0 "Hitch", My Alfred Hitchcock/Birds Tribute for Feb's Nibbefest Art Contest

My February Nibblefest entry, 5x7, entitled "Hitch"..

FOR AUCTION LINK

The say there are no guarantees in life besides Death and Taxes.  This may be true, and yet I want to add one more thing to that short list:  The Nibblefest Art Contest.  For over a decade now, Nibblefest has transpired, on schedule, month in and month out, beginning as always on the 20th.  This month is no exception, with   February's NFAC theme is 'Black and White'  -- I'm participating, and this is my entry....

It didn't take long, when reflecting upon this month's 'Black and White' theme, for The Hitch to come to mind. Such a groundbreaking film-maker, having truly mastered the technique for filming in black-and-white, I've long been a fan.  Growing up, we had an old copy of his album, "Alfred Hitchcock Presents:  Ghost Stories for Young People", around the house.  Who knows where it came from -- I suspect my mom picked it up at some garage sale or other.  But I loved listening to it as a kid -- and must have done so a thousand times.  I can still remember the theme music -- da da da da dum di dah, da da da de dum di dah (I since learned it was called 'Funeral March for a Marionette', by Charles Gounod).  The stories were very tame indeed (in fact, I just listened to them online as inspiration while painting this piece -- lol, what a hoot....!), but my imagination was vivid enough back then to enhance the tales in my mind to set off a few chills. Plus I can recall studying the album cover art for long stretches of time.  It looked like this...:

Cover of the album I must have listened the groves off of in my youth

And so, when I decided to do for my entry a little wee homage to this Master Director, it was the above image in my head (though I switched it up a bit, as you can see):

"Hitch", painted in acrylics on a 5x7 then, found wooden plaque

Of course, I had to do my own ever-so-slightly irreverently cheeky twist on things (no offense, Hitch...!)....

The following is my auction description..:

~"Hitch"~

My entry for this month's Nibblefest Art Contest (NFAC),  the theme for February being 'Black and White', features a portrait painted in tribute to the legendary British film director, Alfred Hitchcock.  Painted in acrylics upon a 5"x7" very lightweight, thin wooden plaque, this original, entitled "Hitch", is signed and ready to hang....

When reflecting upon this month's 'Black and White' theme, some of the first things to come to my mind were vintage movie classics by the esteemed British director, Alfred Hitchcock.  Though he did go on to make some of his finest films in brilliant Technicolor, he had fully mastered the art of black-and-white film making, with remarkably endearing cinematic treasures that continue to fascinate us to this day.  For my homage, I painted the master in classic black-and-white (along with a cheeky, wee nod to one of his most beloved movie classics of all time).....

  

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Personally, I love so many of his films: "Rear Window", "Rebecca", "Psycho", and of course, "The Birds".  But I think the one at the very tippy (heh, no pun intended) top of my list, is "Vertigo".  So ironic and haunting, both visually and emotionally, and so expertly filmed, that I have to go back to watch it again from time to time.   

So which is your favorite...?

To see all the fine Nibblefest Art Contest 'Black and White' entries this month, here.....

Detail: "Hitch", My Alfred Hitchcock/Birds Tribute for Feb's Nibbefest Art Contest

0 "Logical Nonsense", My Nibblefest Contest Entry for Dec's "BOOKS" theme....

 "Logical Nonsense in Wonderland"

"Logical Nonsense in Wonderland": painted on an 8x10 found wooden plaque

 ( for Auction Link)

 Nibblefest Art Contest time rolls around once again.  December's theme is 'Books'.  Well, despite it being an especially busy month on my end (for me and EVERYONE else) I wasn't about to sit this one out.   With a theme like "BOOKS", how could I *not* partake...?  And so I managed to squeeze together an entry....

I admit at first I was ever-so-slightly stumped by the Theme, but only because "Books" felt so entirely b-r-o-a-d.  Upon refection, the plethora of potential ideas seemed limitless indeed.  Fortunately a friend came to the rescue, suggesting"Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" -- all that was needed to get the neurons firing in the right direction.  Because what could be more fun to paint than a tribute to Lewis Carroll and his beloved classic....?  

