April Showers paints her beauties in the worst spots.
This one was at a truck rental parking place. Yes, I almost got stuck squeezing through.
Of all the graf tagged onto the wall, all I wanted was the April Showers face. The best I could do in a 2 foot slot was some demented up angles and truck window reflections.
And now, I am squeezing through from here, until middle/late April. This is my last post until then.
But, I will be visiting when I can.
Not sure who this artist is.
It’s a fine mess.
It’s because I got involved in an ART SHOW. YAY!
So, like April Showers, I’ll be sharing my beauties, but in a nice place.
But if I could, I would have a fashion show in an alley filled with graffiti.
Jennifer models VELVET TANGO
There’s nothing like finding beauty in the roughest places; like Velvet Tango, the Art Gown I made for Holly House of Heart in a tagged up alley.
April Showers will bring art & flowers, and I’ll have lots to share with you!
Of the plethora, I’m mostly super excited to share the show of Paul McCartney’s amateur pics from 1963-64.
Our blog pal MATT is going to be on board for that!
There’s pics Paul took of the other Beatles, of America through the limo & train windows and some colour shots from Miami.
The show was SPLASHTACULAR!
There were also a few old professional promo shots.
Resa – That image is like me & many …blogging, trying to keep up.
Yvette – That really could apply to blogging, and keeping up during a busy season.
Yvette – I also think it could apply to life – and just enduring a challenging season. There is a certain contentment I feel in that art – with a certain suffering or enduring and I think in another way there might be a hint of performance burnout – ?
Resa – I also think it can apply to life.
Yvette – Especially when you see the full photo – or is that part of the contentment feel- the balancing on one arm and the placement of that other arm is a bit athletic, sure, strong, poised, and in motion – and that adds to it.
Yvette – Oh and the other elements/principles in that photo street art – we have the soft blue going across the body into the green – giving us this horizontal split that syncs with the body – other line designs stand out – like the hair being in sync with the background and other line design.
Yvette – And you know, the legs stood out on the third look – that is a strong pose – to be sideways – are those “eagle” legs? either way – that is why this feels strong and poised and enduring –
Resa – Thank you, Yvette! What a wonderful interpretation of this piece of art.
“Reworking familiar imagery is just my way of giving history a second look.” – Jesse Mockrin
Only Sound Remains – oil on linen
Based in Philadelphia, this artist examines Renaissance and Baroque artists’ art, with an eye on the survival of traditional narratives and beliefs in contemporary society. She then intervenes with her own modern canon.
Jesse Mockrin’s paintings “respond to histories of sexual violence and cruel treatment of women over millennia of myth and story, offering interventions and moments of resistance.”
Collectively, the paintings in ECHO highlight “an ongoing battle for bodily autonomy”.
The above painting is based on the Greek and Roman myth of Echo and Hera.
By Her Hand – oil on linen
The biblical widow and heroine, Judith, beheads Assyrian General Holofernes and saves her people. This was a popular subject for artists in the 15 & 1600’s due to the “stark contrast between Judith’s femininity and the aggression of her violence.”
Behold/Beholden – oil on linen
Mockrin builds up thin glazes of oil paint, a European Renaissance developed technique. “she crops her composition sharply, hiding critical elements of a story and leaving conflict unresolved.”
Unvarnished, her paintings have an eerie flatness.
In mid-stream – oil on canvas
“Grasping, pulling, lifting …. I am drawn to the ways that Baroque painters build drama and tension into their compositions.”Jesse Mockrin
Based on Ruben’s The Massacre of the Innocents, the woman in the right panel is based on one of the mothers protecting her children.
Painted circa 1610, The Massacre of the Innocents resides in the AGO’s collection. The photo on the left is an allowable share from the AGO. Click on the image to visit the page, and a larger version of the masterpiece..
In the Book of Genesis – Rachel and Leah were both married to Jacob.
Leah had many children. After many years of yearning to be a mother, Rachel had 2 sons. She died giving birth to the second child.
Longing – oil on linen
Lovesick – oil on linen
A cry is heard – oil on linen
“It’s very emotional and very real, her longing for a child and then her tragic death as a result of it.”
“We think we’re not that similar to these characters, but they were just people, same as us.” – Jesse Mockrin
Okay, I thought this was a wolf, but turns out it’s a coyote.
This spectacular mural is on a retaining wall by the Don River. I’m guessing 100 ft. long anyway.
Viewing from left to right: The bits of green behind the Blue Fronted Dancer Damsel Fly are stinging nettle.
Toad
Mink
Water Strider
Bullhead Catfish, White Sucker and Raccoon
The terrifying and wildly wild Golden Doodle
Cottontail Rabbit
Fox
Coyote
Red-winged Blackbird and Great Egret
White-tailed Deer
Beaver with Water Lily behind it.
