The Winds of Fate

One ship drives east and another drives west
With the selfsame winds that blow.

‘Tis the set of the sails
And not the gales
Which tells us the way to go.

Like the winds of the sea are the ways of fate,
As we voyage along through life:

‘Tis the set of the soul
That decides its goal,
And not the calm or the strife.

- Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Artwork by Ira Barkoff.  Image source.

I’ve always loved this poem. I came across it at a time when I really needed to read it to myself. So I wrote it down somewhere and now I found it again. I thought I would share it here.

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I always thought Google Maps was pretty cool.  And now it’s even cooler when I heard about what artist Bill Guffey was able to do with them.

Some of Bill Guffey’s artwork is inspired by by screengrab of Google Maps street view.  He is a self-taught artist from Kentucky.  He has done some traveling, but have now found Google street view to be less expensive way to be inspired. And with only the click of a mouse he could be just about anywhere in the world.

Some of my favorite paintings by Bill are shown here.

This painting was done with a screen grab from Google Streetview Italy.  I’ve always loved looking at photos of Italian balconies, especially ones filled with blooming geraniums.

“Currently, Guffey’s portfolio includes 100 images inspired by Google Maps street view. In April, he finished painting images from each of the 50 states, subbing in Washington DC for Hawaii, which is not yet available on Google Maps. Last week, Guffey painted a few scenes from Eastport, Maine. This week, his blog displays paintings of Angwin Vineyards in Angwin, Calif., and the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, Colo.” - CS Monitor.

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Dave Leiker is the owner of Kansas Photos.  He has a nice collection of photos from landscapes to critters.  I have to admit I never thought about Kansas very much.  But after looking over the photos of Dave’s collection, I’ve come to see that this place is full of beauty and charm.

Here are some of my favorite from Kansas Photos.  The overgrown meadow with the abandoned shed seems sad, but is full of history.   And the endless field of crop sunflowers is always a welcoming sight.  To order prints, please contact Dave Lieker here.

I also like the description too.  A little humor goes a long way, especially of “Grandpa Grasshopper”. For more detail images, please visit Kansas Photos.

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I found some cute vintage cards at the local charity shop. They were sold for 25 cents each.

When I was younger I used to enjoy drawing flowers and animals. And these days, reading children’s book just for the illustrations is a good way to relax.  Just brings you back to being a kid again.

I like how this cartoon is very colorful and somewhat simple too. You really don’t see cartoons like this anymore. Everything looks much more modern now.

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I’ve seen buildings covered in ivy’s before, but never have I seen anything like what Patrick Blanc did with these buildings. Patrick Blanc is a French artist that does vertical garden art.

The neat thing is that the plants don’t need soil to grow. Just give it sunlight, minerals and water. Patrick has also devised an automated system to water the plants from top to bottom. He said it’s very much like how it’s done in nature. Just like when the water runs down the rocks and cliffs. Maintenance is also very easy, you just have to check on it a couple of times a year.

The natural benefits of the Vertical Garden include improved air quality, lower energy consumption, providing a natural shield between weather and inhabitants.

Patrick Blanc considers himself more than just an artist. Blanc is also a botanist and the Vertical Garden is derived from the many observations he’s made in natural places. Mostly in tropical areas for more than 30 years now.

His artwork is considered to be a living painting. In French, he refers to it as “le mur vegetal” meaning vegetal wall. His latest spring 2009 project is in Paris at the Rue d’Alsace.

Image source:
PingMag - You can also read the whole interview with Patrick Blanc here.

I found these at the local thrift shop for only 50 cents.  The marigolds seed were collected in 1992.  These are 17 year old seeds!  I had to get them since I love the artwork. Such cute little girls with their cats, hanging out in the garden.

I heard that old seeds may not grow, but I want to give these a try anyway.  I am trying to start the seedlings in biodegradable egg cartoons.  If they start out, then I can transfer them into separate pots.

Marigold seeds are “French Dwarf Double Mixed Colors” and “Red Spanish Brocade”.

