Vogue and the Pre-Raphaelites

Recently, I saw this Vogue cover in the stores.

And I immediately recognized it as being modeled after this Pre-Raphaelite painting called "Flaming June," by Frederick Leighton.

Flaming June, by Fredrick Lord Leighton, (1830-1896). Public domain

I am sure Vogue has copied Pre-Raphaelite art before, but I was glad to have caught this one while it's still on newstands. Here they are side by side.

You can't go wrong with copying Leighton, or Waterhouse, or whomever. 

Why reinvent the wheel, it's good enough for Vogue.

More Vogue here.

Praise.

For the beauty of each hour
Of the day and of the night,
Hill and vale, and tree and flower,
Sun and moon and stars of light,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise. 

"For the Beauty of the Earth" traditional hymn

The Backyard Path

I adore the backyard path (that may be stretching it a bit) that I can easily take when the mood strikes me, leading me to another world in minutes. Bright blue November sky, the background setting to late autumnal tales written sky-high in the trees.

 

Stories that are simply lost into the wide open air, 

Their wild and withered pages reaching out to the wind, 

craving to be turned, like the pile of classics stored on the shelf 

for reading later that you never seem to get to.

And something wholly unexpected too, ...up in high branches, tucked safely between a highway of crisscrossed sticks and branches, a beautiful nest is spied, belonging not to the southern flown winged bird, but a sleeping wasp colony. I've never seen one so big or so close, so perfectly spun like cotton candy, and intricately woven together, bathed in a background of yellow leaves still clinging to the tree.

Sunset by the river and through the trees.
No matter which way you see it, sheer beauty.
It happens every day, this passing of the light baton,
Though sadly, I miss most of them.
When I live in Walden, I will watch them all.

Last Nod To Fall

Ithica, New York (Photo Source: Enchanted Nature)

Fly Away

Out in the cold, the night sky is stirring,

Swirling a whirlpool of creamy clouds.

Like Alice, I spy a rabbit hole leading somewhere,

And wish I could jump jump jump right up,

Into the swirl and cream, and fly away,

To exquisite winsome pretty dreams ~

Photo Source: http://takemeimalive.tumblr.com/

A Little Further On

A little further on ... fall continues to divert me. 
I crave her delicate leaves in beautiful arrangement,
And they are everywhere. 

The further on she goes,
I can't begin to tell you,
How her winds wake me up,
Out of listless passive dreams.
How her breath breathes,
A soothing balm to my soul.
How her leaves speak of heaven to me,
Like words whispered to my ears.

 She slowly and delicately transforms,
The green to the red,
The supple to the withered,
The full to the bare,
Spreading her magic as a fairy,
Casts her dust,
And the transformation is truly magical.

She transforms me, too,
For born-again I soon become and, 

The world seems new and alive.

A time of rebirth and kindling for a starving soul.

A little further on,

 I notice every little thing,

And all of it is beautiful to me.

Emily in Mind

My calendar this year is THE READING WOMAN. The month of September showed this picture of a girl with her dog, and when I first saw it, it reminded me so much of Emily B. Alone, content to be with her dog Keeper, quietly reading or writing in her little corner, stealing her reverie when she could after the days chores were done. Charlotte and Anne talking of the day nearby. I think it represents her very well, indeed.

Fritz von Uhde (German, 1848-1911) "The Artist's Daughters in the Garden, 1901."

If I could I would always work in silence and obscurity, and let my efforts be known by their results.
Emily Bronte
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/e/emily_bronte.html#bTLwH1FtKJvw8BE3.99

If I could I would always work in silence and obscurity, and let my efforts be known by their results.
Emily Bronte
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/e/emily_bronte.html#bTLwH1FtKJvw8BE3.99

 "IF I COULD, 

I WOULD ALWAYS WORK 

IN SILENCE AND OBSCURITY,

AND LET MY EFFORTS BE KNOWN 

BY THEIR RESULTS."

"A SENSIBLE MAN OUGHT TO FIND 

SUFFICIENT COMPANY IN HIMSELF."

~ emily bronte

If I could I would always work in silence and obscurity, and let my efforts be known by their results.
Emily Bronte
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/e/emily_bronte.html#bTLwH1FtKJvw8BE3.99

If I could I would always work in silence and obscurity, and let my efforts be known by their results.
Emily Bronte
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/e/emily_bronte.html#bTLwH1FtKJvw8BE3.99

A Walk Through Tall Trees

EVERY LEAF SPEAKS BLISS ~ EMILY BRONTE

Awesome

You live for years and years, walking the clay of this earth,

Believing you have seen it all in the wisdom of your years.

Then one day you see something you never have before,

A rainstorm the size of Texas traveling 60 MPH,

Making it's way towards you. 

It is so unusual that you have to stop and watch it.

It looks like a mushroom cloud,

And moves briskly in the sky with colors of grey and purple. 

You stand there unable to take your eyes off from it,

In the calm before the storm, 

Unable to move from the place your feet are planted,

And then it hits just over you and you are bowled over. 

It is beautiful, and frightening, and powerful.  

You were there to witness it and you say to yourself,

"My God is an Awesome God."

Rest in Harvest

You never know what you are going to find at Goodwill. 

Today, I found this gorgeous print of "Rest in Harvest," by William-Adolphe Bouguereau. 

So many layers of beauty are here.

Autumn. Land. Nature. Rest. Peace. Reverie.

Tokens

The Woodland

I have never seen the Hunger Games and don't intend to. But this beautiful song and video, yes, that is more in line with what I'd want to see. The sheer beauty of it will haunt and stay with you.

The woodland calls, I will always answer.

Wind-Loving, Autumn-Craving Girl

There is a little art shop on Etsy that sent me a beautiful fall journal with the original umbrella girl art work that I bought from her (read the quote from this art work on my page below). This journal was a gift and it could not have been more perfect for this wind-loving, autumn-craving girl. I am very happy with it, and glad to know she'll be offering them in her shop soon.

Here is the front of the journal, walking in the wind.

And the back, which resembles a Pre-Raphaelite girl,
joyful in the fall wind with beautiful leaves all stirred up behind her.

Not only is her art unique, original, and gorgeously colorful and bright, but

her words also add so much to her work. Check her out and find a gem for yourself.

And here are the words from the Umbrella Girl, that led me to her shop:

"The Rain she loved,

Because ...

She got to use

Her umbrella"

 ~Deanna, Painting the Moon ~

A Little Piece of Poetry

A little piece of poetry that is on its way to me, ...written by Brooke Schmidt who holds the copyright to it., ...cut from books and cleverly pieced together. She calls it Talismans Within. I call it perfectly written for me.

COPYRIGHT BROOKE SCHMIDT

The Perfect Kind

There is a delicious storm outside tonight ... not harsh at all. The perfect kind ... breezy and cool, cloudy, trees swaying in the wind, quiet except for mother nature. I am outside right in the middle of it all and intend to be here all evening.

Thank you God 

For making Fall  

I've held my breath for it

All summer long