Hello There, Ya'll

Well, it's been a fun summer so far. The hubby and I spent the past several weeks working on creating artistic birthday presents for a very, very special friend. She loves and appreciates handmade gifts , so each year we try to come up with something new we know she will like. This year, DH made her a polymer clay bear, not only as a gift, but as a reminder of how much we love her. I couldn't post it before, but she has it now and loves it.

You may remember that we did dragons for her last year, so I carried through with that theme and did a drawing with watercolor markers and gel pens. It turned out really cute, and I had it framed so all she has to do is hang it.

We had a blast working on these projects and knowing that someone really likes the gifts that you made means a lot. Happy Birthday Peg-Peg!

We went to several Independence Day events and even though we took lots of pictures, I haven't posted them yet. Everyone (meaning me) was so hot and gooey, that I don't know that I will, but as they say here in the South, "a good time was had by all".

I'm not sure whether it was from something I ate or a mean old bug, but twice this week I have felt poorly. Tuesday, I just felt yucky enough to go back to bed. Wednesday I felt good, so the Sweetest Hubby in the World took me to the mall. After leaving our keys one place and having to go back to get them and then leaving my shopping bag at the mall and having to go back again and finding it, we finally made our way home. Then, after a quick trip to the grocery store, I settled in and finished another painting. Lo and behold, this morning I woke again with what we call "the tricky gut". You probably know what this means and how it makes you feel. Now, I feel fine, so I just don't know what was causing it. Sheesh.

My sister, Peri (you may have noticed her in my comment section) helps me with my pastel work via long telephone conversations. She suggested that I paint something I know, something I see everyday, like my woods. We have lots of trees around us and I really need to practice on trees. My first step started with a quick drawing on a sketch pad. Hard to imagine a scribbled drawing like this will ever end up being recognizable.


Then I took reference photos, one in black and white, to show values and one in color to help jog my memory.



I used an 18" x 24" sheet of watercolor paper for the finished picture and after a while this is what I came up with.

Every painting I do teaches me something new. On this one I learned a very important lesson, don't forget to touch up your light area before you spray your final fixative. I'm quite happy with it though.

Another thing I have learned by reading various artist magazines is a neat way to store pastel painting until you have them framed. Check this out...

If you use wooden pants hangers, they grip your art securely and leave enough room between each piece to keep them from touching. This little tip could be applied to lots of things, like hanging up fabric and other things.

Well, that's it for today. I hope all of you are feeling well and not suffering from the heat. We hit 100 yesterday and that's reason enough to stay in and keep cool.

We'll talk soon, enjoy your weekend!