Bob Burridge ... Artist Series on You Tube

I've mentioned before that I have fallen in love with watercolor.  The problem I've run into is how to afford to frame all these many, many pictures that I paint.  Even if I want to sell them, showing them is very difficult without frames.  Well... I've found the perfect thing!

Around the bush way of telling you... I'm always on YouTube watching art videos.  Today I ran onto a guy that is fabulous... and has great ideas.  His name is Bob Burridge .. he has a web page here..  and he posts "how to" videos on YouTube.  He has well over 100 videos and they are filled with great ideas for everything from collage to spray paint to watercolor to oils to acrylics.. and more. 

Here's what I found today.  How to cheaply "frame" your work if you use a lot of paper for your art.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJqIuSzyLc0   I am definitely going to do this with a lot of mine. 

This was done using his method of painting people.  So EASY!  I love this.  I don't have any canvases right now in multiple sizes, but you can bet that when Hobby Lobby opens on April 2nd ... I will  have.  :) 

The weather is cool this morning.  Can't sit out on the porch for breakfast, but will later on today.  I hope you give Bob Burridge a try.. his use of collage in his work is fabulous... Dianne Nash.. :)

Hugs.. Have a great day

Today in my Life.. March 27, 2018

Today is:  March 27, 2018

Today in my life:   I reach for my coffee at 6:13 am, look over at my DH across the desk and my two fur babies on the floor sleeping and give thanks as I take a sip.   It's raining outside and when DH took the pups out this morning they ran out in the rain, did their business and ran back in... with Katie running into our bedroom, up her stairs and onto our bed only to find that I had not laid out my clothes.. oh woe is me!  (She always has to lay on whatever of my (or his) clothes are on the bed).  So she just sat down on my CPAP hose!

I got up this morning:  at 5:30 with a bit of a grumble.  I don't really hate  the idea of having to plan to go somewhere (Dr. office)... but it seems to throw off the entire day.   I guess.

I am hearing:  the tick of the clock on the wall beside me as the seconds pass by.  Not sure if I like that or not...lol 

I am thinking:  that I'm having a hard time thinking of something to be thinking.. lol  My brain is still on "NEED MORE COFFEE" time..

As I look out the window: I see the back porch.  It's big.. long.. and we've screened it in.  I was in Wal Mart a couple of days ago and found a real bargain on a patio table with 4 chairs.. Bought it.  We have been sitting  on the porch for most of the last 2 days and can't wait for the mornings to become warm enough to sit out with coffee and our laptops.  The photo looks a bit empty, but the other chairs are on the other side out of the way.  I'll do another pic when I have it finished... but we love it even if nothing else ever gets done.

The current book is:  The Solitary House  by Lynn Shepherd.  It's an historical novel set in London around 1850.  I'm finding it ok and quite readable .. but I have to say that I much prefer the David Morell books that are set in the same time period.  If you have not read them, the first one is Murder as a Fine Art .

Creatively:  there hasn't been much going on in the past couple of weeks.  A few quick bookmarks in watercolor, an oil painting for my son.  But there is a new shop opening in town called Pleiades 7.
It is a small shop that will be open to artisans of all kinds and will be essentially a consignment shop to sell your own creations.  I have spoken with the owners at length and am seriously considering placing my art in their shop.  We'll see.  (BTW.. I find that I truly do enjoy painting peppers..lol  I guess it's that bright red color that I have loved since the first grade!)









From the learning desk:  that is not a desk..lol  I have decided that at the ripe old age of 69 I will fulfill at least one of the things on my bucket list.  Learn to play the piano.  I find that it's a lot easier to learn that left hand in your teens or 20s than in your 60s, but nevertheless I will persevere.  lol  I have to say that I never in my wildest dreams thought I would be able to play Jingle Bells... even if it is that simplistic one that children learn.  Loving it.



