A Pansy!

I just completed my second painting with an imaginary Birgit O'Connor.  This is on 1/4 sheet 140 lb. Arches cold pressed paper.  It was a lot of fun.  I'm going to look through some of my books to see what lesson to do next weekend. 

 

I Have a Plan!

I really need to get back in the swing of watercolor and the best way to do that is to take a class.  The problem is that I don't have time to take a class right now.  Sooooo...what's the next best thing?  I'm going to use my watercolor books and start my own personal, private class in my studio (which I like to call my art room - it makes me feel like a kid).  Yesterday and today were my first days in class.  It's not quite as much fun as being in class with a bunch of other students, but it's still fun.  This lesson was from Watercolor in Motion by Birgit O'Connor.  I painted a half sheet on Arches 140 lb. cold pressed paper.  Next weekend, I'll paint flowers, maybe with Birgit or maybe with Philip Jamison:)  I wrote to Philip Jamison years ago to see if he was teaching workshops.  He wasn't, but he sent me a lovely postcard with one of his paintings on it when he replied.  I love his work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I Would Like to Be...

I would like to be the kind of person who would inspire a quote like this, "You didn’t have to be in a room with John to feel his kindness and his wild self. He’d often check in with family and friends on the phone, and unless it was sad news, the occasion of his call always brought a great blast of joy."  This is a quote from Noel Hanlon about his friend John O'Donohue.  Imagine bringing a great blast of joy to someone...  Today is the first time I read a poem by John O'Donohue.  I will read more.  Do you read poetry?  Whose writing do you enjoy?  I love Mary Oliver's poetry and I believe I'm going to love the poetry of John O'Donohue.

The Cool Thing Is...

The cool thing is that Arches 140 lb. cold-pressed paper has two sides.  I made a  mess of a little painting I was working on, but I'm going to try something else on the other side of the paper. 

The other news in our household is that we are disappointed that our Green Bay Packers lost yesterday.  They are a talented, classy group of guys and that includes Coach Mike McCarthy, who treats his players, the fans, the media and the officials with respect.  Just wait till next year!
 

Jersey Boys

If you have the opportunity to see Jersey Boys, go!  It's a fabulous show.  Jim and I saw it over Christmas break and we both thought it was terrific.  We had perfect seats - fifth row center.  When we were kids, my sister and I used to go see Frankie Valli when he appeared here as a solo act.  We loved him.  I enjoyed this story of how he and the Four Seasons got their start and, of course, it was such fun to hear the music again.

I'm working on a small painting.  Tomorrow I'm going to Promethean Board training, but I'm going to finish the painting on Sunday and I'll post it. 

Have a wonderful weekend!  Keep making your beautiful art!

Thank you...Martha Stewart? Yes, Martha Stewart.

Today I focused my creative energy on kitchen projects.  I made chili for next week, pizza (the crust turned out well - hooray!) and muffins.  The muffins were from a Martha Stewart recipe that I tweaked just a little.  I added extra blueberries to half the batter and I made cranberry muffins with the other half of the batter.  Jim and I love the muffins.  They are yummy!  So...even though Martha may not be everyone's favorite person, the woman is a muffin making queen:)  Have a wonderful rest of the weekend! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

You know it's been too long since your last post when you sit and stare at your blog and try to figure out where you go to post something new.  I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Life is so sweet.  I hope you're very happy.