Wow. Long time between posts.

I didn't realize how long since I posted. I had a long bout with the second cold. Still doing a good bit of coughing. But at least I feel better. Work is also getting in the way. I am not working very long hours now but three days this week and a 4-hour class has to be fitted in. Haven't figured out if I will go during the day when I am off or during the evening. Third choice is Sat. Not sure I am willing to do that one.

I have been doing quite a few art cards. I have even been doing the WDE and the weekly challenge on art cards. At least it doesn't take long to do them.

Today at work, a client brought a camellia bloom to her tax preparer. I borrowed it and did an art card from it.

Then decided to draw a scene I can see from the office where I work. There is a telephone pole across the street where pigeons roost. They always sit on the wires a wing-span distance apart. I find this curious especially in winter when I would think they would huddle for warmth. But they are always that distance apart. If one lands in between, they shift to alow the same distance between them.

Then you will see one off by himself. Did he have an argument with the others? Is he being shunned for some reason? Wouldn't it be nice to know the reasoning behind their activities?

Back to Work

Well back to work tomorrow. I have been off for several days with a cold. Still not 100% but have to go in. Still coughing and blowing and short of breath when I get to moving around too much.

I listed a few of my art cards on ebay tonight. I will see how it goes. Hard to figure how much to charge as everyone's cards are listed at different rates. It doesn't seem to matter what the charge is or how good the art is. Some that I wouldn't think would be popular are having many bids and some very good art have no bids. I just imagine it is finding the right person for the right subject. I couldn't even see a pattern that would lead me to figure out what is selling best. Just no rhyme or reason that I could figure out.

I am finding that I do more of the colorful floral pictures on the smaller scale. And I have been doing some that are not my normal.

The WC Weekly challenge was an English water scene. I did it as an art card. Finished really early this week. My turn to host the Scavenger Hunt starting Wed.

Scavenger hunt still life

I was feeling a little behind in the current Scavenger Hunt. Can you believe it is #29? I am hosting the next one. I already have my list ready.
I decided to do like we did with Jamie's list. I put several items together and made a still life. I fit all that I hadn't completed in except things like a live animal, vacuum, hand, and lips/mouth. I will finish those off this weekend.
I really enjoy doing the still life works. One thing I think they are cute. And another, I have to draw and make sure I get them all in. When you draw one thing, it's just one size. When you draw many items together, size of each item in realation to the others becomes more important. Also it takes a little more time to make sure they are arranged in a manner that fits. That is especially important when you have things that don't really belong together.
Stayed home sick again yesterday. This cold is worse than the one I had a couple weeks ago. This one went straight to the chest and lungs. Miserable. Running nose and cough like a fog horn.
At least I am getting some art work done. Don't feel like doing much else. I picked up meds today and will get into my sweats, take the meds and stay in the rest of the weekend. Hubby is out of town overnight so except for the pestering dogs, I can vegetate. I plan to draw some more and do plenty of sleeping. I made potato/vegetable soup. Just had some with french bread and plenty more for tonight and tomorrow.
Everyone have a wonderful weekend. The weather here is nice, warm, and sunny. Too bad I can't enjoy it.

Catch Up

I stayed home sick again today. Went thru a half box of kleenex. I did some artwork tho. Did some catching up. I finished the weekly drawing of a bird stretching on a limb, an art card, and the colored pencil challenge of a chicken. I had been putting off the chicken. I did the line sketch last week at work. I decided today to finish it up. Not too many have posted theirs but they still have half a month left to go.

I received one of my art cards today. From Germany. It was an encaustic painting. Very beautiful. Something I had never seen before. I love getting samples of different mediums. All beautiful in different ways.

Under the weather

I have my second cold in a month. This one is more severe. Stayed home from work today and did some drawing. Here are a couple of the art cards I worked on today and yesterday.

Working small allows me to try new things in a smaller format. I don't have to fill so much paper. I have been experimenting with different florals. Different background colors. Nice to expand my color works.

Almost all my art cards that I traded have arrived at their destinations. I think only a couple more to go. I hope they have another of these trades as I missed the first and enjoy them tremendously.

My dog drawings

Edtree from WC said she would like to see all dog drawings all together so that she could see them. I thought about it and posted a new thread in the D&S forum titled Samples of my dog drawings here: http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=401240

It has a sample of drawings from several years ago when I worked full time and did drawings for the people at the office. I did their kids, grandkids, and pets, then started on their portraits. They all received them for free. It gave me wonderful practice.

Also are some newer drawings. A couple of the art cards that I traded, a couple from the WDE forum, many of my babies, a couple from some neighbor's dogs, and some from friends I have met at a yearly barbecue that we attend. Then there are a couple commission I did for my Bible study leader. She requested a picture of all her babies that are no longer with her. About 9 of them. Dogs and cats. A lot of boxers. The reference photos were not really good and not very big. But she loved it. Then I did one of her current babies. In the reference photos was a couple pictures I just couldn't resist. One a cat looking over a wooden fence and one with a dog piled on top of another.

