Color - Mood Altering

Need a color lift? Paint a Lamp shade.






I have painted every one of my lamp shades. Either on the inside or on the outside. And all of my wall colors I have painted with at least 3 different shades of color, one on top of the other, leaving open spaces for each individual color to come forward.


Some colors are difficult. Green for instance. Green needs a lot of natural light or the room will feel like a dungeon. Yellow is another difficult color. It can look brassy and needs to be calmed down. I always start with a color that is darker and livelier than the end result should be. The adjustment is made with the next two color applications.


The walls are glowing. The mood of the room is changed with the flick of the light switch. Complexions improve. Faces soften. The sun is always shining.

Gina

This Morning

It's blustery outside

But look what wealth to me the snow has brought

Gina

FAUX - FALSE

I knew a Gentleman, a decorative painter. He scoffed at the term "Faux Painter". Do you want to be known as a "False Painter?" He said.

The Italians paint wooden stairs to look like marble. Not because the material is too expensive but because marble is too heavy. It adds too much weight to an already very heavy structure.

They left us with a problem. How to conceal the underside of the stairs? We bent wet dry wall sheets around a five gallon drum, we bent them around a tree. Nothing worked. So Gene tacked up a special kind of wire and started filling in with joint compound. Sanding in between each layer. Over and over again. See the glass of champagne? He was celebrating. Finally, the last layer of compound and the last coat to be sanded.



And then I painted the stair treads to mimic marble. I had already painted the iron railing to give it a verdigris finish.

So happy to be a "False Painter".

Gina

On the road to Marrakech

North Africa

On the road from Fez to Marrakech. Nothing but sand and the occasional Oasis in the distance

A few camels on the horizon

Now and then Life out of nowhere, by a water well. And then nothing for a long while and then all of a sudden color, lots and lots of it.

On either side of the road a fantastic scene repeated over and over. Riders on Arabian horses. Diaphanous material of azure blue, citrine yellow, emerald green, iridescent studded jewels and gems, and kohl black eyes.

Astride, on the first Arabian horse a most beautiful woman sitting in front of a handsome Rider. The next woman on a horse, by herself, also beautiful, the next and then the next, a little older a little less beautiful and then a woman dressed in black on a donkey.


Where were they all going? A fantastic scene. And I couldn't take pictures. I was warned not to take pictures of women in North Africa. But never mind, the picture is still vivid in my mind and I am going back to Marrakech in September.



And then outside of a small village a huge gathering. It was market day. That is where everyone was going; to the weekly Market.

Every animal imaginable was being traded or sold.

But where are the beautiful women we just passed? There must be more. Is this their day to spend time with their women friends to gossip and renew friendships? Are they kept hidden?

A very brisk trade of Arabian Horses was in progress. I was the only woman in the area. Maybe I should not have been there!




And there was a particular horse, this one. You could hear the exitement when the rider brought it into the open market. Loud shouting, frantic bidding, secret hand movements and the stallion was sold.



I didn't partake. Purchased nothing that was alive. Was content with less moveable objects.

Will be having a new experience in Marrakech, staying at the newly opened Peacock Pavilions.


Gina

Have you heard of Granita?

An Italian dessert, so refreshing and so easy on your figure

Strawberry Granita. 1 cup sugar and 3 cups water, make simple syrup add 1 pint strawberries, 1/2 cup fresh orange juice, 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, 1/4 cup Kirschwasser or other cherry liquor. Combine in blender and pour into container. Freeze and break up with fork every 2 hours until mixture reaches grainy snow texture. Serve "up" in cocktail glasses.






This amaryllis bloom showed up in my greenhouse, unexpected. It was to bloom at Christmas time. It's the same color as the strawberry granita.

Gina

The Cloche

From the Medieval Latin clocca meaning Bell

The French probably developed the glass cloche. It is formed from a solid piece of glass. The cloche protects plants from the cold in your garden. In the house, it can showcase a rare and special plant. It can also be used as a food cover. Chocolates, fancy cakes, or cheeses come to mind.





When you bring in your daffodils do not mix them with other flowers at first, but let them stand in water for a few hours. Daffodils exude a very sticky substance which will clog the stems of other flowers. Who can resist a bouquet of daffodils and the exotic Rembrandt tulip?

Gina