Julia Howe tune w Rob Howe Christmas Art~video!

A dreamily beautiful tune by Julia Howe blended with Christmas Art Work by Rob Howe make this synthesis of Art & Sound a must for YouTube embedment here in my Secret Moon Art gallery. I couldn't resist and if you're yet to view and listen, you'll be thanking me for the shout-out. So...

...enjoy 3 minutes and 46 seconds of Joy from a brilliantly creative pair!

~:~

Disclaimer: this blog artist/author has no connection whatsoever to the artists here described, the Howes. I just think the Video Art and Song are perfect for our harrowing times - why not chillax for a few moments! You deserve it.

It helps to read a children's book. Preferrably read it to a small child (or two) but for Yourself Only is good, too.

The 7th Tree

The 7th Tree is the one unique from the rest...do you feel like a 7th tree?

How interesting! Tell me more...and click this post's title to visit my Art Shop @ Zazzle if you wish.

Spooky Fairy Night

Spooky Fairy Night, another artful offering on behalf of the upcoming winter season here in the Northern Hemisphere!

Remains of Kyle Castle barely stand - photo

Of Family Genealogy and stuff:

Oh dear! Guess this is all that remains of Kyle Castle in Great Britain and my Cowell-Kyle-Coel-Coil-Coyles-Coilus-Cole family members circa 2009 must be living elsewhere by now...let us hope.

A friend sent me this photo a while back and I don't know who snapped it. The pic may be from a website so if this is your work, you have only to let me know to receive a deserved photo cred, no problem!

Until then, I'll be sleeping in America where my ancestors migrated afar from their Old King Cole/King Coilus remembrances of long ago...such as...

King Coilus was King of the Britons in Roman times, I've read, and there were thought to be 3 of them - father, son, and grandson, at least one of which was an early astrologer. (This would apparently make me a late astrologer.)

In fact, if you know anything about Astrology charts, you're familiar with the terms Medium Coeli (Mc) and Immum Coeli (Ic) with 'coeli' meaning 'heavens' or 'sky.' Well, you'd be under the heavens and stars for certain if you slept a night in Kyle Castle!

Interestingly, the ancient city of Colchester may figure in to the legends somewhere, and although I've seen Colchester featured on PBS' Rick Steves travel program, I have yet to walk its narrow streets in search of a distant cousin or two. But I do know that if you say 'Kyle' or 'Kile' with the right accent, you get what in America sounds like 'Coil.'

And few believe its verity, yet I've read that when William the Conqueror first arrived in England one of his men struck the land (presumably with his sword) and is said to have been given the surname Strickland ('Strike land'.) Funny that, since my Dad's mother was a Strickland. William built Colchester Castle in 1076 on Roman ruins - the Temple of Claudius - to give it strength which must have worked since it's available for touching if you but go there and lay your hand upon it.

Yes, these old chieftains of Eire are sometimes known as Coel Hen - Coel the Old) which I assume to be an 'Old King Cole' reference, but who knows? It was all so many centuries ago.

Plus, it may be the case that King Coilus' daughter
Helen married - or birthed, I never remember which - Emperor Constantine and both of them went mad for Christianity as promoted by the Catholic Church. (I say that because in America my family has been firmly Protestant for as long as we can remember! Yet back across the ages and the seas to Ye Olde Country, who knows? Druids, perhaps? ;p)

Well, you may wish to merrily check out more ancient history about King Cole and Roman Britain at Wikipedia, but Bing or Google for more links and sites where some industrious folks have traced their lineages back to ancient Britain, but most are just full of misty history.

Now perhaps you've never read the Page in the sidebar column of my Word Press blog wherein I detail the harrowing evening of my entry into the space/time flux of Planet Earth. You see, a personal name asteroid Cowell arose that evening, a few minutes later I was born, then asteroid Judith arose a few minutes later.

And who synchronistically named the little squalling babe on that dark winter's night? My Dad, of course, for he obviously knew a fellow Cowell when he saw one!

~:~

Disclaimer: no ancient chieftains or merry fiddles were harmed in the typing of this post; spelling of author's family name has been slightly adjusted to echo its astrological spelling, Cowell, and 'Jude' is short for Judith. jc

Have you more Coel-Cowell-Coil-Kyle info? Contact: judecowell at gmail dot com

Red banded wrasse says, Fish Art as apparel? Yeah!

