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?

Moonlight Rain

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

Comet Skies

Comet Skies, drawing by jude cowell 2008.

Circular Paths of an Unscene World

Circular Paths of an Unscene World, drawing by jude cowell 2008.

'Circular Paths' may refer to Astrology which is the observation and study of planetary orbits and cycles - as well as to labyrinths, of course. Actually, the entire sign of Capricorn is said to be a labyrinth, all 30 degrees of the mer-goat's sign.

Unscene World is an imprint I began in 1996 as black paper took over my drafting table and celestial themes became prominent...and I've never, as they say, looked back!

They also say that black paper gives depth and a spiritual quality you cannot achieve on white or light paper, and I must agree with them.

Here's an example of my early black paper art, Timeless Path, a drawing which won a Merit Award at one of the Olympic Games art venues in Atlanta, GA, summer 1996.

Timeless Path is appr 18"x24" (and was sold before the exhibition opened!) but these days my renderings are small enough to fit a scanner bed so that they may be easily published online for downloading and such, though sometimes I do miss working in a larger format.

My Favorite Pencils: Prismacolor oils, Rexel Derwent watercolours, and a few Spectracolor oils left over from the 90s. The Spectracolor brand, last I knew, was discontinued which for my purposes is a sad state of affairs.

(In fact, I remain to this day in quite a snit of miffdom over it.)

Watercolour pencils are used dry only although you could dampen them if you prefer. Anyone who is proficient or masterly with watercolour painting is a very admirable artist for that's one media I never managed to master even a little bit.

So if you, dear viewer, are good with wet watercolours, kudos aplenty go to you!

Path to an Ancient Temple

Path to an Ancient Temple, drawing by jude cowell 2008.

Yes, I do like paths'n'portals, ancient temples, and greenery, too!

New! Art Slidehow for you

Fork'd Way drawing by jude cowell (c) 2008.

You may wish to scroll down to view my latest creation, an Image Loop Slideshow using a blend of drawn images from Dreamyfish Art, Cosmic Persona Designs, and from Secret Moon Art.

It's a virtual smorgasbord of Artiness created just for you, Lone Viewer! And you're cordially invited to sign my Guestbook if you may...you'll see it just above the Art Slideshow. jude

A Snowy Path

Winter is on the way and here's A Snowy Path for you to wander!

drawing by jude cowell 2008

Jude Cowell Art

Secret Moon Art update!

It's a magical night and there's a Fairy at Work...shhh! ~~~

And here's a heads-up for you for

you may wish to check out my 24/7 browse-able Art Portfolio at Fine Art America!

Minerva's Glen

Minerva's Glen being one of my all time favorite drawings, I'm adding it here for your viewing or reviewing purposes.

Blending 'real with visionary' somehow seems most interesting to me.

What do you think?

Minerva's Glen by jude cowell 2008

Photographing Ballerinas

Photographing Ballerinas is not the usual fare for the Secret Moon Art collection, but things are changing around here and the ladies wanted to see what's going on!

~:~

Photographing Ballerinas by jude cowell 2008

Venus Rising by Jude Cowell; update: Venusian Washington DC

Venus Rising by jude cowell (c) 2008

Update June 10, 2015: Venus, Politics, Presidents, Astrology, Zodiacs, and Washington DC

by Jude Cowell

How curious that I posted Venus Rising in 2008 since I discovered only recently that April 6, 2008 is what some call the first day of the current Venus Cycle. So considering the 8-year cycle of planet #Venus there is hidden significance in America's 2016 Election/s because 2008 + 8 = 2016. And let us not leave out our Founding Fathers' preference for a goddess-worshiping mystery religion. If a woman is elected president in 2016, we will have uplifted once again matriarchal rule after centuries of paternalism.

Although political conservatives and Evangelicals in the US prefer to call them 'Christians', Franklin, Washington, Jefferson, and our other Utopian founders are usually listed as 'Deists' and most people are aware of their secret society connections such as Freemasonry, Illuminism, and Rosicrucianism. Yet the feminine statues and engravings that decorate the city of Washington DC (ex: the Armed Freedom statue on the Capitol Dome, the stars of constellation Virgo so prominent during early Masonic cornerstone layings of DC buildings and highlighted within DC's many Zodiacs and horoscopes) with their Great Mother-Isis-Semiramis-Mary and Virgo/Ceres/Demeter symbolism relates directly to goddess and archetype, Venus, the beautiful and the vengeful.

