Kristina Swarner's Beautiful Vision

Kristina Swarner is a wonderful artist I've just found online. (One of the best parts of scooting around the internet is making this kind of joyful discovery. So many artists, so little time. Same as with books.) Her art is beautifully intelligent, filled with familiar elements imagined in a new way. I love the fanciful use of color and pattern; her images have the quiet charm and intensity I love.

Here's a link to her portfolio. I hope you'll have a look.

AND Kristina's prints are available in her etsy shop - good news, indeed.

Halloween Reading

Ok, I was going to wait until it was Officially October before I posted a bunch of titles that might make fine reading for the Halloween season (yes, I suppose it is now a season on its own) but over the weekend, I saw some front yards already decorated with humongous blow-up pumpkins, scarecrows, etc and thought: if I wait for October, Christmas will be upon us and I'll be a day late and a dollar short with my list. Long sentence, I know. I'm prone to that.

Anyway, so let's talk about mysteries, beasties, ghoulies and things that go bump in the night. None of my recommendations are horror per se, because, well, I never read horror-HORROR. (Well, hardly ever, I do occasionally read Dean Koontz.) I do read thrillers and horrible stuff happens in them, but they're not qualified as horror, unless it's John Connolly and I never read him - too scary. (Although I admit he's a terrific writer.)

I thought I'd just make my list a bit different from others by not including titles you'd probably see everywhere. I hope I've made my list a fun melange of different sorts of books. Things I think are perfect for this time of year when ghosts, witches and goblins lurk on every corner.

There's only one vampire book, because, as a rule, I don't read vampire books. But Sunshine by Robin McKinley is the rare exception. I've read this twice and the second time held up as well as the first. I'm about to break the rule for a second time, though as I have The Passage by Justin Cronin sitting here waiting to be read. Can't recommend it though, 'cause I haven't read it yet. I also don't read Stephen King, so that explains the absence of his books.

I'm only going to post a couple of sentences about each book shown above, because otherwise this post will go on indefinitely and we can't have that. I like to talk books too much as it is.

HALLOWE'EN PARTY by Agatha Christie

(Well, with a title like this, how could you not read this for Halloween?) Eccentric mystery writer Ariadne Oliver calls upon Hercule Poirot to solve a nasty murder which took place at a party she attended.

PASSAGE by Connie Willis

Willis is one of the premier American sci-fi writers. I wish she were much better known. I think if she weren't writing in genre, she'd be world famous, that's how good she is, plus it's what she deserves. Passage takes place at a gloomy hospital where a group of doctors/students are studying the near-death experience a little too closely. No, it's not what you immediately think.

AND THEN THERE WERE NONE by Agatha Christie

The classic mystery in a classic setting. Guests are stranded on an island estate after being invited for the weekend by an unknown host.

SUNSHINE by Robin McKinley

As I mentioned, this is the only vampire novel I've ever liked and finished reading. I wish this one had been made into a movie. It is quirky, funny, erotic and scary. Quite an accomplishment.
THE BRIEF HISTORY OF THE DEAD by Kevin Brockmeier

This beguiling, sad and intriguing story takes place in two realities. In one, it is a few years into the future and a great plague has wiped out most of mankind. In the other, we're in a city in which the dead exist as long as they are remembered by those still left alive. A brilliantly conceived book.

THE ALIENIST by Caleb Carr

One of the first historical suspense novels (it takes place in early 20th century New York), to dwell on the new science of crime psychology - the first book in which a serial killer comes to be recognized as such. Ghoulish, but so well written you put up with it.

SPEAKS THE NIGHTBIRD by Robert McCammon

An epic suspense novel, so big it was published in two books. The Carolinas, 1699. A beautiful widow is accused of being a witch and bringing disaster to the town of Fount Royal. The pages fly by in this so you're never really aware you're reading this mammoth undertaking.

ODD THOMAS by Dean Koontz

In my view, this is Koontz's masterpiece. Yes he is a horror writer, but I admit to reading some of his books and this is one that I, thankfully, did not pass up. Brilliant doesn't quite cover Koontz's extraordinary achievement. Odd Thomas is a quiet, self-effacing, self-aware, short-order cook who, oh by the way, can see the dead - it is a Koontz book, after all. Of course, there's bloody stuff happening, but the character of Odd Thomas makes it all worthwhile.

