Who Crawled?

Well, who sketch-crawled today? I'd planned on it, but then had to work this morning before WC class, and then this afternoon it was raining* so bad that, again, any painting would have just been blobs of grey. Maybe I'll make this a sketch crawl week, and really try to get out there.

And I would have had a really good time sketch crawling if I had an iPod Touch with the brushes app ... ooooh, do I ever have technology-envy on that one! I'm starting to save my pennies today. Give me a few months ... Just watch this great video:


There's even a Flickr group!

Sigh. I'm going to go try and mix up some pink paint now. Wish me luck.

*Rain, rain, rain -- boy do we ever need it! On the sidebar I'm celebrating by adding a link to a site that updates our favorite lake's level daily -- now that we're getting rain the lake levels aren't quite so depressing. It actually shows that it is up, are you ready, 4.2 feet in the past 24 hours. Yes. That is FEET. That's 50 inches. That's 128 centimeters. That's a fair amount of water!

P.S. I just found this link about the moon. If you don't have clouds where you are ...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20090109/sc_space/saturdaynightspecialbiggestfullmoonof2009

Bedtime

Do you ever pick up a book, planning just to read for a few minutes, and then realize that you've spent the entire evening enchanted and have, therefore, accomplished nothing at all?

Okay, so, so far the book Ireland by Frank Delaney is wonderful. There's nothing like a great story-teller.

'Nuff said. Happy Holidays, everybody!

Random Acts

I had the day off work today because I have to do work stuff all this weekend. Well, I kind of had the day off work. I didn't go into work, and didn't paid to work, although I did set up the computer on the dining room table, check the financials for two buildings for the day, update schedules for two buildings for the day, do a conference call, call both buildings, receive three calls about sicknesses and scheduling, over the course of the day received about eight more calls about scheduling and patient questions and billing questions and family questions and friendly venting about co-workers... anyway. You get the picture. This is what my days off are like during the week.

Which means I didn't get to do many of the things I'd planned on doing*, but one of my top things on my list today was to take photos of this really neat little old motor court that I pass regularly on the way to work. The morning light is usually just perfect for what I was after, and the day was clear, so off I went to get the shots. I DID get my main shot from the main highway as I approached (painting to come later, in the style of The Diner), but really wanted to sneak into the place and photograph those great shadows. Unfortunately, as soon as I made the turn, camera poised over the steering wheel as I drove, I got busted by the caretaker. BUSTED. He looked up and saw me and started walking over as soon as I turned in. It wasn't until that very minute that I realized that having someone taking photos of the outside of what just might be the no-tell-motel could be bad for business. So, as he came toward me, I stowed that camera real fast, smiled and waved at the same time that I reversed the car and pulled back out onto the highway. I guess I convinced him that I'd just pulled into the wrong place because he smiled and waved back. Rats.

So. What's my point? No point at all. Just RANDOM. And Diahn says all that needs to be said about WONDERFUL TRUE RANDOM ACTS on her blog today. I'm just going to shut up now and let you go visit her for the rest.

I'll do something nice for someone tomorrow.

(* Not only was I going to do the under drawing for THREE big watercolors, I was going to CHEAT and do a bunch of sketches in advance for the weekend, since I'll be tied up working. Never got to pick up pencil, pen, or brush. At least not for art. I did get to go shop for new tennis shoes and work-out clothes for my work this weekend -- I LOVE my job -- tennies are a fact of life, and sweat pants often are, too -- but I didn't get to go shop for the Thanksgiving supplies I needed or for D's Christmas present as planned. I did get the guest bedroom halfway cleaned up and laundry halfway done and supper cooked, but the rest of the house looks like it may have recently been burglarized and that the burglars tracked in loads of cat hair. Shame on them. Oh well. There's always tomorrow...)

