December 28th is my birthday.  I am not 60.

If you are a regular reader you may remember that line from last year’s birthday when I wasn’t 60 either:  http://carolking.wordpress.com/2008/12/28/december-28th/

Last year I was in painting class working on a landscape from Istria.  This year I was visiting my two adorable little nephews Dean and Dillon (5 and 2 1/2 respectively). They are little germ incubators.   They coughed, wheezed, sneezed and almost barfed on me.

I love them.

The husband and I went to visit and give them their Christmas gifts. I’m sure we left with a cold, the regular flu, the swine flu, bronchitis, typhoid and possibly the Clap.  (OK, I’m sure if we got the Clap, it wasn’t from the nephews).  What is up with kids and germs?  They just spread them back and forth, from kid to kid.  As soon as they are old enough to go to school they are sick from September to June.   This is why I stay away from kids.  (Mr. Donald Mills has the right idea about anyone under the age of 21.) My niece Lizzy is a school teacher and she takes Airborne & EmergenC every day so she doesn’t get sick from her little germ-filled charges.  Licking a subway pole would probably spread less infection then spending a day with a 3-year-old.

OK, enough about germy kids, lets talk about me.

As I said, today is my birthday.  Feel free to send me a gift.   If  you will be mailing it,  may I suggest that anything valued over $100 should be insured.   My favorite color is jewelry.

The above painting is of a Japanese Maple path in front of my sister’s house.   They had some sort of Cootie lichen  stuff on them.  The trees line a lovely pebbled path going across my sister’s front lawn.  It is very Zen-like. This image is from the summer, and there was a blindingly bright shot of sunlight at the end of the path.  I saved the white of the paper for that.  When I was done with the painting, I went back with a bit of white gouache and hit some of the tree bark and some of the dappled light on the path, but still managed to keep that one section just the white of the paper.  I also used a wax resist for some of the dappled light on the path and the for the light between the leaves.

I wasn’t sure about the texture of the pebbled path.  I did NOT want to draw in all the pebbles, so I splattered and splashed and I think that worked in terms of texture.

To those of you who celebrate Christmas, Merry Christmas!

For those of you who don’t, Happy Festivus (for the rest of us).  If that doesn’t work for you then Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or Winter Solstice (at least the days are starting to get longer).

I mailed out the above image on a Christmas card to family and friends.  Only to discover that I had sent the card TWICE to some friends (Kung) and not at all to others (Mary and Elise).  It’s probably because I did not make a list & check it twice.

I am not a list maker.  My husband makes lists all the time.  Then leaves them all over the house and forgets about them.  I try to keep all the information I need in my head, only to discover that, with all the other junk rolling around in there, oft times I forget what I’m supposed to remember.  (Or worse, I remember what I’m trying to forget.)

My sister used to be a very organized list maker.  To the point that one time she wrote a very long  list and then went shopping with it.  She got stuck at a store because she accomplished something on her list but didn’t want to cross it off said list because she DID NOT HAVE THE SAME PEN SHE WROTE THE LIST WITH.   Thank God she got over that stage of anal retentiveness.

I suppose lists are good.  Especially when sending out Christmas Cards.  I hope Santa has me on his list!  (Even if I have only been moderately good this year.)

So, to all my friends, family and blog readers.  If you got a card from me, yay.  If you didn’t, I meant to send you one.  If you got two, make sure you save it since I probably won’t send cards again for another 5 years.

Thank you for reading my blog and for all your comments on my paintings and my rants.  A special thank you to Leslie for photo-shopping this image of Madonna and Child…with dog.

Happy Holidays to all and Here’s to a Happy and Healthy 2010.

And we weren’t kicked out!

This past Sunday Matt and I were off to The Plaza “to celebrate Julianna Margulies, actress, Marc Platt  producer of  the Broadway musical Wicked and the new movie NINE) and 25 years of New York Stage and Film at the Winter Gala at The Plaza Hotel on Sunday, December 13.”

My sister Alice is on the board of directors of New York Stage and Film. (Alice is the overachiever in the family!)   She asked if I would donate an original watercolor for the charity auction, to which I replied “of course!”   I surreptitiously took this photo during the cocktail hour with my phone camera. Not the best photo, but I was too fascinated with the amount of make-up the women had on, the height of the heels (really, how do they walk on those things?), and mostly, the amount of “work” some people had done.

(If you want to see a better picture of the Snowy Trees please go here:  http://carolking.wordpress.com/2008/09/14/snowy-trees/)

At the end of the evening while we were picking up our swag (who doesn’t love swag?)  my sister saw the gentleman who bid and won my painting. She told me he looked THRILLED to have won it.   That was thrilling for me to hear!

