Uncategorized 8:38 pm
Oriental Chicken Salad
Hands down….this is one of our families favorite meals In fact…it’s what I almost always order from Applebee’s when we go there for dinner! I could hardly sit still when I found it on the Top Secret Recipes site! We were all so surprised how wonderful it turned out. The dressing is superb and it was surprisingly simple to make too!
Uncategorized Favorite color of a dutch impresioonistic artist 8:20 pm
Sorry, I ‘ve neglected this site, because I’m mostly at my Blogspot site (http://castlestgermain.blogspot.com).
My favorite color is not just blue, because there are so many blues. Like this Polish Pottery I saw last weekend in Auburn, California
Isn’t it pretty? Kind of a French Ultramarine Blue. Lately I have been painting much with a Cerulean Blue,
whereas before my ultra favorite blue to paint with was Ultramarine. This 16 x 20 oil is of Teneya Lake in Yosemite National Park in California. One of my vacation paintings.
The blue that is very fashionable this year I call azur. A blue with green in it, in the dress of my then toddler grandchild.
A very mysterious blue is indigo, so dark that it is leaning against black. The dark parts of the sky in this small oil I did after I had a dream about a friend is indigo. The gist of the dream was “If you play, they will come” -a variant of the movie with Kevin Costner.
But my favorite kind of blue is one that is leaning toward periwinkle, a blue mixed with purple and grey.
A photo taken by Jacob Stoker, who at 65 started photography!
I love the unassuming little wildflowers! This pic is also taken by Jacob. Now I know that there is still Phthalo blue, and Antwerp blue, Prussion blue and Winsor blue, and so on, and so forth, but these are the blues I tend to choose first.
1 Bridge over troubled waters, eclectic style in painting; art event combined with music and poetry, the "eye.", the year of Ayin 9:32 pm
(C)* His Eye is on Troubled Waters, 24 x 30 Oil, St.Germain
Last year, as well as the beginning of this year many on the globe have been in “choppy waters.” This was the last one I painted in December 2009. As you see it is a composite of different ideas: the eye, the bridge, and the choppy waters.
Although I am not Jewish myself, but for the last few years I have held to the Jewish calender, because it seems to make much more sense in my life. The year starts in Sept./Oct. and that is when things starts stirring the pot, so to speak.
This year is 5770. The numbers of the year have a meaning as well as a sign. Now we are in the year of “Ayin. ” One of the many meanings of the word is “eye.” To me this means the eye of the Creator of heaven and earth.
Before I painted this at an art event, where painting was combined with music and poetry, I found myself humming the song “like a bridge over troubled water” of Simon and Garfunkel. Somehow the eye, and the song related well where I found myself, like thousands of others: in choppy waters.
That I have done therapy for many years, did not exclude me from being on an emotional roller coaster, that I am recuperating from! I am sure some of you on this blog can relate:). For me the choppy waters consisted of downsizing to a smaller living place without a yard, in a gated community, in an upscale neighborhood. It was a subculture change.
The choppy waters included that hubby became “that age” and we had to deal with filling in forms, forms, and forms, and notarizing them each time (this is what you have to contend with when one is Dutch, like we are, and living in the USA), as well as changing health care for hubby and for me (because I am not “that age” yet). These changes were compounded with frustrations in dealing with real-estate and health care brokers, as well as my spouse being laid off for some months.
In a time like this, it was comforting to me that there was an eye who was watching this all carefully. To me the eye is of the same person as the one I consider “the bridge” over troubled waters.
Even though I am responsibly, weighing consequences carefully, there is no doubt that I would use this bridge, in case I would not survive in the choppy waters on my own!
These choppy waters are small ripples in comparison with what the people in Haiti are going through right now, and I cheer the people who have reached out to help them in various ways.
My last remarks are that with this eclectic style (which is not my usual style), are that the “eye” is not to be confused with the eye of the Masons on the dollar bill. Also, I still need to paint the supports from the H-form pillar to the bridge.
If someone knows how to include the copyright sign (* on title) in the title of the painting, please write me:)
Daily life Meanderings 9:54 am
DO WHAT YOU CAN DO…..Drinking coffee.
We got to know this family making their re-entry in this country after having lived in Austria and Switzerland for the past 15 year.It can be tough on one’s pocketbook to live in California with a family of five children, most of them in their teens. So the mom of this family decided to start catering coffee as a business.
She went regularly to the meetings of the chamber of commerce, she let one of her friends make a website for her business, she got some very cool business cads, and practiced making the different kinds of coffee on the small group members she hosted in her home. I’m a Dutchman who loves coffee, so I was a willing guinea pig!
It was about a year before her business started taking off. She even got others interested to do the same.
Her hubby’s work caused them to make a move to one of the Northern states, and I gave her this little painting as a goodbye gift, because she supported me greatly, and made sure my paintings were seen up front when I started painting for an audience on Sunday. Now it was my turn to encourage her.
The first impression of this little painting may be an innocuous goodbye gift. But it is more. This was her first try at a business, and she did not only have the guts to open up a business in the Los Angeles area, but it also took smarts.
