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“Siamese Cat”

I painted this watercolor, I estimate, 25 to 30 years ago. I don’t think I have the patience to paint this way anymore. It makes me wonder what happened. It makes me wonder if I can even do this type of artwork anymore.

L. Gloyd (c) circa 1980, 2008.

Yesterday, I attended the Festival of Books at UCLA with 130,000 other bibliophiles.  Here’s a little sampling of what I observed:

L. Gloyd (c) 2008

“Singing the Magnificat”

I digitally painted the image of the girl (from the ground up) and then added a mandala that I had made a few months ago using Photoshop and Illustrator. I softened and muted the colors of the whole image to create a glowing quality.

L. Gloyd (c) 2008

“Melpomene”

This image is about 90% painted, 10% photo manipulation. Created in Photoshop 7.

L. Gloyd (c) 2008

My writing rituals are fairly ordinary and my workspace extremely mundane. Typically, I draft my writings by hand, where I absolutely must use a black felt tip pen, preferably a Flair. With this pen, I can recline and keep the ink flowing. Sometimes I write on my living room sofa; other times I’m at my local natural food store that has free wi-fi—a fact that is important and I’ll describe in a minute. Typically, I write either very late at night or early in the morning, such as right now.

So, anyway, my handwritten drafts just tend to be a list of notes, phrases that roll around in my mind, and perhaps some more complicated explications. Then I move to my PC and flesh out the text. Now, when I am creating digital art, I typically skip the handwritten bit and just go straight to my computer and start working. My computer is in my bedroom/library/office/storeroom…. See, I live in this really, really small apartment and most rooms are utilized in a multipurpose manner. No I do not write in the bathroom but I have had many inspired thoughts there.

I don’t have too many odd things around my workspace—just usual things like books, papers, music CDs, books, a vacuum cleaner, my bed, a DVD of Qi Gong exercises (which I watch on my computer because my DVD player is broken,) books and more books. Regarding books, the two that are right next to my monitor at the moment are Writing Down the Bones by Goldberg and Krause’s Color Index: CMYK and RGB Formulas for Print and Web Media.

I don’t usually listen to anything specific when I write or make art. At the moment I am listening to some guy on the radio ranting about the state of the world—oh, I just heard a crow caw right outside the window—really, I’m not making this up—and two bus lines roar by my front door every five minutes from about 5:30 am to about 9 p.m, rattling the windows and drowning out any other sounds. In hot weather, when I have my bedroom windows open, I can hear everything coming from the people who live in the building next door. I hear them talking, cooking, watching tv, entertaining, etc. This is usually followed by the sounds of my muttering something about their getting a room somewhere else and the loud sliding shut of said bedroom window.

I have no other writing rituals except when I work at my computer, I MUST have something to drink—it can be anything (usually coffee) as long as it is sitting on the right side of my computer—which is interesting because I am left-handed. Also, and more importantly, I can’t even begin to work unless I check my e-mail first. I don’t know why this is, but I cannot work until every unread e-mail is read. So when I am writing somewhere not my home, then I must find a place with a free wi-fi spot (such as my local natural food market), when I can plug in my Ipod and look at my e-mail. Oh, no, I’m not addicted at all to the internet, nope, not me.

My ending ritual is realizing that I have to be somewhere else, scrambling to sign off, and bolting out of the room–Such as now– It is now 6:20 in the morning and I have to hustle to get ready for work.

L. Gloyd (c) 2008

I just received a Laurel Crown.,

just for doing something I love…..

Pretty neat.

Check it out by clicking HERE.

Madrona is a vernal marsh which means that it is dry as a bone in the summer and fall, but when the winter rains come, it fills up and becomes quite lovely. The amazing thing is that it is smack in the middle of a urban setting. There is a giant shopping mall across the street.

L.Gloyd (c) 2008
Header image: From Redondo Beach Pier

Soul Food Raven and Elder


Authenticated by le Enchanteur

The Soul Food Cafe is an international group of writers and artists whose global mission is to promote writing and art-making as a daily practice through the use of interactive web-based technologies such as blogging and e-mail groups. As a Soul Food Raven and Elder, I administer and edit several team blogs.

To learn more about this wonderful resource, please visit: THE SOUL FOOD CAFE

And to get a summary of my adventures at SFC, please visit my Squidoo by clicking the Eye:


A Laurel Crown Recipient


Click HERE.

Categories

Wild Garden Caretaker

The Magic Garden Global Literacy Project is a project designed to demonstrate to educators and their students how good curriculum can be delivered and the outcomes published, using new technology such as blogs, writeboard, photo board and many other exciting applications. Students and adults from all over the world are currently growing virtual gardens as part of this project. My garden-blog is Return to the Garden: Resources for Growth and Change To visit it click HERE.

Do You Like My Mandalas?

Do you like my mandalas? If so, you can acquire a copy of Cartography of the Spirit: The Digital Mandala published by Lulu.com.

My Library

If you would like to see what books I have in my personal library, take a look at my shelves at LibararyThing.com. Just click this icon:

RABBIT HOLES

Below are my favorite links, Rabbit Holes to the wonders of the internet. Enjoy.

Copyright

All images and text on this blog belong to Lori J. Gloyd. All Rights Reserved. You may not copy or download anything from this blog without my consent.

Blog Stats

  • 13,946 hits

To see a list of books that have interested me, click this Squidoo image.

The Arte Culinaria

The Arte Culinaria, The Art of Cooking, is a blog I created where some of the more culinarily-minded members of the Soul Food Cafe collective can share recipes, cooking tips, pictures of the kitchens, and cookbook recommendations. You can begin your mouth-watering excusion by visiting:

Arte Culinaria

 

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