Plans for the day:  Not many.  Follow up at the ophthalmologist.  I have to say that I really like her.  She saw that one of the reasons my vision was so bad was because the cataract implant was filmed over.  It took her all of 3 minutes to remove it with a laser and my vision is better than it has been in YEARS.  I am truly loving it!

We are finally getting some much needed rain this morning.  I need to work out in the flower beds and clear out the old stuff so the new stuff can grow.  Probably the rain won't last long, but every little bit helps.   Have a great day... hug your loved ones.. and say a little something nice to some stranger you meet on the street.. You never know, it may just make their day.. :)

I may not ever shut my pc down again

I can't believe how difficult it is to get here... sigh Maybe this time I can keep up with whatever password Google demands for this site...

Anyway.. here I am and only about 8 months late.  But .. it has been a busy time.


 It would seem that we have reached that time in life when we really want to be nearer family .. so a move is underway from North Texas to Southwest Oklahoma.  At first it was not something that I was wishing for... It's hard to leave friends and a settled home, but after a little thinking it over I am truly looking forward to the move.  I cannot wait to be near the children and grandchildren.

The visit from grandson Dustin and family was a true joy. That visit is more than likely what helped make up our minds to made the move.

 My two sisters and I went to McKinney last year and in the wandering around thru the shops we came upon a small shop that had lovely antiques.  The proprietor was a young lady who enthusiastically helped us with anything we could think of and I asked her about the watercolor painting she had sitting on the shelf.  She said her mother had painted it and she was happy to sell us on the cards that had been printed from that painting.  She was so pleased to be able to sell some of her mother's art work and I was only too pleased to buy it.. lol   So I came home and immediately had to paint my own pears..lol

On a trip to Lavender Ridge Farms a few years ago I bought 8 oz. of lavender.  It has been stashed away forever, so I decided I would make pillowcase sachets with it... and so I did.  I made about 10, and still have lavender left, so I will probably make more when we get resettled.

I'm so glad to finally be here.. on this site.. again.  For the few who are still following, thanks a bunch.. :)

Hugs from the very warm (and nearing hot) North Texas area... have a great day!

OMG! I'm back in....

I had decided that I would never get to blog here again.  Perhaps I have figured out the secret.  We'll see if works next time I try to get in....

Six months... I'm sure a lot has happened but with my memory I'll never get it all in here.. lol  However, I have had cataracts removed from both eyes... and no one was more surprised than me to see that my walls are a different color than I thought.. :)  I'm still about a month away from totally healed and getting new glasses, but already the difference in my sight is amazing. 

Sister's Weekend this year was wonderful.  My two sisters and I get together every year in the summer for a couple of days.. just us.. and do "something".  This year we went to McKinney, TX and wandered the streets shopping and eating and shopping... and eating.. :)  It was too much fun .

There are shops of all kinds in McKinney and we stopped in a small shop that sold everything from antiques to soaps.  The proprietor was a very personable young lady who pointed out some cards that were prints of watercolors her mother had painted.  I love them.  I bought two of them... and then had to come home and paint some pears.. 

Saw a YouTube video on how to make these fabric wrapped cord bowls.. LOVE IT!!  I'm about to get the hang of it after making several small ones.  Here's the url: 
The Crafty Gemini ..  She makes it look so easy.. and it really is easy after I figured out the size of the stitches that looked best.  Love these!! 

Must go.. I hear my sweet DH getting around and he's going to be ready for breakfast before I even get in there..

Have a wonderful autumn day.. Give lots of hugs and kisses around... :)

Home Made Bread and Things

 I finally decided to get the food processor out that we bought last year and try to learn to use it.. :)  I found a recipe for whole wheat bread and decided to cut it in half since I didn't think the processor could hold the entire thing at once.  After about an hour watching YouTube videos of how to use it, I gave it a try... and felt entirely silly for putting it off so long.  :)  The results were wonderful..

