Kitties and Art....

The best laid plans.... I told you I'd show more of my pages a couple of days ago. But that was before we had to spend most of Saturday at the vet's office! Our LuLu is sick again. I won't give you all the messy details but Friday afternoon she started getting sick. Friday night I slept on the couch in the family room so I could keep an eye on her. She wouldn't come upstairs with us so I thought I better stay with her just in case she had trouble in the night.

So I didn't get much sleep Friday night and then Saturday we spent a long time at the vet.



LuLu is very patient. She just sat quietly in the bottom half of her travel crate while we waited for the doctor.

They ran some tests and observed LuLu but came up with nothing definitive. Today she's doing a little better. She's on an antibiotic with an anti-nausea medicine added to it. She's drinking a little water and eating a few bites now and then so hopefully this won't turn into something huge like last time. At least her blood work came back looking good.



She's such a sweet kitty....and spoiled rotten by HB!

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I do have a couple of pages for you and I promise I'll keep posting a few at a time until I get you all caught up.

Nov 24 - word was courage



The background of this page was already done and just waiting to be finished. I love having lots of background pages ready. It makes it a lot easier when I'm rushed for time.

Nov 25 - word was gratitude



Another background all ready and waiting. This page isn't much....just a bit of writing. Some of the words this month just don't resonate with me. That isn't to say gratitude is one of those words! I say "thank you" hundreds of times each day. I say silent thank you's for just about everything in my life. But making a page is not always something easy for me....especially when there's a theme or word to be used. That's why I join so many of these journal prompt challenges. It doesn't come easy and I keep hoping that if I do it enough I'll get the hang of it. So far that hasn't worked!!

Ok, HB just started a fire in the fireplace so I'm going to join him in the family room. I hope you all have a pleasant evening. Stay warm....

A Few More Pages....

Whew! Are you all stuffed from the big Thanksgiving dinner....those of you in the U.S. probably are! HB and I went to my cousin's daughter's house for dinner. It was great! The turkey was moist and delicious, and all the other dishes were good, too. We had a fun time.

HB took a picture of me....sorry for squinting but the sun was right in my eyes!



The shawl/scarf was a gift from my daughter. I love it and don't get to use it very often because I'm usually in jeans. Yesterday was a good excuse to dress up a little bit.

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Now back to art! I'm still playing catch-up on my NaNoJouMo/AEDM pictures so here are a few more:

Nov 21 - word was atonement



I had cut this girl out a long time ago....she was wearing a dress but I cut legs because I wanted to use it for something and then never did! So she worked good for saying "I'm sorry"

Nov 22 - word was relax



I didn't do much on this one! I love the image and it seemed perfect just as it was so that was it!

Nov 23 - word was evolve



This was a page I had partially done earlier and it seemed to work. So there you have it for today. I'll put up more tomorrow until I get caught up. I have to admit I did not do a page yesterday! I didn't do any art yesterday....but I had fun!

Now it's on to Christmas!!! Maybe our trees will go up this weekend. We'll see....

Staying With It....

Hi everyone! Remember me??? I just got caught up in stuff around the house and didn't get any posts written for several days....but I'm here now and I'm catching up on my challenges.

I have been doing a little bit of art each day to keep going with AEDM but some of the words for NaNoJouMo really stumped me or simply didn't interest me! Also the last picture I drew (previous post) has been keeping me busy. I've been trying to visualize how she will look with color and so far I haven't done anything else to her. It might take me awhile to finish her.

So here's my AEDM/NaNoJouMo pages from the past several days....

Nov 18 - word was actualize



I couldn't think of anything to do for that word so I just did a page. The quote says: Throughout all Creation, just beneath the surface, joining each person to every other person and to every other thing in a luminous organism of sacred responsibility, we discover invisible lines of connection. - Lawrence Kushner

Nov 19 - fray



I chose to show how I fray some of my jeans! I always keep a couple of pairs that have nice hems but many times I fray the bottoms of jeans I use for casual wear around the house. And it's also a good way for me to have jeans that are just the right length. I seem to fall in-between the height sizes on pants so they're either too short or too long.

Nov 20 - poise



This was another one of the words I didn't actually make a page about....this quote says: Our life is a faint tracing on the surface of mystery. -Annie Dillard

Sometimes the word for the day strikes a chord with me and other times not so much. When I immediately think of something when I read the word then it's a sure bet I'll make a page about it otherwise I don't.

I have three more pages finished but I'll show those to you tomorrow. I don't want to overwhelm you with pictures on one post!

Also I've added some autumn photos to my photo blog (link is over on the right side under "my other sites")....I added photos taken over three days.

And that's it for today! I hope you're having a fun artsy kind of day.

Sumptuous....

