cobalt blue instead of trying to copy the detail...I was working quite small here. The original painting at the Pompidou in Paris is probably much larger. There were many good Chagalls at that museum when I was there in Oct. 2004. I copied the size from the version in the Marc Chagall art book I purchased off Amazon.com. It is a beautiful book. I wish I could just jet off to the Pompidou and sketch one of the Chagalls in their collection. I'm going to the Norton Simon in Pasadena as a class field trip on Sunday. I can't recall if they own any Chagalls.