"Logical Nonsense", something at which author, Lewis Carroll, was especially deft!

What I have here did end up quite different in composition from my friend's original suggestion -- but I just went with what I first envisioned when thinking about "Alice" (knowing all too well by now I usually get best results when simply going with what's in my own head).   And so we have here several characters from the story, all while fancifully incorporating the fabulous Mr. Carroll himself....

 Regular followers of my blog/art may recall a few years back, when I painted my own interpretation of The Cheshire Cat , for a past Nibblefest...:

My first in a series of "Alice in Wonderland" tribute pieces

As you can see, he makes an appearance again in this particular iteration, just for fun (or 'grins', as they say), and because I liked him and wanted to paint him again anyway....:

A view from the side, showing the painted edges

So all in all:  fun theme/fun topic -- painted upon a recycled, 8x10 found wooden plaque rescued some time ago from a landfill fate (and held onto all this time).  Here's hoping you enjoy my whimsical entry this month as much as I did painting it....!

More painted edges....

(To see all this month's lovely Nibblefest Art Contest "Books" entries this month, here...)

Detail: "Logical Nonsense", My Nibblefest Contest Entry for Dec's "BOOKS" theme....

0 "Henry David Thoreau", My Nibblefest Contest Entry for August's 'Forest Creatures' Theme

"Henry David Thoreau": acrylics on 6 x 8 canvas panel (permanently mounted to an 8 x 10 rustic wooden board)

FOR AUCTION LINK (Starting at just .99 cents!)

So what do you think of when you think of 'Forest Creatures'....?  Such is the theme for August's Nibblefest Art Contest .   The above is my interpretation.  I suppose I could have taken a more 'literal' approach, but, as anyone who reads this blog (if there actually is anyone still reading this blog, lol) knows, I generally prefer to take a more literary approach when it comes to the Nibblefest themes.  Therefore one of the first things to pop into mind for me when reflecting upon 'Forest Creatures', was the old tome, "Walden: Life in the Woods", by the classic 19th century author, Henry David Thoreau.  Mr. Thoreau went off and lived for two years on the remote property of his buddy, Ralph Waldo Emerson, in a self-built cabin tucked in the woods, along the shores of a pond, as an experiment in simple living (then he wrote about it).  Worked for me, so I went with it...

Once I knew I wanted to paint a tribute portrait of Thoreau, I dug around in my stash of second-hand frames and painting supports and came across what I decided was the perfect thing to use.  As I've mentioned in this blog previously (numerous times), years ago I made the decision to forestall buying any new art supplies (excepting paint and brushes) in favor of supports I can either make myself, or find second hand.  Since then I've amassed quite the collection of second-hand frames and wood plaques and the like.  One of these was a small canvas panel that had been permanently mounted with metal brackets onto a very (very!) heavy, very (very!) rustic chunk of darkly stained, textured wood.  It was leftover, unwanted, after a local charity garage sale, and so I schlepped it home with me to save it from the landfill, but without any idea of what I might actually get around to using it for, being as that it was rather...unique?  Well, with its 'old-timey' look, it turned out to be the perfect thing for my particular subject matter.  Not to mention fairly appropriate I think too, what with the whole 'forest'-y themed thing we've going here (because what represents Forest more than a big, heavy chunk of actual wood plank....?).

Side view.  Thick chunk of wood!

The following is my auction description...:

"Henry David Thoreau"

My entry for this month's Nibblefest Art Contest (NFAC),  the theme for August being 'Forest Creatures', features a tribute portrait of the venerable author, Henry David Thoreau.  Painted in acrylics on a unique, second-hand 8" x 6" canvas panel permanently mounted onto a heavy and rustic 10" x 8" wooden board (see side view photograph), this original painting is signed and ready to hang.

