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Take a look through the slate of upcoming FREE classes from Creative Techs, and sign up for a couple that catch your interest here. I took their 10 week Photoshop Class and it was AWESOME!

Relationships At The Smithville Mansion

This Saturday, I've been invited by friend and photography mentor, Nancy Louie to attend a photo shoot in Maryland. It is being put together by a group of iStockers from the Northeast region and it is called a "meetup". I'll fill you in on more details as I get them. All I know so far, is the theme is "Relationships". Working with the Venitskys, Sid and Shirley, yesterday at the Smithville Mansion already got me thinking a lot about the very subject. You can find out more about them and see more quotes on relationships in today's Spirit Art post.





"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom." ~Marcel Proust

Wash Drawing Of Butterfly Bush Flowers

I've posted almost 60 drawings everyday so far this summer. I can't believe that it is almost August! For all you folks who haven't checked out my blog, www.sketchingeveryday.com yet, you may want to take a look. Here's today's finished sketch of the cut Butterfly Bush flowers that I posted yesterday. I decided to break out my watercolors and really try to bring these babies to life for you.

Sketching In The Mountains

Two Saturdays ago at this time I was still in the mountains. The past two weeks have flown by! I can't tell you what exactly I've been so busy with, other than post processing photographs and filling hummingbird feeders. This is a photo I took in Colorado of my sister, Gaile. She was a wonderfully cooperative model and roadie. My thanks go out to her today for helping me with my photography journey.

Worth A Thousand Words

Raven Spirits

Raven has long been associated with magic and ancestor spirits. On my trip out to Colorado this month, crows and ravens seemed to follow me everywhere. According to indigenous traditions, all species of crow, including raven, help us to realign our consciousness so we may better connect to the Great Mystery. I tried to portray this energy in today's drawing.

Check out my sister, Denise Bush's great photos of our trip out to Colorado here.

Colorful Colorado

The flowers in Colorado are breathtakingly beautiful. Vibrant and varied varieties dazzle my eyes and stimulate the imagination. Here are some more colorful shots taken last week in Crested Butte Colorado.

A Memorable 4th of July Week

Although my Colorado Trip has come to an end, overall it was a trip filled with wonderful times spent in beautiful country with family. Here's a picture of my dad, Big Al, putting his flag up in front of the RV at our campground in Gunnison, CO.

More Photos From Colorado

I'm sitting at the Denver Airport eating nachos with salsa and guacamole and drinking "Sweaty Betty". (It's a beer very similar to "Blue Moon", served with an orange slice.) With time to kill, I thought I'd say hello and post a few more photos from my trip.

These two photos were taken on July 5th in Rocky Mountain National park.



These second two photos are from our horseback ride up on Snodgrass yesterday of our cute little trail guide, Angie. She's a kindergarten teacher and works at Fantasy Ranch in the summer. She was a great trail guide and was full of interesting facts about the flora and fauna of the area.

Trail Ride in the Rockies

My sister, Gaile, my dad and I took a horseback ride at Fantasy Ranch, through the foothills around Mt. Crested Butte. Here are photos from our trip today.

Read My Interview on Creative Spotlight

Just published - Read My Interview by Ralph Serpe On CREATIVE SPOTLIGHT's Art Instruction Blog.

Wilflowers and Views Around Crested Butte, Colorado

My two sisters, Denise and Gaile and my mom, Eve and I went into the town of Crested Butte yesterday morning. We took some time to stroll around the village and look at some of the yards that are on on the wildflower garden tour as part of the 2009 Crested Butte Wildflower Festival.




After a little shopping and a fine lunch on Elk Avenue, we headed up to Mt. Crested Butte to take some photos. Here are three of the many photos taken yesterday from this breathtaking area.

