My Watercolor Sunday and Saturday's Color Books

Most of you will remember that for three years straight, every weekend, from the end of September 2015 to November 2018, I posted a watercolor photo (on Sundays) and a felt-pen coloring (on Saturdays) on Facebook.  I called them Watercolor Sunday (always with a quote) and Saturday's Color.

Purely for the sake of posterity, and to have all images in one accessible place, I decided to make books of each.  Lucky for me, Shutterfly had companion covers to make them a pair, which they are!  Both books are 10 x 10 inches.

Here they are:

Click here to find the book and then click on the book to open it (111 pages).

(You also have the option to view it in full screen.)

Because of the quotes with each image, on Sunday, I decided to call them Sermonettes.

There are 162 of them, shown in chronological order as posted on Facebook.

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Click here to find the book and then click on the book to open it (97 pages).

(You also have the option to view it in full screen.)

Here there are 166 designs from 21 coloring books, utilizing 15 different felt-pen sets, 

from 2003-2018, not in chronological order but in like categories/themes.

Both of these books are now listed on my sidebar.

Watercolor Sunday and Saturday's Color: November 2018

OK, OK.  I know November isn't yet off the calendar, but close enough for me to make this Thursday post...especially since all the weekends ARE off the calendar.

So, here goes.

These are my Watercolor Sunday posts on Facebook for November 2018:

November 4 (photo manipulation):

"Let no one weep for me, or celebrate my funeral with mourning;

for I still live, as I pass to and fro through the mouths of men."

--Quintus Ennius (239BC - 169BC, considered to be the father of Latin literature)

[Yesterday was the day of SIL Peggy's Memorial Service in Michigan.]

November 11 (photo manipulation):

"When chill November's surly blast Made fields and forests bare...."

--Robert Burns(1759-1796)

November 18 (photo manipulation):

"Now in November nearer comes the sun down the abandoned heaven."

--D.H. Lawrence

"Ethics and equity and the principles of justice do not change with the calendar."

--D.H. Lawrence (1885-1930)

November 25 (photo manipulation):

"Let us celebrate the occasion with wine and sweet words."

--Titus Maccius Plautus, Roman playwright, 254BC - 184BC

HAPPY THANKSGIVING WEEKEND

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My Saturday's Color posts on Facebook for November 2018:

(finished on 23 October, posted on FB 3 November 2018)

There's still lots of color left in early November, right?

You can find it if you look for it, even on a gray day.

Happy November, everyone!

(from my 12 x 12 Mandala Kleurboek)

(finished on 28 October, posted on FB 10 November 2018)

Sometimes you go into the mysterious depths and just let the currents take you.

That's what I was feeling when I finished this just prior to our trip to Michigan

for SIL Peggy's Memorial Service on 3 November.

(from my Color Me Happy book)

(finished on 11 November, posted on FB 17 November 2018)

Believe it or not, I actually thought of a snowflake while I colored this 6 x 6 Mini-Mandala,

not knowing many of my American family and friends would receive SNOW this past week!

You can blame it on me????

(finished on 21 November, posted on FB 24 November 2018)

Growing up in my preacher-dad's Baptist church, we often sang

"Bringing in the sheaves, 

Bringing in the sheaves; 

We shall come rejoicing, 

bringing in the sheaves," 

which I thought about while coloring this design.

It seemed appropriate for Thanksgiving weekend.

This ends 3 years of posting my watercolor and coloring designs every weekend on Facebook!

As I have mentioned before, I will now post them sporadically, when the whim hits me,

assuming granddaughter Hailey will take up more of my time going forward.

Thank you to all who have followed me faithfully here.

Watercolor Sunday and Saturday's Color: October 2018

As we speak, Astrid and I are in America again, staying with Don and Ruth in Michigan...exactly as we did back in May!  Back then, not a one of us could have possibly known we'd be back again so soon.  So it is with the Rainbow Bridge:  it comes when it comes and we adjust accordingly.

In the meantime, Life goes on....

These are my Watercolor Sunday posts on Facebook for October 2018:

October 7 (photo manipulation):

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers."

