New challenge at More Mixed Media and Rain's Thursday Art Date

Hi Everybody!

I'll get started straightaway, as today I have several challenges on my programme. The first one is the monthly challenge at More Mixed Media, which is always an anything mixed media goes challenge, with optional green for this month. You have 4 weeks to join us there. 

My journal page is A4 size. I used 2 images from LaBlanche which were transferred onto paper using a turpentine transfer. You can find tutorials on YouTube to learn how to do this, for example here.

It's easy to do but you need to work outside because of the fumes! The background was first painted with diluted acrylics in diagonal stripes of blue and green.  I am also linking to Eileen's theme of green at AJJ and to 

Paint Party Friday

Thursday is also time for Rain's Thursday Art Date, and her theme this week is 'What do you see?', a theme I like, as eyes and seeing are often an integral part of my artwork.
At the end of the 1990s I suddenly saw strange lights and black flecks in front of my eyes, and thought at first it was a migraine. Later in the day - it was  Friday - I went to the ER of the eye clinic and was examined. After the doc had put drops in my eyes to widen them, he gasped with horror when he saw what had happened. The retinas on both eyes were torn, and on the right eye there was a gaping hole. Both eyes were given a laser treatment straightaway, a torture which took more than 2 hours, and then I was packed into a hospital room with bound eyes. It was a very scary experience, and the staff couldn't tell me if I would be able to see again. The next morning they operated on my right eye, and on Monday on the left one. It took several weeks before I was able to gradually see again, and I was very thankful that after a few months I could see and read well again. There were more operations to follow, 12 in all, and then cataract operations on both eyes. I can't see as well as I could before, and I don't know if there will be more operations in the future. But I am very thankful that I can still see and take part in life normally. Perhaps this explains my fascination with eyes.
And one thing I did see in the time where I was recovering from my OPs was that I had wonderful friends and neighbours who cared for me, helped me and encouraged me, and that was great!

And of course, I'm sure we all know the wonderful quote from
Antoine de Saint- Exupéry:

It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.

This altered art piece from Paul Klee was made a few weeks back, but I think it belongs here:

And I love to see the peaceful radiance of Buddha figures, here in 2 pieces made in previous times:

I like making half-visible faces:

And the Eye of Horus is always fascinating:

This is one of my Modigliani Knockoffs I painted some years back - I love his philosophy of painting the eyes - 'When I know your soul I will paint your eyes'

And this was a drawing I made of my eyes after I had recovered from the first operations:

And some photos from Pexels:

If you're still awake and with me after all that, well done, have a cup of tea, coffee or something stronger as a reward!

Have a great day, take care,

and thanks a lo for coming by!

Midweek Post

Hi Everybody!

I'm happy to say we had an almost dry day today, with some sun and blue skies in between cloudy phases. Last night it rained very heavily again. The Rhine is very full, almost up to the footpath again, with lots of standing water on the fields. I hope it will go down again, as the repeated high water puts a lot of pressure on the embankments which keep us all safe. Tomorrow is supposed to be dry, but we have heavy rains predicted again for Thursday. At least the geese, ducks and gulls are having a whale of a time.

Since last week the fingers of my right hand have been getting bad again, so I am once again having to take huge doses of cortisone. This is the fourth course this year, and I don't like it, but I need to get rid of the necrosis and all of the open spots on my fingers. So, I'm trying to keep positive and hoping for the best as always!

Today I have a hybrid page to share. The background was hand-painted, splashed and dripped. The figures are hand-carved stamps which I magicked into my graphic programme and changed to die cuts, which were digitally cut out and placed onto the background. The quote is from Martin Luther King. The stitching was added with a digital airbrush. I am linking to Eileen's green challenge at AJJ:

Some pictures of my first walk this morning:

The violets were nestling at the side of the path:

There are always lots of horses and riders out and about:

Light and shadow:

Have a great day, take care,

and thanks a lot for coming by!

T sTands for loTs of Things

Hi Everybody!

Here's wishing us all a happy and safe March, and that the Corona virus will not affect our lives too much.

Today is the 2nd of the month, so Elizabeth is once again hosting her 2nd on the 2nd link up. I have found 2 pieces made with images from me and Mischief Circus (Love is everything). Here I used 'my' head on a hand-painted background and added the figures and sentiment digitally:

For the 2nd piece for the 2nd on the 2nd (wonderful sentence! 😍) I printed out the figures and added them to an outline head on a painted and stenciled background. I think the messages in both of these pieces are important!

And  The Theme of Sandie's challenge aT Tag Tuesday is 'Paris',

and I have another Tag for it. And I hope to see more people joining in, you still have a good week to do so:

Yes, it's the same girl, my alter ego, reading a book and enjoying a cappuccino and a croissant! This is, of course, also meant for Elizabeth's T sTands for Tuesday, so here a warm welcome to all of the lovely ladies of the T gang.

I saw these cups in one of the shops here in our little town:

A friend brought me a packet of chocolate biscuits last week. I have kept the gold foil as it will be used sooner or later for a journal page. And the cookies were delicious - and of course, we enjoyed coffee with them!

We had very changeable weather the whole week - heavy rain, hefty storms and winds and 2 dry and more or less sunny days. Anyway the rain often necessitated taking shelter in a cafe....

I was the only one there on this day except for the service personnel and they were standing at the window, watching the rain and debating whether they should bring in the tables or leave them outside:

These 'Berliner' - filled doughnuts are always served at carnival, and every baker's window is full of them. This is one of the customs I like....

Loved these quirky figures:

And as it hasn't really been cold, except on the day we got snow, the trees are blossoming. Yesterday we had 14° accompanied by pouring rain, hailstones and

gales.

Have a great day, take care,

and thanks a lot for coming by!