When reflecting upon this month's theme, 'Forest Creatures', one of the first things to come to mind was the classic 1854 tome "Walden: Life in the Woods", by Henry David Thoreau, wherein he writes about to his personal experience with the simple life while residing in a self-built cabin within a natural setting on Walden Pond, surrounded by forest...: 

 
"....I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. ... I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion...."
  ~Henry David Thoreau

To see all the lovely 'Forest Creature' themed artwork this month, HERE.....

Detail: "Henry David Thoreau", My Nibblefest Contest Entry for August's 'Forest Creatures' Theme

0 "The Bronte Sisters", My Nibblefest Art Contest Entry for May's 'PORTRAIT' Theme

My Nibblefest Art Contest entry for May,

"The Bronte Sisters":

for Auction Link

"The Bronte Sisters", painted in acrylics on a 3.5 x 4 found, wooden plaque.

Once again, Nibblefest Art Contest Week rolls around, with May's theme being 'PORTRAIT'.... 

Well, anyone who follows this blog surely knows portraiture has to be among my very favorite things to paint.  Regular readers might also recognize this particular piece from a few months ago, back when I was attempting to follow the last '29 Faces Challenge' (as written about in this previous blog post).  Indeed, though I did fail pretty miserably in my challenge bid that time around, managing maybe only half of the 29 Faces during the course of the month (oops), all was not quite lost because I did come up with this particular little painting at the time, with which I was well pleased....

'The Bronte Sisters' tribute portrait, view to the right side

As I'd explained in my earlier post (linked above), I stumbled across this funny, little wood plaque at a charity garage sale years ago.   Unfortunately it never occurred to me to get a 'before' picture -- but please take my word for it that it had originally been painted in such a way to suggest a rudimentary 'slice of bread', complete with those curvy, carved sides.  Well, while I do like to re-purpose the old found frames and plaques that I find around and about town, the size and shape of this particular one had had me sufficiently stumped for ideas -- and so, I put it aside.  For years. 

Quarter for Size Reference

Until it finally occurred to me during the 29 Faces Challenge when I dug it out that the curvy sides looked exactly like ''heads' and 'necks' to me.  And that despite the plaque's petite size, I realized there was room for three separate faces.  It was then that it sprang to mind to paint a tribute portrait of the lovely and talented 'Bronte Sisters' (while painting on all sides, 'in the round' as it were, for a 3D effect).....

'The Bronte Sisters', view to the Left Side

The following is my auction description:  

"The Bronte Sisters"

My piece for this month's Nibblefest Art Contest (NFAC) (~the theme for May being 'Portrait') is an original arylic painting on a small and curvy, found wooden plaque (3.5" x 4").  Complete with painted sides for a 3_D effect (see pictures for details), my entry features a triple portrait of the famous literary sister team of the 19th Century, 

 The Bronte's:  

Anne Bronte:  (17 January, 1820 – 28 May, 1849), author of
'Agnes Grey' and 'The Tenant of Wildfell Hall'

Emily Bronte:  (30 July, 1818 – 19 December, 1848), author of
'Wuthering Heights'

Charlotte Bronte:  (21 April, 1816 – 31 March, 1855), author of
'Jane Eyre'

  The Bronte's were a talented lot, but it wasn't exactly an easy life.  Losing their mother at a very young age to disease, losing two elder sisters to more disease, dealing with a troubled alcoholic brother and enduring sexism galore (a cultural norm at the time) in regards to their writing and publishing, they then each went on to get ill in their 20's and 30's and enter into early graves themselves.  But happily not before leaving behind a body of work that remains much beloved and classic reading to this very day.....

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"The Bronte Sisters", a view from the top.....

'The Bronte Sisters', view from the bottom.....



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To see ALL the great 'Portrait'-themed Nibblefest Art Contest entries this month
(with each starting at just .99 cents!),
just here....

 

Detail: "The Bronte Sisters", My Nibblefest Art Contest Entry for May's 'PORTRAIT' Theme

0 My April Nibblefest Art Contest entry (theme: TREES): Meet "Owlie"

It's Nibblefest Art Contest week!   We're smack in the middle of it.