Today

Well, like I planned yesterday, I'm playing with a landscape today, if that's what you would call it. It is of this little building that I pass several times a week -- an older building, an honest-to-goodness diner, with curved corners in front and glass block windows, siding and block painted white, with an old red sign -- a little diner with tons of character, especially in the evenings when the sun is hitting it just so. You know the kind of diner I mean, too. The kind that probably smells like bacon and has the best coffee in the world served in heavy white china cups while you sit on cracked shiny red vinyl seats. I've never taken the time to go in there, but I can imagine. Anyway, after passing this thing for years, I finally stopped a week or two ago and took photos of the building, noticing that the light was "just so" and knowing that I really had to paint it. And then, just a few days later -- just the other day, I noticed that the big red and white sign was gone and a "closed" sign was in the window.

I'd gotten my photos just in time, and that was a relief, but still... my little diner that I never went into was gone. Rats. So I'm taking my time with it now. I'm not rushing this little painting. I'm enjoying the diner the only way I can now.

There's more to my story, and this is the truth...

Yesterday, driving home from work I passed another great subject. It was another older building with a marquis sign up on a high pole. The glass on either side of the sign had fallen out and there were bare yellow and white light bulbs in the frame with the sky showing through the hole. I'd passed it many times and noticed it, but not with the same eye as yesterday. I even had my camera with me, but didn't turn around to take the photo, since I knew I could take it today. And today -- well today as I passed it with plans to pull over and take a photo, my turn around spot was blocked by a truck. A truck with a cherry picker and a man who had knocked out all the broken glass and removed all the light bulbs and, of course, was fixing the sign. That fast. GONE.

Moral of the story -- don't wait until tomorrow. At least do that sketch, take that photo, paint that painting, point that quirky landmark out to your friends or family. It just might be gone tomorrow. GONE. That fast.

See you tomorrow.

Far Far Away

Far, far away from here is a lighthouse. In Oregon, actually. But I saw the photo in my watercolor teacher's pile of vacation pics, and it was a gloomy day with no lighthouses or seashore in driving distance, the rocks looked interesting, and DH has been wanting a lighthouse painting for over a year -- ever since I gave one away to a friend of ours. So, I painted it. I THINK it's finished. The "unfinished" shoreline at the bottom just feels right to me, and I really want to leave it that way.

The plans for today are to meet up with Diahn to make a trip to Jerry's and then go do some sketching. Lighthouses are not on the agenda, but if we HAPPEN to run across one in Knoxville, we will most certainly document it!

And on a side note -- I've long thought that one can tell a great deal about a church by the way its members drive as they are leaving the parking lot. Think about it, people.

Music of the day -- Jack Johnson "Sleeping Through the Static" and "In Between Dreams" . Lovely laid back stuff. Thanks Diahn and others for the recommendation!

Good to be Loved

Isn't it good to be loved? Diahn gave me this fun award the other day. (Back at ya', babe! Thank you!) It took me a couple of days to finally figure out why I wasn't able to upload it (Attention Picassa users - see note at the bottom) -- which is probably why nobody ever gave me the "Smartest Blogger Award."

So -- now I'm to pass it on to a few folks, and think I should do it quick, before February, the month of LOVE is totally gone.

Annie of New Life Rising -- I just love her art and writing and her wonderful sense of humor. Her photography of butt shots would make a wonderful exhibition on its own.

Janey of Janey's Journey -- because, who DOESN'T love Janey? She has the best sense of color in the world.

Lin of View from the Oak -- who is always there to encourage and who also possesses a magic time machine that lets her do 28 hours worth of stuff in 24 hours. Magic, I tell you.

Teri of Teri's Painted Daisies -- who has really grown as an artist and who always encourages me, too. PLUS SHE LOVE THE PACKERS. Need I say more?

Laura of Laurelines -- who is just the best in all respects, although we are all on the edge of our seats, waiting for a drawing of a FOUNTAIN from Hawaii.

There are so many others ... just look at that list of links over there on the right. There ya' go. All those guys ...

(And, hey. If you notice that your blog is NOT listed over there, give me a bit of time. I'm working on updating my list from my bloglines, and am doing it s-l-o-w-l-y. Those little housekeeping details are not my strong point...)

Are there blogs out there that you love? Play along...
1. If you get tagged, write a post with links to your favorite blogs.
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the creator of the award, Emila.