After I left my job, I did drawings for friends and family for gifts. My hairdresser got one of her two young children...the boy kissing his baby sister. My dog groomer got one of her black lab Mona. And my friend CArl has gotten several of his two Shitsus Riley and Cassie including one of each for Christmas this year. My husband received one from me of the Golden Retriever KC who passed away about 4 years ago. He loved her dearly and I doubt he will ever get over her death. I still grieve for her too but they had a special bond that everyone could see. I have a special bond with our Yellow Lab but like all mother's, my favorite is the one I am holding at the time. We have never had children and they dogs are our kids and they live with us as part of the family.

Weekly Challenge

Slow at work today so I did the weekly challenge drawing. Some really nice versions on the forum. Some in color, but more in graphite. This one is mechanical pencil on card stock. About 5 or 6 inches square.

Hello

I haven't been feeling too well lately. I have been doing some more art cards. I will be trading cards with someone in England. I have three completed and will give her a choice of which she wants. Here are the three I finished.

Tax prep has been sporadic. One day really busy and the next not so busy. Today I didn't do any returns. The night crew may have been busier. I will find out tomorrow. Only two more days until the weekend. Can't wait.

I still haven't done much for my drawing for the Master's Project. I have picked the picture I will use, and I did a small bit of the face. That was a couple weeks ago or more. I need to get back to that.

About 10 of my art cards for the exchange have been received by their new owners. I still have to do the monthly colored pencil challenge and the weekly challenge of a tree from the RIL at Wetcanvas. Running a little behind on my participation. I said I wouldn't let work interfer but between that, a cold, and not feeling good, it has happened. I have kept up with the scavenger hunts. But have not been commenting about the other's work as much. I also did finish the WDE early this week but another will be posted Friday.

I have been notified that 3 more art cards are in the mail for me. I can't wait to see them. The 3 I have received have been beautiful. Such fun seeing the different mediums and learning about the different artists. Some really great artwork is being traded and uploaded.

ATCs Update

I have 4 art cards drying at the moment that will go in the mail tomorrow. Now only 3 left to do. Some of the project members haven't started yet. Some are still fulfilling cards for the first project. I have had so much fun, just couldn't slow myself down. It is another addiction I could ill afford. All my addiction are at least not life threatening. All have to do with art.
I wanted to send my florals as well as graphite. I think I managed to intersperse quite a few of the florals in among the graphite. Maybe not 50-50 but at least a fair amount were the colored florals.
I started out with a lot of birds. Later I tried to do some landscapes and other animals. I was pretty happy with most of them. Some I was not at first happy with and put them aside. Later I took another loo, reworked them a little and finished them up for mail. Now for the last three. I believe they will all be graphite. But who knows. Whatever the mood that strikes me.

Another ATC

Here is another art card I sent for trade. I have received 3 so far and have just over half of my cards finished and mailed. Many of the cards I have sent are of birds. I seem stuck on birds right now. I am working on two more cards at the moment and neither is a bird. The last few I sent are the wc pencil florals. I have had trouble deciding what I would do next for graphite. I finished another floral tonight. The first I have done with a blue background. Until this one, all my backgrounds have been green.

I need to work on some scavenger hunt items tonight. The end is Feb 5th and I only have 13 things finished. I said I wouldn't allow work to interfer, but it seems to be happening any way. Doesn't help that I have had a cold for the last couple weeks and came home today with stomach problems and the last couple days at work have been like a tornado. One client after another. It feels like I hold my breath when dealing with them. I feel winded after.

In the Mail

Today in the mail I received 3 ATCs. Beautiful ones. All paintings. Can you imagine painting on paper the size of baseball cards? Here is one of the cards that I sent out for the trades. The title of this one is "I Am King".

ATCs

Art Trading Cards. I have 26 to do. 2.5 x 3.5 size. I have 10 in the mail as of next Monday. Two have been received so I can post them here now. I am having a wonderful time with these. And they are going to several different countries.

I haven't received any of mine yet. One person pm'd me saying it was on the way. I saw one today from Flamingo to Rose that was beautiful. Had oranges and purples.

I participated in the ww sketchcrawl today. The subject was "at home". I did 4 pages of my Moleskine front and back. Nothing spectacular. Just ordinary things. I did put together a small still life of things around the house and did a sketch and colored it. And I sketched my bird. She is the only one around here who will stand still long enough for a sketch. Hubby said no way could I sketch him and the dogs just do not cooperate at all. Even when asleep, they constantly move. Or when I decided to sit nearby, they get up and want to play.

Bad day

I had a bad day yesterday. Had a shopper at work testing whether I knew my stuff. I didn't pass. The question was one we had not trained on. Blew my whole day. Then today I woke up with a cold. I felt lousy. I stayed from 10-3 but felt bad the whole time. We are starting into our peak season and being ill is not a good thing. I am hoping tomorrow they won't need me to stay all day. I start at 9. Get off at 5 with an hour for lunch.