THE MEPHISTO CLUB by Tess Gerritsen

This was my introduction to Gerritsen's Rizzoli and Isles series. (Rizzoli is a Boston medical examiner and Isles, a cop.)It is a violent read and not something I would have ordinarily picked up, but somehow it kept me turning the pages while giving me the creeps. Though the book takes place over the Christmas holidays, it is anything BUT a happy holidays book. Not for the faint of heart.

LIVES OF THE MONSTER DOGS by Kristen Bakis

An eerie, grotesque story of dogs genetically engineered by a 19th century German scientist - the monster dogs in the title - to walk upright and speak with the help of voice boxes. They arrive in NYC, with prosthetic human hands, dressed in Victorian clothing and seeking, as Frankenstein's monster did, their place in the world. The book is hard to find as it is out of print, but in my view, it is well worth looking for in the secondary market.

THE HEARSE YOU CAME IN ON by Tim Cockey

On a much lighter note, this is the first book in the Hitchcock Sewell series, written a few years ago, set in Baltimore. Hitch is an undertaker who solves murders. Yeah, makes no sense, but it's a great deal of fun. Tim Cockey is a terrific writer who should be much better known.

THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES by Arthur Conan Doyle

Doyle's classic. Sherlock Holmes and Watson must solve a creepy murder on the moors. Are the Baskervilles doomed to death by violence? "Mr. Holmes, they were the footprints of a gigantic hound!"

THE CABINET OF CURIOSITIES by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Special FBI Agent Pendergast (eccentric with a Capital E) is on the job again, searching for a nasty, inventive serial killer in NYC. This is another ghoulish read from Preston and Child, but it is also fast moving, creepy fun, in between the dead bodies. There are several books in this series and you can really jump in anywhere. I picked this one because it was my first one.

THE TAKING by Dean Koontz

I read this when I first discovered Koontz and was not disappointed. It's one of his more frightening end of the world as we know it, books. I could not put it down.

MISTRESS OF MELLYN by Victoria Holt

A terrifically moody gothic if you're in a gothic/suspense/love story mood. Has a high creep quotient too, that's why I've included it. Try to find one with the wonderful original cover if you're buying.

A DIRTY JOB by Christopher Moore

After a startlingly sad beginning, this book settles into the kind of thing that Moore is famous for, with his usual cast of characters: ghouls, beasties, humans with second sight - the usual. I LOVE this book. Can't recommend it enough. Moore can be an acquired taste, but if I were you I'd acquire it immediately.

I will wait until October to post my nice list of scary movies for those of you who like the sort of scary I like. (NO exploding stomachs, NO flinging of brains, that sort of thing.) I'm already stocking up on popcorn.

I have read all the book recommendations on this list, so I'm knowing whereof I am speaking when I say these are good reads for times when it gets dark early, leaves are falling, the wind is blowing and a chill has begun to creep into your bones making the whole thing official: winter is coming, the geese are getting fat.

Dr. Samuel Johnson Day

What a week for literary Birthdays! Agatha Christie, Mary Stewart and today the ornery (and odoriferous, I might add) Dr. Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), the Englishman famous for his brilliance, his dictionary and his wit.

Just for the fun of it: I've declared today Dr. Samuel Johnson Day! If you will, include one of his sayings into your ordinary conversation and lift a glass to the old curmudgeon today.

Johnson was a self-proclaimed "...writer of dictionaries, a harmless drudge." (Yeah, right.)

These are a few of his more memorable comments:

(My 'favorites' are the first four. The one about London I have engraved on a beautiful Wedgewood mug I bought years ago.)

"Patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels."

"No man but a blockhead ever wrote, except for money."

"Language is the dress of thoughts."

"When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford."

"We would all be idle if we could."

"A man ought to read just as inclination leads him; for what he reads as a task will do him little good."

"A woman's preaching is like a dog's walking on his hinder legs. It is not done well; but you are surprised to find it done at all."

Johnson observed, that "he did not care to speak ill of any man behind his back, but he believed the man was an attorney."

Talking about poetry: "...it is much easier to say what it is not. We all know what light is; but it is not easy to tell what it is."

"Depend on it, Sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully."

The following comment suits me as a blogger. In fact, it probably suits most bloggers:

"I dogmatize and am contradicted, and in this conflict of opinions and sentiments I find delight."

To read more about Dr. Johnson, please go here.

Happy Birthday, Mary Stewart!

