First Snowfall

Hi everyone. As my mother used to say (I think she made it up) "Hello Mr. Rabbit, your tail is mighty white. Yes, by golly, it snowed last night". And it did! Only a dusting and it'll be gone soon but it was great to wake up to. The temp here is 38 degrees so it's not going to stay long. I know for you easterners it isn't worth noting but this could be all we get this year!

Catching Up for Now

My husband had an appointment at the VA dental office. It is in Prescott AZ, about 80 miles away so I packed candy and journal stuff to go along with me while I waited for him. The first picture is what I did while I waited. It's in the style of Alisa Burke who offers an ongoing class here.

I made a little travel palette to go in my journal in my purse. It takes up no room. In fact it sits inside my journal. It's made by cutting a piece of Sheer Heaven, a special plastic which can be used multiple ways as you can see here. I made it per the instructions found here. It worked really well as you can see.

And these are my latest pictures from Jane Davenport's class SuppliesMe. I plan on signing up for her next class!

Imaginary Trip to Italy

I have taken another Imaginary Trip with Laure Ferlita. We had a blast touring Italy. You could have fun too, taking these trips. I always learn something new. Sometimes I learn new things about the places we are "visiting" and I always learn more about painting with watercolor. There is an autumn trip coming up soon. Why don't you join me?

Mojave Green and Some More Self-Portraits

Oh, we had some excitement around our house this morning. Not good excitement either. I looked out about 15 minutes after I'd let two of our remaining dogs outside and this is what I saw. At first I couldn't believe I was seeing what I was so I called my husband over and he confirmed it. Another snake! This is a Mojave Green rattler which has two kinds of toxins, one for the muscles and one for the nervous system so the vaccines and antivenoms don't work well if a dog gets bit. Very, very dangerous. This one had 7 rattle buds so it was quite mature. At least we got this one before it got another of our dogs!

The other pictures are part of my ongoing self-portrait series with Violette
. I am not happy with my monkey face at all. My face needed to be out as far as the hair edges and then hair added beyond that. It would have made a lot of difference. Also, I think I have to watch the angle at which I hold a handheld mirror as it changed perspective on me and not for the better! Ah well, it's a learning process.

The second, blue and orange picture was done in ball point pen with watercolor added. I was trying to stay cool yesterday which I can as long as I stay indoors with the air-conditioning but it was 108 degrees outside. The official temp is never as high as we seem to get but we have three thermometers outside that all say the same thing. They are two different brands and in three areas of the yard so can they all be wrong? I think not. These were portraits nos. 7 and 8. I am quite a bit behind but that's okay with me. It's the journey, not the speed that counts here.

Hope you have happy events in your day!

New Pages

I am back home from California. My Skoshi dog is doing fine now that the blockage is gone from her intestines and I am catching up on blogging and some painting.

The bee picture was done because my youngest granddaughter has moved beyond truly loving all animals to including some of the insect world. She likes bees now even though her sister and a friend have both been stung recently. There is an avocado grove on the hill behind their house and the owner imported bees which have decided this granddaughter's swimming pool is a good water source for quenching their thirst after a hard day pollinating trees! Anyhow, I told her I'd show her a quick way to draw a bee so she and one of her sisters grabbed their composition book journals and we drew bees and daisies. They did a great job and I wish I had thought to scan in their versions but then again, this youngest granddaughter wouldn't have allowed me to share anyhow - she is beyond shy.

With nothing to do one morning while all the kids were doing schoolwork (being homeschooled), I drew one of the family dogs. This little dog is a rescue dog. She's perfect for my granddaughter and was dressed up in such a cute little dress. I had to try drawing her. Painting her was a bit more difficult but I think I got the gist of her down.

The last pic is of my Pandora kitty. She was sitting this morning, where she could see me, the dogs and the canary, Taxi. I thought she made a simple shape the way she was lying down so grabbed a Tombow pen and quickly drew her. Good thing I was being quick because no sooner than I began and she up and took off for a better spot leaving me to finish without my model! With this pen I just had to add a bit of water to have the essence of a painting. I thought it looked like a Chinese or Japanese sumi ink painting so I added a bit of origami paper and made my date look like one of their little stamps. The writing is a bit of haiku (minus the word Pandora) I made up for the page.