Here is a sketch I did of my sad little rubbertree plant. It was very beautiful when I had it at my last job. When I brought it home, it just got worse and worse. I guess I took more time to nurture it at work...kept me from actually doing work when I did. Plus my desk was next to a window. I had the window sill full of cuttings and plants. I am down to two left. Even all the cuttings have died off. I am bad. At home I have lots more to keep me occupied.

Scavenger Hunt finished

I finished the scavenger hunt early this time. Once I got the sketch done, I couldn't stop working on putting the color on. Now I am working on the 25 ATCs that I need to do. I have 2 finished and one will be mailed tomorrow. I haven't decided if I am happy with the second one yet. I may decided to do it over.

Then there is the weekly challenge. You shoud see the reference photo. WOW. And Jolanta was the first to post so all will pale compared to hers. Hers looked just like the ref.

Scavenger Hunt 26 challenge

For this week's scavenger hunt, JamieG challenge us big time. We can do the items as usual one at a time or in small setups. But as a challenge, we are to set up a still life in a cabinet or on a shelf all the items. Post a photo of the setup. Then work on the items and post them as we finish them and number them at that time.

I stewed back and forth. As the items have to be in the same position for a week, I didn't know if I had any where in the house to accomodate the set up. I finally emptied all the stuff off the upper top of my desk. There is a shelf there that was completely full with computer speakers, knick knacks, answering machine, clock, etc, etc, etc. I dumped all in a box for the week. Now my setup is there.

Jamie had a wall shelf with 3 shelves and her setup looks wonderful. Several others are doing the challenge using various shelving.

I took a face on picture and one from the view I have sitting at my desk. That is the one I will have to work from as I don't want to stand the whole time.

I posted the sketch last this morning. Then I worked on the items on the left side. I completed 10 items this afternoon. I can't seem to leave it alone and I need to be doing laundry, etc to get ready for work tomorrow. And it means I will have this one finished in no time. I am doing it in color with colored pencils.

I also signed up for the Old Masters Project. That one is for a year. That one will be a big challenge for me as I know absolutely nothing about art history, masters, etc. I picked a couple and have been practicing sketching them before I officially show what I will do. One has a person in it that I really like and the other is a more free formed landscape of what I think is a village. So far the portrait one is a bust. And all those houses....may have to search again. Why couldn't I have found one with a huge dog? The only dogs I remember seeing in older art are the skinny afghan/greyhound dogs, those black and white spaniels, or corgis. Not sure I want to do one of those.

And as if I don't have enough to do, I singed up for the ACT Project. I will be drawing 25 pictures 2.5x3.5 size (one a week) and mailing one of them to each of the 25 participants. Several countries are involved, and I really like that. Can't wait to see mine and have my art worldwide.

Anyway this will be keeping me very busy along with all the other drawings I do every week for the WC forum and now taxes to do. I guess housework just keeps getting pushed to the background. I hope I can still find my way thru the clutter by the time I finish all my endeavors.

Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly. Psalm 5:3, NLT

All work and no play

Work is interfering with my "me" time. Not a good thing. I did a few scavenger hunt items tonight. A couple days ago I finished the weekly challenge...strawberry shortcake. WDE is finished. A picture of Dozer, a golden retriever. Tomorrow another 16 pictures to choose from.

Look at me.

Here is the gibbon I did for the WC colored pencil forum for the monthly challenge. I thought the photo reference was adorable.

EArly this morning I had a hair appt. Feels good to have my age once again concealed under the hair dye. I am not really hung up on age but don't much like the grey hair. Sometimes I wish I had never started to dye it. It would have been easier to get used to it slowly. But I caved in to office vanity while working with young girls half my age. I have threatened to stop the dye appts but my hairdresser has a fit. But it would save a lot of money and a lot of time better spent somewhere else.

I shopped for groceries today after the hair appt. About halfway thru, my knee gave out on me. Thankfully I was pushing a shopping cart. I limped painfully thru the rest of the store. Hubby was at home to help with the unloading but disappeared when it came to putting everything away. But he has worked so many hours lately, and he has health problems, so is just exhausted. He spent the day in his easy chair watching football.

I spent a good part of the day napping after my errands. I was cold and still in pain. Took a pain pill and curled up on the couch with the dog. She keeps me warm. Downfall to that, football noises from the tv running thru my head while I tried to sleep.

It is suppoes to me about 20 degrees F. in the morning. Very unusual for Bakersfield. We have had quite a lot of cold weather here this year. What I call "snow cold". It's no wonder why I can't seem to get warm. Brrrrr.

Toucan (fruit loop bird)

I did a drawing for the Drawspace.com weekly challenge. I had not participated much in that forum, but I will try to start doing that. I had fun with the colors on the toucan.

I only worked 3 hrs today but peak season is coming up soon and those days for about 2 weeks will be stressful. Starting next week I will be going in every day.

