WEEK 47 PC Challenge~JAMAICA

Yep I did IT! I stayed on track this week and even posted the post card challenge on a Friday!

The delightful country we visited this week  was Jamaica - The land of rum, Margaritaville, dreadlocks, bobsled teams , beautiful turquoise water, amazing beaches, and Yes something called Reggae.
 But not all of Jamaica is beautiful, it is a very  poor&  improvised country. BUT a PROUD Country; and  do they love to have a good time, by partying late into the morning with lots of food and  wonderful music. Majority of their income is based on tourist flocking to the beaches.

Picking a subject for my card wasn't so easy, (because I kept thinking of so many things to use); so I just did a bunch of   uniquely Jamaican  things on my page. 


FRONT of CARD

FIRST of All -I must Confess I LOVE BUTTERFLIES!

So when I kept seeing

 this  butterfly on Jamaican souvenir  clothing -

I knew I had to use that theme for my card.

First of sprayed 3 colors of Dylusional Spray on watercolor paper.

Then I drew the outline of the butterfly & outlined  it in Pitt marker.

To get  the coloring of  the Jamaica flag more pronounced ,

I painted certain areas with more Dylusional Spray;

directly from the bottle with a paint brush.

 

 

BACK of CARD

 

Correspondence :

 

"My Loving Alexander,

Since we last meet in Monaco,

I went to Jamaica to soak up some sun before heading

home to Greece. I miss You so much; but knowing "WE"

will be together once Reuben & Pierre are

punished for their crimes, brings me much PEACE!

You know the locals in Jamaica really know how

to relax and party. I bought you a dreadlocks hat-

Can't wait to see you in it-

Do you think we can spend Christmas together?

Love,

Melite"

 

 

PAGE in BOOK

 

Process of the page:

First I had to figure out where to place PC on page.(top)

Next I drew the Country name, divided it out

 to represent the Jamaica flag and colored with Pitt markers.

I drew the frog next-(remembered seeing one on-line

wearing a Beret with dreadlocks) and he was colored with Pitt markers.

Colored the background with 3 shades of yellow & green

PanPastelles. Stenciled geometric shapes with orange pastelle.

Found the image of Bob Marley and palm trees  online-

The last image is a DOCTOR BIRD-  the national bird.

He was drawn and painted with twinkling H2O's-

such a gorgeous iridescent bird so he really

is very iridescent & shiny (pic bad).

 

 COMPLETED PAGE

 

 

 

Well this week, it felt SO GOOD to stay on track

and get some colorful art work done. Gonna work on finishing a few of missed

postcards yet this weekend so Check back!

 

HAPPY CREATING !

 

Fotojoy/Joyce







THANKFULNESS

 By now we  should have  celebrated our  Thanksgiving -went shopping  for those "buys" of Black Friday. NOT ME!!

 I have been taking it easy today - just being THANKFUL for spending all of yesterday with my parents & family. (even though many tears flowed during grace; given the events of the last 2  1/2 months) The food was great (ate way to much!) and as a Family we have all changed so much- We have always been close family; BUT now we show it much more. Even the young nieces and nephews hugged everyone yesterday and told  All of us how much they loved us as they departed. My father's health  has continued to decline; but he was able to speak for brief periods throughout the day, and he LOVED the mashed up pumpkin pie! My Brother was able to attend , he looked weak ,but his appetite was good. (Considering 2 weeks ago it was touch and go with him)- He has a long way to go in his recovery - we just have to make sure he takes the prescribed medications so his kidneys do not decline again.{ he would be described as a non-compliant patient in the medical world}

So as life goes on; I  have realized a cornucopia of issues occur in every one's life.

BUT I'm finally realizing in OUR darkest hours ; peace,

 love and Joyful memories are possible-

the pain  is  easing  as the days pass...

 We just need to ask for help when we need it,

reach out to our Loved Ones,

keep our Faith in our maker ,

and we can Be BLESSED in the mist of such horrific tragedies.

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

and I wish You a Start to a

BLESSED HOLIDAY SEASON!

