I fell asleep while crocheting, which was what I was going to take a picture of…

So, I took a pic of it this morning, first thing, just to keep the groove alive…

And then, all day I’ve been painting.

So today’s picture has to do with painting.

In January, I vowed to make at least 5 handmade things to the first 5 people who vowed to do the same, and post the same vow as their status.

Today, I finished the first painting which I am giving to one of those people.

It started as a failed attempt to do something, and turned into a great texture for this…

Here’s the painting halfway done…

Here’s where I started this morning…

Tomorrow,when the painting is fully dried and signed, I will post a better picture of the finished piece.

What do you think of it?

Anyway, I was going to take pictures near a friend’s house, which is a very picturesque area, but my gps was messing  me up, and I ended up having to call her, and pictures went out the window.

So, I decided to play around some more with the whole light painting thing.

I think I found a great tool for it, and it worked quite well.

Here’s the best one…

A little love to my friends, and family who’ve helped me stay sane this month while Fabio has been away!

Some love to my prince, who will be back in 5 days!!!  It can’t come quickly enough.

a little g(me) in a circle.

Here it is…

This was a challenging project in more ways than one….

I started this “Country Life” Series last fall, and once the weeks started leading to Christmas, I learned to crochet and completely abandoned my paintings in ordered to make crochet Christmas gifts.

It was also challenging because I had nowhere to paint.  If I painted on the kitchen table, I had to move everything else that belonged there.

The last thing which was hard to overcome was one concerning the material.  I was trying out a new kind of board.  It’s sorta like an illustration board, with a “texturey” clay surface. I thought it was going to be really great, but while it was super sturdy, the texture didn’t work too well for watercolor.  It didn’t flow very well….  I don’t think I will be using it again for watercolor, but I am happy with the end results.

So, this painting, as well as all the other pieces in the gallery are available for sale, unless they belong to a collection.

If you’re interested in one, or would like to talk about a commissioned piece just for you, drop me a line.

I’m almost done with the barn and corn watercolor.

I spent some late night hours painting today, and it was fun.  Sometimes it takes me forever to get to the “drawing board”, but once I’m there, I love it so much, I wonder why I do this to myself.

Another thing about this painting is that, I am using a new surface.

Instead of the typical watercolor paper, I am using an aquabord.  It’s a composite surface that acts like watercolor paper, but it’s mounted on a masonite board.

I’m still unsure whether I like it or not.  It sure is different than paper.  The good news is that it doesn’t buckle.  The other thing is that if I do it right, I don’t even need to frame this piece.  The thing that is hard is that the surface allows you to go back into the color and lift it up.  But it doesn’t soak in the water and pigment, and so it takes some getting used to.

Here’s what it looks like as of now:

(click it to see it large)

Here is a chance for you all to see it too.  Let me know what you like, and if there’s any last things I can improve on.

You can also see the scale of this thing with me standing there.

Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers.

Little did I know what I was getting myself into.  I had said yes to painting, and leading other volunteers, to paint the backdrop for the Easter Musical which the choir and drama team will put on.  I had no idea it would be over 11′ x34′.  That is 11 feet by 34 feet, people.  Say it with me, “that is gi-hugic!!”

Anyway, not only that, but the choir director didn’t have much else to say other than to tell me they wanted it done on some sort of material so that they could reuse it–oh, the pressure!  And that the pastor would give me a picture of what he wanted.

He soon handed me a picture of old Jerusalem which he’d found, and said that was what he wanted.  He wanted it to be dismal, and of course, that is when I learned the size of the thing.  I would have to adapt this scene to fit this long landscape horizontal shape.

I worked on the drawing, and showed the pastor, to which he seemed pleased.  It took me a while to find a place to buy the material from.  After doing a couple days worth of research, I settled on using a muslin.  I would paint it on the floor, and it would get hung up afterwards.

The muslin’s arrival was delayed by several days, and when it did arrive, it was apparent they sent us much more than what we paid for.  That was okay, but this is when my work began.  I set out with a helper, to cut the fabric after having to use a big tape measure twice for the length.

After cutting, Pastor Tim hung it up on the gym wall.

Then we got the projector set up and pointed to see what size my drawing needed to be once on the fabric.

Armed with a big fat permanent marker, I set out to trace what I had prepared.  After a few adjustments, I got going in stride. 

Within an hour and a half, I had the whole thing sketched out, to the surprise of many.

I’m sore from climbing on the ladder, and squatting alot as I sketched.  The pastor liked it, which is really the one I’m aiming to please on earth, besides myself.  I pray God is pleased with my efforts and my service.  The outcome is less of an issue for God, I think.

I also searched throughout the many nooks and crannies of the church for leftover paint.  I have many cans which I will attempt to use and make interesting colors from, tomorrow.

Friday the painting starts.  I will have volunteers willing to help.  I’ll have more pictures friday or saturday.

Keep praying for our efforts.

So for the first time in a loooooooooong time, I had a big chunk of uninterrupted time.  And I decided to work on my painting.

It felt really good to have that time.  I felt like I was able to start to get into a zone.  I’m looking forward to more days like that.

Here’s a close-up picture of some of my progress..

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There’s still much work to be done to get it finished, but this day felt like a nice chunk got done!

And thank you Mrs. Hitch for taking Phoenix!

The barn/garage has lots of little problems, and it would take several thousand dollars to make it work.  We’re not sure it’s worth fixing.  In the meantime, we had to spend money on a car instead, so no studio for me there.

But as many of you know, I was given a gorgeous, huge easel.  But what to do with it, when I don’t have a studio.

Well, as it stands, the only place it fits right now is in the dining room.  And the dining room, is the only room with no furniture, because we did not yet purchase a dining room set.  And I think for a while, we will not purchase one, and I will continue to use it as a studio…

So, this is how my free time was spent today.  Painting.  Fun times.  This is what I should do everyday.  Then, who knows what the end of the year archive will look like….

This painting is referenced from a photo taken in Venice, almost 10 years ago. I started this painting last year, before the move. then I worked on it for a few hours last week. Hopefully it will be finished by the end of the week.

But it makes me thing of St. Francis.  In paintings like these:

More updates on the painting as I get more done. Any comments or early constructive criticisms welcomed and encouraged!

Here it is.

It’s inspired by a picture I took when I was on a mission trip to Indonesia, 2 years ago.

It was a year after the tsunami, and this was one of the places affected.  There used to be things, houses there, but it was all devastated.  I heard many stories from people and how the “sea is coming”, and their attempts to run to the hills.

I was there at sunset, and there were many palm trees.  And that is all.

It’s good for me to keep some of those images fresh in my mind, so as not to forget what happened there.

Even when on this day, it looked so beautiful and peaceful.

This piece was a challenge from an artistic point of view.

It’s made on a 10×10 canvas with Caran D’ache watersoluble wax crayon.   It was my first time using this material as the main material for the whole piece.  I struggled to make it work, but I’m glad I did it.  It was weird because I would color with it, and the use a brush to smooth it out and blend it.  But at times, this would end up lifting up the paint, which was very frustrating.  This is one reason why it took me long to finish it.

It’s not a great photo, because the piece was bigger than the scanner, so I had to do it in 2 parts.  I will re-upload with a photo of the piece later.

I’m fairly happy with the final result but would love any comments and critiques.

Any body have any places they would like to suggest?

I am, however, experimenting, and using my awesome new easel, so, those things are great things.

Just to keep you checking in, here’s me, working on the new easel.  Isn’t it awesome?!!

Any guesses as to what place I’m painting?