Note to Picassa users. To view and use small images, you have to click on the toolbar and check that you actually want to see small images. I dont' know why. But there you are. See, this post is not only warm and fuzzy, but educational. You ARE getting your money's worth after all!

Personally, I think Picassa rocks!

Interlude

Well, I made a big milestone today. That is, if I last another 15 minutes or so.

Two years ago today, at 2:15 in the afternoon, after over 30 years of smoking, I QUIT. I haven't had a cigarette since.

I'd been wanting to quit, and had tried several times without lasting success. This time, however, I had the _____ scared out of me, when I couldn't breathe and the doctors all thought I was having heart trouble. YIKES! I'd been miserable all that previous week, and had really cut back on smoking, but this was enough to make me STOP. For the first time, I clearly saw/felt/KNEW that the pain far outweighed the pleasure. (That's the key to changing any habit, by the way -- pain vs. pleasure -- and if you want to know more about THAT, I suggest that check into this guy's stuff. )

I did it cold turkey, too. No patches, no nicotine gum, no nothing but willpower. I still have my half a pack of cigarettes in the drawer, by the way -- and I can start back any time I want to, but I have to start with THOSE cigarettes. Needless to say, they are pretty stale and nasty by now. I hadn't smoked in the house for many years, so I didn't have the problems of adjusting my habits by the computer or in front of the TV too much. My hardest time was in the evenings, around 8 p.m. -- I figured out that what I really missed was the hot bitter taste of smoking then, so I would make a strong pot of decaf coffee and take it out into the garage, sit down in my "smoking chair", and get my hot-bitter fix. It worked for me.

Other than remembering how TERRIBLE it felt to not be able to breathe, day by day I reminded myself that EVERY day I didn't smoke really did make a difference in my health. I kept these kind of facts in mind:

• Within 8 hours of your last cigarette, your carbon monoxide levels drop to normal and oxygen levels in the blood increase to normal.


• Within 24 hours of your last cigarette, your risk of heart attack decreases.


• Within 48 hours of your last cigarette, your nerve endings begin to regenerate, and your ability to smell and taste is enhanced.


• Within 72 hours of your last cigarette, bronchial tubes relax, making breathing easier. Lung capacity starts increasing.


• Within 2 weeks to 2 months your circulation improves, and walking becomes easier


• Within 1 to 9 months, coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue, and shortness of breath all decrease. The cilia RE-GROW in your lungs, which increases your ability to handle mucus, clean your lungs, and reduces the chance of infection.


• Within 3-5 years your risk of dying from a heart attack decreases to that of a non-smoker.


• Within 10 years your risk of dying from lung cancer decreases to that of a non-smoker. Precancerous cells are replaced with healthy cells. Other cancer occurrences, such as cancer of the mouth, larynx, esophagus, bladder, kidney, and pancreas all decrease.

Pretty impressive, huh?

I did gain weight. So what. I knew I would, because the actual effects of nicotine on your body cause it to work harder and burn more calories. It's like you suddenly aren't burning the calories you once were. Eating wasn't a big deal -- I made sure that I didn't substitute mints and gum for the cigarettes -- I substituted nothing but my evening coffee! I increased my water intake, increased my healthy foods, decreased my processed foods. I was more interested in generally getting healthy than in whether or not I stayed skinny. Plus I had this mysterious breathing-but-not-and-heart-but-not whatever going on, and it made strenous exercise difficult. Actually, about that time, I would have said that strenous exercise was IMPOSSIBLE for me. Something was going on and I was exhausted down beyond my reserves. It was just a matter of rest and recouperate. *

Now I'm no longer the skinny girl. I'm the chunky one. I'm feeling much better though, and am ready to kick it up a notch! Remember my goal of losing 10 pounds by the end of April? Well, I've lost 2 so far. Not bad, considering that, due to really nasty weather and a fairly annoying knee problem, I haven't been able to meet my exercise goals of walking 3 times a week and doing yoga 3 times a week. Still, I'm determined, and am really blessed with a hubby who likes me the way I am, whichever way I am, but is super supportive of healthy lifestyle changes. So, in support of good health, we bought an elliptical machine this weekend (a nice chunk of change, thank you honey for the early birthday present!) and I'm ammending my goals to using it daily, also walking the 1-2 miles whenever the weather allows, and getting the doc to take a look at my knee so I can get back into yoga without modifying most of the poses and squealing "ouch" a lot.