Update: The seeds did not grow.  We had strong winds recently and they just blew my egg cartoons all over the yard.  Not a good idea!

Updated 7/23/09:

Children In A Field, 1911 by Evert Pieters (1856 - 1932).  Photo from Allposters.com.

One of my favorite paintings by Evert Pieters of Amsterdam, Netherlands.  Pieters is considered a marine and landscape painter from the Dutch Contemporary School.  He is a very skilled artist as well as an accomplished draftsman and engraver.  This painting of children enjoying their free time in the field of flowers brings me back to a time of simple joy.

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If I could pick a city to travel to in Europe, I would first chose to go to Portofino, Italy.  Even more so then Paris, France!  Portofino, Italy is is a small fishing village located in the province of Genoa on the Italian Riviera. It is considered to be among the most beautiful Mediterranean ports.  I think it would be a simply cheerful and relaxing place to visit.

So in the meantime, I wanted to collect some nice photos or paintings of the place.  Then I came across a painting of Portofino by John Ruth.  He did a beautiful job of capturing the colorful harbor in Portofino.  John Ruth is an artist who lives and works in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand.

You can visit his gallery here and see more of his lovely paintings.  There are more paintings of other charming European towns from Portugal to Amsterdam.

A little bit more about John Ruth:

“Most of my paintings are landscapes, but other themes have been family, figure studies, portraits, domestic interiors and fantasy. I strive to convey my sense of wonder at the world around me through my art and to bring out the magic of commonplace things and ‘the everyday.  I paint mainly in acrylic on board, using the versatility of the paint to create delicate watercolour effects and overlay with stronger pigments. I like to use repetition and rhythm of line to suggest the rhythms and oneness of life.”

Here is another photo of Portofino, Italy from Wikipedia.  Interesting steps leading up to the homes via the ocean.

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I found the cutest little children’s book ever at a garage sale for 50 cents. It’s titled Let’s Eat by Gyo Fujikawa. The illustrations made me feel very nostalgic for my childhood. And the first thing I noticed was how racially diverse the characters were, there was even a little Chinese girl feeding baby chicks.

The book was first published in 1975 by Sunny Books and reprinted in 1989. I didn’t know too much about the illustrator, so I thought I find out more. Gyo Fujikawa (1908-1998) is of Japanese descent born in Berkeley, California. She’s illustrated over 40 children’s books. Her illustrations show a happy version of childhood. Some of her illustrations of kids feeding farm animal seem so familiar, even though I’ve never lived in a farm. Her paintings of children have the same round happy face, rosy cheeks and simple dot for eyes. When asked about her drawings, Fujikawa said:

“In illustrating for children, what I relish most is trying to satisfy the constant question in the back of my mind–will this picture capture a child’s imagination? What can I do to enhance it further? Does it help to tell a story? I am far from being successful (whatever that means), but I am ever so grateful to small readers who find ’something’ in any book of mine.”

She is so humble and lived to be 90 years old! I would consider her a pioneer in the world of female children’s illustrator. I just wish I could draw half as good as her. Well, I can’t seem to find any images on the net of my book. But I did find others, Bonne Nuit, a French version of Good Night from lucychan80s flickr.

The illustration os so nice, I may want to scan it and maybe print some to frame. I also found out that the books have been out of print, but Amazon.com has many used book dealers selling the same book from $20 to $160. I guess I now have a collectible in my hands.

Solar Jewellry has this vintage Miriam Haskell necklace for sale for about $325. I love the combination of soft colors from the pearls to the jade like beads.

The pendant just makes me want to smile and whisper to the birds. What a beautiful piece of art to be worn and admired.

I am in love with jewelry from the early 1900’s. There is something in them that speaks to my heart and makes it skip a beat.

Art Nouveau era Jewelry designer Miriam Haskell is one I’ve learned about recently. Actually she was born in 1899, at the height of the Art Nouveau era. Her pieces evoked nature in their subjects and construction. Around 1924, Haskell began making jewelry commercially. Her creations included unique flowers, animals, and other organic materials.

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