Summer

We complain about the heat, we complain about the cold.  Autumn and spring are fleeting.  I don't mind summer really.  I get hot...REALLY hot sometimes, but I would rather be hot than cold.  Granted, exercise is a lot more tolerable in lower temperatures but food consumption is less desirable in the warmer months.  It evens out.

Tomorrow I am scheduled to have my hair chopped.  I am nervous but... excited at the same time.  I hope it turns out well.  My hair can be a bit tricky to maintain.

Watercolor Randomness

Last night I wanted to paint but it was Friday and I was having some wine so chatting with friends seemed like the thing to do.  I didn't want to do anything too detailed or involved because that sort of painting requires a lot of focus and attention but my hands were itching for the brush so I ended up making this.   Going to bed last night I wasn't sure I liked it very much but this morning I can see it with different eyes. 

Bushes

I didn't get around to trimming the bushes properly before the bloomed so my flowerbed in the front of the house is a bit out of control.  The azalea bushes are in full bloom and are threatening to overcome the house with an explosion of color.  I was experimenting with a new camera app on my phone.  It has an 8mp camera (which is the same as my old point and click - pnc takes better pics nonetheless) and this app has a lot of different settings the Canon does not.

Lots of promises for rain but not a drop so far this week.  I hope we get some soon.  I love spring showers.  The way they smell, the lightning, the winds that make the trees bend and twist.  One of my favorite ways to spend an hour or so is sitting in my carport during a storm.  I have never had an indoor/outdoor area quite like it.  Built onto the house I am completely shielded from the elements yet I can still feel the wind and smell the wet concrete and listen to the rain.

Bookmarks

Side One


More bookmarks!  I love making these.  It is a small original piece of art that you can actually use!  This is my latest completed piece and I love it so much I want to keep it for myself!  I can't be greedy thought, and since I only read one book at a time I will just keep my original attempt at bookmark making since it is on paper that is a bit on the thin side compared to my latest attempts.  I don't have any photos of my keeper, but I will make a point to take some in the future.  This took between 6-8 hours to ink and these doodle pieces are fun because I can just kind of zone out drawing while watching TV.  I get my inspiration from stationary, friends and Google Image searches for Floral Patterns.

Side TwoFor sale at my etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/listing/72314642/handmade-ink-bookmark 

Old Things

I took this photo where I used to work.  It was a haphazard old building with annoying hallways and corners.  Sometimes I miss the place yet I can't make myself go into the new business that is now renting the space.  I always wondered what, if any purpose these pipes served. 

I have spent the past hour or so looking through an old hard drive full of pictures and artwork.  Most of the art I have in hard copy so it is the same ol', same ol' but there are a few digital pieces that I had forgotten I made.  It is always nice to go back to things that I have created in the past.  I can often see them in a new light.  The same goes for writing.  I love the stories I wrote 10 years ago and often can pick up where I left off with more success than I might have starting something new.

Such a Beautiful Day

It is so beautiful outside that I am almost glad to have yard work that needs to be done.  After that I really must get out and take some pictures while the bushes are in full bloom.  I never trimmed them before they started budding so everything looks a bit like a bad hair day but something about the wildness appeals to me.  A happy mistake.  You can't tell in this photo but the tree in this picture has tiny green buds all over the winter branches.

I suppose I am going to let mom chose one of several bookmarks I have made rather than choosing for her.  I am not very good at designing something for someone unless they give me very specific instructions. Otherwise it turns out to be whatever I am feeling like making at the moment, which isn't always appropriate. The rest will go up for sale in my etsy shop.

Speaking of my shop, I was featured in my first treasury yesterday!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4da5ee4a5bac8eef4295bab2/wanted-dead-or-alive?ref=pr_tr..

That makes me smile!!

Blue Ridge

I love visiting the Blue Ridge Mountains.  They aren't as dramatic as the Rockies but the ancient feeling of land being violent rearranged in a moment's notice is unmistakable when you visit.  The smooth crests covered in trees, the carved land-sides made to accommodate cars and roads... there is kind of a hollowed out lonely feeling that hovers in these lands.   