I am almost finished with the scavenger hunt. I think it is only for another day. Then a new list. I have three items left and will combine them into a still life. Blanket, pillow, and house slippers.

In Bakersfield it has only snowed 4 times in my lifetime. Well it is predicted for this Friday. Quite funny that it is coming so soon after the last one. Just about 5 years or so. That one lasted overnight. The snow I mean. I wonder how long this one will be. It has been cold here for some time. We still have some sun that peaks out most days. But the weather seems colder this year. I am having a hard time staying warm.

Weekly Challenges at WC

I finished two of the Weekly Challenges at WC this weekend. One was the bottom of a liquor decanter (crystal) for the Weekly Challenge. The other was a lighthouse scene for the WDE. I still have to do some items for the scavenger hunt this evening.

It has been nice being offwork today. But I spent quite a lot of time sleeping today. I guess catching up from all those late night visits to the WetCanvas site. They are addictive. Also when my puppy Penny gets a little rowdy, we go to bed for a little calming down and a snooze.

End of the Week

I worked a few hours today. Then came home to browse thru the WC site. Played with the dogs a little then took a nap. Now dinner is over for me, the dogs are fed, and I am back on the computer.

I have looked thru the blogs that I do regularly and browsed some that I haven't been to for awhile. Some of them have news, some seem not to have been posting much lately.

I have found on WC that many come and many go, but thankfully some stay. I get to know them, then they just seem to disappear. If they come back, I think to myself "I really missed them". I think maybe life gets in the way. Some people lose their focus; others find new roads to travel. I feel bad for the ones who lose their way, and feel elated for the ones to find new roads.

I hope eventually to find my new road but hope in the process that I still remember the ones who helped me along the way enough to stay and help the next ones to come along.

Here is a drawing I did awhile back.

Can you smell the garlic?

The Weekly Sketch challenge this week had a reference picture of a head of garlic. It didn't look too hard, just a lot of black and white and gray in between. It turned out harder. I think because things were all intermingled. You couldn't always tell where one clove top started and another began. But I think the drawings for the week all turned out very nice. Some had more darks and some didn't, but it didn't seem to make the garlic any less nice.
The scavenger hunt will have a new list tomorrow. I am ready. I have been finished for several days. I continued to make my comments as the host of the list. Now ready for a new challenge list.
"…we who are still alive and remain on earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and remain with him forever.
1 Thessalonians 4:17 NLT

Happy New Year!

Well this is the last day of 2006. Time for looking back. I have accomplished a lot this year. I have been sketching from life, which I had not done much before. I am using color in my sketches and drawings. I have purchased and used several new types of colored pencils. I have taken several classes at the WC forum. I have joined a couple more forums. I participate in the forums for drawing challenges, scavenger hunts, etc. I even play host on the scavenger hunts.

I have completed 23 scavenger hunt lists and hope to do many many more. I have learned how to blog, and I have become a fan of many bloggers and artists who have taught me many things.

My Goals for 2007:

I plan to continue to improve my drawing skills. I would like to market some of my work. I would like to learn more about watercolor. Continue to use watercolor pencil. Improve on portraits. As I told everyone in the WDE, I will learn to draw teeth. I will work on making my sketches more finished. Continue my blog. Begin writing my poetry again. Take as many classes and learn as many new things as possible. And get better and better with the things I already am comfortable with. Most of all practice, practice, practice.

I used Derwent Drawing Pencils to put some color to my self portrait.

Self Portrait

I worked on a self portrait tonight. I needed one for the scavenger hunt. It is not really detailed, more a line drawing. But it does look more like me than any others I have done. I am happy with it, except it looks too much like me...old. But without the wrinkles, etc, it wouldn't be me.

I have decided to do a self portait a month about the end of each month for 2007. We will see how much I age, and how much better or worse they get. Hopefully I will improve. And hopefully they will become more a drawing than a sketch.

Last few days of freedom

I start work on Tuesday. Just 4 hrs a day but time away from my drawing. I went to the office today for a couple hours to meet our new manager and work thru a couple sample cases to get used to the new screens in the software program. Looks like it will be a little easier this year. The changes seem for the better.I finished the Weekly drawing of a foggy tree/lake scene. Received the 16 new reference photos for the WDE. I have chosen some and now have to draw them. The ones I like best are all faces. Seems no onel else has chosen those so far. If I do them all, I will have my hands full. Two children, a husband, and a dog. That is a lot for a week. Then there were a couple sheep, a bench with a line of green apples. A lot of good photos provided.I have finished 15 items on the scavenger hunt this time. I provided the list. No one has signed up to host any future ones. I prepared two more lists tonight so that we won't have to stop the hunts. I may search online for other lists to help me out. But I want them to continue even if I have to do all the lists.

Countdown

Well now we start the countdown to the New Year. We don't do any celebrating that day or the night before. Just a quiet weekend at home. We are usually asleep before midnight gets here. But we usually are rudely awakened by the dogs when the firecrackers start going off.