As usual Nibblefest began on the 20th.  With April's theme being 'Trees', I composed a blog post for the Nibblefest blog in order to introduce this month's theme, featuring some lovely Tree-inspired art by lots of Nibblefest Artists (including an older piece of my own).  I then entered myself on the 20th with the following:

"Owlie"  8.5 x 5 acrylic on found, old wood

  FOR AUCTION LINK

Long time readers may recall I've painted a version of 'Owlie' before, back in 2012, when I participated in the very first internet-wide  '29 Faces' Art Blog Challenge.  I was working on a project at the time by which I was painting 'guest' entries into the personal art journals of my private art students.  Just as a lark, in one of the journals I whipped up a funny-looking-yet-charismatic, anthropomorphic owl/human hybrid:

'Owlie' as I painted in my student's art journal

I recall being tickled with how he (she???) turned out, and have wanted to experiment with "Owlie" further ever since.  With a theme like this month's 'Trees', I figured I finally had my chance. 

(And be forewarned -- I'm rather partial to this wee creature, so it's probably not the last you've seen of little "Owlie")....:

:

The following is my auction description:

"Owlie" My entry for the month's Nibblefest Art Contest (NFAC) (~the theme for April being 'TREES') is an original acrylic painting on an 8.5" x 5" found, thin segment of found wood.

Painted in acrylics and featuring a wee and mysteriously winsome nocturnal creature, tree-dwelling and perched upon a branch on a chilly, moonlit evening, "Owlie" is signed, sealed and ready to hang....

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To see ALL the great 'Mushroom'-themed Nibblefest Art Contest entries this month
(with each starting at just .99 cents!),
just here....

Detail: My April Nibblefest Art Contest entry (theme: TREES): Meet "Owlie"

"Aretha's Mockingbird", my March Nibblefest entry and tribute to Aretha Franklin

 

Today, March 25th, marks a very special anniversary.  It's Aretha Franklin's 71st birthday today --  Happy Birthday, Ms. Aretha F....!

View from the side showing painted edges

It also just happens to be Nibblefest Art Contest week (which started 5 days ago, on the 20th).  The theme this month is 'Nursery Rhymes', with the above painting, a little tribute to the venerable Aretha Franklin, Queen of Soul, as my March entry.  So how did I manage to tie Aretha Franklin into a theme like 'Nursery Rhymes'......?  The following is my auction description:

( for Auction Link)

..........

"Aretha's Mockingbird"

My entry for this month's Nibblefest Art Contest (NFAC) (~the theme for March being 'Nursery Rhymes') is a 5-Day auction for an original acrylic painting on an 8.5 x 5 wooden plaque, with painted sides.   "Aretha's Mockingbird"  features a tribute portrait of the singer Aretha Franklin, and is signed and ready to hang.  

"Aretha's Mockingbird", an 8.5 x 5 painted wood plaque

Regular bidders know I often look toward musical influences for inspiration when casting about for my monthly Nibblefest theme ideas.  Reflecting upon 'Nursery Rhymes' this month had me recalling the favorites of my children, which I must have repeated a thousand times over to them through the years at naps and bedtime.  My daughter's favorite was "Hush Li'l Baby" (which she referred to as "Mockybird").  

"Hush, little baby, don't say a word.

Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird."

And now I have a confession to make.  Sadly, I've no talent for singing.  Lacking range, vocal strength or tone, I nonetheless never let that keep me from performing a veritable concert every night for my appreciative children when tucking them into bed. I gave it my best, but still I always had a secret longing for the beautiful singing voice I never had.  Which brings me to...Aretha Franklin.  Now there's a woman who can sing (and how!).  Aretha covered "The Mockingbird Song" back in 1965 -- to be sure a jazzed up version of the rhyme I sang to my kids, but still clearly based on the old folk original.  My entry this month is a 60's-era portrait of Aretha Franklin, a tribute to our reigning 'Queen of Soul'.....

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 To see ALL the great 'Mushroom'-themed Nibblefest Art Contest entries this month
(with each starting at just .99 cents!),
just here....

Detail:

0 Entry for Nibblefest's February Theme 'Domestic Animals'

I did it....!