I'm just about ready to go get my hair cut but I wanted to share with you what I'm working on now. She is just in the preliminary stages but I think I'm going to like her....a lot!



I'm doing her in my big art journal and this page is not heavy paper but it isn't slick like the page for Mystique/Kalinda. I think this will work best with either markers or colored pencil or maybe a combination of both. The page is actually a light tan so I don't think I'll do anything to her skin....just leave it the page color.



Not sure why the page looks like such an ickky color here. I'm starting to add some details but not much yet. We'll see where she takes me.

Yesterday's word was sumptuous - "very rich, expensive, luxurious, or splendid." I think she will be splendid! But she's going to take a lot more work so hang in there with me.

It's Divine....

Yesterday's NaNoJouMo word was divinity. This was a snap for me. The first thing I thought of was my grandma's divinity. She made it every year at Christmastime....and she beat it by hand! No electric mixers or food processors for her. And she probably weighed all of 95 lbs soaking wet! But she could beat the heck out of that divinity until it was smooth as silk.

She put it into big rectangular pans and then cut it into squares like fudge....and every piece had a pecan halve on top. It was truly divine!

She would make up boxes of divinity for all the family members and I'm sure they were just like me....waiting each year for that delicious box of yumminess to arrive.

Today I wouldn't eat divinity because it's made with corn syrup....I try to stay away from corn in all forms (which is next to impossible!) but back then I loved my grandma's divinity. So in honor of my grandma here is my divinity page....



After seeing the photos of it, I realize how messy my writing is....and I should have put something along the right side. It looks kind of bare.



But I didn't and that's that! Today's word is sumptuous....that might be a fun word to work with. Come by tomorrow and see what I come up with for it.

Shining a Little Light on Things....

Yesterday I worked on "Mystique" a little bit more. And I kept looking at her and thinking she reminded me of someone. It just kept bugging me until this morning the light bulb came on....she looks a little like Kalinda (Archie Panjabi) on The Good Wife. Anyway, here's how she looks now....

I used my Portfolio oil pastels to do the shading and add some rosiness to her cheeks.

I decided to go ahead and glue down the circles along the side and I added another layer to them. I'm very happy with how this turned out. There are things I would change but I'm not going to stress over them.

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And I even got caught up on my art journal pages for NaNoJouMo. Here is the one for the 14th - the word was portray....

Imagine that! I did a page using purple!! Can you believe it??

And here's the page for the 15th - the word was luminous....

I used black gesso for the background, then drew my lantern with a silver Sharpie. I put zinc white on the glass panels and then added a translucent yellow to give a glow of a light.....printed out the quote and I was finished! I could have used this page for the word essence, too!

Today's word is divinity and I have most of it done but you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see it!

Mystique....

I am terrible at following through on art commitments! I get side-tracked so easily. I think I must have the attention span of a gnat! On Saturday the NaNoJouMo word for the day was mystique and I showed you a sketch I had started.

Long story short - I worked on that page off and on all through the weekend and today. I didn't get much done on my other things because I kept coming back to the image of the girl I sketched.

Here's where I'm at with her now....



She needs more work but I need to move on. I'm behind two pages on the NaNoJouMo, didn't do the Art, Heart and Healing lessons and still have the lesson from Paint Free to complete.



You can see her mouth needs work and everything needs to be shaded a bit more.



The circles along the left side are not attached....I'm still thinking about them. It was difficult working on this page with anything other than ink. The page is in that big art journal I won and this particular page was fairly slick paper. It's a very nice heavy paper in a beautiful creamy tan color....it doesn't show that way in the photos.

If I had just done a pen and ink drawing I think this paper would have been great. I got in trouble when I started adding color. I finally resorted to using scrapbook papers for the beads and other accents. This painting was definitely a challenge! But I love her!

A Challenge and a Bit of Mystique....

I'm stumped! Most of this weekend has been taken up with an assignment from the Paint Free class I'm taking. Not to give away too much about the class, it involves taking one of my previous paintings and doing something else over it. Now I'm not concerned with covering the painting with something else but my problem comes from not being able to see anything else there except what I've already done. It's supposed to be a bit like "pulled" art. This is the painting I'm supposed to cover after I find some pulled art....

No matter what way I twist or turn it, all I see is what's there already. I'm driving myself crazy with this one!!

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And yesterday's NaNoJouMo word was mystique. I started something in my big new journal but it's far from finished. This is what I have so far....

This journal is the one I recently won. It has several kinds of paper in it and this page I'm working on is somewhat slick. I'm having trouble getting the face to look smooth but I'm still working on it. I hope you can see what I have sketched out. I think she will be a good match for "mystique"....what do you think?

