SPRING PALETTE#3

"The joy you give to others is the joy that comes back to you."- Anonymous

BACK FROM SAN FRANCISCO As always it feels good to be back home after a wonderful trip to San Francisco and Pacifica. It was good to see familiar places, endless inspiring views and renew friendship and relationship. Had quality time with our grand kids during their spring break. Spent hours talking, laughing, cooking and gardening. We also explored Great America Park and Exploratorium. This time we didn't do any painting but we learned lots about art. Exploratorium is a good place to learn about science, seeing colors and details. Saw also our eldest son, old friends and relatives. The change of activity was very good for my body. Before this trip I wasn't feeling well for weeks due to pain in my upper leg.

YELLOW ORCHID Last year Lissa (my hair stylist) gave me a yellow orchid for Mother's Day. What a nice gesture! Aside from styling my hair beautifully she gave me an orchid. It was a touching experience for me. That flower inspired me to paint the yellow orchid again. Previously I painted a duet of yellow orchids which I donated. My painting below is one of a series that emerged from the first painting I did many years ago. I promised Lissa that I'll paint another smaller version for her someday. That someday finally came. Last month I went back to the salon for another relaxing day and I gave Lissa this orchid painting as promised.LISSA AND THE PAINTING Two weeks later, she sent me a lovely thank you note that's a joy to read. She wrote....."Thank you VERY much for the BEAUTIFUL painting!! You are truly amazing and talented. The painting and frame are beautiful!! I will forever cherish this for as long as I live. You have blessed me in so many ways by just being you! Now this gift is priceless, but knowing you and having you in my life is PRECIOUS! Thanks for everything. Lots of Love! Be blessed!"
LISSA AND ANOTHER FRIEND AT THE SALON
CLOSE-UP OF "THE YELLOW ORCHID PAINTING" This oil painting is about 16" x 14" on canvas.
FULL VIEW Of the orchid with simple gold frame. Like what I said before, giving my painting as a gift brings lots of joy to my heart. When I make others happy, I am more happier. That's PRICELESS!

SOUTHWEST ART #5

"Seeing with your eyes doesn't guarantee seeing with your heart. Seeing with your heart opens your eyes." - Anonymous

HARRIS RANCH RESTAURANT: Every time my husband and I took a trip up to San Francisco, we always stopped by HRR for lunch. It's located on Fwy#5 going up north. This ranch got a restaurant and hotel. The restaurant was famous for it's excellent steak and other delicious beef menu. It had a cattle ranch nearby.

The Harris Ranch Restaurant had a Southwest architecture and decorations. I loved looking at the many cactus's oil paintings on display in the lobby, hallways and private rooms. The particular painting above was one of my favorites. The artwork was painted by a woman artist but I couldn't remember her name. I took a photo of this painting and did my own version.

  TITLE: "TRIO OF CHARMING CACTUS"
  SIZE:  20" x 24"
  MEDIUM: Oil On Canvas
  PERSONAL ART COLLECTION OF THE ARTIST

My oil painting was inspired by the painting shown above. This was my new version of the original painting. Copying some body's painting was frown by others but I did't see anything wrong with it. In old times, many artists copied art works by the masters. It was often encouraged. I thought that if one could copy well, that's a great talent. To be a good artist one needed to practice, study and copy over and over again. It's not a crime learning from others artists who came before us. Studying their style and technique was very helpful.

This trio of cactus was a beautiful painting that I was happy and proud to display in our living room. Painting the same subject over and over again, never bored me. Whenever I look... ..meaning.... really looking..... with admiration and appreciation with my whole heart..... the paintings and the world becomes a more fascinating, inspiring and COLORFUL place to live in. Try it!

