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Illustration from 'Pattillo Armadillo and the Dream of Green,' my unpublished children's book which traveled to NYC to be considered for Little, Brown's publication list 2004/05.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

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

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Mosey by when ya can!