Went out to check on our Bradford Pear tree in the front yard that was planted last year and stopped to see the pansies.  I don't know how we did it, but it seems that one of them was a different color from all the rest.  And I love it!  I'll wait until it has some more blooms and you can bet at least one or two will be picked to be pressed and kept!  This photo may also become a watercolor painting.  :)





We've had such beautiful weather for almost all winter that I have to pinch myself to remember that Spring is so near.  The temps will be in the 70s for the next couple of days and then possible rain.  :)  I didn't think I would ever welcome rain again after the flooding of last spring.  I'm still not sure about my peach tree in the back yard... Flooded and sat in standing water for a month... May not live but I'm not giving up yet.. :)

Have a wonderful day..

Nostalgia .. and stuff

December 28, 2015  Got up early this morning.. about 4am.  Don't ask me why.  I sat here until 5:30 and decided it was time to make coffee.  In the process of wasting all that time I began to wonder what was going on with all the blogging friends I've had over the years that I don't see much anymore.  So I went to Chloe's Place...

Linda B. lives in Victoria, Australia and I began to read her blog back in 2005 when I was heavy into crazy quilting and ribbon embroidery.  When I looked today, she still has not blogged since 2013 and I miss her witty, independent personality.  

If you are into embroidery of ANY kind, the place to go is Pin Tangle.  Sharon Boggins is the most wonderful embroiderist (I don't know if that's a word, but sure fits.. :)  )  that I have ever seen.  She has tutorials, an embroidery "encyclopedia of stitches", worksheets, online classes.. etc.  And on top of that.. she is just a wonderful person.  :)  I seem to give away everything that I do .. but I do take photos.. :)  This is a small practice block.. from way back then.. :)

Haven't done much for the past few weeks.  It seems (from what my Dr. says) that he had to fix much more than was anticipated during the surgery and it is taking A LOT LONGER than I anticipated to recuperate!  But have done a few things lately... 

I've wanted to try this particular watercolor for a while.. and have tried it a couple of times with very unhappy results..lol  But I do like this one.  

The year is ending soon.. Hoping your holidays have been good one.. :)  

Conundrum... To Do or Not To Do

I've been debating with myself for weeks now about whether or not to open an Etsy shop for my paintings.  As some in my family would say.. "You've wallered it around long enough!".   I expect they are right..lol  And my poor DH is so tired of my asking him what he thinks that I suspect he just turns his hearing aid down and shakes his head.  :)

I have sold two already and have had several people ask about some of the others.  Realistically .. I don't think Picasso or Michelangelo have anything to worry about from my art ability..lol  ... but they probably would sell a little.  The big question is... do I really want to be tied down to an Etsy shop?  have to worry about being gone for several days and not be able to fulfill orders in a timely fashion?  Would it make my hobby a "job"?  What about artist's insurance?  What about taxes (which I don't really think would ever be a problem since there would not be that much income)?  Taxes mean keeping records.... and so on and so on.. 

But... the thing is... where am I going to put all these paintings and cards???

"I can hear it now.. no one can answer that but you."  The thing is.. in posting I have to think it through just by writing it... so .. there it is.. the conundrum..

The latest of the efforts ... These were all inspired by photos that I found online... there is no way to know who to attribute them to. 

 This one of the table and chair touches me deeply... That worn table reminds me of something wonderful... I just can't remember what.  And that cup and saucer.. my grandparents ALWAYS had cups and saucers.  The coffee was always poured into the cup to cool it and then sipped from the edge of the saucer..  The wild flowers..  I just love it... what can I say.. lol 

This one was painted with real coffee for my coffee loving daughter.. :)  

This one.. well.. it just makes me happy to look at it. 

The rain has stopped but the mist and fog has continued for several days giving us quite gray days.  My basil is doing great in the pot in the back yard.  There's a marigold that came up volunteer and is blooming like crazy, and my wild onions decided they weren't dead after all.  

