Don't We Need Some Cake?

What do you do to call up your chi? Or to find a perfect pink? Something that suggests life's juiciness. Something to make it real. Sometimes we need a little help to tap into that place where passions dwell.



Here is another island, with pinks nestled on it. Something to remind me of the vibrancy, the liquid luxury of life. Yes, It is cake. Simple strawberries. But they hold many years of summers, succulence,and light. Somehow this humble creamy cake will help pink bird take flight. Paint it too? You bet.

Pink Bird Intermission

This is the antidote for pink bird frustration. Late afternoon shots from yesterday in the garden. Do you see the feathery fluid whites? Pink bird has feathers that want to flow, but he is only part of the scene. The whole of the piece is asking him to be patient, be content.


Look at these whites of liquid pinks, of violets and blues. They, like pink bird, beg to be let loose. Bigger space, dappled light, a breeze upon the face. Brush is wanting to make puddles.

Today's work is a bit like working at the UN, coaxing pigments to perform, settling prima donna feathers, and finding joy for brush to play in greens that misbehave. I have a plan, but first my eyes needed to soak up these fluid whites. Respond to the light. So, I, as master diplomat can make it all come right.

The Ducks Are Done

Simple support players that they are. My haiku ducks are well behaved and in their proverbial row.



And these ropey, tangles of downed limbs provide the perfect primordial perch.



But the pink bird, the star of the show, is lagging far behind. And the greens are looking saccharin to me.



Want to feel like an amateur painter? Tackle something out of your comfort zone, and oh, yes, do it in public just to make it interesting. We are wrestling and I am not sure who is winning at this point. Place your bets, mesdames et messieurs...I'll get back to you on this one real soon, all for the Audubon Zoo. Brush don't fail me now. Am I wanting my watercolors? Oh yeah. That would make this a piece of cake.

Not Exactly Naughty

But I would like to be. Run away to an island or escape to a coast. It is overcast today. We had thunder in the night. All is cozy here inside like a ship battened tight. But me, I would rather be a-sailing, a-sailing if I could. Or in a helicopter swiftly making time in the dark to the next horizon. As I pull the covers up, or sip a cup of tea, let's pull out the maps and plot some reverie. Ahh, but here we have some cake with booties all pink and full of hope, and there is more of "Shipwrecked" color puddling to do,...it is awfully dark outside, and brush is near at hand. For now the maps will do, a look at The Cortez Log. Not exactly naughty, but the twinkle's coming back. Friend's will do that, hug you along. Help you keep your balance. And when it's time, we'll all go asailing once again. Tromp some unknown ground. Not exactly naughty, but the promise of it... is lovely anticipating.

Painting Like Jackson Pollock?

Or is it time to clean the palette? There's some good stuff on here. Almost hallucinagenic. In a good way of course.


But it is gone now. In the trash. Time to start anew. This makes chocolate, wood, and maybe stone.



These top two will make glacier grey. The bottom one sky and water blue.



The far one here will make a palm. But will the near one be a convincing anemone?



Or this a starfish, an octopus? We will see. It may require some magic.



One thing I know for sure. By next week chances are pretty good that Pollock will return.

Fancy Nancy Fleur De Lis Cake

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We needed some cake. Some fancy cake. With a pinkish chocolate fleur de lis. Yep. Needed swirls of damask chocolate to give us a clue that underneath in this coffer of crunch, were delights and sensory treats. Dip into the paint, look at a "pretty", move toward the next few pieces. Spend time pouring over the rich landscapes. A pastry, a palm, a Pacific landscape, these are small delights that tickle my senses, coax them into play. I'll take a walk. It's misty today. Maybe the doves will coo. For now that's what I'll do. Ponder taupes, blues and greys. Let the thrill of a brush pulling paint pull me along the path. That's where I will go today. Yes, the cake can lead. Get me started. A warm up and a treat. And now it's time to move my feet. Ahh, good endeavors, a delight or two and a walk of contemplation. That's the plan. My artist's carpe diem. The cake was for the muse. She is pushy that way.

Tuesday On Location

Opportunity knocks. Luckily I am home to answer the door. I put on my explorer pants with all the pockets, spritzed some Hermes, 24 Rue Faubourg on to lift my spirits, grabbed my Moleskine and went on location again.

The mission? The call? Landscapes of the Pacific Northwest. I tromped, explored, oohed and ahhed over 900 miles of them with my friend Patti a few years ago. So the trek right now is recall, sensory triggering, transporting myself again to the clean mists of glacier residue beaches, mammoth forests, and tide pools filled with anemone, starfish, and one orange octopus.

What did I pack for lunch this time? Conveniently I had "Legally Blond" pink iced with sprinkles cake leftover from Movie Night. Not exactly roughing it this time around. The competition deadline is May. Four solid oils in that short of time? You bet. But I may have to put my boots on for that.