Now I have to catch up with some lessons I am behind on. Hope you all have a good day.

Poolside

Some days were cloudy and cool, some were cloudy, cool and rainy and some days during my trip to California were sunny and gorgeous.  This was one of the sunny days.  Mistress' son-in-law was kind enough to sweep the spider webs off the chairs by the pool so she could sit and enjoy the sunshine.  She thought it was too sunny and wished she'd worn a hat but I enjoyed all that sunshine. 

The kids decided to go swimming but weren't in too long.  A sunny day doesn't mean overly warm when a cool breeze is blowing.  The kids enjoy sitting in the spa and then jumping in the pool straight from it.  That's a bit too high a jump for me; I prefer the wide shallow steps at that far left corner in my painting.  The pool was actually a deeper teal color more like the tile work but I wanted the tile to show up separately so I took what my mistress calls "artistic license" and made it bluer (the pool has a very dark teal pebble lining).  The kids enjoy the cave.  I hear a bird is building a nest inside and I wonder if I was here when the eggs were laid or hatched if I could reach it.  Wouldn't that be a tasty snack?  This is sure a fancy pool and rather larger than the one we have at home.  You can see my pal Sarah in the one we have.  A bit of a come-down don't you think?  And we certainly can't both sit in that little thing at the same time.  A dog's life isn't always easy I can tell you!

Drat That Cat

We are back in Simi Valley. It's cloudy and cool but not so wet I can't go out. Once while I was out with Mistress but on a leash, I saw Ashley sitting in the front yard near some bright orange flowers. (Mistress says they are nasturtiums and we can eat them but I prefer her fig tree's leaves back home that she doesn't allow me to eat). I tried really hard to paint Ashley but she is just a fluffy hunk of gray. I also really wanted to chase her down but there is that issue of being on a tight leash, hmpph! When I am indoors I can't chase her because she hisses at me and that worries me just enough to keep me from trying it plus there are other cats in the house and I wouldn't want them to gang up on me. One of them, a black cat, weighs almost what I do or at least it seems that way and he takes a swipe with his claws at anyone who walks by so I don't mess with him indoors or out.

The bird was a different story. This time I was inside looking out while Mistress waited for her coffee to brew. She tried to take a picture of this bird we saw outside just sitting so nicely at leaping height on top of a shovel stuck into the ground (these people are finally working on the weeds) but didn't get her camera fast enough so I painted it from memory for her. Doesn't that bird look good enough for a quick treat?

I sure hope you are all having a great day. I really appreciate you all coming to see my pictures and hear how my trip is going.

Out Walking

Ah, today was a gloriously sunny, warm day. Just a tad of breeze, enough to carry so many wonderful scents (and a few less wonderful) to my nose. Mistress took me for a nice long walk. She tired out long before I was ready to quit but I have to cut her some slack as she only has two legs to my four!

We walked to a park where just a couple of kids were playing and through a housing area where we saw rabbits. No, I did not chase them. I am more dignified than that - at least while in the city! We saw a lady walking towards us and Mistress got excited. She said it was someone whose blog she reads and from whom she'd love to take a class on making books. Her name is Roz Stendahl I found out. She seems to like dogs well enough but I'm not sure she liked my pink hair coloring. (I'm not always sure I do either as I don't see any others this color although Mistress says there are a few). It was wonderful and when we got home we sat out back and I watched Mistress try to take photos (first she had to find some new batteries and then play with the focus thing a lot). Anyhow, I thought I would paint the lady we met in my journal since Mistress seemed to think it was a big deal. Hope you all have as wonderful a day as I did.