This has not been a good week. Our dryer stopped working. Hubby installed a new timer which cost $120. That was sad. Then he had to put in two other things. Still didn't work. The appliance shop said it would probably be another $100 part. Well by then it will be cheaper to buy a new one. But you can't take back electrical parts so we are already out about $160. Now we have to buy another. Too bad dthat $160 didn't go towards the new one. Hopefully we can get one before the new weekend. Laundry is piling up.

Here is a drawing I did for the WDE. It is Coconut and Mango. They belong to the household of JamieG who posted the reference photos.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate it. May your day be filled with remembrance of what the day is all about. Have great fellowship with friends and family and enjoy the moment.

Jeanne

Mad Bird

I drew and used colored pencils for this drwing. Photo reference courtesy of photographer Andy Williams (www.moonriverphotography.com)

Photo used with his permission.

I found a website called smugmug.com. The site has beautiful photography for sale by many amazing photographers. I asked permission of two of the photographers to use their photos. Both responded with a yes.

I liked the photo of this bird because he looks mad. Like he has had just about enough and is ready to fight back.

Help. I can't stop.

When the new Scavenger Hunt on WC started, I decided to combine items into still life settings. The first one I did was something the color orange. I found as many items as I could colored orange. Made a still life arrangement and then sketched them. Used wc pencils and a waterbrush to color them. I liked the look. Another item on the list was my favorite color. Well that is purple. So, off I go on a real scavenger hunt looking for lots of items that were purple. I liked that one also. So I decided to do all of my items as still lifes and as many as possible as color themes.

I have only done one other color theme arrangement. The item was for a decorative item that reflects the holiday we are celebrating (Christmas, Hanukkah, etc). I found as many red items as I could find.

I have already finished 16 or the 26 items and it is only the second day of this hunt. But I am having so much fun. I am having to hold myself back, or I would be doing another sketch tonight.

Thank God for his Son—a gift too wonderful for words! Corinthians 9:15, NLT

Weekly challenge

Today I finished the weekly challenge at WC. The ref pictures were 2 poinsettias. Two different pictures. I had trouble seeing the colored version and forgot that there was a black and white picture ref. I couldn't see the petals. So I found another reference picture and used both to draw my picture. Then used watercolor pencil and a waterbrush, outlining with a pen.

Sunday

Today we went to church, then to lunch, then back to church for a funeral. The funeral was for one of my husband's grade school teachers that he really liked.

Tonight is really cold. Not cold by Alaska cold, but cold for Bakersfield. I am drinking iced lemonade. Go figure. It seems funny but we seem to want ice cream in the winter more than the summer. Maybe that is so we can cuddle up with a warm blanket.

The dogs are fed and pottied. Now they will settle down for a bit. When their papa goes to bed, they will beat him to his spot in bed. They have to be nudged over. Then when I go to bed, the same game starts again. I have to roll two big dogs from my spot so that I can crawl into bed.

I did a couple scavenger hunt items last night but none yet tonight. I did finish and post my weekly drawing of a cat. I wasn't too pleased with my cat but posted any way. Have to show the bad as well as the good.

Merry Christmas

I made my Christmas Card today. Emailed all that I could and got a few ready to mail. I did it with watercolor pencils and waterbrush. Then a Pitt artist pen brush. I decided to make it in a little looser style.

I am working on my secret santa present. I had several false starts but finally got one to a point that I can live with it. Now to fine tune it. I have until Dec 24 but did not want to put it off until the last minute.

My nephew is moving out on his own for the first time. He will have a roommate. He got a house instead of an apartment. More room for his toys. A quad and a motorcycle. He is in a spending frenzy buying furniture and all the trimmings for the move. Grandma had saved dishes and a few other things, but he wants all new stuff. He is very particular and wants everything to match. He will probably even buy cloth napkins. He will be broke for awhile after this move. But he is really good at saving his money and will rebuild the savings in no time at all.

Mid Week

Here it is the middle of another week. They are sprinting by. Christmas is almost here and then there will be a new year starting. Where does the time go?

Another tax class today. One more to go on Friday. They said we were going to have fun. I will have to see it to believe it. Today we had a very nice speaker who gave us many tips on how to increase our client list.

I did some sketching today. A leg here, a cup, arm, back, a couple of faces, and my ever ready hand. I can't remember how many drawings I have done of my hand and fingers. In about every position. I guess it is because a hand is always with you, and "hand"y, and doesn't mind posing.

I had several entries for the scavenger hunt yesterday. I tried to do some in color. I also worked on my secret santa gift and made two starts but was not happy with either. I will back off of it and start another in a couple days after a rest from it.

Hubby out of town till Friday night so I don't have to cook. I made some bean and cheese burritos last night and will have one of those for dinner. Tonight is the show Top Chef. I enjoy watching it to see who will be sent home. I watch several of the reality shows and a lot of the police and law shows. Since my tv is behind me when I am in my office, I do more listening than watching, but the tv is always playing. Plus I have my bird in here and she keeps me entertained. Talks up a storm. Repeats things many times trying to get me to say them.

