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Winter and I are Not the Best of Friends
The sky today is uniformly gray. Skeleton trees assembled along the streets of town look as rigid as soldiers standing inspection. Icy winds swept through last night leaving frigid temperatures to invade personal spaces wherever they can force an entry. I long for warm weather and sunshine.
Would I rather be snug in a warm cocoon and simply wait out the cold? No, I want to be active, just active in a warmer climate. Since I cannot transport myself to said climate, I am forced to struggle through the cold and the grayness. I know the season will change…eventually. But it seems like such a long time away. I long for warm weather and sunshine.
The Winter Blahs
Well, folks, it’s winter. Winter and I are not the best of friends. I don’t like the skeleton trees or the cold. I hate the short daylight hours and the insipid grey days. Sometimes it’s even difficult to think.
When it seems like there is not enough time for everything in the summer, I think that in the winter I can do more; especially since then there are no outdoor summer chores that need to be done. And then winter comes and I realize once again…
Het is bekend!
It’s published!
It’s a great children’s story. If you can read Dutch, I encourage you to buy it for your children.
(Maybe one day it will be translated into English.)
Pumped for Research
I stepped off the plane at the Frankfurt airport full of eager anticipation. Only two weeks to find out all I could in two cities. Our exchange daughter, Anke, met me at the airport. We dropped my backpack and suitcase at her apartment and she took me on a streetcar-train-walking tour of Frankfurt so I would have a basic idea of how to get where I needed to go. I bought a week’s transportation pass which includes both the streetcar and train.
The next morning Anke went back to work, and armed with a city map and notebook, I set out to find the Römerberg. It took me a couple of minutes to establish just where I was when I arrived streetside from the train (which runs under the city in that area).
The Römerberg. I knew the three buildings comprising the Römer were the old city hall and designated places for official functions in the 1600’s, the time period of my research. Fanning out from the Römer was a large open space, which in earlier times was the main market place and where the twice yearly trade fairs were held. This market area was the Römerberg, very much a misnomer. I laughed when I realized that this slight uphill slant was called a mountain (berg). But it did provide a natural ampitheater for viewing public events.
It was disappointing not to be able to see the exterior of the Römer. The three buildings were covered with scaffolding and some kind of material as some kind of work was being done to them. But there are plenty of pictures in books and on postcards that show the exterior.
Frankfurt is a very modern city. Its skyline is often compared to that of New York City. I knew that the only way I might get a sense of the 1600’s would mostly be in the various museums.
The Magic of Illustration
I’ve had two vacations this summer, each one working its own magic of relaxation a bit differently. But the most magical time of this summer washed over me and engulfed me completely while I was totally absorbed in a delightful new children’s book. It began in Honderdland with a little boy named Matthijs.
I read it once for the story itself, enjoying and appreciating the author’s imagination. Then I read it again with an eye for what would make a good illustration….
My hand reached for the mechanical pencil I use for sketching. It seemed a bit slow at first–it always does–as I sketched a variety of faces for possible use. Then an idea for an illustration came. As I worked on that one, another idea crowded in followed by others. Soon I was very busy.
The creative process took over. I am constantly amazed by it. I start out with an idea; I’m in control of that idea…well, for awhile anyway. Then suddenly the drawing, the illustration, the painting, demands to be changed. It doesn’t want that bush, cloud, or color there, or it wants darker trees in the foreground; or it won’t stay just a small drawing, it refuses to be complete without more added to it. Or it says no to all the color I had planned, or it cries out for more color than I had planned. The details I worked so hard on just don’t fit or draw attention away from where it should be and have to be taken out. The passage of time means nothing. My whole focus is this emerging creation. It’s an enjoyable challenge. It’s my high.
This particular project is now complete; it’s at the publisher. Matthijs in Honderdland, by Inge de Graaf, illustrated by Nancy Dailey, will be out soon. 😀 Woohoo!
Dauphine Island
I just spent a week on Dauphine Island off the coast of Alabama in the Gulf. I was very curious to know what differences there might be between the Atlantic and the Gulf beaches. I have to say I was very disappointed with the beach on Dauphine Island. It is very narrow; there is a seawall farther out which keeps out the normal waves, so that is not as interesting. There are a number of gas rigs out in the Gulf which means the view is not so great. And there were practically no shells at all, much less in a variety of shapes and colors. What shells there were were white. It was very commercialized with people zipping around in motorboats and those seadoo thingys. Lots of condos and people, not much nature. It’s not for me.
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A Ten Sand Dollar Day
This time we picked up the sand dollars right in the water as they were being washed ashore. It looked as if they just glided in underwater. Sometimes they were left on the sand, but other times another wave would take them back out, if you weren’t quick enough in picking them up, that is. We did manage to get ten of them; that beats the previous record of eight. (So, of course we ran into a family who said they found fifty on the beach at Ft. Clinch last April!)
I saw a little whitish shrimpy critter scurrying along the sand at the wave line with a little one hanging on to it. But by the time I got the camera turned on and focused it dived into the sand and disappeared leaving a little hole. Well, now I know what makes all those little holes I’ve been seeing. Must be what the birds go after, too.
And then…as I came even with a group of people looking at what a boy caught while fishing from the beach, I saw that it was a sting ray. It was off the hook and on the sand; the dad pulled it by the long spine back towards the water (apparently it’s a bit heavy) and then tossed it in. It landed upside down so he waded in and turned it over. And with a graceful undulation of its sides it headed for deeper water. The way they move through the water is absolutely beautiful! I had no idea that sting rays were so close to shore, I guess I had just assumed that they were much farther out there.
The ocean is awesome.
