T is for...

T is for..., watercolor on mixed media paper, December 19, 2011

I like ties. I wouldn't want to wear them myself, but I like it when guys do. Sorry, guys! We've been a devoted Toyota family for many years. I love my Avalon and am not looking forward to the day when it will need to be replaced. My husband is administrator for Tel Hai Camp & Retreat. "Tel Hai" is Hebrew for "hill of life." When we moved to Pennsylvania, we bought a house with a large yard that had several beds planted with perennial flowers. After 12 years in dry New Mexico, it seemed like magic to have flowers come up without any special attention from us. For the first time in my life, I started to get a feel for flower sequence: crocus, daffodil, tulip. After those spring flowers came and went, our yard was a blur of non-stop blooming color...and work! I called myself "the accidental gardener," since I had to tend a garden I didn't plant. I've always liked the color teal. It reminds me of the ocean. The Target Dog demonstrates what I believe about design and marketing: just because you CAN do something doesn't mean you should. I'm no great animal lover, but can we all agree that it's inappropriate to draw a red target around a dog's eye? It just makes me crawl. I had one small bottle of Tabasco for years, and then my son grew up to love hot, spicy snacks. He considers it an essential condiment, and he goes through a couple large bottles every year. I grew up near train tracks, and we kids crossed them often to play in the woods on the other side. This drawing reminds me of the rule of perspective: draw what you really see; not what you think you see. T is for tie, Toyota, Tel Hai, tulip, teal, Target, Tabasco, and train tracks.