Ana, I was so thrilled to see you back in the gallery isharing this wonderful sketch with us. I very much enjoyed this loving and thoughtful dedication for your friend and was very moved by your words.

jolie

Fabulous image my friend... It's really fantastic... WOnderfully done !!!

As always, a lovely work!

Well! In my 30 years with those pastels, I didn't make one drawing that looked one TENTH as good as this. In fact "one tenth" is giving myself way too much credit. Like Andrea, when I use pastels, I get dust all over myself and my home, and none on the paper. (Though I'm sure Andrea's pastel drawings are marvelous, in the end.) I was so happy to send them to you, and you're way too kind to mention me in relation to this drawing, and to koosie/Hans, who was dear to us all. Your drawing looks like an old magician, spinning magic with his tales. I love the 'monk's' head, and his white hair, and his posture---I love those legs! Great legs! And how he hovers over his book, and he's immersed in his tale-telling. And that blue is deep and so intense and inward. I still learn so much from Koosie, I still remember how gentle he was, and how he just "stood" for quality. He was an old-fashioned person in the best sense, he stood for purity and the best we had to offer. Without ever insulting or pushing us, he got us to be better at everything we did. He did it with quiet hugs...And his pawns were just as you say: They kept us "informed" on what was happening in the world...funny and serious at the same time. I remember the inventions with Martin, too (a great artist I miss here as well), and the energy the 2 of them created together. Hans had the spirit of a kid, mixed with the wisdom of an old, wise man. A magician. Your drawing shows that. It's a wonderful drawing, Ana, and it's perfect for Koosie on his birthday. Happy Birthday, Koosie, dear mentor and friend! And thank you so much for doing this, Ana: It's magic and beautiful!

I loved him! This is a perfect present for him. And you used dry pastels? Wow! I cannot do them, I get them everywhere except on the paper. Luckily Koosie sent me his wonderful set of crayons which I can actually use properly. I love the looseness of this that you did.

I see the problem of the dust, but i discovered a trick by now...I let it be in the paper till i put the colors i want and after i go to the balcony and i turn the paper to the other side and i knock in its back slowly and shake it also but in horizontal. This way, colors don't mix. After this...i used fingers--ALL THE FINGERS:)))hehe!! But i need to discover also something easier:) and learn a lot...but Helle is there to teach, she is a master:) Hans also sent me a wonderful box of crayons and oil pastels, with color pencils and watercolor pencils together that I ADORE!!! I treasure them so much !! Good luck with dry pastels for you soon:) Thank you for your kind words:)

OH! what a sweet and fantastic and clever piece of art you have created to honour our beloved Koosie, dear Ana. What a thrill it is to see you in here. Yes, we loved that gentle man and his special humor, I loved and his wonderful pawns. I think about him very often. Especially when I use my watercolors. I was so Lucky to receive some awesome watercolor palettes, which I treasure and use every so often and every time I use them, I send him a loving thought. :-) Gosh! you already did a great job with these pastels. I am so happy to see this. :-))))

guess you spay them so they will not smear any more. I did some long time ago and i used hairspay But they make the stuff differ now days and they did make fix it for pastels now days. all my burn in a house fire.

What a wonderful image and it brings so many thoughts to mind: It's a great birthday dedication (with coffee, of course) for Koosie. I still see his pawns everywhere, when I'm wandering around! I like the fact that they still visit me. As for this image: it's funny, when I first looked at the thumbnail, it made me think of the stories that I have enjoyed, especially the stories of Ursula K. LeGuin. She is a master of the elegant story, her fantasy, science fiction, and ALL of her fiction is brilliant and elegant. I thought of her Earthsea novels when I saw this image. I think this could easily be a storyteller from there. They love good stories on all of the islands of Earthsea: they spend days and days making up stories and telling them, when they're not fishing or raising goats, or fixing things. This image made me think of that kind of a world, where old men and old women sit around, telling stories, and younger people listen to them and take the stories with them so that they have something to think about at night, before they sleep. And of course, I thought of Koosie being such a story-maker: and I laughed at the thought that his stories were about pawns, and they became very complicated, depending on the amount of coffee available. I like that idea and it came from your image. I love your style of art: no matter what you create, there is always a very nice sense of elegance; it's like your pastels or your pencils or your brushes simply dance over the canvas or paper. Your images always seem so "light" for me, because they "feel" like dreams, only more real: I hope that makes sense. And when I look at this, I am in love with that shade of blue and the way the human and the book (Ah! A book!) just emerges, but you don't really see everything. It's like a story all by itself, and it's magical. It's always a pleasure to visit your gallery and to marvel at the super work you always produce! As for the pastels (from Mark) and the task of doing artwork for the next 200 years! Well, I love that! I would be glad to see you making brilliant images for 200 years! Of course this means you will be quite busy, but I think it will be fun for you and fun for me to see 200 years of super artwork. And again, I really like this one. It is one of my favorites.

Both fascinating and superb creation , Ana !