And, I've managed to type the 15 minutes away -- so, as of right this minute -- I have been TWO YEARS -- smoke free.

Cool.

(* I now think it was a case of mixed stuff -- chest wall pain, a sprained sternocostal joint, hormonal changes, and adrenal fatigue. It took a lot of research to figure all that out, and I had to do some arguing with my doc to NOT be on a bunch of medications that I know now I wouldn't have needed. Sometimes you NEED to rest, and I still believe that I was right.)

The Artist Is Exhausted

Well, it's been a busy weekend. Recently several other friends have shared photos of their art spaces, so I thought I would do the same, now that it's halfway presentable.

In my living room, where I also am set up to paint, I had a piano that I didn't play very often. This past Wednesday, it found a good home, giving me a little extra space and some good re-arranging options. I cleared everything out of the back half of the room, getting rid of a lot of junk and the art supplies I don't use anymore, sorting and shelving and storing the supplies I want to keep in a way that lets me get to them when I need them, and then started re-arranging furniture. I moved my drawing table to the wall where the piano was ...

... I moved the double sided bookcase straight across the room (it also kind of divides the room -- a custom job that I really like) and cleared most of the supplies OUT of my work area, saving the space for pens and pencils and whatever I'm actually working on at the time. The bookshelf used to be so stuffed full of stuff that I couldn't really get to anything. I was so surrounded that I couldn't think to paint. Now I feel like my head will be a bit clearer, and I'll be able to FOCUS better.

Here's the wall behind me, where the drawing table used to be. I got the two large pieces of foam core (they are 60" x 40") to clip artwork to so that I can see it and worry about it .... I mean, PONDER it. They are light weight enough that I can move them around easily and were cheap enough to throw away or cut up if they don't work the way I think they will. Psssst ... Laura ... see the stereo? :-)

I'll try hard not to giggle when I call it my gallery area.
(giggle)

Just around the corner is a large hall closet where I used to sketch and draw and wandered the dark side of scrapbooking, etc. I've reformed.

It had been piled with extra stuff, and tended to be the closet where things got tossed when people didn't know what to do with them or when company pulled unexpectedly into the driveway.

You do it, too... admit it.

It is still in the process of being cleared, but is mostly done and a lot of supplies have been put in here. I also have a place to plug in my laptop for work and do (shudder) "real" work.

Half the drawers are full of rubber stamps, souvenirs from the dark side. They are going up for sale, so if you are interested, e-mail me! I'm talking cheap!

The plan is to have it all neat and organized by the end of next weekend.

Still, I'm going to have to do a non-fish painting tonight or tomorrow -- but for now, I'm exhausted!

(Note -- I just call rubber stamping "The Dark Side" because it kind of "gets you". Some of my best friends are rubber stampers. And I'll be keeping some of my favorite stamps, I don't care if I ever use them again or not! ;-)

Round and Round

There were fun art plans for today but....

I spent hours late last night and again today fixing a problem with my eBay account. I sat the account up earlier this year to bid on one item, and haven't used it since, which is probably what attracted some nasty person to it. After posting here last night I checked e-mail to find 23 messages from eBay. Seems my account was "compromised" at about 6 pm last night, and within 5 hours "I" had bid on all kinds of cell phones and computers. The folks at eBay were VERY responsive to me when I contacted them via Live Chat and got it straightened out, but there were still more bids out there that had to be corrected this morning. Last night I had to change all my passwords for eBay AND for my e-mail account. I also changed passwords for several other user accounts out there ... just in case. Who knows how these creeps did what they did. I do know how to create strong passwords, these guys just lucked out or something.