Painted Turtle
Broadleaf Plantain in centre
Leopard Frog
Bumblebee with White Astor
As I mentioned at the beginning, I thought this was a wolf. I had done a song with Tim about my Wolf Tree and the Wolf moon. I thought – YAY, I can use it here. Coyote not a wolf, I’m using it anyway. I can’t sing, but I’m singing anyway.
How does one review a heart, soul and mind book like this? Does one say it’s well written? It answers very human questions in an ordinary way that all can understand? Many of us will go through this, so it’s a helpful read?
A Journey Through Loss
Written by D.G.Kaye, after the death of her husband, the love of her life; this helpful book speaks from the pain of experience. She is not a therapist, nor a psychiatrist, nor a professional healer of any sort. And she is right up front about that fact.
In her own words “I devoured books on everything from grief to the afterlife, always striving to make sense of the roller coaster ride I was on,”
I think the best way to impart something more of this book is to speak directly to D. G.
Resa – The cover of your book has the words: Shock, Fog, Anger, Triggers, Guilt, Anxiety and Denial swirling in a circle. At first I thought the words were repeating in order, but upon a closer look, I realize that they are not in any order, but do repeat.How did you come up with it? Why the words are not in any order?
D.G. – For this cover, the concept came to me immediately.
Grief is like an ongoing spiral with ups and downs. The words inside are just some of the phases grievers experience. The fact that the words are in no particular order and some not repeated is precisely how grief works.
We may visit phases over and over again through time, and some may dissipate with time. Thus, the grief spiral is far from linear but, more chaotic.
It was above 0c and cloudy out, not a peep of sun in the sky. A perfect day to shoot a shadow free piece of wall art, that seemed perfect for this post. It was only a 20 minute walk to get there.
Suddenly, as I arrived, it became a sunny day with nary a cloud in the sky. There was a barren tree’s shadow over the painting. I shot it anyway. To me, there is something poetic in this image, that relates to grief – something about the shadow.
Resa – Debby, can you see why I think that? Can you put it into words?
D.G. – Oh wow Resa. I love the shot with the tree’s shadow. If I were to relate it to grief I would say that when you love deep, it’s like carrying sunshine in your heart. And when you lose that love of your life, despite all the horribleness, there will be days when the obstinate clouds clear and the sun shines through, although the shadow of grief is never too far away.
Resa – Perfectly, poetically and profound said.
After the pics were taken, there was still not a cloud in the sky. So, I hopped on a streetcar, heading home. About 3 stops later, Suddenly, it clouded over. There was nary a crack of sun to find.
Resa – This seemed mystical to me, Debby. Does this touch you, or am I just a sentimentalfool?
D.G. – Oh no Resa, you may be sentimental – like me, but no fool. I love that you were working on this post and came across these poignant images in your travels.
Remembering that grief is love with nowhere to go, the image reminds that even without sunshine, the shadow of love always sticks with us. Not to mention, it reminds me of the Tree of Life – rain or shine, we are branches off the Tree of Life where memories live deep within, sometimes shadowed, but always there.
In the book D.G. writes:
“In the aftermath comes the loss of us. Our grief replaces replaces the lives we once knew.”
Resa – Has writing this book been cathartic? Has it helped you to replace that life lost, with a new life?
D.G. – In some ways this book was cathartic to write, but in many other ways, it was difficult to write; because to write, dredging the info up meant remembering moments that could take my breath away and have me leaving the computer for an emotional break.
In no way did writing this book help to replace that ‘life lost’, as nothing ever could. That life is no longer tangible, but seared in my heart.
But, the book offers a lot of understanding of the trials and tribulations of the process of grieving through time, understanding that it’s difficult to let go of a life you’re familiar with when it’s snatched from you, with the importance of eventually finding our way back into a new way of living.
Thank you to D.G. Kaye (Debby to her pals) for her time answering my questions! Debby, I appreciate this more than I can say!
Meet D.G. Kaye
Congratulations to Debby for being officially in the top 5% of Goodreads Reviewers!
About the Real Stages of Grief is available world wide at Amazon.
Click on book cover to go to the purchase page on Amazon.com
“Personally, I don’t believe there is any cure for grief. It’s not a disease that we will get over and feel better about tomorrow. Rather, it’s a new addition to our lives, one we must become acquainted with.” – D. G. Kaye
Pics taken by Resa – 2023 – 2025
Toronto, Canada
The artists in vertical order:
The Dreamers, Julia Praza, One Day Creates, Unknown, Blackburn, Unknown, Chris Perez, Vizla Bacon, Blazeworks, Adrain Corne
Graffiti Lux Art & More 
You must be logged in to post a comment.