Portland, Maine

The never ending sunshine

I am not liking the way it has become spring. I can not remember feeling this way before now. I was really enjoying my cozy routine of winter. Being inside most of the day, watching the snow fall, wearing layer after layer to keep warm, the clock reading 6pm and feeling completely satisfied to stay inside for the night and read or work on a painting or watch an old film. Now it is almost 8pm and the light of the outdoors causes me to feel like I am supposed to want to be out walking or doing house work or swimming in a pond but those are nothing as completely calming as I would be doing if it were still winter.

So Nice

Here are some interesting videos from Russia I found online today.

Jack Frost

Simon In The Land Of Chalk Drawings

"Simon In The Land Of Chalk Drawings" is one of my favorite animated series. I remember watching it as a little girl in the 70's and I still love it today. It was originally produced for British television and then became a part of the Captain Kangaroo Show here in America. The drawings are wonderful and I love the opening theme song! See for yourself!

Wendy And Lucy and Ruby In Paradise

I finally watched the film, Wendy and Lucy last night. I really liked it a lot. This is another film by Kelly Riechardt, who also wrote and directed, Old Joy in 2006. Wendy and Lucy was filmed in a very small town in the Pacific Northwest and stars Michelle Williams as Wendy and a loyal and friendly yellow dog who plays her best friend, Lucy. The film is slow and quiet and the scenery is incredibly pretty to look at. It actually reminded me a lot of this beautiful film I had seen many years ago called, Ruby in Paradise.
Ruby in Paradise (1993) was written and directed by, Victor Nunez and filmed mainly in Panama City, Florida and starred Ashley Judd in one of her first film roles. Judd plays a young woman who is living under bad circumstances in her home town in Tennessee. After her Mother's death, she decides to take off on her own and head to a resort town in Florida. Like Wendy and Lucy, Ruby In Paradise is introspective and melencholy and somehow very "real" and beautiful to watch. I highly suggest both of these films!

The Poles

Yet another amazing old nature book found at the thrift shop! This one is from 1962, "The Poles", from Life's Nature Library.

Yummy

A PES film!

Old Man

I found this Kodachrome slide in the street one day as I was walking. The date on the back of the slide reads, Feb. '67. I wonder who this man is...I keep him in my kitchen window.

Hippo

This is my newest collage I created for my etsy shop...

Wildflowers

This is a lovely old book about wildflowers from 1968. My Mom found at a yard sale several years ago and gave it to me as a gift. I love the drawings.

A Walk Through The Woods

I've been thinking tonight about this past winter and what a completely wonderful one it had been! I can not think of one thing that could have made a time like that any better. Truly.
It was all a calm glow of warmth, sitting Indian style on top of white downy blankets along with wine and incense, and a smoky guitar with words that are sung coming from the laptop that sits beside me as I paint eyebrows and lips and more clouds in the sky and the wind blows thousands of tiny snowflakes against the window above me.

What I found Today

In My Sketchbook

Bellows' Butte

How beautiful

Bellows' Butte
Photographed by Charles L. Weed in 1864

Some Men Are Interesting Men

The New York Public Library now has a large collection of digital images available in their website. There are several different categories to look through.

Here are a few interesting portraits I found of some "notable" gentlemen of the time. These were all taken between 1880 and 1900.

Shown from top to bottom:
Damala
Photographed by Benjamin Tucker
Theophile Galtier
Photographed by Benjamin Tucker
Meissonnier
Photographed by Benjamin Tucker
Elisee Recluse
Photographed by Benjamin Tucker

Gardening At Night

White Bleeding Heart


Violet

Comic Book Nostalgia

I have been feeling really nostalgic lately. I long for places I've been, times I've shared, things I've owned, read, heard, touched...

Last night I spent a very long time here on my computer determined to find the name of a certain comic I once looked through and read so very long ago.

You see, it was one of those things, where my boyfriend at the time collected these comics and although it was something that somehow annoyed me, I always ended up looking through them and enjoying it.

One series that I quickly grew to love was, Joe Matt's, PEEPSHOW. Even though the main character was a guy who spends much of his time overthinking and masturbating, it was very funny and entertaining and I felt I could relate with his ongoing relationship issues and daily routines.

Anyway, there ended up being many that were fun for me to discover, look through and read. I remember the fascinatingly disturbing, EIGHTBALL, which was drawn and written by Dan Clowes. And I also loved all the classic, Robert Crumb stuff and Harvey Pekar's, AMERICAN SPLENDOR.

Worth checking out!

Sing song

The Real Grizzly Adams

There was once a time in my life when I was very into watching reruns of the show, Grizzly Adams. I loved the daily adventures of this friendly and wise, bearded man who was living off the land and sharing his flapjacks with a huge and loving Grizzly bear named Ben. And I even still really like the shows theme song, "Maybe".
So it was pretty interesting to me when I recently discovered that there had actually been a real life, "Grizzly Adams" who roamed the Californian wilderness back in the 1800's. His full name was, John C. "Grizzly" Adams. He was born in Massachusetts in 1812. In 1858 Mr. Adams headed west, toward California on a search for gold but instead ended up becoming a highly skilled, professional hunter of Grizzly bears.
Adams made his money by selling bear meat to restaurants and selling his trained bears to circuses and zoos. Supposedly, one of his captured bear cubs followed along with him on many of his hunting expeditions and this is where the Ben Character originated.
Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that the real Adams was nearly as loving with his bears as the fictional Adams, but in my opinion, it is still worthwhile information to know.