Summer........

... long hot days for nearly all of June 100+ days ... not really cool at night... no rain.. you may hear of rain in TX but not where i'am in TX... Remember last post i mentioned a Chalk Art Contest at the Museum... ? Well it was a whole Family Day thing.. Not one of us won at the Chalk Art but it was loads of fun! 

As part of Family Day we each got a slab of Air Dry clay to play with...  I could not think of a thing to make so i was looking around the room and saw a poster of a snail.. SNAIL!  and i eventually painted him my signature love copper... I think he turned out pretty stinking cute!! :)

This Summer i finally found something to grow in my Mother in Laws cast iron pot.. I inherited it from her a few years ago and i just LOVE it.. Last year i tried Petunias (I LOVE Petunias) and Sweet Potato Vine... they couldn't  handle the heat.. I don't know if it was just the Tx heat or i think the metal pot heats the soil up quite a bit... Anyway this year i bought Moss Rose or Portulaca... And so far.. 'knock on wood' it seems to be in fine form.. I may have just found the perfect plant for it.. 

AND my SunFlowers.... now these are special this year as these are the first ones i have successfully transplanted to where i wanted them.. the trick is... to get them young (the leaves are very easy to spot amongst the other weeds)  and just dig them up in a shovelful , not disturbing the roots !! very important... and just popping them in a hole you already dug... water in... they droop some  but give them a couple hours or by the next morning they pop back up.. whew!  Now i don't have to have them just wherever they pop up.. 

This is where i sit on my laptop....  mostly in the morning with my coffee.... Morning is my computer time... i watch videos of my favorite creators on YouTube and i like to sit there and draw or sketch my own thing while they ramble on... lol  I also visit my favorite blogs over coffee.. 

This is my current doodle after that Winged Alien MerMaid...lol  I used a mixture of Prismacolor and Crayola colored pencils... the Crayola does not blend as well as the Prismacolor with Gamsol but i just grabbed what i had on hand.. 

I hope your having a fabulous Summer....School is creeping up on us... this year BOTH my GrandLittles will be in school... little sad about it...less Grandma time :( but forward we must go... Thanks so much for stopping by ! Hugs! deb

Having Fun....

 

                    .........In My Sketchbook..... Asked myself if i had ever seen a MerMaid with Wings and the answer was no...lol.. Then my daughter loves all things Alien , so i gave it Alien eyes.. so yeah a little weird.. but thats okay it lives in my sketchbook... Torn between leaving the  background black and white... part of me likes that but the other part wants to color it in.. so we'll see.. 

                   Something fun tomorrow... taking part in a chalk drawing contest with the kids... at the local Art Museum... We each get an 18" x18" area to draw in.. I'll try to remember to take pics :)  Hope everything is well in your neck of the woods... Hugs! deb

PS  Oh ! If your wondering the above drawing is done in colored pencil and Faber Castell pen and a little gold pen but you can't really tell in the pic..  

GoodMorning.......

 

Sitting here having my coffee... hubby is puttering around making himself breakfast... I'm trying to come alive enough to get ready and go to Eldest GrandLittle's end of year Award Ceremony...  Above pic... remember the cast iron fairies i found at the huge outdoor fleamarket a little while ago?  After cleaning up and clear coating here is where they ended up... thats Moss Rose or Portulaca flowers... 

Eldest GrandLittle's Birthday is coming up  and i made her a card... This design is my 'go to' Birthday card this year... they are so fun and easy to make.. I even used an edit tool to erase her name... Hubby would be so proud... lol 

Driving around town the other day we came across this 'windup' car... HAD to take a pic...lol 

My latest Grandma Day with the Littlest GrandLittle was spent at the International Water Lily Park here in town... The man who collected most of these and made the park happen passed away a few years ago. Its good to see its being taken care of...  i was worried about that... 

This made me think of a doodle.... CJ if you visit... wouldn't this make a great doodle??? or little 'PacMans'...lol  

And last but not least .... this is a weed i found in my yard when we first moved here and i've kept the photo and forgot to share... Now tell me doesn't that look like little tiny watermelons??? lol I tried looking it up and i found suggested it was something called a Buffalo Burr or Creeping Cucumber... but the pictures don't look quite like what i have so i'm not sure.. I know i could use some app called a Plant ID but i don't have it but if anyone knows what this is please share.. Well i better go get ready.... ya'all take care and thanks for stopping by... Hope all is well in your World.. Hugs! deb

Rainy Visit....

