Where Has the Time Gone?

Well, it seems that I have been away for quite some time. What was I doing, you might ask. Well, to be honest, I'm not exactly sure. I know that I did not work on that silly rabbit, nor did I work on the new pastel I started. Instead, I have been all over town with my sister, who is visiting for the summer. She wants to go here, go there, drive me to....etc. So, although I love my sister, I have not done much that I like to do in these few months. I have enjoyed spending time with her, but I get really tired with all the going.

So not much to report here right now, I just dropped back in to let you know that I was definitely alive but hardly kicking! Soon, I hope things will get back to normal and I can finish my little bunny man.

While you're waiting for me to get busy, why not go to this site and see some really beautiful work. Or you can go to this site to see more really beautiful work.

Finally, I have returned!

Well, this blogging stuff is harder than I realized. I thought that since I spend considerable time daily online, this would be easy, but I was dead wrong. I now have more respect for those able bloggers out there that blog daily or even weekly. I must be too ADHD or something...I get so distracted once I get online. Before I know it, hours have passed and I have not done anything but sit and stare at web sites, reading about this 'n that! So, I am going to try to do better.

I tried to do a paper mache rabbit and I think he turned out pretty nice, but I just can't seem to get motivated to get him painted. So I figure if I put him up on my blog, then I will be SHAMED into giving him his personality with some paint.

So here he is.....
First picture shows him being assembled. He has a paper clay face and head on a paper mache body.

Next pic shows him getting his arms, ears and legs and feet. Here I am hoping that he will stand up by himself when he gets all assembled.

Then he is shown standing with his new legs and feet attached. Notice the pad he is standing on. That was the only way to make him stable enough to stand alone. I figured it was okay and I could cover it up with raffia or something later.

Finally, here he is in all his glory!!! He has his base coat of gesso on and is ready and waiting for color. He was originally going to be made for Easter but I blew that, so now I think he will become a Halloween Bunny all decked out in black and orange. How fun can that be?

Let me know what you think. I could really use a little input and maybe a push to finish this cute little fella.

The finished painting

Now to finish the previous post, as I finally found the pictures of this painting. I have to apologize for the quality of the photography--I never did get around to taking those photography courses. Anyway, here is the almost finished painting.



Here's the finished project. Although I didn't get the light and colorful results that Lori does, I still like the picture. I don't think it evokes quite the whimsey of her paintings, but I do think I get the same feeling. Anyway, this was my attempt to emulate her.



I did learn quite a bit about myself and my artistic talent while working on this. I think that is why it took me so long to finish it. In the end though, I feel pretty good about both myself and my painting. I know that I am not ever going to be Rembrandt, but I certainly will enjoy myself trying!

What do you think? Feel free to leave a comment, even if you say you hate it! I'd love to hear what your thoughts are.

My attempt to paint ala "Lo" at Spewing4thArt

Well, I think I have finally figured out this blog system, so now maybe I can actually get something posted.

Here is my attempt to paint "in the style of" Lori at Spewing4thArt. As I said in my previous post, I love her style. She uses bright colors and whimsical compositions. I just had to try to see if I could come up with something similar. I hope that isn't wrong. I always thought that you learned painting by repainting something by a "master".

I started with a pencil drawing that had a bit of the same feeling I get when I look at Lori's paintings. Then I slowly begin to add color. My next post will show the completed picture. Hopefully by then I will figure out how to add pictures in the order and in the places I want.

See you soon.

Well Hello!

I have finally decided to jump on the blogging bandwagon and start writing about my life and my art. I am not sure if any other person will be at all interested (except for my lovely daughters) but I think I will have fun writing stuff here and I can always hope that someone will find me mildly entertaining or even wildly eccentric.

I have been reading blogs now for about 3 months and I am hooked. There are quite a few that I look at daily. I knew I was in trouble when I started having dreams about reading blogs and when I had withdrawal symptoms if denied access to these blogs. No one told me how addictive this new hobby would become. I think there should be some official WARNING label attached to every blog telling the unwary that they are about to get sucked in and turned into BLOG ZOMBIES! I swear, I spend hours each day just reading posts from my favorite bloggers. Most of those I read have to do with art and art dolls--both realistic and primitive types, and I hope to be able to review some of them with you in the future. I'm not sure if I need to get the blogger's permission first, or if it would be okay to just talk about their blog and include links to it. This blogging stuff does not really come with any directions or instruction books, so I'll be feeling my way as I go. If I inadvertently cross any invisible boundaries, please feel free to tell me so I can avoid that pitfall in the future.

For this posting, I think I would like to talk about the blog that got me started. First and foremost, I must give kudos to my DD who writes the most irreverent and obscene blog I have ever read on her myspace page and now who has her own blog out here in the blogiverse, http://hookerwithaheartofguile.blogspot.com/. She definitely has a knack with words and is not squeamish about speaking her mind. So, after reading her postings for a while, I tremblingly attempted to blog on my myspace page, but chickened out and just posted videos and stuff from You-Tube.

The second, non-family, blog that I began to read was http://rasehallstudios.wordpress.com/. This is done by a lovely lady named Lori, but she goes by Lo for short. I was drawn to her work because it is whimsical, very colorful and makes me feel happy. I went back and read all of her old blogs and I have to say that this woman can paint! She also loves to cook and shares some of her recipes on the blog. She lives in Sacramento, CA and is married to an artist. She has a video on YouTube where you can watch her paint one of her "girls". You can view that here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-fcEmTpFw4. She also takes the most beautiful photographs.

For a while, she posted quite often. Now, however, she posts infrequently, but I am sure that life has interjected itself and she is as pressed for time as we all are. She has also become enamored of yarn and knitting and makes really beautiful hand-dyed yarns. I do enjoy the yarn posts, but wish she would get back to painting and art. She has a wicked sense of humor and is delightful to follow, no matter what her content is, so I recommend that you go on over to her blog and make yourself acquainted.

I even used her artwork as a jumping-off board to get my own art started again. I dabble here and there, but not as often or as much as I would like. I decided that the best flattery I could give to Lori would be to try to paint "in her style". I have been working, on and off, on a painting for several months--mostly because I am my own worst critic and get stymied easily. Tomorrow, I will try to include photos of my work in progress. The only good thing I can say for myself is that I did take pictures as I worked, so can show the progression pretty well. I hope to finish this particular picture this week, so I will post the entire event. I bet you are just dying to see, aren't you? Patience is a virtue, unless you allow waiting to become a way of avoidance. (I may be speaking from experience, but I'll never tell)

Anyway, I will try to figure out how to get pictures put up on here next. So stay tuned.....