Atmosphere, Illustration Friday

“For me, a landscape does not exist in its own right, since its appearance changes at every moment; but the surrounding atmosphere brings it to life - the light and the air which vary continually. For me, it is only the surrounding atmosphere which gives subjects their true value.” ~ Claude Monet

After what seemed was going to be an endless supply of gray, cloudy, soggy, drippy and unseasonably cool summer days, to finally see the sun peeking in my window prompted me to paint a section of my garden and newly discovered shadows. Illustration Friday's word of the week, "atmosphere," and its related quote by Claude Monet inspired a much needed change in direction and attitude.

Star Gazing, Illustration Friday

"Star gazing is a connection to humanity's earliest curiosity about our place in
the universe" ~ Thomas Kiernan

When the summer skies are too cloudy to view the Perseids (or any other stars for that matter), a monkey has to improvise. Creating a star gazing moment for his crabby neighbor, his monkeyshines prove that his place on the evolutionary scale is a debatably higher, and that coconuts don't fall far from the tree, they just bounce.

Caged, Illustration Friday

Just trying to find a little levity in this week's word "caged," for Illustration Friday.
Instead of trying to meet everybody's lofty expectations, sometimes a person just has to recognize how to make him (or herself) disappear!
Now, where are those keys?

Artificial, Illustration Friday

Christmas came early this week as I scrambled to find something to post for this week's word, "Artificial." Peering outside the kitchen window, I noticed the little ones next door had stashed a plastic Santa near the gate. Was this decoy left by the little munchkins to trick the neighbors into thinking the holidays were near? Ha! This fake Santa just brought me inspiration for Illustration Friday. Besides, everybody knows the real one's still out there enjoying his summer vacation in an undisclosed location far, far away!