And Frida again....

Hi Everybody!

Today it was hot and humid, so I went for my walk a bit earlier than usual before it heated up even more. I chose the path through the woods, and went to Schloss Kalkum to visit the ducks - and they were all busy sleeping, not even interested in being fed ! This afternoon the skies darkened and we had thunder, lightning, heavy rain falls and hailstones again, and it looks like tomorrow will be similar. I don't mind being out when it's raining, but not when there's thunder and lightning, so the worse case scenario for tomorrow will be a day spent crafting, cooking and reading!

Today I am sharing another Frida Kahlo journal page. I used a photo digitally changed to a pencil drawing, which I then superimposed onto another page of her diary. I find this page very moving, where she is missing her Diego so much. I then used water-colour pencils, oil pastels and a water brush to colour the face.  This time I let Frida speak, and didn't add any other journaling.

I am linking to Art Journal Journey, and to Simons Monday challenge, J is for Journal page.

The apples in the park are getting bigger day by day, I sometimes wish my arms were longer!

I love the seed heads  of the flowers:

Just one left!

  The path through the woods:

The church spire at Kalkum

The beautiful sky over the Rhine:

This picture reminded me of Red Riding Hood and the wolf - the little boy was hanging on to the dog, an Irish wolf hound, who was leading him gently along the path over the old fortifications - a boy's best friend.

Have a great Sunday, take care, 

and thanks a lot for coming by!

More from Frida Kahlo

Hi everybody!

We had another hot day here, but it was dry and no rain, so that's good - we will probably be needing our wellies tomorrow as they have once again forecasted rain, hail etc.

This is another Frida journal page. I got a stencil from Stencilry which I tried out on old calendar pages. Then I decided not to bin it, but to use it as it was, so I added more colour, flowers, some background stamping with a stamp dear  Chrissie sent me, and a quote from Frida Kahlo,  'I paint flowers so they do not die'. I used viva papercolor in burgundy for the stencil, and then filled in the little gaps with various colours using oil pastels. I used the same colours for  the doodled flowers. I am linking to Art Journal Journey  and to Manon's Paper Saturdays

The Rhine is riding high just now after so much rain, and it looks like there are swimming islands where the water has covered some parts of the shore. The swan evidently felt at home there.

Looks like some people were having fun building a driftwood shelter for Robinson Crusoe. I think this is a great way to get kids occupied in the holidays.

 Can you see all the seagulls? They were just bobbing along down river, there must have been hundreds of them:

Have a great weekend, take care, and thanks a lot for coming by!

Frida Kahlo

Hi everybody!

Had a busy day again here, with a long walk, and nice bike ride through the fields and woods and then along the Rhine, did the laundry - 54 steps down to the basement for each load, and then 54 steps back up again! - and created a lot of chaos in my crafty kitchen!

The new theme at Art Journal Journey for August is Frida Kahlo, which I had the honour to choose this time. 

Frida Kahlo de Rivera, was born Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón  on July 6, 1907 and died on  July 13, 1954. She was a painter who is best known for her very moving self-portraits,  which graphically depict her pain, suffering and joy.

Her life began and ended in Mexico City, in her home known as the Blue House. Her work has been celebrated in Mexico as emblematic of national tradition and by feminists for its uncompromising depiction of the female experience and form.
Mexican and Amerindian cultural tradition are important in her work, which has been sometimes characterized as naive or folk art. Her work has also been described as surrealist, although Frida said of herself, 'I do not paint dreams or nightmares, I paint my own reality'. In spite of her illness, her terrible injuries, and her often rather volatile marriage to Diego Rivera, she never gave up painting or lost her fighting spirit.

For my piece today I have superimposed her painting of 'The broken column' over a postcard of Mexican 'Dia de Los muertos' folk-art. I  then added colours with oil-pastels and gel-pens. I used a white highlighter to doodle flowers and the  outline, and added one of her quotes. I chose this painting to start with as it epitomises for me how she saw herself, and how her suffering shaped her art, against a background of the Mexico she loved. 

One of my fave and much read books is her 'Painted Diary', (Gemaltes Tagebuch), which I would warmly recommend to all who have not read it. I have prepared several journal pages for this theme, and will be showing them in the coming days and weeks. I hope lots of you will join in, too!

I am linking to AJJ, Frida Kahlo and Paint Party Friday and  Simons Monday Challenge J is for J(ournaling)

And here are a few impressions of today's outing.

Just one berry hanging on the tree:

Found another herd of cows today - the one with the big horns had its beady eyes on me all the time:

There was a tiny and very narrow, rusty bridge over the stream:

I rode through the grounds of Schloss Kalkum, and the ducks all came waddling to meet me, but I had to disappoint them, as I had already eaten my roll! The little ones are so sweet and fluffy

And this is either the chapel ghost or my reflection:

Have a great day, take care, and thanks a lot for coming by!

Blue and Green

Hi Everybody!

Another week is flying by, I wish I could run fast enough to catch up with it.

We had cooler weather today - so nice, and there was a great breeze blowing along the Rhine, so I cycled all the way to the harbour in Düsseldorf, it's about 20 miles there and back, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I had lots of breaks to take photos and have a sit on a bench, too. Tomorrow will be good weather again - I hope, and I will try to do another trip. The weekend should be very hot and stormy again, so I want to use the good days. I still can't get my thumb round the handlebar, but manage to hold on well without it.

Today I made a quick journal page. I have been busy with other things this week, but can't show them till August begins. I painted the background with blue and green metallic paints over gesso, and stamped into it while it was still wet with a dry crackle stamp. This lifts of some of the colour, and gives a textured, white crackle effect. You can then use the stamp to transfer the blue crackle to another sheet of paper, which gives another background....As I used various colours, it seems to change colours, depending on the angle of the light. I used 2 stencils (Stencilry) which I daubed with gesso using a kitchen sponge, which again gives a nice textured look. This was quick and fun to make.

I am linking to Moo Mania and More, texture, and to Paint Party Friday 

I saw other horses today, but they were also busy grazing....

I watched the hay bales being stacked and stored:

A plane on it's way to the nearby airport:

The post office tower of Düsseldorf in the distance:

The Esprit Arena for concerts and sporting events is just across the road from the Rhine:

The Trade Fair is next door:

And here another bridge and the skyline of Düsseldorf are coming into view:

Hope you enjoyed your tour today, I will keep the other photos for another day!

Have a great day, take care,

and thanks a lot for coming by!