Stair Climbing

Okay. What does stair climbing have to do with the Quercus kelloggii (California Black Oak) drawing above? Nothing, except I climbed sixteen flights of stairs today while I was wearing my suit and leather shoes! Well, I had to get off my butt since I have been sitting since 8:30AM. I knew I will be short of breath between floors, so I carried a stack of cards with me and a Micron 005 pen and drew the leaf on the right. Just before I went home I hurriedly drew the acorn on the left and actually continued drawing it while in the elevator! So. All in a day's work! I also finished a big nut drawing. Oh and I walked more than two miles and made dinner. HAHAHAHAHA! Yeah!

A New Week!!!

The 209 Quercus Acorns and Leaves Project in progress...

Hah! My sisterfriend Deborah said.."I love the sharp, clean look of this series, as in all your nuts. It's analytical yet still has your warmth to it. Do you sit and analyze nuts?"

Shouldn't I be? With terms liket these: lanceolate, subleathery; adaxially; glaucous, cuneate, acuminate ; dentate, glabrous, inflorescences, glabrescent; concentric, denticulate; I am bound to study them.

More leaves waiting to be paired with nuts...

Alas, that's only part of the reason. My mind is in constant motion. I cannot stop thinking and analyzing things. Yesterday The Viking told me "Stop over-analyzing everything I say." Today he told me a joke. He prefaced it with: "I am going to share something silly with you..." It was a joke. I got it but it was so silly, I did not get it. I asked him to explain it. He kept saying it is a joke and a silly one and then he said that it must have passed over my head because it was cultural. I replied, "It passed over my head because it is senseless and rather silly." Then he said "That's what I said! never mind."

During our walk, at a new park, I saw part of the parking lot littered with trash and I went into a critique of some invisible people. Anyway, we had a nice walk in the middle of the day!!! Ugh! I was spent. We thought we were walking under the shade but it was only partially shaded. We aborted our walk. At least all I saw was a dirty diaper left by some low-life parent in the parking lot. The other day, we walked at a nature preserve. The sign said "Beware of hazardous plants and wild animals." My heart started racing. Five minute into the walk, a cottonmouth water moccasin crossed our path! We later saw it on our walk back to the parking lot. It must have a nest somewhere. It was slithering in the direction of the lake.

So, another week ahead of us. I am on call in the weekend and on Labor Day. I am mailing the second batch of nuts and leaves.

Wishing all of you a lovely day, week, summer...

Quercus Bella

Quercus bella

Synonyms
Cyclobalanopsis bella (Chun & Tsiang) Y.C.Hsu & H.Wei Jen 1993
Local names
bing lang qing gang
Range
China (Hainan, Guangdong, Guangxi ), 200-700 m, in wet forests;
Growth habit
reaches 30 m;
Leaves
8-15 x 2-3.5 cm; lanceolate to oblong; subleathery; dark green, shiny adaxially; glaucous, hairless below; base cuneate, apex acuminate ; margin dentate in apical 1/2; 10-16 pairs of lateral veins; petiole glabrous, 1-2 cm;
Flowers
February to April; female inflorescences to 1-2 cm;
Fruits
acorn flattened, 1.5 cm high, 2.5 cm in diameter; pubescent in youth but glabrescent; paired or to 3; cup shallow, thin, covering base of nut, with 6-8 concentric rings of irregularly denticulate margins scales; ripe in 1 year;
Bark, twigs and 
buds
twigs angled, pubescent becoming glabrous;
Hardiness zone, habitat
not hardy;

Reference: http://oaks.of.the.world.free.fr/hybridessz.htm

Fearless Aphids Ignore Pheromones, Get Eaten By Ladybugs... What does this have to do with Quercus bella? Hmn...??? I was drawing this morning and I remembered an article I read so naturally I had to inject my thoughts on this drawing. I found this article while researching the Quercus bella. I was looking for an image of this acorn species and stumbled into a botany researcher from Cornell University, who talked about the Quercus bella in China. Alas, my email inquiry bounced and I could not get access to the photograph. I kept searching and found this article on the side which is very interesting. As for Quercus Bella, it is a very elusive oak. I only found one image. It was redrawn once (second, left) and now I "cessified" it (above).

New Quercus Acorn Images

Look what I got in the mail yesterday! My own elephant figurine, lovingly created by the beautiful Bella Sinclair. She used my oak leaf drawings which she printed on mulberry paper to decorate the cute pachyderm. Not long ago, Bella and I were talking about the decorated elephants in London. What a delightful surprise! I love this elephant, my own Elie! Elie is standing on a matted collage of oak leaves which, together with a collage of acorns, I am soon shipping out to one very special lady in the east coast. Thank you dearest, Bella Sinclair!

