"> I hope this link works- it's a lovely video of bottle nose dolphins interacting with a very friendly cat !

    It feels wonderful to be painting again after a month's pause - I'm grateful to have a deadline, art class on Thursday night. The image is based on photos taken at the British Museum in London of the Elgin Marbles http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elgin_Marbles and the Egyptian collection - as a child,  I spent hours at the Metropolitan Museum in New York City devouring Egyptian art.
  I'll be teaching a children's art class next Sunday; it's been a year since the last one. It will be an hour long to accomodate their different age/interest ; he wants active play after an hour while his sister would camp out on my floor if she could,  her mother told me at Open Studio .
   I got an interesting link from a fellow San Francisco ArtSpan artist  Greg McKenna http://www.flickr.com/photos/valleylist/ . 

    Friends and collectors came from near and far on Sunday to my Open Studio- top photo I'm with Joyce who came from Palo Alto; she has a giclee of my vertical turtle. She bought a full set of my photo cards. Second down is Dale who came from Berkeley with her new honey and her smiling face- such a welcome surprise to see her. Third with his dog Sebastian is my friend Bill, a fellow artist from our MICA art class-  he's drawing again after a long hiatus."The disparate elements (of my Istanbul series ) , sea life, modern/industrial and ancient figures work well together- compelling.."
   Last photo is of my friends Patricia and Mark, the parents of Claire and Declan whom I gave an art lesson to last fall. They had several of my prints in the bathroom at their old apartment where I also did my gardening work. Since moving to their new house, the prints await unveiling discreetly in their boxes.They told me about the kids new activities- Declan takes fencing and is in the choir, Claire is into crayon art- pinned to a board and then heated with a hair dryer to melt into interesting shapes/patterns. They bought photo cards of their favorite paintings " for my wish list".  I'm looking forward to the next art session with the kids .
 I almost forgot to mention the first visitor of the day , Heather Villyard, the director of ArtSpan. She lives in my neighborhood and is hosting several artists in her  home gallery space next weekend- www.truesilversf.com .She was blogging about her artist visits on her smart phone and included a photo of me and my location. She noted the difference between her earlier career, working as a fund-raiser at the Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco and her current one- " it's so liberating it is to take collectors around to view art in the studios - people who can trust their own taste rather than rely on what " the experts" decree. I'll be at the gallery next Friday night .

      The first day of Open Studio was wonderful. My friend Denise, an artist who lives nearby, dropped by on her way home from her Saturday errands. She was concerned about the chicken she left in the car but she stayed for over a half- hour. She really liked my new paintings, the Istanbul Reverie series ; she commented that they have depth , in contrast to the more one-dimensional sea creature portraits - an interesting and informative exchange. She recommended a cafe in the Mission, the Red Poppy, as a good place to show my work. She made a lovely comment as she was leaving-" you represent all us crone artists, Rosie !" 
  While she was there, my son called ; when I called him back, he  asked how the show was going - I was touched by his thoughtfulness. He's learning about artists' needs to help them with the grant application process.
   Kelly Burlingham  http://www.stillmotionglass.com/  , the glass artist in my building gave a demonstration of fusing colored squares in the kiln and twisting them into long canes as they emerge. Tomorrow, she's making glass candy canes - so much fun to watch and see others enjoy.
  I was about to leave at 5: 15 when my friends Daryl and Gretchen arrived ;"but it says until 6 on your postcard ", said Daryl. We've been to many art events together so I asked her to distinguish between an original watercolor and a giclee - fine art print.  " You can see the paint on the surface in this one"- she's one sharp cookie !  They both bought some photo cards from me- 5 for $7 ; Gretchen likes the turtle images, reminds her of being in Hawaii. They also enjoyed the grapes and almonds from "Twin Girls" at the Noe Valley farmers' market.

     The last framed painting "Talisman "  ( center ) is ready two days earlier than promised, completing the Istanbul Reverie series. I'm relieved to have them up today ; now I have a couple of days to finish up details- last-minute posters and post-card deliveries to the other venues nearby participating in Open Studios this weekend., writing up a price list and artistic statement. I bought a case of coconut water - it's turned  hot and I want my guests to be refreshed !

 Getting ready for Open Studio- hanging my work and feeling nostalgic for the 2 on the floor that were displaced from frames to make room for newer work.  I've put up posters at Rainbow Grocery, in the dry cleaners' window  by my house and at Joshua Simon, a well-visited women's clothing store in Noe Valley.
  Yesterday I went on a gallery walk in downtown San Francisco and saw fabulous art by Marine Jardel
http://www.martinejardel.com/index.html , Alexis Manheim http://chandlersf.com/ and Dana Harel http://gallerywendinorris.com/a.php?view=&event_id=103.  I was inspired as these artists work on paper and canvas. I came home feeling transformed by looking at great art, feeling a renewed dedication to my path an artist; it's easy to get caught up in the details and preoccupations of mounting a show and forget the larger picture.

 An interesting dilemna- I designed and sent this to the printer yesterday, requesting 15 copies. Instead of saying I wanted flyers, I said posters. They are 12 " x !8 " ! I cant wait to see them.

