Tell me, what would they see in your eyes?

/ Martha Keim / Leave a comment

The eyes have it, from my friend Jim MsKeever

Irish Investigations

On a downtown street in Lansing, Mich., a woman asked for our help. She was with her daughter, about 7 years old.

We could see in the woman’s eyes several things: warmth, strength, wariness. In the young girl’s, shyness. Perhaps fear.

The woman, about 30, wore a hijab. Her daughter had long, dark hair, uncovered.

There was a significant language barrier, but we managed to learn that they are from Syria and have been in the U.S. for seven months. They had walked from a nearby Catholic church, the woman said, to find Bus #5 to get to her appointment at a job-training agency.

She carried a folder with her. We walked, and I asked if there might be any information in it that could help us get them there.

As she pulled out a couple of forms from the job-training agency, I noticed a packet of penmanship worksheets, with…

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10 July 17

/ Martha Keim / Leave a comment

#worldwatercolormonth

Effects of water hardness on watercolour paints

/ Martha Keim

Way interesting

Lee Angold

For the past couple of years,  my tap water has been curdling my paints.

It all started with a tube of Quinacridone Rust (PO48)  from M. Graham.   I was attracted to this paint partially because the pigment is listed as non-granulating,  and I fell in love with the colour, but ever since I got it, the paint has had a tendency to clump and curdle when mixed with water in the palette or dropped into a wash, resulting in an incredibly pronounced granulation pattern.  This pattern becomes even more pronounced when Quin. Rust is mixed with another dark valued, non granulating paint such as a phthalo.

13934947_10205655508741469_4385919295537911773_n Colour mixing experiments with Quin Rust (PO48) and Phthalo Turquoise (PB16)

I searched the internet extensively, and could find no other reports of quinacridone rust granulating like this.  For months I was actually convinced I had received a dud tube, but avoided investigating…

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Cedar Key

/ Martha Keim

Pinks, purples, aquamarines and sun collude and collide everywhere in this Florida city. We came up here airplane shopping, had dinner in a dog-friendly joint on the beach. Now it’s time to sleep, but I have these colors swirling around my brain. Here’s a sunset. Paint flinging tomorrow.

‘They never asked to be extorted, raped, threatened and beaten’

/ Martha Keim

Irish Investigations

Banner in ... Translation: Migrants work all over the world and are human beings, not illegals under the xenophobic politics of Donald Trump. Photo by Theresa Barry. Banner in Oaxaca City, Mexico, Jan. 20. Rough translation: Migrants are workers everywhere. No human being is illegal in the world. Stop the xenophobic policies of Donald Trump. Photo by Theresa Barry.

“She was told that if she failed to pay again, they would first rape her once more and then kill her son.”

My brother recently returned from a 10-day volunteer stint representing women and children who have crossed the border from Mexico to seek asylum in the United States. They are being held at a detention center in Dilley, Texas, euphemistically called a “family residential center.”

My brother is an attorney and represents these families in “credible fear” interviews that ultimately lead to a judge’s ruling that decides their fate.

There’s more to the legal process than that, but I need to share the stories of three women my brother met this month. These women, and potentially their children, are at…

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Interview with Charlie O’Shields – Creator of Doodlewash and founder of World Watercolor Month and World Watercolor Group

/ Martha Keim

Follow them for fun and learning

my creative resolution

day-10-my-favorite-art-supplies
I am so excited to turn the tables and interview Charlie O’Shields! Charlie has been featuring other watercolor artists from around the globe since he started painting and blogging. Charlie has built an amazing and supportive community of artists who love watercolor.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAworld-watercolor-group-page-header-for-emailCharlie O’Shields is the Creator of Doodlewash and founder of World Watercolor Month (July) and World Watercolor Group. He currently lives in Kansas City, Missouri with his Parisian partner, Philippe, and a temperamental basenji named Phineas.

What made you start drawing and painting AND posting?

Well, my partner, Philippe, decided to try watercolor and it looked fun so I started doing it with him and I was immediately hooked. I began by Urban Sketching, which was super fun, but ended up just learning many fast sketching techniques, as I didn’t often want to sketch only what was in front of me. I also use a mixture of reference photos and bits of…

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Red hot tulip watercolor

/ Martha Keim / 1 Comment

I shared this one on Facebook the other day and got lots of positive responses, so I’m doing it again. We need more positives now. The world is a mess, all colors, sizes and political practices. We are so polarized in this country that I am sad.

So I stop political rants, yes, again and post or share only art, music and things which feed us.

Ergo, Peace on the day after. Thanks. More to come.

Today I have to rant. Then I’ll go paint

/ Martha Keim

I’m so pissed off about Donald John Trump–AKA the yapping yam–that I am going to repost this spectacularly well-writ piece by Keith Olbermann. All of the attributions are there, the way journalists were taught to use them. As a former journalist–now artist, blogger and ranter–I just cannot stand it anymore! Even an exclamation point!
Wake up, America. Trump is a danger to us all.
Now I need bourbon.
Go watch Broadcast News for the late great Albert Finley. After you watch this video by Keith Olbermann