Elizadoodle #103: She Sang the Sea

Watercolor and ink on paper. 8" x 5" Order a print here.

To win the original "She Sang the Sea," share this link on your facebook page and tag or message Eliza Furmansky Fine Art  so I know to put your name in my lottery jar.  If I've "liked" your post, you know you're in the drawing.

Add a title, story, lyric, or thought, and I'll put your name in twice! I love reading your responses and interpretations!

Thank you!

The Drawing for the original will be Monday, 2/23/2014!

Click here to see the ALL of the Doodles so far!

Elizadoodle #102: Out of the Blue

Oil on paper. 7" x 5 1/2" Win it here and PURCHASE A PRINT HERE.

Oil on paper. 7" x 5 1/2" Win it here and PURCHASE A PRINT HERE.

Little bits of blue imagination play a friendly game of chase,

hiding in the darkness, undefined,

until....

BOO!

To win the original "Out of the Blue," share this link on your facebook page and tag or message Eliza Furmansky Fine Art  so I know to put your name in my lottery jar.  If I've "liked" your post, you know you're in the drawing.

Add a title, story, lyric, or thought, and I'll put your name in twice! I love reading your responses and interpretations!

Thank you!

The Drawing for the original will be Friday night, 11/21/2014!

Click here to see the ALL of the Doodles so far!

 

Doodle #101: Colorado Coyote Canyon Chorus

Mixed media on paper. 6" x 6" Win it here and PURCHASE A PRINT HERE.

Mixed media on paper. 6" x 6" Win it here and PURCHASE A PRINT HERE.

This is the second doodle made from a sheet of watercolor paper on which I used left over oil paints to doodle some colorful patterns.  I imagine that there's a secret doorway somewhere in this canyon that a coyote's chorus could open at high noon.  Where it leads, I don't know...

Enjoy this week's Elizadoodle!

To win the original "Canyon Song," share this link on your facebook page and tag or message Eliza Furmansky Fine Art  so I know to put your name in my lottery jar.  If I've "liked" your post, you know you're in the drawing.

Add a title, story, lyric, or thought, and I'll put your name in twice! I love reading your responses and interpretations!

Thank you!

The Drawing for the original will be Friday night, 11/14/2014!

Click here to see the ALL of the Doodles so far!

 

Doodle #100: Reflection

Mixed media on paper. 6" x 8 1/2" Win it here and PURCHASE A PRINT HERE.

Mixed media on paper. 6" x 8 1/2" Win it here and PURCHASE A PRINT HERE.

I can't believe this is the one hundredth doodle!  The number actually intimidated me a little bit... but then I got to work.

I had some left over oil paints on my palette last week, so I used them to make some quick designs on a sheet of watercolor paper that I thought might be fun to "doodle collage" with when they dried.  It was a weird assortment of colors and patterns, though, jarring. Then I split it into two doodles, and the compositions became more clear.  So, I guess I shimmied around the stress of the BIG ONE HUNDRED by making #100 and #101 simultaneously.  You'll see #101 next week.

I chose this one for #100 because of the element of reflection, and because I really love it. As I was working on it, and made the house reflect the sun, I started thinking the title might be "House of the Rising Sun," so I listened to the song again, and though I love it, I do NOT think it reflects this doodle. 

I like that the reflection is not precise; it leaves a little magic, perhaps there's a secret world there, where you can live in the sun, and fly like water.

Enjoy #100! (And keep your eye out for #101 next week.)

 

Sometimes I share the things people have written about the doodles.  This is one of my favorites, from Casey Muldoon:

Art Doodle Lottery Entry: 'Reflections of a Summertime Lost'. Memories- they are pieces of things, moments, glances. Rarely are they remembered as they were. What is conjured up is the approximation of the thing that happened, the bits, the pieces- like cut out pieces of paper and fabric- overlapped, woven, pieced together. They are not the past, but somehow are sufficient to remind us of what was then, and what was beautiful and what stuck to us. It speaks to the animal inside us, the instinct, the intuition, the emotional, the longing.

Click here to see the ALL of the Doodles so far!

Doodle #99: Eating the Night

Mixed media on paper. 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" Win it here and PURCHASE A PRINT HERE.