One of the Grande Dames of the gothic mystery, Mary Stewart has a birthday today. She was born in 1917, so that makes her 94, I believe. A word or two about Ms. Stewart's books: I discovered them at just the right time in my life. I was young, just finishing up my Agatha Christie phase (not that I ever got over it, as you well know), looking for another type of mystery series with, perhaps, a strong love interest mixed in. At the time, I didn't even know that there was a whole other category of books known as 'romance'. My only excuse: I was a sheltered child. Ha!

I had no idea gothics existed, didn't even know what the word meant. Though I did have a hint from having read Jane Eyre. But, I didn't, at the time, connect the two. I had already developed a strong penchant for the tall, dark and handsome male character who sported enigmatic airs, lurked in the shadows and caused all manner of problems for the innocent heroine. Why can't they write more books like Jane Eyre but with a 'modern' twist? I thought at the time. (Well, maybe I didn't think twist, but you know what I mean.)

Little did I know.

Through Mary Stewart, I discovered Phyllis Whitney and Victoria Holt, not to mention Daphne DuMaurier, and a whole host of other wonderful authors writing up a gothic storm of books. Subsequently I spent months and months reading every one I could get my hands on. One of my favorite things about these books were the covers. They were all, basically, the same idea: A frightened girl with long hair flapping in the wind (gotta' have long hair), walking alone on the moors or other such forbidding landscape, in the distance could be seen the dark outline of a castle or some other sort of large, imposing structure. That's it. You saw that in the bookstore and you knew you had to take a look. (Exception: This Rough Magic which seems to have had a dolphin on the cover in place of the girl. But it did have a mansion on a cliff.)

Of the Stewart books, I'd say Nine Coaches Waiting and My Brother Michael were the favorites (if I had to choose). Though Airs Above the Ground was and continues to be one of the best book titles ever conceived. (A terrific book, too.) I remember reading it and trying to figure out a way to include the words in ordinary conversation. But since I didn't ride show horses in dressage, there was very little chance of my being able to rattle off the phrase. (Airs above the ground actually describes the leap when a horse has all four legs off the ground at the same time during dressage. The leap is taken from a standing position which makes it that much more difficult and beautiful. Airs above the ground. Perfect.)

Besides the fine writing, Mary Stewart's books had something else going for them that I really appreciated: she tended to set her books in different countries, so you got a moody good mystery with love interest and a bit of a travelogue to boot. Fabulous, for someone like me who dreamed of traveling one day.

I never did get into Mary Stewart's Merlin series, I think because I'd begun to move on to other authors, by the time they came out. But I still remember the Stewart books with a deep affection. After all, they were steady companions at a very impressionable time in my life.

Here's a link to a Mary Stewart Fan Blog that looks full of info.

Fashion Friday

Lying on my sofa thinking about New York Fashion Week coming to an end and I have nothing new to wear. Not even a cupcake will tempt me out of the fashion doldrums. (Project Runway being so unwatchable this season, I stopped a couple of weeks ago and haven't gone back. The adorable Tim Gunn not withstanding.) So many choices, so many decisions. It's too exhausting. You know when you have so much to do you wind up doing nothing?

But from a prone position, I can still express my opinions - heck, I can always do that.

Here's my (somewhat fanciful) basis for my critiques: Before any of the Fashion Week shows, I imagine myself a Hollywood Young Thing looking to shop for the new season and possibly pick out my Red Carpet Ta-Da! dress. As I go along, I say to myself: yeah, I'll buy that (my budget is HUGE, unlimited in fact and of course, I have the sylph-like body), I'll wear it in Cannes or Paris or wherever. Or I say: NO! what a horror! Next!
I told you I was fanciful. Ha!

I've only seen a few of the shows in photos this year. But each year it's the same: I can't help but fall under the spell of Ralph Lauren . I know I'm not daring in my choice and some would even call it too comfortable, but I don't care. Ralph is king in my universe. He has some design staples he always relies on, but that doesn't bother me in the slightest. (In truth, lots of designers do that, most not so successfully.) I like his make-believe world. Here's a man who completely re-invented himself and his life and turned it into the sort of thing anyone might envy. He created a design brand based on his innate taste and style and, I think, the sort of life he would have naturally liked to have led in a different time and place. The Ralph Lauren style is recognizable anywhere. Not a bad thing at all. I do love it.

