Elephant Envelope for Mike

elephant envelope front
Mary Stebbins Taitt
to Mike Kline
acrylic on padded envelope
addresses cloned out

elephant envelope back
Mary Stebbins Taitt
to Mike Kline
acrylic on padded envelope

I have painted an envelope to send my Mole back to Mike who has offered to finish his work directly in the Moleskine.  YAY!

These paintings are, for me, in the category of "casual art."

Angry Man

"Angry Man"
Acrylic and oil pastels on Moleskine Paper
Mary Stebbins Taitt
Click any image to view larger

Kissed Frankie Goodnight

Kissed Frankie Goodnight
watercolor by Mary Stebbins Taitt
for my book
click to view larger.

They partied for days, weeks, months and years;

the sound of their laughter filled everyone’s ears.

They partied ‘til the moon came up in the sky

and then all creatures kissed Frankie goodbye.


*

I painted this with watercolors, finishing it (after many days of work), on 8/21/14 and today, I added the moon in Photoshop.   It is for the book I am working on for my grandson hopefully for his birthday, otherwise for Christmas.  He will be four years old on his birthday, and has just started school.

I think this is the finished version (I hope).

Frankie and the Lumpy bumpies

Frankie and the Lumpy Bumpies
watercolor by me, Mary Stebbins Taitt
for my book, Frankie and Noah have a Party

This is the tentative layout for the page in the book.
Click images to view larger.

The story is also found on Cowbird, where the images are larger:

The Teeth of Joy

The Teeth of Joy
by Mary Stebbins Taitt
digitally manipulated watercolor painting
Dedicated to John Gibson

It's not outwardly cheery, but I like it anyway.  Watercolor, digitally manipulated.

"Final" back Cover of Round four Mole and Envelope

"Final" back Cover Round 4
Mary and Keith Self-portrait

I may fiddle with this a little more before I mail or after it comes back, but I'm probably quitting for now so it can be on the road asap.Painted nearly entirely with homemade paints with French pigments.

Keith as Santa
on envelope

I started this before Christmas, but of course, now it is a little out of date.

I am almost ready to mail.  Soon.

Unfinished Self Portrait

I am working on a painting for the back cover of my Moleskine.  I figured it would be nice to finish it before I sent it off, but it is slow.  I am making my own acrylic paints with pigments from France my daughter brought me from her visit there.

First coat of paint:

Self-portrait with Keith
handmade acrylics
after one coat of paint
(not yet finished.)
Click this and all images to view larger

Second coat of paint:

Self-portrait with Keith
handmade acrylics
after two coats of paint
(not yet finished.)

Working at the dining room table:

We had more than a foot of snow and it was 11 below zero--I couldn't get to my "studio."  It's a little crowded and cluttered.  (Okay, it;s a LOT crowded and cluttered.)  The little vials are the dry pigments from France.

The photograph I am copying was taken December 28, 2013 by Harry Teichert at the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House.  I hope to finish it soon and mail it off.

Three Parrots, Egg Tempera

Rainbow Lorikeets
Egg Tempera

I painted this last night during a bout of insomnia with homemade egg tempera paints made with pigments from France brought to me by daughter and son-in-law.

Sissy and Garryd at Castle LeFini

Sissy and Garryd at Castle LeFini

This is an illo for another kids' book I am working on, faber Castelle Pitt Pigment pen and watercolor.  If interested,you can read the chapter here, it is fairly short (3 pages typed). 

Sparhawk Cotton Mill, Yarmouth, Maine

Sparhawk Cotton Mill, Yarmouth, Maine
Painting by me, Mary Stebbins Taitt
Click image to view larger

New Painting, worked on it for four days.  Like all day.  (For hours and hours.)

Baboon Loon and Racoon Dropped in a Balloon

Baboon Loon and Racoon

Dropped in a balloon

I made a second water color for Ballookey's pocket on 7 x 10 Arches 140 lb paper, another illo of San Cassimally's Animal Carnival.  This completes my work in and for this mole, so I will be packaging it up and sending it off to Mike soon. I did this one with the water brush again, but I will probably switch back to regular brushes.  Except for en pleine air work, or for certain things they're good for.  Fine detail work, for one thing. (The Koi brush is really good for detail.)

Aardvark, Shark, Lark, Ark, Dark

Aardvark with Shark and Lark

Sailed in their ark (in the dark)

This is a pocket item for Ballookey.  It's watercolor on 140 lb cold-pressed Arches paper, 7 x 10.  It was entirely painted with the water brushes that you fill with water.  I got two new ones and wanted to try them out.  One is a fine point Koi that came with a field set, which I'd never used, so I used it last night and in the wee hours this morning when I couldn't sleep.  The other is a Niji flat.  I painted most of the painting with Niji and then added the detail with the Koi brush.