--L.M. Montomery, Anne of Green Gables

October 14 (photo manipulation):

"What I would be quite wise to remember is that 'pieces' are not the end of what was,

but the beginning of what is to be."

--Craig D. Lounsbrough

In honor of all those everywhere affected by "disasters" of whatever kind.

[Hurricane Michael had just hit Florida's panhandle.]

October 21 (photo manipulation):

"Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop."

--Lewis Carroll

[following SIL Peggy's death on October 17]

October 28 (photo manipulation):
"You say witch like it's a bad thing...."
"If the broom fits, fly it."
--Unknown

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My Saturday's Color posts on Facebook for October 2018:

(finished on 29 September, posted on FB 6 October 2018)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to son Mark Tiffan who is the master of detail and nuance,

plus all kinds of mathematical observation.

How wonderful that THIS year we get to celebrate your big day here in the Netherlands!

This design is from my Techellations book, finished the day before you arrived on the 30th.

Looking forward to another great day.

(finished on 11 October, posted on FB 13 October 2018)

Can you read into this Circles of Life midst the undulating waters

that would otherwise wreak havoc?

(from my Kaleido Color book on black-background paper)

(finished on 14 October, posted on FB 20 October 2018)

It's so strange to see this 12 x 12 Mandala now, using only 3 colors I had so much fun using

(the black was part of the design).

It feels like one of those dreams fulled with suffocating debris

from which one can't escape.  I suppose that's the power of myriad, conflicting emotions?!

(finished on 10 October, posted on FB 27 October 2018)

This has candy corn for Halloween written all over it, right?
Oh, and masks, too.  I see masquerade masks.  BOO!

(from my Mini-Mandala book)

Speaking of Halloween, yesterday...that's when we arrived in Michigan!

SIL Peggy's memorial service is Saturday.

We return home this next Wednesday, 7 October, the day after Midterm Elections!
(Yes, I voted...and hope you do/did, too!)

Watercolor Sunday and Saturday's Color: September 2018

As I speak, my son Mark, from Atlanta, is here with us here in The Netherlands for a week.  His first time here ever!  But that's for another post, later.

This is what's on deck for this week:

First, my Watercolor Sunday posts on FaceBook for September 2018:

September 2 (photo manipulation):

"No matter what people tell you, your words and ideas can change the world."

--Robin Williams

"In a gentle way, you can shake the world."

--Mahatma Gandhi

September 9 (photo manipulation):

"Truth is like the sun.  You can shut it out for a time, but it ain't goin' away."

--Elvis Presley

September 16 (photo manipulation):

"September tries its best to have us forget summer."

--Sir Bernard Williams

September 23 (photo manipulation):

"Keep calm and yell O."

"Just duck it."

"Wake up and be O-some."

"I got Duck fever...and the only prescription is...more quack."

"Once you are a duck you are always a duck.  Go Ducks."

This past Thursday, g'son Nicholas moved into his dorm at the University of Oregon,

where he is now a full-fledged student.

He attended his first Ducks football game as a student yesterday.

Too bad they lost to Stanford (31-38) but I'm sure he'll "Keep calm and quack on."

September 30 (photo manipulation):

"Today you are you!  That is truer than true!  There is no one you-er than you."
--Dr. Seuss

In honor of my one and only daughter, Amy Tiffan Dunn, who loves Hawaii's Plumeria flower.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  Today is YOUR day.

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My Saturday's Color posts on Facebook for September 2018:

(finished on 21 June, posted on FB 1 September 2018)

Here's another design on which I used my gel pens but ran out of ink on 2 of them halfway through!

Luckily, I had other pens to more or less match the color.

Like I said before, I like the pens but it's a deal-breaking shame that the ink runs out so quickly!

(from my Techellations book)

(finished on 17 August, posted on FB 8 September 2018)

After all these years, coloring on black-paper background is still my favorite.

It makes me think about the positive aspects of black/dark, enhancing color and light.

There's probably a sermonette in there somewhere?

