Dreamers

People often ask me . . .

'Sooooooooo, what's new????'
'What have you been doing lately????'
Over the years
I have found it easier
to place 'it'
on a webpage
so everyone can take their time
'visiting' with me!

Here's the latest . . .

The 'Dreamers' . . .

Last week
I saw a print
my friend Susan had
of just a face
of what appeared
almost as a 'Madonna'.
There was something about it
that was very mystical and haunting.
It kept coming to mind
so I decided that I would attempt
to paint a 'Madonna' face.

Now remember,
I was never trained in 'drawing',
so I 'borrowed' the print
and kept studying it
as I had no idea
how to draw eyes, nose, mouth, etc.

I started with an oval
then with a pencil
sketched in the line
that extended from the eyebrows
to the nose . . .
(an interesting way to do it I thought) . . .
then sketched in lips
and then got out my watercolours
and let the colours 'do' their things.

About an hour later (I guess . . .
as I got lost in the colours
and fun of it!)

THIS is what had emerged
on the paper . . .
and I have to say . . .
I was overwhelmed by Her Radiance!

The next morning I prepared for my
'Quietude moments' ~

(I place my 12" C-note Crystal Bowl
next to the bed and
place a few special crystals near me
then tap the Bowl and
allow its wondrous sounds
to surround and fill me
as I just relax into
the Joy of it all
and
'float' on the Sound-Currents!) ~

I set Her on the dresser
so I could see Her and
have Her Radiance be a part of
my Quietude also.

She has become such a part
of my morning 'ritual'
that I printed Her on canvas
(a marvelous technique that
takes a watercolour painted on paper
into a new realm!)
and
now have Her framed
and hanging above the bathtub
so I can see Her
as I soak!

THEN
I decided to have notecards
made with Her image . . .
and when I went to the Post Office
to mail the first one . . .
they told me I could have stamps
made also !!!

WOWIE! What a great idea . . .

(the 'real stamp' looks just like the original painting;
however, scanning it to put on this site
for some reason changed the colours ~ but you get the idea!)

Well . . . THAT was soooooooo much fun
that I decided to try another one!

This time I used
and orange india-ink
and sketched the oval,
nose/brows/lips . . .
all the while
learning new techniques (for me)
AND
also discovering some challenges!
The ink, of course,
was permanent, unlike the pencil!

The paper, also,
was different.
Instead of a good Arches watercolour paper
I used a less expensive
hand-made paper from India.
Because of its texture
the colours don't 'move' as freely
and it sets up a texture in the painting.
And . . .this time,
Her eyes appeared open
because of the way I had
sketched in the orange eye-lines.
So I painted in some blue,
the colour I remember as my mother's eyes!
At first
She seemed a little harsh . . .
however,
the more I spend time
with Her
the more it seems
that HER expression
changes as
MY 'feeling'
toward Her changes !
(does that make sense????)
As I 'soften' toward Her,
She also 'softens'!

Needless to say,
by THIS time I was having GREAT fun!
I went back to
sketching the basics with pencil
to give myself more freedom.
And had just gotten
some new 'Daniel Smith' watercolours
that I wanted to try out.
They are made with
authentic mineral pigments
such as:
red rock of Sedona
Kingman green turquoise
pink-brown of Yavapai Arizona
Sleeping Beauty turquoise of Arizona
Minnesota pipestone
amazonite, hematite and malachite from Brazil
vivianite from Siberia
azurite from China
purpurite from South Africa
and
lapis lazuli from Asia Minor . . .
all yummie!

Soon . . .
this One appeared in form!
I wanted her eyes closed,
like the first 'Dreamer',
but couldn't quite get it to work . . .
so . . .
I painted on eyelashes
for the 'closed eyes' look!
Since she reminds me of
an Egyptian sarcophagus figure,
I named her

'The Long Dream' © 2005

And . . .
by now I was having fun
with the lips!
They seemed to be a focal point for me.
I have been told numerous times
that I have beautiful lips
and almond eyes . . .
and after seeing the first of these paintings,
a friend emailed and said,
"These ARE self-portraits aren't they????"

"Interesting you ask" I emailed back . . .
I too had been wondering that
as I studied the lips in each painting.

Then I pondered
whether each of us have some physical trait
that, if we could see photos of ourselves
in other manifestations,
would find something that carried through in all?!!!

I wanted to see what the 'Vivianite' pigment
would look like
as the information
in the 'Summer Sale Daniel Smith catalog'
(1-800-426-6740 to order one!)
said
"noted for its dark blue masstone and reddish-blue undertone,
this rare mineral was used in medieval painting"

Hmmmmmmmm . . .

blended with the Minnesota Pipestone
it gave an interesting 'skin look'
and Her hair reminded me of
rolling grassy areas in South Dakota.

Now I was REALLY
on a 'roll'!
I dug out a silver bolo my brother
had 'fashioned' for me
a number of years ago
and it gave me another idea
for a 'Dreamer'!
And, I found that now
as I sketched the basics,
I BEGAN with the lips!
I also began to 'see'
that Their 'hair' was
also like a 'mantle'
OR . . .
was the 'mantle'
really hair????

I wanted to give my friend Susan
some hand-dipped beeswax candles
as a 'thank you'
for introducing me
to the 'Madonna' print . . .
and in making a card
to go with them,
found this quote by
Antonia Machado
that I had saved for years!

"Last night I dreamt
that I had a beehive here inside my heart.
And the golden bees were making white combs
and sweet honey
from my old failures."

I changed the word
'failures'
to
'challenges' and
I Kollaged a card for her;
which, of course,
gave me ANOTHER idea
for a 'Dreamer'!!!!!!!

I 'saw' a Dreamer
that emerged from a beehive
(maybe 'the Queen Bee'???),
so put down my version of
a beehive as background,
then, of course,
came the lips (!!!),
which set the tone for the face . . .
and the 'mantle' was part of the hive.
The colours seemed to call out to me
from my 'plates of many colours'

where I store my watercolours
and the more pinkish skin-tones
began appearing.
I LOVE the Daniel Smith 'Iridescent' colours
so I then layered some
'Iridescent Goldstone'
over the pinky pipestone colours!

Only one problem . . .
I can't decide whether to call Her . . .

'Dreaming Sweet Nectar'
or
'Queen Bee Dreams Quietly'

Which 'Naming' do you prefer????

All for now ~

I feel another 'Dreamer'
calling to me . . .

Until soon ~

Hugs,

Che'usa

Contact Che'usa

Exploring . . .

About Che’usa
Colours of The Wend ~ Ambient Environs'
Clay experiences for those with ‘no experience’
Watercolour for those who do not draw!
Found Sounds ~ Personal Rhythm
Kollage & Communique' ~ Creating interesting correspondence
'The Bowl Lady' and her love for Quartz Crystal Singing Bowls
Mayan Glyphs ~ Me Musing
Mayan-Style Day Counter
As Woman . . . Dreaming

Also: Check out My Musings at
The Orange Wheelbarrow