Thursday, June 01, 2017

Watercolor Sunday and Saturday's Color: May 2017


So quickly has summer come this year, even before its time!  Whether it's climate change or whatever else, we've already had some of our hottest days yet on record for this time of the year.  But I digress....

My Watercolor Sunday posts on Facebook for May 2017:

May 7 (photo manipulation):
"The difference between school and life?  In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test.
In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson." --Tom Bodett
[the voice behind "I'm Tom Bodett for Motel 6, and we'll leave the light on for you."]


May 14 (photo manipulation):
"People are like stained-glass windows.  They sparkle and shine when the sun is out,
but when darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within."
--Elizabeth Kübler-Ross

Happy Mothers Day to all mothers everywhere who shine from within and out.


May 21 (photo manipulation):
"A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be,
and not building bridges, is not Christian.  This is not the gospel." --Pope Francis


May 28 (photo manipulation):
"Only the dead have seen the end of war." --Plato

"They hover as a cloud of witnesses above this nation." --Henry Ward Beecher

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

My Saturday's Color posts on Facebook for May 2017:

(finished 4 May, posted on FB 6 May 2017)
There's a sobering connect-the-dots story to this design finished this week, following the (Dot #1) 6-part series Astrid and I just watched on "Hitler:  The Definitive Guide" (from the Discovery Channel and which I highly recommend).  I'm embarrassed to say how much I did NOT know about how Hitler started and masterminded WWII.  Besides the 6 million Jews, he's responsible for the deaths of millions of others, including 4.3 million of his own soldiers whom he would not allow to surrender under any circumstance.

Dot #2: This past Thursday, May 4th, was the annual Dutch Remembrance Day in observance of all those who have died in war and peace-keeping operations. Each year, at 8 p.m., everyone around the country stops for 2 minutes of silence, no matter what they’re doing. Even traffic pulls off the road, whenever possible. That in and of itself is sobering. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. Every year! The next day, May 5th (yesterday) was the Dutch Liberation Day, commemorating the end of the Nazi occupation during WWII.

Dot #3: Astrid’s father, while living in Amsterdam during WWII, age 23, hid in the rafters of his house in order not to be conscripted by the Germans to help fight their war. Though not a Jew, he nonetheless feared for his life, refusing to work in their war factories.

Dot #4: When I looked for a new design to color this week and found this one in my Color Me Fearless book, I grabbed it. Though a simple design, I knew immediately what colors I would choose and why I would post it today. Hitler, btw, was an artist and adopted the ancient, religious Indian swastika as the symbol for his Nazi Party. Because of what it now represents, Hitler will be forever deemed “The most hated man in history!”

God have mercy on us all.


(finished 10 May, posted on FB 13 May 2017)
I saw FOUR GENERATIONS in this Color Me Happy design.
Circles of life...mothers begetting mothers, like my sister, Susan, who is the mother
of a mother of a mother who has a daughter (another potential mother).
Happy Mother's Day weekend to all mothers everywhere,
especially to those of us with mothers no longer with us.


(finished 30 April, posted on FB 20 May 2017)
Before I color a Celtic design (this one from my Book of Kells Painting Book), 
I almost always trace it with my finger to figure out where it's going!
In this case, I quickly discovered that one "animal" slithered from point A to point B 
in pretty much a "straight line," while the other went all over tarnation to get to where he was going.
Kinda like many people in Life, right?


(finished 4 March, posted on FB 27 May 2017)
To all my American family and friends, happy Memorial Day weekend.
I've chosen this wee 5 x 7 design because it's from my Mindfulness book.
I'm calling it a Memorial Quilt, honoring all who have died in service to their country,
whether the war was just or unjust.  (sigh)

And now we officially face the summer with this new month of June.
Let's hope we can all stay cool...regardless of what Trump decides about the Paris Agreement!


10 comments:

  1. I love thie work, Ginnie. The colours, designs and references you make are interesting! Well done!

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    1. Thank you kindly, Marie. I know that not all of you follow me on FB, so I find it helpful, even for me, to consolidate each month like this. It gives me a perspective of the whole!

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  2. It is wonderful to see all the Saturday's color the watercolor Sunday in one post. The variety is big and it seems endless. I am impressed that you keep record and how many you've done already. IHVJ.

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    1. To be honest Astrid, I find it extra gratifying to see full months put together like this into one post. To think I started this in November of 2015 and have been able to maintain it every week, let alone every month. It has surprised even me. :)

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  3. This has sobering stuff in it, doesn't it? That Plato quote! Oh my. Breaks my heart.

    That's why we must keep coloring our world the best we can! Like the stained glass quote. Light from within! Which we share with others, as you do so well.

    I ADORE the circles/mothers color piece!!

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    1. Yes, Ruth, sobering stuff in this sobering time! We need to see the light and color more NOW than ever before!

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  4. I was totally taken back on your information about the Dutch Remembrance Day. Tears here...I can't even imagine witnessing such a sight with everyone taking the time to REMEMBER. Your work is so incredible and like Ruth said...That's why we must keep coloring our world. As you know from today...it's more important than ever. xo

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    1. As you can imagine, Robin, I'm in a different place as an American living in Europe, able to feel/see both sides of the story/coin. It's all most sobering in this time few of us can believe is happening...before our very eyes. I hardly know what to make of it anymore. It makes me need to color more and more, just like you doing your art. Let's change our world through our art and bring hope to our separate worlds! God have mercy in the meanime!

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  5. do i build walls or bridges? hmmm... i think i build BOTH... i love your watercolour renderings... you're so good at using that tool xoxox

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