Midnight

Midnight on a train

Twelve forty seven a.m.

Lights are dim

Stars take a swim

In the darkness

And the glow 

Of the moon 

                       jaxiejax '16

Where the Secrets of Ravens Go

I have a mixed media drawing notebook with ecru colored paper.  I love ecru colored paper.  It's so forgiving and timeless.  In my dreams I look like my girl characters that I paint but most importantly is that I experience what they experience...being in the forest or tundras with birds and flowers and grasses.   (Watercolor)

Raven oh Raven
tell me your secret
trust in me 
I do no harm
share your spirit
walk in my path
hold my hand
I'll shall write your name
deep and bold 
on the sand.
                                           jaxiejax '16

Kinglet

A Golden-crowned Kinglet is a bird I've never seen before. Oh to have one land on my window sill and give me some sort of sign, even speak a word of magic.  Now that would be something to remember until my last breath.  Watercolor painting of my version of a Golden-crowned Kinglet.  Such royalty in the name.

A poem from a Scottich Poetry site:

Free as a Bird

Unattached
With no roots
With no barrier

Free as a bird
I want to be

Despite the fears of freedom
Despite the vulnerability of the unattached
Despite the unfamiliarity of the unknown

Free as a bird
I want to be

Woven into the warmth of the evening wind
Swaying on the willow tree’s branches
Carried by the breath of the stars

Free as a bird
I want to be

From here to there
Never missed and never expected
Never recognized and never attached

Free as a bird
I want to be

Elizabeth Kaufman-Buchel

Kinglet

A Golden-crowned Kinglet is a bird I've never seen before.  I follow many Instagram and FB pages that involve birdwatching/birding/bird photography.  I came across this bird species.  Very cute little bird.  I painted my version with watercolors

A poem from a Scottich Poetry site:

Free as a Bird

Unattached
With no roots
With no barrier

Free as a bird
I want to be

Despite the fears of freedom
Despite the vulnerability of the unattached
Despite the unfamiliarity of the unknown

Free as a bird
I want to be

Woven into the warmth of the evening wind
Swaying on the willow tree’s branches
Carried by the breath of the stars

Free as a bird
I want to be

From here to there
Never missed and never expected
Never recognized and never attached

Free as a bird
I want to be

Elizabeth Kaufman-Buchel

The Phoebe

I have an affinity for Black Phoebe's.  They are flycatchers.  Flycatchers have a wonderful crest seen at it's profile angle.  They have a sweet chirp and are pleasant to watch catching insects in mid-air.  They are in many parts of California and just about any park in their range.  I like to paint Black Phoebe's.  These photographs taken in yard or thereabouts.

Posman Books

A favorite bookstore of mine is Posman Books.  Unfortunately for a Californian like me they are located in New York City where I discovered them at Rockefeller Center and Chelsea Market.  There are only two.  It's a family operated business.  I find the best Christmas cards at Posman.  I wish they had an on-line shop.  Great bookstores are far and few inbetween.  Chronicle Books in San Francisco is another favorite bookstore.  I love bookstores that sell wonderful stationary, greeting cards, writing utensils and odds and ends.  This photo is from Chelsea Market 

 http://posmanbooks.com/event/we-need-diverse-books/

The Bronze Bird With a Scaley Chest

 There is a feathery plant in the neighborhood where the Scaley-breasted Munia's (their proper name) have been plucking off stems.  Appears to me they are preparing a nest.  Do they nest in Winter? Do they have more than one brood of chicks each year?  They have a peculiar type sound like a whistle that has lost it's steam, it's punch.  A flat whistle.  I love the thick black bill on this bird.  It's so exotic.  Well actually it is a foreign bird, not a native bird but the species has adapted well and established itself here in California.  I wish I could travel from place to place like a bird. This munia is in the family of finches.

Little Pots of Life

I have an attraction to planter pots with animal motif's.  They are fanciful and cheerful, just exactly what we need on this planet.  When I paint, I imagine fanciful things 'existing only in the imagination'...my imagination.  These pots are kin to my fanciful thoughts.

His Quandary

Mr. B had surgery due to an abscess. He's miserable. He wants to know why he has this beyond irritating contraption around his neck. Each day he looks out the window wishing someone could be ever so kind and release him. If he could speak he'd compromise and tell me "I'm just going to walk around. Deal?"