My new schedule is forcing me to do what I always never enjoyed doing, unless it was necessary - sleeping. I am so tired after my evening's exercise that I can't wait to hit the showers and the bed. However, I find myself full of energy in the daytime, but I spend those hours working. So, these are the only things I managed to do this week - new quercus oak and leaf drawings. These are larger pieces on Bristol board, measuring 9"x12". I plan to draw at least two dozens of these and a few extras as gifts. I am dedicating this new series to my two brothers, five sisters, sisterfriends Arija, Tessa, Bella Sinclair and Deborah.


I have mailed the first batch of acorns and leaves to the winners. I am mailing the second batch on Monday after I prepare them for mailing. Thank you again for participating. I hope to have another giveaway next week.

Quercus virginiana



Quercus falcata

Quercus prinus

Life's Bounty

Vegetables and fruits at an orchard-farm in Greer, South Carolina

A True Friend

Don't laugh. One night, my daughter and I were watching television inside our hotel bedroom suite. The Viking and Epsilon One were in the sitting room watching a Rambo movie. Epsilon Two and I were watching a televangelist. To my surprise, I listened to Joel Osteen with interest. He had my full attention. He was talking about how Mary affected her cousin Elizabeth. Joel Osteen talked about surrounding our lives with "Marys" and..

Avoid
Energy suckers
Toxic people
People who make your life dysfunctional.
People who love misery
People who use you
Who thrive in focusing on their difficulties rather than their abilities
People who always find something wrong with anything
Who can find nothing right with what you aim to accomplish
Who love to talk about themselves and their problems
Who always make themselves the focus
Who cherish being a victim.

God has given you people to come into your life to make you fulfill your God-given gifts
Real friends are those who do not say they love you and then drag you down.
Real friends do not get jealous of your accomplishments.
Real friends do not get jealous of your other friends who make you be a better person.
A true friend is one who makes you feel hopeful.
A true friend is one who makes you live life to the fullest.
A true friend gives, not takes.
A true friend does not use you.

I thought that was a terrific sermon. I thought of the important people in my life and those I call my friends. I slept soundly that night. However, I have not seen another television service again. I hate television, maybe...

I am still trying to get back into the rhythm of things. I have actively committed myself to live a balanced life. I am integrating an exercise program into my daily schedule and that has taken over my blogging time. I am eating better, managing my stress, resetting people's expectations of what I am willing to do. I used to give everything I had at the expense of my health and sometimes my family. No more. What is important to me? A healthy life to share with my family and my best friends, my work, my art... I find that I share more time with those who truly matter. Last night, exhausted and tired from exercise, I sat in the sofa with The Viking watching a program in the History Channel! I only got up because he told me to take a shower before I fell asleep. Ha!

Quercus Falcata and The Winners

This is a new series that I started two days ago. This is a pigment ink drawing on a 9"x12" Bristol Board. I started inserting copyright text on some of my drawings, though not all. I hate it actually but I have a particular feeling about this series being lifted without my knowledge. I am still continuing the other series I started such as the 200 Plus Oak leaves and Acorn Series, The Fiesta (oil painting) series... Life is short, might as well get busy.

I am very happy to announce the winners of my Give-Away:

Tammie
Arija
Julia Christie
Amalia K.
Diana Evans
Silke
Barbara G.
Jack Foster
Andrew
Marie
Autumn Leaves
Jan

Please drop me a line and email me your mailing address. If you are giving me a P.O. Box, please know that the package measures at least 9" x 12". Due to customs requirements, I do not think I can send to a P.O. Box, if you live across the ocean. I will email you when I have mailed your package. Thank you for participating. Update 8/23/2010: I was able to mail to a P.O. Box in Australia with the customs declaration, so if you want to send me a P.O. Box address from overseas, I think it's okay.

Atmosphere

That I have, a healthy dose of respect for animals in the wild, is what prevents me from venturing foolishly into the woods. Everything seems to look like a snake, the roots, the vines, the leaves and even the trunk. I respect snakes and no sir, I won't touch them. And so, I am a reluctant adventurer into the world of the wild, the untamed, the un-mowed and untrimmed. I shall respect their environs and let their atmosphere be.