I still haven't done the weekly challenge. It is a choice between 4 cats. I did get the WDE done so I think I am good till Friday when another is posted.

It's time to get some drawing started. I was up all night doing a class for taxes on the computer. I may need to take a nap before my show comes on at 10 pm. My eyes are heavy now with a touch of a headache. I had better get some sketching done before I totally fade.

Lazy Sunday

I have finished a cup of hot chocolate and read thru several of the WC forums. Last night I was up late. Finished my drawing for the WDE this week. It is of Al Jones' granddaughter Kennedy. Such a cute bundle.

Still waiting for hubby to decided to cook breakfast. Just have to outwait him. He did take some bacon out of the freezer so must be planning to do the cooking. He is the one in our house who cooks bacon.

I am procrastinating. I need more certification hours in taxes, but I just keep putting it off. I only have a couple more weeks to get it done. It's too bad it isn't as much fun as art.

Christmas Wishes

Today I did a drawing of a Christmas Cactus. I posted it in the Colored Pencil Forum of WC without a background. I wasn't sure I could do a background and not mess up the picture. But I printed off a page with 9 copies and played with some color on the background. I was using Inktense Pencils for the cactus and wanted to finish with them but all the colors are pretty dark. All except yellow (looked gold on the pencil). I am not usually a yellow kind of person, but that is the color I ended up with as a background.

I did try some watercolor pencil colors as background too but still nothing worked but yellow. It is very, very bright now. But all other colors took the focus from the flower. So I went with the yellow.

Weekly challenge

The new weekly challenge was a tree with above-ground roots. Big roots. Ref by Bigs/Sue. I went a little bit looser with my style this time. I also used more than my regular mechanical pencil.

I joined the virtual Secret Santa gift exchange. Looking forward to it and the fun. Can't wait to see who I get to draw for. And in the end who will get me. The one big problem will be, I have to guess which artist was my giftor and have to PM artists until I find out who it is. Might be a problem for my drawing as I have had a couple people in the scavenger hunt thread say they are recognizing my style right away. I may have to go outta the box for the Christmas gift. But I want to do a good job so can't go too far. But I thought I knew some of the artists style and was fooled by the Halloween entries.

Beautiful day here

We have had freezing weather and last night a wind storm, but today the weather is beautiful. Calm after the storm. The yard is a mess with leaves. Even the front yard which has no trees, and I suspect the leaves came from the tree next door.

I worked on the WDE picture and had fun with it. I call it my Wonky Flying Truck. The photo ref was at an odd angle, and it was a little hard to sketch. My sketch looked a little cartoony. Several comments about it said I could use it as an illustration for a children's book.

Hubby and I will go to church shortly. I need my spiritual self replenished. It is hard to get up and around when the bed looks so inviting. But the rewards are well worth it. And today is communion which is so fulfilling. I have missed so many Sundays at church. Just from laziness. I hope to make that a priority especially in the new year.

A new scavenger hunt list was posted last night. By Arnica this time. Her first time. Good to have new submitters so the lists are varied. I will start some of the items later today. After (or probably before) paying bills, starting dinner, etc, etc, etc. Which do you think will be my priority? You guessed it...sketching.

Tomorrow starts another round of tax classes. About 7 days worth at 4 hours a day spread over about 2 1/2 weeks. Then after Jan 1st, back to the offices to work on practice case studies to get our blood flowing and our fingers warmed up for the peak season of income tax preparation. Not looking forward to the interuption in my sketching time, but the money is needed.

May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.Philippians 1:11

I will live among you, and I will not despise you. I will walk among you; I will be your God, and you will be my people.Leviticus 26:11-12

Munching Seeds

I sit here munching on sunflower seeds with my mouth getting puckered from the salt. Dinner is finished, the dogs fed and sacked out, hubby in his recliner, and me sitting here with my computer. Tis the season where there is nothing on tv but reruns or specials. I am not ready for Christmas specials yet. Some of the readio stations are playing Christmas songs already. I could probably handle two weeks of non stop Christmas songs but a whole month? A little much.

We aren't putting up decorations this year. With Penny the 1 yr old pup, that would be a disaster. I can see the floor now. Pieces of Christmas tree, ornaments and lights and wires stripped and all over the floor. No little kids around here so we will pass on the decorations this year. Next year we will see.

Last week a man was mailing all his Christmas cards. Wow what an early start. I haven't even thought about mine yet. Maybe I am just not in the spirit for celebrating this year.

I finished the scavenger hunt items today. And all the challenges. And two days early. Ready for the next one. We have lost a few who were doing them. Now seems there are less than 10 people participating. I don't know what happened to chouchou. But I miss her. Maybe after the holidays more people will join in again.

