Bubbles

Yesterday my husband and I went to the store to buy a new notebook, but unfortunately it was sold out. I'm still a dinosaur, using Windows XP, although I can upgrade my computer to Vista (came with the package) I still have my reserves, I know my way in XP now and the stories about Vista are not always positive. In the store I saw a screensaver I liked instantly! Bubbles, little transparant bouncing bubbles in gorgious colors! And you can still see which programs are running. See screenshot above. And after googling (I love to google!) I found a link where you can download Vista screensavers for XP. And it´s for free. links: Softpedia Mandala Wallpapers

3 Cards

Tonight I made 3 mandala cards "Marika" "Francien" "Anne-Mieke"

Saint Agnes kaleidoscope

Mexican Mandala

This mandala I painted for Barbara. I met Barbara on a trip to Mexico City a few years ago. She adviced me to go to the Casa Azul, but I had to see the movie first, according to her. It was hard not to go, but I listened. At home I bought the movie, kept it in a drawer until I was scheduled for Mexico City again. Just before I went I watched the movie. I was very impressed! In Mexico City I went to the Casa Azul, alone, and again I was very impressed. It was an exceptional experience. Holding the same handrail on the stairs as she must have done once.... The works of art.........The intens blue color.........The cats in the garden.............Everything. At home I watched the movie again with my husband and this time I was "sold" for the rest of my life. Barbara asked me to paint her a mandala and what else could I paint than a Mexican/Frida inspired mandala? I used 2 leaves from 2 different paintings. The flowers are mexican sunflowers. I wanted to paint a swallow, but for Barbara I could not choose the dead swallow, instead I picked a hummingbird (I always follow my intuition). I painted this mandala with so much joy and inspiration. I returned to the casa azul twice afterwards and I guess I will go there again one day. I love Mexico, I love Frida. Here the 2 paintings and the 2 leaves.

Pink

To answer some questions: The mandalas in the previous post are made in PSP, with the kaleidoscope effect. Just like a child it´s fun to play with....... The yellow mandala I made in Paint Shop Pro using tubes and pictures of daffodils. As I said, it's from a few years ago, but I found something similar today and made this pink mandala to try it out. Here are the links; Earthmandalas Mandala Kaleidoscope Logo (for people who don't have PSP) Making a Mandala in PSP MystiCollection

Digital Mandala

Inspired by my yellow mandala I played with Paint Shop Pro this morning and these colorful mandalas are the result. From the first and the second one I created the third. I wanted something colorful so I used 2 pictures of Frida Kahlo

Yellow

Hope and Happiness: Yellowis sunshine. It is a warm color that, like red, has conflicting symbolism. On the one hand it denotes happiness and joy but on the other hand yellow is the color of cowardice and deceit. Nature of Yellow: Yellow is one of the warm colors. Because of the high visibility of bright yellow, it is often used for hazard signs and some emergency vehicles. Yellow is cheerful. Culture of Yellow: For years yellow ribbons were worn as a sign of hope as women waited from their men to come marching home from war. Today, they are still used to welcome home loved ones. Its use for hazard signs creates an association between yellow and danger, although not quite as dangerous as red. Yellow symbolizes wisdom. Yellow means joy and happiness. People of high intellect favor yellow. Yellow daffodils are a symbol of unrequited love. Sunday's color is yellow-gold. When yellow is your favorite color, you are filled with a zest for life. You love to go out and have fun, whether it's taking part in sports, or dancing the night away. You are an optimist and have many friends. You have a playful spirit.Yellow is associated with the number Yellow is the color of the Solar Plexus Chakra, also known as Manipura. This chakra is located in the stomach area. It is linked to the stomach, liver, skin, large intestine, muscular system, and solar plexus area. The Solar Plexus Chakra is representative of vitality and will. When this chakra is open, it acts to empower a person and help them find their personal strength. It will help turn dreams and goals into reality. Gemstones that will aid the Solar Plexus Chakra include amber and citrine. The yellowmandala I made a few years ago, digitally in Paint Shop Pro, but I can't recall exactly how........ More yellow? All about the color yellow

Soul Portraits

Isn't this beautiful? It´s a Soul Portrait by Karen Goldsmith. Karen was trained as an illustrator and commercial artist at the Art Institute of Boston where she was awarded a scholarship in art. She worked as an art Director in New York City for ten years. Her work took a new direction as she started to explore her own spirituality. Art became one of the tools where she could express, release emotion, transform blockages, seek answers, and explore new realities. Besides her Soul Portraits, which I find awesome, she creates Gods & Goddesses and Angel an Faerie Art. On the right an example; "Magical Moments": Opening to magic, mystery and delight, knowing that miracles are possible in every moment. I would love to go on and on and show you more, but you have to visit Karen's Site and see for yourself. Hope you will enjoy it just as much as I did!