Fixed But Not Fixed By Denver Saturn

We went out of our way today and picked up the car at the Denver Saturn Dealer. They assured us that it was fixed. Dad hooked it up to the RV and off we went, with the car in tow, happy campers on our way to Gunnison. When we got to the RV park, I drove the car to our spot while dad tried to sandwich his 38' x 130"rig into a 37' x 120" space. It required a lot of jockeying. Finally we convinced the campground folks that we needed a differnt spot, after dad said if he opened the sliders and his rig got damaged, they'd have to pay for it. When the RV was finally situated in the new spot, I tried to start the Saturn, and low and behold, the same exact thing was happening all over again!! They have just picked it up for a second time. At least it happened in a more conveinient place this time. We are expecting my two sisters who just flew into Denver to arrive here soon. Tomorrow we are headed out to get a rental car and go to the Wildflower Festival in Crested Butte. Hopefully, the rest of the trip will be without any inconveinient incidences. I'm sure my next post will be of more pleasant pictures and occurances.

Colorado Trip - Day 2

My folks and I set out bright and early to tour the Rocky Mt. National Park. We saw lots of elk, some moose and a few birds. The views were spectacular. Our trip had an unexpected detour when the car malfunctioned. We had to arrange for towing and a rental car in a very remote area, which was no easy task. It hasn't ended yet, but we were able to get towed. We acquired a rental car which allowed us to make the two hour journey back over the continental divide to our temporary home back at the RV park. Check back to read about the next episode.

A couple More Animals From Wild Safari Park

An ostrich shot by sister, Denise Bush.


This guy was lookin' for a lift or possibly a handout.... I drew from this photo today while my photographer buddy, Nancy Louie, sat on my back studio porch shooting hummingbirds. You can see my daily drawing attempt on my Sketching Everyday Blog today

Tomorrow, I'm posting the human animal family here, then I'll be done with My Great Adventure Family Reunion 2009. :-D

White Tigers, Oh My!

One of the highlights of my trip to Great Adventure was seeing the white tigers. They have quite a few of them, but this guy was the biggest. He was so cute, you just wanted to cuddle and play with him! His facial expressions and actions reminded me so much of my own orange tabby tiger, Tigger.


Look at him play with his toy!


That is ONE BIG KITTY!


With focus and determination.

In a very proud moment, he displays his prize.

Camera: Cannon A590 point 'n shoot - through dirty glass. :-D

I can't believe this is the last day of June already! I've been meaning to post more snapshots of my Great Adventure trip for the past two weeks and seem to always be running out of time. I've got an intensive project going on right now. I'm photographing and post processing my artwork for online venues. Between the photography, blogging and the sketching everyday, the days are quickly turning into nights.

Magic Mushrooms In Weird New Jersey

I live in weird New Jersey. It's home to the Jersey Devil and other strange stuff. People from New Jersey get used to it. As you local people know, we've had a tremendous amount of rain the past month here. The woods are wet and there's a lot of mushrooms, moss and fungus growing everywhere. Thursday morning I spent some time going out into our woods with my camera and my close up Macro lens. Here's a few of my unprocessed shots, straight from the camera. I hope you enjoy!




Local friend, Lou Bergdoll wrote in after my sketchingeveryday post yesterday; "Little Louie and I were bicycling in the pines off Atsion Rd. on Three Bridges Rd. going toward the Mulica River this evening and we found the greatest clump of red fungus! I wish you could have seen them. It was absolutely magical in the waning rays of the dying sun. Thanks for sharing! Lou"
Thank you Lou.... wish I could have seen that!

More Wild Safari Babies

Some Fur Babies At Great Adventure

Still got lots of photos to post from my Great Adventure trip. Here's a couple of Bison twins. Just two of the many babies in the wild safari park. Now who doesn't like baby animals?

Ah, Accomplishments!

"For an artist, any accomplishment is merely a minor victory over failure, and no more than a small step up the steep and tortuous path towards excellence." ~ Ian Semple

Busy Busy Busy - See yesterday's Spirit Art post here!