But I really love how this painting came out. Morning Sun on a barren forest has all the fun I could muster up telling it’s story. Collage, rice paper, the glistening gold of morning sun, shadows. It’s simple, and I like that. Sometimes I go simple instead of finishing. My diva friend tells me …..More is Better? You tell me!
While you are here, check out the spencer of Thursdays Time out for Art. Zebra Designs & Destinations
A Gourd full of Succulents
Last week one of the challenges that was given to the Blogging 101 class, was to join a blogging event of our choice, and participate in this group. After searching through all the different events, I chose to join “Time out for Art! I liked the idea, and after emailing the Leader of the Pack, I liked her, and the event even more.
You can find more about the Blog I’m following here at “Zebra Designs & Destinations!”
Today I’m posting a little sketch that I did while visiting with friends I hadn’t seen in years. In it is a bit of zentangle,, and a little creative thinking, and simply mindless doodling as we chatted. They were painting with watercolors, I was playing with graphite, and pens! Another Mixed Media problem…..it’s really difficult to drag all the stuff with you that is needed to work in mixed media, thus the journal sketching.
I’m going to make an effort to post a little sketch for the Time Out for Art Blogging Event which is to be posted by Thursday each week….we’ll see how that goes since I’ve had little time to paint recently, and that’s what I need to be doing. But I’ll try!
What did he do next?
Well, the first thing John fixed was the irrigation system. It has always been a bit poopy, and he quickly discovered why! This is all technical, so I won’t get into it although I did understand after John explained it…..several times! The long and the short is this: it was never installed right in the first place! (Landscaping by a professional expert, having landscaped all over the Middle East!) After putting several hours into digging many holes, a trip to Lowe’s did the trick!
Oh those back-breaking holes!
The only one around here that knows how backbreaking digging holes in the yard can be is Daisy, our dog! She has most recently been on archology excursion to find the Lost City! I need to tell you, neither Les or myself taught her to do this. I’m sure she learned it from talking to the other dogs at the “dog park!” You know the ones, the dogs whose parents don’t teach them right from wrong! So now, we have to be the bad guys and give her a time out for attempting world travel, or trying to bury a chew stick. I hate being the bad guy!
Now the fun starts…
Tuesday night after John had prepared the yard for new dirt, and sod, and headed for home, Daisy went outside and…No she didn’t dig holes, but she spread her toys over the dirt. I think she was saying, “This is my yard, leave it alone!” All through this process she has been agitated, and I couldn’t even get her to leave the house for a walk in the afternoon. The yard being all torn up bothered her, and she would come in to get one of us, and take us out into the back to show us what John had done to her yard.
What’s next?
Wednesday the top soil went down, and from Wednesday until Thursday afternoon, Daisy had to stay out of the yard. I believe it is “Murphy’s Law,” to have the animals roll in freshly watered, manure, and top soil! We could just see her with the smelly dirt stuck to her fur, and needing a bath before we could let her back into the house!
Thursday morning John started putting down the sod, and then things changed. Keeping a dog off her grass is a challenge, and reasoning with her to not dig holes in the grass or she will have to sit on the “Naughty Rug” is the fun part!
Today is a new day, a new start, a new yard we can be proud of, and it looks great! After the yard was watered, pots will get drips on them, and things just look so much neater. I’m loving it!
Then what?
There isn’t much left to do. Maybe a few little things like putting a few more drip lines in, or re-wiring an antique iron lamp that was my Great-grandmother’s, but that is about it! You can be sure that pictures will follow one of these days! This was back-breaking work, that I could neither do, or help with. We are both so grateful for John, who tirelessly worked to make our home, and yard something we could all be proud of!
I think we all deserve a glass of vino, and maybe some cheese and crackers, and oh…..Chocolate!!! We must have chocolate!
And more practice!
Recently I was in a workshop at the Artist Tree in San Marcos. The artist giving the class was Cathy Carry, and if you aren’t familiar with her work, please take time and look her up. Cathy has a distinct style that I haven’t seen in too many present day artists. I’ve always been interested in her work for a number of reasons.So when the opportunity presented itself for this half day class, I jumped on it, and I wasn’t disappointed!
In my February 4 post, I talked about the class, and a little about my history with Cathy Carry.
Last week one of my paintings that wasn’t working, just found itself with a fresh coat of gesso on it, and the beginning of not just a new painting, but a new technique! It started out so well, and just like anything else one is trying to master, went downhill……. There isn’t much else to do to it at this point, except maybe gesso over it once again. However, I’m not going to do that.
Here is Why!
When I’m working on a new technique, I like to look at it, analyze it, let it sink in, and give it a chance to talk to me. That is my process, and in doing that I can see things I don’t want repeated, things I might do differently next time, or even things I really love about the painting. This painting has all of that! I have posted pictures from beginning to end, and I don’t think I’m going to go any further on it, but rather keep it so I might be reminded of what direction I want to go, and what direction I never want to go again!
The pictures are also an attempt at stomping back my ego, and get over myself! After all you can’t be perfect right out of the gate, and how can I develop a style if I don’t practice, practice, practice?
Taking pictures of my work as I’m painting is one of the ways I find things that might, or might not be working. I’ve done this for years, and it has helped me a great deal. As I’m gathering the pictures to include in this post, I’m seeing new things that I like, and things I realize now I don’t want to repeat. So thank you one and all for prompting me to keep writing, and to me for listening to you. I’m learning as I sit here and blog!
P.S….As I look at this painting, and trying to figure out what isn’t working, I’m seeing many things that I hadn’t seen before. I said it was finished, but I’m going to play with it just a little more, and then my intentions are to leave it alone, call it finished, and learn from it!
Old as Dirt and Proud of it! 
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