Thanksgiving Eve 2008

As this time of year rolls around, I have very warm memories of Thanksgiving eve with my family. There were traditions that I have not carried on, but I'm sure my sister has... and maybe my brother, because they both have kids. One of my favorites is the Heavenly Hash. The night before Thanksgiving, we would count out exactly 100 miniature marshmellows. To this, we added some pineapple and something else. (The memory of the ingredients is not as powerful as the memory of doing it.) We'd put that into the freezer to set overnight. In the morning, we'd add nuts, Cool Whip and some more stuff. It was wonderful!

Thanksgiving day, I remember playing scrabble with my Dad. It was tradition! We would eat our dinner on the good china and drink our cranberry juice from wine glasses. Fun! There was usually a walk around the block after dinner. Yeah, those are great memories!

This year, we are spending our third Thanksgiving with our friends, Jerry & Teresa.... and about 40 of thier family members and friends. It's a great day! I hope anyone who reads this has a wonderful holiday!

Mailing off those paintings - November 24th, 08

Well, I did it! I sent my little 4" x 4" Barbados Beach Shack to the Small Works Invitational, in North Carolina. I also sent my Multi-Tonal Chair to the Art House Gallery, in Atlanta, Georgia. I am building up the resume, these days. I am finding that in order to write a bio, I need stuff to write about. The gallery submissions I'll really want to make in the future, require the oh so elusive bio! I sent my three little miniature tulip paintings to a gallery for an Autism fundraiser and they sold as soon as the show opened. I am going to concentrate on miniatures, for the time being. I am most comfortable painting small, anyway.

I am having the time of my life, by the way!

Weekend Painting and Printmaking - November 22-23, 2008

Wow, what a great weekend. I finished my prints for my WetCanvas printmaker's Christmas swap. I am not experienced at all. The one I am sending out is actually my 4th block ever! I did a flower a few months ago, then 2 little Christmas ATCs, which I decided not to send to this group. This is the one I'm sending. It is a Snowy Egret, based very loosely on a photo that I love. I painted the scarf with watercolor. I am hoping that is not a no-no, since I am hanging with some really serious printmakers on this swap. Aw, that's how I learn.

Saturday morning, my husband slept late and I got to paint! I did 7 ATC (2.5" x 3.5") paintings for an Africa swap at WetCanvas. I felt really good about these. I got all of the references from morguefile.com, which is a royalty free photo reference site. I'll be sending an email copy of the painting to each of the contributing photographers. I really appreciate having this site to snag refrences from. WetCanvas also has a wonderful reference image library, which I use.

Funny thing about these Africa paintings. My husband usually doesn't "get" my art, or just doesn't like it. When I showed him these, he didn't want me to mail them out! He loved them and wanted me to keep them! Huh??? Now I have mixed emotions about mailing them out. I am fond of several (not all) of them, too! I guess I'll paint more than I need and keep my favorites.

I like that doing these swaps forces me to paint every day. I do a little something absolutely every morning. It is starting to show in my work. I am so happy I found WetCanvas!

November 18, 2008

It's a little itty bitty 4" x 4" painting of a little beach shack at Bathsheba, on Barbados.

I was there with six other lady artists in September of this year. I have painted this shack in several different mediums since then. This is watercolor, gouache and acrylic.

Weekend Paintings November 15th & 16th, 2008

I had some fun with my Intense pencils Saturday. One reader at WetCanvas said my cactus reminded her of her brain molecules after eating her sister-in-law's salsa! How funny!

I painted the frog for a friend that wanted me to paint a frog leaping off a hot tin roof. You just never know what kind of things people will want. Isn't life fun?

I also worked on a 4" x 4" painting I am doing for a SmallWorks Invitational. I'm having a great time with it. Photo to come later.

Pastel Puzzle Piece

I am in an exchange on WetCanvas, where we each do one piece of a puzzle. here is my finished 6" x 6" square. It is oil pastel on Art Spectrum Colourfix. I am not very experienced with pastels, but this was really fun to do. I'll see if I can post the entire puzzle when it's done.

Weekend Paintings November 7-8

Wow. It's hard to believe I haven't been here since July. Life is just so busy! I am really going to try to come by and share what I have been doing. I have been having a lot of fun with my art lately!

I have been experimenting with
shapes and textures. It does make me want to do art more than work! I have to make myself go back to the old sign making mental place, to continue to do what I am supposed to be doing.