A GREEN PALETTE#2

"For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."........Bible

A GREEN PALETTE When I think of green palette I remember Tom Cruise movie "Jerry Maguire." In 1997 he was nominated for Oscar as best actor in leading role for his portrayal of a sport agent. His famous line was "Show me the money." Today when we talk about money it means "green bucks." "GREEN CACTUS PAINTING#1" The size of this oil painting is 12" x 24" on canvas. Again, I painted it for my self and now a decor for our living room. This is a huge and curvy emerald green saguaro with blooming white cactus flowers. I painted the horizon in purple color and the cactus field beyond in yellow ochre. This beautiful subject is a refreshing scenery that keeps me going and gives lots of inspiration. Sometimes I think like Tom Cruise....."Show me the money." It will be nice to sell this painting and make some green bucks. I could do some shopping spree in Aaron Brothers ( art supply store) or Michael's (another arts and crafts store). Lately, I am spending lots of green bucks on canvasses, oil paint, linseed oil, turpentine and brushes. The prices are escalating like basic stuffs - gasoline, energy, and food. It's getting difficult to afford art supplies and my budget is running low. Art supplies are not always on sale. There are no discount or outlet store for artist supplies around me. I need extra green bucks to stock on my art supplies. I love to paint and I couldn't imagine my life without it. Painting brings me great joy and pleasure.
"GREEN CACTUS PAINTING#2" This oil painting is also 12" x 24" on canvas. This very tall saguaro is leaning like the famous Pisa Tower in Italy. I did these pair of paintings during the past many years on my leisure time. Lately, my husband is happy that I am becoming a serious painter and spending more time painting than blogging and blog hopping. One day, I heard him said..."That's good....so that I could retire soon." In other words, if I do more paintings, then I can sell them. It means more....green bucks. There is nothing wrong about artists making more money. For many years my husband supported me so I could paint without financial worries. Lately he wanted to retire sooner. Maybe I should let him retire and have a good life. It's his turn. I will try to supplement our income by trying to do more paintings and sell them, although it's very hard to part with my paintings. Other artists are very good in marketing their art works and don't mind getting separated. I have yet to learn how to do that. If not, I'll just wait for our income tax rebate and return.

MANY THANKS TO ALL MY VIEWERS Every week I get a report from my site meter how many viewers drop by. Although I don't aspire to be a popular blogger, I am grateful to all my viewers who continue to support and read my art blog daily. When I started blogging last year I could count with my fingers how many readers were there. Recently, despite the great numbers of viewers reported by my site meter, I discovered that many still don't know how to input their comments. I'd like also to get feed backs from my viewers who are not blogger. Typing your comment is a simple process. After reading my post, you'll notice that at the very end, there's the word "COMMENT." Click on "COMMENT" and wait a few seconds. The comment box will appear. On the right side, please leave and type your comment on the enclose small box. Then you go down. Later you'll be ask to type some letters as you see them. You will also be ask to choose an identity. If you're not a blogger, identify yourself as anonymous or some other name like James or Joy. You can preview your comment by clicking preview. Later, when all is set, you hit "PUBLISH." Your comment will be publish upon my approval. It takes practice and patience to learn this process. I look forward to hearing from my other viewers. It will help me improve the content of my art blog if I know what my viewers wanted to read and see. THANKS TO YOU ALL!!!!!!!!

A GREEN PALETTE ADVENTURE

"When Easterners finally make their way out to Arizona, they don't know what to do with those wide open space." - Mark Twain

MARCH IS COOL GREEN Thinking of green, what comes to mind are the myriads giant cactus's that I saw during our many past trips to Phoenix, Arizona. Cactus is an American desert plant with thick, fleshy, prickly stems, generally no leaves but frequently producing showy flowers. They come in different green hues and shades. CACTUS IS HEAVY WEIGHT As shown on the above photo. This is not plastic but real cactus loaded on a car. Don't try to do this! Better rent a truck to transplant a huge cactus.THE DESSERT BOTANICAL GARDEN This is located in Papagayo Park in Phoenix, Arizona. Arizona is a wide open space. Today, Phoenix has many skyscrapers but what makes it more interesting are the many desert gardens around. This is one of the beautiful and interesting desert garden that we saw. It has huge collections of cactus's in different heights and sizes. AN ELF VERSUS A GIANT CACTUS I am petite and happy with my height. I am almost five feet so standing beside a giant cactus, makes me look like an elf. This magnificent tall and huge cactus is almost as high as the nearby palms.
CACTUS, FUN AND ROCK MUSIC This garden is not a tranquil place for meditation. But it was fun visiting and strolling through the cactus garden while we listened to loud rock concert along the winding path ways and up and down the stairways.
RHOD AND GOLIATH SAGUARO This giant saguaro is only found here in the Arizona desert.
ANOTHER VIEW OF GIANT CACTUS With little purple cactus below. CHARMING CACTUS Seeing and playing among real and giant cactus is very interesting thing to do. It's worth spending our time and money here. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PAINT A cactus is one of my favorite desert plants. They thrive easily. When I go on vacation, I don't worry about them because they are low maintenance. At home most of my cactus are made of plastic. They are made so realistically. Many of my friends couldn't tell if they are fake. I only have one huge real cactus by the dining area. One time a friend touched it but was pricked. She thought it was fake.

