Monday, September 28, 2020

The Verdict is In .... and Kirkus Reviews says, "GET IT!"

 

                                              with a wonderful review!

Read the Review in it's entirety below...and get a copy of the book by visiting My Website. I will be happy to dedicate and autograph your copy.
 
SEVEN CIRCLES OF LIGHT
HOW THEY WERE BORN AND WHAT THEY BECAME
BY MARYANN LUCAS ‧ RELEASE DATE: JULY 30, 2020

Seven circles of light explore mortality in this spiritual picture book.

In a fairy-tale–like opening, the Brightest Light lives alone, content, in the Big Quiet. But “one day, a Sharp Desire came…and changed everything.” The Brightest Light, looking like a soft white ball surrounded by darkness, encounters a prism that refracts light into colors. Now, the Brightest Light and seven balls of color live happily until the colors encounter a desire for more. The colors leave the Big Quiet for a world like Earth, becoming plants, animals, forces of nature, and humans. Violet and Red turn into lonely human girls who find each other and become friends, experiencing the strange feeling that they’ve met before. Eventually, the colors realize the time is coming to leave their incarnations and return to the Brightest Light, once again content until the desire for change resurfaces. Lucas does an impressive job of making this philosophical theme feel approachable and grounded. The author’s images vary in style. One resembles a doodle in a digital paint program while the images on the Earth-like world are more detailed cartoon illustrations with full backgrounds and a diverse human cast. Her handling of time passing in a panel-packed page seems natural, and the hints at death feel merely part of a cycle rather than sad.

An engaging conversation starter for parents and children about growth, change, death, and life.

 
 
 




Sunday, September 13, 2020

Zinnias in Glass



Zinnias are by far my most favorite flower to paint. First off... what about those colors? It is pure joy to  squirt out hefty piles of pinks and yellows and oranges and just letting them swirl. How about the structure of the blooms? They are architectural masterpieces, with so many interesting details, big chunky centers and sturdy petals not to mention an array of assorted shapes. Finally, zinnias have a very long hang time... they really do hold their shape and keep their perky little heads up for many, many days. Knowing ahead of time that I do not have to race to finish the painting because the flowers are NOT wilting before my eyes, leaves me with a wonderful sense of calm that I believe translates into the finished piece. Before the zinnia season is over here on the eastern end of Long Island... I plan to do another still life, and then a landscape of the farm that grows them. Wish me luck and ... I'll keep you posted. 
 

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