Fairytale of the Tsar Saltan

Illustration for Alexander Pushkin's 'Fairytale of the Tsar Saltan,' Ivan Bilibin

Women Preparing Silk

Women preparing silk, Emperor Huizong

A Gift

A Gift, taken by the amazing Remo Savisaar

The Long Leg

The Long Leg, Edward Hopper, c.1930
via WikiPaintings

Girl Reading

Girl Reading, Georgios Jakobides

She looks so scholarly! I love it!

Captain Blood

Captain Blood, N.C. Wyeth

Statue of Jean Althen

Statue of Jean Althen, Papal Palace Gardens, Avignon, Belinda Del Pesco

The Gardeners

Gustave Caillebotte, Les jardiniers, 1875

In the Gardens

Im Schlossgarten
(on the estate of the Schloss Charlottenburg, in the gardens…)
painted by Edward B. Gordon

Celia Thaxter's Garden

Celia Thaxter's Garden, Isles of Shoals, Maine - Childe Hassam
Source

This just seems like the essence of summer!

Colorful Night in the Forest

Colorful Night in the Forest, Remo Savisaar

Summertime

Summertime, Edward Hopper
via WikiArt, Fair Use

Rain at Yabakei

Rain At Yabakei, Goyo Hashiguchi, 1918

Meguro Drum Bridge and Sunset Hill

Hiroshige, Meguro Drum Bridge and Sunset Hill, 1857

Rough Sea at Naruto

Hiroshige, Famous Views of the 60 Provinces: Rough Sea at Naruto in Awa Province
via Arts Everyday Living

I do love Hiroshige. Coincidentally just the other day I came across my book of 100 Famous Views of Edo which I'm now going to reread. I love the sense of motion in the sea above.

Bridge in the Rain (after Hiroshige)

Vincent van Gogh, Bridge in the rain (after Hiroshige), 1887
via Lines and Colors

I love Hiroshige and you can really see the resemblance to Van Gogh's homage. This makes me want to go back to look at more of Hiroshige's art.

Mariano's

In 1971, Mariano Martinez, Jr. adapted a Slurpee machine to create the world's first frozen margarita machine at Mariano's Hacienda restaurant in East Dallas, proving that not all heroes wear capes. Photo courtesy Mariano Martinez Jr. via D Magazine.

Traces of Texas

I remember being awed when my boyfriend (later husband) took me to Mariano's and pointed out the tribute plaque for being at the place of the invention of the frozen Margarita. The original machine is in the Smithsonian. Thank you Mariano! (Also for all the delicious Tex-Mex we've enjoyed over the years.)

Perhaps surprisingly, I slightly knew Mrs. Mariano once upon a time. They went to our church and when I ran into her at the vet, knowing only that she looked vaguely familiar, she said that she and Mariano sat behind us a lot. It was a real pleasure to tell her that we our wedding feast had been in the back room at the Old Town location (now long gone, though we go to the nearby replacement).

Medieval Honey Bees

Medieval illustration from beekeeping manuscript
Via Animalarium where there is an antique treasure chest of illustrations for anyone who clicks through the link!

Self-Portrait in the Studio

Francisco Goya, Self-portrait in the Studio, 1790-1795
via Wikipedia

I have a thing for self-portraits. Also I love Goya's hat. And his hair.

Herons in shallow water

Herons in shallow water by Ohara Koson, 1934.