GARDEN PROGRESS

Well it's finally coming together enough for me to start planting some things...still gotta a way to go, and it definitely will not be a complete creation this season....but it's still so exciting to see these changes and know that I will soon have the garden I have always dreamed of.  The first three shots are a reminder of what this space used to look like.  The kids who live in the back apartment we have, built this a couple years ago and it was really sweet. But the posts were loose and spaced too far apart and the mesh netting above was propped up loosely, it just wasn't substantial enough for what I wanted.  I originally had planned to reinforce the whole thing, but it just morphed into a whole new area.  And we couldn't be happier....enjoy!  

Just a  simple little garden of whimsey

The deer had free reign

This is the backside after the posts were taken down

This is that exact backside now....a garden shed, which will be covered in wood,  as part of the wall

Looking at this from behind to show the expanse of the fence coming up into the back of the yard off the back porch.  This area next to the shed will become the firewood cutting/storing area

These are the old posts we used to create our planter boxes....I decided it was easier to use container with the serious issue with gofers. but I really like the look anyway.

My big flower box...it's 5x12 foot.
The compost bin and container is behind

This is on the opposite side of the garden, which is now a
36 foot square.
This is the main veggie container and is 3.5 x 24 foot

I've added birdhouses along the back fence on both sides not only for fun and whimsy, as well as a bird haven....but it adds the height I need to keep the deer from jumping over.
 Loads of obstacles out here in the forest.

An over all  look....what you can't see is I have strung three strands of very rusty wire a foot apart on the top half of the fence, all the way around.  With the bottom about five feet tall, this makes the fence roughly nine feet protected....that ought to hold  those  dang jumping deer from getting to my roses!

 Now all we need to do is finish building a couple more containers...there's one behind the open gate that you can't really see that will be for all the lettuce/arugula/spinach etc and herbs.    You also can't see the little fairy tale gate I made in this photo...will have to get one soon, I'm very proud of the cute little thing. And this front wall just out of the photo is going to be the home of my greenhouse...yay!!  This has been a long arduous journey. Lot's of delays with the weather and such...but coming along now.  Will keep you updated as things grow (pun intended).

xoxo, juner

A GIFT FROM SPAIN

Well, I got a message that I had won a gift from  Noemi of "fuego, metal y color" from Salamanca Spain.  Noemi has a new esty shoppe full of beautiful hand made bracelets...I advise everyone to go check it out and give her a warm welcome to esty....hope everyone is having a great weekend...xoxo juner       

The bracelet came in a sweet little strawberry card folder with a polka dot ribbon, a note card was included and the piece was  wrapped first in cellophane then in pink tissue...
it was just lovely to unwrap.

It's tough to photograph, but it is a chain of dark mottled pyrite with a little cubic zircon
hanging from the clip.
I love it!!  Thx again Noemi.

OUR FIRST ROAD TRIP

So we ventured off on down to LA to visit with Ray's daughter who just moved into a new place of her own. We had an extremely wonderful evening with her boss's Donna and Paul.  They are eccentric artist who live in a loft full of art and personality...it was the highlight of our trip.  We also stopped by for a short visit with one of my very closest and oldest friends Patrick, who is also a tremendous artist as well....and a bit eccentric truth be told.  Then a couple days with my baby sister Elizabeth and a dinner including another sister, Cathy,(there are four of us).   The trip down was spectacular.  The sites were beautiful and lush.  We had the best time ever!   I know this may be a bit much, but it's a challenge to limit down the photos to share...everything was so gorgeous in this late spring.  So enjoy...you'll want to get down further to check out this artist loft, these photos don't do it justice.  It was so amazing to sit in this huge room, (15 ft walls) with so much art surrounding us...and the warmth of the small living area with sofa's and pillows under the loft space...what a place to live!  xoxo juner

The road down the 101...old mission style California

The little town of Pasa Robles

The coast drive down the 101

Vineyards along the two lane hwy, it's the best drive down to LA

The little old fashion town of Los Alamos

Los Alamos

Nearing Santa Barbara

More coast

LA in the heart of the city

Dinner with Paul, Donna, and Ray's daughter Kenzie...this is just a small shot of a much bigger room. The main space they live in is just off to the right of this, under the loft protrusion. 

From the front entry...they have a view of the entire city of lights...it's magic!
Here you can see the space under the loft, with the sofa's and views. The dinning table is over to the left where we sat and laughed and talked the night away.

Paul's art covered every available inch of this part of the loft....there are three floors,
this being the main part of the house.

Paul and his wife Donna are the owners of "The Wizard of Art" a school for children.