This doodle was inspired by last week's trip to the Dr. Sun Yat‑Sen Classical Chinese Garden in Vancouver, where I purchased a book of Chinese Ghost Stories, and a new calligraphy book for the Open Art Studio.  I think the colors and the night sky were influenced by a spontaneous lesson about the Aurora Borealis I taught this week, and thematically, it's about what to do when a storm of hurt and anger unexpectedly arrives on your doorstep (been a hell of a week). All that tossed itself onto the page, and we have the Eater of Darkness, just in time for Halloween!

I'd love to know what the myth behind the Night Eater is.... what do you think? 

To win the original "Eating the Night" painting, share this link on your facebook page and tag or message Eliza Furmansky Fine Art  so I know to put your name in my lottery jar.  If I've "liked" your post, you know you're in the drawing.

Add the myth, or a title, lyric, or thought, and I'll put your name in twice! I love reading your responses and interpretations!

Thank you!

The Drawing for the original will be Wednesday night, 10/22/2014!

Click here to see the ALL of the Doodles so far!

Doodle #98: Sparkle Bay

Mixed media on paper. 8" x 5" Win it here and PURCHASE A PRINT HERE.

I was home with a minor concussion for a day last week, and I binge watched season 13 of Project Runway.  -Delightful!  Then at Open Art Studio on Sunday, surrounded by people using scrap material to collage mirrors and make little wooden robots, I used their left over acrylic paint and glitter to make different patterns on water color paper. I had what looked like an assortment of Bollywood fabrics, so I went all "Project Runway" Doodle style, and assembled this sparkling bay.  Enjoy!

To win the original "Sparkle Bay" painting, share this link on your facebook page and tag or message Eliza Furmansky Fine Art  so I know to put your name in my lottery jar.  If I've "liked" your post, you know you're in the drawing.

Add a title, story, lyric, or thought, and I'll put your name in twice! I love reading your responses and interpretations!

Thank you!

The Drawing for the original will be Tuesday night, 10/14/2014!

Click here to see the ALL of the Doodles so far!

 

 

Doodle #97: L'Shanah Tovah!

Mixed media on paper. 8" x 5" Win it here and PURCHASE A PRINT HERE.

It is officially 5775 in the Jewish calendar. 

Yes, I am a day late with the Rosh Hashana doodle, but this doodle will wish you a good year EVERY DAY!  (L'Shanah Tovah, the Hebrew text around the sun, means "Have a good year!")

I like that the trees look like little Shabbat candle flames -to light each step of your year with peace and love, and that we don't know exactly what's over the next bend in the path, but we can get a glimpse of adventurous mountains, magical lakes, and warm golden sunlight.

Happy New Year!

Thank you for supporting the Doodle with your time and attention. 

To win the original "L'Shanah Tovah" painting, share this link on your facebook page and tag or message Eliza Furmansky Fine Art  so I know to put your name in my lottery jar.  If I've "liked" your post, you know you're in the drawing!

Add a title, story, lyric, thought, or a new year's wish, and I'll put your name in twice! I love reading your responses and interpretations!

Thank you!

The Drawing for the original will be Friday night, 10/3/2014!

Click here to see the ALL of the Doodles so far!

 

 

 

 

Doodle #96: Earth Womb

Oil and india ink on canvas ~ 8" x 5 1/2". Mixed media on paper. 8" x 5" Win it here and PURCHASE A PRINT HERE.

First time using oils over india ink. I didn't love how the ink worked on the canvas (I prefer how it moves on paper) but it dries quickly and permanently, which is perfect for the impatient oil painter who wants to glaze.

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While doodling, I was listening to "Apocalypse: A Lifting of the Veil," a profoundly transformative women's choral concert, created and conducted by my new piano teacher, Tess Orozco.  The compositions from cultures around the world are powerful, playful, deeply evocative... and the beating heartbeat of this doodle.  You can listen to the full concert, or just enjoy a taste of one of the songs here.

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To win the original "Earth Womb" painting, share this link on your facebook page and tag or message Eliza Furmansky Fine Art  so I know to put your name in my lottery jar.  If I've "liked" your post, you know you're in the drawing.