Slowly the world creeps in and adds horrible things like power lines and streets to the natural beauty, but that is the price to pay once humans move in.  We make our mark on the plain and beautiful alike.  I wish it didn't take me three hours to take a nice walk in these lovely hills.  There is just so much they have to offer.

And These are the Days of Our Lives...

Another day.

I don't photograph well without makeup yet... here I am.  It was late and after my shower.  You can see how much of my hair needs to be chopped off.  Being a body can be such a high maintenance job.  Just a little bit of eyeliner makes me a totally different person.

Blasting old-school rap and being amused at how much this pic reminds me of living at the Chimney Apartments because of the way the blinds showed up in the picture.  The music is keeping the dog awake aka the dog is annoying the shit out of me.  Of course Zimmy isn't helping.

 Whoever decided on the border along my kitchen wall put a lot of effort in trimming out the pattern. (You wouldn't know unless closely inspected)  Why they ever thought it would look good up there I will never know.

I finished a couple of bookmarks today. I ruined one as well trying to seal it with too thick of a coat of matte finish.  Bollocks.  I think I might start another intricate ink mark.  Those are so very fun.

I am not a fan of dogs... but this one lives with me.  His name is Dexter aka Dxtrrrr.  I loved the way this photo turned out because you can see his ghostly inner growly self and his puppy face all in one.  I will never admit to Dean but I kind of love this pup because he makes me sleep more soundly at night.

On a sadder note one of my closest friend's closet friend was killed last night.  I hadn't seen him for over a decade and despite the fact that we kind of competed for Matthew Todd's affections I never thought something like this would happen to him.

http://www.wcnc.com/news/Man-finds-roommate-shot-in-uptown-119313284.html

I am sorry that you were in the wrong place at the wrong time Chris.  You will be missed by many.

To Draw!

I need to put down the book and draw.  There are so many ideas floating around in my head.  Especially since I have refilled my 'Inspiration' folder with lots of new images and photographs to browse as I sketch.  Still life is a very unexplored topic for me yet the attempts I have made in the past are generally a success.  The question is... what do I have that would be fun to draw?

I have also been thinking of drawing Evangeline and the 7 guardians (from a short story I have written).  I have never attempted to draw a 75+ woman and it would be and experience.  I can draw older men and younger women but my younger men tend to look too feminine and this will be my first attempt at a grandmotherly type.

I took some photos on the Blue Ridge yesterday but I haven't moved them from the camera yet so I'm not sure of the quality.  I didn't have the tripod and was a bit hasty at the best overlook due to being alone and a creepy guy in a convertible BMW. 

Spring skies are amazing here in NC.

Question

I am not very adept at using this site.  I find it difficult to follow anyone because I can't find where to do so and I can't seem to figure out how to reply to comments left for me on my blog.  Also, is there a way to set it up so that I get those messages in my email?  I will go check the settings again but I am getting a bit frustrated.

Also, last night when I went to add an image it opened a window that want me to log into Google Cloud picker (?) then gives me an error.  Help?

Despite the fact that she wants to kill my beta fish I love, love, love Zimmy.  She is young and still coming into herself but she is the most affectionate kitty I have ever known.  I am talking cuddles, purrs, leg rubs and under the blanket-kill the hand- fun kitty.  And I thought my first cat Echo (named for her voice) had a lot to say.  Zim is like a chatterbox on speed.

What this blog is really about. Artwork!

   
   "Feeling Blue"


I have never been very good at using watercolors when painting people.  Having never been taught to paint I had to teach myself and I almost gave up.  I could paint on canvas using acrylics if I did bold solid compositions but watercolors just frustrated me.  I'm not sure what changed in late 2009 but I started doing sunsets using watercolors and I found that I loved them!  Mistakes are a lot more forgiving than with color pencil or ink and with paints I find imperfections lend texture and makes the composition interesting.

This painting was started a few days before I was scheduled to receive my Wacom tablet.  I was torn as to whether I wanted to start an organic piece so close to when I should be getting my new toy.  I knew that there was a good chance that it could go unfinished but sometimes the itch to draw is too annoying to resist.  I am glad I didn't in this case because I think I spent a total of maybe five hours on this painting and I am pleased with the results.  Obviously there was a bit of an issue with the background originally or the right side would be more like the left.  I changed my mind after already starting a darker background but luckily with a small bit of cropping I was able to salvage the final result.