A small Red banded wrasse has floated in to say, check out my Zazzle Art Shop for botanically drawn fish designs on various products and apparel! Can fish make good mousepads? you ask. Why, yes they can and do.

Plus, here's a heads-up direct from me to you:

A new Links List has appeared in Secret Moon Art's sidebar column containing a few of my favorite Zazzle Shops - more will be added soon - so do swim over the 'net when you can and visit their wildlife offerings and wonderful nature paintings, too.

Or you may wish to check out my designs at Cafe Press, if you prefer their site.

After all, gift-giving season nears, y'know!

meander down Blue Winter's Path

Blue Winter's Path will be here soon...

Come browse my Fine Art America Portfolio of drawings before the snows set in!

~:~

Update Dec 21, 2009: my excellent friend, libramoon, has penned a few lines of lovely wintry prose to go with the above scene...I turn you over to libramoon:

Traveling eternal twilight's hidden path
ever verging on ecstatic realization
touch to cold, to wisping snow, to winter
dreams barely beneath faith-scented falling sky
echoing life, sending faint refrain from shadow
beyond the winds of winter's night.

Visit libramoon's e-zine Emerging Visions for cosmically inspired Art and amazing flash Poetry!

'2 Comets' Necktie from Zazzle.com

'2 Comets' Necktie from Zazzle.com

Shared via AddThis

Are mature artists welcome in the World of Art?

Is it more convenient for the world of Art and art auction houses if mature artists simply retire from their creative pursuits and fade fade away?

Still Prime Time? discusses the topic of artists' later works with Picasso as a prime example of what can happen when creative people dare to age and paint.

Does their work even hold up as being purchase-worthy?

Is the market for their efforts diluted by their extended availability?

Well, read the article for more details, but I say that humankind doesn't create Art as much as use it to express who we really are inside. And I didn't realize there were limitations on it because I thought we were meant to become more of who we are as our lives go on.

Actually some artists, famous and otherwise, use their involvement in the creative process - whatever medium they prefer - as a way of transcending life's difficulties such as illness, lack of resources, a dearth of love, a lonely lifestyle...you know - human problems. And if the world presents someone who wishes to purchase such artwork, who are auction houses or galleries to stop them? Should anyone's age be a factor in the transaction if the eyes are satisfied?

Okay, I'm babbling, and didn't expect to become this animated about the topic. Must be my middle-agedness speaking through a lifelong habit of drawing for which I will not apologize!

So whether you like my creations or not, I shall go on creating them, for not to transcribe the visualized images in my brain onto paper is more of a nuisance than to perpetrate whatever forms a blank sheet of paper conjures...such as this old favorite, Moonrise at the Crossroads, just in time for Oct 7, 2009's 160th anniversary of the mysterious death of Edgar Allan Poe.

Oh! and Halloween approacheth you know.



Then, if you can take a bit of Poetry with your Art, here's a fresh rhyme just published today titled, An Ode to Readers of Poe, so curl up with your wine or tea cup - or your wine in a tea cup - and think of Edgar Allan Poe, Father of the Modern Detective Novel.

A Private Art Show for SkyWriter Readers!

Here are 7 drawings with astrological flavorings by Jude Cowell - you'll see that #5 is my illustration of the Sabian Symbol for 12 Cancer: 1. Pattillo Armadillo and the Dream of Green (children's book cover) 2. Diluvian Flux 3. Chiron Returns 2027-28 4. Neptune Ascends 5. A Chinese Woman Nursing a Baby with a Message 6. Lonely Wanderer (leaves his cave to share The Light) 7. Timeless Path (city Merit Award recipient, 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games) Click an image to enlarge: So who's Pattillo Armadillo? His dummy book was under consideration in 2004 a New York publishing house, but his hero's journey North didn't quite fit their list at that time. Kudos for the illustrations though! Many thanks to you, Donna Cunningham, and your SkyWriter readers for browsing my Astrology-tinged Cosmic and Moon Art drawings! Jude Cowell 10.1.09 @7:40 pm edt All images copyrighted by artist 2009+

Primula vialii says, 'view Jude's Zazzle Art Shop'

Here's a small clump of Primula vialii swaying under the moonlight with a fairy visitor nearby...