I hope your day where ever you are is a really good one.  Hugs.. :)

Today in my Life... October 20, 2015

Today is Tuesday, October 20, 2015.

I woke up this morning:  very, very early... got up at 3:45 am  and stumbled into the office... fell into my computer chair and prayed for cooler weather.  These night sweats are killing me.

I am hearing:  the fan click as it makes those orbits around that fake golden hub up there.  However.. with the night sweats, I do believe I don't care if it's fake or not as long that cool breeze continues.   My sweet DH is up and clicking his coffee cup in the kitchen... The day begins.. :)

As I look out the window:  I see the new WalMart across the street has cleared all the rubble and trash from the site.  It is beginning to look like it's been there for a while... sod going in, parking lot finished, all the heavy equipment gone.  Won't be long now.

I am thinking:  that I really need to carry a notebook... perhaps I should buy some kind of everyday apron with pockets that I can wear everywhere... that would make keeping a pen and paper in my pocket really easy...

The current book is:  a re-read of the James Patterson book Cross ... for about the 4th time.  I really need to find some new authors.. (she says for about the 100th time!)

Creatively:  doing watercolors.  I took some photos of the new plants when we put them in the flowerbed last weekend.  I also bought some cyclamen that were on sale for $1.00 a piece... LOVELY!!  So I got out the water and brushes and did a couple of florals, but also found an easy Wilson Bickford tute on youtube.com that I did in watercolor instead of the oils he was using.  Didn't turn out too bad.




This is the Wilson Bickford tutorial for painting a chickadee... All I did was change it to watercolor.  He is one of my favorite art instructors on YouTube..  There are couple on there that really make it easy to follow their lead.

 This is a cyclamen, but not one of the ones I bought this weekend.  This is a tutorial by Lindsey Weirich The Frugal Crafter showing how to draw the cyclamen and then blend sharpies to color it. Well.. I changed it to watercolor, but followed how she drew it.  She has many, many tutorials on a multitude of things so make sure you run thru her videos.  There may be something there you would like to try.













This is done from a photo I took of the pansies that we planted this weekend.  I just know that if I keep at this long enough I will get somewhere in the ballpark of good at it... lol







I am thankful for:  telephones and old friends.  I finally got up the nerve to try one more time to find an old (sorry Billie..lol)   friend from high school.  When I looked up the telephone number for her brother I was stunned to see that it was the same number I had dialed about a zillion times in my 8th grade, freshman and sophomore years.. It seems that he now is now living the family home and just decided to keep the family phone and same number.  Talk about deja vu..lol  We talked for about 45 minutes or so and then I called my best friend from high school... I must admit to being a little nervous.. What if she has forgotten who I am???  But not... it was as if no time at all had passed. What a lovely way to spend a couple of hours...

Planning ahead:  hmmm... personally I'm not sure I should put this up here..lol  I do plan ahead on occasion but must admit that seldom does it turn out without at least a little zig in the zag.  Anyway, the Basil I planted out back is seeding so I'm gathering those tiny seeds and putting them in envelopes.  Last year I actually made tiny seed envelopes to put them in... this year an old letter size plain jane works just fine.  Also have marigold seeds.  All the ones I saved from last year were viable and put on a real show until the water stopped.. More on that later... :(

Have a great day today...  :)

Fower Bed ReDo ...

I've wanted to re do the front flower bed for a long time.  There was one privet that grew exceptionally well, was totally beautiful and completely blocked the water from the sprinkler system from hitting the rest of the bed.  Every time I asked to have it moved, the landscaper who mows and cares for our lawn would find a multitude of reasons why it should not be moved... we can always raise the sprinkler heads... etc... etc..  Well, the sprinkler heads were raised and it still didn't help.  Guess what... that privet is NO LONGER THERE!  