I love to paint all cactus's from the smallest to the largest. I will be posting some cactus paintings in next blog. Today Arizona has many wide open space. Will my future art studio find its way there someday? Who knows?

AN ARTFUL ADVENTURE#3

"Perhaps the most creative strategy to escape from creative conflict is to leap - mentally, emotionally, and spiritually- out of your current stale, uninspired reality into an entirely different mind-set or imaginative dimension." - Thomas Kinkade

THINKING OUTSIDE THE PALETTE Prior to this Sedona trip, I just finished reading an inspirational book entitled"The Art Of Creative Living" written by Thomas Kinkade (renowned "Painter Of Light"). He said ..... "So, how might this work in practice? The basic idea is to take some extraordinary, even radical, step that will help break the internal shackles and help you start thinking and working "outside the box" again. Or to put the cliche in painter-ese, when I'm in a real creative bind, I look for dramatic ways to "think outside the palette." One effective technique may simply to leave the office or studio for a day or a week, and simply try something new."

THE OTHER SIDE OF SEDONA There are many exciting things to do while vacationing in Sedona -hiking, trolley tour, shopping, gallery-hopping, horse back ridding, hot-air balloon ride, helicopter tour, pink jeep tour and many more. We did some of the above but not the last four options. My husband and I thought that the "PINK Jeep Tour" is something worth trying. It took a while to convince me that this is something new and dramatic. At first it sounded scary because of the warning that this is not for people who have heart, back, broken hips/joint problems, and pregnant. etc. Well.... I don't have those kind of problems yet. We thought that the PINK Jeep Tour is something we'd like to do it while we are still alive and strong. I listened to Thomas Kinkade suggestion and I thought this is what he meant about "thinking outside the palette."

PRETTY IN PINK The PINK color is a first cousin of the RED color. When RED and white are mixed, you get PINK. The color PINK is very pretty in floral and dresses. It's an attractive color like RED but less intense. I have no idea why the jeep is painted bright PINK. Maybe PINK color makes one feel younger. When you take the Pink Jeep Tour, the excitement and adrenalin rush will make you your heart pump stronger and your cheeks glow more radiant.
YOU GOTTA DO IT!!! Yes, we did it! You gotta hold on to the jeep tightly or else you'll be thrown out. It was real jumping, kicking, pumping - Pink jeep tour!!! We took Tour A ( a mild one) but boy.... it wasn't mild. Depends who's grading it.

PRETTY WOMAN DRIVER AND GUIDE Our knowledgeable guide took us on four-wheel-drive and on-road guided tour. She may look soft in pink top and hat but she's a tough driver. She had been driving this rugged and difficult terrain for twelve years. VIEW OF INCOMING PINK JEEP We were not alone. There were many jeeps on the tour. It was a beautiful sight to see caravan of Pink jeeps.
RUGGED ROAD EXPLORATION We explored Sedona's back country which took two and a half hours. If you're seeking rugged adventure, Native American history and culture, nature, geology, or panoramic vista, Pink Jeep is the right tour for you.ANOTHER VIEW OF THE RUGGED ROAD Lots of rich textures along the roads.SCENIC RIM Alas, after hours of rocking and juggling our bodies, bones and imagination, we reached the summit. WOW! We ascended an amazing 2,000 feet to the very top of the Mogollon Rim. Majestic red rock formations blaze the the trail for scenic beauty and rugged exploration. Here's a dramatic vantage point for sightseers and a photographer's dream-come-true.

AFTER THE TOUR Was it worth trying something new? YES! My imagination comes to life in new ways. In fact, the fresh creative stimulation inspired me and those many panoramic vistas might make their way into a painting or two someday. But for the moment the Pink Jeep Tour stops me from getting stale and bored. My creative juices were revived. Back home, I am now extremely busy working on many paintings that had been stalled for lack of imagination and motivation. This transformation came about because I practiced what Thomas Kinkade said..."thinking outside the palette." He's a successful artist and he knows what to do during uncreative moments.