Now for the rest of the afternoon I'm going to work on the Art, Heart and Healing class. I promise to have some visiting time soon. I'm just getting snowed under with all my classes and I can't keep up with everything. Bear with me....

Getting to the Essence....

Here I am again with another short post. And another apology for not getting around to visit everyone. I'm trying to get caught up on some of the classes I'm taking and that doesn't leave me much time for other things. HB and the kitties also need my attention!

Yesterday I did another 30 minute painting....this time it was twice that time. But it was done in 30 minute segments. Like a dummy I forgot to take a photo after the initial 30 minutes but here's what I had after the second 30 minute session....



I don't know where these are coming from! I seem to be tapping into some long-hidden tribal connection. I just try to paint without thinking and this is what I keep coming up with.



HB teased me that it looks like I've got "weed" plants on the one side! If that's coming from my sub-conscious it must be from another life as I've never done any drugs! Yes, I remember the 60's! So I guess I wasn't there!!

Also yesterday's word for NaNoJouMo (link over on the side) was essence. I didn't have a lot of time to work on the page so I took the easiest way and used the perfume definition. When I say I took the easy way, I really mean it....



The papers were already on this page. I just found a picture of perfume, glued it down, then printed out the text and put it on and called it a day! Sometimes it's all I can do. Just some simple page. And this isn't even a perfume I wear. Probably couldn't afford it!!!

Ok, that's it for me....I hope you all have a good, fun, creative weekend.

A Blue Reverie....

I'm still trying to play catch-up on several classes so this will be a short post. The word for yesterday (from NaNoJouMo....over on my side bar) was reverie. This is what I did. And remember I'm short on time so this was knocked out in just a matter of minutes. I didn't put a lot of thought into it....just went with my gut feeling.



The background was done with acrylics....laid down a color, spritzed it with water, soaked up the water with paper towel, then laid down another color and went through the same process. I think I put four layers of color on this page. Then a small piece of paper, some magazine images and a piece of black lace paper that I had spray painted. A few accents with some paint pens and I was done.

Also yesterday I did another exercise for one of my classes. I think it turned out hokey but we'll see what I learn from this!



This was painted without any sketching first. I just started painting the image right there on the paper. I don't like how stiff it all seems. I really need to loosen up with paint! My first thought was "Lady Sings the Blues"....

Ok....see you tomorrow. The word for today is essence. I don't have a clue what I'll do for that one but come back and see!

Class Projects....

I may not be around very much the next few days other than putting my daily work on my blog. I'm really behind in the Paint Free class I'm taking and also the Art, Heart and Healing class. So I plan to get caught up on some of that over the next few days. There won't be much time for blog visiting but if I have a chance I'll pop in.

Yesterday's word was liberty. Well, my first thought was "give me liberty or give me death" but I didn't want to do a page around that so I thought about liberty/freedom and came up with this....

This was another page where I had the background done and just sitting in the journal. The girl was even glued down....she was just waiting for the right words to say and there they are.

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Back to the Paint Free class....I just finished one of the assignments/exercises and it was fun. We had to paint for 30 minutes without stopping....or thinking! Here's what I did....

It's done on a piece of 12" x 18" sketch paper! I didn't have anything else that big so I just went with it. I am happy with what I did even though it's sort of primitive.

Ok, I'm off to do more painting. I'll share more with you tomorrow.

Forge Ahead....

Today I'm getting my post up earlier than I usually do. When I first looked at yesterday's word (forge) I thought of a poem I learned in grade school....under the spreading chestnut tree, the village smitthy stands. But translating that into a page wasn't going to happen!

Then I read the definition....that always helps even when I know what the word means. The dictionary seems to boil it down to the bare bones. That's when I thought of forging ahead. That's something I do at times so there was my meaning for the word.

So I used some Neocolor II crayons to lay down some color, then used a brayer and some green to give it some grunginess. I got a little carried away with the green so I added some white to tone it down a little. Then I used some gesso on the edge of an old credit card to do some lines here and there. Added some circles and dots with a white paint pen and it was ready for some words. Here's how it turned out....

I didn't notice that shadow in the upper left corner until I was sizing the photo this morning. I took the photos last night. I think you can still read what it says. Here's a close up of the entire page....

And here's a close up of the top corner....

For some reason I really like this corner with the lines and dots and the purple color along the edge....

So there you have it....forge. Nothing to do with a village smitthy!

Virtue....Telling the Truth

Ok, I 'fess up. The other day when I told you about me going to Joann's and Michael's I failed to tell you that I also went to B&N! I had a coupon for there, too....and I used it! I wasn't going to buy anything. I was just going in to use the bathroom and take a quick peek at the magazines but then I "accidentally" wandered into the artsy/crafty area....and there it was....sitting all alone....just one copy. It looked so sad that I took pity on it and brought it home with me!

