I Think It's Time....

With the holiday this week I think it's time to take a little blog break but don't worry, I plan to continue my AEDM projects and show them when I return....which will be in about a week. Don't forget about me while I'm gone!!

BLOG BREAK!!!
See you soon....

It's Time For Paint Party Friday....and a Little Calypso!

Let's party!! It's Friday so you know what that means....Paint Party Friday! Be sure to visit and see what everyone else has been doing this week.

If you remember, I showed you a couple of prepped canvases way back on the eighth of this month. Here is the link. I had a quirky face which I finished a couple of days ago and you can see it here. The other canvas was larger and I wanted to really challenge myself a bit more.

I began with this....

I couldn't decide where her shoulder should be

so there's that extra line along the left.

Added lots more color....

Gotta have me some dots!!

(that shoulder line on the left is still there!)

And she ended up looking like this....

I've called this one Calypso. I think this is my favorite painting I've done so far. I hope you like it, too.

This is also what I've been working on for the past couple of days for AEDM. I didn't want to share it until today.

Note: I'm also linking up with Show and Tell Saturday over at Artists in Blogland.

AEDM - Day 16 and FFTT and Other Stuff!

Yesterday I fell behind in posting but I did keep up with my AEDM. Wednesdays are probably my busiest day of the week because HB and I do all our grocery shopping and run any other errands we need to do on that day. I like getting most everything done but it does make for a hectic time. Plus I didn't even have much of the evening because we had a movie from Netflix. Many evenings I can slip away for a bit of studio time but not last night....it was Johnny Depp in the Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and you know how I love me some Johnny Depp!! Captain Jack Sparrow is one of my favorite characters.

So back to business....I managed to work on some mandala designs yesterday. I'm taking a FREE mandala class at willing.ning. We were given templates with a basic design to work from and these are the ones I did....

Here they are again....

I did my lines with ink in the one above.

The one above here has some inked lines

 and some are not inked yet. 

I'll add some color, too but I didn't have time yet.

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I also prepped another big canvas....

This one is 24" x 30"....

I think that's the biggest one I've worked on yet.

I love the texture of painting over torn book pages.

I sit with an old book and a metal ruler

and just randomly tear pages for later use.

I have such an exciting life!!!

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And that's not all for today! It's also Food For Thought Thursday. This week I didn't take any photos until last night and the light was terrible so please excuse the horrible picture....

Since it was such a busy day HB and I had salmon burgers and I made sweet potato fries in the oven. You can tell I'm a very plain Jane when it comes to food. Nothing on my burger and nothing on my fries! That's the way I eat most things. I love embellishments in art but not on my food. I can honestly say I've never had a French fry with ketchup. That's almost un-American!! Oh, and for dessert I had a piece of pumpkin cake with nutmeg flavored cream cheese frosting! YUM!!!

Now I'm off to create something today. I hope to have a finished painting for you tomorrow. I'm putting the finishing touches on that canvas I prepped last week.

This and That and Not Much!

Today I've been playing in the studio off and on while also making sunflower seed and walnut bread (in the bread machine)....and going through my stash of magazine images.

I tried working on the journal spread from yesterday but nothing was working so I went on to another page and just glued down some papers, added a stamp or two and this  is another WIP....

I seem to be stuck on these autumn colors. Not sure how I'll finish this one either but I hope something comes to me soon. I'd like to finish these pages and move on.

Speaking of moving on, I went back to my quirky faced girl and did a little tweaking....

I added a collar and some orange dots here and there plus a few dots in her hair. I've titled this one Someday My Prince Will Come!! She seems to have a wistful/sad/dreamy expression and that phrase just popped into my head as I was looking at her.

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While we were out the other day I saw this car and I had to smile....

I hope you can see what it says....it's a Smart car and the license has a holder that says Mensa plus there's a Mensa sticker in the back window. Cute, huh!!

Another WIP for Day 14 AEDM

HB and I had a busy day so I just had enough time this afternoon to began a spread in my art journal. It isn't finished but I have some color on the page, used a mask and some spray wash, and also some washi tape....

I know the photo quality is not very good on this. It's almost 5PM and the light isn't good. The colors remind me of autumn so maybe that will be my theme. I never know what I'm going to do when I start a spread....I just grab colors and start putting them down. I'll try to finish this tonight and have it ready for tomorrow.

Some days there just isn't enough time for everything!!

It's Day 13 of AEDM....

I'm late! I've been painting all day and I almost forgot to put my AEDM picture up! I finished that quirky face from a few days ago. I didn't like the bright background so I toned it down....

and now I think it might be too light....

And her bow is too bright....

but for now she's done!

She's one of my non-dominant hand drawings

so she's a bit wonky but I like her.

The Big Firewood Day and AEDM - Day 12

A couple of days ago HB and I went to get our load of firewood for the winter. Yes, even in Southern California we do get cold weather sometimes. We live in the high desert so we even get snow occasionally. I love having a fire in the fireplace on a cold, rainy evening. It just makes the whole house feel cozy.

We have bought wood from the same guy ever since moving here. He has a huge area with piles and piles of firewood.  ***caution....lots of photos!!

HB wasn't happy with the half cord that was stacked and ready so he and one of the helpers began stacking a new one.

I basically walked around or stood and watched them because they didn't want me to get caught in an avalanche of wood. This is our half cord all ready to be loaded on the truck.

Now it was my turn! HB was in the truck bed and I did all the loading while he stacked it so we could get it all in.

I carried and HB stacked....

