Another New T-Shirt For T-Shirt Season!

One new T-shirt just wasn't enough; I decided to design a second one. "Dreams Come True On the River" is a saying of personal significance to me and I thought my sailboat collage was the perfect illustration. So here is T-shirt #2!

T-shirt can be purchased at shop crabulous!

And here is an "up close" look at the image:

Queen Anne's Lace

"Queen Anne's Lace" - Enhanced Digital Photo

There are a few flowers which fill me with nostalgia. Among them are Queen Anne's Lace. Remember, as a kid, sticking them in a vase of water which had been tinted with food coloring and watching the blossoms change color like magic? Well, if you've never done it, I say go do it. Now!

White Hydrangeas & Pink Roses

"White Hydrangeas & Pink Roses" - enhanced digital photo

Last weekend my niece, Olivia, got married and the wedding was all about white hydrangeas and pink rosebuds. They were everywhere, except for the bridal bouquet which was white hydrangeas and white rosebuds. (I absolutely adore white flowers!)

I was fortunate enough to be able to take home one of the table centerpieces which is the subject of this enhanced photo.

Another Magical Moment

"Hour Of Solitude" - Poem by Bobbi Rullan; Photo by Kristeena Crabb

It's no secret that I love the way magic happens when artists inspire each other. One example was a little over two years ago when artist/writer, Katrina Small, saw a photograph which I'd posted on Facebook and was inspired to write a poem about it. Here's the blog post which describes that inspired event, "And Then There Was Magic."

Well, just this weekend, Bobbi Rullan, the fearless leader of the Photoholics Not-So-Anonymous group to which I belong, rediscovered a poem which she had written in the 60's. It made her think of a photo of mine and so she superimposed the poem on the photo and once again, magic happened. I cannot imagine a poem more fitting for what I was feeling when I took the photo. The two go together so well.

I love belonging to this great big universal community of artists where creativity and compassion abound. And I just love, love magical moments! :D

Pity Party

"Tea Time" - Enhanced Digital Collage

I'm tired. I have a touch of tonsillitis and my asthma is acting up. Therefore, I'm feeling sorry for myself and I'm indulging in self-pampering and self-pitying today. "They" say that it's wrong. I'm tired of worrying about "they." I'm going to finish this blog post and my lovely cup of tea with lemon and honey and I'm going to go back to bed. So there! :P

Camellias & Azaleas

"Camellias & Azaleas" - Enhanced Digital Photo

Believe it or not, I haven't always been a fan of digital photography and digital photo manipulation. You couldn't tell it from the way I love to play with photos. 

Recently, my mother brought in some cut camellia and azalea blossoms from the yard and floated them in a floaty thingy (technical term). Of course I found them to be extremely photo worthy. Below is the "before"  photo and the one above is the "after." ;-)

Single White Tulip Finds A New Home

Many thanks to my friend, Nancy White, for giving "Single White Tulip" a new home in her special "happy place." I love getting photos like this.

White Butterflies Digital Collage

"White Butterflies" - Digital Collage

I'm visiting with my son who lives in Brooklyn and occasionally find that I have a little time to kill in the mornings. I decided this is a perfect time to work on some digital collages which I haven't done in awhile. This new one is definitely Brooklyn inspired. There's a wonderful coffee shop located near the Graham Street subway station and it has this great wallpaper in it. The moment I saw it I just knew it would make the perfect background for a digital collage. 

The butterflies came from a recent note card that I created. 

I love the way my laptop becomes my studio when I can't be in my studio!

Magenta Series #2

"Con Spirito" - 8x10 - Mixed Media Collage

The spirit moved me to create fantasy flowers. Something not exactly flourishing in anyone's garden. The title comes from the directive in the piece of music; "with spirit."

All A Flutter

"All A Flutter" - 4x12 - Mixed Media Collage

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

I took a new canvas and impulsively painted it red and then wondered what to do with it next. For some reason I decided to create these absolutely outlandish butterflies.

Retrospective Part 2

"Pink Poppies" - Oil - 8x10 - 1998

Yes, I dabbled in oils. Off and on. I never quite grew to love them though. And I could make the biggest mess with them, too. I found I preferred the directness of pastels and I loved the way you blended colors with pastels directly on the support itself and not on a palette. I always had the messiest palettes. I did sell a few oil paintings though and some remain in the family. Most notably with my mother and my cousin (who has the second largest collection of my works). When I moved from my home in Maryland I gave all my oil paints to my son and gave them up for good.

"Seashells & Coral" - Oil - 5x7 - 2002