Having Fun - Mitzi

Hi everyone. Mitzi here. We are having a good time so far. As I mentioned before, the weeds surprised me. We get them in Arizona in the spring but never so big and tall! Tena has been weeding pathways through them for her kids but we dogs sure appreciate it too since we have to make several trips out there everyday. I drew a few of the weeds that are growing but I don't really know what the names are for them. One is just some kind of grass. I know because that's what it tasted like when I tried it.

A German Chocolate cake was waiting for Mistress when we arrived. I got a chewy bone of some sort. I get lots of doggy treats here but not as much of table food as I get at home. Change is good I keep telling myself.

Everyone has gone off to Disneyland now so Mistress and I are taking good care of my new friends Buddy and Lolli, the rabbits (they are fun to watch and so much fatter than the bunnies running around my yard at home), the cats and the birds. This house holds more animals than at home. It even has 4 children but like I said, they've gone to Disneyland. I'm trying hard to do a good job. I bark if anyone comes to the door. You never know who could be there so I want to make sure Mistress is warned. She'd rather I barked just once but I like to give a bit of warning so she just has to get over that nonsense and let me protect her the best I can.

I wonder what else we'll be doing while we are here. I hear she'll take me for a walk to see more than just this neighborhood. Stay tuned.

Mitzi's Trip - Day One

It was a beautiful day for a trip. The sun was shining and it was warm. I jumped in the car as Mistress was loading it. I sure didn't want to be left behind! I worried most of the way that she didn't bring any food for me so when we got to Tena's house the first thing I looked for was my bag of food. I was so relieved when I found it.

It was a great trip; we only hit a few slowdown spots on W210. Some nasty old guy honked at us when we had to brake suddenly when everyone in front of us stopped suddenly. He should have seen that Mistress had no choice but to stop fast. That part of the trip made me nervous. I enjoyed the bits of Sausage McMuffin Mistress saved for me and I enjoyed getting out at the McDonald's in Barstow to walk on the newly watered grass and get a drink from the bowl of water she brought for me.

Then I saw, and I haven't drawn it in my journal yet, a bridge going over the freeway with lots of little trees on it. I thought how my boyfriend, Pierre would love to walk across it stopping at each one of those trees as the boys like so much to do. I'll have to draw that to show him when I get home but first I was so surprised at the weeds growing taller than me in Tena's yard from all the rain they've had! I am busy drawing them right now. I'm sure I'll have lots more to tell you soon but right now it's time to visit with Buddy and Lolli-pup!

Mistress says to say hello to everyone and thanks you all for the good wishes for a safe trip.

I'm ready - Or Not!

I have my new journals ready for my trip and classes. I have one for Laure's upcoming class (The Imaginary Trip To The Garden where there is still openings available). It has the butterfly on it. I have the blank white journal for Mitzi the pink poodle to decorate and write in for Roz's International Fake Journal Month

and I have one with a bird on the front filled with 90# paper, both hot and cold-pressed to see if I like working on it. This should cover me for my whole trip and more.

The reason for the second picture showing the bottom edges of the journals is to show you what happens when you don't want to waste the cardboard so cut it where it will barely fit. The journal with the butterfly barely fits in the cover. It saved me a lot of wasted cardboard but I will not do this again. I'll probably have worn or dirty pages later because I tried to save a few cents. The journal on the right is much better and I will do it like this from now on. Sometimes it doesn't pay to skimp.

I also have a large bag full of my art supplies, some knitting and I even have my suitcase almost filled with clothes. Still have to pack up my computer but I am waiting till the last minute for that. So I am almost ready but I always hate leaving home and most of my pets even though I'll enjoy the trip. So I am almost ready but not quite!

Fake Journal Month for 2011 and A New Class

It's time for Roz's International Fake Journal Month again.  You can find out all the info by clicking on the button (I can't seem to remember what the clickable pictures are on the sidebar) of the blue dog on pink background over at the top of my sidebar or you can just go here.  Just be sure to scroll down and maybe even go to previous posts to read the whole thing.  There is a description at the top of the blog but if you want to join in do read the whole thing.