 

FOTOJOY

 

 

Week 46 PC Challenge ~TIBET

Well the last month of this challenge  is just around the corner.  So I'm working hard to get caught up.

 This week  the country was  Tibet. Such a struggling country- much political unrest but yet a country of such Colorfulness- Religion is so important to the country, many beautiful monasteries and monks  that wear such plain but colorful outfits-the religious ceremonies are also bright. Many people hang colorful flags for spiritual reasons around  shrines and up in the mountains. The Himalaya mountains are so amazing and a source of tourist  income  Now lets get to my card.

FRONT of CARD

This card is based on Sand paintings that many Monks make-

This is textured with  glass bead gel but can not tell it on this view.

Underneath the gel medium  was colored with colored pencils.

 

 

 BACK of CARD

Correspondence:

" My Dearest Melite,

   I'm on my way home. I stopped in Tibet to attend

to some work related projects.

This country is so colorful, with all the flags flying, native costumes,

and the Monks in their colorful garb.

The Monasteries and Himalaya Mountains are so striking!

As beautiful as they are  I sense turmoil from the political unrest... 

 No updates from my Detectives.

 

Love You & Miss You!!

Alexander"

 

PAGE in BOOK

Images included  is a Shakyamuni Buddha.

Mount Everest of the Himalaya Mountains

The corner image is Tibet in native language and

it symbolizes the bloodshed occurring there currently.

 

Happy Creating!

Fotojoy/Joyce

 

WEEK 45 PC Challenge ~~MONACO

Well I'm back on track -well sorta-This last 2 months have been unbearable at times; but I promised myself I would complete this challenge. - This posting has been delayed because my oldest brother had emergency surgery Sat evening for strangulated bowel and perforation. He is starting to recover with some issues of kidney failure  and pneumonia, but  otherwise he is  stablizing.

Now lets get to the PC Challenge- This week our 2 lovers have FINALLY meet up in Monaco. They  went there originally hoping to find and prosecute "Reuben" related to the events  that occurred in Austria. Keeping with the multiple twists in this story; they were unable to locate "Reuben" ; but they shared some 'time' together.


FRONT of CARD

This is a colored pencil drawing of the Palace casino in Monaco.

Based from an old 1950's postcard  done in Prismacolor CP and

detailing done with Copic pens. 

 

BACK of CARD

   Correspondence:

"My Dearest Melite,

By now you should be home. Oh how I wish we

could be together now!! My LOVE for you grows more daily!

I still can't believe we were able to spend these last few weeks together!

Just wish we had Found Rueben, so he could be prosecuted for

what he did to You!! My detectives are following a new clue-

hopefully they can find  him soon! In the mean time we

have new Happy Memories of the Casino Place in Monaco!

Love Always,

Alexander

xxoxx"

 

PAGE in BOOK





I wanted a subdued look for this page- The PC was to be my main

topic. Monaco had so many thing to offer, but I'm a "Royalty Fan"

and knewn I had to include Princess Grace in the challenge somehow-

Background is scrapbbok paper with a light gesso wash over it.

Inmages include a casino, Grad Prix race car, and a

very expensive sailboat (some of the pricest boats are sold there)

 

 COMPLETED PAGE

So after many delays I HOPE to stay on track and get pages completed and updated quickly!

 

HAPPY CREATING!

 

Fotojoy/Joyce A.



 

WEEK 44 PC Challenge~~ SLOVENIA

MIA

WEEK 43 PC Challenge ~~FINLAND

Posting soon

WEEK 42 PC Challenge~~RUSSIA

Well here's a catch up card and page completed. This was a week I was so looking forward too-just wish I had been able to complete the card that week.

FRONT of CARD

View of Cathedral of Vasity in Red Square.

Done in watercolors and pen.

Statue was cut out from photograph

 

Back of CARD

Reads as Follows:

"My Dearest Love,

Sophie and I went to Russia to explore the great museums,

 and to go the wonderful Bolshoi Ballet.