Chameleon

Here is a detail of the chameleon from the previous post. Chameleons are widely regarded with unreasoning fear, especially in West Africa, where various beliefs associate the reptile with the Sun. In Dahomey, the chameleons are said to fetch fire from the Sun. In early Christianity, the chameleon was used to symbolize Satan who, like the chameleon, could change his appearance to deceive mankind. Other deep-rooted belief that persist are that chameleons are "nourished by the air," and hence do not eat. They do have huge lung sacks that, when fully expanded, become almost transparent. Nevertheless, chameleons do eat food. The eyes of the chameleon are unique. The lids are fused over each eye ball, leaving only a small aperture, and each eye can see and move independently. Seen close-up, this random movement can be quite un-nerving. A belief arose as far back as the time of Pliny (1st Century AD) that a chameleon talisman restored sight to the blind. Best known for its ability to change its skin color to blend with its background, the chameleon has been referred in Sufi (Pantheistic Muslim mysticism) parables relating to an inconsistent person. "So as the chameleon changes his skin, an unwise one changes the color of his being..." The thought is still believed among modern men. Due to its ability to be unseen an unnoticed, there is a sense of clairvoyance, remote viewing and auric sensitivity. Being nearly invisible allows one to quietly watch, listen and learn..... My example of the chameleon lives in the Zoo of Washington DC, where I took this picture when I was there with my son Lars in 2006. So you know where to go if you want to meet this little guy in person. Cool chameleon links: Reptiles Throughout Mythology Chameleon in your Dreams? Chameleon Trade House Chameleons at Wikipedia

Exchange

This mandala I made for Saskia. Last year she suggested an art-exchange; I would make a mandala for her and in exchange I could pick something out of her collection. Such a nice idea since I'm a big fan of her work! When I went to her shop, the first thing I noticed was one of these cats! and I got this feeling of awe....... But of course I also took a look at all her other works. It's like looking around in a candy store. What to choose!!!??? You have to take a look at her site to admire her work. In the past I have bought a few of her works of art; with cats, with images from the town where I live; Zierikzee with sailing boats etc etc. Her work is very divers. In the end I returned to the cat I first saw and Saskia told me she had this one in mind for me. It had been waiting there for me.......... So it was to be the cat! The nice surprise was that it was part of a couple, so I got both. They are now above my desk and I enjoy them every day! cats by Saskia Eggink

Cat Mandala

Here is one of my favorite mandalas. Since cats are my nr 1 source of inspiration it was difficult to give this baby to it´s new owner: Leonie..................... I painted these cats without turning my canvas, one turned out a male, , the one I painted upside down a female. No idea why but I was very pleased by this turn (or not to turn :-) ) I also made a coloring page of it so go ahead and have fun!

Eleonore Weil

Want to travel without taking a plane, train or bus? Visit the website of my dear friend Eleonore Weil. Just looking at her art takes you into a different world. It feels like a warm colors bath as well. Eleonore makes paintings, etchings, mandalas and digital work. If you're fond of symbols, alchemy, animals and colors you have to give yourself this treat. I always find it hard to explain why something is beautiful, especially in words because I´m not a word person, but Eleonore's work touches you and leaves you enchanted. Go and see for yourself! And enjoy this YouTube video below.

Numbers

What will 2008 bring us? I started the year with a torn calf muscle. Because of this I have spent a lot of time behind the computer. I have updated my linkpage which took me a whole day. While updating I visited several very interesting sites which I want to share with you. The good thing about a linkpage is that whenever something happens with your computer you still have all your favorites. Make one! If you want to know what 2008 will bring you you must visit Marlies' Creative Universe You can calculate your personal year number there. For me this is the result: The Three Personal Year - Express Yourself After the two year of integration and inward focus you are now ready to practice what you have learned. You will feel a strong urge to get out of a rut and want to have fun. Your social life will increase substantially this year. You can't wait to express yourself and your creative juices are flowing full force. You are ready to include others in your life and want to expand your focus. Your increased activity brings you also recognition and with it the danger of spreading yourself too thin and will put pressure on your pocket book. Spend your money wisely. Your outlook in general will be very optimistic and you might come up with all kinds of "crazy" ideas and feel restless. Because of your urge to go madly off in all directions, you will find it harder to get things done. So focus on the things that attract you the most. When unsure as to where you're going and having to make important decisions it is best to take a wait and see attitude. When you're absolutely convinced it is the right decision go for it. In the meantime take full advantage of this very creative time in your life. Communication and creativity on all levels is highlighted this year for you. Taking the analogy of a farmer planting a field, the first shoots are showing. What's your number? The cute graphic with the numbers is from Clare Beaton. She is a children's book writer, illustrator and makes wonderful things with fabric. And always looking out for mandalas I found the work of Shirley Gibson Please read her post the secret and enjoy her mandalas at Mandalamadness I like that name! Talking about mandalas, while blog hopping and surfing I found Eve Naia, who makes breathtaking mandalas. These are just a few highlights. Enjoy the sites!

Website Graphic

What's this? A graphic of my site. If you click on Websites as Graphs you can fill out your URL and the programm will make an unique graph of your site. At Flickr.com you can see other examples. What do the colors mean? bleu: for links (A tag) red: for tables (TABLE, TR en TD tags) green: for the DIV tag violet: for images (IMG tag) yellow: for forms (FORM, INPUT, TEXTAREA, SELECT en OPTION tags) orange: for linebreaks and blockquotes (BR, P, en BLOCKQUOTE tags) black: the HTML tag, the root node gray: all other tags

YouTube

My first YouTube video!
If you want to put it on your site or blog visit the YouTube site, where you can copy the code. Enjoy!