Florida Bird Watching

Testing the Waters

I recently returned from a traveling marathon to Utah and Florida.

The two climates are nothing a like and yet similar.

They are similar in that they are very different than what I'm used to.

They both have some very interesting birds.

But one is very dry and the other tropical.

I haven't been in the studio in almost a month,

so I decided to work on something I've seen most recently and that is this Ibis

as he was walking carefully in this bird sanctuary.

Their beaks are so interesting, long and crooked at the end.   

Cool Running

7" x5" acrylic on a panel

$50 +$6 shipping  
 

This shows up brighter on my monitor than it actually is.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Sports Loving Artist

Gotta LOVE March

I guess I'm not a typical artist.

I don't know what a typical artist is or what they look like,

but

I don't think I fit into that mold.

I'm a sports fanatic and I love this time of year.

March Madness

and

Opening Day for the Cincinnati Reds.

All in one month and within 24 hours of each other.

I used to take my kids out of school to take them to the Findlay Market Opening Day
 parade in Cincinnati. 
We also went to Fountain Square in 1990 when the Reds won the World Series.

I still love to go to the ball park.

 

Wanna Play

6" x 6" acrylic on a panel

$50 + $6 shipping

Click here to purchase 

     CAT Crazy

6" x 6" acrylic on a panel.

$50 + $6 shipping

Click here to purchase.

I am Cat crazy! 

That was quite a game Kentucky played against Michigan

and now they're in the Final Four!

It's funny how our lives change and metamorphisize.

We start at point A and move through several phases to get to point B, C or D.

I grew up playing baseball in a sandlot across the street

and learned to love basketball as a 10 year old when my Uncle took me to a
Cincinnati Royals game.

 I used to watch the Green Bay Packers on a small black and white TV.

 Learned to ice skate on a ditch in the back yard,

Learned to cast from my brother in the front yard.

Went hunting with my dad, brother and uncle on Thanksgiving.
 I raised cattle for 4-H.

I always had a creative side, but I grew up as a tomboy,
playing outside all day
coming in only when it got dark.

These two paintings bring back so many wonderful memories of my childhood
and my kids childhoods.

I love March.

Thanks for stopping in today.

Never Leave Home Without It

 I'm Not Talking About A Credit Card

What should you never leave home without?

You're camera, silly!

These were some photos I took near my son's home in Utah.

They will be used as painting reference in the future and I thought you'd like to see a few of the many I took.

 This is at a bird preserve near Tremonton, UT.

The birds on the water were splashing and squawking like crazy.

This old building is abandoned but its beauty continues to shine through.

At least to me.

That window on the right side of the building might have been the first drive through in America.

Everything about this building screams,

Paint Me!!!!

I'm sure they will all get their wish in the near future.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Artists in Time Out

Making Memories and Art

 

Our visit to our son's family in Utah was wonderful but I ended up in time out.

 

We took a time out to  create some art

and 

memories.

 

Did you think I was in some sort of trouble?

 

We had some pretty cool paper I got at Preston Art Center,

in Louisville, KY.

It's lined like first grade paper on the bottom and it's plain on the top, so you can paint a picture and then tell a story about it.

I've never used water color before, (because I'm afraid of it),

so we did a fair amount of playing.

 

Karen, my granddaughter drew a lot of her favorite things and painted them.

Then she drew a picture of her mom behind the house.

She wrote on her paper "There's a mom behind the house".

She was much more profound than she knew.

 

I also bought one of those water color brushes that has the water in it.

That was lots of fun.

 

More on those later.

 

 

 

 

Big Blue Nation

Let The Madness Begin

Cat Crazy

6" x 6" unframed acrylic on a panel

$50 with free shipping during the NCAA tournament.

 

I know, I'm a Crazy Cat Fan.

And Kentucky has struggled as of late,

but hope springs eternal, especially in the Big Blue Nation.

Selection Sunday is just around the corner, 

and then,

the one thing everyone looks to since Midnight Madness,

The Tournament.

Cat fans all across the nation will be living and dieing with every shot during March.

We moved to Kentucky over 30 years ago and I used to make fun of Kentucky fans.

Standing in line for hours to by a ticket to a game,

Missing work to watch the tournament games.

Making season tickets part of a will.

Those folks are crazy.

Then somewhere along the way,

Kentucky lost to Louisville in a rivalry game during the Rick Pitino era one year,

and I got physically sick.

OMG!!! 

I had joined the ranks of the "Kentucky Fans".

I did this painting during the January 2014 30 paintings in 30 days challenge,

and you Crazy Cat Fans are in luck,

it is available. 

Go Cats!!!

Introducing Purdy

I Give You Purdy

Purdy

Is one of my cats I have been able to tame down.

All my cats are outside cats and all but their mother have been wild as hairs.

Somehow I was able to tame several of them down,

one by one.

All of my other cats have very thick coats, but they are sleek,

then up shows Miss Purdy in the middle of a litter of calicos with all this fabulous fur.  

She's a show off.

She would not come anywhere near anyone, then one day she decided to take a chance on me.

She let me get just close enough, but no touching.

Each day she got a little braver, until finally, she let me pet her.

Now I can't go outside without her walking between my legs, rubbing all over me.

If I sit down, she's going to be right there.  

She's hilarious.    

I've been working on learning how to paint cats and dogs.

and this is my first painting

  of my first subject I've been happy with.   

I did another of Miss Purdy, (I call her that because she's so pretty), but she looked like more like a lion than a cat.

This one definitely is not perfect,

but I think I'm on my way.   

Here's the real thing.

I don't think I did too bad.  

 

Creativity = Learning Experience

Creativity is a Learning Experience

To create something, anything,

a potholder,

a pillow,

a dress,

plant a garden,

make a bookshelf,

sculpt,

make jewelry,

paint,

it's all creative and it's always a learning experience.

Is there ever a point where you know it all?

I'd have to say no.

There is so much to learn and there are always new materials,

new brushes, 

new fabrics,

once you think you've got it, something changes,

you change,

you progress 

and then you find there is something new to learn.

In my quest to have my own in studio art school with me as the student,

I'm learning so much and always finding more things I don't know.

I've been working on animals and I painted my cat Purdy.

The painting is not very purdy, so you won't be seeing it.

Then I worked on tweaking another painting I did last year.

The reference for this barn is somewhere in Logan County, OH.

This barn is not quite abandoned, but almost.

It's an interesting structure and it was a frigid day when I was there and took this photo.

The painting is dark and foreboding.

It's a little 5" x 7" acrylic on a board and again I wasn't really happy with it,

so, I can't really say I tweaked it.  I basically started over with it leaving in the barn.

But of course I had to change the barn, at least warm it up a little.

It still looks old and cold 

but a little warmer.

As I said, I basically started over, but I learned so much about warming up snow.

Doesn't that sound weird.

Today I warmed up snow.