Add a title, story, lyric, or thought, and I'll put your name in twice! I love reading your responses and interpretations!

Thank you!

The Drawing for the original will be Friday night, 9/26/2014!

Click here to see the ALL of the Doodles so far!

Doodle #95: Open your Love Letter, Dear One

Mixed media on paper. 8" x 5" Win it here and PURCHASE A PRINT HERE.

This doodle originated at last week's Open Art Studio, while doing a brief oil painting demo, to help my friend, Elana, recreate a song and a memory on canvas.

Then a flock of birds flew from the oil.

I kept the demo paper, thinking it might grow into a doodle later in the week.

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I've been re-reading one of my favorite books, True Love by Thich Khat Hanh.  It's a book about bringing mindfulness into relationships using four mantras:

Dear one, I am here for you.

Dear one, I know you are here, and it makes me happy.

Dear one, I know you are suffering, and I am here for you.

Dear one, I am suffering.  Please help me.

It's a beautiful book, and when I read it, I am reminded of the sheer awesomeness available in each moment, requiring only that I show up and notice it.  Not always so easy, hence the practices of mindful breathing and listening. Still not so easy...

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There was a period of time in my early twenties in which I wanted to be a journalist. It began with adventurous fantasies about traveling around the globe on assignment for National Geographic. Then, while guiding school groups through the Arboretum's Japanese Gardens, where new layers of a magical world are revealed from every step, I realized it was really that I wanted to write love letters to the world, about the world. I wanted humanity to fall in love.

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My oldest brother, Leif, taught me to meditate when I was about 11 years old.  I sat next to him, cross legged, and I had a vision of becoming a tall mage named the Joyful Princess. I would travel in spurts from a little village in the mountains, and bring back stories of the world from beyond. The people in the village were warm and merry, and all about a foot shorter than me. At night, they would take the brightly colored blankets from their homes, lay them in the sand streets, and watch the stars, whispering and singing their love.  They were always happy to see me return, and eager for my tales.

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Tonight, I cut a window to put in front of the little oil painting of the sun rising from the mountains. It blocked out too much of the view. I wrote the words Open and Love. The window listened. It expanded and made room, for Your, Letter, Dear One.

Open your Love Letter, Dear One

Just look at the beautiful, wonderful Now! Love!

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A love letter... a love song... Elana's song!

The song's heroine, Aicha, when offered riches and jewels replies:

Keep your treasures,

Me, I'm worth more than that.

Bars are still bars, even if made of gold.

I want the same rights as you

and respect for each day.

Me, I want only love.

You can hear Cheb Kaleb sing Aicha, live from Casablanca here.

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Tonight I put Doodle #93 into a small manila envelope with a hand written note on a post-it stuck to the back, and addressed it in bold sharpie letters to a set designer in California who I met at a party years ago. 

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To win the original of Doodle #95, Open your Love Letter, Dear One, share this link on your facebook page and tag or message Eliza Furmansky Fine Art  so I know to put your name in my lottery jar.  If I've "liked" your post, you know you're in the drawing.

Add a title, story, lyric, or thought, and I'll put your name in twice! I love reading your responses and interpretations!

Thank you, Dear Ones.

The Drawing for the original will be Thursday night, 9/18/2014!

Click here to see the ALL of the Doodles so far!

 

Doodle #94: Sky Bouquet

Watercolor on paper. 8" x 5" Win it here and PURCHASE A PRINT HERE.

Last doodle of the summer- a little free form watercolor play.

To win the original painting, share this link on your facebook page and tag or message Eliza Furmansky Fine Art  so I know to put your name in my daily lottery jar.  If I've "liked" your post, you know you're in the jar.

Add a title, story, lyric, or thought inspired by this doodle, and I'll put your name in twice! I LOVE reading your responses and interpretations! Thank you.

The Drawing for the original will be Thursday night, 9/11/2014!

Click here to see the ALL of the Doodles so far!

Doodle #93: Urban Elephant Mecca

Watercolor on paper. 8" x 5" Win it here and PURCHASE A PRINT HERE.