(from my Kaleido Color book)

(finished on 9 December, posted on FB 15 September 2018)

Summer loosens her grip as autumn breaths down her neck, at least where we live.

It's my favorite time of the year!

But for those of you facing hurricanes/storms of whatever kind, please stay safe.

(from my Stained Glass book)

(finished on 15 September, posted on FB 22 September 2018)

Some of you know that our g'daughter Hailey spent her first week in the hospital, fighting for her life.

I started and finished this mandala last Saturday, praying out to God Almighty, 

with every stroke, for her health.

On her 8th day of life, this past Thursday, she was able to go home, finally.

This is for you, Hailey.  YOU GO, GIRL.

(finished on 23 September, posted on FB 29 September 2018)

"The sun will come out tomorrow; bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow there'll be sun!"

After everything we went through with g'daughter Hailey's birth, 

it was good to color this Vintage Patterns design and think of this Annie quote.

(Hailey was born on 12 September; I finished this 11 days later.)


More about Mark's visit in my next post....

Watercolor Sunday and Saturday's Color: August 2018

Having just arrived back from Merry England two days ago, I'm happy to do an easy post while settling back into some sense of "normalcy."  HA!

Here are my Watercolor Sunday posts on Facebook for August 2018:

August 5 (photo manipulation):

"I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world.

This makes it hard to plan the day."

--E.B. White

August 12 (photo manipulation):

"It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere."

--Anaïs Nin

"Happiness is an inside job." --William Arthur Ward

August 19 (photo manipulation):

"If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you,
if the simple things of nature have a message that you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive."

--Eleonora Duse (Italian actress, 1858-1924)

August 26 (photo manipulation):

"Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud."

--Maya Angelou

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My Saturday's Color posts on Facebook for August 2018:

(finished on 1 July 2018, posted on FB 4 August 2018)

GREEN.  Europe is becoming parched because of the heat and not enough rain.

Farmers are going bankrupt.  Produce prices will soon rocket sky-high.

We need rain.  We need less heat.  We need GREEN.

(from my Mind Body Zen book)

[Addendum:  We are getting rain and less heat these days!  Things are greening up again.]

(finished on 26 June 2018, posted on FB 11 August 2018)

While in Atlanta this past May, I bought a Color by Pixel book that still intrigues me,

even though the jury is still out on it for me.

The challenge is to follow the guide because I don't have all the shades/nuances in pen colors.

(finished just before the Tour de France)

[Addendum:  The jury says NO to this book, even though I will still play around with it.]

(finished on 28 July 2018, posted on FB 18 August 2018)

How many times do I mention I "feel" I was a Native American in a past life!

Where those feelings come from I'm not sure, but it's deep in my core.

To be honest, I hold it with pride, carefully.

(from my Color Me Fearless book)

(finished on 28 June 2018, posted on FB 25 August 2018)

Just for the halibut, I bought gel pens while in America this past May and actually like them...

except for the fact the ink is gone almost before you use it, which is a deal-breaker for me.

But I still like the feel of using them.  We're never too old to try something new, of course.

(from my mini-mandala book)

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Now that we're back from our England trip, you know what I'll be working on!

Oh, and any day now our granddaughter will be born (due this past Monday)!

Watercolor Sunday and Saturday's Color: July 2018

When August comes, does it feel like summer is ending or still in full-throttle for you?  Actually, I always started thinking of school in August, whether for me or my kids, which made me think about the fall...before it started!

Right now, however, we're still dealing with record high temps all over Europe and, sadly, not enough rain.  So, yes, summer is still full-throttle for me.

Here are my Watercolor Sunday posts on Facebook for July 2018:

July 1 (photo manipulation):

"As Mankind becomes more liberal, they will be more apt to allow that all those who conduct themselves
as worthy members of the community are equally entitled to the protections of civil government.

I hope ever to see America among the foremost nations of justice and liberality."

--George Washington

HAPPY July  1st and 4th to all my Canadian and American family and friends.

July 8 (photo manipulation):

"He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe is as good as dead;

his eyes are closed."