And be sure to check out my brand new Art Shop at Zazzle when you feel an Art browse coming on.

There you'll find Dreamyfish Wall Art Posters at the moment, and you're welcome to use Zazzle's spiffy Customize It! button to morph my designs into whatever products you wish...just click on the image you'd like to work with and Voila! we're design buds!

Cosmic, Moon, and Fairy images are coming to my Zazzle Shop very soon, so do check back often with a hopeful gleam in your aesthetically sensitive eye...

Jude Cowell 9.29.09

All Art copyrighted 2009+ so please play nice.

Purple trillium, a botanical drawing

Here's a close-up of my drawing, Purple trillium and yes, I know trillium usually grow in clumps but I wanted my drawing to feature the little fellow in his own cosmically inspired portrait...fairy visitor is complimentary!

This drawing displays my usual and favorite artistic blend of real (flower) with imaginary (fairy and scenery) so if you speak astrologese, you'll know it's a Saturn/Neptune kind of thing. Right?

Timeless Path

Timeless Path, my entry in a city exhibition during the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia; recipient of a Merit Award.

This drawing sold as the exhibition opened yet through tech magic, you see here an image of it.

Effects are achieved with Prismacolor oil and Rexel Derwent watercolour pencils on black paper, and embossed with silver oil pencil by Spectracolor (aluminum, actuallly) which gives the drawing its depth, along with the spiritual quality that only black paper can bring.

If you like to draw, just try using black paper and see for yourself!

'Nine Leaves' for Twyla's Toilette

Funny, but Nine Leaves was the working title of this drawing which eventually morphed into a completed image that you may view if you like and are 17+ of age.

Not that its finished version, titled Twyla's Toilette, is racy in nature, but you just may encounter an Adult Content Warning from Blogger due to the sassier images in the Cosmic Persona Designs gallery...but it's all artsy drawings, no photography allowed (by me. Not interested, don't even ask.)

So just bravely click through if you wish to view Twyla at her dressing table with the Moon shining through the circular window...

Jude Cowell 9.8.09 1:40 am edt

(That's Coh' wull, not 'Cow' as in moo cow or Simon. Thnx for understanding.)

Masks as Art ~ Blue Masks

As a mask-as-art-theme lover myself, I find it impossible to rave enough over what I just discovered, so I simply say that you must rush yourself over to check out the progress of Jesse's Mask Project without the slightest hesitation or delay.

They're phantastic and blue!




Mask of the Cosmos, a drawing's image previously published here and elsewhere. No, it isn't The Art of Jesse but only my own, because that is what I had on hand and in file, and because masks are the theme of this post!

Were that there were more Art Masks in the world and much fewer of the psychological kind....

jc 9.5.09 8:02 pm edt Saturday, the Sabbath

Have you an 'Evening Path' to take?

Have you an Evening Path to take beside a lake for goodness' sake?
As shadows lengthen will you pine perhaps recline near fairy's vine?

A primrose fair is nestled there to ease all care beyond compare
I'll leave a sign for you to find a breadcrumb rhyme along Life's line.


Jude Cowell 2009+ 9.2.09 4:10 pm edt a fabled swan song nears...

On 'Burning Man' Art and Handspun Yarns

Here's a Sunday Art Shout-out just for you:

NYC's Agora Art Gallery's blog has a new post on 'Burning Man' Art and temporary community which may be of interest to you.


Why, Hello There, You! Come here much?

Alpaca, a portrait snapped by Maya whose Etsy Store of handspun and dyed yarns is well worth a visit, especially if you're a dedicated knitter who loves yarns with names like 'Red Delicious' and 'Asian Pear' so do drop in when you can - you'll find that Maya's photo prints and notecards are available as well.

Parma bicolor says, Hi there!

Hey! How'd that fish get into this gallery?

It's a little Parma bicolor fellow, floating in from Dreamyfish Art to invite you for a swim party where you can meet his cousins, the lovely tropical fish of Western Australia!

And you may wish to check out my Art Storefront when you have a mo...

What makes you so special?

'Conceptual Art: you deserve to have to look at it as much as the next guy' by Jude Cowell.