To win the original painting, share this link on your facebook page and tag or message Eliza Furmansky Fine Art  so I know to put your name in my daily lottery jar.  If I've "liked" your post, you know you're in the jar.

Add a title, story, lyric, or thought inspired by this doodle, and I'll put your name in twice! I LOVE reading your responses and interpretations! Thank you.

The Drawing for the original will be Wednesday night, 8/27/2014!

Click here to see the ALL of the Doodles so far!

Doodle #92: The Sea of Darkness

Watercolor on paper. 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" Win it here. PURCHASE A PRINT HERE.

Watercolor on paper. 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" Win it here. PURCHASE A PRINT HERE.

I am a story addict.  Seasons of television shows at the tip of my fingers, is like an alcoholic tending bar.  So, I quit cold turkey.  No TV fiction for 30 days.  I've been filling the vacuum with new history obsessions.  The last week or so has been "The Age of Exploration." 

Portugal and Castile in the fifteenth century is a terrific soap opera, right up there with Game of Thrones: Kings murdering their sons mistresses, brother against brother, Spanish Subterfuge.

I've been quite taken with "Prince Henry the Navigator," the youngest son of the bastard of the murdered mistress mentioned above. He started the first cartography center in Europe and founded a navigation school that brought together old Greek texts about geometry, new ship building technology, and the most gifted and daring sea captains of the day.  With a hearty push, he sent ships of traders and explorers off into the unknown.

There were many unknowns at the time.  My favorite of these psychological barriers given form on maps and in tales is "The Sea of Darkness," just past Cape Bojador, in modern day Morocco.  Henry sent Gil Eannes off in a newly designed and built caravel to pass Cape Bojador, but when the crew drew near the dreaded sea, they shared legends of giant sea monsters and equatorial boiling waters, and hastily turned their expedition back to Portugal.  Henry sent Eannes off again, and this time, he persevered through shaggy shoals, reefs, and fears, finally pulling back the curtain on "The Sea of Darkness" to reveal...

...peaceful waters, a quiet shoreline, and eventually a small fishing community.

So, here we have, in Doodle #92, the first European sailing expedition to go beyond the imagined Sea of Darkness, beginning many new stories of encounters and discoveries.

Doodle #91: The Lighthouse

Watercolor on paper. 8" x 5" Win it here and PURCHASE A PRINT HERE.

I was doodling while listening to an audible involving a young boy infiltrating a camp of pirates. What began as an assortment of geometric shapes revealed themselves as a possible setting for the story. There's a lot of fun texture in this one, and when I look at it now, I think of a stargazer/lighthouse keeper, keeping his or her mind busy with galaxies and waves while also keeping ships safe from the prismatic rocks dotting the shoreline.  What world do you see?

To win the original painting, share this link on your facebook page and tag or message Eliza Furmansky Fine Art  so I know to put your name in my daily lottery jar.  If I've "liked" your post, you know you're in the jar.

Add a title, story, lyric, or thought inspired by this doodle, and I'll put your name in twice! I LOVE reading your responses and interpretations! Thank you.

The Drawing for the original will be Wednesday night, 8/13/2014!

Click here to see the ALL of the Doodles so far!

Doodle #90: Morning Paper

Watercolor on paper. 5" x 5" Win it here and PURCHASE A PRINT HERE.

I've been thinking lately about where I choose to place my attention.  Every moment is full of so many options- introspection, world events, the light coming in the window, present company, history, plans...  In such a rich world, where do you put your focus?

To win the original painting, share this link on your facebook page and tag or message Eliza Furmansky Fine Art  so I know to put your name in my daily lottery jar.  If I've "liked" your post, you know you're in the jar.

Add a title, story, lyric, or thought inspired by this doodle, and I'll put your name in twice! I LOVE reading your responses and interpretations! Thank you.

The Drawing for the original will be Wednesday night, 8/6/2014!

Click here to see the ALL of the Doodles so far!

Doodle #89: Celestial Cellist

Watercolor on paper. 8" x 5" Win it here and PURCHASE A PRINT HERE.

I was watching a mystery last night that began with a cellist on a subway.  I said, "I love cellos!" 

Elijah said, "Everyone loves cellos."