It will take about a month for the bed to fill itself in and look like something other than a mess, but I can wait.  :) 

Son John worked like a Turk all day on Saturday and then we finished up with the mulch on Sunday morning.  Looks a little sparse for a while, but that will change.  :)

John works for Midwestern State University in their horticultural and grounds maintenance department.  He was telling me that an alumnus left a chrysanthemum to the University that was over ONE HUNDRED YEARS OLD!  I had no idea they would even live that long!

There will be stepping stones added in a couple of places to make working the bed easier... and stop the walking all over my creeping phlox.. :)  I cannot wait to see it when it is all mature... (telling self to BREATHE... lol)

Do so enjoy having the kids home.. Just seems there is so little time...

Another of the paintings I have done lately...

This is the side view of the house my father's parents lived in when I was small.  My brother and I would spend hours playing on that stump.  I am trying to find a  few pictures of the front of the house... but since my photos were all destroyed first in the tornado in Wichita Falls and then again in a mistaken trip to the trash.. sigh... I have to rely on the goodness of someone else's heart to get them.. :)

The weather is cooling off,  being out during the day is wonderful now.  I'm sure that since that little ditty was said out loud the North Texas weather gods will laugh out loud, snort and bring the temps back into the 90s... but we'll enjoy it while we can... lol

Have a wonderful day... :)

It's Saturday!

Have my youngest son here this weekend.  Even makes the coffee taste better.. if that's possible.. lol We're going to totally re-do the front flowerbed.  It's been quite a mess for the entire year and the fact is ... I'm tired of it!!!  Haven't the faintest idea what it will turn out to be, but it certainly can't be any worse than it is.. 

I don't know if I've mentioned my rash...  I've had it since February of 2014 and it seems quite content to set up housekeeping and stay until it retires.  The only reason I'm mentioning it is that I've totally set aside all the wool and fiber things to see if I can find the culprit that is causing it.  So.. I have taken up watercolors.  

I realize that I will never take the place of Picasso or Michelangelo...lol... but I do enjoy the process. So for the time being this will by my passion.  Not that I won't be doing some knitting or crochet or sewing...  I just won't handle the raw wool for a while.  (She says that and somewhere deep inside a voice is snorking... )  Well, I'll try to stay away from the raw wool... :)  

I had another heart cath a couple of weeks ago... results wonderful.  Dr. says will not have to have another one for years..  Now to work on the bradycardia.. slow heart rate.  I think this definitely is caused by the meds I take for familial tremor but I've tried 2 other meds and they didn't work so this is my last option... I think.  We'll see.. :)

Every year I say the same thing... can't believe how the year has passed so quickly.. but... Here we are at nearly Halloween and the holiday season is upon us once again.  All the heat from the summer will be gone and we'll be complaining about the cold...lol   Personally, I think we just like to complain.  :) 

I suppose I should get busy if I plan on accomplishing anything, so I will just say ... I hope everyone has a wonderful day.  I know I will.. since every day spent with my children is a day worth it's weight in gold.  

Watercolors...Inspired by Rose Ann Hayes

 I guess seeing all the wonderful art that Aunt Betty brought to the Ingram Arts Show kinda made me want to try my hand at it.  So I began to look at some of the YouTube tutorials on watercolor and decided to give it a go.. ;)  These are definitely beginner's work, but I find it fun to do.  Since my back and hip make it difficult to spin sometimes, this is the perfect substitute.

 

 These three pics are efforts to try to paint glass container and water.. as well as the flowers.  They were inspired by the beautiful work of Rose Ann Hayes and if you click Here you can go to her galleries and see the beauty that she can capture on paper. 

These three florals will be hung above our guest room bed. 







This little miniature and the poppies below are 2x3 inches in size and were done for my daughter who is building her own miniature house. 









The sun has shown it's face this morning..for the first time in a couple of days.  It's going to be a warm day and possibly a little rain. I noticed that my forsythia has tiny leaves and many buds on it.. ask me if that makes me happy!!  This will be the first year for it and I'm so looking forward to it blooming...

I hope you have a wonderful day!!