Turkey and Lizard Quiet Evening

“Calm self-confidence is as far from conceit as the desire to earn a decent living is remote from greed.”
– Channing Pollack



Thelma and Bert – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor

What?  You say you have never seen a blue turkey and a giant yellow lizard enjoying a cozy evening around the fireplace?  The turkey is Thelma and the lizard is Bert.  For a couple months in 2008, Eyepaint and I had a running saga, featuring these two stars on WetCanvas.  They shared  many fascinating times.  In fact, Eyepaint even wrote a couple books about their adventures.   They were loved by all.

So, if you ever wondered about my sanity… I may have just tipped you toward the “nuts” side. 

About Channing Pollack

American playwright Channing Pollack is best remembered for his work massively redesigning the plot of the film Metropolis after it was shot. He was born in 1880. He worked in every aspect of New York theater, first as publicist for the Shubert family of theater owners, then as a drama critic who was banned from every Shubert theater, and finally as a playwright whose work included the morality play, The Enemy, as well as Clothes and The Fool. He died in 1946.

Rainbow Lizard

“When you encounter difficulties and contradictions, do not try to break them, but bend them with gentleness and time.”
– St. Francis de Sales



Rainbow Lizard – 7″ x 7 Watercolor on Masa

I’m sure you realize that the lizard wasn’t really this color, right?  I just couldn’t resist giving him a little dye job. 

The reference photo is from Astrid at WetCanvas.

I thought he was really huge, until I noticed those were sidewalk cracks behind him.  he he

About St. Francis de Sales

St. Francis de Sales (1567–1622), known as the Gentle Saint, was bishop of Geneva. His motto was, “He who preaches with love preaches effectively,” and his religious texts, including Introduction to the Devout Life, have resonated with many non-Catholics. Pope Pius IX proclaimed him a patron saint of writers. Some consider him a patron saint of the deaf; he invented a form of sign language to teach a young deaf man how to communicate.

Patchwork Pound Puppy Puzzle 3 for P.A.W.S.

“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”
– Samuel Beckett

Better than not trying at all, right?

 

Patchwork Pound Puppy Puzzle 3 for P.A.W.S.
5″ x 7″ Acrylic on Wooden Puzzle

Who could resist that face.    This is the third of the three puzzles I painted for the Southeast Oklahoma Association of Realtors charity auction.  I think my next little project will be to start on a bird house for a friend’s house warming gift.  She loves birdhouses!  Sounds fun, huh?  It is not assembled, so I can paint without having to get in to all of those tight spots.  Uh oh…. can you see a cat birdhouse coming?  he he he  That might make it too hard for the birdies to enjoy their lunch.  Speaking of lunch....

Over the weekend, we were watching the birds having a feast at a friend’s house.  Some termites had hatched in an old rotten log and they were flying out of the log by the millions.  There were a dozen different birds and a lizard eating, while we were there.  The lizard and a cardinal even fussed a little.  It was so cute.  After we left, my friend said another lizard and more birds came to eat.

After a while, a snake appeared, which puzzled my friend.  Snakes don’t eat bugs?  Well, before long, he had a lizard hanging out of his mouth.  He was a small snake and couldn’t eat him all at once.  What an adventure in nature.

About Samuel Beckett

Samuel Beckett, the absurdist Irish playwright known for his darkly funny minimalist plays like Waiting for Godot and Endgame, won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1969 and reportedly gave away most of the money to needy artists. He was born in Dublin in 1906 and moved to France to join the resistance during World War II. His plays, poetry, and novels used elements from burlesque and vaudeville to explore the human struggle to make sense of life. He died in 1989.