--Albert Einstein

July 15 (photo manipulation):

"You're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarted than you think."

--A.A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh

July 22 (photo manipulation):

"Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand."

--Mother Teresa

July 29 (photo manipulation):

"I imagine that yes is the only living thing."

--e.e. cummings

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My Saturday's Color posts on Facebook for July 2018:

(finished on 19 February, posted on FB 7 July 2018)

Believe it or not, I had already queued up this Vintage Patterns design before connecting the fact

that last evening we were eating dinner with an Irish man and his Dutch wife.

I love how the Celtic knots stick out like a sore thumb, don't you?

More Irish you cannot get!

(finished on 27 December 2016, posted on FB 14 July 2018)

I love the quote in Alice Walker's "The Color Purple" when Shug says

"I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it."

YUP.

(from my mini-mandala 6 x 6 in. book)

(finished on 5 February, posted on FB 21 July 2018)

It's that time of the year to notice Mother Nature strutting her stuff everywhere we go.

(from my Stained Glass book)

(finished on 12 March, posted on FB 28 July 2018)

These are colors I like together, even if I might not ever wear them.  HA!

(from my Mandala book)

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Here's a fun tooting-my-own-horn moment, if you don't mind:

It goes back to all the posts I published about all our capers while in Malta, 2016.  Remember?  It so happens that Raymond Fenech, who lives there and is an author of short stories, poems, articles and essays, published in 12 countries, contacted me last year to request the use of one of my images at the Addolorata Cemetery.  In exchange, I would receive a copy of his book.

Talk about a man of his word!  That book arrived by mail this week:

The Incident of the Mysterious Priest, 2017, Adelaide Books

And yes, one image with credit to me.  :)

Thank you, Ray!

Watercolor Sunday and Saturday's Color: June 2018

Can you believe we are now halfway through the 2018 year?!  We are.

And here are my Watercolor Sunday posts on Facebook for June 2018:

June 3 (photo manipulation):

"But he who dares not grasp the thorn Should never crave the rose."

--Henry David Thoreau

[And yes, we are safely back in The Netherlands.]

June 10 (photo manipulation):

"The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn't said."

--Peter Drucker

June 17 (photo manipulation):

"Children don't need more things.

The best present they can get is a father who gets on the floor and plays with them."

--Anonymous

Happy Father's Day to all fathers everywhere, whether they have their own children or not!

June 24 (photo manipulation):

"In early June the world of leaf and blade and flowers explodes...."

--John Steinbeck, The Winter of Our Discontent

"And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves on the trees...

I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer."

--F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

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My Saturday's Color posts on Facebook for June 2018:

(finished on 26 March, posted on FB 2 June 2018)

I see some hairpin turns, taking us back to where we came from.

This evening g'son Nicholas flies back with Astrid and me 

to The Netherlands for 2 weeks, as his graduation gift from us.

He was there 3 years ago but this time, he's...older.  :)

(from my Mindfulness book)

(finished on 28 September 2017, posted on FB 9 June 2018)

Still trying new color combinations to see if they'll work.

Sometimes they surprise me.

(from my Stained Glass book)

(finished on 27 March 2004, posted on FB 16 June 2018)

Today is g'son Nicholas' last full day with us before he flies back to Atlanta tomorrow.

So many memories..."like circles that you find in the windmills of your mind."

(from my Op Art book)

(finished on 11 January, posted on FB 23 June 2018)

How 'bout starting off summer with this Mini-Mandala (6 x 6 in.).

Ironically, The Netherlands didn't get the Summer Solstice memo because it's in the mid 50s F right now!

(finished on 23 April, posted on FB 30 June 2018)

Thor's hammer amulet (Mjölnir) "is depicted in Norse mythology as one of the most

fearsome and powerful weapons in existence, capable of leveling mountains."

Thor, as you may recall, is the Norse god associated with thunder.

Somehow this seemed appropriate for those of you in America 

who'll be hearing fireworks probably all week now!  

Stay safe.

(from my Viking Colouring Book)

And now we start the second half of 2018!