Art is not only a “different” way of seeing reality. With art, we can also “foresee” with our imagination what potential there lies in the future. This concept is of course not the monopoly of artists!
Her coffee is as good as Starbucks, so that is why I painted the outside of one of the coffee shops. The palms are symbolic for California. I knew that she could rebuild her business anywhere she would land in the future. She had learned so much, and I was proud to be her friend. I could see her having her own coffee shop and even growing into a chain of similar coffee shops.
The greatest gift one can give to someone is to relate the potential we see in them.
Daily life Meanderings Shakespeare Window 10:11 pm
On Superbowl Sunday we took off to San Diego for the day- just 2 hours away from where I live. the wether was much colder than it looked, because of blue skies and sun. Usually we have a picnic under one of the trees at Mission Bay, and look at the boats. but it was to cold, so we ended up eating our lunch in the car.
One of our stops in San Diego is Upstart Crow, a bookstore with coffee shop. In the past I have done several watercolors while sipping my favorite coffee or tea at one of the window tables. This time I wanted another view, so I went out to the patio to do a sketch, and there I saw this Shakespeare Window.
I love reading, so there is much to be said with words, but not all. Another saying is, a picture is worth a thousand words. To me, that is a painting . Of course all the visual arts are included, so this window could also be “an installation” or an “assemblage” (in French), which is a three-dimensional way of portraying a concept with objects.
For now, I put my thumbprint on my paintings, as you can see on the little poem of my art website: www(dot)stgermainart(dot)com.
Daily life Meanderings and Life as an artist knitting: fingerless mitts, pastelpainting Snowpatch 9:59 am
This is my remedy for an artist in the winter: fingerless mitts so you still can make details with your brushes, and a cup of hot cocoa during a painting break.
This pattern is from Interweave Knits Spring 2006. These are my first mitts ever. The thumb gusset was much easier than I expected. Made a few adjustments for my own comfort. Since I have now many 7/8 sleeves, I made them longer to cover my wrists. I love how they look with the self-striping/shading yarn.
Making my own accessories is a journey that started with making sweaters fitting with my own style of clothes, and in the colors I wanted. Not in my wildest dreams did I realize I could use this skill to help others. But that I’ll tell you in another blog post ( the story of the purses, and the story of the hats).
Pastel, 11 x 15 inch, St Germain
All my pastels and pastel pencils were laying scattered on the coffee table for several weeks. For an hour in the afternoon the sun would shine into the living room. Only then I would work on this small pastel on watercolor paper. If I can’t be sure of my colors and intensity, I delay painting.
I made an under painting with the watercolor medium, before I put my pastels on top. Usually I go with gusto and work and work on a painting till it is largely done. Slowing down my pace felt like “hibernating”, but it did give me time to journal why I choose a small scene with so many details.
The mystery of the snowpatch unfurled itself when I started thinking about the actual location where I took the pic for the painting. Since I grew up in Holland, life does not seem complete if there is no wintertime. Now I live in California, whenever the snow level in the mountains drops to 4000 feet, we make plans to spend a day in the snow.
In the past when our kids were little, we used to go up to that area in the summer as well as in the winter. We discovered an area where not too many vacationers would go, because this long road was unpaved. Our kids called it the “lumpy bumpy road” and made up songs about it while our Suburban would hobble on the bumps of the road.
In the summer we would collect and dry wild flowers we found along the way, and hiked as far as their little legs would carry them. In the winter, this road would be closed off for cars. We then hiked and sled on this snowy road and inhale the crisp air of this incredible serene and breathtaking scenery.
The Snowpatch is somewhere on this road, where the bank of a small stream is lighted by the sun, with overhanging branches as the focal point. This small scene tells about the seasons: dried up grass from the summer, branches stripped from leaves from leaves in the fall, all blanketed by the mysteriousness of the snow in the winter.
I cannot part with original yet, but you may write me for a purchase of a print (canvas- or smooth paper).
Daily life Meanderings China and bridge in Beijing, painting of bridge in Nanchang, painting of old and new bridge in Beijing, travel; painting en plein air in China; artist's perceptions influence appraoch to painting style 9:24 am
You may think I have a thing for bridges. We drove several times over this bridge in Nanchang, 12 hours W. (by train) of Shanghai in China. After our son’s first year of teaching English there, I and my hubby travelled with him to 4 cities.
As in so many old cities, this bridge divides the residential area from the inner city with stores and restaurants.
During the day this is a functional grey concrete structure with steel cables coming down from the two pillars.
Even though this city has more than 2 million inhabitants and is known for its colleges, foreigners are treated and stared at like celebrities. Our company of three got plenty of stares – mainly because my hubby and my son are taller than 6 feet. Not a day went by that he was not asked by Chinese fathers to be in the pic with their teen daughters (as a kind of a novelty and/or joke).
Oil, 12 x 16, St Germain
At sunset, the bright colors of the sky are reflected into the water. While edges in the landscape blur, this structure is transformed into two watchmen standing by the water as protectors of the city. This is why I love art: it seeks beauty and potential in the ordinary things.
