I have an update on the past. It seems the two panoramic watercolors I posted previously for Studio Closeup #33 were all part of a triptych(!) and not individual pieces. I did not fully read my own writing on the slides.

The piece I’ve posted today is a watercolor done from photos of me as a kid spending time at my mom’s parents’ house in the country in the 1970's. It is the third piece in this triptych. I remember around the time I did these pieces, my grandpa had passed away and it hit me really hard and these watercolors came out of that. The drawing in pencil to the right of the piece is my mom holding me at my grandparent’s house.

A funny story about this piece! I gave this piece to my grandmother for Mother’s Day unframed and the next time I saw it on her wall it was all cut up into pieces to fit the frame she had picked out for it. I was speechless. But it taught me a valuable lesson to make watercolors into standard sizes to avoid that in the future. I do still like working in weird sparse panoramic form, I just try to be more mindful of how it’s going to look on a wall and cost if framing is involved. I’ve also included all three pieces in order of how this triptych would look together as a whole on a wall and a photo of the original slides because I'm silly for slides. Thanks for stopping by today!

Today’s song pick has everything in it. Every single thing I could dream of being part of a song. The 1960’s guitar sound that sounds like the old James Bond movies or Westerns, the Latin influence with its glorious trumpets, Kirsty MacColl's sultry vocals. Kirsty MacColl’s lyrics are about things proper ladies shouldn’t write or sing about with these brilliantly orchestrated songs and it’s a genius work of art. I’ve said before that Kirsty MacColl’s album “Tropical Brainstorm” is one of those rare albums where every song on that album is amazing. Please enjoy my scratch track version of Kirsty MacColl’s “In These Shoes?”

In These Shoes
Kirsty MacColl

I once met a man with a sense of adventure
He was dressed to thrill wherever he went
He said, "let's make love on a mountain top
Under the stars, on a big hard rock"
I said, "In these shoes?
I don't think so (What do you say, love?)
I said, "Honey, let's do it here"

So I'm sitting at a bar in Guadalajara
In walks a guy with a faraway look in his eyes
He said, "I've got a powerful horse outside
Climb on the back, I'll take you for a ride
I know a little place
We can get there 'fore the break of day"
I said "In these shoes?
No way, José"
I said, "Honey, let's stay right here"

No le gusta caminar
No puede montar a caballo
Cómo se puede bailar
Es un escándalo

Then, I met an Englishman
"Oh, " he said
"Won't you walk up and down on my spine?
It makes me feel strangely alive"
I said, "In these shoes?
I doubt you'd survive"
I said, "Honey, let's do it"

Let's stay right here
No le gusta caminar
No puede montar a caballo
Cómo se puede bailar
Es un escándalo

No le gusta caminar
No puede montar a caballo
Cómo se puede bailar
Es un escándalo

No le gusta caminar
No puede montar a caballo
Cómo se puede bailar
Es un escándalo
Let's stay right here
No le gusta caminar
No puede montar a caballo
Cómo se puede bailar

I’ve been able to work on a few more cards from the Bird People Tarot Deck this past week. I’ve been spending a large amount of time going through old magazines and cutting out images which has brought me a lot of peace and quiet over the last couple of weeks. Although, as I type this, I’m feeling the urge to switch it up and do some painting on The Museum Series this weekend. It’s supposed to rain all weekend so perhaps switching mediums might be really good. Distract me from PTSD’ing about too much rain filling the tiny creek down the road. Getting lost in acrylic painting and color therapy will help. It certainly has in the past. I hope everyone has a most pleasant weekend. Stay safe and well, everyone.

Upright Meanings:
A good man
Honest, with good intentions
Conscience
Integrity
Knowledge
Reversed Meanings:
A serious man
Bad investments
Vicious
Dogmatism
Excessive & exaggerated ideas

Upright Meanings:
Misfortune
Sorrow
Empty, vacant
Idle
Unfulfilled
Reversed Meanings:
Spiteful woman
Bigotry
Narrow-minded
Solitude
Hypocrisy

Upright Meanings:
Annoyance
Sorrow of spirit
Bitterness
Domestic troubles
A stationary period
Reversed Meanings:
Novelty
Premonition
New turn of events
New knowledge
New opportunities

I had a lovely surprise recently when I discovered this piece has been upstairs the whole time and didn’t wash away with the 2018 flood(!) They were hiding upstairs in the little room where I keep all my vintage magazines(!)

So since spring has certainly been springing, please enjoy my little watercolor story of spring I created a long time ago before the internet even existed in 1995. This series of five boxes is a pentaptych. I was trying to make all five pieces into a “still animation” of sorts. The two little pieces after the first image of the robin’s nest/eggs is the mother robin in motion getting food. The other images are more storyboard in nature. The little wood frames were purchased at The Dollar Store with shadow boxes in mind. I remember being sad they didn’t have more. They’re cleverly put together and especially for a buck each! They are very small and it is harder than hell to photograph without a glare from the glass so these are slides of the images inside. The collages on the outside wood frames are from old Milwaukee newspapers a good friend had given me from her grandmother’s attic. Thanks for stopping by!

Alanis Morissette is certainly a major Canadian musical superhero to me. This song is raw, honest, and intense and a beautiful way to explain addiction no matter what your specific journey has been thus far if it applies. For me, singing this song today was music therapy at it’s finest. There are parts that are vocally rough but I left it all in today. I couldn’t dream up a better music video and I posted her lyrics because they are courageous. Please enjoy my humble tribute to this songstress. Here is my scratch track version of Alanis Morissette’s, “Reasons I Drink”. Please keep well everyone. Things feel strange right now.

Reasons I Drink
Alanis Morissette

These
Are the reasons I drink
The reasons I tell everybody I'm fine
Even though I am not
These are the reasons I overdo it
I have been working since I can remember
Since I was single digits
Now
Even though I've been busted
I don't know where to draw the line
'Cause that groove has gotten so deep

And nothing can give reprieve like they do
Nothing can give a break for this soldier like they do

Here we are
I feel such rapture and my comfort is so strong
Ohhhhhhh!
One more hit
It feels so helpful in my need for respite
Ohhhhhhhh!
Ohhhhhhhh!
Ohhhhhhhh!

And here are the reasons I eat
Reasons I feel everything so deeply
When I'm not medicated
And so that's it, I am buying a Lamborghini
To make up for these habits
To survive this sick industry

Nothing can give reprieve like they do
Nothing can give me a break from this torture like they do

Here we are
I feel such rapture and my comfort is so strong
Ohhhhhhhh!
One more sip
It feels so helpful in my need for some long overdue respite
Ohhhhhhhh
Ohhhhhhhh
Ohhhhhhhh

And these are the reasons I don't even think I would quit
And these are the reasons I can't even see straight, and
And these are the ones whom I know it so deeply affects
And I am left wondering how I would function without it

Here we are
I feel such rapture and my comfort is so strong
One more rip
I go from one lilypad to another to stay lit
Ohhhhhhhh!
Ohhhhhhhh!
Ohhhhhhhh!