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bare feet in grass
late night: making earrings just for fun
pretty paint water, “dream” heart ornament, Jacquard textile colors
Yogi tea wisdom
dandelion: make a wish
putting items in Etsy shop on sale
cloudy february skies
photo booth on my iMac
my parents’ geranium plant
happy birthday to my husband, Lawrence
finally – much needed rain
i LOVE drawing in black and white. give me a Sharpie and some white paper (preferably cardstock) and i’m happy!
i posted back in April how a visit to Huntington Library with my husband and my sister inspired me to draw. and i did draw – a big sun, with shooting rays, some stars, over a cluster of flowers.
then i took it from black and white to vibrant and bold COLOR…
…and i like it! what do you think?
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if you like my work, please follow me on Facebook at Susie Carranza Studio. i post there regularly.
my sister, lulu, invited lawrence and me to the huntington library in san marino last month. if you live in california and get a chance to go, do it – you will not regret it!
from the huntington’s “About” section on its website at http://www.huntington.org/
“A private, nonprofit institution, The Huntington was founded in 1919 by Henry E. Huntington, an exceptional businessman who built a financial empire that included railroad companies, utilities, and real estate holdings in Southern California.
Huntington was also a man of vision – with a special interest in books, art, and gardens. During his lifetime, he amassed the core of one of the finest research libraries in the world, established a splendid art collection, and created an array of botanical gardens with plants from a geographic range spanning the globe.
These three distinct facets of The Huntington are linked by a devotion to research, education, and beauty.”
It was a beautiful day to visit the botanical gardens, with so many flowers, shrubs, and trees blooming, but the best part of the day was spending time with lulu.
when lawrence’s father became ill, lulu texted me daily to check on his condition and see how we were doing. she went to see my father-in-law in the hospital on valentine’s day, the day before he died, providing lawrence with support and advice in making some difficult decisions. so it was nice to spend some time together, surrounded by nature and so much beauty after all the ugliness…
plus – my niece, marisa, has been volunteering at the huntington every saturday for the past 4 years, so lulu (her mother and chauffeur) is now an expert tour guide on the place!
beautiful sculptural pieces (middle is from Shakespeare’s garden)…
there’s no way to see everything in one visit: there are libraries, and art collections on display, and various botanical gardens. one of my favorites is the japanese gardens…
japanese garden…
lawrence, by the pond in the japanese garden…
it’s a great place for inspiring your creative muse! the three of us took so many photos – everywhere you look is a photo opportunity. you’re surrounded by all the colors, textures, and patterns nature has to offer. i can’t wait to go back!
it inspired me to draw again, the way i used to. just my black Sharpie and white cardstock. i feel my muse coming back…♥
since lawrence’s dad (my father-in-law) passed away life seems to have…stalled. it’s already going to be one month that we lost him (on the 15th) yet it still seems unreal.
so…this week i’m making a conscious effort to do something creative (art therapy?) so i’ve been going through our packed boxes looking for my art supplies. so far, not bad: found my boxes of acrylic paints and my box of wood pieces, so i can hopefully have new work to share really soon.
yesterday, my creative endeavor was to photograph textures found outside. i enjoyed it; it was a very warm day, and i’d been sort of hibernating inside lately. i liked all the textures i found around my parents’ yard (i even included Canela, our dog).
i was hoping this would spark some idea or light a fire in my artistic brain…
…and it did. it gave me the itch to work on some mixed media pieces. i’ll be starting with the large green heart in the photo below (seems like i painted it eons ago, with watered down lime green acrylic paint).
i have been busy listing sets of cards in my Etsy shop – each set includes 3 greeting cards, blank inside, with images of my original artwork on the cover. take a look and let me know what you think! Below is the “Flowers” set; click my shop link below to see the other sets…
https://www.etsy.com/shop/asucarr
’til next time…
it’s been hot around here. HOT. today it looks like we got a break – it’s only 93 degrees! no really, it feels much cooler than it has been, so i ventured outside to do something i love to do: take photos in our back yard.
you’ll notice it’s mainly photos of decor items and container plants. we rent this house, and haven’t really wanted to plant lots of flowers and plants because we don’t plan to be here forever. we plan on buying our own home, then we can invest in plants, trees, landscaping…(fingers crossed; hoping it’s a reality soon!)
a gift from my mom…
a gift from my father-in-law…
the back yard is my favorite thing about this house. it’s big; we’ve hosted lots of parties with friends and families, with one of the highlights being my dad ALWAYS climbing up the stone wall to pick oranges, limes, apples, or nectarines (whatever is in season at the time). even when i tell him to wait until lawrence or i are nearby to ‘help’ (really, it’s to make sure he doesn’t fall). he never waits. never…
my husband calls these yellow flowers ‘weeds’. i like them!
when the weather’s nice out, the yard becomes my photo studio – i drag out a folding table, dropcloths/backdrops (if needed), and boxes of artwork or whatever needs to be photographed for the website or Etsy shops. i’m still trying to perfect my photos for online posts, so i’m usually out there most of the day…
we have tried to add color throughout – this bench was the standard brown wood color, until i decided to dig into my acrylic paints and give it some life. it was actually my husband’s idea to paint it ‘Calypso Blue’ (from Americana), a color we both love and use a lot in our work. i LOVE how the bench turned out! we found the medallion that’s hanging over the bench at a discount store, and i spray painted it black, making it look like it cost more than it did. the frame on that table also got painted, but i don’t remember the original color…?
when i have a supply of spray paints – watch out!
i can’t wait to have our own home – i’m dying to paint a mural on a fence – something large scale, colorful, and vibrant!
susie carranza studio 