Mekenzie...a teacher at the school and very pretty.

Patrick with a couple of his latest mermaid creations to the left.

Baby sister Elizabeth, next sister down from me, Cathy 

My sister lives near Valencia....this is where the oranges come from.
great drive past all the miles of orchards.

The little city of Ventura on the Pacific coast

Ray looking very rugged and peaceful here.

The added romance that was part of this first road trip together...
.the rest is for us to remember to ourselves!
xoxox  juner

THE BIG OFFER

Okay....I'm really in the flow of things lately...which is a very good thing.  

So to anyone who is interested or knows of someone who may be interested... I am willing to negotiate any offers to purchase my Jim Morrison original painting.  I really want him to go to someone who truly loves  him.  So no sincere offer will be an insult.  I am more interested in giving him a good home than anything else right now.  It is more important for me to open up the space for my new work...So I would like to put  it out there...FYI.

Jim is 3 x 4 foot square...acrylic on 2 inch gallery wrap canvas.  He looks wayyyy better in person.  It's a very dynamic painting in very bold color.  Thx for the chance...june

A NEW LOOK FOR A NEW DIRECTION

Well in case you haven't noticed I changed up my blog.....still need to work out some of the kinks, so bare with me a bit.  I'm an artist, not a tech person and this stuff makes my brain hurt.


So the "new direction" came from me thinking about the Rock Series and what I wish to make of this.  It's been a really good learning experience for me...but now I need more.  So I'm heading in a more artistically freeing space by not painting myself into a corner...literally!  


From now on I will paint the legends as the mood hits me. Instead of grouping things and matching backgrounds.....uuggg!   Too much pressure, not enough fun.  I want more freedom and flow in my work.  
For instance, I have a terrific picture in my brain of a different kind of painting than what I'm used to doing with Michael Jackson as the legend.   I just need to explore that area of creativity without thinking, how does it fit into the series?  I just need more...that's all I can say.


So after receiving an offer for my Jimi Hendrix piece and realizing I had to break the pattern.  I had to let go of the elusive "show" I am planning and think outside the box. I had to let go of one of my babies.....that's a really hard thing to do.   Especially when it is one of your best.  But all of the sudden I just got calm and instantly I became completely untethered to an old idea.
So drum roll please....the new title of my series is 
                              
       "ROCK, BIKES & TATTS"  


I think that pretty much sums it up.

So here is the bigger news....I sold my Jimi Hendrix painting to a young couple, Willow and Cary, on the upper East side in NYC, thx to their designer Nellie...they are hanging him on a large exposed brick wall....YAY!  


And because of this revelation hitting me like a ton of bricks....pun intended...I decided to change all the prices on my original pieces of Rock Art by 35%.   So I'm putting it out there that if anyone is interested please feel free to scoop one up as is...or by all means, make me an offer....it's time to make some space for the new series.....here I go!  
And remember....ROCK ON! xoxo juner

SUNNY DAYS!

So the rain finally subsided and the sun came out and all I could do was work in the garden.  I didn't want to waste any sun days in the house.  That put a little damper getting my art work done.  Although I did get in some work on Rod, and then began another project, (geez I'm the worse...can't help myself, when I get an idea I just have to go with it).  I have always loved the idea of sculpting.  So I finally picked up some polymer clay and started playing around.  

It wasn't flowing...nothing.  I wasn't coming up with anything unusual or special.  So after scrapping my second major attempt, and day of working on one particular piece, I sat there staring in utter frustration...why can't I get out what I clearly see in my mind?  What am I fumbling about with?  What can I make?  Then it hit me suddenly...why don't I do what I know...what I do best!  

So that's what I'm doing.  Here is a very teeny tiny close up of a very raw, very beginning of where I am taking this...himmmm, look familiar?   Of course it will morph into something other than what you see here right now...but Yep, we're heading into another area in the "Rock Series"...you'll just have to wait for the update.  Hope it's as fun for you as it is for me.  

Next I wanted to give you the updated process of Rod...he may not look that different at first glance, but he is.  I completely reshaped his whole profile, his features are more defined and darker..although his mouth has been erased. And his hair has more definition and the neck scarves are starting to take shape...it's getting there.  I promise to put more attention onto this painting in the next few days...He needs to be finished already!  Rock On!  Juners   Oh, and here's an update on the garden I'm building.

ROD THE MOD...HE'S GETTING THERE

A ROCK STAR WITH LARGE LIPS..HIMMM...NO NOT HIM, THE OTHER ONE!

