OH MY ! - DOMINIQUE EICHI

For Michelle Burnett

5  x  9 Acrylic

The discovery I made in my closet   : /
This should of been gone like 6 months ago if not more.
I do not know why it got tucked away in there.
I can only say, Michelle you should have it now.
I'm so sorry for this delay.

I always wanted to paint a flower with water drops on it. So here it is.
These drops where not easy to put on because I did not want to mess up the work underneath.
Finally it will get to it's owner. : )

We might still have one book floating ?!
Merry Christmas everyone !

Liz for Adebanji's Journal: Mug Shots

Homeless

4"x4" ea. acrylic on paper

We comfort ourselves by reliving memories of protection. Something closed must retain our memories, while leaving them their original value as images. Memories of the outside world will never have the same tonality as those of home and, by recalling these memories, we add to our store of dreams; we are never real historians, but always near poets, and our emotion is perhaps nothing but an expression of a poetry that was lost.

-Gaston Bachelard, The Poetics of Space (1958)

Bachelard contends that our first home is forever imprinted on our soul. It is the place where we feel safe and free to dream.  I think, beyond shelter, home is a condition of feeling loved and secure. Of belonging. At home, true home, the world makes sense.  The act of being uprooted, whether through economic hardship, natural disaster, war, abuse, mental or physical infirmity, sets the stage for anxiety, fear and desperation.

The young married couple above were homeless before being arrested for and convicted of theft. For the next year and a half their home will be the Frederick County Detention Center. I don't know what combination of choice and circumstance led to their current predicament. I do wonder what dreams they may have for the future.

Adebanji, your book is on its way home.

May you all feel loved, and safe to dream.

pax,

Liz

Fred And Ginger-Beijing Ballroom Dancers

Close up

Acrylic on Canson coldpress watercolor pad. Approx. 10x12 in

Here's Astaire and Rogers doing their thing in Beijing.

The acrylic is applied thinly in layers, like watercolor.

This is going to Vern Schwarz, a very accomplished artist with whom I have had many email conversations. He is an all around great fellow and I'm proud to call him a friend.
Yes, sadly, this is the last one and finishes TFM project. All in all it has been a wonderful experience conspiring and transpiring with a great bunch of fellow artists! I love ya all!

Get ready, Vern...This is heading home to you!

I don't need an umbrella...I love the rain

This is my contribution to Vern's sketchbook. He said we could paint anything and around the time I was thinking of what to paint- It happened to be a time I was getting mesmerized by rain reflections on London streets.

So I decided to do this piece of an old man I saw around Holborn in London enjoying the rain without an umbrella. Hope you like it Vern-It got me back to using watercolour and gouache.

Are these the last books coming to me or do I still have more to do?

My Life is messed up!

This is my contribution to Dean's Sketchbook, he said we could paint anything and the only thing that came to my mind was homeless people. I see so many in London everyday. This particular guy is always situated around Barclay's Bank on King's Road in Chelsea.
I saw him take this pose and I couldn't resist a quick snap with the handy I-phone.

I have heard so many stories about homeless people and I know the agony and pain of their downward spiral. I tried to really get into this piece by writing some words this man would say. It's an intense piece and means a lot too me, I hope it means a lot to you-Dean!

Sorry for the lateness. I have been so busy but I just didn't want to rush up the piece and send it off.

James Parker - Adebanji's Poverty & Homeless

I'm so late with this project, I should be flogged with a bundle of old paintbrushes. Instead of whining and throwing up a bunch of excuses...go to Excuses.com and pick one. My apologies to you all and Banji.



Searching for inspiration for the poverty theme, I needed look no further than my truck's rear view mirror. I spotted this decrepit old man in it with the words "objects in the mirror may be closer than you think".
I sprang back immediately, not wanting t0 have close encounters with this bum, until I realized it was me. Now, here is a guy that still bends over in parking lots to pick up a penny. Ta-da...perfect for the poverty theme. So I did a self-portrait which sorta looks like me. The resemblance is much better if you quaff a fifth or two of Jack Daniels before viewing.


The second page of Banji's journal depicts a homeless fellow parked in front of a Louis Vuitton store. I'm supposing he was shopping for a new smoking jacket, but took a wrong turn looking for the Calvin Klein store. The big gap between the rich and poor has been around for ages. Early man just depended on what he could gather or hunt. Then one day, some wise caveman (Droogal Trump, I believe) had the bright idea to "store up" food. It all went haywire from there on. Jobs had to be created to transport and protect the food, and the guy who held the keys to the storehouse... Well his pockets and his paunch just got fatter. Same rules today, just more complicated. Hey, Charlie Sheen, can you spare a thousand? Duh.


Okay...now on to my final moleskin....Liz Holm and portraits. Be back soon with that one.....Promise!!!!!

For Dean from Liz

5" x 7.5"

acrylic on watercolor paper

This is my painting for the remarkable artist Dean Haven's journal. Hope you like it, Dean.