Yes, Yes, and Again, Yes

Neither Strings Nor Wings

I love this one.

Right Now

I'd like to go down to town and have something yummy for lunch and sit and write in my journal--just sit and doodle and not feel like I need to hurry or go anywhere at all...Does that count as an 'artist date'?

Take Flight

12"x12" stretched canvas

Am I the Only One?

Am I? Am I the only one who, when confronted with those darn jumbles of letters while I'm posting a comment, tries to form them into something meaningful?

Am I?

Getting Ready

Trying to finish enough paintings so I won't have to sweat it out when it comes time to hang a dozen pieces at Cafe 225--Here's what I've been working on.

Nature Prints--Teaching in Science Class

Going to 'do art' with Katie's 7th grade science class/homeroom in a couple of weeks. These are some samples I've been working on today. The coolest one is printed on black paper, but (of course) that one is up at the house, so I'll have to show you later...

Tender Minute of Faded Twilight

Today

Working working working (Yay!)

Board meeting tonight (Boo!)

Lots of people coming to board meeting (Yay!)

Painting painting painting (Yay!)

Anything's tolerable when it's surrounded by time spent painting...

Gallery News

Susan Hopkins, the owner of Easelheads Gallery, called this afternoon with some news. She's been chosen to 'curate' the art at Cafe 225, a wonderful restaurant in downtown Visalia--and she wants to hang "at least a dozen" of my girls at the end of May! They'll have a reception and everything--the one for the current (first) hanging is next Wednesday, and she suggested I attend so that I'll know what to expect when it's my turn.

I better get cracking on some paintings...

Question for the day: What should I do with paintings that I'm not sure I like/not sure are finished? Paint over them? Save them for later?

???

Katie in the Musical

Opening night for "Tied to the Tracks" was last night--very cute and, as always, extremely well-done. Realize--these are 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th graders! Katie's the little one wearing the hat and the black and white dress...

Some pictures...

Some pictures from a few weeks ago--from one of Joel's baseball games, and then flowers and Jenny out by the road on our driveway...

Yawn

I don't know why I'm so tired, but all I feel like doing is finding somewhere warm and curling up and going to sleep...

Tonight is Opening Night for the school musical. Katie's excited, I think, but also said this morning that three months' worth of rehearsals are about to pay off, and then it will all be over. Wow. (three months, four days a week, from 3 until 5. That's a lot of rehearsal time).

Yesterday the phone must have rung twenty times. I'd been so excited about getting to spend the whole day in the studio, and I ended up working on school board stuff for most of the day. I thought about turning off the phone in the studio today, but haven't done it yet.

I'm going to get myself back into the groove by prepping the backgrounds of a bunch of canvases. That should get me back in the swing of things, I hope.

Abstract

I love the color and movement here.

An Experiment

This is an experiment from the other day. I used one of Katie's old school pictures and painted over it. Of course, I had to add a dress, since the portrait was only from the shoulders up...

I really want to try and loosen up in my application of paint and color. Right now everything is blended, and I want to learn how to NOT do that...

You Asked

Well, you did! Several of you asked how Katie's big birthday bash went!

It was great. Our house is really perfect for parties, since there are three levels, two big patios, and 2 1/2 acres to play on. The kids ran around outside, climbing trees and sitting on the rocks, playing wiffle ball and football. They listened to music from Joel's Ipod, which he graciously lent for the occasion, and ate NINE pizzas, drank liters and liters of soda, and inhaled birthday cake. They watched I Am Legend (with a break in the middle to go play outside some more), and sat around a fire in the fireplace on the back porch. Good old Richard kept an eye on the two boys who appeared to have pyromaniacal tendencies (is that even a word?).

It was dark by the time parents started to arrive to pick up their sons and daughters, and all the kids were returned home safe and sound. Katie said it was a great party.

Amazing that I made it through five hours with eighteen 13-yr-olds, two 15-yr-olds, and two 8-yr-olds. Whew!

New Art

She was filled with contentment...



And she found the key to her dreams...

Art Prize and Award

This lovely award was given to me by Amanda at Hidden Art.

The rules of passing on this award are as follows:- post award in your own blog: [Post who gave it to you]- indicate its origin and a link to the site, but do not feel obligated to either posting this or passing it along.

Well, I don't really mind the obligation when someone bestows an award on me! Thank you so much, Amanda!

I've got so many blogs that artfully inspire me, but I'll direct you toward a few of my favorites...

Andrea at C'est Andrea

And don't forget Andrea's sidekick, Miss Doodle, at Miss Doodle's Day

And Lynn, who is so busy at her blog, Getting My Feet Wet

And Katie Kendrick, who paints the most amazing things and shares them with us at Joyously Becoming...

The Big Bash

Katie begged for a birthday party this year, being that she's turning the 'big thirteen' and that she's never had a birthday party (yes, you heard right, I'm a seriously derelict mom, apparently). I agreed, on the condition that she do all the cleaning/getting ready/decorating, and that I would provide pizza, sodas, and cake (don't scold me, Sue, I know it's not healthy, but it's EASY, and that's what I was shooting for here).

Today's the big day--she invited all the kids in her class, and 18 of the 20 are coming. The house is clean, Richard and Katie are working on the back porch and yard, and Joel and his friend are (grudgingly, at least on Joel's part) helping. The party goes from 3:30 to 8:30, and the kids are going to play football and volleyball out in the yard, swing on the rope swing, hang out on the back and side patios listening to music and eating and talking, play board games, and (maybe) watch I Am Legend, which Katie says will make everyone cry.

It's going to be an outdoorsy, "play" kind of birthday party, to celebrate Katie's big milestone.

I am so relieved that a) I don't have to hover over them, because I hate doing that and it would only make me nervous, and b) I don't have to structure the party and come up with things for them to do, because I'm not good at that.

Katie the Cruise Director has it all under control. (We used to call her that when she was little, and it still fits :)

Vision Board--or whatever you call it

After creating such a nice big empty space on my lovely gold walls, I realized that I had room for a 'vision board'--somewhere to pin up all the little scraps of colors and pictures and things that inspire me.

This is half of a piece of foam insulation from Lowe's--I'm going to make one for Katie, too, though covered in different fabric. I covered mine with my favorite decorator fabric: painter's canvas dropcloth. The biggest problem I had was how to hang it on the wall, since I can't securely screw anything into the foam. The solution was to take a thin strip of wood and put eye screws and wire in that, and then attached it to the foam using strips of velcro. So far, so good.

Total cost for two of these (mine's 3.5' x 4', Katie's will be 4' x 4'): less than $20.