More Portraits, Christmas Card Art and some Amber Art

More discoveries, cleaning out E.A. Autrey's condo.  The fact my father kept every sketch I did of him, and every self portrait I did of myself and sent him as a Christmas card, is quite wonderful.  Discovered art includes the following top to bottom:
1.  Pastel portrait of E.A. I did in 1985
2.  Old ink and pastel sketch done in 1995, including some heads drawn by Jean L. Autrey.  Although this is not a new discovery, as the image was previously published, I now have the original!
3.  Conte crayon sketch of E.A. I did in 2003
4.  Self portrait sent as a Christmas card in 1981
5.  Self portrait sent as a Christmas card in 1987
6.  Bad self portrait as "The Camellia Queen" send as a Christmas card in 1985
7.  Fabulous self portrait of Amber as "The Dahlia Queen," done by Amber on the back of "The Camellia Queen"
8.  Close up of a terrific drawing done by Amber in 1985.  What a talent!  I wish she'd do more art.

Newly Discovered E.A. Autrey Art

Moving E.A. Autrey into assisted living, means going through nearly 94 years of accumulated stuff and trying to decide what to keep and what to toss.  As I am a pack rat like my father, I'm squirrelling much of it away at my house.  Above images are mostly newly discovered art.  From Top To bottom:
1.  The Piano oil painting, done in 2009 at age 78, was already hanging in my kitchen, but the sketch of it below is new.
2.  Plant watercolor, 1985
3.  Self Portrait, 1977
4.  Photo of vase (with self portrait reflection) and Raid
5.  Pastel sketch of candlestick and blue glass vase (hand blown by E.A. in another class)
6.  Toy in wagon, reminiscent of E.A.'s sister Reva's paintings, 1988
7.  Candelabra and blue glass vase, undated
8.  Table and chair, 1988
9.  Still life with duck, 1985
10.  Still life with ivy, 1985
11.  Still life with paint, 1985
12.  Still life with shelves, 1985
13.  Bucket, 1985

Queen Tut Silk Quilt

Latest, very time consuming, quilt finished!  Measuring 48" wide x 66 3/4" high, this lounge-worthy original design is composed of all silk fabrics with a cotton flannel backing.  The light and darker brown silks are from a Thai silk spread purchased by Elsa and Rick Zisook in Thailand - now cut up and reused by me.  The central "watercolor" quilted section is composed of eight separate pieces of silk, some originally retailing for close to $300/yard, purchased from eBay (for much less than their retail price) in a box of assorted silk samples.  These eight silk samples were cut up into 768 1" squares, then sewn together on Pellon 820 Quilter's grid fusible polyester.  Stitch in the ditch quilting applied to the top portion of the quilt, but the bottom was finished using two separate stencil designs.  It was hard getting the entire quilt through the small space on my Bernina B215 sewing machine, but I managed it without breaking anything.  I love my machine!!

Fabric Birds

Wool-punched and embroidered birds on cotton fabric for an upcoming Bird quilt.  Here's hoping they don't disintegrate in the wash!

Space Garden

Latest cotton and silk quilt masterpiece: 45 1/2" wide x 63" high, including digital fractal & original insect art printed on silk organza, applique on a central quilted silk panel, cotton polka dots, and some cool Jone Hallmark commercial bugs fabric

What Bird's See

Old Friends

Attempting to take the "old" out of the photo, with considerable manipulation, doesn't impact reality. Kathleen Price and I are not only old(ish) but we have been friends for a long time.  Original photo taken by Ron and Bettina Vinsant in Mendocino.

Moving the Twins to Marin County

I wish!  But, if they can't move physically, at least they can be moved digitally.  Here, Wilson and Cole Taylor, in Seattle, July 2013, amazingly show up at North Beach, December 2011.  Added benefits:  a cool fractal from Apophysis, and some great effects from Alien Skin's Exposure 5.

Airplanes!

More fun with Alien Skin software, including this Technicolor overlay on photo composites from Seattle (top) and Solana Beach (bottom)

Autrey Sisters 1960s

More fun with photos!

Nude Grasshopper Descending a Cactus Leaf

Four long, exhausting days in, I'm finally closing in on converting everything from my old Dell to my new HP Workstation.  My 2003 Dell was still working fine, but with Windows no longer supporting XP, I was forced to upgrade.  There is something about technology that really sucks up money!  Now, however, with new software from Alien Skin and Apophysis, and a faster system,  I thought I'd have some fun!  The inspiration for the top photo composite is Marcel Duchamp's  "Nude Descending a Staircase."  The original photo is below.

Valentine Collage, Bowling Ball, Rainbows and Stars

Final post of my artwork splurge in Seattle.  Top to Bottom:
Valentine's Day Collage: Done in a fun art session at Amber's urging and using her running magazine and fashion magazines illustrations.
Bowling:  Watercolor of Cole and Wilson's toy bowling pins and ball with helicopter and car reading (surprisingly) Wilson and Cole.  One of Wilson's favorite dice also making an appearance
Rainbow Study with Stars:  Pen and ink and watercolor and crayon.  Part of a series extending over years.

Family Portraits, Scribbles and Creature Drawings

Top to Bottom
Family Portraits Left to Right:  Cole, in disguise as a one-eyed alien; Wilson, with all five fingers on each hand upside down; Matt working; Amber as a water drop; and Grandma Lucy in her polka dot pajamas on top of the world
A Scribble with Feet
Creatures (on the backside of the scribble)
Wilson Taylor's Ladybug, done for his Grandpa Wilson
Water Bottles, with help from Wilson of 2 additional birds in the sky

Watercolor Fish and Ducks

More watercolor paintings done in Seattle, some with grandson Wilson Taylor.  Wilson's twin brother Cole wasn't painting much on this trip:

From top to bottom:
Goldfish - 10 1/4" x 14"
Fish tank - 7" x 10 1/4" (some fish seem to have escaped)
Fish tank line art - with water by 4 1/2 year old Wilson 7" x 10 1/4"
3 Yellow Ducks - a collaboration with Wilson who painted the tower and the pink snakes, gave one duck a red eye, and colored in the fence 10 1/4" x 14"

Nursing and Painting in Seattle

While Amber recovered on the couch, nurse Lucy had fun doing watercolor paintings of twins Cole and Wilson's toys.  Here are a few

Top photo:  Amber, reclining on the couch under her original Lucy Autrey Wilson quilt and beneath the Taylor's original Lucy Ellen Autrey (lea) Green Flash oil paintings.
4 Going on 5:  Watercolor painting of a few of the 4 1/2 year old twins' toys from Little Dora to a Han Solo action figure
4 Going on 5 photo:  When Wilson got home from preschool and saw this watercolor painting, he ran and found every one of the toy models I had put away and carefully placed them on top of their image on the painting
Pooh and Poofy:  A watercolor painting for Wilson of his favorite bear and blanket (She, the blanket, has a name, of course)
Space Bear:  Cole got his own watercolor of his favorite space bear with a favorite Lego toy driving over one leg