Sharks! and Tellins
The days are ever so gently blending together so that I no longer remember which day contained which events. Late afternoon-early evenings at the beach have been wonderful with their full blown breezes to cool the heat. On one of these days, further south along the beach, we got there in time to see the lifeguards packing up to leave; one of the items they carried was a red flag.
This is the first time here on the island that I have actually seen flags flying on the beach–at the life guard stands. Well, it’s the first time I’ve seen lifeguards, come to think of it! I have seen the posted signs at the edge of the dunes with the information of what each color of flag means. (The funny thing is that the signs posted at various places along the beach don’t agree….)
Anyway, the red flag is a warning flag. But I wasn’t going in the water anyway, so it was just a casual interest. But… Later that night we found out that sharks were seen in the water and the lifeguards had to get everybody out of the water. That would have been interesting to see everybody streaming back to shore instead of going into the waves. So, no sharks teeth this trip; one shark sighting instead.
Another evening we chose a different section of the beach, one that was wider. This day it happened to be extremely smooth with a large shiny wet surface on the sand. Hardly any shells, except for live tillers. These are little colorful shells with the two halves joined together. Approximately triangular in shape, although a long triangle pointed on one end and fairly flat on the larger opposite end. I spent quite awhile just watching these little critters at the water’s edge. When a wave came it apparently dislodged them from under the sand so that they were left lying on their side as the wave receeded. Almost as if being conducted in a symphony, as a group they would each pop upright for an instant, pointy end down, and then quickly work their way into the wet sand so that only the flat end showed, just barely.
There are a lot more people on the beach this trip, but then it is summer. More dogs. I’ve only seen two dogs go in the water; the rest run, walk, and visit. And, of course one other thing for which their owners bring little bags so it can then be disposed of in the big blue trash barrels back at the edge of the dunes. More people, but still not that many; it’s still nice.
The Beach
I’m back on Amelia Island; am thoroughly enjoying the weather although people here complain about it being hot. It’s a very nice change from the cold and rainy, stormy weather back in Missouri. A delightful breeze blows every day, the sky is a beautiful blue with a few clouds drifting lazily across the sky some of the time. I love the beach and the sound of the waves tumbling towards the shore. Every day is different when it comes to what the ocean leaves on the sand–which types of shells or other things. This trip I’m finding more sand dollars than ever before. No luck with finding sharks teeth this time, though; well at least not so far.
Met one girl who had just found her first sand dollar; she was sooo excited! It is addictive, almost as most as hunting for sharks’ teeth. (I didn’t tell her that I have 14; got 8 in one day. Of course Lois was a big help there–she found five of them.)
Now I have the “problem” of trying to get them home without breaking. They are rather fragile. I found two that were much darker than the others; but they are lighter now that they have…dried out more? On two days I found two only to have one break each day. I do have those funny-looking little white pieces that fall out, though. They are somehow part of the sand dollar’s mouth. You can see the hole for the mouth on the underside in the middle. I went online to find an answer to a question about them and discovered that when sand dollars are alive they are purple! Very pretty! Would love to see one alive.
Catching up
Unfortunately there was some “interference” and I no longer felt like posting for awhile. I did finish my second watercolor seascape painting. In the foreground I added a little girl playing in the sand and a dog. I remember that some other things went wrong with that painting and so I learned so more, but the only thing I remember was how hard it was to work with skintones. That was frustrating because I have had no trouble whatsoever with skintones when I’ve used oils. But then finally getting it to work with watercolor was certainly a big relief!
I am happy to say that both of these paintings are now in a private collection in Florida!
I have also finished a third watercolor seascape painting. This one, however doesn’t have as much of the sea showing in it. Instead I painted a short, squat lighthouse on the dunes. The one I worked from is not a real lighthouse; it was originally built as an artist’s studio. It must have been absolutely wonderful to sit up there and watch the clouds roll in and the surf crashing on the beach. I’ll bet some fantastic paintings were created there! I would certainly love to work there.
I also added a mailbox that I had seen on the dunes side of a cottage–not the street side, the dunes side. Makes me wonder if people used to leave messages…? The mailbox disappeared after the last storm season. But I still have it in my painting and can still dream up all kinds of stories about its existence and use. : ) The painting still needed more, so I also added some birds and a little dog.
This one is hanging on my wall for me to continue to enjoy.
Painting number four is sketched, ready for me to start either masking or painting, whatever I decide is best. And while I did add two children and some birds, I really want the main focus to be foam, both huge foamy waves and foam floating towards the edge of the water at the beach. And, I just might try painting “flat” foam instead of using a gel to give it some dimension. The children in front of the foam is my problem, you see….. It will be interesting to see how the painting plays out.
Other Work
Chasing Caterpillars
The Life and Times of Maria Sybilla Merian
Maria Sybilla Merian (1647-1717) lived in a culture where women were supposed to marry, keep house, and raise children. So how, then, did her persistent involvement with caterpillars make such an impact on the world of science? This is her story.
Draft
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Missouri Life Magazine
Illustration
Gone But Not Forgotten — Missouri Life Magazine
Artist Profile: Jim Veronee
An article about a Missouri mural artist and his legacy.
I just couldn’t put it down!
– Dixie Simpson
Upcoming Events
September 8, 2018
ABC Books, Book Signing • Springfield, MO
1-3 pm
September 31, 2018
Draft, Book Reading • Los Angeles, MO
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Coming Soon!
Available Aug 16, 2018
Missouri’s Best Known Resident, A Dog?
Non-Fiction
In the 1930’s Jim may have been Missouri’s best known resident.
My Writing Blog
Follow Along
Postale: Leaving Chicago
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Escaped Art!
The Art Hunters have been called in to find, capture and return the escaped artworks back to the Springfield Art Museum. It seems as though one piece of artwork comes to life each week and "leaves." I am a member of the reserves, helping to locate the missing art each...
Postale: Caelan Lithophane
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