The Return of Pattillo Armadillo!

June 2, 2022

Posted with a flurry of fondness, here again is the dummy book cover for 'Pattillo Armadillo and the Dream of Green' from way back in 2004:

Those Scorpio to Sagittarius Ladies!

April 12, 2022

Here's my pencil portrait of the Scorpio to Sagittarius Ladies! Naturally, this represents the 8th sign morphing into the 9th sign of the Zodiac - Scorpio with Mars-Pluto vibes advances to Sagittarius with Jupiter vibes!

Note that this very morning (10:43 am edt), transit Jupiter and Neptune met in Great Conjunction @23Pis59 and you're invited to view the bubbly pair's DC Horoscope if you wish!

Sabian Symbol for 2022's Jup-Nep Conjunction:

'24Pisces' = An Inhabited Island"; "Keyword: CULTIVATION; positive expression: achievement through a creative opportunism or inventiveness of exceptional order; negative expression: snobbish complacency and self-indulgence" (Jones).

Twyla's Toilette undone then complete!

April 3, 2022

Guess it's something of a secret here on Secret Moon Art but originally I had created this Art Gallery with a plan to share my drawings in progress, then add the completed version of the same illustration. And some of them were published here just that way although not always in the same post, or even with a link to the completed version (mah bad!).

So as an example today, I'm putting together two versions of 'Twyla's Toilette' and adding a link to a different drawing, 'Analise', which was displayed in just such a manner. If the comparison shows nothing else, perhaps it suggests the foibles, the fun, and the process of perpetrating drawings on black paper!

First, here's Twyla's Toilette very obviously incomplete and rather on the ghostly side:

Now here's Twyla's completed portrait (looking more lively, I think!):

Then if you're up for it, here's a link to two versions of one of my fanciful figure studies titled, a 'Portrait of Analise'!

So what do you think, dear art viewer?

Is "ghostly" the right word for the incomplete images? One reason it may be is because black paper is known for contributing a certain spiritual or mystical quality to artwork, don't you agree? And layers of color must be built up as if bringing the image up through layers of the Unconscious!

Or at least, that's how the process feels to me when I'm attempting to create designs for your viewing pleasure. And besides: browsing artwork is good for you, y'know!

Blue Bayou Babe says Hello!

Hi There Viewer! Say Hello to 'Blue Bayou Babe', one of my fanciful figure studies created with oil and watercolour pencils on paper by Jude Cowell.

Mrs Cholmondeley of the Clematis Family drops by!

Today Secret Moon Art is happy to Welcome Mrs. Cholmondeley of the Clematis Family for tea! So the question must be, milk or lemon?

And perhaps you know that "Cholmondeley" is actually pronounced, "Chumley"! Well, this and other details concerning this lovely bloomer may be found on the International Clematis Society website!

Kassandra's Myth-Prophecy-Blessings

March 1, 2022

The Prophetic Daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba

by Jude Cowell

As Putin's war against Ukraine rages on, I want to publish something with a mythological theme here on Secret Moon Art.

So here are a few words concerning Kassandra (aka, Cassandra), a prophetess in Greek Mythology, plus, my drawing Kassandra's Blessings because everyone across the globe could use a few of those just now, even non-believers. How about you?

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Well, perhaps it isn't the best idea to imply by my drawing that the 'blessings' of Kassandra are a good thing even though it was drawn years ago (pencil on paper). For she is often considered in Greek Mythology to be a tragic figure whose gift of prophecy came from sun god Apollo yet he cursed her so that no one believed her prophecies. That she rebuffed the advances of Apollo is one explanation of Apollo's turn against her but there are other possibilities.

Anyway, Cassandra prophesied that her brother Paris would start a war against the city of Troy and this includes the very famous tale and archetype of the Trojan Horse. Additionally, Cassandra's death links to the fabled death of King Agamemnon of Mycenae.

So if you don't know where your natal asteroid Kassandra is, consider the following list of a few related asteroids and their numbers which can be plugged in (by number) on the Serennu website along with your birth date (or any date you choose) and the Astrological Ephemeris will disclose their Zodiacal positions to you:

Kassandra #114

Agamemnon #911

Apollo #1862

Hecuba #108

Priamus #884

Paris #3317

Troy: Troilus #1208; Troja #3912

Now from far distant days, here's an ancient Pompeii fresco:

Ajax in Troy drags Cassandra from Palladium before the eyes of Priam.