Archive for Pencil Sketch
Walk the Line
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With all the talk of Joaquin Phoenix stating he is not doing film anymore, I want to touch on one of his fantastic portrayals of one of our great musicians. I sat and watched Walk the Line
Johnny Cash & Joaquin Phoenix both had traumatic experiences as children. Having that connection prompted Phoenix to take the roll of Cash, and an outstanding job was done.
Whatever the reasons for this 34 year old actor to give up movies is really and ultimately his business. We could go over the reasons not. It’s his decision, but it leaves his fans and followers disturbed.
Johnny Cash had a long and fiery career as a singer and songwriter, he left us shortly after the love of his life passed. The two could be considered similar but there is a drastic difference, Joaquin is still with us. His fans are feeling what has been expressed as disappointment and hopeful that his decision will not be a lasting one.
The only constant in life is change, can we always understand it, not in the least. How we cope with things is how we begin to understand. I’ve experienced alot of loss and as mom put it the other day, it seems “surreal” when those around us are gone.
This decision to move on for Joaquin may be something deep-seeded for him, and it’s a life change he feels necessary. For whatever reasons, celebrate what he has done, respecting decisions of others doesn’t always go down as good as a cold Corona, but it’s something that helps embrace your character.
Learning to support and live with the decisions of others around you, will also eliminate the anger and the angst that we allow it to create in us..remember that post about self discovery?
If you are trying to figure out the actions of others, what drives them to do something? what makes them act the way they do? How could they have? It will only fester within your genetic make-up and create a barrier to your emotional growth.
Trying to swallow the actions, decisions or behavior of others will eventually make you choke. Be supportive & concentrate on understanding why it is that you are allowing the reaction that the circumstances have created in you.
A Star is Born – Judy Garland
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A 45 year career, and a life of 47 years….and versatility was Judy Garland. Acting on stage in musicals & drama’s as well as being a recording artist with what is called a contralto voice, she won many awards for her accomplishments.
Being self conscious about her appearance, Judy Garland struggled, some executives even told her that she was unattractive and overweight. I wonder what they looked like?
As young as 12 years old, the talent and the voice was astounding, a young girl dreaming of Clarke Gable and has this to say….. You Made Me Love You
I looked through several pictures of Judy Garland, watched a few video’s and enjoyed walking down memory lane. I can visualize my mother at this time. There seemed to be an air about woman, different than it is now and I can’t quite explain it. I guess it was because not everything was just put out there as it is now a days. There was still “things” left to the imagination.
A Star is Born – I think of Barbara Striesand and Kris Kristofferson and the final scene, but long before that, there was Judy Garland as Norman’s Wife.. with the heartbreaking ending.
Enjoying those that we know little about is really what I got out of this post, finding out information about someone who passed long before I was born. I am looking forward to talking with my mom about Judy Garland and getting the mental pictures from her – from a time long passed.
Sliding into the Weekend – Bonnie Raitt
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The Best of Bonnie Raitt
Music was part of Bonnie’s life from early on and reviews of her work have been a mixed bag through out the years. Struggling with substance abuse as many before her, she credited Stevie Ray Vaughan the evening after he died tragically, in helping sober herself up.
It took close to 20 years of recordings and labels before this musician was to find commercial success. On her 10th album Nick of Time
Bottleneck style guitar playing is one of my favorite sounds, some of the great blue’s players used bottles, aspirin bottles, Excedrin bottles – you name it. That was, when those type of materials came in glass. Now, they are made special, coming in different sizes and materials.
Rocky Mountain Slides Swamp Frog Medicine Bottle Glass Slide Standard
Rocky Mountain Slides Poncha Bullet Guitar Slide Mojo Green
Here is my Friday Line Up of Slide Players that I will make sure I listen to today! If you haven’t heard of them, check out some of my favorites.
Ry Cooder – Vigilante Man , Bonnie Raitt Live at Montreaux, Duane Allman, Sonny Landreth
Sophia Loren & Self Discovery
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After all these years, I am still involved in the process of self-discovery. It’s better to explore life and make mistakes than to play it safe. Mistakes are part of the dues one pays for a full life. Sophia Loren
Self discovery can be found in those lonely hours in the middle of the night when something startles you awake, an emotion, an action or something that has occurred in your life that you don’t understand.
This moment of self discovery, is a growing process, and seems to be something we can not escape. How do we handle these moments in our life when something continues to eat at us?