Saturn Night~Purple Violets, a Children's Felt Activity Book

Here I sit typing late in the evening (after midnight actually), and wondering if you've ever seen this scanned image - it's the center page of one of my Felt Activity Books, this one made for Little Miss Violet whose Bubbles-In-Waiting Tutorial may be the gloriously sudsy solution for all your low-spirited spots and smudges!

~:~

Note: planet, lower left, is actually Dark Red in color and doubles as a pouch where the stars 'hide' when the book is put away, only to be placed up in the night sky next time around by a delightfully designing child.

Parental supervision is required until a suitable age; not for under 4 years old. Ordering is Limited, contact: judecowell at gmail dot com. Prices in $100 - $150 range (+ shipping) due to the individualism of each book; pages have a variety of scenes and activities. Exs: apples from tree to barrel; fish and starfish swimming with seaweed, numbers and letters, flowers, and more.

Your child's name becomes the book's title as in, Violet's Book. Fun!

~:~

And if you're partial to botanical fish portraits, please visit the gallery at Dreamyfish Art if you wish to fish a while and wiggle your toes in the water of Art.

>I prefer 'awhile' but I shall bow to convention. Maybe it's a Southeastern thing. Or perhaps it's only an innate laziness.

jc 8.14.09 12:30 am edt

Secret Moon Art says: Hello, Indonesia!

Today I'm taking note of this blog's Flag Counter stats in the sidebar and Indonesia has visited Secret Moon Art more often than the US or other nations - how cool is that? ;p



Detail of Minerva's Glen, by Jude Cowell 2009+.

Mrs. Cholmondeley cordially invites you to Tuesday Tea

~:~:~:~

Are you surprised that Mrs. Cholmondeley of the Clematis Family has dropped by to visit you again and invite you to Tuesday Tea?

The lady may be of the Charleston Clematises, but I'm not certain.


And did you know that Lulu has returned to town?

Liberty Cries (collage)

This is an image of a paper collage titled, Liberty Cries, but you may call it whatever you like.

All Art perpetrated by Jude Cowell copyright 2009+


An Art Storefront awaits you if you're at leisure for a browse...

Ballet Collage from 1991 re-scanned in 2009

Ballet Collage, completed in 1991, is here copied, scanned, and published for you in black & white. The original collage (paper) is larger than my current scanner bed so scanning a copy of it is as good as it gets!

One thing I enjoy about paper collages (running across old ones in particular) is that they can function later on as a small sort of Time Capsule for the societal concerns and topics of the day on which they were created; in this case, 18 years ago.

(Warning: there may be dinosaurs afoot! Click to enlarge image.)


So do you collage, lone reader? Well, I recommend trying it, if you haven't, because it's a barrel of monkeys even without your toe shoes.

Plus, Collage Mirage is available for your inner collager as well.

Hyper-Flora: the drawing

Now here's an oddly surrealistic view of the world called, Hyper-Flora.

drawing by jude cowell 2009++

Path to an Unknown Land: new drawing!

Now here is a good example of how some of my 'paths'n'portals' drawings look as they're in the early stages of development...as you see, you're on the precipice!

Path to an Unknown Land (which looks quite mysterious and 'unknown' with the distant landscape unsketched, doesn't it?) will be completed and published here as soon as I can find the inspiration and some drawing time to devote. And no, I have no idea at this moment where its path will lead.

Until then, click the title of this post to visit my latest blog where you'll discover a few of my drawings on display in the sidebar... Jude

~:~

Update 2.16.11: check out my latest blog creation, a science-y/poem-y concoction Woolly Mammoth Chronicles if you dare! jc

Come to magical Blue Tree Forest!

Here are two views of the enchanted Blue Tree Forest for you to wander in!


All drawings on this blog by Jude Cowell copyright 2009 and beyond...Use by artist's permission only.

Cat Archaeologist: a collage

~:~
Have you seen this collage before? It's entitled, Cat Archaeologist for obvious reasons!

Or is it? (Click to enlarge.)

Fairies Visit Goldfish Pond!

Fairies Visit Goldfish Pond, a drawing by Jude Cowell 2009+; an original illustration from Pattillo Armadillo and the Dream of Green.