Creative Illustration Workshop for Mixed Media Artists by Katherine Dunn
It's a fairly large book, about 9" x 11", spiral bound so it lays flat when you open it....and lots of yummy art inside....

I've only read a little bit of it so far but I am enjoying it. I really like the folk art/child-like paintings. I would love to be able to do that style of art. Maybe this book will help me....who knows....but in the meantime there's lots of eye candy to keep me happy.

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Yesterday's word for NaNoJouMo was virtue. And this is what I did....

You can't see in the photo or in the scan below but I've written words of virtue all around the page using Micron pens and gel pens.

The background was one I did a long time ago and it was waiting in my journal for just the right time to be used. Yesterday was that time. I added some stamps, a few scraps of paper, the dictionary page with virtue defined, my own drawing of the flower, some doodles, the words, and called it done. The word for today is forge. I wonder what I'll come up with for that one!

Enjoy your day whatever you're doing....

A Moment in Time....

Yesterday I never got around to posting my page for the day. Instead I got out for awhile in the afternoon. HB was watching football so I thought it would be a good time to have some time to myself. Plus I had coupons for Michael's and Joann's!

I went to both stores and the only thing I bought was four dowels. They're for something I have in mind. I'll tell you more about it later. For now it's just in the planning and idea stage.

It was fun to wander around the stores just looking at everything. Of course, it's all about Christmas already. Sadly, the coupons went unused.

The word for yesterday was moment. I thought of a moment in time....time....how much time....and as I thought about it the clock right above my worktable was ticking and with each second I thought about how many more moments do I have. So here's my page for yesterday....

The background was one I did probably a year ago! I spray painted it using stencils. It had just been sitting in one of my journals waiting to be used. I simply added a couple of stamped images of clock faces (forgot to add hands!) and the words and called it done.

I'm also working on another graph paper doodle....

It isn't finished yet....maybe later today I'll finish it. I love doing that woven design! It's looks complicated but it's so easy to do. The page isn't turning out how I had envisioned though. I wanted the circles to be as if you were looking through holes down to the woven design underneath. It isn't looking that way but that's ok. I still like it.

I never did do a page for the word on Saturday....esoteric. No matter what, nothing came to me. I struggled with it but when I have too tough a time I know nothing is going to happen. So there was no page done that day! I don't mind challenging words but they also have to have some connection for me and that one just didn't. At least nothing I could translate into art. Today's word is virtue....I'm working on it!

A Few Additions....

Are you all having a fun weekend? HB and I are catching up on some chores around the house....nothing exciting but stuff that needs to get done.

Last evening I sat with my graph paper journal and added some color to one of my doodles and added some doodles to the piece I did for "quarter" Here is the doodle page I colored....

And here is my quarter page with doodles added....

I like it much better. I also did my page for yesterday's NaNoJouMo word: equanimity....

You can see I didn't go with my original idea of using the sketch. You won't be able to read this. Here's what it says: TV moms were always so perfect. they wore dresses and heels to do housework! they always knew just what to say and do when their kids had a problem. they remained cool and calm no matter what happened! i used to think that's how all moms were supposed to be! i never managed to be that perfect mom. i couldn't seem to remain cool and calm when my kids had problems.

The box at the bottom contains the word and its definition. I thought the picture of the woman was a perfect example of cool and calm.

Today's word is esoteric! Dawn is really giving us tough words to use. I'm starting with this page....

and I'll see where it takes me.

I hear the dryer buzzing so I better go get the laundry.

Friday Unfinished Projects!

It's Friday and I'm already getting behind with my NaNoJouMo! Today's word is equanimity. According to an online dictionary it means: The quality of being calm and even-tempered; composure. Another tough one! But while leafing through a magazine I spotted a picture that said calm to me so I quickly did a sketch of it....

photos are clickable to view larger

I guess you can say it's my own interpretation of the word. I'm not sure how I'll proceed with this page....maybe I'll use watercolors or maybe just do a pencil drawing. I don't know yet. But whatever I do it won't be finished today! HB and I have tons of things to do and we're only just thinking about getting out to do them!

Also I started adding some things to yesterday's marker page. I like how it's coming along but again....not finished yet!

And I forgot to show you this page I did several nights ago....

I like doing these. My mind can just wander all over the place while I'm drawing. I don't have to think too much. Here's another one I have sketched out in the very beginning stages....

Sometimes I sort of sketch designs that I think I'll use in each section and other times I just wing it. And then sometimes even when I've sketched a suggested design I still change my mind and do something entirely different when I actually start filling it in. It all depends on how I'm feeling at the time.

It's a simply gorgeous day here today! Sunny and in the 70's. We're back to having summer-like weather again. I hope your day is bright and sunny, too.