Happy new year!!

Happy new year fellow artists.. a little late, but close!!! hope you all had a fabulous christmas and the happiest of new years...
i saw this drawing online and wrote the lady and asked if i could use her drawing and throw a bit of paint on it to and welcome in the new year, on paintingfreinds.com.. she was sweet enough to say, YES!!. please check out her great web site, especially if you have kids.. she has some wonderful books available!!
big thanks to
Elizabeth O. Dulemba,
Children's Book Author/Illustrator
for allowing me to paint her drawing..
http://coloringpagetuesdays.com/


thinking about goals and things i want to improve, with my art, in the new year...

the main one is to take a few more risks and allow myself to make more mistake and just relax and try new techniques...

the other is to either paint or draw something every day.. so far so good..
what are your art goals??

see you soon and happy happy to all~~

here comes.... jasper...

this is jasper, my MIL 's pup.. she just loves this little guy.. he keeps her such good company.. she is in her late 80's and is a really a spunky, super sweet lady.. she asked, when we were back there this summer, if i'd do a painting of jasper.. and since her birthday in on new years eve, thought i'd give it a try in pastels.... they are so much more forgiving than watercolors..can make mistakes and fix and fix..LOL which i do very well.. the mistake part... :)

this is a 8x10 on black suede matboard!!

hope everyone is having fun with all their christmas decorating, cooking and shopping!!!

HO HO HO!!

gobble gobble!!!

happy thanksgiving.. may your holidays be lots prettier than this bird, that is so ugly, he's kinda cute...well that may be pushing it a tad!! LOL

hope you all have a fun day with family and friends.. that your day is filled with love and lots of laughter. and as as my buddy ann say's: wishing you all "enough"...

heres looking at ya!!! :)

that dang mollie has me trying crystal.. its really fun but your eyes get crossed after awhile....i saw this great photo from dianna ponting and thought it looked interesting.. i had lots of fun doing it, but the crazy rim at the top really is an optical illusion.. i redid it a gazillion times and it still pops back and forth .. hopefully that is part of the fun, because i cant fix it again.. have a good weekend all!!

happy halloween!!

trick or treat!!! :).. on painting friends, we each do a fall card and Christmas card for each other.. i was lucky enough to get sharon... and it ended up this year, we got each other..yippee!!! i loved her card.. it was a beautiful card with rose hips and a yummy loose background.....

i'm getting quite a collection, over the years and its always so much fun to bring them out on holidays.. they always bring a smile to my face..

wanted to wish you all happy halloween and a wonderful fall~~ with beautiful colors and delicious fall scents..

enjoy!!!

For my new found cousin.....

before i was born, my parents move west to calif and left all their family behind, in va... i never had the opportunity to meet any relatives.. a few years ago with one remembered name in hand, i started searching for my two cousins... after lots of searching i found one... we have been in contact now for over 6 months, by phone and internet.. i had hoped when i went to out to a painting friend workshop in fa., i would stop and see her.. but the hurricane had other ideas and i had to take a different route home... we were both very sad to have missed that time.. well last week i received a wonderful cousin ring from her, that she had made .. one for her and one for me.. so we would always remember that we had a cousin, across the country, that loved us.. it was soooo sweet!!! i thought i would send her a little gift, with my thank you note, that let her know she was loved too.. hope she likes it!!

back again...LOL

yeah.. i'm on a roll!! back again, in less that a year LOL

first of all want to thank babasteve for his wonderful photo... i love his work!!

most of you might be aware i've been on a portrait journey.. trying to figure out how to and what is my style?? well i'm still on it..

every time i see someone else's wonderful portrait style, i think wow!!! i love that i've got to try a little of this or that!! but when i get painting..the brushes take over and that idea goes out the window.. does that happen to any of you?? maybe i have found my style???? or maybe it's changing, but only by little bits and pieces?? i dont know, but i'm sure having fun on this journey!!

i belong to a small portrait group and this is the challenge for sept.. it was fun.. i learned a lot :) any thoughts or suggestions are always welcome and appreciated... thanks for stopping by and have wonderful day!!

YOP for sept!!

every month we have a new challenge in our YOP... ( year of painting) this month our challenge, on painting friends, ann picked a wonderful female cardinal photo, for us to paint... i love how everyone made it their own and had fun with it..some used saran wrap and crinkled it all up in the background.. pretty clever.. sure made it seem brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.. i had fun splattering the snow.. and it covered a few errors LOL if you want to get in on the fun.. just sign in at paintingfriends.com.. and we'd love to show you around!! whew, got back in here, within a few days..i may get on a roll here and not take so long to come back again... fingers crossed.. hope everyone is doing good and maybe starting to notice a little fall in the air.. see ya soon!!

Long time no see

Wow!!! its been a year since i last posted, i can't believe it.. where does the time go??

I've missed you!!

I have seen a few of you on face book occasionally, but i'm begining to think i like blogging better.. i get to see how you do things and watch your pours and your wips and its more art related.. so going to give this another try... and hope i can find a few minutes, here and there, to catch up on all i've missed!!

just got home forma great art vacation.. alot of the friends on paintingfreinds.com, met in indian rocks beach florida...it was a combination of art laughing, eating, laughing, jumping waves,laughing, meeting online freinds in real life..did i mention laughter..??
bob hague and mollie jones, demo'ed for us and they are both so talented and giving of their time and knowledge.. thank you, both!!

here is my try at crystal,from mollie's demo.. this was so fun... ook for the facets and leaving the whites and woo hoo!!!! here comes the crystal!! :)

will be stopping by and seeing what you are up to in the next week.. hope you all had a fantastic summer!!

missed everyone..

i know, dont faint.. i have missed the heck out of seeing all your paintings and hearing about your lives.. but im running in 50 different directions and then some..LOL

have just started painting for reals, again this month. need to get with it cause im going to ted nuttall's workshop, next month.. sure dont want to be a bigger klutz, in class, than normal!! im so excited and nervous!!

this is a painting of my grandaughter taylor..i asked her and her brothers and cousin, to put on fun hats and pose for me.. so i can pratice practice practice.. i can see things i want to change already, so back to the painting board... need to pick two photos to use for the painting in class and this might be one...

hope you are all well and i'll be back again as i can, in bits and spurts..LOL
take care and have a wonderful labor day weekend!!