AN ARTFUL ADVENTURE#2

"The unexplainable thing in nature that makes me feel the world is big far beyond my understanding-to understand maybe by trying to put it into form. To find the feeling of infinity on the horizon line or just over the next hill." Georgia O'Keeffe

SEDONA THE BEAUTIFUL! This land is called RED ROCK COUNTRY and widly wonderful. Located in Arizona's high dessert with an elevation of 4,300 feet with towering monoliths, rims and canyons. Many of the massive RED-rocks were shaped and formed from water and ancient deposits of limestone, mudstone and sandstone when this area was the west coast of a still emerging continent. It was also chiseled by wind. Sedona is a unique place to see and visit. WELCOME TO SEDONA The city of Sedona was founded in 1902. It was incorporated in 1988. Historically, it was a rural ranching community located far off the beaten path, but it's natural beauty became nationally known through the motion picture industry. Today Sedona is Arizona's premier tourism, recreation, resort, retirement and art centers. Sedona is well known as an arts community. It is also home to 40-plus art galleries. Western and native American art lend a regional flavor but one can find examples of nearly every style and form of artwork.
TROLLEY RIDE The best and most relaxing way to tour and see Sedona is via the trolley. The tour was three hours long and the driver took us everywhere in Sedona. No time wasted getting lost in this town. Our driver knows the way. This photo was taken from old files in 2004.This was our third trip to Sedona, so we didn't take too many photos during our recent trip.

RED-ROCK SPLENDOR Indeed this picturesque town is surrounded by beloved RED-rock monoliths named Bell, Coffee Pot, Court House, and Cathedral, even Snoppy - because their massive shapes resemble these distinctive objects. Sedona is singing with RED color in every corner. The collection of Sedona's impressive RED-rocks and many natural endowments are worth visiting and meditating. For me the best time to view these rocks are late in the afternoon when the shadows cast their spell. The best images are taken as the sun goes down. The western face of the mountains collects that light. The RED-rocks look like magnificent paintings.

THE BEAUTIFUL BELL ROCK AND ME As an artist, I see in each RED rock or each speck of RED stone the hand of One whose pallete is infinite and whose vision is beyond imagining. From the heights of the Bell rock, God offers us daily a glorious show to His creativeness and majesty.

CLOSE UP VIEW OF THE BELL ROCK This majestic peak is ringing with REDDISH color in every angle.

COFFEE POT ROCK This rock resembles a charming coffee pot. Forget Starbucks or Coffee Bean! Here, there's no need to spend a dime. Just look at this rock and you'll be A...W...A...K...E........and........ A...L..I...V...E...!!!
SNOOPY ROCK Is an easily recognizable RED rock formation. With a little imagination you can see Snoopy lying on his dog house with his head on the left and his feet on the right.

THE COURT HOUSE ROCK Another RED rock with courtly beauty.

CATHEDRAL ROCK Is one of Sedona's most photographed, painted and recognizable landmarks. This is a challenging rock to climb but there were many people who made it up to the top.
BENEATH THE CATHEDRAL ROCK At such wonders, all I can do is bow down in awe. In our very midst, the Cathedral Rock paints a portrait of the beauty and goodness of God. All these magnificent, massive, and natural RED rocks are God's sculptures and statues. I am sure this will be humbling experience for Michaelangelo (the great Italian artist and sculptor), when he encounters this Cathedral Rock. For me, I felt what Georgia O'Keeffe experienced when she was surrounded with so many RED hills in her homeland (New Mexico). She was inspired by the beauty of the hills. As a result, she painted one of her beautiful masterpieces "Pedernal and Red Hills" (oil on canvas-20' x 30"). BEAUTIFUL VIEWS FROM THE CHAPEL OF THE HOLY CROSS The Chapel of the Holy Cross is 47 years old, which features a reinforced cross that juts from 1,000-foot-high rock wall and soars 90 feet into the air, plus 360-degree panoramic views. The RED rock scenery wrapped around us is breathtaking in all directions. Surely even the most jaded would find Sedona uplifting emotionally, artistically and spiritually. Come and visit soon. Surely, this will be an artful adventure you'll never forget.

AN ARTFUL ADVENTURE#1

"The summer I spent in Taos I sometimes rode out to the eastern hills late in the afternoon with the sun at my back. When the sun went down and was not shining in my eyes I would ride back to the Pueblo......It was a wide wide quiet area. - Georgia O'Keeffe