This is theoretically for the series I am doing of San Cassimally's book, Animal Carnival.  However, as you can plainly see, it is in a different medium and different style than the others, so I will probably redo it?  (Or redo the others?)  I just really wanted to play with watercolors.

Botanical Illustrations in Ballookey's Moleskine

Ballookey's Moleskine arrives in Detroit
in time for spring.

2-page spread
Glechoma hederaceae
click images to view larger

Glechoma hederaceae
botanical diagrams

Glechoma hederaceae
botanical painting, acrylics

I'm in a Moleskine Exchange group and a new Moleskine arrived belonging to Ballookey who did the horse in the first picture. I did 2 botanical illustrations of Clechoma hederaceae.

I am sorry to report that I am not only still sick, but I am also getting worse rather than better.  I have a medical procedure scheduled May 30, which is supposed to help and I hope and pray it does.

I kind of messed this up a little, and I apologize.

Eel Revisited

Moray Eel
mixed media
acrylic, gouache watercolor
click image to view larger.

Here is the completed version of the painting  started in the previous post.  It is in Andrea's Moleskine, part of the circulating Moleskines in the group I belong to.

Happy Mother's Day!

Me, Mary Stebbins Taitt
with my mother's day gifts
Click images to view larger

Moray eel, in progress
in Andrea's book
with new paints

I was very excited to receive a package from my kids for mother's day, new paints.  I plunged right in and have been having fun mixing violet, yellow ochre and blue in Andrea's book.

I wish a happy mother's day to your mothers, grandmothers, wives or to you, if you're a mother.

When Confronted with our Worst Nightmares

"When Confronted with our Worst Nightmares
I like to fight back with Flowers"
Collaboration Andrea and Mary
mixed media
water color, acrylic, pigment pens, colored pencil
click image to view larger

I wanted to do the girl (standing in for my child-self) in water color, but ended up coloring the background with black Faber-Castell pigment marker (A gift from Hennie Mavis) and then painting over that with glazes of blue acrylic.  I drew the flowers on the girl's pajamas with colored pencil and then painted them in with watercolor.

I have a lot of dreams of being chased down dark alleys by men who intend me harm.  They are nightmares, because I wake up terrified.  Not sure if that's what Andrea meant.

Click on the image to see it much larger.

I am still sick and my work is going slowly.

Gnu is his Canoe

Mr. Gnu in his canoe
Raced Yak in his kayak
click image to view larger.

This is my second painting in Andrea's Mole, an illo for San Cassimally's Animal Carnival.  It is done in acrylics.  It took me ten days to paint it and two more to scan and post it.  I regret to say I'm still sick and it's taking a lot out of me.

I posted the steps (4 coats of paint) here, but don't have time to do it again.  At least, not now.

Like Snail, who chose the rail, Crane also took the train.

Crane and Snail ride the train
acrylic on Moleskine watercolor paper
by me, Mary Stebbins Taitt

Like Snail, who chose the rail,
Crane also took the train. 

San Cassimally, Animal Carnival

This is my illustration for San Cassimally's Animal Carnival, which I am no longer officially illustrating.  I did it for Illustration Friday last week ("train"), but because of my illness, I was unable to get it done in time.  (Took me a whole week, so I may be running late!  Sorry).

This is actually on my LAST page, I think.  (The other pages are still blank.)  Because of my pain, which is usually worst in the mornings, I can't paint until evening.

Watch

This is an experiment. I created this digital image from two photographs I took.  I posted it to cowbird and from cowbird to Pinterest and from Pinterest here.  Weird.  If you click the image twice, once here and once at Pinterest, you'll end up at the Cowbird story, with a much larger image.

Self-Portrait of the Artist in a "Dark Matter Mirror"

Self-Portrait of the Artist in a "Dark Matter Mirror," for Andrea.  (by me, Mary stebbins Taitt). I haven't had a Moleskine sketchbook from the exchange in a long time. I've been filling in some of the old Moleskines (may post some of them later), and I also bought two strange nonMoleskine sketchbooks. This one I got at our local Renaissance Festival hand made paper and cover, leather. The piece is done on the inside of the front cover on the leaver with markers.  The leather is very rough and stained with droplets of leather stain from the outside of the front cover.

The outer red, yellow and orange circle represents the persona I present to the world--sunny and pleasant.  The inner circle represents my hidden dark thoughts and feelings, my anger, rage, pain, shame etc.  The rays are the love I give out to the world and the snakes are the anger, rage, pain and shame that escape from their internal prison and cause hurt feelings and misunderstandings.  They also represent the chaos that underlies and spills out of the "safely" imprisoned negative qualities.

This book is too big to fit on my scanner (what was I thinking?) and the leather is thick, sturdy and doesn't lie flat, so I apologize for the quality of the photo.