My February 2013 Nibblefest Art Contest Entry (8 x 6)

I got my Nibblefest Art Contest entry finished in time yesterday, and was able to upload and enter it into the contest last night as a 5 Day listing.  So glad the rules allow for some wiggle room, because sometimes you just need it....

 Auction Link HERE 

Speaking of 'wiggle', I think it's pretty clear the subject matter of my entry this time around -- not a lot of need for lengthy descriptions!  Though I will say, as usual, when this month's theme "Domestic Animals" didn't conjure up a lot of promising ideas for me otherwise, I went looking to my usual 'musical influences' default fall-back.  "Domestic Animals" made me naturally think of 'dogs'...... -- so, just how many 'dog' references can you think of in popular music?    Probably a good many, but the very first one to come to my mind was the classic early rock ditty, "Hound Dog".   Besides, I've been fishing for an excuse to paint Elvis -- always fun to tackle those much beloved, iconic historical faces.  And ayway I figure one just can't go wrong with The King.....

The following is my auction description:

"Ain't Nothin' But...."

My entry for this month's Nibblefest Art Contest (NFAC) (~the theme for February being 'Domestic Animals') is a 5-Day auction for an original acrylic painting on an 8 x 6 found, flat wooden plaque.  "Aint Nothin' But...." is signed and ready to hang.

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Regular bidders will know I love looking toward musical influences for inspiration when casting about for monthly Nibblefest theme ideas.  Reflecting upon "Domestic Animals" this month made me think of 'dogs'.  'Dogs' made me think of 'hounds'.  And 'hounds' naturally made me think of.... ELVIS!   (Really, how could I resist...???)

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Note that this also officially constitutes my Faces #13 and #14 of the '29 Faces' Challenge  -- never mind that I have fallen so hopelessly behind by now, I'm still aiming to catch up.  Or try to at least......!

Detail: Entry for Nibblefest's February Theme 'Domestic Animals'

0 My January NIbblefest Art Contest Entry ('5 Random Things'): "Into White"

Once again, the 20th of the month rolls around, and, just as surely as we can rely on the inevitability of death or taxes, so can we count on the start of the Nibblefest Art Contest.

The theme for January was a little different this month, but interesting:  "Five Random Things"....

My January Nibblefest Art Contest entry for the theme 'Five Random Things'

FOR AUCTION LINK

'Five Random Things"???  I admit I had to ponder long and hard on it this month (who am I kidding?  I have to do that EVERY month).  Incorporating five separate, unrelated elements into one painting posed a little bit of a challenge.  But of course as longtime readers will know, I always enjoy a challenge -- so when I found myself stumped for good and juicy subject matter (a 'Still Life' grouping might have been the easy(er) route?  But no...), I looked for inspiration in my typical fashion:  within the musical and literary influences that have resonated with me in my life.  The musical ended up winning out this month, when the old song, "Into White", from the album "Tea for the Tillerman", by Cat Stevens, somehow randomly popped into my head.  So much visual imagery in that one (definitely at least 5 things, and highly 'random' at that) -- almost too much really, in that I was worried at first about successfully making an appealingly cohesive composition for a painting.  I actually rejected the idea several times, while trying to come up with some other, less obtuse, concept.  But I simply couldn't get the song out of my mind no matter what I did (click here to hear song on Youtube)  -- so, in the end I decided not to resist.....

"Into White" (9 x 12)

To incorporate all 5 random elements I did work a little larger than I usually do for Nibblfest (at 9 x 12).
The following is my auction description:

................

..."Into White"...

 My entry for this month's Nibblfest Art Contest (NFAC) (~the theme for January being '5 Random Things') is an original acrylic painting on a 9 x 12 gallery-wrapped canvas. "Into White" is signed, with painted sides, and ready to hang.  At 9" x 12", it is one of my larger NFAC entries....

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I built my house from barley rice,
Green pepper walls and water ice,
Tables of paper wood, windows of light,
And everything emptying into White. 

