The Glance of the Eye

I think that somewhere in my lineage there must have been a collection of portrait painters. I am subconsciously drawn to faces. Pick up a pen or brush and a face is what emerges through my hand to the blank surface. I have no idea where these people come from.

Speaking of faces, many of my works are of beautiful women. The media must have a lot to do with that. Did you know that many men can barely speak when they are around a beautiful woman? Their body language gives them away every time. Open-mouthed staring is the first option. If they can muster the courage to speak it will probably be something utterly inane.

Because beautiful women are used to being treated differently than their less lovely sisters, they are relieved when a man speaks to them without fear. And who are those men? Guys with high intelligence, personal success and life goals. They don’t have to be handsome – just fascinated by life and pursuing lasting interests.

In any case, count your blessings and embrace your genetic heritage.


“One of the most wonderful things in nature is a glance of the eye; it transcends speech; it is the bodily symbol of identity.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

1956 Greetings From Paris

My maternal great great grandmother, Jane Reno, was born in France in 1807. She immigrated to the U.S. and married a Scot. I bear her middle name of “Renault” with its correct spelling, as does my daughter and granddaughter. So there is a bit of DNA that I find important and that keeps calling me to France.



Currently on my desk I have a copy of “Sara Midda’s South of France A Sketchbook” with endearing little watercolors filling the pages. Next is the “Bedside Book of Famous French Stories” printed in 1945, and finally “The Paris I Love” with photography by Patrice Molinard. This is this book that consumed a good part of my afternoon.



Gorgeous in its heavy linen covered book boards, the pages unfortunately are falling out. So, I have made eight delightful greeting cards from these photos that were taken sometime in 1956. I’ll sell the eight cards in my etsy MoxyFoxDesigns shop. See the link at the top.

I thought you might like to go back in time with me to the home of Jane Reno (Renault) and brush against my beginnings.



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The "Colored" Gentlemen of the Shirley Savoy Hotel, Denver

When I was a little girl growing up in Denver, my uncle owned the Shirley Savoy Hotel and my grandfather was the Managing Director.

My father was in Greenland for six months and during that time my mother, brother and I lived with my grandparents. We went down to the hotel for dinner several times a week as my grandfather liked to make sure all was in order for the night.



Many of the employees were black Americans, but during the early fifties they were called “colored”. There was Curtis Clytus the very tall handsome doorman dressed in a dark uniform with brass buttons, smart hat and white gloves. He was so kind and to my childish delight always called me “Miss Susan”.



In the dining room, we were served by Dawson whose brow was perpetually wrinkled and the dear Aaron Dinwiddie who unexpectedly sent me a wedding present many years later.

These men and all those who worked beside them would have found the election of President Barak Obama a stunning and unbelievable event. They are all long gone, but in their honor I post this blog. Thank you, gentlemen. Your dream is here.

Nuns Long Gone

Sometimes it’s the lines, sometimes the colors, sometimes the history that brings me to a halt. This image has all three.

I discovered a photo of St. George’s Benedictine Convent in Prague built in 920 AD. I pondered the eons of whispered prayers, the quiet footsteps of women, and the lives long gone.

This piece of digital art has been put together with Photoshop. Filters have been applied to accentuate the appearance of shifting decades, lives spent and ended and the continuance of time. The resolution is deliberately low to enhance these qualities.

Giclée … Is that Italian Ice Cream?

There a lot of times when I finish a painting I know I want to keep it. But as a seller on Etsy.com, http://MoxyFoxDesigns.etsy.com selling prints is a wonderful way to share my art at a very reasonable price. However, the print has to be of excellent quality.

Some women like jewelry and fasts cars, but I like spectacular printers. After researching the internet and talking to artists who make prints from their work, I chose the Epson 3800 Pro. It is amazing and “sweet”!!!



The word “giclée” (zee-clay) is a made up word for the process of making fine art prints from a digital source using ink-jet printing. The word is derived from the French language word “le gicleur” meaning “nozzle”, or more specifically “gicler” meaning “to squirt, spurt, or spray”. The name was originally applied to fine art prints created on Iris printers in a process invented in the early 1990s, but has since come to mean any high quality ink-jet print and is often used in galleries and print shops to denote such prints.” (Source: Widipedia)

Here is my most recent “giclée” (zee-clay) print. ("Gelato" is Italian ice cream -- I knew that!)

Those Pesky Interruptions

I had planned a morning and early afternoon of painting. However, there was a mishap with my new glasses and I had to get an appointment to have the prescription corrected. I called the optometrist’s office only to find that I couldn’t get the new appointment because “protocol” stated I had to wait another four months. Whoa --- I had just put $800 on the counter for my three pair of glasses eight days ago and now even though they didn’t work, I had to wait until April.

This is probably the only time anyone has heard of this. I had been given a prescription that I took for four days. A peculiar side effect occurred. My vision changed and with or without my regular glasses, I was still very nearsighted.

I could have waited because of the protocol, but instead I set my creating aside, put on good clothes and was in the optometrist’s office within thirty minutes. Surprise! All the personnel were hustling their buns to make things right. Apparently the receptionist treated me like a number instead of a person. On the desk, there was a sign that said “Satisfaction Guaranteed within 30 days”. HA!

CONCLUSION: Interruptions deserve action. Get things solved right away and be nice to everyone--even the woman who insists on "protocol".

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