Some people go on vacation and go shopping. Don't get me wrong, I do shop. In fact I have a new casual wardrobe. Yet, when I return from vacation, there isn't much to show for I failed to take photographs of the tourists spots. Instead I have hundreds of photographs of the sky, the trees, the mushrooms, the leaves. I even brought home leaves, preserved and pressed on acid free backing boards and plastic sleeves. And yes, I drew leaves and trees on my vacation.

One day I spread a blanket in my Father-in-law's backyard. Everyone was gone to the lake fishing. I laid down on the blanket staring at the sky and the leaves of the trees, then I remember that there are millions of microscopic bugs on and in the ground and I imagine them swarming at me and abducting me as a food source for hundreds of years for I am not that tiny... what an unlikely nature lover. I am afraid of snakes and bugs and poison oak and poison ivy and spiders... yet I go, I linger and study each striation in the leaf, unaware that a giant spider has descended from it's web up in the tree down to where I am standing...

All illustrations are on 9"x12" Bristol board in pigment ink.

Please join my give-away on the previous post below.
You may have a chance to win a nut!

An Anniversary, Giving Thanks and A Give-Away

Bella Sinclair as the Provost Oak Nymph

I am taking a break from my blogging break to share with you a special celebration today (August 16th) and tomorrow (August 17th). Two years ago today, my angels and The Fates were kind to me. They sent my way, a special person who visited my blog and left a comment. I visited her the following day on the same day and left a comment on her blog. From there, developed and blossomed a most amazing friendship that has tremendously positively affected me. I hope she may say the same. We became sisterfriends. Bella Sinclair is the reason why I coined the term "sisterfriend".


I have many friends and many still are the people who share the joys, gifts, challenges and sorrows of life. My friends are caring and loyal and they know me. A true friend is one who is not afraid to share you with others. A true friend is not envious of others who spend time with you and make you laugh, instead a good friend rejoices. A true friend knows when to hold you and let go. A true friend gives you your own space and when that space is shared by both, it is an open, caring, gentle, tender, loving, funny and intellectually stimulating, trusting, inspiring, nurturing and protective space and refuge that you do not want it to end. A true friend supports your dreams. A true friend is honest and not afraid to tell you when you do something unreasonable, for a true friend is not blind, nor sycophantic. A true friend supports the important relationships in your life, not destroy them. A true friend brings into your life more friends. A true friend is a friend of virtue. And so it is fitting that through Bella I met Renee and through Renee, I met Deborah.

Deborah, The Poet Oak Nymph

Dearest Deborah, I love you. I hope you know how important you are to me. My dear blog friends and visitors, Deborah is a beautiful woman who is a source of inspiration and support with her courage, her strength, her generous heart, quiet demeanor, dignity, and grace. She is a true gem of a friend. Deborah eloquently told me that a friend is one who knows the song in our hearts to sing it back to us. In that case, Deborah is a a wonderful singer whose voice is filled with love and wisdom and she knows my heart. I am so grateful. I created the Deborah Award to honor Deborah for her steadfast and loyal friendship.


Our families are important to us. They are special. We cannot go around claiming everyone to be our family nonchalantly. It is not honorable to call someone a sister when we are not willing to prove it with a sisterly act. Yet, in our lives we meet people with whom we share our lives, our work, our fears, our dreams and we become so close that it is hard to tell where friendship ends and family begins. This is how I feel about Deborah and Bella Sinclair. They are truly my sisterfriends.


If you love my art, thank Bella. She inspired and encouraged me to paint again and draw when I doubted myself. She encouraged me to start, continue and finish the many series (Abecedarian, Vinegar Women, Fiesta Series, Acorn Series, Oak Nymph, pen and ink drawings...) that I created during the past two years. She is a gifted artist and intellectual. Her art is beautiful, original and a source of pure joy! Her F-POT is a joy to behold. She inspired the Mental Ninja Award and The Bella Sinclair Award. Above all she has the greatest sense of humor. Her outlook in life is enviable. She is an inspiration to us all through her courage, grace and dignity. Anyone who gets to know her could only love and admire her. Bella, I love you.

Quercus bella. I am not making this up! There truly is an oak specie named Quercus bella (Chun and Tsiang 1947) also known as Cyclobalanopsis bella.

Thank you for sharing this special anniversary with me. To commemorate these special dates, I am giving away ten matted oak acorns and leaves to ten people. These are original drawings done in permanent pigment ink on Bristol Boards or cotton drawing paper. in ATC (Artist Trading Card) sizes (2.5"x3.5"). The mat measures 8"x10". All materials are acid-free and archival quality. I will announce the recipients on September 3rd. Just leave a comment for the give-away.

Thank you, Good luck and Enjoy the rest of your summer!!!