A simple garden, with acres of sky,
A Brown-haired dogmouse
If one dropped by,
Yellow Delanie would sleep well at night,
With everything emptying into White.

A sad Blue eyed drummer rehearses outside,
A Black spider dancing on top of his eye,
Red legged chicken stands ready to strike,
And everything emptying
Into White. 
 

~"Into White",
by the musician known formerly as Cat Stevens

When casting about for inspiration for this month's theme, 'Five Random Things', a song from my childhood came to mind.  The youngest of four kids, with my next oldest sibling seven years my senior, I recall the dominant soundtrack of my youth being the numerous record albums my big brothers and sister frequently played.  One of those albums was 'Tea for the Tillerman', by Cat Stevens, to which I loved singing along.  His song, "Into White", with its simple haunting tune and poetically surreal lyrics, never failed to send my youthful imagination into overdrive.  My entry, with its 5 Random Things, is a little tribute both to the song, and my childhood memories of it.

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 To see ALL the great 'Mushroom'-themed Nibblefest Art Contest entries this month
(with each starting at just .99 cents!),
just here....

Detail: My January NIbblefest Art Contest Entry ('5 Random Things'): "Into White"

0 My December Nibblefest Art Contest Entry: 'The Mushroom...', by Emily Dickinson

It's the 20th of the month today!  And so, the Nibblefest Art Contest is upon us once again, with  the theme this month being 'Mushrooms'....:

My December Nibblefest entry entitled, 'The Mushroom", a tribute to Emily Dickinson

To view my Nibblefest entry auction, here...

I do believe this "Mushrooms" theme was actually my own idea, from back in the Spring when the Nibblefest mods were requesting up and coming monthly theme suggestions for voting.  'Mushrooms' ended up winning the popular vote for December '12 in an online poll -- pretty cool.  So, it might have been reasonable to  assume, that with my suggestion of such a thing, I likely had at least SOME concept in my head at the time how I might want to approach it.  But you would be wrong, because I ended up JUST as stumped as usual this month, scratching my head with what had originally been my own suggestion in the first place....!  And so, as I've blogged about before, I reverted to my most favorite of all defaults in such situations: the looking to Music and Literature for my personal artistic inspiration (with Literature winning out this time around -- because really, just how many songs about mushrooms do you know, lol...?).

Contemplating 'mushrooms' in Literature, the first thing to pop into my head was, naturally, "Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland".  And indeed I was all set to go for that, maybe even as a little companion piece to my 'Cheshire Cat' from several months ago -- except a second idea 'sprang up' (pun intended) that I really couldn't resist.  A little poem, by that most prolific of writers of 19th century American verse, the venerable Emily Dickinson (with the fact that it was actually even her birthday a mere 10 days ago, her 182nd, seeming an especially good omen....): 

 A portrait of Emily Dickinson, 5" x 8.5"

The mushroom is the elf of plants,
At evening it is not;
At morning in a truffled hut
It stops upon a spot

As if it tarried always;
And yet its whole career
Is shorter than a snake’s delay,
And fleeter than a tare.

‘Tis vegetation’s juggler,
The germ of alibi;
Doth like a bubble antedate,
And like a bubble hie.

I feel as if the grass were pleased
To have it intermit;
The surreptitious scion
Of summer’s circumspect.

Had nature any outcast face,
Could she a son contemn,
Had nature an Iscariot,
That mushroom, 

– it is him.

 

--By Emily Dickinson

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I love this playful little poem by Miss Emily D.  It's wonderful to recite aloud (try it!), with its rhythm and cadence, and tongue-twisty wording -- all of which she was such a master of.  And no, I'm not going to pretend that I understand completely every word of it (I mean, please: "Tare"...?  "Hie"...?), but I surely get the gist.  A nature lover, it's her own wee ode to Nature's little 'elf', the mushroom -- with its sneaky and surprising way of popping up right up out of the ground, like it owns the place, seemingly from nowhere, and seemingly overnight.....

