happy halloweenie!!!

Last week I had 10 and 11 year old girls come to my house and decorate little pumpkins.  We only have 1 hour to do these things.  So how do you clean out a pumpkin and carve it in that space of time?  You can't unless they are a lot older.  Anyway, I just went into my studio and scrounged for materials to decorate.  I have an abundance of sequins and beads left over from the prom dresses that I hand beaded and sequined for Gracie.  So that's what we used.  Oh, there were 2 girls that couldn't come-so I made a few.  It was very very fun and they loved it.  Then the highlight of the whole project was that they had to deliver them to a "lady in need" in our neighborhood to cheer her up.  It's such a good project.

I hope you will all have a fun and safe night! 

Step 2 and 3 of the new painting

Okay.  So today I put a heavy wash over the brilliant underpainting of red orange, plum and magenta.  Today's wash consists of white, cerulean blue and ultramarine blue.  This is the sky that will be behind the leaves (of course).  Even though not much sky shows through it's nice to do this first so you don't have to add the sky later as an after thought. Notice I'm careful to let the underpainting show through because I want the redish hue to remain as the underpainting of the green leaves and green parrots.  You know the complimentary color of green is red.  So this will give the painting life by allowing the red to barely show through.  I'm also going to do another underpainting on top of that.  And I haven't even gotten to the drawing of any objects.  Now you can see why my paintings take such a long time.  Yes, it does take a lot of patience to go through this and it's hard when I want to start on the beautiful parrots!

I've been using this method for about 20+ years.  I was always a "get it done" artist before and this was good discipline for me to make myself do.  It just pays off to do the outlying areas of the painting before you get to the main subject.  That way you won't have to be careful painting around things.

I had a few minutes more to spend on this before work.  So I did step 3.  Remember what I said about doing the things that should be done first?  Well, I didn't listen to myself (see-now don't you feel better-I didn't listen to my own advice).  I started in with an orange underpainting for the leaves and said, "Uh oh".  I noticed I should have done the branches.  Off came the orange and I did the UP (underpainting) for the branches.  I noticed that they're kind of an orangey brown.  So I thought blue would be great as the UP.  Then I decided I wanted to be a little more creative on that and I did a cerulean turquoise (my fav color, you know).  I know I'll have to add some bits of branches later but this is a good beginning.  

What to do when your white shoes have turned yellow and you're on hold

ANOTHER beginning project (as if I need another).  But but but this is a practical one.  I bought these very pretty white sandals last year and they were/are so impractical.  Never buy white sandals that are made out of canvas material and expect them to remain white.  It doesn't happen that way.  If you could look at the bottom of the shoes you would see they have no wear and that's because they've hardly been worn at all.  Can you believe that the stupid things pick up every little bit of dust, etc.  So, fussy person that I am, I have tried everything to get them white:  cleaners, toothpaste (yes, that works on Keds), putting them out in the sun on a very hot day.  All it did was turn them yellowy.  I think the glue has something to do with this.  Sooooo I decided to use some Sharpies and turn them into funkadelic sandals for next year!  These are new tropical colors and I'm having so much fun coloring when I have to wait on the phone.  It might not turn out the best but, what the hey?  They were going to be worthless anyway.  So, I'll let you see them when I'm done.

By the way-notice my trusty sketch books in the picture?  I'm using some patterns that I made up a while back.  Waste not/want not the trusty designs!

Here we go again.....

I just thought you'd like to see the beginning stage of my new painting that I'm doing for my sister.  She and her husband love birds.  So I went to the zoo a while back and found some beautiful green parrots to paint.  Can you see that now with my underpainting?  Probably not.  But that's what this is going to be.

Okay.  So I went to the store to buy some lemon pepper and it was outrageously expensive!  So I thought, "I'm making my own!"  Hence, the bowl of ground up lemon peel.  I tried drying some first and it wouldn't even grind in my food processor it was so hard.  So I decided to grind it first.  Then dry it.  It's going to be great.  I just know it. Our family goes through a lot of it.  It's so good on raw veggies like cukes and tomatoes.  I cover a turkey or a roast with it before baking.  It's wonderful on cooked green beans.  We just use it all the time.

The last pic is of some beautiful flowers from our garden.  I just had to show them.  You know, I'm becoming a huge fan of gazanias and blanket flowers.  They are my 2 new favorites.

drawings that flow and move

Just another drawing from my sketch book that I thought you'd like to see.  I never know where I'm going with these things, my doodles, until I see something begin to develop.  I've always liked the way this one turned out.  I think it's because of the movement in it and the "anyone" quality.  We don't see their faces and it could be anyone that you would like to imagine.  It has an old fashioned feel to it-like the old melodramas in the 1800's.  That's why I entitled it "Old Fashioned Actresses".

cool cool art made from photography paper and clips

 

I just had to show all of you this really really neat sculpture.  It's so beautiful and you've got to see the rest of it on my daughter's blog, http://blog.shoplet.com.  There are more pictures of the whole project that are unbelievably beautiful.  I wish I had thought of this.  In a way it makes me think of Chihuly.  He does the most incredible glass sculptures.  When we had the 2001 Olympics in our fair city of Salt Lake they had an exhibit of his work in Symphony Hall downtown.  After the Olympics they purchased one of his sculptures.  It's fantastic and is in the entry way.  It sure is a talking piece that I never tire of.  Come to think of it we saw a show, probably on PBS, of his workshop and how they blow the glass.  If you can locate that you'll be very entertained.  It's so dangerous!  I don't know how they do it.

The "Bathtub" Porsche and my coolest car! Wish I still had it!