Collections Are Good For The Spirit

I collect many things, including greeting cards that move me, or have fabulous images of art. I collect artworks by KalleArte which is a husband and wife art duo. Their specialty is hand pulled screen prints or woodcut block prints. They are one of my favorite artists. Wholesomely beautiful human beings. Here I bought two of their prints and two cut out stickers also hand printed and hand cut to shape.  The print of the male Zapatista with a covered face represents "without ego...we are all the same", the moon and stars image represents "we are all a part of a bigger idea, our relationship with each other represents more than ourselves",  the blue dog sticker is KalleArtes interpretation of one of the 20 days of the Aztec calendar, and the red jaguar sticker represents the ocelot. In this photograph I also have a greeting card that depicts a sterling silver owl broach, just exquisite. I purchased it from my mother's Art boutique named Colibri Boutique is East Los Angeles.  It's a lovely gift and clothing shop. A very lovely space to be. The other two greeting cards are from a shop in South Pasadena on Mission Street.  I love the cat greeting card's sentiment. Lastly, you may notice the brown Kraft paper background...those are art stencils for use with my mixed media artworks. I just received a variety of 10 in the post. May your eyes be pleased. 

I cannot help what happens when I put a brush to paper

A tiny collection of paint brushes and nib pens.  Only a fraction of what's inside the drawers.  Funny that I can't resists buying new paint brushes yet I fall back to my most favorite old brushes nearly every time.  It's an addiction to "oh the possibilities".

Not All Things Are Lost

Lately there has been so much loss of life of those I knew and did not know.  They leave behind little gifts that pop up when it's least expected.  They are found in a face on the street, a quote read on-line, a voice nearby, a rustle of leaves, a bird flying by.  How grand of them to do this for those of us who are left behind.  

The Sanctuary of Shallow Waters

This Black-necked Stilt was foraging the shallow water.  The day before this pond was dried out and the mud turned into a crackled floor.  This pond among many at the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary is owned by  The Irvine Water District in Orange County, California.  Many Western Sandpipers were foraging through the dried out pond the day before I took this photograph.

The Flag Waver

My dear friend taught me to add cream to my tea. She lived in London for some time, having met the man she fell in love with there and married there. She now lives in California and teatime is a constant, served on a platter in a Tudor style home, with a wood beamed ceiling, wing backed chairs, art, and lots of books. Watercolor and color pencil.

Where the Cypress Learn To Grow

I've had a long standing fondness with Cypress trees, mainly the Swane's Golden Italian Cypress.  It's a beautiful lime and chartreuse colored Cypress that just seems so regal, standing tall and vibrant. Swane's  Golden Italian Cypress light up a landscape.  They give me a sense of satisfaction to my day.  Birds enjoy landing at the tip and balancing themselves as they sing.

Watercolor

Where a Pony Roams

Tiny and tall trees give shade to a pony who lives wild in the hills of California and Nevada.  The future of wild horses is kind of grim.  It's so tough being a wildlife animal these days.  Humans encroach on their natural territory more and more each year.  Wild horses are the champions of the earth and gallop with confidence on their terrain.  I'm ever thankful to those amazing souls who spend a fortune establishing sanctuaries for wild horses.  Long live the wild ponies.

Summer Pruning and Potting

A weekend hobby is planting, weeding, rearranging, and feeding birds.  Here, I bought new outdoor pots in a white soapstone-like resin from West Elm.  I had to cut back a Silver Drop Eucalyptus that was encroaching on my Japanese Maple.  The cuttings are spectacular for a vase.  My mother gave me this wonderful contemporary green pottery vase with royal blue flowers. It has an appearance of a vintage vase.  The gold metallic rustic pot is from Anthropologie.  Anytime I see an opportunity to pop into Anthropologie, I do so mainly for the housewares, including planting pots.  I shy away from goods made in China however, so I'm constantly checking the labels.

jaxiejax Postcard.

 Sometimes we lose track of time and need to catch up!

Don't overlook my beauty

A pigeon is quite beautiful.  They are so common that they are truly an overlooked bird.  When they take flight in a group, they make graceful wide turns.   Photograph I took in Newport Beach.

Garden Scape

I clipped roses, Silver Drop stems, a Bougainvillea cluster, bought a small bouquet of carnations and succulents to assemble small pots for Mother's Day.  Later I photographed one of my planters.