There are numerous bridges in Beijing, the capital in the North, where the Olympics were held in 2008. This old, beautiful, marble stone looking bridge, connects the main street while we were on our way to the Forbidden City (where the palaces of the royal families are located – a must see!).
Very interestingly, they built a new bridge, not even a block away. The Chinese are a very industrious kind of people. We always seemed to see them working. here, by the new bridge, we finally saw some Chinese vacationers in small sightseeing boats. How indulgent must the Western yachts look to them!
Here, I finally took the chance to paint en plein air (open air). Even though I do not speak one word Chinese, I felt safe enough to walk alone from the hostel to the new bridge and started making a sketch. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw people looking, but they remained at a respectful distance.
Later I heard from one of the workers at the hostel, a twenty-something woman who spoke perfect English, that Chinese artists do not paint in the streets. So I may have been a novelty (even in the capitol city). When they would pass me, they made an encouraging comment or gesture.
This young woman was very intrigued when she saw me doing an oil painting at the patio of the hostel. She had never seen an oil before, even though her sister is attending the art academy. Watercolor seems to be the main painting medium.
When she went on to talk about her brothers and sisters, I discovered that they are not really siblings, but nieces and nephews. Asking her about that, she said with longing in her voice that she wanted so much to have brothers and sisters, but they are not allowed to (referring to the one-child-rule, and otherwise you’ll pay a fee – so much for government interference over family life).
Oil, 18 x 36, St Germain
My paintings are usually not quirky, but this one turned out to be one. Maybe because I broke a rule in design with placing the new bridge in the middle of the painting. A Chinese college student here in the US pointed this out to me. If you know Europeans a little (I am Dutch), you’ll know that I do not care if I broke a rule in art. I responded with “So?” She was shocked that my apparent disregard for rules, illustrating opposite cultural attitudes on this subject.
The use of colors of a cloudy sky contrasting with the sunny colors of the bridge steer away from realism. My own perceptions shine through in displaying the little boats almost looking like toys.
I wanted this to be the Happy Bridge for the Chinese: a place to relax from monotone work, to laugh, being away from stress, and enjoy the simple pleasure of a boat ride.
After we came home and recouperated from jet lag, I painted my heart out before all my first impressions would fade away.
Daily life Meanderings books fo parents of artistic children, characteristics of artistic children, life in Europe 11:17 pm
Welcome to my blog. Since this is my first post, it’s going to be about everything and nothing.
The header I have now, with the bridge strongly reminds me where I lived in Holland (Goes; pronounce: goose) in my teen years. It’s below sea level, and when the dykes broke in the 1950ties this whole South West province was under water.
The bridge connected the residential neighborhoods with the small inner city. Two main narrow streets with stores, both leading up to the city square. The city hall, a big building in gothic (architectural) style, where one regularly could see who married. People would actually take a pause from their shopping trip and look at the wedding party come in or out of City Hall.
In Holland, the whole wedding party and guests all go dressed up to city hall and get a formal speech of one of the city officers about marriage. Usually one of the friends of the bride and/or bride groom sind the marriage document officially as “a witness.” It’s considered an honore to be “a witness.”
The rest of the city square was taken up with stores and restaurants. The restaurants all had a large patio where one could sit outside and watch the people go by while sipping on one’s coffee (that was decades before the time of Starbucks!).
On the opposite side of the city hall was a tiny store (my favorite)where all they sold was a fluted bag with “patat frites” (large French fries). Ask any European, the fries are not only French, but also Dutch or Belgian. This is my nationalistic European side coming out 
. You ate the fries with mayonaise and mostard, not tomato ketchup like here in the US.
It was during these years that I discovered my love for art. Everyone in high school knew me as the one who did art, because every year I won 1st or 2nd prize in the local school competition for art.
Back then I was also caulky, like teens can be. I would sing a song with my friend who also accompanied us with the piano, and only practiced for half an hour. When we won 2nd prize, we said to each other, “Let’s not do this again, it’s too easy.”
I was hardly interested in anything else, to great dismay of my parents. School campuses at that time were not closed, so I skipped school half of the time, to go to my favorite coffee store where they also sold yummy pastries. With my friends, I solved the problems of the world there, so we thought.
Of course, this could not go on without any consequence, so I didn’t pass to the next grade, 2 seperate times. Later, in my adult life I sublimated and got my doctorate degree and made sure my children finished high school and got into college.
Looking back I was bored with school and art was the only thing that interested me. The upside of this is that as a therapist I understand when children are not doing well in school, while they have an IQ above a 100. Most of the counsel is with their parents, and when I have a session alone with the child or teen I tell my own story, with the encouragement to tell their parents what is really going on. They have a choice: they tell, or I tell the parents. It’s amazing how communicative they suddenly become!
Well, this is a very long way to tell you why I chose this background. But now you know.
PS If you are the parent of a creative or gifted child, the books of Alice Miller (The Untouched Key, and The Drama of the Gifted Child) and Howard Gardner (Creating Minds) may give you more insight into your child – some of it, is not a quick read .