Dance of the zippers

I did two items for the scavenger hunt tonight. One was the first thing I see in the morning. That is my dog Penny. She sleeps next to me and usually has her head laying on some part of me. Sometimes it is on my shoulder and when I open my eyes, her beautiful face is right there.

The other item was a zipper. I did a drawing of 4 zippers. I wanted to have several in different colors. I have 14 items finished and one challenge done. The hunt still has until Dec 3. Not an eventful day today. Just some housework and a long nap with the dogs. Hopefully tomorrow will be more of the same. With some sketching of course.

Sunday

Well after dinner yesterday I didn't think I could ever eat again. Wrong. I ate my regular dinner tonight. How sick is that? When you eat too much, you shouldn't be able to eat again until your body uses up what it already has. lol

I worked on some scavenger hunt items today. Here is one of them. It was for a piece of jewelry. I decided to do a cross I have with stones. I used Inktense pencils because they have a more ink look to them. I thought that would look more like jewels.

Here kitty kitty kitty

For the WDE this week I did the cat named Possum. Most of the photo refs were scenery of wooded areas. I didn't want to do trees as I had just done one not long ago. And I have been wanting to do a cat face. I would like to do one to practice colored pencil. But this one I did in graphite. I was pretty happy with the drawing. Not perfect but done in a two hour time frame.

I believe tomorrow is a new scavenger hunt post. I still have 5 items for this one unfinished. I may be able to get them tonight or tomorrow.

Tomorrow is another Thanksgiving dinner. My cousin's house this time. There will be about 20 people there. Another day of stuffing myself to beyond full. Tastes really good but sure is miserable after. Yesterday was turkey tomorrow will be deep pit ham. I have never tasted that so will be looking forward to trying it.

Keep alert and pray. Otherwise temptation will overpower you. For though the spirit is willing enough, the body is weak." Mark 14:38

With a full stomach.

Today being Thanksgiving Day in the U.S., I have eaten until I am stuffed. Very nice dinner with hubby's sister and husband. When we got home, Penny, our lab had chewed up the insides of a new pair of house slippers I bought to replace another pair she had chewed up. We left her too long and she was bored. Filled her time with chewing. She is just a year old. Still a puppy at heart. When you scold her for it, she looks so hurt. And then she just starts wagging and is happy we are home. I really don't think she has a clue.

Here is a picture I did yesterday (5x7). I finally scanned it tonight so that I could post it here. I will be doing more of these. Just a perfect size for gifts.

Judy1957's daughter Maggie

I finished the Weekly Challenge tonight of Judy1957's daughter Maggie. Judy is the Moderator this week and chose the reference photo of her daughter. You can see the drawings here: http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=383569

I also posted some more items for the scavenger hunt. I did todays on black cardstock that I bought last week at Michael's. I used white Prismacolor pencil on all the items and the same brand of red and green on the teabag.

It is getting late here and I was up late last night. Still have to load the dishwasher before going to bed.

WDE 11-17-06

I finished my drawing for the WDE site. I did the elephant. I seem to be stuck on animals lately. I didn't take much time on the elephant. About 1 hour.

Late night, early morning

Depending where you live, it is early morning, or maybe late night. I am still up at 1:30 am. I need to get to bed as I have a hari appt in the morning at 8:30 and at least a half hour drive in heavy traffic. The hair dresser has moved this past month to the farthest area from where I live. Before she moved I could make it across town to her shop in about 15-20 minutes.

I have been playing with my Derwent drawing pencils again. I did a picture of KC our Golden Retriever who passed on about 3 yrs ago. I am not really happy with the picture but will probably not do it over. I want to give it to my husband for Christmas. I have done several pencil drawings of her that I liked much better. On this one, the black I used to get the darks of her eyes and nose just look a mess. It got waxy and didn't really look black. Maybe I will try to burnish those two areas.

My bird is behind me in her cage wanting me to talk. She keeps asking me "What are you doing". Of course even if I told her, she would still ask again and again and again.

Well I can't stay awake much longer. I just wanted to get something posted for today.

I worked on new pieces for the scavenger hunt which started today. A pretty good list. I have 5 items finished and 5 of them are already posted. Hopefully tomorrow I will work on my WDE drawing for the week. And I still need a Christmas card for another forum. I haven't a clue what that will be. I am not good at making something up from my head. I would like to do something that is more spiritual instead of something that shows commercialization. But a spiritual picture is even harder to "imagine" from my mind. I thought about a child praying but would need a ref picture. Also a fireplace with a burning fire, but ...I could do a candle still life but sounds boring. I will have to think awhile longer. It has to be posted by Dec 15 so I have a bit of time.

Well time for some beauty sleep (if only that were possible). Tomorrow, strike that...today is another day.

Live in harmony with each other. Don't be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don't think you know it all! Romans 12:16

Last of the trio

I finished my last of the 3 dogs for the weekly challeng on WC. This one is a mix breed named Zipper. I wasn't as happy with this one. I don't think I did this one justice. I was happiest with the husky. It is fun seeing everyone's drawings. Even the different mediums. I did all three drawings in mechanical pencil.