Lesson learned -- Change your passwords fairly often, especially on important accounts. If you don't know how to create a strong password, read up on it and be sure you do. It ought to be a mix of upper and lower case, with some numbers and/or special characters thrown in, so a password like I'm2Tired4This! would probably be a good one. Also change your "secret questions" and pay attention to notices that you get. Also be warned that there are eBay "spoof" sites out there, so it's not a bad idea to review their security measures.

Other note -- since I never eBay anyway (and I'm NOT downing them -- they have done a great job helping me with this!) I decided to close my account with them. Little did I know that having an eBay account was a bit like getting married. You can set one up in a matter of moments -- it may take up to 180 days to close one. Wow.

I'm going to work on my flip flop painting for a bit tonight. I'm still not ready to show it. Instead, for your viewing pleasure, here is a shot of the carousel at Dollywood. It is a fantastical creation! Teri -- you would love this if you ever get to this area -- and hey, Diahn, the rooster is for you!

Rare Birds

This test was on Diahn's blog tonight, and of course, I HAD to take it. I guess birds of a feather DO stick together... weird, huh?

Your Personality is Very Rare (INTP)

Your personality type is goofy, imaginative, relaxed, and brilliant. Only about 4% of all people have your personality, including 2% of all women and 6% of all men You are Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking, and Perceiving.

How Rare Is Your Personality?

Captain Paul Dunn

First off, let me say that this is NOT a sad post. So please, don't think it is! I'll try to keep it brief, but I just have to write about this.

Today I got to attend a fireman's funeral. The fireman was Captain Paul W. Dunn, shown above with his wife Jan and their little dog Harvey. I took this photo of them just over two months ago, about the same time Paul, at the age of 70, went on medical leave from the fire department because of brain cancer that had progressed to the point where he could not work any longer. Since his diagnosis early this year, he and Jan have shared with us their courage in the face of fear, their joy in the face of sorrow, their ability to laugh and find the humor in life's sadder annoyances, and their very great faith and love. Over the past two days everyone has talked about Paul's good nature, even temper, great sense of humor, devotion to the department and to his family -- in other words, we all agreed that he was a good man.

Again, I don't want to get sappy --Paul wouldn't appreciate it at all! But today I got to attend a fireman's funeral. From what I witnessed over the past week or two, let me tell you all -- THERE is a fraternity. It's not just the stuff of movies -- it's real life. And I wondered, why ARE firemen like that? Then I thought about what they do for a living. Right off the top of my head, I can't think of any other occupation quite like the job of a fireman. They MUST become a team, a brotherhood -- their very lives depend on each other every single day that they go to work. And the honor that they bestow upon one of their own is something to see. I can't begin to describe the ceremony, but there was a 21-gun salute, a fly over by a local medial emergency helicopter, bagpipes and drums (including the solitary bagpiper who turned and walked away across the cemetery, still playing Amazing Grace), a last dispatch call to Paul on all emergency radios, sirens from fire trucks -- it just goes on. It was a beautiful memorial to a good man. It was a celebration of a good life.

So, this is to say "thank-you" to all the firemen, policemen, emergency workers, soldiers, and all the others who I can't think of to name, but who risk their own safety for the rest of us. We should say thank you more often. This is also to say "thank-you" to all the good nurses out there -- the oncology floor is a tough one and the nurses at St. Mary's were great. I know at least one of you readers out there is a pediatric oncology nurse (Marta!) and I don't know how you do it. Thank-you!

Again -- this isn't a sad post! It is a celebration! There will be some art coming along in the next few days.

But TODAY I got to attend a fireman's funeral.

Wow.

News Video

and Ceremony News Video

Obit

Way To Go Diahn!

Did I forget to mention that our very own Diahn has written a great article for Wet Canvas about sketchbooks and journals? Nah, I didn't forget -- I just didn't want it to get lost in the earlier shuffle! Yay, Diahn!

Get That Sketchbook Out and Use It!!!!

After the Art Show

Diahn and I are left standing happy! The art show last night went just wonderfully, with a tremendous amount of fantastic 2-D and 3-D art to be seen. There was a total of 140 pieces, approximately 110 of which were 2-dimensional. The weather was clear, the food was tasty, the flowers were beautiful, the crowd was elbow to elbow, and everyone seemed agree that it was one of the best shows the Art Center had ever had. And, when it came time to announce the awards, Diahn and I were especially honored and thrilled to each receive an award!

