oil on canvas, 18 x 24

Kaleid Gallery (San Jose, Ca) invited me to participate in their “Exquisite Corpse” exhibit opening July 14th. I was assigned to do a torso. We were also given specific parameters for the type of paper and dimensions. Since I do not have the proper brushes to do a water color in my typical low brow style I decided to do a mixed media somewhat abstract. 😀 I started out doing a drawing with prismacolor pencils, one of my favorite tools but given the size of the paper and time constraints I ditched my first efforts, I did cut it up into bits and pieces for some future endeavor 😀

Check out Kaleid Gallery on facebook
and their website.

In other news I finally saw our neighbor the peacock! Stunning! I could not get a good close up of the plumage but you can still see enough…

Also, we made a visit to the Santa Barbara Botanical gardens and I couldn’t resist photographing one of my fav flowers, gigantic white poppies, I will be planting some!

I so adore this poppy!

From yesterday’s walk around the hood, flowers.

And the sweetest goat ever.

He turns a wary eye, as if to say, who are you?

Later on during the course of the walk, a very thin cat befriended me, hugging my legs round and round and I just knew if he/she followed me I would have to adopt. I do think when animals find a person, they are meant to be in the family. The hub did not agree LOL!! Luckily the sweetie cat did not follow me, I really need no more pets at the moment. Although, there is a baby bunny inhabiting the weedy grass in the front yard. The CuTeSt little, not very skittish cotton tail. We have seen him the past couple of days, close enough to the front picture window to watch him eat. I do have a fondness for bunnies of any kind, yes I know they eat up all the greenery. :b

The passion vine is so passionate its tendrils creep out and strangles any plants in its way. In the back yard it has covered a bush so entirely it can’t be seen.

The flower is so pretty and looks almost plastic:

The fruit is heavy and plentiful this year:

Inside its still green, when ripe it will be blood red:

Peggy McKeever: if you are reading, I’m saving the fruit for you!

these ultra large bulbs and pots were quite an indulgence, but I have such a weakness for the glorious blooms, these white and deep red, love to watch the progression

Inspired by this color!

The hydrangeas are in bloom!!

My younger brother sent a beautiful bouguet of roses and Lilys.