Now, about the event…stars, schmars.  I’ve seen my fair share and must say I am probably a jaded New Yorker.  I couldn’t care less about seeing “Stars” except for the above mentioned fixation on how much make-up they have on or how much “work” they have had.   I would have been more excited to meet  Stephen Colbert (I LOVE HIM!), but I would be remiss in my reporting duties if I didn’t tell you who was there.  So here’s a list of some of the celebs at the Gala.

No, not me.  At least not yet.  I’m still here.

But I’m passing on the RA award since I’ve had it long enough and have gotten a tan basking in its glow.

Here you go.  The RA award is being delivered by dog to:

June Malone

and

Stephen Quirke

June,  because her blog, which as she describes, allows her to draw and paint out loud and motivates her to improve her skills as an illustrator.  And because she posts great paintings and humorous comments even though she struggles with ME/CFS.

Stephen, because he also does great paintings and has worked hard to finally achieve his very own exhibit.   He has shown me what one can achieve by working hard and having the dedication to go after one’s dream.

Way to go guys.  You have inspired me more than you can ever know.

Now here’s how it works:  The recipient passes this award on to another blogger in seven days and pledges to follow the new recipient’s blog.

(And a special thanks to Leslie, who photoshopped the above award photo for me.)

]]> http://carolking.wordpress.com/2009/12/12/passing-on/feed/ 8 CarolKing Kaiya Ra Award http://carolking.wordpress.com/2009/12/07/shopping-weather-and-social-commentary/ http://carolking.wordpress.com/2009/12/07/shopping-weather-and-social-commentary/#comments Mon, 07 Dec 2009 04:59:57 +0000 carolking http://carolking.wordpress.com/?p=1421 ]]>

I woke up to this today:

I would have rather woken up to this:

This was the view from my room in St. Croix looking out onto the beach.   I love how there are always bent trees in the Caribbean.  I miss the warm weather and the beach.    Especially when today’s wardrobe included a fleece pullover, coat, scarf, gloves and hat.  Brrrrr!

Jim recently changed my tag on his blogroll.  It used to just say Carol King.  Now it says Carol King- artist, humorist, complainer.

Complainer indeed.  I prefer to think of it as social commentary.

But “complainer” works.

This is what I am going to comment (complain) about today.  The price of kids T-shirts in these small stores in Park Slope.  I wanted a size 4T shirt for a friend’s kid.  I thought I might get a nice little “Brooklyn” t-shirt.    I found one.  It was $24.00.  SERIOUSLY.  For a t-shirt that the kid will grow out of in a few months????  And end up in a stoop sale selling for 50 cents or a dollar.  A size 4T shirt is about 6″ across.  I’ve seen men’s handkerchiefs bigger than that.

I indignantly marched myself a few more blocks down the avenue to the next kid’s store only to discover that in this store the price of a kid’s t-shirt was $32.00 AND the collar was frayed.   On purpose.  WHAT?  I’m now ready to buy a white t-shirt and write on it with a Sharpie.  Are these people insane?  Who are their customers?  The stars that NAME their kids Brooklyn and Bronx?   Cause it can’t be the people LIVING in Brooklyn and The Bronx.

Only in NYC can people making $180,000 a year be considered middle income.  http://envisioningdevelopment.net/map.

Charlie’s wife Liz told me she wanted to have a nice old fashioned Christmas and have everyone give a home-made gift.  Liz channels Martha Stewart and can make any dinner party elegant and wonderful.   Her friend to whom she made this suggestion countered with “how about an ‘As Seen On TV’ Christmas?”  Liz was outraged.  Charlie and I didn’t think it was a bad idea.   This did not go over well with Liz.

Ah, the holiday season is upon us and everyone is in a good mood.

Ho Ho Ho

Well look what I got.

And boy was I surprised.    Especially since it was “hand delivered” by Leslie.

Check this out:  This painting was done by Leslie.  And she gave me the award “for my wit, wisdom and continued journey in art.”    She is too kind.

The recipient passes this award on to another blogger in seven days and pledges to follow the new recipient’s blog.

So, be on the lookout.  In a few days I will pass this award on to another fellow blogger.

And thanks again Leslie!  This was a wonderful surprise.

Another Thanksgiving has arrived and I  know that I am very lucky and have a lot to be thankful for.  Among those things are you!

OK,  enough sappiness.   Here’s a quick sketch I did while waiting for breakfast  on a cloudy morning in St. Croix.   This was not in the Flamboyant Lounge, but the service was just as slow.   Matt was off for a dive and my other vacation friends were heading home.   After I ate, the sun came out and it was blazing hot.  I went to the beach, sat down with my book, iPod, and sketch pad to enjoy some sun, quiet and ocean waves.  And then it happened.

Like a wall of locusts.