I liked Michael Kors collection, his soft colors: stone, ivory, gray, etc. were wonderful. Not crazy about the yellows though, but the greens were perfect. He has an eye for a good green. One complaint: Some of his models looked anorexic (aren't women's legs supposed to have a shape?) and that's not a good look, sorry, Michael. Still, the clothes were wonderful, chic, casual and breezy. Nothing seemed to be trying too hard. Likeable clothes if you have the body for them. Some of the looser styles could be worn by someone with a more average shape. On the whole, I'd say: terrific.

Francisco Costa for Calvin Klein did a gorgeous and very classic collection, I thought. Simple modern shapes, laid back colors, everything in keeping with the Klein concept. The long dresses looked a little too casual to call them 'gowns' but, they were moody and lovely anyway - my favorite things in the show.

I liked the Cynthia Rowley show. The circle cut-outs were fun. I'm liking all these roomy shapes I'm seeing. And I'm loving socks with sandals. Saw that all over.
(My daughter says only old people wear socks and sandals. Obviously, she has been proven wrong.)

Why can't the more inexpensive clothes have these subtle yummy colors too?

Naeem Khan is one of First Lady Michelle Obama's design choices and this show had a few gowns that would look great on her. Khan used my least favorite color, yellow, in a way I actually liked.

The Donna Karan show didn't 'wow' me at first, but then I began to like what she did. The early 'rumpled' stuff was not something you can really wear unless you're six feet tall and weigh 100 pounds, or so I'm thinking. The models looked a little awkward at first. But I liked the usual Donna Karan colors. I always do. There's always something special about her shows.
Her DKNY line was delightful. Most especially the print dresses and bathing suits. There was also a flirty, layered ruffle mini-skirt that I'd wear if I were twenty again and still had good legs.
A very fun thing to have in the closet. I might wear it with a blazer.

Okay, one last show to comment on: Diane Von Furstenberg. I loved the prints and the color combos. Lots of sprightly, interesting ways to put things together. I thought it was terrific. Sometimes in the past I haven't been too fond of her print choices, but this year I thought they worked fine.

An editorial: Fashion is, in many ways, an art form. Put aside the snarky comments and the Fashion Police atmosphere and what's left? The clothes and a designer biting his or her nails in the wings. When you put on an item of clothing, you are making a statement about yourself (it can't be helped), you are creating a little play, a story for the world to interpret. So in a way, you and the designer are collaborating. We're all entitled to comment on the fashion designs put before us since, in one way or another, they will be influencing what we choose to wear at some point down the line. And we all gotta' wear clothes - right? Well, most of the time.

Baker Street Irregular

Besides author name recognition, what else makes you sit up and take notice when you're drifting along online, checking out book blogs, sites, reviews, etc? Half an eye here, half an eye there. What's the special word that suddenly jumps out and slows you down? Or is it an expression? A well-designed book cover? Or a certain combo of letters, names, subject matter? Do you have a special trigger?

If I see anything having to do with Sherlock Holmes, I'll generally slow down and take a good look. This, combined with fighting Nazis in WWII, will usually do it for me. I mean, who can resist?

A new book incorporating the original Baker Street Irregulars (a group of Holmes aficionados named after the original, original group of rowdy street urchins Sherlock Holmes employed in several of his cases) has gotten a starred review in Publisher's Weekly. The book, Baker Street Irregular, is not due out until November, at a hefty price I'm thinking - $39.95 - but you'll probably be able to get it for less than that. Hopefully my library will snag a copy. This sounds like something I will definitely be wanting to read.

The author, Jon Lellenberg is Official Historian of the Baker Street Irregulars and co-author (with Daniel Stashower and Charles Foley) of the Agatha Award winning (for best non-fiction) Arthur Conan Doyle : A Life in Letters. (Doyle was a prolific letter writer.)

Here's part of the starred review for Baker Street Irregular from Publishers Weekly:

Lellenberg "...makes an impressive debut with this gripping period spy novel. In 1933, Woody Hazelbaker, a young Wall Street lawyer, gets an unexpected and unlikely career break after taking on mobster Owney Madden as a client. The knowledge Woody gains from assisting the criminal in liquidating his interests in a number of businesses proves handy years later on the eve of WWII when Woody and some fellow Sherlockians get involved in anti-Nazi efforts amid strong isolationist sentiment. Lellenberg does an excellent job at bringing the original Irregulars, who included Christopher Morley and Rex Stout, to life..."

