The Poetess

First mural hunt of the season, & I found this beauty. She has Holly’s soft brown eyes.

Whew! She is high up in the narrowest lane, although a compact drove through, very carefully.

Yeah, I stood on someone’s steps.  Also, there were a couple of discarded mattresses taking up space. Sprayed my NEW sneaks with bleach when I got home, just in case of bed bugs.

So, she has very long dark red hair, burgundy almost. Holly has lighter red hair. Still, I kept thinking of Holly.

She wears a beret. Makes me think of Beat poets and the Left Bank in Paris known for: jazz, the Latin quarter, and a long and historic string of writers, artists, and philosophers.

Then all these gorgeous flowers come in.

I see these as Holly’s luscious poems.

Poem after beautiful poem, just like Holly’s.

Pics taken by Resa – April 5, 2022

Toronto, Canada

The Artist:

 Haley Alcott

Putin Go F**k Yourself

I just had to go to Graffiti Alley yesterday. I was wondering if any of the artists were showing their support for Ukraine with their art. I found this by nick_sweetman

Nick says on his Instagram account:

“We chose the colours of the Ukranian flag and wrote “Putin idy nakhuy” which in Ukranian means “Putin, go fuck yourself” sung by Ukraine’s national animal, the nightingale. Letters by @mr_tensoe2 @twice.born and @workingspy3000 who also painted the white dove of peace 🕊”

A look at the alley.

Graffiti Alley is a large network of lanes and alleys. I continued on my way.

…and found this painted paste-up, which was obviously purposely wrinkled up in the gluing.

Say it again!

Kiev, Chernobyl & Pripyat – en Graffe

I’m re-posting this from October 2021 with the addition of  an original war protest song by Timothy Price.

Kiev, Chernobyl & Pripyat – en Graffe

My pal Alex Morris sent us pics of murals & graf from the Ukraine. The first four are all in, and around, Kiev city centre.

“While I were wending me merry away around Kiev I noticed some fancy graffiti and all that. Sending you some of the best over.”

“However, an unexpected work trip arose in September 2021. And so with a day off on Sunday 12th September, we booked into a day tour and headed to the location of the world’s worst nuclear disaster.”

Chernobyl is a region permanently stuck in the past, that also provides an important message for the future.”

WOW! There it is guys, Chernobyl! Omg, it’s got a mural on it.

All of which can only lead onto the local town of Pripyat, which was built to house local power plant workers and their families.”

“The mass evacuation of the city was delayed whilst authorities denied the reality of the situation, eventually evacuating the city in a matter of hours.”

“Visitors can only stay in Pripyat for a short while and you’re not allowed to touch anything, otherwise you risk contaminating yourself”.

“In fact, there are radiation checks when you leave the Exclusion Zone to ensure you’ve not done anything stupid.”

“Some people do break into the Exclusion Zone and have to treks for days in the woods to reach Pripyat, which exposes them to a lot of radiation. But some of them may be the ones completing the graffiti. I couldn’t find any details on whether it was allowed by the government or not. But it’s there to behold.”

Photos taken by Alex Morris – September, 2021

Ukraine

Alex’s post on visiting Chernobyl, Pripyat & Kiev is fabulous! Click on over and check it out!

There is no end to taggers on this planet. Yet, somehow it’s comforting to me to know that. Not sure why. Perhaps it speaks to commonality of humanity.

A work of art, yet so far away it’s difficult to make out. Nonetheless it’s neat to see a Kiev street! Interesting parking.

You can also find this song on Tim’s Blog

It’s almost time for the Valentines Day Party at the Coop

Holly, Beth and Resa have arrived at the Coop early to prepare for the Valentines Party!

“Holly has kindly brought her famous corn bread, along with new and exciting surprises. The Chicklets can’t wait to start nibbling. The kitchen crew is so delighted to have her for an entire week. They can’t wait to see what she will make for them.

Midge has been assigned as Holly’s aide. She’s her go-for, and will get Holly anything she needs or wants. Everyone put their name in a hat and the winner was chosen that way, since everyone wanted to work with her.”

“Beth has arrived at The Coop, and while she’s not reading until the party, the Chicklets are starting to follow her around. I have a feeling they will get her to read a story or two, before the big day.

“Resa arrived at The Coop early, so she could set things up. The Chicklets are delighted to have her with them for so long. The Sewing Club is especially thrilled,, since she shows them how to make things, whenever she visits.”

Don’t miss any of the fun!!!!! Click on the Valentines Card to go to Gigi’s blog!

All drawings © Georgiann Carlson

Black & White Blues

It was at least a half block away.  I was shaking. Black & white street art is a bit rare.

I was impressed with how great it looked painted on a peeling tin sheet wall.

When I got there, I realized it was not art for art’s sake, but an ad. That made me blue.

OMG! There’s Leonard Cohen’s head just up over the trash can.

I get there, and it’s not art for art’s sake, but an ad about Leonard Cohen’s memorial stamp. I didn’t feel so blue, because I adore him.

I drew this b&w pencil sketch of a famous person, in a couple of hours. It’s a sort of  copy of a b&w photo. I think it looks like the person.

I got all cocky. I thought I would try another famous person, from a b&w photo. I used a technique where I didn’t draw an outline first. Rather I shaded(scribbled) my way in. I spent many nights shading away. In the end, it looks nothing like the person. I was heartbroken, after all that work.

I did a Blue Heron post a couple posts ago. A couple of comments later, Trent writes this song. He has a fancy synthesizer, and does some cool music on it. However, he actually sings the blues in this. He’s good, got feel.

He followed up with “For Her Heartbreak”. I know Trent got a new synth, sort of recently. He’s been working with it on his new pieces. I asked him what the name is. I got this answer:

“I use a Sequential Prophet Rev 2 polyphonic analog synth as my primary poly-synth and I have been using a Behringer Poly D for bass lines, leads, solos, etc. – the Ploy D is a MiniMoog clone.”

This could be of interest for the musicians out there!

The Heartbreak might be in Red, but it’s blue. You can visit Trent on his blog – Trent’s World

Last, but not least, I share this b&w drawing of a blog pal, that I have never met. Her Poetry & Writings can make me feel anywhere from Powder Blue to French Navy and every blue in between. There’s other colours, but this is about B,W & Blue.

Pterodactyl

I found a Great Blue Heron, on a garage door.

It’s one of the pterodactyl’s relatives, a great blue heron. The great blue heron is the largest heron in North America.

I’ve never seen one in real life.

However, I have seen many on Tim’s blog. Check out Tim’s night shot of one of these Blue Beauties wading in water.

Tim’s blog – Off Center Not Even is resplendent with nature’s beauty. He’s got magic trees, owls, biblical skies and more. I can’t thank him enough for allowing me to use many of his stunning photos.

Pics taken by Resa – December 1, 2021

Toronto, Canada

The Artist is unknown. The door was unsigned when I found it.