And I carried some more....

and some more....

One more piece....

Don't I look serious!

Almost done....the truck bed is getting full.

Just a few more pieces....oh, my aching back!

Then it was time to unload it at home and stack it again. HB stacked and I unloaded. He's very methodical about how he stacks the wood so I'd rather just let him do it.

I used the wheel barrow to bring it around from the truck.

Just another couple of wheelbarrow loads and I'll be finished!

And here's our wood all ready for winter.

Whew! If you need me I'll be on the couch!

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For my AEDM I did one of my over-sized postcards. These are quick and easy to do. I just start with one of those huge postcards we get in the mail....they're usually advertising something I don't want. Then I just cover them with scraps of paper and whatever I have to make a pretty postcard....

This is the front side above....

and this is the back where the address would go....

Easy peasy!!

Day 11 - AEDM Plus Paint Party Friday....Work in Progress

I said I would tell you about my firewood gathering today but I forgot that this is Paint Party Friday so the firewood story will have to wait until tomorrow.

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Today all I have to share with you is some work in progress. I showed you the two prepped canvases a few days ago and I've been working on them when I can find time.

The first one is a 12" x 12" canvas and I'm doing a quirky face on it. This began as a non-dominant hand drawing. I am going to change the background drastically (it looks like crap right now!) and she still needs work on her face but so far....

Here's her face....sorry about the photo quality....

I like doing these quirky faces 

and using all different colors rather than just skin tones.

I'll be adding more color to her face but for now

this is it!

The second canvas is 16" x 20" 

and I've drawn a face with her chin in her hand.

I hate doing hands so I'm sort of forcing myself to try them. I never have a problem drawing a face. It's the painting that does me in. This one is just in the preliminary stages and looks pretty crappy right now.

Be sure to stop by and see what everyone else is painting. You'll see much more interesting art than I have here today!

AEDM - Day 10 and FFTT

It's Thursday so you know that means Food For Thought Thursday....plus it's also day 10 of AEDM. All I've managed so far today is more work on the flower journal spread.

We went yesterday to get our firewood....I'll share that experience with you tomorrow! So last night I wasn't in a mood to cook plus today will be grocery day (a day late due to the firewood) so there wasn't a lot to choose from for my dinner last night. I usually keep this lentil mixture on hand....

So with a little bit of that and some of this....

Yum....is there anything that smells better than onions and celery cooking in a little olive oil! I added it to the lentil mixture along with some tomatoes and carrots....

and ended up with a very tasty soup. I scrounged up some head lettuce, a piece of cucumber and some grated carrots and had an easy salad with my soup.

I'm a bit crazy when it comes to salad. I like to chop everything very small, even the lettuce. I know you're supposed to tear lettuce but I like mine chopped small.

Be sure to stop by Robin's blog (link above). She has a fun little cookie recipe today....and think about joining us on Food For Thought Thursday. It's fun to see what other people like to eat.

It's Day 9 of AEDM....

Today I don't have a lot to show you. It's a busy day here at Chez Me and My Art. HB and I are going to get our firewood for the winter. We have a fireplace in the family room and I love having a fire as often as possible when it's cold.

So we'll go load up our truck with firewood, bring it home, unload it and stack it and then I'll just collapse on the couch for the rest of the day!

This morning I managed to add some color 

to the sketch I showed you several days ago....

I thought with her "attitude" that red hair might work for her.

I also gave her a necklace and some clothes!

She is done in an old book that I sometimes use as a journal. I like working over text. On another page I decided to try some flower designs.

I haven't gotten very far with this spread but I'll keep working on it and share the progress as it comes along.

The two canvases that I prepped yesterday are both started and I've been working on them most of yesterday afternoon and evening. I just kept switching from one to the other but I don't have anything to show you just yet. Stay tuned!

Now I'm off to load wood.

Day 8 of AEDM....

Thanks for all your wonderful comments on yesterday's journal spread. I did add a few white dots here and there but nothing too drastic. If I change it anymore I'll show you what I do.

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This morning I came straight to the studio

 and prepped two canvases....

One is a 12" square

 and the other is 16" x 20"

The one on the left is a "crazy" face done with my non-dominant hand, and the one on the right is covered with book text. I plan to work on these later today.

I also had a journal spread that was partially finished 

so I did a bit more on it....

It's a bit quirky and very busy....

The large lettering reads across both pages.

It says: Come along on a magic carpet ride

we can fly through the night

to exotic lands 

So that's all I have for the eighth day of AEDM....but at least I'm still creating every day. Tomorrow will be a tough day since it's our shopping/errand day and I usually don't have a lot of time in the studio but I'm sure I'll manage something.

See you tomorrow!!

Day 7 of AEDM - Art Journal Spread

I've made it through one week of AEDM! And it's been fun. Each day I've challenged myself to get up first thing in the morning and create something.

Today it was another spread in my art journal. I'm trying to get back into the habit of working in it daily. The pages I did today may or may not be finished. Somehow they seem to be lacking something plus you know I always have trouble adding words to my pages.

I started off with a few smears of paint. Then I added a stencil....just some plastic canvas stuff, and used a red Adirondack color wash spray.

Then two flowers from a paper napkin....

Some scrapbook paper yielded a few more flowers....

And that's where I left it. I love the background and texture so I did a collage of the photos. You can click on it to see some of the designs in the background.

And here are the final photos of this spread....

I'll probably look at these pages for awhile and decide if I want to write anything on them. If not, then they'll stay just as they are.