Spain

If you are looking for T Stands For Tuesday, it is the previous post.  You can scroll back if you came by way of my main blog, or click on Previous Post if you came from this direct link.

Our host for the month of September at Art Journal Journey is the very talented Jo at Let's Art Journal.  Her theme is Texture.

This is a bit outside the box when it comes to texture.

I assure you, there is plenty of texture here

as you can see in these photos of the fan blades.

It's also the first time I've felt good about a real collage in a long time, too.

The bull is actually a huge sign above a Toro grape vineyard in Spain.  As many in Spain will tell you, they love their bulls.  They are a poignant symbol of national pride.  There are still 94 of them along motorways, many of which are in northern Spain near the Portugal border.  According to the current regulation in the European Union around motorways, billboards are not permitted to display advertising, especially alcoholic.  Although the brand name has been removed, the Osborne bulls have stood the test of time due in part to their aesthetic value and in part due to a "Save our Toro" campaign to keep them.  The shape of the bull is enough to associate it with the brand.

The bull was designed in 1956 and first survived the attempt by EU advertising to get rid of them.  Later Spanish traffic safety authorities tried to have the bulls torn down, claiming they distracted drivers.

The vineyards over which this bull sits don't look like those we are used to.  The vines in the Toro area are near Castile and Leon close to the northeast corner of Portugal.  Vines found in this area are mostly a local strand of Toro red wines, and only a few parcels are devoted to white wine grapes. These vines grow low to the ground, mostly in dry, rocky soil because of the extreme climate, and many of them are thick and twisted because of their age, which could be a century or more. 

This Spanish flamenco dancer has lots of texture in her costume.  She is dancing on a wooden floor that accentuates the rhythm of her high heeled shoes.  The flamenco is itself a dance performed by a mixture of singing, guitar playing, dancing, finger snapping, and hand clapping.

Spain is famous for its bulls and dancers and Rome is famous for its coliseum.  Although it may come as a surprise to some, Spain has their own coliseums, although they probably aren't located in a vineyard!

I didn't want to forget the date, which I never seem to remember.  Yes, I'm STILL a terrible stamper.

Here's one final look at how I filled in the pin holes.

For this page, I first deconstructed a hand fan.  I kept five of the blades.  The holes at the bottom that I filled with gold Scribble paint, allowing more texture, is where the pin would normally have been attached.  The substrate is a sheet of 110 lb cardstock I dry brushed with gold fluid acrylic and allowed to dry.  I found images from various magazines to complete the collage that really makes me happy.  I cut the larger image to size and outlined it with a blue felt tipped marker.

Bleubeard and I are thrilled that you visited today.  We hope you will join Jo, Yvonne, Erika, Bleubeard, and me this month at Art Journal Journey with your own art inspired by Texture.  Please be aware, we want to see your altered book pages, journal pages, loose journal art, canvases, fabric pages, and digital art.  However, we cannot accept cards, ATCs, ATCoins, tags, small index cards, or 3-D art, and, as much as we don't want to, will be forced to delete your entry.