The '65 "Bathtub" Porsche

Well, this is not the greatest of photos but it's very old and second generation.  It's glued in a scrapbook.  Anyway, I came across this today and realized that I haven't ever posted a picture of it.  It's actually my cool car #1 as I also had an '66 MGB (same color) just out of high school.  That one has to be #2 because it roasted your legs in the summer (engine was over them) you had to spray starter fluid in the carborater (is this not spelled right?  Even spell check doesn't know) before starting it every time-even after sitting for 10 minutes and it had no syncro mesh.  The lack of the syncro mesh made it so you had to double clutch when down shifting from 3rd to 2nd and this is the car I learned how to drive with a stick shift-I was very good at it but it took a while..  

The Porsche was a true joy to drive.  Even though it was so old (I had it in the end of the 70's and early 80's) it purred like a kitten and you just couldn't help but feel like you owned the road.  Unfortunately it was NOT a good family car and everywhere you parked it someone would steal or attempt to steal every thing off of it.  It also was never the same after the drive to Yuba Lake in Utah over a sandy dirt road.  It got into the engine and it never was the same after that.  My first husband and I had to take it to California to sell it and get a good price after many hours of work getting it back in good condition.  

So, I did have an opportunity to drive like a race car driver and enjoy every minute of it!

The White Queen

Okay.  So this is really ridiculous but here I am as the White Queen from "The Chronicles of Narnia".  I am so tired tonight after being on the phone for work, nonstop, for 9 1/2 hours.  I just don't know whether I'm coming or going these days.  But I love Halloween and dressing up.  This was from my old work place, the dental lab, and I really got into this costume.  A week before Halloween I put a punch bowl on a desk with a plate of candy (was supposed to be Turkish Delight) and didn't tell anyone what it was for.  It was the introduction to my costume.  If you've not read or heard the story-the White Queen is a meanie and keeps a little boy prisoner by feeding him Turkish Delight candies.  This costume was probably more fun to make than to wear-especially the crown.  It was a special challenge.  

So HAPPY HALLOWEEN (I'll be working the whole time at the call center.  Do you feel sorry for me?  No?  You shouldn't because I ended up doing this because I traded so I can be with my daughter and her husband when they came to visit).

P.S. I look so plain and pale because I had white mascara on and everything else was supposed to be washed out looking.

Kyra smiles!

Only time for a quick post today but just wanted to show our little granddaughter, Kyra.  This is the first real smiley picture we have seen of her.  Can't wait until Christmas when they are all coming.  Then we can see the smile in person.

Forrest and Anne Walden-2 remarkable people

As I was searching through my pictures I came across this great old photo from the 1960's of my grandparents.  Actually Anne was my step grandmother but since I never knew my biological grandma, Clara, Anne was just the same.  Anne and Forrest were married in their later years after Clara died of breast cancer when she was 62 (and I've been told she was an incredible person also).  Anne Critchelow had never been married before.  They were married, I believe when she was in her 60's.  But they grew up just down the street from each other.

If you think that some women are brave and tough then you never have seen the queen of them.  When Anne was a young woman she went to Johannesburg, Africa, in the early 1900's to work as a secretary, all by herself.  We loved to sit on her stool that she had gotten from an African tribal leader.  I wish I knew what happened to it.  Anyway, this lady was like an Auntie Mame.  She always drove a Chrysler Imperial, had big floppy hats, a cigarette in one hand, dachshunds at her feet and a "dearie" out of her mouth.  What an influence she was on me.  I remember one time reading a book to her and I said I couldn't read the word.  She told me that I should never say that-that I could do anything I wanted to.  Anne would quit smoking only to start up again because she had gained too much weight.  What a character she was.  I just loved her.

Forrest was a self made man that lost his father when he was very young.  He used to deliver his mother's baked goods in his little wagon.  He started out as office boy at Strevell Patterson Hardware in Salt Lake City, Utah and worked his way up to president.  I remember sitting at my grandparent's home and strange men would come to the door.  My grandpa was always giving them money.  He helped everyone.  Nobody loved his dogs like grandpa or played the piano more beautifully, by ear, than he did.  He never had had a lesson.  I loved their house.  It always smelled wonderfully of pipe tobacco.

Such memories.  But  I think that my siblings and I turned out the way we are in many ways because of Anne and Grandpa.  Or as we called her "Annie Wannie".  Wow.  I can't wait to see them again some day.

this is part of my day-how about yours?

Every day when I look at my email and sometimes more than once I go to this site.  If you click on the button it automatically gives food to an animal.  My nephew, Forrest, told me about it and he's a hawk for phoney sites/emails.  So I knew it must be reputable.  Anyway, as I get older and older I love and respect animals even more.  You might want to Bookmark this and make it part of your day.  The site has other worthy causes to take part in also: The animal rescue site.

Grace and Dave are here! Skyping with Kip and Brandon

Just a quick posting of us all at Bucca di Beppo, an Italian restaurant near here.  We had a great time and ate way too much rich food.  Dave got an AP for his IPhone that's a calorie counter.  I don't think anyone will finish the leftovers now that we know what we ate last night.  I ate one ravioli and thought the whole time-yikes. 

Saturday night while the guys were in a church meeting Gracie and I went through her room to try to get rid of stuff.  It was ridiculous how much junk was in there.  But will be great for someone else.  We also Skyped with Kip and Brandon.  It was great.  Gracie hadn't seen them, except in pics, since her wedding last November.  It's hard to watch Brandon because he's like a twirling top.  A cute twirling top.  I'm so glad for the technology now to keep in touch but it doesn't make up for actually being together.