Adam Lambert video: Mad World

In an unsual move for Secret Moon Art the video of Adam Lambert's rendition of Mad World is being posted here for you to enjoy in case you've been underground for months and haven't seen his performance from the 2009 season of American Idol.

As you've heard, Wednesday night was the AI finale of the competition and Kris Allen gained the crown rather than Adam. Then a headline I noticed afterward called Kris the 'dark horse' but someone must be messin' with our minds because archetypally Adam Lambert plays the dark one, with Kris a lighter version of The Singer archetype.

So oddly enough, it was the 'light horse' pulling ahead of the shoo-in, as some would say. Even Kris seemed surprised - yet with a Rx Mercury 26Tau+ now conjunct the degree of difficult Fixed Star, Algol, the vote (Mercury) may come under dispute or review in some way (Rx.)

Yet on another level, the Mercury/Algol link could be a reference to the strength of young voters going in another direction than expected and full of life force.

Squeaky Clean v Dark Dream. Now how often on this old planet does Squeaky Clean take the worldly prize?


Changing Channels: Politics and the National Archives Security Breach

Then there's the unfortunate revelation that millions of personal records and info have disappeared from America's National Archives in Washington, DC.

Supposedly someone's back got turned as the Clinton administration records were being digitally tranferred to the NA hard drive - and one of 100 staffers (or the janitor, visitors, interns, and your Aunt Granny Fanny) could have moseyed through on a tour or perhaps going to the restroom.

Quite a thoroughfare in which to leave unattended a sensitive national hard drive. And if you're thinkin' what I'm thinking, it's: first they steal the money, now it's the Archives with our Social Security #s - once again we're caught with our knickers down yet it's someone else doing the mooning (at us suckers.)

Oh well! Affected individuals will be notified, so keep your cell phone primed and wait for their text message if you're one of the lucky ones.

And the acting director for the Archives has been called to testify on Capitol Hill on Thursday, May 21, 2009, so let's have Adrienne Thomas explain all the what what she can about the this inexcusable matter which could very well be treason.

A Portrait of Golden Chanterelles

Golden Chanterelles, a pencil portrait by Jude Cowell 2009+.

Mystical moonbeams complimentary!

Secret Moon Art now has multiple Followers!

Abandoned Garden with Peonies is appearing again to say Hello to Secret Moon Art's TWO discriminating Followers so check out their particulars in the sidebar to your right!

~:~

All Art Images are drawings by Jude Cowell 2009+ unless they're photos taken by Maya.

And my latest blog is Two Hours You'll Never Get Back, a tapestry blog woven from many subjects, so do drop by whenever you may.

A view of The Great Lichen Forest

Here's Pattillo Armadillo as he scampers toward the Great Lichen Forest, his hero's journey almost complete!

Illustration from 'Pattillo Armadillo and the Dream of Green,' my unpublished children's book which traveled to NYC to be considered for Little, Brown's publication list 2004/05.

Drawing by Jude Cowell 2009+

Relax! and stroll down another Cosmic Art Path to a magical forest where Indian pipes bloom enticingly from the forest's mulchy floor.

And here you may see the celestial sights that Pattillo enjoyed when he stopped at the Turquoise Observatory during his hero's journey to the Great Lichen Forest!

With or without fairies, Children's Art is so fun, isn't it?

The thing about my character, Pattillo - he can never see the fairies all around him (armadillos have notoriously bad eyesight, more's the pity, but they make up for it in other ways), yet you, Lone Viewer, may always spot a fairy or two flitting about and watching over the little fellow!

Temple of the Great Stone Face: Venus, Moon, and Mars at '30Pisces'

'Temple of the Great Stone Face' is a drawing meant to represent Astrology's Sabian Symbol for '30 Pisces' the degree of April 22, 2009's Moon-Venus Occultation - when Venus disappears behind the Moon - and marks the conjunction of Venus (attraction) and Mars (desire) for a romantic rendezvous, planetary-style.

And...Wednesday, April 22 is Earth Day 2009 as well!

That's a lot of planetary action occurring at one little degree out of the 360 degrees of the zodiac, isn't it?