I received an honorable mention for my little watercolor "Other People's Stuff":

And Diahn received a third place prize for her fabulous mixed media painting, "Contemplation #5: Fear ":

(note: We both forgot to bring cameras last night, so we came back this morning to take pictures. We really looked much dressier for the real event....)

My little magnolia painting hangs under a beautiful portrait by John Houglam:

Diahn's painting with beautiful blue background was my secret favorite of all the paintings in the show -- yep, a real big secret! (Contemplation #6: Value)

But I think she thinks her self portrait is the best of the three she submitted. I think it's pretty GREAT, too!

I wonder what's next for us? Now that we're "award winning" (okay, we say that phrase to each other now just so we can roll around on the floor laughing until we cry, while spouses, family, and friends just stand around looking bemused...) what shall we do? We have to set the bar up a little higher now! We'll see -- for now, we're just having fun!!!

If you haven't already, go visit Diahn and tell her congratulations!

Double Tag

I'm posting this depressingly overworked bit of pastel because this is an art blog and I feel obligated to post a picture. Don't worry, I'm working on it. Newbies take heart! A new medium is TOUGH!!!

WHY I POSTED -- because I got tagged. Double tagged, actually, by Janey and by Jan, both wonderful art bloggers!

So, the tag is to tell 7 little known or odd facts about yourself (as I recall), and then tag 7 other bloggers to do the same. Since I don't very often say things like, "bah, humbug," and because I like games and never get to play them because SOMEBODY else around here does not ... somebody who shall go unnamed but who I married anyway... since I think this is really kind of fun, I'm going to play along.
;-) If I tag you, I hope you play along, too! (hmmm... now I have to think of seven interesting things...)

1) I once spent a week alone camping along the Gulf coast of Texas on up into the Louisiana coast, with no itinerary other than starting out in Port Aransas searching out whooping cranes. I wonder if it looked to some people like I kind of ran away from home, since I left my husband and daughter behind (although I called every single day -- and this was before cell phones.) It was one of the greatest trips of my life, and I'm really glad I adventured solo! Everybody should do that once in their life. (I was also very glad to get home!)

2) I'm addicted to Sudoku. I tried not to get addicted, but it happened. I even have a small Sudoku book stashed in the back seat of my car , just in case. I'm also addicted to books on tape...

3) Speaking of addictions, I smoked for about 33 years and quit a little over a year ago. (Specifically, 1 year, 3 months, 12 days, and about 3 hours ago...) I still have a half pack of cigarettes in my drawer, and will keep them. I'm allowed to start back anytime I want, but I have to start with THOSE. (They are pretty nasty by now, wouldn't you imagine?) I truly believe I will never smoke another cigarette again.

4) I've been the bride more times than I've been the bridesmaid -- that sounds really tacky, but I've only been a bridesmaid once (about 20 years ago), and I still have the blue dress with the big bow on the butt. Seems like I have one of the other bridesmaid's dresses, too. Up until a little over a year ago I could still fit into my dress. Now I can't. (see item #3)

5) So, Jan's afraid of grasshoppers; Janey loves grasshoppers, but doesn't care at all for ants... along the same line of conversation, I'm 100 percent terrified -- horrified -- mortified -- phobic!!!! --- about slugs. I shudder to type the vile word! YUK! I am, however, not at all afraid of snakes.

6) So, here I am not afraid of snakes, yet I'm the only person I know who's been bit by a snake not once, not twice, but three times. All three times the snakes were in the right, I was in the wrong, and they were just looking out for themselves! Fortunately none of the three were poisonous, or snakes might have moved down on my list of tolerable animals.