Cedric The Gnome

Cedric is a traveling gnome.  He came to visit with me sometime in January and will be returning home for a brief stay with his roomie Gina and her new husband John just as soon as I finish up their wedding gift.  Cedric insisted I save on shipping and send everything at once as he is a frugal gnome.

When he first arrived Cedric was a little nervous because of the company he would be keeping during his stay in Charlotte.  The others living here are of a more macabre variety than he is used to staying with.  It didn't take him long to fit in once he realized that friends come in all shapes and sizes.  The most troublesome was Dextrr the dog who thought that perhaps he might has a flavor.  Yikes!

 Here is Cedric with my friend the Purple Pimp and his Ladies of the Night. Only Cedric can tell their stories.  The other three don't talk much.  ;)

Sketching

Yesterday I received my Wacom Bamboo pen tablet.  I have read the tutorials and have started a few sketches that amounted to nothing.  There is a photograph that I have been wanting to use as a reference for a drawing for several years now.  I made one attempt using pencil and ink but my drawing ended up on too large of a scale and I was unable to fit both children into the shot.  I am fairly happy with the way the sketch is turning out, but the thing is... it is just that.  A sketch.  I tried to add color but it looked terrible.  I need to work on opacity and layering but I'm not sure this is the drawing for that kind of practice.  Right now I am just using the pencil setting and I have to say that it is 95% easier than attempting to sketch with a mouse.  I never would have been able to do this without the pen.
Now back to sketching!  Hopefully I will have something worth sharing by tomorrow afternoon.

Spring is in the Air!

The time has come time to cut the grass for the first time of the season so yesterday, despite the itching in my ears and the tightness in my throat I braved the lawn for a small bundle of the wild flowers that are growing there.  The fresh green of spring mixed with the vibrant purples, pinks and yellows make my eyes so happy.  This little bundle is currently sitting in a shot glass next to my never blooming orchid in the kitchen window.  Isn't it cute though? 

Home Sweet Home

This is my first house (notice the dreadful state of my bushes!).  I bought it about a year ago and though it is a lot of work, owning a house is great.  First, I never have to ask someone, is it ok if I paint a room this color?  My bedroom is the perfect soothing purple for a good nights sleep.  I desperately need a new bed and new linens and I hope to eventually have several shelves mounted once I find some that suit my taste. Also, more paintings and we also have to replace the outlets and outlet covers.  Currently I have no closet door but I am thinking that a curtain may work better for me considering it is a small space and even a folding door would require space to open.   I would also like to either paint or at the very least change the handles on the green chest of drawers.  You can't see in either of these pictures but the inside of the closet is a green similar but darker than the finish on that piece of furniture.

So far I have only painted one other room, the master bedroom.  Originally it was going to be the entertainment room/office but it kind of ended up being my house mate's room.  He has weights and other exercise equipment that I would prefer not be in the living room so until the building out back is finished the red room belongs to him.  He asked me several times before we painted if I would rather use the big room as my bedroom but there is just something about the room I chose that made me feel like it was where I belong.

Spring Cleaning

I finally hung (or rather I had Dean hang) the cork board that I painted for my necklaces.  Now I just need more necklaces!  I actually liked using cork as a medium and plan to do so again in the future.  Especially since a framed piece like this one goes for about $8 which is far less than any mounted canvas this size. There are endless possibilities.  It can be used as canvas or painted more simply to be used as it was intended.  I could cut out the center and mount a mirror or another canvas...oh so many ideas! 

Softlead Pencils

I have been working with paints and ink a lot in the last year and haven't used any softlead pencil in a long time other than for sketching outlines for ink drawings.  Last night I started a drawing in my art journal that was originally going to be an outline for another painting but somehow the more I drew the more I knew she needed to be done in pencil.  The piece is coming along well and is reminding me that I can eat up an 8B pencil with grace and speed.  I require a sharp tip so I sharpen a lot. A LOT.  I think I require a trip to the art store.  I wonder where I can buy loose canvas locally.  I don't fancy to pay for shipping for something that may be creased or unsatisfactory.  I also need to find some tutorials stretching your own canvas and making your own frames.  I have a pretty good idea from looking at the ones that I buy.