My thoughts are always of you & wishing

we can met soon. The night terrors have lessen

now with the discovery of my attack in Austria.

Still unsure how Reuben ;or whoever accomplished

such an act as I  still have no recall of it happening.

(the doctors state this is normal)

Doing lots of paintings while here, including the

Cathedral of Vasity on the front of this card.

My Love always,

Melite"

PAGE in BOOK

  This was a labor of time to complete- First of all

the image was based from a an old magazine ad.

I outlined the basic building in light blue colored pencil.

 Then water colored entire page with a very light wash of turquoise blue .

Next I went over certain areas to get the blueprint appearance

with Prisamacolor Verithin colored pencil.

Next step was more water coloring with Antwerp Blue to ad

bold details. Since this took so long

I just cut out the image of the Ballerina from another ad.

Russia title hand draw and colored with Pitt pens.

Well Once again I enjoyed the process for making these entries.

 

Happy Creating!

 

Fotojoy/Joyce A.

WEEK 41 PC Challenge~~SCOTLAND

Posting soon

WEEK 40 PC Challenge~PORTUGAL

Posting soon

WEEK 39 PC Challenge~CZECH REPUBLIC

Return soon for Update

WEEK 38 PC Challenge~DUBAI

Posting to appear Later

WEEK 37 -PC Challenge GREECE

Well as the saying goes better late than never- This card was completed  before all the deaths & tragedies in my family BUT I never had the chance to post it until Now!

In Greece we find Melite writing back to Alexander to see if he is okay- Since he recently was  injured  while looking for "Reuben". Melite decides to  return to her homeland  of  Greece-[ Melite lives on Peloponnese, a small   island off the mainland].She  goes on  holiday in Santorini, Greece; and visits the Theotokas Church  (depicted on front of card).

FRONT of Card

Front of card colored with Polychromas colored pencils.

This view is a well photographed location in Greece.

 

 

BACK of Card

Correspondence:

"Alexander,

    Went back home to Greece-side trip to Santorini Theotokas Church.

Since we did not see each other in Egypt ,

I hope this means your injuries are healing...

I miss you so much- I can not stop thinking about you-

Even though we met each other once in Austria, My Heart

skips a beat every day when we do not hear from you.

Please write me soon so I know you're okay.

 My Love Always ,

Melite"

 

 

PAGE in Book

Greek images of ancient famous people from Greece.

Main image is an ancient map of Peloponnese  from 1654 atlas.

 

 

COMPLETED Page in Book

 

Please enjoy the continuing Love Story of

Melite & Alexander.

 

Fotojoy/ Joyce A.

 







M.I.A. UPDATE

First of all I want to Take time to THANK everyone that  sent words of condolences  during these last very difficult   6 1/2  weeks. Since my  last update to  my blog ; my family suffered  an additional 3  deaths in that time frame.  It just seemed like I was attending a funeral everyday (4 funerals in 21 days ) and grieving non-stop-When I look back on it now it just seems like a Bad dream that we could not wake up from ...

While looking for any words of  strength & encouragement to get me; and my family, though this time of grieving ,I found this wonderful poem that I would like to share with everyone,

   "Grieving is a journey that teaches us how to love in a new way now that our loved one is no longer with us. Consciously remembering those who have died is the key that opens the hearts, that allows us to love them in new ways."

- Tom Attig,

 

 

These words were striking to me and I hope they may bring comfort to any one else in their struggles.
Needless-to -say my health suffered a lot; and I have been battling  a "Viral Syndrome" for over 7 weeks now with frequent visits to doctors etc- I have tried to stay caught  up on the Post card challenge as best I could -So please accept my apology for not leaving comments in that time frame. I have managed to get a few cards done and plan to blog them over the weekend.[ I will complete this challenge!]. This challenge has allowed me to grow in  so many ways in my art; and  I hope everyone else has felt this way as well. So I wanted to make sure to THANK Darcy for sponsoring it  and Thank   everyone for participating in the challenge .

Happy Creating ,

Fotojoy/Joyce A