Colored Pencils

I have reached a new place with my colored pencil work. I'm not sure what the new place is, but I do know I like it.

I have been doing my Out of Africa cards in graphite. Then switched to colored pencil. I think that my style has changed a bit and my colors are getting better. My work seems to be coming together more. I really like the last 4 I have done. I can only show one of them as the others haven't been received.

This was the first one in color and when my style seemed to have changed. This is in fact my favorite of the cards. This is an African Shelduck from a reference photo provided by Just Chaos from Wetcanvas. I hope to continue following my instincts in evolving this new "whatever it is". I will be posting the others as they are received.

We all know we should “Strive for Five” servings of fruits and veggies a day to keep our bodies healthy. http://laurelneustadter.blogspot.com/ tagged me with the task of describing the 5 things I do everyday to keep my spirit happy & healthy. This fun exercise fits right in with planning for a new year. Here are my top five:

1. I play with, pet, hug, and enjoy my two dogs. This gives me great satisfaction and I can't imagine life without a dog. The love you get from dogs (or any pet) is such a special gift.

2. I talk to my two birds. My parakeet Freebie reacts to bird sounds on the television. That makes me aware of the sounds that I would normally overlook. She finds such joy in hearing one of her kind. And Bozo my cockatiel is such a fun bird. She keeps me laughing and I so enjoy when she talks to me and wants a response. And when I am not in the room where she is, she will start yelling "hi, what are you doing" or "hello pretty bird" waiting for me to repond to her.

3. My art keeps me happy. I find such satisfaction in doing my art and it's so great the feeling I get when I finish something. And trading my artwork with other artists helps me get the good feeling of "giving".

4. I think about God. I don't do enough Bible reading or studying but I do think about the gift my God gave to me.

5. This one gives me a little trouble. One reason there are so many things I wish I could say and some I am unhappy to say. I don't exercise. I never have liked to exercise. Now with the problems with my leg and ankle, exercise leaves me with more pain that I can handle. I live with the pain from arthritis and overuse of an ankle that puts me on crutches.

I don't eat right, I love sweets and Dr Pepper and because of these and no exercise, I am overweight. That sure doesn't make me happy. I don't get enough sleep. It seems there is not enough time in a day to get all I want to do done, so I take that time away from my sleep time.

On the plus side, I have a very good friend and husband who loves me enough to work hard to provide food and shelter, and who comes home to me every night. Since I don't work outside our home, I really appreciate all he does for me and try to do little things that will make his life a little easier.

I think that my #5 would have to be that I am on the computer much of the day off and on. Doesn't sound like a healthy habit for daily living? Well I have found that it is.

I have met and formed some very nice bonds with some wonderful people online. They are so helpful and giving and give me a lot of pleasure reading about their everyday lives. I have visited other countries and states without even leaving my house. I have help with my art. I read about the problems of others and that makes me appreciate what I have and not worry about what I don't have.

And I have made a few lifelong friends. I may never meet them in person but I feel every bit as close to them as I do friends I see in person. Maybe even more so as I "talk" to the online friends just about every day. Day to day life seems to get in the way of visiting in person with friends locally.

Now that you have read my 5 things, take a few moments and reflect on yours. I am passing this forward for anyone who reads this whether they blog or not. It never hurts to think about what and who you are and what makes you happy and healthy.

End of Christmas

Well Christmas weekend is over and now on to the new year.

We have no plans for New Year's. We are not party people. We don't leave our dogs at home alone to get frightened by the fireworks. A perfect New Year for us is being at home, a nice dinner, some television, and playing with our paw babies. I'm sure we will be plenty tired after listening to the thump, thump, thump from the music/party next door for most of the night. (Their parties are usually still going at 4 or 5 am.)

I worked on some of my Out of Africa cards this weekend. I finished 3 and they will be mailed tomorrow. One to England and the other two to US states.

For some reason after doing all my cards in graphite, I ended up doing these 3 in color. I'm not sure the remaining ones will be in color or if I will go back to graphite.

Here is the latest of my African cards that arrived at its destination.

The Day After

Well it is the morning after Christmas. We had a wonderful dinner, great conversation, and were nice and warm with a fire going. A very nice day overall.

Tonight, or this morning really, I sit and look thru my favorite things online. Nothing much there to see as everyone was with family. I did start two postcards for the Out of Africa trade. I'm not sure I really like either. I do have 3 ATCs to mail in the morning.

I'm kicking around a few new ideas for a project on WC. Not sure if I want to start another but no one else seems to be starting any these days. If I don't start one, they may just fade away. The last couple have had a little glitch in them. I would like one that runs more smoothly. Everyone has such a good time with the projects and we all get to collect some nice original small art. It would be a shame to have them end.

I have time. I will think about it for awhile and decide later.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone. I am just sitting here biding my time until the Candlelight Service at Church at 9pm. It will start my holiday out with that warm and fuzzy feeling. Then come home from the cold outside and have a cup of hot chocolate. And tomorrow...Christmas dinner at my sister and brother-in-law's house. They eat late; usually around 4 or 5.

