Sunday February 22, 2015

Last fall, a local policeman died in an accident.  Last night, a Police vs Firemen Basketball game was played to raise funds for a scholarship fund in the Policeman's name.  There is a brotherhood amongst the Firemen and Police.  They do for their own.  We have both in our family and the communities supported the event WELL.

In addition to the game last night, there was a silent auction, 50/50 raffles, and a local car dealer put up a two year free lease on a car.

I think I told you about the large painting that my hubby wanted me to do recently. (Jan.18th blog). I know Hubs liked it because he posted on his page and showed his friend whose backyard it was. When the subject came up about what to donate to the silent auction, he asked if I would mind if that's what he did with it.  I said lets frame it first, and run it past the backyard owner, and we did.

The person who won the bid got a deal, I know it got a good home, and it went to a great cause.  Makes my day. Win, win, win!

Remember a while back, I stopped at a garage sale and bought a small wooden rocking horse and a metal sun?  I re-painted the metal sun ages ago and sent it to my friend Terri.  The wooden horse, that I originally stopped for in the first place has never gotten past the initial strip down, prime and paint.  SO, instead of one more thing in my art room taking up space, I am painting that now.  Going with kind of a carousel - type idea.  It'll be fancy!

My agenda is getting the horse done and organizing the art room, (every time I go in there to do it, I start doing something fun instead of putting things back that need to be organized!  'SQUIRREL!').  I don't believe I am in any swaps at this time, or have any kind of artsy deadline, or have signed up for anything!  Free free free!


Stay tuned!

Saturday, Valentines Day, 2015

Its a very cold, make that DANGEROUSLY cold, snowy, blowy Saturday.  (Wind Chills to -30F) My poor hubby is delivering flowers for the flower shop today.  I just sent him out the door with hot coffee and a kiss to keep him warm.

I haven't got any new art this week.  I was working all week on a bake sale at work.  The only creative thing about that is, is that I wrapped my small sized loaves of banana, poppy seed, and applesauce spice breads in these that I found on Pinterest.

They were fun, quick and easy to do.   Credit given to Shakentogethers blogspot.  I punched holes and threaded ribbon through, all around, to keep it together though.  But I love the tags on hers!  I just made address labels on the computer for mine.  I didn't take the time to make a pattern or cut.  I just envisioned the bottom of the small pan on the flat of the plate, folded all sides up, pinched the corners in and hole punched through the side and the pinched corner, and even if I was a little off, there was enough give to allow the pan  to drop down in the wrap.  Easy peasy and seat-of-my-pants quick.

In the DLP 52 Art Journal group I am in, I got into the Just One Word swap.  If you follow this blog you know what the Just One Word is all about.  Methinks I lucked out, as my swap partners word is FAITH.  A dozen things run through my mind and today is the perfect day to get-er-dun!  I also have gotten into a Pay It Forward for 5 people on FB and need to get those finished and out.

And secretly, I did another 'Pay-It-Forward' by hanging this at work..

 I found it online, printed it off, cut on the lines and hung it up in the breakroom before everyone came to work.  By lunch there were several missing already!  Who doesn't need compliments!

Everyone needs to learn something new everyday.   Yesterday, I learned what all the talk was about dark chocolate dipped strawberries and red wine.  Oh my, how yummy! So THATS why you see it in the movies!!  Decadence is not usually in my ho-hum vocabulary.  I think I liked it, as the song goes.

So, that is what I have been up to this week.  I wish you all a very Happy Valentines Day! Hug those you love, because there are no guarantees in life.  Call 'em if you haven't talked lately.  Make a date to get together with those you miss.  JUST. DO. IT.

Stay warm and stay tuned!

Saturday February 7th, 2015

My son's birthday gift.  I'm not happy with the way the Jeep turned out, and I could tell he was looking at it funny, but a painting is a depiction, not a photograph.  It paints over if he doesn't like it, I guess.

This weekend is a busy one, and I have things to do, so I will leave it here for now, and post again later.

Stay tuned!

February 2, 2015 last day of facebookartchallenge

A little pen and ink, a little colored pencil and a little acrylic paint. 

I have been checking out some avenues and attending a class about marketing your art.   Supposively when you apply to display your art work you should only show one medium.   How boring. 

Another idea that I heard was keep colors 'the same' so people can notice your work at a glance. Again, that sounds boring to me.  But then, that is all marketing. 

I guess I still can't do art with the sole purpose of making money with it.  So, thats ok.  I seem to be listening to people that say I need to sell.  Maybe I need to listen to people less.

Another thing I heard was that people left good 40 hr a week jobs to do art.  That sounds nice, but to make money at that, you must do x amount of bookwork, (applications to galleries, bios, artist statements, record keeping, receipts, and filing of taxes)  that will take half your time.  Then, arrange framing, carting it to galleries, shows, packing it all up, drive and travel time, etc, etc, etc.

Because there are sooo many canvasses in my art room, and there are some better than others, I  am going to gesso over some and paint over them.  Stay tuned!

February 2, 2015 Day four of Facebookartchallenge.

Happy Groundhogs Day!

The fact that its Groundhogs day is being lost, because the Super Bowl was last night and it was a good game, so today we are hearing all the hashing and rehashing of the game and commercials.  Then we received 14+ inches of snowy blowy stuff, and we are in shutdown here where we live.  So thats big news.  You would have to dig to find a Groundhog today!  Wonder what that means for Spring when that happens?

Anyway,  for the 4th day of the Facebookartchallege, I posted these three pics of my work.

Wet Kiss and the Black and White boat are both acrylics from my sons photographs.  The pumpkins are from a photo I found online.  I couldn't find the name of the artist.

Well have a nice Groundhogs Day.  Stay tuned!

February 1, 2015 Facebook Art Challenge Day 3

Finally February!  There is something about that looonnng cold dark month of January that seems like time stands still and I get that cabin fever that warmth and sun will NEVER get here.  Once February hits, (maybe because its a short month??) that I feel we can see the proverbial light at the end of the dark tunnel of winter.  Thus, I have to find bright spots, (like ART!) and lots of them til I can do other things.

Thus the Facebookartchallenge!   Here is DAY THREE:

 The Model A

 A private covered bridge

 And Buster the Patriotic Dog.


Here is a photo from Barb Myers Smith that I nominated for Day 2:

She has done some pretty awesome things on these old milk cans!

And here is a piece of my own NEW art that I just did yesterday, and wanted to share, why I didn't put it on DAY 4 I don't know, but I probably wanted to share it immediately...

The Irish Donkey.  From a photo from a friend, Dan Cherry, who went to Ireland last year and brought me pics of Irish Barns, and oh yeah, this guy, who we haven't named yet.  You have to be careful naming DONKEYS you know... (a couple names come to mind...) but this one has a sweetness to it, and I don't want to harness it with a moniker that wouldn't fit.

Stay tuned, I am sure we will come up with something...

January 30, 2015 Facebookartchallenge day 2

Day2 of Facebookartchallenge. I was nominated by my awesome Aussie friend and artist, Michelle Reynolds for this challenge to share three pieces of my art a day for five days and nominate another artist. I nominate Barbara Myers Smith to share her very cool art. Today, my art items include: something from my wineo friends, (my friends answered the call for wine labels) A reminder piece of art for this time of year, done in pen and ink on yellow paper, and my entry to the Human Form exhibit I did last Sept.

 

 Yesterdays nomination of Beth Jessee had her show some of her awesome flora photography.