I am going to be Mitzi, a pink, standard poodle who happens to be very unusual in that she can do art but hey, my family insists I live in lala land and if that's true then I get to decide what dogs can or cannot do in my world.  I decided that although I prefer toy poodles, I do not want to keep my nose to the ground for a month.  I want to be able to see what's on the table at least!  So stay tuned and we'll see how this goes.

I'm going to be in California for most of the month and I am also going to be taking Laure Ferlita's newest class "An Imaginary Trip To The Garden" so I believe Mitzi will be seeing lots of interesting stuff.  I think Laure still has some open slots too so why don't you join me in both the Fake Journal Month AND Laure's new class?

Ireland

Wow, was this an exhilarating trip! We went all over Ireland visiting so many types of places from cities to the countryside to the seashore. Ireland is a land of many beautiful sights.

I've shown almost all the pages I painted for this class. These are the final versions after corrections or enhancements were made after the gentle critiquing from Laure was done. I still need to come up with a cover and I am not showing one for which we didn't have permission to share our work with anyone outside of the classroom. (I guess that means if you want to know what it was, you'll just have to take the class and remember that is with Imaginary Trips with Laure Ferlita as the tour guide).

If you are wanting to paint flowers, keep an eye on Imaginary Trips as I do believe there is going to be a class for that soon.

Playing Around

I was playing around by first adding some leftover paint to the pages by sliding a credit card with the gold paint down the page and then later adding blue circles. On another day I stamped a red checkerboard pattern in pigment ink and then worried it wouldn't dry so I embossed it with clear embossing powder.

So far, so good but now what? I left the pages open for a couple of days and then saw a post on Carol Sloan's blog
that gave me the finishing idea. I used her tutorial to make my dialog boxes and then filled them with quotes I'd been saving. All but one of the boxes that is. That tiny box got filled in when I realized I had done all the quotes upside down on the pages! I have a tendency to do this upside down trick in many of my journals. I guess I get caught up in what I am doing and stop paying attention to anything beyond the page! So the tiny box made note of my error and now the page is finished.

I really like the idea of doodling an area that can be filled with something later on. Thanks Carol for the idea.

Ficus carica - Say What?

A while back I read a neat post on Jacqueline Newbold's blog Art in My Heart, Jacqueline Newbold titled Watercolor Vignettes from Ponet; a Peek inside my Watercolor Journal.  You can find it on the sidebar (I couldn't copy the post address itself).  Anyhow, she showed how to precolor the background.  I did it but I made one big block of color and then didn't quite know what to do with it.  Until the other day that is, when I wanted to draw my poor, new fig tree. 

I got the fig tree for my birthday back in November from my son.  It is a plant that will only grow about 3 feet and can live and produce fruit indoors.  That's important because the animals will kill the tree outdoors and/or steal all the fruit.  I got it potted and placed it in a sunny window - right at cat level!  I had no idea my cat would chew on all the leaves.  I didn't think the tree would survive but it finally sent out some new leaves and I wanted to draw it to commemorate the occasion (by the way, the plant is in another window now on a tall stool the cat can't share).  I remembered this page and thought I'd give the sketching and overpainting a try.  I am real happy with how it turned out.  The paper is not my favorite but I have it in one of my sketchbooks so need to use it up.  It soaks up moisture like a sponge and doesn't warp but it doesn't always allow for detail to show either so some penwork helped out a lot here. 

If the idea of an indoor fruiting fig sounds good to you the link to buying one of your own is here.  It was under $20 when I got it, not a bad deal.

Playing Around

While making the cards in the Valentine class I mentioned in the last post I made some practice roses and didn't want to throw them away. I kind of get attached to my work practice or not (except when it comes out reeeeaaalllly bad). So, I painted and gessoed and collaged in my practice bits and then filled in with writing. I would have to say this was pure fun. I didn't have any real project or outcome in mind when I started. I just didn't want to throw the roses away. So I played! And this is the result. I'm rather pleased with myself just now. Hope you enjoy the page too.