When this musician showed up on paper today, I thought she might be a clown, then a violinist, but apparently, she plays the cello.  Perfect, since everyone loves the cello. 

I also just got back from a lovely visit with an old friend who played the cello for years before carpal tunnel took the joy out of it for her.  So this one's for Darcy, and all of the musicians who aren't playing right now but still have music in their souls.

It's ridiculously sparkly.

To win the original painting, share this link on your facebook page and tag or message Eliza Furmansky Fine Art  so I know to put your name in my daily lottery jar.  If I've "liked" your post, you know you're in the jar.

Add a title, story, lyric, or thought inspired by this doodle, and I'll put your name in twice! I LOVE reading your responses and interpretations! Thank you.

The Drawing for the original will be Wednesday night, 7/30/2014!

Click here to see the ALL of the Doodles so far!

Doodle #88: Vision Quest

Watercolor on paper. 8" x 5" Win it here and PURCHASE A PRINT HERE.

To win the original painting, share this link on your facebook page and tag or message Eliza Furmansky Fine Art  so I know to put your name in my daily lottery jar.  If I've "liked" your post, you know you're in the jar.

Add a title, story, lyric, or thought inspired by this doodle, and I'll put your name in twice! I LOVE reading your responses and interpretations! Thank you.

The Drawing for the original will be Wednesday night, 7/9/2014!

Click here to see the ALL of the Doodles so far!

Doodle #87: Ninja Bluebird

Watercolor on paper. 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" Win it here. PURCHASE A PRINT HERE.

To win the original painting, share this link on your facebook page and tag or message Eliza Furmansky Fine Art  so I know to put your name in my daily lottery jar.  If I've "liked" your post, you know you're in the jar.

Add a title, story, lyric, or thought inspired by this doodle, and I'll put your name in twice! I LOVE reading your responses and interpretations! Thank you.

The Drawing for the original will be Wednesday night, 6/25/2014!

Click here to see the ALL of the Doodles so far!

Doodle #86: Book Magic

Watercolor and ink on paper. 8" x 5" Win it here and PURCHASE A PRINT HERE.

I might have another recurring character here...

To win the original painting, share this link on your facebook page and tag or message Eliza Furmansky Fine Art  so I know to put your name in my daily lottery jar.  If I've "liked" your post, you know you're in the jar.

Add a title, story, lyric, or thought inspired by this doodle, and I'll put your name in twice! I LOVE reading your responses and interpretations! Thank you.

The Drawing for the original will be Wednesday night, 6/18/2014!

Click here to see the ALL of the Doodles so far!

Doodle #85: Telephone Wire Song

Watercolor and india ink on paper. 7" x 5". Win it here and PURCHASE A PRINT HERE

To win the original painting, share this link on your facebook page and tag or message Eliza Furmansky Fine Art  so I know to put your name in my daily lottery jar.  If I've "liked" your post, you know you're in the jar.

Add a title, story, lyric, or thought inspired by this doodle, and I'll put your name in twice! I LOVE reading your responses and interpretations! Thank you.

The Drawing for the original will be Wednesday night, 6/11/2014!

Click here to see the ALL of the Doodles so far!

Doodle #84: "I love you, Universe!"

Watercolor on paper. 5 1/2" x 8 1/4" Win it here and PURCHASE A PRINT HERE

This one started out as a little stick figure standing on the top of the world.

My improv group used to be called "Fat Kid Magic." I didn't like the name much until I thought about illustrating it- a bunch of kids playing make believe in an attic- a trunk full of mismatched costume possibilities, flashlights and forts, and everything fun about friends and imagination. The name of the group changed to "Improv Anonymous" before I ever got around to making that illustration, but I think this is clearly one of the "fat kids," all dressed up, and creating the universe.

Enjoy!

To win the original painting, share this link on your facebook page and tag or message Eliza Furmansky Fine Art  so I know to put your name in my daily lottery jar.  If I've "liked" your post, you know you're in the jar.

Add a title, story, lyric, or thought inspired by this doodle, and I'll put your name in twice! I LOVE reading your responses and interpretations! Thank you.

The Drawing for the original will be Tuesday night, 6/3/2014!

Click here to see the ALL of the Doodles so far!