Here I quote from Marc Edmund Jones' version of the Symbols for '30 Pisces' which ends the full cycle/circle of the zodiac and butts against the Aries Point of Prominence (00 Aries00):

'The Great Stone Face'...a symbol of human responsibility as an immortality of the soul, and of a way of living which has become a continual manifestation of its ideal and so a constant dramatization of its self-discovery to others as an encouragement to them in their own alignment to eternal reality.

Each individual selects the image within himself to which he would shape himself outwardly, and this he comes to resemble as in Nathaniel Hawthorne's tale. Destiny is character as it most persistently constitutes itself.

Keyword: DISCERNMENT...

positive expression: self-integrity in its irresistible impact on the course of events;

neg/unconscious/shadow side: wholly inarticulate and ineffectual self-realization.

The Sabian Symbols in Astrology by Dr. Marc Edmund Jones.

Drawing by Jude Cowell 2009+: Prismacolor oil and Rexel Derwent watercolour pencils on paper.

Violet in black and white!

Suddenly I was in the mood to see how this photo of a little girl I know named Violet would turn out when scanned in black and white, and published on a dark background.

Imagine the intensely blue eyes!

Pretty, yes?

'Shroomhome of Merri Chimes

A view of the 'Shroomhome of Merri Chimes, a drawing done quite some time ago for a children's dummybook which never escaped from my studio.

(A 'dummybook' or 'book dummy' is a mock-up of your children's book effort with text and illustrations, if you have them.)

Titled, Silvery Tree Path, the book concerns Roscoe Woodhouse and other characters who live in the Great Lichen Forest. Merri, one of the Chimes Sisters, lives along Silvery Tree Path as you see and is a songstress along with her sisters in the evenings at the Roasted Root Cafe.

This image is from a photograph of the original rendering which is rather large - appr 20" x 24" - and this particular published version is actually from a scanned slide. So that is what gives it a yellowish tinge here...that and the fact that all Silvery Tree Path illustrations are embossed with silver (aluminum) pencil!

Od Collage - for the Odyle Force of Life

An Od Collage by Jude Cowell 2009+ in honor of the quaint 19th century notion of the Odyle or Od Force...the life force which astrologically I would have to relate to Uranus (Ouranos), the creative spark or genius in a horoscope, and planet of electricity and eccentricity.

Tulipa 'Maytime' under Full Moon

Your eyes do not deceive - it is a clump of Tulipa 'Maytime' happily enjoying a few refreshing sips of gracious raindrops under the light of an abundant Full Moon.

~:~

Image exclusively by Jude Cowell 2009+; many Prismacolor oil and Rexel Derwent watercolour pencils were sharpened during the perpetration of this drawing.

~:~

You are cordially invited to visit my Art Page at Red Bubble which is a friendly and encouraging online Art Community and your source for Art, greeting cards, artist-designed T-shirts, and other artful creations.

Mosey by when ya can!

Peek from the Jungle

Peek from the Jungle, an imaginary scene by jude cowell 2009+.

How I feel today: like Vesta Vertex!

No, this image isn't the usual fare here at the Secret Moon Art Gallery, but having been under the weather the last several days (now on the mend!) this drawing demonstrates how I feel today better than any whining words of wimpiness ever could, and represents my measley effort to Let Art Speak!

Vesta Vertex, drawing by jude cowell 2009+; Prismacolor oil and Rexel Derwent watercolour pencils on white paper.

Mother and Son

This image is titled, Mother and Son

A Ceres-esque drawing by Jude Cowell with Prismacolor oil and Rexel Derwent watercolour pencils 2009+.

In Mythology and Astrology, the Moon and Ceres = the mother; nurturing; security; food...mama!

Moonlight Rain

Moonlight Rain, a drawing by your artist-at-the-moment, Jude Cowell.

Portrait of a Painted Bunting

Painted Bunting in the evening.

Drawing by jude cowell 2009.

London artist gives his Art away for free

Have you heard of Adam Neate of London, England? He's an artist who gives his artwork away for free by leaving it on the street!

Have you heard of American artist, Jude Cowell? She gives her artwork away free online! In America, leaving artwork on the streets can get you a citation for littering.

Besides...have you seen my artwork?


Clown surgeonfish of Western Australia, drawing by jude cowell 2009, from my Dreamyfish Art collection. Float on by and say hello when you can.