THE FENCE IS ALMOST DONE, THE GATE IS ALMOST UP AND THE BIRDS HAVE A PLACE TO HANG
KEEP WATCHING FOR THE FINAL PHOTOS...IT'S REALLY COMING ALONG THE WAY I HAVE ALWAYS WISHED FOR...A GREENHOUSE  AND A LARGE FAMILY TABLE  WITH A CANOPY  ...YOU'LL SEE SOON.

TERRIFIC STORM AFTERMATH!

I haven't been able to catch up with everyone this past week.  In case you haven't heard, Santa Cruz got SLAMMED with this latest storm.  First the tsunami hit the harbor worse than any other area on the shores of the US.  They are still digging around for sunken boats.  Then a week later the storm that just dumped amazing amounts of water for days on end reeked havoc with our quaint little community.  A huge pipe broke in a mobil home park and it flooded the entire little sea  side village of Capitola...I mean the entire village under two/three feet of water.  All the lovely beach homes and vacation rentals had to be evacuated, for the second time in one week.  All the merchants and restaurants are closed, it's devastating to say the least.

We, ourselves, had several large evergreen trees fall.  One that blocked our driveway and took out all of our power lines for 150ft.  No water, heat, phones or electricity for several days.  Then the other big one landed on my car!  That's right, I said my car.  We couldn't pull into our driveway because of the big tree and parked my car down further towards the road...I didn't feel good about leaving it there either, but at least it was away from live dangling power wires....but alas, a tree from the opposite side of the canyon that borders our 1/4 mile drive into the forest, decided to fall, through all odds and about thirty other trees, and land on our side.  Thank god it was just the upper part of the tree so it was only a foot in diameter, as opposed to the two/three foot base. But damage it did anyway.  I will find out tomorrow if they are really going to total my car...very sad for me...I really love my car.  

So bare with me another week while I get some things together and can catch up with the rest of you on my list and share the art projects I've been working on.  It's amazing how much work you can get done when you have no electricity and it's pouring outside.  I just set up my easel by a big window, bundled up with sweaters, gloves and blankets on my lap, and worked on Rod.  

Hope all  is well with everyone else.  Keep dry....and find a way to create no matter what, 

trust me, it can be done if you have the mind too...xx, juner

IF YOU CLICK ON THE PHOTO TO ENLARGE IT AND GO DOWN THE CANYON TO THE WATER LOOK PAST THE TALL DARK STANDING TREE IN THE MIDDLE TO IT'S LOWER LEFT.  THERE IS THE BASE OF THE TREE THAT FELL.  THE ROOTS CAN BE SEEN ON THE LOWER RIGHT OF THE BROWN STANDING TREE.  FOLLOW UP THE SIDE OF THE HILL AND IT KEEPS GOING FOR ANOTHER FIFTY FEET OR MORE TO REACH OUR DRIVE.  I GUESS IT WAS MEANT TO BE!

A PIECE OF THE BIG TREE THAT LANDED ACROSS OUR DRIVE...HUGE ROOTS

THE MIDDLE PART OF THE TREE WE HAD TO SAW TO CLEAR FROM THE DRIVE TO PASS. THIS COMES UP TO MY TORSO...WE HAD TO CLIMB OVER IT TO GET INTO THE HOUSE.

MY PASSENGER DOOR, NO WINDOW AT ALL, NO MIRROR, NO ANTENA.  THEN THE DOOR MOUNT TO THE WINDSHIELD IS THE WORSE.  THE FRONT FENDER IS DAMAGED, THE HOOD, THE HEADLITE, THE BUMMPER...I BELIEVE THAT'S IT.....IT'S ENOUGH!

MY NEW TREASURES FROM OWOH

I have received three out of four of the gifts that I won from OWOH.  I decided not to wait for the fourth gift, hopefully she will send it soon.

In the meantime I wanted to give my thx to the other artist who did sent their gifts.  Please make sure you stop by and see what they do, up close.  It's definitely worth the visit.

First up is my winnings from the UK and Sherry Edwards.  As you may recall Sherry also won on my giveaway and received her poster of Mick Jagger in good shape....So Mick is in the UK where he rightfully belongs. I received a sweet little package that contained the Distressing Inks and pads...VERY happy about that to say the least.  Since I'm not a "paper" artist, I had never seen these before and was hoping I would win them to see what I could do with them. Apparently I'm in the dark about these, which worked in my favor, since I REALLY wanted to win them...yay! me. 

                           

Next up turns out to be the last blog I visited and is at the top of my list of favorite gifts...no hard feelings to anyone else...but seriously, how cute is this little Queenie?  She came all the way from Pennsylvania and Lorraine, who was a part of a group blog that was all about dolls.  But you guessed it, I pretty much won one of the very best ones there...seems I got the luck of the draw.  I have her hanging in my parlor, which happens to be my painting room as well...Her name is Sprite. She makes me smile.