 

Good Morning !!!  I'm sitting here having my coffee ..... caramel macchiato ...  I have my big , green , comfy , long sweatshirt on, old , holes in the knees , work around the house jeans on... Its 50 something degrees outside, misty rain... cloudy AND its the end of April in Texas... LOVIN' it!! Ofcourse its making my weeds/grass grow but i'm choosing to ignore that fact this morning.. 

We had Chinese Buffet this week... and i just love the two dragon statues they have out front.. For a long time they had large fabric bows tied around each one that were faded and ratty looking . Just recently they finally took them off and you can see the statues in all they're glory!

Even before the rain arrived the Octatillo around town knew it was coming.. Normally they just look like brown sticks... But let there be a little moisture in the air... even just a rise in the humidity level and they let you know.. green leaves sprout and the most lovely orange flowers...  I want to draw/paint my version of this ... stay tuned.. Right now i'm painting plates... show you next time.. Thank you for stopping by and if you leave a comment i double thank you!! :) Hugs! deb

Its Official!............

...........  Something of mine has officially been in a Gallery!!! Woot woot!!!  They asked me to put a minimum bid on it ... $75 was suggested so i went with that.. i mean i had no idea what to put... and one person bid $80.. whew... it sold... Hubby was prepared to bid the minimum and bring her home..  Just think she is hanging in someone's home right now..  :) 
 

Here is the little Coop Gallery... It was fun ... we got dressed up and hubby and daughter and the two GrandLittles we all went to see Grandma's art on the wall.. :)  Will i do it next year?  Time will tell.. 

 Thanks for stopping by... Hope you had a nice Easter if you celebrate... The Grandlittles had a blast... Grandma made them baskets... :) Hugs! deb

A Weight Lifted....

 

I have worked this to within and inch of its life... i so wanted to do a good job... and now here it sits with its clear coat and its done ... a little more than a week early... I quickly put the satin clear coat on so i would leave it alone...lol

                    Some close ups........

                     There are some things i would change but pretty much ....once you burn it your done... 

           I look at it now and i'm proud of it.... So i think thats a good thing to be able to say... 

Sometimes i think back to here... when i just had the flies and the lightbulb... this has its merits too... but at the time... my heart just wanted Mmmoooree...! lol So you could say i followed my heart.... and i hope somebody besides me likes it at the auction come April 3rd...  Hope all is good in your World.... thanks for visiting mine. :) Hugs! deb

Sometimes......

 

...... you just need a break from what your working on and do something else... I'am knee deep in shading the SkateBoard and nearing the finish line... where decisions on stain and clearcoat and hanging apparatus will need to be made... turn in is April 2nd... on display and silent auction April 3 at the Coop Gallery in San Angelo, TX ... any art not sold that day will still be on display and open for bids April 4th...   Soooo... I made a Birthday card in a style i've never done before, where you make the candles and put a piece of tape through the middle for a place to write Happy Birthday and perhaps the name ... i made one and loved and enjoyed it so much i made two.. !Have you ever made this type of card ? I used acrylic paint and markers... 

Hubs and i took a three day trip to Fredericksburg/Wimberley Trade Days/ and San Antonio... Such a great time... TX Mountain Laurels are blooming everywhere... and even though we are expecting some temps in the 30's next week Spring seems to have Sprung here...I had to run the mower today... uugh...  

We had our usual fried mushrooms in Fredericksburg and shared a plate of delicious baked chicken breasts and did a little window shopping up and down the streets... i enjoy that so much... 

Then on to Wimberley Trade Days... you could walk for miles on a curved pathway going up and down with stalls of people selling their wares everywhere... i belive 450 vendors... fabulous... food and stuff... and i found these two fairies for $5 each almost immediately.. 

               And i scored a coupld books.... $4 each... 

Then we drove our tired selves into San Antonio...now thats a harrowing experience if you don't normally drive in traffic like that but thankfully Ms. GPS got us there safe and sound.. This light picture is from the RiverWalk... i thought they were beautiful.. The RiverWalk was lovely but so so crowded... seems like anything we want to do anymore places are so crowded... And it doesn't matter if you go early or late or off season... just people everywhere.... and it does steal our joy of going places...  As much as we try not to let it.. 

