The Merry Month of May

Posted on May 24, 2012 by

Butterflies, copyright Paula Kuitenbrouwer

Does it feel like May in your garden? Here it certainly does. The baby birds have left their birdhouse. Butterflies and bees are everywhere. Flowers bloom and finally we have lunch and dinner outside.

The month May was named for the Greek goddess Maia, who was identified with the Roman era goddess of fertility, Bona Dea, whose festival was held in May. Conversely, the Roman poet Ovid provides a second etymology, in which he says that the month of May is named for the maiores, Latin for “elders,” and that the following month (June) is named for the iuniores, or “young people”.

Here is Sandro Botticelli’s Primavera

Primavera (Allegory of Spring) painting of 1482 by Sandro Botticelli.

The goddess Maia is right of the centre, here in detail:

How beautiful Maia is. She is May and Spring not only because of all her flowers, also because of her somewhat lazy and warm countenance. The sun seems to shine on her face and neck, she shows how spring feels.

For an extensive art class on this painting, follow this link to Private Life of a Masterpiece by the BBC.

Paula

My Butterfly Card at Etsy and DaWanda

My Butterfly Tote Bag at DaWanda and Etsy

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Tawny Owl Poem

Posted on May 23, 2012 by

THERE WAS A BOY

by William Wordsworth

There was a Boy; ye knew him well, ye cliffs
And islands of Winander! many a time,
At evening, when the earliest stars began
To move along the edges of the hills,
Rising or setting, would he stand alone,
Beneath the trees, or by the glimmering lake;
And there, with fingers interwoven, both hands
Pressed closely palm to palm and to his mouth
Uplifted, he, as through an instrument,
Blew mimic hootings to the silent owls
That they might answer him.—And they would shout
Across the watery vale, and shout again,
Responsive to his call,—with quivering peals,
And long halloos, and screams, and echoes loud
Redoubled and redoubled; concourse wild
Of jocund din!
.
.

Do you call owls like the boy in the poem?

Do you Mooo to cows and Blehhhh to sheep?

Do you Tok-Tok to hens?

Don’t tell me you Twitter only but not to birds, because that doesn’t count.

 Paula

.

Wordsworth whole poem.

My Shop (Dollars)

My Shop (Euro’s)

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Birds, Birds and Birds

Posted on May 21, 2012 by

Tawny Owl, peeking from behind the fixative….Don’t underestimate his sight! Tawny Owl’s have eyesight 10 to 100 times better than humans in low-light conditions.

We have been travelling and busy as birds. Last week felt like a roller-coaster. Today another busy week starts. Between all the events, we observed lots of bird life at home and away from home.

While my husband and I were talking in our garden, a naughty Eurasian Jay chased a young Nuthatch. It grabbed it by the wing and was about to fly off with it when my husband and I arrested its escape to save the young one. The young bird was unharmed and I let my daughter hold it till it looked okay again. When we released it, it flew quickly to a dense bush.

My daughter holding the saved young Nuthatch, May 2012

The Great Tit babies in our birdhouse left and we hope all 6 of them will be okay. The Blue Tit chicks are still in their bird house. I couldn’t resist making a photo. The parents are used to us taking a look at the young ones on our balcony. However, if we stay too long you can’t escape hearing some very angry chattering. It definitely sounds like: ‘Get out there now…lazy bones. I’m here with a caterpillar and my babies are hungry’.

We have counted 6 minimum. By now it is a bit of a merry mayhem in that tiny, noisy bird house. They seem to layer to hide from cold and big wingless creatures that like to take a peek.

I had little time for drawing but when I did found an hour, I enjoyed it so much. It energized me and made me happy. My Stric Aluco, the red morph Tawny Owl is ready now. I hope at the end of this week to add more leaves and finish it.

Wishing you all a delightful and merry May week.

Paula

My Shop (with dollar prices)

My Shop (with euro’s)

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Butterfly Tote Bag

Posted on May 10, 2012 by

&

Take it with you. Just fold it and put it in your pocket. No more plastic, remember?

This bag holds books from your library, groceries from your supermarket, pet food from your local pet shop. It is 100% cotton and has long web handles. I’ve washed it many times on 30 degree with soap and the print doesn’t fade.

My Butterfly Tote Bag

at

My Etsy Shop ($)

My DaWanda Shop (Euro)

Paula

Posted in Bags, Birthday gifts, Butterflies, Custom Made Mindful Drawing Products, Design, Mindful Drawing Products, Tote Bag | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Martinus Antonius Kuytenbrouwer (1821-1897)

Posted on May 9, 2012 by

‘Deer in Forest’ water paint by M. A. Kuytenbrouwer circa 1845 and his ‘Falconry near Fontainebleau‘

Click to enlarge the paintings


Lets walk with M.A. Kuytenbrouwer through the forest. It is like magic, this quiet walk. We spot deer resting in a small clearing in the woods. Suddenly they spot us. For a moment they and we are mesmerized, then they run away. While we feel sorry for interrupting their peace, all we see is their short, white tail disappearing in the thicket.

We keep on walking and at a wild quarry we see nobles with their trained falcons. The persons are busy training their birds of prey to catch rabbits. We sit down at the lake for a rest and we look at how the falcons fly. One sits down on the high bare branches of the big oak tree. It takes the noblemen a long time before it flies down for a piece of meat.

Both water paintings of Martinus Antonius Kuytenbrouwer show big trees right in the centre of the paintings. That is daring but Kuytenbrouwer knows how to suggest large spaces in which the falcons fly and the deer rest even with large trees in the centre of his paintings. There are young branches on the old trees that show new life, while some dead branches show us time and lives are passing.

Look at the clouds drifting in the place where the falconry takes place. Will it rain soon? The deer are resting and probably even a bit basking in some late evening light. Both water paints are full details and have beautiful colour palettes. The skilful painting of different textures of stone, fur, wood, leaves, water and soil make the scene’s come to life.

Paula Kuitenbrouwer

My Etsy Shop ($)

My DaWanda Shop (E)

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Martinus Antonius Kuytenbrouwer (1821-1897)

Posted on May 8, 2012 by

Martinus Antonius Kuytenbrouwer, Sheep in Meadow

M. A. Kuytenbrouwer (1821-1897) An afternoon promenade in the woods

M. A. Kuytenbrouwer, 1821-1897, Falconry near Fontainebleau

M. A. Kuytenbrouwer, Cliff in the Ardennes

Sometimes I come across paintings by Martinus Antonius Kuytenbrouwer on the internet.

I wish I could buy them all and start a small collection of Kuytenbrouwers.

Paula Kuitenbrouwer

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Fine Art Cards on our creasing machine, ‘Rillmaschine’ or ‘vouw-machine’

Posted on May 3, 2012 by

My cards on our creasing machine.

A creasing machine is designed for the final processing of graphic materials such as my Fine Art cards.  This machine allows easy folding and makes my cards look chic.

In Germany a machine like this is called a Rillmaschine.

In the Netherlands it is named a ril machine or vouw machine.

Paula

My European Shop

My USA Shop

Posted in Custom Made Mindful Drawing Products, Menu Cards, Note Cards, Production of Fine Art cards, Thank-You Cards | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments