HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!

Monet's Turkeys

Tomorrow, November 28th will be Thanksgiving here in the United States.  It is a day that we celebrate Thankfulness because of our history of Native Americans sharing food with the first Pilgrims that settled in America.  The pilgrims were starving, not prepared for an American winter, with few supplies and inadequate shelter.  There is great discourse on where the first Thanksgiving took place, but the act of giving and sharing is paramount in the holiday. It is a day now American families travel and come together to share a meal and visit.  Traditionally Turkey is roasted, mashed potatoes and sweet potato casserole cooked and pumpkin pie is baked.  College football is on tv and everyone falls asleep after a big meal. I guess we can call it the art of an American Cultural event.  Oh yes, and everyone is expected to say what they are thankful for.  I am thankful for you, all Rabbit's Moon Studio readers and supports.  Happy Thanksgiving to you All!

Portraits and Still Life /an uncommon view

Classical portraits are usually full face or side view, perhaps with a little Rembrandt lighting if we look at a three fourth's view with shading.  Typical still life's are flowers or fruits or game set in a stilted formal fashion.  But I think we can think of them both differently.  Each tells us something about the subject we are contemplating, each gives us information that helps us form an opinion and draws us in to want to know more.  I think of them as time capsules, a bit of history and culture snatched in a moments time:stolen away for the future to time travel backwards.  If quantum physics is correct and we experience time horizontally and not  in a linear fashion, then we are in the future and past at the same time. 

Here are a few portraits and still life's that tells us a story or give us information leaving work for our imaginations to do.  In art I never like to over define anything for my viewers...art should leave a sense of mystery, an intriguing of the mind, and a tug at the soul.  We should all be able to bring a sense of ourselves to the art work without the artist telling us his view to overtly.  And so these pieces I have presented below offer a twist of classical formats for you perusal. 

Portrait of My Nephew

Thanksgiving

Photo portrait by Elizabeth Gordon

Shutters and Shadows/ Portrait of a Southern Lady

Charleston, South Carolina             Elizabeth Gordon

Still life Green screen and Red Barn Window

Old Leicester Road  Leicester, North Carolina              by Elizabeth Gordon

Fall leaves with Crane

Asheville, North Carolina        by Elizabeth Gordon

Boo, Mountain Dog in Repose  

          Blossom Ridge, Leiscester, North Carolina     Photo by Elizabeth A. Suggs

Thankful for the Simple Beauty of Life

Today is Thanksgiving in the United States

It is a day we often think of what we are thankful for.

I am especially thankful of the simple beauty of nature. I am thankful for my friends and family. I am thankful for art and being an artist. I am also very thankful for you and your readership of Rabbit Moon Studio's Blog! I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving American style!

photograph by Elizabeth Gordon

A day of shopping in Asheville..new hat and a great restaurant

Asheville is very a very European city in many ways, for one it is walkable. To experience a great deal of the downtown is easily done, as in Europe there are street cafe's on every corner, shops and galleries. There are street entertainers playing banjo's, violins, or singing to every passerby. Asheville is a town of art, music, and crafts. Dogs and cats are with their owners in many shops. It is just a friendly town. Curate is a new tapas restaurant that is outstanding. I loved the pumpkin carving and thought you might also.

I love hats. I buy them, then don't wear them. I am never sure if they look good, and then I feel uneasy about them...then I buy another I may or may not wear.! This one is a San Francisco hat, as it is named here-a short brimmed hat with an attitude for women. My Father loved hats and wore them all the time. He would reshape them to fit his look, tilt it in a cocky way, looking in the mirror for just the right look. It was his art!

Even though it is Thanksgiving this week in America, all the shop owners are already decorating for Christmas. They don't want to miss a big money making holiday! It is nice to be out of the tropical weather for a while, to wear a jacket, a scarf and a hat. The chill in the air feels good and watching the fire place warming the house in the evenings all snuggled in from the cold feels wonderful also.

Tomorrow is the big day, Thanksgiving. It is when we thank the native americans for letting us have their country. Not really, we are thanking them for helping us (pilgrims) to survive in a new world. Mainly, now it is a day of family gatherings...with turkey, stuffing, cranberry relish, and pumpkin pie. Tonight my family arrives and we will all start preparing for tomorrows big meal. It will be my brother and his family. The house will be alive with seven people vying for the kitchen to do their dish. Wine and conversation will flow. Great smells will fill the house. Dog will play and be underfoot. It will be a wonderful day!