 

 My auction description: 

Miss Dickinson was herself as much an enigma as the mushroom she so poetically describes.  An expressive composer of over 1700 poems, she never actually received wide recognition within her lifetime.  An intensely private person, she instead became known more for her reclusiveness and penchant for wearing all white than she ever did for her writing.  It was only after her death, when her secret stash of poetry was discovered by a relative that the astonishing scope of her work was finally revealed.

Emily Dickinson never married nor had children, but she gave birth to a legacy of another kind:  an incredible body of poetic verse, that continues to speak to us today nearly two centuries later.  Thus I portray Miss Dickinson in this, my tribute portrait, in a dress of white, and cradling a mushroom, my own symbol for her vast poetic talent and productivity, as one might hold a child (with the first several lines of her lovely untitled 'Mushroom' poem handwritten above).....

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To see ALL the great 'Mushroom'-themed Nibblefest Art Contest entries this month
(with each starting at just .99 cents!),
just here....

Detail: My December Nibblefest Art Contest Entry: 'The Mushroom...', by Emily Dickinson

0 My NIbblefest Art Contest Entry: November's 'Nature' Theme:

"Mother Nature's Son" (5" x 10.5")

for Auction Link

 

Nibblefest Art Contest time rolls around, once again.  This month's contest began on the 20th, as usual -- and as usual I did come up with an original entry, though with the Thanksgiving hubbub tucked in there I am only now getting around to blogging about it.  Better late than never right? 

I did find this month's "Nature" theme, nature lover that I am, pretty irresistible.  I adore nature, revering it in all its forms.  It never fails to be an endless source of wonder and fascination for me, as it has my whole life long.  I often incorporate elements of the natural in my artwork as a matter of course anyway -- so why should it have been any sort of challenge coming up with my entry concept this month?  I guess because as a theme it may have been a little TOO broad perhaps....?   Too many ideas, crowding my thoughts and conflicting with each other.  And so I turned to my two trusty inspirational defaults so handy in such situations:  Music, and Literature.  Music trumped this month, when the vintage Beatles tune "Mother Nature's Son" popped into my head (my older siblings played the heck out of the 'White Album' in my early years, spinning it as they did via the one family stereo system we all shared in our living room -- the result of which being those songs forever etched into my brain, lol)....

The following is my auction description:

"...Mother Nature's Son..."

   My entry for this month's Nibblefest Art Contest (NFC) (~the theme for November being 'Nature') is an original acrylic painting on vellum mounted permanently onto a thin, 5"x10.5" section of old, found wood.  'Mother Nature's Son' is signed on the front, and ready to hang...

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The art I make often incorporates natural subject matter, so it might be 'natural' to assume my entry for this month's contest, with its 'Nature' theme,  was a no-brainer.  It's wasn't, but only because of my fetish of always trying to capture personal meaning in whatever I decide to tackle.  It really must speak to me.  This month was no exception, as I found myself turning to music for my inspiration -- when an old Beatles song popped into my head as I ruminated upon "Nature".   I well remember my older brothers and sister playing the Beatles' "White Album" around the house as I was growing up.  I so loved the song, "Mother Nature's Son", with its simple lyrics and sweet, understated melody (plus I  also recall my enthusiastic joining in of the "Doo doo doooooo" chorus!).  But how best to interpret this old song...?
 

Born a poor young country boy,
Mother Nature's son.
All day long I'm sitting singing songs for everyone.

Sit beside a mountain stream.  See her waters rise.
Listen to the pretty sound of music
as she flies.

Find me in my field of grass,
Mother Nature's son.
Swaying daisies sing a lazy song beneath the sun,

Mother Nature's son....
 

I finally decided to paint my very own version of a Mother Nature's Son, a true product of his environment, soaking up the sun and fresh air as he entertains an audience of assorted wild critters (noting of course that I *had* to include a Blackbird in the assemble -- a nod to yet another  favorite tune off the same album). 

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To see ALL the great 'Fantasy'-themed Nibblefest Art Contest entries this month
(with each starting at just .99 cents!),
here....

 

Detail: My NIbblefest Art Contest Entry: November's 'Nature' Theme: