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🌹 Rosie 🌹

@violetpigeons

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Summer tarot cards!!

Water: Long Beach, ice cream trucks, lakes, swimming, beach trip with neighbors, misquamicut beach, Lake Erie and Lake Michigan, rocky New England beaches, boat rides, sunset swimming, shell collecting, sailing, rivers. People watching from grandparents’ balcony in Sicily.

Quiet: Having more quiet time than hoped, watching summer fun unfold from the outside. Feeling the quiet that summer can bring, the solo time. The feeling of having nothing to do after school ends- freeing.

Garden: Stepping from wet grass to warm pavement, making tomato sauce and pesto from the garden, canning tomatoes, working on the porch, playing with the dog, WOW EVERYTHING IS GREEN!!! And perfect 70 degrees, greenery everywhere, beautiful green color of sunlight passing through the leaves.

Glow: First day of summer nostalgia, feeling totally free from school, walking through the neighborhood at sunset and seeing golden light, smelling the scent of a dryer running while the crickets chirp, thunderstorms, smell of rain after a storm. People watching from grandparents’ balcony in Sicily.

Wander: Roller skating, impromptu picnics, reading a spell book, Vermont, mountains, pretty greenery outside the window and sunlight streaming in, badminton, grilling, arguing with neighbor kids and having general tomfoolery occur, reading, bubbles, plane rides, traveling

Pressure: Pressure for summer jobs and internships, an ideal summer. Pressure for external performance.

Spark: Music festivals, concerts, dancing, tipsy freedom, falling for someone, random unexpected connections and new adventures

Heat: High heat, thighs sticking to chairs when trying to stand up, not enough AC, staying inside to avoid dangerous heat, high UV and dressing like a covered ghost to avoid the sun, wandering malls to stay cool, becoming a vampire. Dangerous heat waves, climate disasters.

Fire: Smores, camping, singing around a fire, oversharing (in a cozy sense) around a fire, forest fires.

Friendos’ photos :))))

My summer feeling:

Baseball game playing on a radio at night while the crickets chirp. Neighborhood screaming contest. Winning the screaming contest. Flashlight tag in the woods. Wee by @violetpigeons

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a month ago

@capyb_araarts and I realized we both have climate and earth science backgrounds and worked in the Washington, DC area, so we decided to do some climate art :)))
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In Taiwan, I can take public transit (usually a packed minibus) to routes anywhere in the mountains and on the coast. One weekend after a typhoon rolled through, I laced up my platform combat boots and got a 蛋餅 at the neighborhood breakfast shop. The 老闆 handed it to me and said to be careful, hiking after a typhoon is dangerous.

I was headed to YangMingShan (陽明山), a national park north of Taipei with volcanic geography, hot springs, and beautiful hikes.

YangMingShan is one of the easiest spots in Taiwan to see just how dramatically Taiwan is shaped by weather. Being a tiny, mountainous island, it has dramatic local climates and quick changes in weather patterns.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lots of people new to Taiwan think Taiwanese folks’ concern for local weather is overkill. But typhoons cause dangerous floods and landslides here each year. Heavy rainfall triggers landslides and flooding, making mountainous and flood-prone areas dangerous.

I remember last year when I told my teacher I was hoping for a typhoon day. But she frowned. She did not want one, it would mean the storm was strong. The last typhoon had ripped the roof off her dad’s house near Tainan. He was still waiting on repairs, and she was worried about him. What would he do if another storm came now?

According to Taiwan’s National Science and Technology Council’s Ministry of the Environment report, Taiwan’s typhoon rainfall intensity is projected to increase by 20% and 40% by the middle and end of this century, respectively. Typhoon landfall depends on where the earth’s wind patterns push the storms, so as those patterns shift, so will Taiwan’s typhoon impacts.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My platform combat boots and I will keep returning to the mountains, but with a little more caution after typhoons. taken in 陽明山 by @violetpigeons

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3 months ago

When I was a middle schooler, I wanted more than anything to see what the planet looked like. I used my free time (and homework procrastination time) to scan Google earth. In the cold winters, when the sun was hardly out and my room felt frozen, I scanned the digital globe for blue water- the bluest of blue- brilliant turquoise.

Eventually, I had comfort spots I would look back at after a hard day. Seychelles was a favorite (Anse Source d’Argent, Rocher coco de mer, Anse Lazio, Anse Intendance by Mahé). I gravitated to quiet bays of blue water, dramatic polished rocks, bright white sand, and brilliant green trees. This led to me being fascinated by oceans, coves, and mangroves.

#laos #tatkuangsi #luangprabang #southeastasia #travelart

My middle school geography teacher, Ms Polo, understood this well. She made the Geography club, for me and my friend. Just the three of us, sitting together reading about the world, looking at images that struck our fancy, and using our research to imagine what different countries and cities must be like.

I had had the chance as a kid to learn languages- French and Chinese- for just three years. I clung to that chance- it was rare for someone in my small town to get the chance to really, truly learn languages besides English. I had dreams to see the places I’d looked at, dreams to speak the languages I worked so hard on. But I lived in an environment that didn’t really see that as useful.

Ms Polo gave me a seashell on the last day of our club meeting. She said I could listen to the ocean with it.

I have it still.

#watercolorart #travelsketchbook #urbansketching #illustratedtravel #artjournal

Last year, I got to go to Laos. I saw Tat Kuang Si with my own eyes- the place that scaffolded my imagination and dreams from collapsing in.

The turquoise waters didn’t disappoint.

I sat in the pools and painted the scene- and used the water from the pools in my pens. I saved some of the water, and used it to paint the rest of the scenes in Laos and Cambodia.

My paintings will always have a bit of Laos in them.

#aquarelle #explorelaos #watercolor #travelillustration #laos

Thank you, Ms Polo, for keeping my dreams alive 🥰

#waterf taken in Tat Kuang Si Waterfall, Luangprabang by @violetpigeons

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3 months ago

In Hong Kong, I watched a truck bump into bamboo scaffolding. A few pieces clattered to the ground. No one was hurt. The driver leaned over to look at the damage, his coworker hid behind some documents.

Whenever I do something unfortunate, I comfort myself with the thought that probably no one saw, and certainly no one would remember.

But in this case, I saw. And painted it. And I posted it.

Oops.

#水彩
#香港 #urbansketching #travelsketch #hongkong taken in Hong Kong , 香港 by @violetpigeons

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4 months ago

Je suis en train de lire «La Goûteuse d’Hitler». Le français n’est pas ma langue maternelle, donc ça prend du temps car je souligne les mots que je ne connais pas.

Mais ce livre me fait penser à la vie quotidienne de gens partout, et à des questions du quotidien. (J’ai toujours beaucoup de questions)

Voici une liste de quelques questions qui sont entrées dans mon cerveau :

1. C’est quoi l’histoire du conflit au Soudan ? Qu’est-ce qu’on fait pour réduire/éliminer la violence se**elle qui se passe pendant cette guerre ?
2. Pourquoi les fusées ne brûlent/explosent pas quand elles rentrent dans l’atmosphère ?
3. C’est quoi la raison pour laquelle les chats miaulent ? Est-ce qu’ils ont une langue, juste pour eux-mêmes ?

#flatlay #lingerie #illustration #fashionsketch #lecture taken in Taipei, Taiwan by @violetpigeons

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4 months ago

Ma pote est allée en France, et elle m’a envoyé de jolis photos :))) May is a beautiful time to be in the countryside 🥰

#aquarelle #france #normandie_tourisme #sketch #cottage taken in Normandie, France by @violetpigeons

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4 months ago

This painting is for my Grandmother- she told me stories of her childhood, when she lived in Gary, Indiana. In the summers, when she was just a little girl, she would take the train all by herself up to her grandparents’ house in Northern Michigan.

Her grandparents kept a grocery store, and my Grandmother loved her summers with them. During the recession, her grandparents gave away food to people in the town.

Grandmother said that her Grandfather loved cats, and always had a big black cat for catching rats. She said their store wasn’t that big, and had big windows to let in the light. Colors inside the store were neutral, letting the fruit, vegetables, canned items bring in the color.

My Granny loves her grandparents. She has their photo in her bedroom and misses them still.

#michigan #watercolor #水彩 #aquarelle #retro taken in Houghton, Michigan by @violetpigeons

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4 months ago

I remember being a tiny human, holding onto my dad’s pockets for comfort. I’d cling onto his pocket, and walk with him, feeling safe and blinking around at the world.

The convenience store sticks in my memory, I think because once there I grabbed onto a man’s pocket who was NOT my dad, and he got startled. But he looked down and saw my little face looking all scared up at him and said “you got the wrong guy there, kiddo!”.

On the counter in this painting, I drew some things my dad did for me: encouraging me in my artsy things, language and travel interests, astronomy fascination, and driving us to the national parks in the west of the US. Those were always my favorite trips, and contributed to me finding hiking and my love of nature and rocks.

We also always went to the hardware store a LOT- he was always getting tools and materials to repair and make things. He made our swing set, tree house (The Spy Hut), dug up rocks and built a longggg stone wall, and so much more. He made sure I knew how to fix things too, and got me a drill (I named her Dorris the Drill) and stocked tool kits.

My dad said one time, the owner of the hardware store tried to give me a kitten they’d just found 🐱

I loved going to hardware stores with him :))) thanks dad ❤️

#水彩 #urbansketching #dad #travelillustration #watercolor taken in Childhood by @violetpigeons

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5 months ago

My friend went to the Netherlands, while I stayed home and dreamed of being in springtime in a cold country- that spring air, fresh smell, and people having a sparkle in their eyes upon seeing the sun return.

My friend sent me reference photos to paint, and I made a little scene from them 💞

#netherlands #gouache #travelillustration #水彩 #urbansketching taken in The Netherlands by @violetpigeons

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5 months ago

I went to Macau from Hong Kong on a whim, such a whim that I almost forgot my passport. There were two full airport-like immigration stops, and then I was dropped at a casino in Macau.

My Hong Kong SIM card did not cover Macau, so I asked the Casino Man for WiFi help. I saved three stops to my map: Ruins of St Paul, Senado Square, A-Ma Temple.

I walked between each and saw so many worlds: luxury skyscrapers, practical housing that reminded me of Taipei, colorful Portuguese colonial buildings.

My stomach was growling by the time I got to the old Portuguese area, and I bought four green bean cakes. I snarfed them down, the sugar rushing into my blood made the buildings look even brighter. Eventually, I found one of those small restaurants- a few metal tables inside- that lets you choose veggies and meat to put into a broth. I chose all-veggie soup, and slurped it down while reading Remarkably Bright Creatures.

At A-Ma Temple, I trudged up the stairs and saw the greens of the jungle draped over the temple stones, and I couldn’t tell if the stones and the plants were in a battle, or a mutual agreement of sorts.

I wonder what living in Macau is like for the residents…People flood into the casinos for the weekend, spending wild amounts of money in just a couple days.

Even I felt the contrast as a tourist, walking by Chanel stores and glittering casinos in my (dorky) wide brimmed sunhat, faded linen shirt, and $10 skirt.

The casinos were worlds of their own.

#macau #travelillustration #traveljournal #水彩#澳門 taken in Macau 澳門 by @violetpigeons

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5 months ago

我最喜歡的食物：燒餅蛋❤️

去年我幾乎每個月都會來這裡，吃燒餅蛋和紅豆酥餅。
二月的時候我來過這家豆漿店，一邊吃一邊畫畫：）
今天我又回來了，一邊吃一邊加了一些小細節。
後來有一位員工問我在做什麼，我告訴她我在畫畫😊
我們開始聊天，我跟她說這家豆漿店是我最喜歡的。
她還說我的畫很美。

我真的很愛這家店😊

#台北 #台灣 #aquarelle #taiwanfood #插畫 taken in 瑞安豆漿大王 by @violetpigeons

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6 months ago

I bought this lace shirt on a frantic, sweltering afternoon.

I saw this lace top in a Brandy Melville window. I raced across the bridge to the shop right before closing, found it on the rack, and wore it constantly until I left.

A little ribbon and lace in a season of high stakes.

Now it lives in Taipei with me. 🎀

@brandymelvilleusa
#brandymelville #fashionsketch #illustration #travelsketch #taipei taken in New York City by @violetpigeons

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6 months ago