Two names caught my interest immediately: Christopher Morley and Rex Stout - two of my favorite authors, as characters in a book. That closed the deal for me. Can't wait to read this one.

Here's a link to read more about Baker Street Irregular by Jon Lellenberg.

Correction: My apologies to author Jon Lellenberg, I originally referred to him as Ellenberg because I wasn't paying close enough attention to details.

Happy Birthday, Dame Agatha!

The day slipped away from me and here I am, at the last minute, posting Anniversary Birthday Wishes for Agatha Christie, one of my favorite authors of all time. (She would have been 120 years old today.) In celebration tonight I'm watching Murder in Mesopotamia with David Suchet (of course) as Poirot (Though I'm not happy with the changes made to the original story by the screenwriters, still, it is a fun story.). The library sent me an email announcing that a requested copy of The Labours of Hercules is in. I'll be picking it up tomorrow. (I did read this collection of short stories years and years ago, but can't remember much about it, so it will be like re-reading this for the first time. More or less.) So that's what I'm up to, Agatha Christie-wise, this week.

The covers posted above are from some of my favorite Christie books . I wanted to add a little color and pizzazz to the post. Not to mention a birthday cake that I wish were real. Who couldn't eat birthday cake any time of the day or night? And of course, a crown for the queen of mystery.

Also, as part of the celebration, please check out Kerrie Smith's Agatha Christie Carnival

posts and quizzes. I'm rushing over there right now to take the quiz which will challenge my knowledge of the great Agatha's books. Janet Rudolph over at Mystery Fanfare is talking about the pleasures of re-reading the books, something I'm sure we all know a little bit about. She also has a list of the alternate titles given some of the books. Les, over at Classic Mysteries has a link here to his podcasts of Agatha Christie reviews.

Miss Hargreaves by Frank Baker

I was going to include a review of Miss Hargreaves in with two other books, but at the last minute I've decided to do this one separately. Point blank I will tell you what a reviewer is not really supposed to tell you: I loved this book. There, I said it and I'm glad. (Reviewers aren't supposed to gush.)

Ridiculously, I'd never even heard of Miss Hargreaves or Frank Baker, before I read about them on Simon's blog, Stuck In A Book. Then shortly thereafter (or maybe it was just slightly before) I read about Frank Baker's book on the inimitable Nancy Pearl's blog as well.

I'm trying to fashion my own review without being too influenced by Nancy's or Simon's, though they both said everything I would have said if I had their way with words. Not much to add to theirs, really, so I'll try to keep it short: Read this book. Well, maybe not that short.

Miss Hargreaves is a fanciful (in a thoroughly non-sarcastic way) story set in the 30's though it could just as easily have been set yesterday, last week or tomorrow. To me, it's a timeless sort of thing as are lots of tales that take place mostly in the heart and imagination.

What would happen if you and a pal decided one day, on the spur of the moment, to invent a human being, just for the heck of it - as a harmless prank? Then, caught up in the 'fun' you send off a letter to this imagined person, again, just for the heck of it. This is exactly what Norman Huntley lay-clerk at Cornford Cathedral and feckless 'hero' of Frank Baker's delightful novel, Miss Hargreaves, and his cohort Henry Beddow, decide to do one day while on a rain-soaked, boring trek through an undistinguished church in the dreary town of Lusk.

Norman is the imaginative, inventive sort who has gotten into the habit of making up stories...simply for the fun of doing it.

He does try to explain:

Call me a raging liar if you like, although it's an actual fact that I've never lied in order to get out of things so much as to get into things. Sometimes I think all those books in father's shop led me astray. Books do lead you on.

Ha! The 'ha' is my own.

Once this 'invention' is aired, told to the doddering sexton conducting the interminable tour of the Lusk church, it takes on a life of its own. Unbeknown to Norman and Henry, the dye has been cast. Back home in Cornford, you may imagine Norman's astonishment when in the next morning's mail he receives a letter from Miss Hargreaves announcing her intention to visit Cornford, hoping to stay with Norman's family, and by the way, how is her dear old friend Norman?

