Burgeoning Garden

“The most effective kind of education is that a child should play amongst lovely things.”

~ Plato

I can’t believe this is my last post for the month of March and not a single painting (sigh*). I had a very busy and productive month. I am starting gardening again and just finished painting the living room. I am so excited about the garden, I can’t wait to see the plants grow. I’ll be waiting for the hummingbirds and the butterflies visit.

Ayame’s Story

Art by: Samuel Seo
Art Director: Ayame Soto

This is Ayame’s idea of birthday party – a monster, an angel and a cake made of ghosts. And not to mention the boogers coming out from the monster’s nose. She is always full of wonder and stories. My favorite is about the little elephant who lives in her pocket and who is constantly attending a Food Festival. I can’t wait to hear more of her stories!

Speaking of stories, I found this cool website for kids with free audio called Storynory. I personally like picture books but for those who loves audio books, this is a pretty decent site.

Mary Had A Little Lamb

Except for the sporadic coughing I am finally flu free! I haven’t done any painting since last week. Below is one of my older paintings and one of the last ones I finished last month. This was inspired by the nursery rhyme “Mary Had A Little Lamb” by Sarah Josepha Hale. The poem was based on an actual incident in Sterling Massachusetts. A girl named Mary Sawyer (later Mrs. Mary Tyler) brought her lamb to school and created a commotion. Very pleased with the incident, John Roulston, a visiting student rode his horse to the schoolhouse and handed Mary a slip of paper which had written upon it the three original stanzas of the poem. However, a different version of the story is that Hale composed the entire poem. Although Mary’s house was destroyed by arson a couple of years ago, the statue of Mary’s little lamb still stands in the town center.

Mary had a little lamb
Whose fleece as white as snow.
And everywhere that Mary went,
The lamb was sure to go!

It followed her to school one day,
which was against the rules.
It made the children laugh and play,
To see a lamb at school.

A Fine Portrait

This is one of my godchildren’s drawing when he was six. He just turned 8 last Friday. I can’t believe it’s already been 2 years since I received this. I love the fact that the limbs and hair are almost the same length. This is one of my favorite portraits.

A pen and paper are all you need to create a new world.

Michelle, age 13

(Source: http://www.generationterrorists.com/quotes/kids.html)

Hello Kitty!

I saw this super cute kitty on the cover of one of the magazines we received from mail – I just had to paint it. It was so irresistible. I wanted the painting to be very simple but the ink started to bleed; I did not realize that paper was still wet. I had to do something to cover the blot on her forehead and ended drawing circles everywhere. And here’s the finish product. It was a lot of fun coming up with various solutions.

“To the world you may be just one person, but to one person you may be the world.”

Brandi Snyder

New in Newstand!

Create Fake Magazine Covers with your own picture at MagMyPic.com

We had a lot of snow today. I could not drive my car, the wheels would just spin and remained stationary. So I stayed home and checked my e-mail and browsed the internet. Then I found this site. They have over 50 magazine covers and you can print them for $14.95. You can even create your own and put a picture of your pet! I think it’s a bit expensive and I don’t know how good the resolution is. But if you want to do something creative and unique, try it. It was a lot of fun trying different covers.

Piggyback Rider

I guess I don’t have to go Mexico. Thank you to both John and Ben, I learned something new. I really need to read more books – my brain needs some recharging. By the way Ben, great website!

I went to church today and I saw the cutest thing... During the service, the kids were asked to go to the classroom with their teachers to learn the scriptures. A particular little girl caught my attention because she had her sister on her back when she joined the rest the kids at the altar. An hour later when everyone came out and returned to their parents, she was still carrying her sister on her back. I thought it was very sweet. So, I went home, cleaned my room, washed my clothes and took my watercolor paper out and used the last page. And here it is!



Below is a picture of me and my sister – I was 5 and she was 3. My other sister was not born yet when this was taken. I remember this picture very well because I was looking for my belt but couldn’t find it. And I remember how much I loved my knickerbockers – I’d wear it everywhere and every day when I could.

“A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost.”

Marion C. Garretty