A Disney cruise had just come to Carambola for a day excursion at the beach.  As they ran down the beach towards the west end where I had just settled in, I heard someone screaming GET A CHAIR, GET A CHAIR.  I turned, looked and was horrified at the vision in front of me.   Hundreds of people with screaming kids.  I took one look and I ran.  Right back to my air-conditioned room and cable TV.  I enjoyed a nice morning watching TV and knitting in cool, quiet and solitude.  I was very thankful for that!

I’m posting today even though I really have nothing to say.

Not that that’s ever stopped me before.   I remember one time in high school at “Our Lady of the Cigarette Smoking, Plaid Uniform Wearing, Know-it-all Teenagers” we we given a science project to do.  I paired up with Mary Ellen.  She did the whole project.   The day of the Science Fair, lucky me, Sister Mary Don’t Wear Patent Leather Shoes ‘Cause Boys Will Be Able To Look Up Your Skirt In The Reflection came over to review our project just when Mary Ellen had stepped away.  I started yapping until FINALLY Mary Ellen came back.  She  looked at me and said  “empty barrels make the most noise.”   I never forgot that.  Which is surprising since this occurred in the 70’s and I don’t remember much from the 70’s.   So that’s today’s post.  An empty barrel.

I now TRY to keep my mouth shut and listen.   I sometimes think that we are only given a certain amount of words in a lifetime.  So I try to use them carefully.  Most times I fail.

You know what happened to me, but for those of you who can’t stand the suspense, I’m pleased to report that Mary Ellen got pregnant in junior year by a transvestite, dropped out of  high school and had a son she named Cannabis.

I loved the 70’s!

The above painting was another one done on the beach in St. Croix.

And that’s all I’m gonna say.

Today, a little rant.   (I’m starting to sound like Kokot!)

During the evening dog walk Charlie and I were having our usual stream of consciousness conversation when at one point he said that his wife, Liz was really into the group The Black Eyed Peas.

Charlie: What’s up with The Black Eyed Peas.  They all have strange names.  apl.de.ap?  will.i.am?

Carol: I actually like will.i.am.  It spells William AND it’s a backwards declarative sentence.

Charlie: Only in a Dr. Seuss book!

Carol: Remember when you wondered about The Edge of U2?  You couldn’t get over the fact that his first name was a definite article.

(DON’T GET US STARTED!!!)                  And then we got started….

Interlude whilst you think of all the kids you know with crazy names.  A sister-in-law and a niece both work in schools and I love when I get the list of kids’ names.  Including, but not limited to the siblings Tropicana and Rambo, and a young lady named Princess Precious Gorgeous.

Then of course there was Nosmo King.  (No Smoking.)  No relation.

And what’s up with celebrities naming their kids Brooklyn and Bronx?   Do you think ANY ONE OF THEM has EVER been to the Bronx???

The above painting was done during one of those CRAZY Caribbean storms where the rain comes down so hard you can’t tell where the ocean ends and the sky begins.  I enjoyed this storm at the beach bar of the Flamboyant Lounge.  Yes, it is most certainly called the Flamboyant Lounge though it wasn’t as flamboyant as it was slow.  It really should have been called the “Slow Service Lounge”.   Or ” The We’re  So Slow Please Order Your Meal On Tuesday If You Want To Eat On Thursday Lounge.”

I mean there’s Island Time and then there’s Island Time.  She was our waitress at the Flamboyant Lounge.  I’m still waiting for my burger.

I’m back.

I was away.

St. Croix.  And it’s amazing how quickly that relaxed feeling goes right back to stress and anxiety.  So while I’m enjoying my last day of vacation before I go back to work tomorrow I will tell you a little bit about St. Croix.   Pay attention.  There could be a test.

St. Croix is one of the US Virgin Islands along with its popular big sister St. Thomas where the cruise ships go and it’s rich baby brother St. John where all the rich people go.  St. Croix is the middle child that tries really hard but no one pays attention to.  But that was ok.  It wasn’t crowded with tourists since the “season” hadn’t quite started yet.   We went to visit Bonnie who lives there now.  She used to live in Manhattan.  Bonnie is the creator of my motto “Owtside begins with Ow!” which I blatantly stole from her and am not giving back.  She is also the author of the someday to be bestseller “I used to have a concierge, now I have a machete.” She is very funny. There were other friends there as well and a good time was had by all.

I was able to do a few paintings during the week  in a watercolor sketchbook  (5″ x 8″) I brought along with me.  I would start a painting and then the lure of the waves called and I was back in the ocean.   So there’s not as many as I would like.   But I do have a few more to post.

When I wasn’t painting, I was determined to finish this reversible cable knit scarf.   Yes, I was mocked.  Who brings knitting to the Caribbean?

Oh.  That would be me.