I took this pic from our hotel balcony... Ever since i picked up drawing again what ? 20 years ago now.. what!!!!   architecture has always captured my attention... little details... curved surfaces... any way i just liked the shape of this building.. :)

And last but not least we had to bring home a souvenir for the Littles ... they are really into Hotel Transylvania cartoon... if you know you know.. this is Maevis... lol  ! They loved it ! Hope everything is alright in your World and thank you for visiting mine. Hugs! deb

Shading Begins.........

 

If your tired of the SkateBoard updates.. bear with me.... We will get back to the regularly scheduled program soon... not that my blogging was ever very regular...lol .. I have everything i wanted burned in... and now i have some very judicious shading to do... 

My family points out to me that its hard to see some of the flies... i'm hoping some shading will help that a little but honestly i'm ok if you have to hunt for some of them a little.. For me it was always 'only put flies and the light bulb on there' or 'load it up'.. I can see the merit of both options... As the 'artist' i had to make the decision.. and i leaned into it and Loaded it up!  I'm a little worried for the finished product... worried how the stain will take ... etc... But thats part of it right?!  I hope somebody will like it at the auction.. But either way i have to follow my heart... If nothing else i have learned THAT over my artsy/craftsy years...  Hugs! deb

Burning....

 

I'm done with another round of sketching... today it will smell rather burnt in the house.... i might open a window a bit.... cross your fingers for me...I'm still very much a rookie with woodburning... but i learn a little each time... I just don't need any 'hard' lessons if you know what i mean... lol  Hugs! deb

Popping in...........

 

...........to show you what i'm working on.... I've started shading but thats not shown... Here all the major parts are burned in....Love to know what you think..,    :)   Tax day.............   oy vey......... Hugs! deb

Doodling....

 

Coming out of the deep freeze... snow and ice is about gone... tonight we stay in the 30's F so i'll get a good night sleep tonight...last night low was 20 F so got up and ran faucets a couple times... tonight i can sleep like a babe.. .lol     

Porcupines are in the oven... haven't made that in ages but it will be good with some spaghetti noodles.. I hope i got it right... i tend to make adjustments to the recipes without noting it down... sigh... 

They adjusted the rules for the Stock Show Art Competition... they just now reposted the 'new version'... and i can't find one thing different... sigh ... I don't have much to enter this year... maybe the 'Magic Beans' just for giggles... I want to participate because my GrandLittle wants to.. :)  I really hope to get and keep them involved.. Take care... stay warm... Thanks for dropping over for a visit!!! Hugs! deb

'Knock on Wood'

 

We still have power.... the water is still flowing... and i'm tired.... setting my alarm and getting up every couple of hours to flush toilets and run the water then set back to drip... That system has served us well in the past... so we'll see... 

Now if TX will still do their job and keep my power on... Since about 5:30 am the power keeps flickering.... just for a couple seconds and then once or twice for a couple minutes...just long enough for me to worry and breathe a sigh of relief when it comes back on...  

I still see people out the window driving... Our road looks like a sheet of ice to me... We are staying put...We got anything and everything we could possible need.... not moving till maybe Monday afternoon but more likely Tuesday.. 

Still more weather to come or so they predict and more cold... This is not over by a long shot... although i will say the daylight makes me a little more optimistic for some reason....temp still headed down... 

The above picture i water colored while painting with the Littles... and i have enjoyed doodling and stamping on top of it... Great entertainment while your sending all your good thoughts to keeping the power on... LongJohns and oatmeal is the order of the day... maybe some tortilla soup in the crockpot...  i better get busy... Take care... stay safe! And i'll be checking back in here.... Hugs! deb

My First Try.....

                                     ..... playing with the fly....I have lots more ideas.... I think i'm even using them for Valentine's Day.. lol  Worst thing is to let an idea or drawing... sit in a drawer or sketch book... I like to see them out in the World... 'fly little one fly away!'lol 

My ArtJournal is almost finished!!! Maybe 10 pages left.... I wanted to touch on Halloween and Christmas before i finished... 

We are having our coldest night of the Season tonight... 20 F !!!! brr... nice warm up tomorrow in the 60F's... but i think i'll leave the water dripping tonight... Thanks for visiting!!! Love and Hugs! deb