Of course, Venus is the consort of our country's official and obvious phallic symbol, the Washington Monument which is dedicated to the "Father of Our Country", sterile though George seems to have been (probably due to one of his several childhood diseases. Additionally, George descended from a Star Family of Enochian priests which is one reason his contemporaries idolized him so highly as a cult leader and by other of his brethren immortalized Washington in statue as 'Jupiter-Zeus' and as a transcendent being (ex: the famous painting of his apotheosis into godhood...Enoch translated to heaven? puh!)

Now as you know, a 5-pointed star is a symbol of Venus, too (5 x 8 = 40.) Stars appear on the Washington family crest which was a template for the design of the US flag. And with a few unavoidable exceptions (assassination, resignation), our US presidential inaugurations every 4 years are held based on the Venus Cycle for as you know, much value is typically attached to the concept of a two-term presidential residency (2 x 4 = 8) of the Oval Office, its shape a shout-out to the Cosmic Egg and the fertility of goddess Venus. Plus, have you ever heard Washington DC called the "New Jerusalem"? This is an intriguing Venusian link as well because the word 'Jerusalem' means "place of Venus rising," a good place for the observation of planet Venus at certain times of the year.

And no, yours truly knew very little of these concepts when I visualized, then perpetrated, the above drawing of Venus Rising! jc

Neptune's Daughter and friend

Something a bit different for Secret Moon Art...
Neptune's Daughter and friend, by jude cowell (c) 2008

Actually this pencilic rendering is an expression of Mercury's links to the astrological 12th house of the Unconscious and its typical feeling of thoughts floating up from the Unconscious realm which is symbolized in our dreams by Neptune's province, the ocean.

And that includes the Collective Unconscious--as Cetus the Whale and this mer-maid could agree!

Trail to the Moon

Trail to the Moon, drawing by jude cowell (c) secret moon art 2008 Use only by express permission of artist

Moon Reflection Pyramids

Here's a drawing from my Nostalgia Files, Moon Reflection Pyramids, done on white paper--way back in 1995!

(c) secret moon art 2008 by jude cowell

Pink Fairy Pink Dawn

Pink Fairy Pink Dawn, drawing by jude cowell (c) 2008 Use by express permission only

Cloudy Moon Night

Cloudy Moon Night--drawing on left, and the same drawing above but with sprigs of fresh-blooming rosemary from my garden scanned upon it just for fun.

Cloudy Moon Night by jude cowell (c) secret moon art 2008+

Blue Trumpet Flower in Moonlight

Totally made this up--to my knowledge there are no such things as Blue Trumpet Flowers, but there is moonlight and my imagination.

Blue Trumpet Flower by jude cowell 2008 Use only by express permission of artist.

Which reminds me...I heard that the Hollywood writers' strike may be ending soon which is good because I want to see more episodes of my favorite new show: Moonlight. I'm not a fan of the vampire normally but a humanitarian vampire is a difficult paradox to ignore!

~:~

Yes, Moonlight came back from the writers' strike but was cancelled at the end of its run - which grumped me up considerably. Anti-kudos to CBS. :-(

Indian Pipes

My botanical drawing of these mystical little Indian pipes shows them rising in ghostly cluster from a shadowed forest floor.

Indian pipes are sometimes mistaken for fungi but they are a true flowering plant. Yet their leaves lack chlorophyll and present as scales along the stems.

Therefore they are unable to manufacture food, so their tangly masses of rootlets live quite intimately with subterranean fungi. Both then take their sustenance from decaying organic matter and from living tree roots.

Blooming in summer, Indian pipes' single nodding cup-shaped flowers do resemble small clay pipes atop their waxy stems.

And who can say that fairies don't play tunes upon these lovely creations of nature-- or puff a puff or two?


Indian pipes by jude cowell (c) 2008 Use only by express permission of artist.

Fairy Glen

Fairy Glen is a drawing about to be donated to my local Mental Health Benefit Art Auction...like?

Fairy Glen by jude cowell 2008; Use only with artist's express permission. Thanks.

Self-Heal

Here's a small illustration of the wild flower Self-Heal.

Click image to enlarge if it seems too dark for your computer screen... drawing compliments of your artist this evening, jude cowell (c)2008+.