From then on, this gorgeously written story is a kind of wonder to behold. For all it's gentle sweetness, there is a kind of frightening thread running beneath the surface of Norman's predicament. Author Frank Baker holds the reins tightly and never allows the story to gush with undue sentimentality. In a way, in Miss Hargreaves, Norman appears to have created his own Frankenstein monster; a fluffy, dithery one with a will of steel and a penchant for writing unctuous poetry. She arrives in Cornford, a fully fashioned litttle old lady, towing her harp, her cockatoo and her Bedlington terrier, not to mention piles of luggage. I abominate fuss.

Norman's invention is, perhaps, not such a completely fun creation after all.

Yet, what happens next to Norman and his family, his friend Henry, and the town of Cornford near the Thames, is a joy to read about.

A few words though (before I forget) about another character: Norman's ever-so eccentric violin-playing, book seller of a father, Cornelius, who nearly steals the book away from Norman and Miss Hargreaves, though not quite. Cornelius Huntley, to my mind, deserved a book of his own. See if you don't agree once you read Miss Hargreaves. He seems the perfect foil for Miss Hargreaves and is, obviously, the perfect foil for Norman - the only member of his family who believes Norman's story of how Miss Hargreaves came to be, mostly because he believes he has the same oblique talent for invention that Norman has. (Norman's inheritance of this talent doesn't surprise him in the least. Obviously it runs in the family.) Creative thought creates.

My thanks go to the publishers, The Bloomsbury Group, for re-releasing this wonderful book first published in 1940 and deemed author Frank Baker's finest. Too good to be forgotten for sure.

As I said in the beginning and continue to say: Read this book.

You will thank me. (Not to mention Simon and Nancy Pearl.)

More Library Loot

This is actually loot from my second trip to the library late last week. (Had to rush down there or risk my 'reserves' being shipped back.) Since I'm still reading stuff from the previous week's library trip (not to mention a few used books I picked up online), I am rapidly falling behind. Same old/same old. Since I'm mostly retired, not so much intentionally as by circumstance, I generally have plenty of time to read, but still, even I have a life to lead away from books. I have a granddaughter to keep an eye on. (Seeing her tonight!) And I plan on getting back to painting and setting up my art blog any day now.

Anyway, back to library loot:

After waiting several weeks, my copy of The Passage by Justin Cronin arrived at the library. But jeez, it looks like a heck of a long rode. I hope I'm up to it. I'm not such a fan of vampire books, I hope the subject matter doesn't wear me out. But this book's been so HIGHLY recommended by friends whose taste I respect, we'll see.

Murder At Mansfield Park by Lynn Shepherd sounds a treat for someone like me, a real Jane Austen fan from way back. I'm not crazy about all the Austen pastiches out there (please, no zombies need apply), but this one sounds intriguing. All I ask is that it be well written with a bit of imagination and style.

No Trace by Barry Maitland. This police procedural (I'm fond of police procedurals) was recommended by Roberta at her blog, Books To the Ceiling, among a list of other interesting books and authors for the Fall. I thought I'd give Maitland a look.

What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell. Essays by Gladwell sound like a very good thing. I've read two of his previous books, The Tipping Point and Outliers. I think he's a brilliant observer and researcher, not to mention, a terrific writer.

Commuters by Emily Gray Tedrowe. Can't remember who, originally, recommended this, but it sounds good. Besides, I always like to take a look at debut novels. You never know when you're going to find yourself at the dawn of a great new writer. I'm not, normally, a reader of 'family' novels unless they're enormously well written, like The Hills At Home by Nancy Clark, but if something about it sounds interesting, I'll bite.

The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood. What can I say? I've never read Atwood, never felt any need to. But Nancy Pearl recommends this very, VERY highly. So I am powerless to resist.

We'll see what happens.

Warrior Woman

Now this is what I call a Warrior Woman with capital W's. From now on this is who I'll imagine whenever a book calls for a strong, warrior-type woman character. I can't help it, she's instantly encased in my imagination. Isn't she amazing? Look at that nose! That jaw line. Those shoulders. Those arms, a little fleshy but full of strength. And isn't she clutching a sharp arrow? Yup, I think so. I wouldn't mess with her in a dark alley. Or any other alley, for that matter. Of course, the dog by her side doesn't hurt either.

This startling portrait is by George De Forest Brush (1855-1941), a little known artist featured today on the truly terrific Art Inconnu blog. They post (almost daily) some 'new' artist who is under-appreciated or been over-looked by history. It's a great place to find wonderful art by artists many of us have, regrettably, never heard of.