7) I'm blind in one eye. (Stick with me here -- there's a moral to the story) It happened suddenly some 18 or 19 years ago. I noticed a small grey fuzzy bit in my vision that didn't go away. That afternoon I went to a walk in clinic, thinking that maybe my contact lens had scratched my eye, and the doctor prescribed neosporin ointment to put in my eye, even though he didn't see any kind of scratch. This was on Friday. By Sunday morning I had NO vision in my eye -- total darkness -- and went into the hospital where I was diagnosed by an ophthalmologist with acute retinal necrosis (the retina just started dying -- they never found a reason!) With treatment, the necrosis stopped, and in time reversed. For a bit there I didn't have any color vision in that eye -- everything was really and truly black and white. Then one afternoon I caught a flash of something from that side, and turned to realize that I could see the color orange in a bowl of fruit on the table -- it looked like someone had colored over a black and white photo -- cool, huh! Eventually I got most of my vision back, but several years later some of the scar tissue began to contract and pull up and cause problems again. I ended up having to have laser surgery, which basically wiped out my central vision. Now, if I look straight at you with that eye, I'll see your shoulders and maybe your hair, but not your face. I have terrible depth perception in certain ranges, but since I'm fortunate enough to have peripheral vision so I'm good to go with distances. Still -- the moral of the story is -- TAKE CARE OF YOUR EYES! Don't trust them to anyone other than an eye doctor! Don't fiddle around and be afraid to have any change of vision checked -- if your vision changes, you need to consider it AN EMERGENCY!!! If I had gone to an eye doctor the day I first noticed the problem, I would have been treated so quickly that the whole incident would probably have been forgotten by now. Trust me.

Now -- let's think of who to tag next ... some are well known to EDM'ers (this meme is going around EDM pretty fast) but some may be new to you. If they are, stop by and say hello!

1) Diahn , mi amiga, who puts up with me in person on occasion, and who also happens to be an awesome artist! I went to her house the other day and was stunned to finally see her original paintings in person ... wow! (She's also one heck of a decorator.)

2) Lynne ,whose gorgeous pastel work just blows me away. I go look at her stuff regularly, and look at it REALLY closely so I can try to see how she does it! Lynne is Wally's sister, and I'd bet she could come up with seven very interesting things to say, if she decides to play!

3) Joey, who not only knows what the word quotidian means, but actually POSTS daily. I love visiting his blog!

4) Bonny, who has travelled a lot lately and told us a lot about it. I wonder if she can come up with seven odd things she's seen or done in her travels??? ;-D

5) Annie, who was one of my earliest visitors and is always supportive. She is a great photographer and writer!

6) and 7) good grief. I think everybody who might have time to play has already been hit. If you haven't yet, stick your name in here and get writing! :-D

Rushing

Spring has arrived in Tennessee in a great rush!

I've also been rushing along -- busy busy busy at work the past couple of weeks, but still painting (just nothing ready to really show.)

It is time for a self report on how I'm doing with my New Year's resolutions, though. Do you realize that the first quarter of the year is now gone?

(1) PROJECT -- 500 Objects. I don't know why 500, it just sounded like a good number. I will be drawing 500 objects over the next year and a half or so.
Gulp. Blush. Sigh. Well, I'll work harder at this one.


(2) I will be working more in pastels.
See small creek study above. See Item #3 below, too! Woo hoo! And for all you shoppers out there -- I bought some new pastels at the amazing April Blowout Sale at Jerry's. Yep. Sometimes it really IS all about the art supplies.


(3) I'd like to take an art workshop sometime this year ... I don't know where or in what...
Friday (yes, THIS week!) afternoon I attend a workshop by Jon Houglam on portrait and figure drawing. AND ... drum roll please ... the weekend of the 20th and 21st of April, a two-day pastel workshop with Paul deMarrais ... an artist whose work I've watched for several years now. I'm VERY excited!

(4) I WILL be hanging art for sale at the gallery at the art center. Period. I'm running out of room here...
I'm planning on entering a couple of paintings into a juried show at the Art Center in May -- we'll see how that one goes! There will also be a student show in July. I need to work on something else, too ... I guess this one is still an EARLY work in progress!

EXTRA -- GALAPAGOS in 5 years --
I've started to teach myself Spanish. Well, it's a start!


How are YOUR plans for the year coming along? I'd love to hear about them!