I have drawn animals for several years now. My accomplishment has been that I am now doing them freehand. Formerly I used a graph. I have no problem with graphs or people who use them. It makes it much easier to get ears, eyes, etc in the right places. And believe it or not, you can still make a mistake with a graph. But I was tired of drawing all those lines and then having to get them erased off of my drawings. Sometimes it was impossible to take every little bit off. It also caused smudging.

I am so much more satisfied with my drawings now that I can do them freehand. Such a freeing feeling. I still cannot measure. I have to just start at one spot and work at it until I get what I want. I might use a ruler to measure a dogs muzzle length but I just can't seem to do the lines or measurements most people use to get the proportions right. It just does not work for me, so I will stick with what does work for me.

Sometimes my measurements might be a little off but if the drawings please me, that is a plus. I also tend to do more line work. I tried to develop that more fully, but have found my style is more for the linework. It just seems to fit me better. Some things I can extend the tonal values but others just seem finished to me without. I seem to like the fact that I can get a likeness with just a pencil and some lines.

Looking forward to whatever new challenges face me next week. I am ready to start a new landscape in pencil and also to try another animal. This time in colored pencil. I wish to be able to do the fur of animals using the colored pencils. If I can make fur with pencil, I should be able to make it with colored pencils.

A husky named Sage

Tonight I did the second dog for the weekly drawing forum. The dog belongs to WetCanvas member She-She. The drawing is from one of her photos on the Reference Image Library. I now have one more to go. It is a mixed breed and short-haired. I hope to get that one done tomorrow.

A new Monday.

I finished the last of the scavenger hunt for this week. There were 7 less items this time. I didn't do two of the challenges but may later. Tonight I concentrated on the weekly drawing challenge. The photo refs were 3 different dog photos. I was going to draw all three (head shots) on on page but later decided to do each individually. I finished the sheltie tonight. Two more to go plus the WDE drawing for the week to be done.

Penny our lab is getting settled in finally. She still chews but mostly her own toys. She unstuffs them all over the house. But she has stopped tearing up any papers laying around on tables. She also does not panic when I leave. She is so happy when I get home but now knows I am coming back.

We have had her now just over three months. The change in her is great. She is such a wonderful dog that I can't imagine not having her. I am so glad she came to us. We have great patience with dogs, and she needed someone like that to get her over her trauma of being abandoned. We both feel if she had not come here, that she would have been shuffled to a few more homes. It would have ruined her spirit.

As a 1 yr old dog now, she has a zest for life. So happy just to have a ball or a chew toy to toss around all by herself. She is so happy. Loves to eat, sleeps hard, and very loving. Thank you Penny for coming into our lives.

Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.Revelation 3:20

Pencil landscape

Yesterday I did another landscape. It was from a reference photo from the WDE last week. I saved several of the photos that week to do. This is the second one I have done.

Yesterday started another scavenger hunt. #17. Wow it is hard to believe that I have done 16 of them already. This one has 19 items 7 less than usual. Plus 3 challenges. I have already finished 10 plus one challenge. I think this one will be finished fast for me. That's ok as I plan to do more landscapes.

I still have several Christmas presents to do plus some genealogy work for my sister-in-law that I want to get done. Also I want to do a picture using the reds like Al Jones for a Christmas present for my husband of our KC who is no longer with us. I want to take my time on that one and make it special with mat and frame for him.

Thanksgiving is not very far away. About a week and a half. My cousin and her husband will be doing some deep pit meat. We will take a turkey over there to have done for us too. We will have Thanksgiving dinner with hubby's sister and brother-in-law and another dinner with my cousin's family the Saturday after. Just what I need, more food.

It seems I am doomed to repeat my early dating and marriage time in the age when I should be cutting down my food intake. When dating my husband, we started celebrating holidays with both our families. Fortunately (or unfortunately) , my family had their dinners at noon, and his family had their dinners around 6-8 (his mom procrastinated and was the slowest person when getting dinners ready).

His mom was always at the bank at 5 minutes to 3 when they closed at 3. On Friday nights, closing time was 6. His mom showed up about 15 minutes before closing. She never even started to get ready and pick up the check and dep until late in the afternoon.

I remember one Christmas Eve, we were all gathered around to open our presents. His mom just got home and was in the bedroom wrapping the presents she had just bought. Why bother to wrap them when they would just get ripped off half hour later.

But I ventured from the subject. We ate dinner with my family at noon, and ate again with his family in the evening. Two big dinners. And both insisted we eat dessert and the works. That is one day we were stuffed all day. But it kept family harmony with both sides, and our parents never felt that we gave preference to either side. Made for nicer relationships. But not on the body. We now carry way more weight around than is comfortable. And now we have swung full circle around and are going to eat two meals. Makes me groan at the thought. Will be tasty but........