So everyone have a good time tomorrow with family, friends, and pets. Don't forget the pets. And remember the reason for the season.

Hugs to all, Jeanne

Ditto

I'm having a painting done of my little Ditto. It's not quite finished but you can see it here: http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=537070

100 Things

I saw this list on Jeanette Jobson's blog. http://illustratedlife.blogspot.com/
I also followed links to a couple other sites to read their list.

Out of the 100 things on the list, the ones I have done are in Bold type.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland (many times and it's one of my favorite places)
8. Climbed a mountain (yes if a sand dune counts - in Oregon and a big one)
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo (never)
11. Bungee jumped (never)
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables (tomatoes)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping (never)
27. Run a Marathon (lol - I don't even walk if I can ride)
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language (took Spanish and French in classes)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (sure would like to try it)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing (never - afraid of heights)
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karoke (never)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance (Oh Yeah)
47. Had your portrait painted (just recently)
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling (used to snorkel with friends on Loch Leven)
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business (not a happy experience)
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (scared to death of needles)
65. Gone sky diving (never)
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar (never)
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone (My little toe and later - see # 78 - left leg just above the ankle)
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle (See #46 & #77)
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (cut up a deer for freezing - terrible experience and never again)
88. Had chickenpox (4th grade on every square inch of me)
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury!
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit (class action lawsuit over unemployment - we won)
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee (many times and a wasp once - ouch)
100. Read an entire book in one day (more than one)

Well that is a look into my life.

Strathmore Trade Card

I got my Strathmore Trade card Saturday. It was the trade where we bought the Strathmore ATC size cards and then did something for the holidays on one and sent it to Strathmore. They sent them out to others and made one big trade. It would be nice to find out how many cards they received. I will have to check out the Strathmore site. Here is the card I received in return. An email address was on the back of the card so I wrote and received permission to post the card here on my blog.

My cute little duck for Christmas titled Duck the Halls.

Wagtail

I believe it was Wagtail on Wetcanvas who gave us a link to an African webcam. I have spent a lot of time today watching the cam.

When I first entered the site, it was still dark. There are 3 watering holes in the different areas with webcams. I saw a couple elephants, a few zebras, some water buffalos, and a couple others including some birds. Very interesting. But I get anxious when I leave the computer thinking that I might miss something interesting.

http://www.sanparks.org/webcams/. Here is the site in case you want to take a look. There is a lot of dead time where you don't see anything and you won't see the animals walking around. The webcam does refresh itself every 30 seconds.

Satisfaction

I have satisfaction tonight knowing that I finished my Secret Santa virtual gift for the Drawspace forum. I have emailed the photo to the Santa's helper and now wait until the 23rd to get my gift.

Also I did 8 items for the scavenger hunt. The last hunt I did several but didn't get them posted in time. I just need to get these scanned now. I am attempting to get back into the swing of the hunts. I need the practice.

Here is my first post for the Out of Africa trade on Wetcanvas. Quite a few cards have already been received and posted. Some really nice cards so far. This one went to Mithila in India. This was her thank you card for helping with the trade.

Moleskine Project

I finally put some time in on my Moleskine for the Project for Art House Gallery. It's not easy as the paper is so thin. It dents and shows on the back of the page. I am trying to work around it but....

I also started my secret santa gift for my person on Drawspace.com. It is a virtual gift. Each person who signs up provides a list of things they would like for Christmas. Their secret santa chooses something or several of the things to draw/paint for them. When they get a picture file of their gift, they start guessing who did the gift until they find their secret santa.

I played last year and it was a lot of fun.

The Family

Portraiture Forum

The Portrait forum at WC is talking about another portrait swap mid year. It will probably be for our mates or children. Since I don't have children, it will have to be my mate. It will be fun and I am looking forward to it.

I haven't done any art in the last few days. I did get some cleaning done and the bills paid. Now I can concentrate on art. I want to do some of the Out of Africa cards and I want to do a picture in colored pencil of Ditto for hubby for Christmas.

I have the Ann Kullenberg kit for a portrait. I even bought all the colors I needed. I have worn some of them down to nubs already. Hopefully I still have all the colors I need. I would like to work thru that kit and learn more about adding color to the portraits I do.

The local pet store is having a Christmas photo session for pets. I plan to take my two dogs. I had two other of my dog's photos taken years ago and they came out great. Not that I need more photos of them. I take plenty myself. But I want to get a photo of them this year. I had planned to take all 3 dogs but that didn't work out. I want to capture the other two while I still can.

Friday and Penny.

Ditto

This is my baby. Her name is Ditto and she would have been 11 yrs old in May. I had to say a last goodbye to her this morning. I promised her on the way to the vet that this would be her last trip to a place she did not like. While there I fed her quite a few doggy biscuits that she really enjoyed and shook hands with her one last time. Now my baby can sleep. But I will miss her so much. Goodbye mama's little sweetie.