    
My next gift came all the way from Australia where Liv Scarcella  does her work.  She does scrap/paper art and she sent me the sweetest little charm bracelet.  I chose the frog...good feng shui!  And here he is sitting on my antique leather tooled chair...seemed  apropos for the occasion. Again, you may recall that Liv was also a winner of mine and she received her Janis Joplin poster just last week!...it takes some time to get things to Australia...but home she is.
                

                  

           And last but not least, this is my final win from Sylvia in Illinois...I hope she is alright and will send out my gift soon...this is special, considering it is the final OWOH.  So my sincere thx to everyone who not only participated, but pulled my number.  And thx to the many new friends I added to my heart.

This was a good year.

                             

                          

THE GARDEN

So it has begun, the building of my garden.  This is something I have looked forward to most of my adult life.  And I finally have the space and property to do so.  The "kids" that live here in the cottage had a simple little makeshift kind of space they had been using.  It was the quaintest little thing...I loved it.  However, the sides were falling down and the deer netting was tangled and the silvia was taking over.  So I thought I would just go in and beef it up a bit...well, so much for that idea.  

The next thing you know I am completely remaking the garden, in both structure and dimension.  Ray brought in an old shed he had to become part of the wall and is planning on covering the siding with wood....so here are some photos to show you the process.  

Still got a ways to go...but LOVE doing it!  enjoy, xx juner

THE GARDEN BEFORE
SUPER CUTE!

LOADS OF NETTING AND HUGE SPACES

THE OUTSIDE SPACE GOING DOWN SOME STEPS AND SILVIA CUT BACK TO REVEAL PLUM TREE
THIS WILL BE A FENCED IN YARD AREA FOR OUR SOON TO COME NEW PUPPY
 BEFORE

THE BUILDING OF THE FENCE AND A PLUM TREE NOW VISIBLE
SILVIA CUT BACK BUT WILL BE COMPLETELY REMOVED FOR NEW BUSHESS
AFTER

THE ADDITION OF SHED WITHOUT WOOD SIDING YET

TRELLS I'M BUILDING TO HOLD BIRD HOUSES AND VINES
IT IS TWO SIDED NOW...NEW PHOTOS SOON

ME AT WORK (IN MY MATHILDA TEE SHIRT, HA!0

WORK TO FINISH....IT'S TIME!

Since my move in here with Ray almost six months ago I have been non stop...literally.   I don't even know how I found the time to get out to as many of you as I did during OWOH...Oh! 
 I almost forgot to say that I am the very lucky recipient of FOUR gifts!  
It's mind boggling how that happened, but yay for me! 
 As soon as I receive all the gifts I will post my winnings and their very talented owners. 
So look for that, hopefully, next week.

In the meantime as I was saying, time to get back to work.  So after a couple of weeks of messing about attempting some new things, I decided it was time to finish some older pieces that need finishing.  
So I thought if I shared them with you it would force me to move ahead even quicker
No one wants public humiliation.  So without further ado...
These are the pieces I am about to finish within the next few weeks.
Wish me luck!

Actually I thought it was about time I showed you something other than my doors...

and potatoes...ha ha..!! enjoy, xx juner

ROD THE MOD..Still needs MAJOR work!
And will complete the Union Jack Series which includes,
MICK JAGGER, which you already have seen, and ELTON JOHN
(see below)

So I began this last year, before all the HOOPLA...
I've decided to go ahead
 and finish Ol Jessie James here.
His tatts will have all the color.
This is part of my "BIKES, TATTS & ROCK COLLECTION"

This has a banner on the bottom which reads
"40 YEARS OF BAD ASS ROCK N ROLL..COMING TO YOU NATIONWIDE"
This is to commemorate their 40 yrs and Sturgis 70 yrs
ZZ was the opening act at this last year event.
The band was interested in the piece...but who knows?
The jackets still need their embellishments which include
colored gems that fade from black & white
into color, eventually reflecting onto the bumper.
Beards still need detail...chrome girls, etc.

THIS IS A PHOTO OF ELTON THAT I WILL BE WORKING FROM...
ACTUALLY IT MAY BE FUN TO DOCUMENT THIS PAINTING FROM BEGINNING TO END....

I can't believe I'm sharing my unfinished work!  This is sooo NOT me...I''m about building a painting..It takes layering of work. THESE ARE STILL RAW...Oh well, I'm doing it now.

If this doesn't get me motivated I don't know what will!  ROCK ON!!  xx