        I'm waiting on a call back from the framer- will they be able to frame this latest painting " Talisman " in time for Open Studio on Oct. 20th ? Keeping my fingers crossed..
         YES ! It's a YES ! Wow, I;'m so excited !
         Guess this astrological forecast is correct ;http://www.skywatchastrology.com/members/3695/monday-october-8

           I'm getting ready for Open Studio- yesterday I hung the framed scorpionfish painting in the exhibit hall at Somarts on 9th St. in San Francisco. Today I designed the poster and sent it to my mailing list.I've updated my website http://www.rosiepowell.com/index.htm Next step is to take the  ladder to studio to hang the lovely framed pieces. I got them back from the framers on Tuesday and they're still wrapped in plastic.
 Kelly  Burlingham who works in my building is showing the same weekend.http://stillmotionglass.com/

 Last night I went to a workshop at Art Span, Open Studios sponsoring organization, on DYI guerrilla marketing strategies, presented by artist Josh Coffy   http://thegiftprolific.com/  and author Scott James http://scottandrewjames.com/  . The material was well presented, using engaging slides and entertaining examples. We received a one page hand out " 2 weeks to Open Studios: DYI Offline Promotions " packed with suggestions and spaces/ boxes for each day of the week to check off as tasks are done . We practiced giving our quick pitch- first practice on friends, they suggested. I felt great confidence and enthusiasm after telling Josh "I paint sea creatures,tankers and ancient sculpture. I'm making an environmental statement without judgment - it's all equally beautiful and it's how we live today." He said" I want to come see it. " I gave out business cards , writing the studio address and dates on it - I need to get postcards printed and update my website . 

 Today's painting , titled "Talisman " -the finishing touch will be lightening the coloration on the statue.
In the past, I've labored in vain with watercolor on Arches watercolor paper to render jellyfish. With delicate precision and a light touch, using felt-tip pens on slick Yuppo paper, I was able to suggest their translucent glory.  I'm thrilled at the grace and ease with which the jellyfish coalesced.
  I'm getting ready for Open Studio October 20th and 21st from 11 to 6 pm. @ 1258 Fitzgerald Ave.#103, San Francisco, Ca. 94124.

  I've been refining my Istanbul Reverie series. I'm using the top image in the Open Studio guide- I proofed the copy yesterday. As a complex image , it doesn't read well in a small format - it was a gamble. The bottom image I've transferred to a small canvas to put in the Exhibition for the month of October- each artist can display a piece up to 20"x20" in the Art Span space to showcase their work. 

   My Istanbul series is an attempt to synthesize the impressions of my recent trip, from Turkey's complex and diverse cultural heritage to its vibrant modern art scene -the hulking tankers of the Bosphorus exert a peculiar fascination. I'm allowing the images to suggest or reveal in order to preserve the delicate sense of awe and mystery I feel in the face of this incredibly rich civilization.

http://www.ekavart.tv/Etiket/canan-bozbag
 Take a look at my Turkish friend Canan talking about her recent sculpture show- I traveled to Istanbul to see it. I met her in"97 when she came to San Francisco to study at the California.College of Art.

LIFE IMITATES ART !
A big thank you to my friends who came to visit my Open Studio. I feel so blessed.

A decorator crab holding anemones in each of his claws.. A sea hare in amazing fluorescent coral near Molokini, Hawaii.

This painting of two slipper lobsters hiding in coral was a great exercise in precision. I learned by doing the left-hand one that too many details obscure the image- a wet tissue erases easily, leaving only areas of color. Details are then re-applied judiciously. I knew instinctively when the lobster on the right was done as soon as I got the expressive eye and the fringes in place. The blue ground anchors the piece.

The finished painting done mainly with felt tip pen- I used a wet Q tip to push the color around the red spots depicting the squid's chromatophores. It's not an octopus but a squid , one of my viewers pointed out.

A glass octopus, my latest watercolor on Yupo paper. I'm finally beginning to enjoy working in this new/old way. I haven't used felt tip pens or watercolor in a while - building layers this way is fun instead of frustrating like my last two efforts with the synthetic paper. Figuring out what will stick to it, although stuff smudges onto the side of your hand, not the worst thing in the world !

I have spent the last 6 weeks experimenting with watercolor on yupo paper, a synthetic paper that resists water. It's challenging to work with as the brush has to be really dry and the paint right from the tube - I watched a couple of how-to videos on the Empty Easel website that gave me some pointers and inspiration.I find I just have to keep at it to discover its unique qualities. It's incredibly easy to erase parts with a wet tissue. If I make the brush marks precisely and confidently, it's easier. It dries very slowly and it's difficult to build up layers as the underneath one get blurred quickly. I'm determined to finish the parrot fish although Arches watercolor paper would obviously work better for such a saturated image. I'm ready to move back to canvas again. It's been fun revisiting watercolor and understanding that I gradually shifted to acrylic for the more intense colors.
Yupo may be ideal for depicting the transparency of jellyfish so I may have another go at it.