How to Get Into a Rut (And Back Out Again) part 2

(Feelin' Loon-ey -- colored pencil on color fix paper)

If I were a flower, I'd be a biennial.

Really. It seems like every two years or so, dissatisfaction sets in and I become very self critical. In the process, I will often quit whatever "arty" mode I'm in, not do ANYTHING for quite a while, then slowly start back.

TWO years are here now.

The Everyday Matters Group has been discussing "slumps" for the past few weeks, and it seems that a lot of people are experiencing the same problem. On the advice of several people, I bought Walking In This World by Julia Cameron (of Artist's Way fame) and am reading it. I've revolted and am NOT doing morning pages -- tried them before and they just don't work for me, but the book itself is a really good read. I've gotten loads of other helpful advice, and it REALLY IS helpful -- work smaller (like the example above, which is maybe 4"x6", or a tad smaller), change up mediums for a bit, try totally different subject matters, etc.

I'm trying all of them, but the best, most straightforward piece of advice may have come from Casey, who wrote:

"... As far as I can tell, there's no miracle cure except to keep slogging away -- one day it's over, and your work has improved all at once. If you stop working the game's over, at least for a while."

I think she's onto something BIG there. Maybe she should write a book, and title it "Slogging Away in This World" ...

:-) Thanks Casey!

And then there's the whole synchronicity thing ...

How to Get Into a Rut (And Back Out Again) part 1

Girl Studying -- pen drawing on legal pad at the coffee shop in February.

So, on the last post I promised to discuss my recent artistic slump and what I planned to do about it. This will probably take several posts. Be Warned...

How it all started -- or at least reached it's deepest low --

Sometime last year, Diahn and I decided that we really should at least TRY entering some work into shows, galleries, etc. We had one major hurdle, though -- no Artist's Statements! Yep. That was our biggest problem at the time. Everybody wants an artist's statement to accompany any work that is submitted. Sounds easy, doesn't it!?

The research began.

We read about how to phrase the artist's statement, happy with the advice that the wording should not be too "artsy" or esoteric, but short, simple, and direct. Later, of course, we were mightily confused when we read actual examples of artist's statements. I'm pretty sure now that we just got a hold of a bad batch of the things to begin with, but quite frankly, folks, some of these statements were just weird. Intimidatingly weird. They were about resolving social issues, political revolt, and dangerous furniture. I kid you not. And these people would never kid you -- they are some Serious Artists.

Diahn finally got hers done -- it is a beautifully crafted straightforward piece of writing. Nothing in it makes me worry that I'm not thinking hard enough about how horrible the world is or how I'm just too blind to see the wretched (and dangerous) inter-connectedness between a tulip dying in a vase, genocide in Africa, and my perilous bedcovers. HER artist's statement is happy. It describes her work. IT works. I would have just plagiarized the darned thing, but we would probably be submitting pieces to the same places, so that simply wouldn't do. For the first time I wished she lived in California -- then maybe I could get away with it ...

After six weeks of agonizing over writing my artist's statement, it became apparent that my lack of direction in this area had colored the rest of my life. Everything I painted or drew, everything I had ever painted or drawn, everything that I even considered painting or drawing seemed trite ... petty ... silly ... goofy ... lame ...

At our mid-February coffee meet-up I told Diahn, "I can't write an artist's statement because I AM NOT AN ARTIST." I meant it. Really. It was making me feel like THAT.

Smart girl that she is -- good friend that she is -- Diahn reached over, pulled the legal pad out of my hands, and said, "STOP."

She officially absolved me from writing an Artist's Statement.

I immediately felt better, and I feel better still.

So, here's my Artist's Statement -- not refined and ready for a gallery application, but it IS the truth:

"If I see something that makes me happy -- I chase it down and I draw it.

"When I see something that makes me smile, or makes me catch my breath for a second -- I sit down and paint it.

"Usually I paint the places, people and things that I know.

"Sometimes I paint the places, people and things that I wished I knew better.

"I do it because it's fun, it makes me happy, and BECAUSE I WANT TO.

"Take it or leave it."

Love,

Linda ;-)