This and That: A Blog

V is for The  V irgin . I found this hand-painted Mexican devotional Madonna painting in the Goodwill Outlet bins.  It's about 75 years old, not a tourist item. There is a V poem here , a V erso-Rhyme.

  U rban Showers  is my U , and my title for this ink on newsprint by Mary  Pedri.  In a previous life it won an award at the 1963 Lodi (California) Grape Festival and National Wine Show. It was a birthday gift from one of my sons, who found it at Goodwill.   An U ta poetry form can be found here  for U Day. 

 This week's Thursday Postcard Hunt is all about the color Purple.   A Postcrossing card from the Czech Republic from Michal. Forever Thine German, c. 1908-1912  Purple Petunias, Georgia O'Keefe, 1926 "I decided that if I could paint that flower in a huge scale, you could not ignore its beauty." Georgia O'Keefe, a quote from the 1920s . Blue is next week. 

 T urquoise Memories (what I believe the title reads - the signature and title are in silver on the black border, in cursive) is a monotype, a print created by drawing or painting on a smooth, non-absorbent surface and transferring that image onto paper.  A monotype is one of a kind.  I bought this at Goodwill for $5.21.  There was a gallery sticker on the back, " Monotype $550 "!  I can't read the artist's signature, but obviously not an amateur attempt for that price. A T poetry form can be found here . 

  S udden S hower over S hin-Ohashi Bridge , by Hiroshige Atake.  My print is either a late Edo-period (1857-1868) or early Meiji impression (late1860s-1870s), both considered "original period" impressions printed from the original blocks, using the same pigments and techniques as the first edition (1857).  There would be a seal to date it more accurately, but it's currently matted and framed.   How it came to be in my family is a sad story.  My father bought this, and a few other Japanese prints, from Japanese neighbors who was selling their belongings prior to going into WWII internment camps in California.  He paid 50¢ each.   My S poetry form is here . 

For R I have The R anch House,  my name for this unsigned mid-century (1930s - 1950s) California regional impressionism.  I bought it as a present to myself with a tax refund back when I worked and got tax refunds!  I did pay more than you are used to my paying for art, $89.00.  An R poetry form can be found here .