I am trying to come to the realization that when we try and figure out the actions of those around us, we loose our own self-discovery and our growth comes to a stand still.
I had a dream last night, involving a man.. NOT what you think.. a man that was threatened by my knowledge and kindness. A man that stunted my growth for too long, so how and why did I give him the power to enter into my sub-conscious mind and wake me in the middle of the night, so that I could stew on all the negativity he brought into my life?
I’ve long since moved past this experience in my waking world, but somewhere at my core, his negativity still lives. I have to wonder when we run into people that are mountains of negativity, what do they dream about, what haunts them? Do they wake in the middle of the night fighting with what is at their core? Are they learning & growing from being negative to those around them? When will their moment of self discovery happen, can anything we do change them?
I don’t have the answers, and the best approach I have found is one that I learned from John Edward in his Crossing Over
I’ve never tried to block out the memories of the past, even though some are painful. I don’t understand people who hide from their past. Everything you live through helps to make you the person you are now. Sophia Loren
Sunday's Sexy Lady – Marilyn Monroe Pencil Sketch
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Hollywood’s a place where they’ll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss, and fifty cents for your soul. – Marilyn Monroe
One of THE sexiest woman ever, has been gone now over 46 years, and she is still idolized and fantasized about. There have been many debates on what size dress Marilyn wore, and in all honesty to me, that is defamation of who she was..she was beautiful and talented and I heard that Groucho Marx had something quite intersting to say about her when men met her..
It’s stated across the internet she was either a size 12, 14 or 16, who the hell cares..and if she was any of those, at the common size of our celebrities that eat cotton balls soaked in orange juice to be the size 0′s and 1′s that they are
It would take 12 Calista’s, Courtneys or Jessica’s to make up one Marilyn.
Beaming in beauty, Marilyn’s eyes tell a sultry story… from her love affairs with Joe DiMaggio, JFK & Peter Lawford, she was a beauty that captured many in her time. Ironically enough, even the young teens of today know her name, she captivated young guys & grown men back than, and now.. I wonder if there are any that will ever be able to fill her shoes.
Ladies Week or is it Man's Week?
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It’s Ladies Week or Man’s Week, depends how you look at it, I’ll be featuring some of the “ladies” this week in my pencil sketches…
I have focused on drawing many of my favorite guitarist, musicians and what not. I figured it’s time to honor some requests, and if you have some, please feel free to let me know.
Ann & Nancy Wilson of Heart – banned together as sisters are, they have been one of the only constants in Heart’s career, but don’t sisters do that most of the time.
Heart rose to fame in the 1970′s when we were sporting bell bottoms, beads and bongs as we that grew up than played Hippie. Oh.. gotta check out: Hippie Shop, if you like the psychedelic era of the 70′s, it’s a must to put on your shopping list. I wonder how far Joe – from Crotchety Old Man Yells at Cars lives from there?
Sisters…it’s a powerful thing, it’s a band, it’s a club, it’s a loyalty…as the Lakota Sioux say… Mitakuye Oyasin – all my relations. A must read Lakota Woman
All three of us are entirely different, as you guessed by now, if you are a faithful reader, I am the “flower child” a whoops, I am told, but a good whoops. Sisters have a unique bond between them, most of the time. It’s sad when sisterhood breaks for reasons that are unexplainable, in my life though, no matter how much they make you want to pull your hair out, they are there during the times in your life when you need them.
Friends are sisters too, I have one in particular who is smart, sensative and I can’t even tell you how strong, October is Breast Awareness Month, and her story is here..I’ll let ya read that one on your own, I don’t want to smear one of the Wilson Girls eye makeup….
I am Woman, Hear me Roar!
Thanks to Carol at She-Lives for requesting these two sultry looking stars from the seventies!
Bringing People Together
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I sit in amazement how the “information highway” brings people into our lives, I recently got an email from someone looking for of all things a picture of House of Texas Music – In Austin, Texas to add to a Stevie Ray Vaughan Tribute Video of – I’m Crying.
Funny thing is, my husband wanted to take the picture outside of Ray’s Hennig’s store of the Marquee, and I wondered why, well, I suppose a greater power was at work and Stevie knew Connie had been searching for a picture of Ray’s place for quite some time.
Connie contacted me again for another project she is working on and she will be featuring some of my sketches. She asked if I had any of Reese Wynans – I did not, so I whipped this up to send to her as well as some others. Connie has some wonderful Stevie Ray Vaughan Tribute Video’s and has given me some fantastic pictures that I have never seen of many of my favorite’s.
