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!

Hallelujah!

Today marks the completion of one year's worth of blogging and participating in Illustration Friday. For those of you who might have visited during the past twelve months and wondered why an illustrated blog calls itself "Mushroom Tender" and has no reference to mushrooms, well here they are. A whole patch full of 'em. There could even be a few toadstools among them. But you get the picture...
Here's to another year! I'm looking forward to seeing all the beautiful, funny, cute, clever, and inspired work from all the other artists out there. And it's been a real pleasure to hear from everybody who has taken the time to stop by and comment!

Double, Illustration Friday

On a hot summer day at the beach, a couple of hot doggers riding tandem can double their fun on the waves.
Meanwhile, the dogs are waiting for even warmer days to arrive along the Southern California shore...Have you seen the sun lately?

Diary, Illustration Friday

Illustration Friday allows us the privilege of communicating our images and accompanying text every week. In a sense, it's a visual diary to share with the world.
Does Big Brother still want to know all of Victoria's Secrets?