Not a Liar

... even though I haven't posted any drawings. I'm having scanner trouble -- there's something about a cable that has happened before, but I'm just too swamped to pull out the manual and figure it out. Tomorrow or Thursday. Meanwhile, I promise... drawings of geraniums (or would it be "gerania"??) on the deck, a water tower, a new mouse. I'll get them up when I can!

Saturday Sketch

This little watercolor quickie from class yesterday morning counts as my drawing for the day ... right?

We have boxes and boxes of photos in WC class, and yesterday I just grabbed three from the middle of a stack, and then picked my favorite of the three. I was so happy to play with painting the shadows that I didn't plan out the foliage very well. I may try this one again...

(P.S. I know -- I still have to do one for today, so there may be TWO POSTS in ONE DAY. Exciting stuff, you know...)

Shell

So... if you ever want to accidentally challenge yourself, try drawing a shell. Yikes! Still, a drawing was done and all that good stuff...
(The colors scanned very oddly, too. That big orange stripe isn't really there in the original, although I suppose something is there. Funny!)

When Totally Stuck

When totally stuck -- draw the pen.
Yep. STUCK. Diahn and I met up at Panera last night. We've done that regularly, but have spent most of our time drinking coffee, eating, talking, people watching ... you get the picture. Drawing has been sadly neglected and we realized it, so last night we promised ourselves from the onset that we would draw. Diahn did beautifully -- I struggled.
SO. Yesterday I made a promise. It went like this:

"As of TODAY -- I promise to draw every day for the rest of the month. That's six more whole days. And I will post them."

Tonight I drew a leaf. I drew the cat asleep on the sofa. I drew this pomegranate. I'll not bother showing you the others ... this will have to do!

And I'm going to blame part of it on the pens ... I kept having to throw them away and dig into my bag to get another! Seems that when they just sit for a while they dry up. Sheesh.

And I just HAVE to share THIS clever little idea from Design Sponge -- found via a link on Lorna's blog.

End of Summer

Well, summer is nearly over here. My watercolor class has been on summer break for the past six weeks and I haven't painted a thing during that time. That's kind of odd -- I normally paint like crazy when we're on break, but not this year. Like I've already said more than once -- and I'm not whining when I say this! -- things at work have been busy, and work and family have taken the whole front seat for a while. Now things are settling down a bit. Or at least I'm making a bit of a stand about it all now that I've laid the groundwork for a more normal schedule.

When I got to art class this morning I realized that I hadn't grabbed the right little stack of paper. Rather than my stack of 300# hot press I'd grabbed a miscellaneous handful of light weight hot press WC, cold press WC, drawing paper, and some unidentified paper, which I used today for fun . This paper is a total mystery to me. It has a wonderful soft hand and takes watercolor only OKAY, although it appears to be some sort of watercolor paper. It has a bit of a texture to it -- almost in a grid pattern, or like you would find in laid paper. Oh well. It was all about getting started again today anyway, so I made the best of it and did this little bit of a painting. What fun to get back into the groove!

Now I'm ready to clear the cobwebs off of the drawing table, clear the piles of miscellany out of my drawing area, fill a brand new palette with some fresh paint, and get back to work. Yay!

All Is Well

Today I did not suffer a chronically debilitating neck injury from holding my head at a totally weird angle trying to see my computer monitor, which is tiny and was perched up on an absurdly high hutch on the desk.

Today I did not suffer any painful injuries when I ripped same hutch from the desk, in a daring Incredible Hulk-ette maneuver.

Today I did not suffer severe electrocution from an electrical power strip that had been placed in a sink that, as it turns out, DOES still have water running to it -- and from it...

Today, so far at least, and it's been nine hours, I have not suffered and signs or symptoms of food poisoning from my lunch.

All is well.

All of these things really and truly could have happened today. While on my walk after work today, I called Diahn up on my cell and filled her in on all the hilarious and horrid details. When I got to the point furthest from my house, it started raining. Comedic cherry on top.

All is well!

I've been very busy lately, and haven't had time or energy to paint or draw. Work has quite literally doubled and I've been presented with a big new challenge -- and lots of little challenges, headaches, aggravations, and other various anti-perks. And I'm having a BLAST.

All is well!

I DO remember what today is. Do you? It helps put things in perspective. I remember exactly how I felt seven years ago today. There have been times in my life when I've been more frightened for myself or for a family member, but there has never been a time when I felt more frightened for our country. I have patients who can describe where they were, what they were doing, and who they were with when they heard that Pearl Harbor was bombed, and I always wondered how they remembered so clearly. Seven years ago, I found out. I remember still, and know that I always will.

Day is done,
Gone the sun,
From the lake,
From the hill,
From the sky;
All is well,
Safely rest,
God is nigh.

All is well. Life is getting back into balance and I'll be back with paintings and drawings soon! I love you all.