If you are a fan – these video’s are a must see, there’s several with interviews and pictures that she cherishes. There is little information out there about Reese Wynans that I could find, he added something to the already great Double Trouble, they were blazing and a strong threesome, and with Reese’s energetic and solid keyboard playing Double Trouble continued to thrive and create music that will be coursing through blue’s lover’s ears, minds & souls for years to come!
Bloggeries about Big Hair or Bald Bad Boys
Posted by: | CommentsThis is a bloggeries on Big Hair or Bald Bad Boys – that is an awful lot of b’s!
My subjects are quite diverse…and I did this sketch in a matter of 40 minutes, so go easy on me for the imperfections.
Sebastian Bach – Canadian Born – Heavy Metal Singer & Front Man for Skid Row and then there is Vin Diesel – Actor, writer, director and producer from New York.
Two totally different personalities and appearances. What drives our desires for other’s and how can they be so diverse?
I can go from Old Country Western Music (yeah.. sappy, I know), but I grew up with Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson & Marty Robbins playing on the radio, so it’s buried in my soul somewhere from years gone past. I have no problem mixing it up and as soon as Willie’s crooning stops on Ladies Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys, I can switch gears and listen to 18 & Life, so what are the reasons that we are attracted to what we are?
Big Hair or Bald Bad Boys, either one, I say diversify!
How about you ladies out there in the blogosphere? What are some of your tastes that are on the opposite sides of the spectrum?
Guys, feel free to jump in and let me know your lady taste that fall on the opposite ends as well?
Stevie Ray Vaughan – Remembering the Man & Music
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Remembering the man and the music – October 3rd would have been Stevie Ray Vaughan’s 54th Birthday. I was not one of the lucky one’s to have known Stevie nor did I ever see him play live. My husband had and said as soon as he hit his first note – the crowd was silenced.
In the past year, I have been lucky enough to have become friends with someone that grew up with Stevie and he has shared with me his feelings and thoughts.
I did this pencil sketch for Cutter – this sketch is no longer in existence. In place of it, lie’s a scar on Cutter’s hand and a story he was terrified to share with me, it took him a week to finally call me and explain what had happened.
Why things happen is anyone’s guess – why this sketch did not get to hang on Cutter’s wall is still a mystery to me, but within that mystery a friendship was born.
The loss of Stevie in the music industry was huge, but from the stories that Cutter has shared with me, it doesn’t come close to those that knew him personally.
I can not explain the connection I feel to Stevie through his music, or the passion that drives the drawings of Stevie – I sit with empty paper and his music resonates throughout my soul and when I look down, he has come to life on paper before me.
My heart warms because I feel I have come yet another step closer to knowing the man that Stevie truly was inside. His kindness & compassion for others can be seen within his eyes and within his hands, watching his hands wrap around the neck of his guitars as he played with power & dedication because he wanted to share his talent and share his love of music.
He gave to us that did not know him, a gift through song, he will continue to inspire me as time moves along. I send a silent thought up to the heavens, for him to hear how even after all these years, he has continued to bring people together.
Touching Others Lives – Finale
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I hope I have educated many on some of our Greatest Session Players that were intertwined in the life of Al Kooper, this is the final piece of my recycled end table that will hopefully find a home.
Touching Other’s Lives is one reason we are all here…
Those that are intertwined in our lives can be great influences on many of our decisions. As bloggers, we open ourselves up to new opportunities and new relationships on a daily basis. Intertwining with people of similar interests or those that we can help with the littlest bit of advice, we have Touched Other’s Lives.
I have been blogging for over a year now, and continue to be amazed at the amount of people that come in and leave comments, those that answer the questions that I have pondered. I am sure I am not alone when it comes to having run into some of the “ego’s” or less than helpful folks out there. It amazes me that some of these jokers will not take the time of day to Touch Other’s Lives, the big dog’s on the porch so to speak.
The power that comes from helping someone achieve something is over whelming – and in all honesty can we take our knowledge with us when all is said and done? Leaving a mark on someone when you influence them is all part of the learning process. Learning to communicate, leaving comments on others blogs, sending a small thank you note when someone has helped you, it’s a cyber cycle of touching others lives.
Go forward today and comment on someone’s blog that you usually wouldn’t, keep the circle going.