TRIP TO SEDONA, ARIZONA I am back home after an artful adventure. Last week, I had the chance to escape life's routine. Although I love to paint, sometimes I needed to take a break from painting or else life gets boring. I spent four days in Sedona and three days in Phoenix, Arizona. My husband had a conference in Phoenix for three days and I came along as usual. Prior to his conference, we visited Sedona. From Los Angeles we flew to Phoenix and drove to Sedona which is about 2 hours. This was our third trip to Sedona and as always, this beautiful town inspires and energizes me. Sedona is famous for those wonderful RED rocks dotting the landscape. There are countless of them. I will feature those RED rocks in a later blog. Meanwhile, I am posting about the "Pueblos of the Southwest." At present Sedona has many brand new Pueblos. Most of them are resorts, luxury hotels and single family dwellings. The Pueblos here are not inhibited by the Indians of the Southwest. They are mostly for visitors and tourists like us. WHAT IS A PUEBLO? In the Philippines, where I was born, "Pueblo" is our Spanish word for a town. In the American Southwest a "Pueblo" is a communal structure for multiple dwelling. Built of adobe or stone. Adobe is the sun dried brick. Typically Pueblos were many storied and terraced, the structure were often placed against cliff walls and ground-floor. Entry was usually through the roof by ladder. The above photo is the Pueblo that Georgia O'Keeffe described from the top quotation. Georgia was a famous American artist and lived in New Mexico during the nineteenth century. She was fascinated by the Pueblo, which she decribed as "wide wide and quiet area. During a past trip to Taos, New Mexico in the summer of 1996, I saw my first and authentic Indian Pueblos. Like Georgia, I was fascinated with the beauty and simple architetural design of the Pueblos. I thought, how wonderful to live in such kind of architectural beauty. When my husband and I toured the interior, I was very dissappointed to see that it was cramped, dark and lack modern facilities for comfortble living that Americans are used too. There are no modern kitchen appliances, sink, faucet and running water. No luxurious bath tubs and shower head. No carpeting. I wouldn't be happy living in Pueblo. But still the architectural beauty of the Pueblos fascinated me for many years. SEDONA, ARIZONA My hubby and I made our first trip to Sedona in Spring (2004). Then came back two years later in 2006, around my birthday week. During that trip we stayed at the Hyatt Vacation Club to view their time-share presentation. My husband and I were so fascinated and impressed by this newly built pueblo-resort. The architecture was designed and styled after a typical Indian Pueblo but with all the luxuries and coveniences one could dream off. We had attended many time -share presentations before but we were skeptical about buying one. This time, there was no hesitation and we finally bought a two-bedroom time -share. Little did I know that someday, we would be able to live and owned a piece of a modern -Pueblo. I couldn't believe it.
HYATT VACATION CLUB (SEDONA, PINON POINT) This vacation club is beautifully and strategically located in the heart of Sedona with awesome RED rocks and views wrapped around it. The pueblo-style buildings have adobe walls and flat roofs. Since the area is surrounded with myriads of RED rocks the Pueblo-buildings were painted in taupe shade to differentiate it. It is interesting that there are many pueblos painted in different colors - clay, sienna, sandstone, dark gray, brown and Arizona amethyst. Too much RED is glaring and montonous to the eyes.
VIEW OF OUR UNIT Every time we go to Sedona, we stay in our Pueblo-suite above (third floor). I couldn't believe that this Pueblos have all the luxuries and conveniences of an American lifestyle. The kitchen has a refrigerator, oven, microwave, double sink, dishwasher, coffee maker, utensils, pots and pans. The cabinets are furnished with glassws, wine glasses, plates, cups, bowls, saucers and silver wares. It has dining area w/ huge table and chair good for six people. The living room is gorgeously furnished with Southwest styled couch, with fire place and huge TV set. The bedroom has a king size bed and another TV. The bathroom is as big as the bedroom with marbled walls and floorings. It has warm running water for shower. The huge bathtub/ jacuzzi took our breath away. Interiors are decorated with Navajo rugs, pueblo pottery and basket.
ANOTHER VIEW OF THE PUEBLO -STYLE ARCHITECTURE On the right side are shops and restaurants just steps away from the vacation club. It's ironic that we rarely cook inside our Pueblo with many tempting restaurants, ice-cream parlor and coffee shops around.
FOUR DAYS TRIP This was an artful adventure that re-energized and refreshed us. Sedona is blessed with serenity and tranquility. Many artists and tourists will always be inspired and never get bored here. There are myriads of art galleries (about 40) in every corner, from Southwest, contemporary to traditional style. This is a haven for artists. Many artists live and thrive here in Sedona. I think artists of all kinds of media are making good money here. Sedona is an expensive place to live. Many rich art collectors and art lovers visit this tourist place. This is an inspiring place where I will be happy to live and paint too but I am worried about my husband. He will surely get bored because there are no Fry's Electronics, Best Buy or Costco here. He has to drive to Phoenix, about two hours away. It's the closest big city, to buy electronic parts. At least, we can visit Sedona every year and enjoy our modern-Pueblo. When I am on vacation, I don't paint. Why? For me it's a time to get away from my brushes. But after getting away, it's weird that I am raring to get back to my brushes, oils and easel. It's time to paint the town RED again.