For Timo

For Timo
Originally uploaded by adelie

Bastien and I worked on this together during our stay in Japan. However, I must say that he did most of the work, especially all the conceptual sketch and the details in the landscape. I only dabbed at the sky and the borders. We are happy with the way it turned out and gladly share it with you.

August 2009

Japanese doll

Japanese doll
Originally uploaded by adelie

Konichiwa, minnasan!

Here's a bit of dabbing to commemorate my summer in Japan. It turns out that with all the traveling and Japanese studying I've been doing, I haven't had much chance for more.

We saw this doll in a glass display case of a hotel lobby while waiting for our bus in Sakunami mountain village where we enjoyed some great Japanese outdoor onsen. There was the picturesque setting of a quiet brook spotted with playful fishes, flowing next to the bath which was well kept hidden by a crowd of tall pine trees. The doll was about the size of Barbie, carrying a blue cocktail umbrella, and dressed in a lovely silk kimono.

We don't have access to a proper scanner here, so I don't think the color is true to the painting 100%, but you get the idea.

Joanna

lavender & cherry

lavender & cherry
Originally uploaded by adelie

The spring is finally here in the south of France! We have cherry, peach, and apricot blossoms everywhere now. It's a bit early for the lavender, but soon they say. I celebrated the arrival of spring with a few dabs of painting.

Joanna

Recyclebin Art

recyclebin Originally uploaded by adelie

Hi Everyone!

My name is Joanna and this is my first post, after a long period of observation and procrastination. I love what you all have been posting, and I hope you will find this one interesting.

We bought these IKEA plastic bins to organize our obsessive recycling lifestyle here in Switzerland. Since all three were exactly the same and plain, we needed a way to distinguish one from the other, so I decided to give each bin a characteristic look. I could have just painted 'PAPER', 'BOTTLES & CANS', and 'PLASTIC BAGS', but in case we use the bins for other purposes in the future, I wanted to keep the theme generic. Hence the three different paintings.

Cherry blossoms

I painted the sky background and the branch, then glued on the flowers which are actually the Japanese textile cutouts. We use this one for storing all our plastic bags.

Poppies

This was a spontaneous inspiration from a trip to Provence. This one is for all types of paper.

Cats

This one is special because the painting shows all six cats that we had at one point in our house attic. One cold winter, the mother cat took a refuge in our attic, and soon after we discovered that she gave birth to five kittens! Now the mother and the three others (Pumpkin, Mustard, Dusty) have either passed away or gone missing in action. We currently have two friendly cats (Green eyes and Halloween), and an extra stray cat whom we call Totoro. This bin is used for all the bottles, cans, and aluminums.