I actually accomplished another painting this week...which is totally unusual...so I guess the dry spell is lifting...I am becoming unblocked!
I am entering week 12 of the Artist Way by Julie Cameron...I am here to tell you..her process works...
The first reading of the AW left me cold...I thought yeah right this is a bunch of baloney...she just has this set up like AA...
then I kept reading raves...so I joined a group...I made through about 3 weeks..and I do say the process up to that point was helpful...I got as far as cleaning up the crazimakers...then just thought the rest didn't really apply...to me...
Time rolls on and I am just not the most productive...not as I once was or could be...
so...
Again a friend and I are doing this together...this time things are clicking and I have made such total progress...not to say I am CURED...but I am discovering things that have been hidden
things I have worked through...
I have done the exercises and they are very encouraging and helpful.
If I had to make a guess I would say it has been 15/20 years since I painted 2 or more paintings in 1 week...so I am thrilled!!!!
Here is painting 2
Painted from a photo I took of a local fella's peacock I was lucky to snap of him on the fence...
it is 50x14
canvas on wood
acrylics
varnished
sold
:D
Showing posts with label nature. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nature. Show all posts
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
Images of TX
I have been snapping pictures of just about everything I find down here in Texasthere is still a lot of critters indicative to both SD and TX...that being the case a lot of what I am getting pictures of will find their way into future artwork.
Some for paintings be it either canvas or glass and I have a few murals planned for the new store. Here is a shy longhorn calf peeking around momma.
And I KNOW these are bad critters when they grow upwild pigs get to be 600 and upwards of over 1000 pounds as an adult
and they are destructive and MEAN they WILL kill you
but aren't they cutest little critters as babies.
they stood by the road for the longest time
well until i got the camera ready then they toooook off
and they are FAST too!
I do not know where momma was but i guarantee if i had gotten out of the truck she would have made her presence known!
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
AEDM day 30
I wanted to show you these frames. They are a Polystyrene composit sold at http://www.dickblick.comthis is 1 of 9 styles, called the Metro. Some have mattes as well, I ordered the 11 x 14 for 11.99...to me this is a super price for a really nice looking frame..very sleek and contemporary. Also I mounted the painting to a piece of mixed media composition board I painted to compliment the painting...Keeping a nice light weight framed piece. I hope you like my find :)
then Sunday we put the lights on the out front tree..the extent of my decoration requirementsIt was warm Sunday but snowing yesterday. I had to wait for it to be almost dark to get a decent picture.
Happy Holidays...buy original handmade artwork and crafts from your favorite artists...help support your friends and family and not the ready made from wal-mart (and the like)...the gift is better appreciated for a lifetime of admiration...just keep this in mind when you make the decision to purchase your gifts this year and to come...
birthdays/anniversaries/holidays of all kinds and ...special thank yous too!
this is the last day for AEDM the tree is my participation...but I am back in the swing of posting more regular...so keep coming back often.
Thank you for coming by!
Monday, November 15, 2010
AEDM day 14 and 15
First let me tell you about the weather today...sunny and mild...here is a picture of it hailing! WRONG weather people ...again.Next I am still working on photos for my moms Xmas present. I am fixing her up with one of those digital frames...since she doesn't live nearby or plan to ever visit here i thought to put lots of area photos plus of course family stuff in the frame
editing takes FOREVER!!!
Last night the birds were just flocking to the trees outside my studio..there were tons of them.I kept trying to get closer and closer and they would move around but never fully left.
It was beginning to get dark when this picture was taken and just a few moments before the next picture was taken so you can see how fast the sun was dropping at this time of the day
like around 5 or maybe 6...probably closer to 5..
sorta time lapsed it for you.
In the next picture though you can see they were robins!
look how red they are!

I am not exactly painting but still cleaning on this panels pieces and I have been taking pictures so that is my art...
Are YOU continuing to art a day?
I have to say it is quite the challenge to art EVERY day! to do what i typically consider arting
however
remember
Everything a person does in a day is art. (I think this is the challenge to realize this)
You can artfully ask a question, or answer it...do the regular tasks...cook the meal, change the diaper
it is all a manner of art...
In my opinion, art can be the typical or non typical...so it is all good...
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
AEDM day 8
Day 8 ...was an exhausting day! I give you this gorgeous sunset though.The day started out fine enough, we were going to go to Sioux falls a 2 hour drive each way to load up on the dog food we would need for the winter.
Then we decided to break the day into half and just go to Mitchell for the groceries and then Sioux fall the next day for the dog food.
First, since we were headed out we would take the car scheduled for a repair job onto the mechanic and have that delivery done...
simple enough task huh.
On my way out the road (a dirt road) something was buried in the dirt my tire struck it and I had a hole punched in the tire...changed it and motored onto the mechanic,
then went and ordered the tire..yes it requires a new tire!
Then we motor onto Mitchell, decide we feel good enough to tackle Sioux falls let get it out of the way...
it was 8:30 before we got home!!
a LONG day and trips like this just wear me out...so i didn't get any further in my painting...
but
the doggies have their food and the pantry isn't so bare for us either
and new shoes for the car...arrive weds.
i hope the day went well for you!
Monday, October 18, 2010
Platters...
I tried photographing them with zero light and tipping the flash so it would go above the subjectI still have a little glare..
Here are both platters together this one shows the colors fairly well the colors are a little faded in the picture but this picture gives the best essence of the look.These are not decals!
They are painted using finely crushed glass with the pigments of ores and minerals added for their color...fired in the high temps of the kiln to fuse the design to the substrate.
Labor intensive process not anything like using hobby paints that fire in the oven...more closely resembles glazing of ceramics.
Thanks for following along and visiting... have a great week!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Critter Fight...critter lost...
Roach looks worse than Baby...(below) most of his injury is to his lip and it is swollen pretty good.Good thing is though both of them had their rabies shots like just a month ago (we get them every year just for such occasions) so we know they won't have to be put down...
headed out with the compresses...they did real well hunting for the crowd though! They got each a star.
Aren't they pitiful looking though....
Platter One...Done!
Between these 3 photo's it might be possible that you can get a sense of the final results of this turkey platter.
Glass it difficult to photograph and I can't seem to make my flash turn off...I have done it before but either the feature now won't co-operate, or I am not doing the turn off thing right...so the pictures have some glare.This is not a decal...the process for vitreous staining and enameling to glass has been explained before on this blog so I will kind of just highlight.
The colors are fine ground glass chips with minerals and ores in the mix and flux as well to help imbed the mixture down into the glass creating new glass with a specific design.
High kiln heat fuses the mixture into the substrate and each color has a specific maturation temperature...too much that color fires out.. the chips remain they are glass
the ores are touchy.
So you need to schedule the different color layers according to temperature.
Yesterday marked the last kiln visit for this platter...
Thank you for stopping in!
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Pond Repair...
I changed the name from working projects to what's happening..I more write in this thought, so it makes my posts more cohesive.This is the pond that needed repair from when we had that flood of rains that erupted the pipe at the road...it tried to wash out the dam at this pond as well...so we needed to make repairs.
This is JR (son) talking with Phil (helps JR) they helped to do the cement over the broken rabble rock that will filter the overflow of water to the creek.
Ryan is manning the cement truck and he does an awesome job of moving this beast.
This is the job pretty much finished...the cement holds the rubble in place...so the water flows under it but at the same time it acts as a dam to hold the pond in place.HUH! no mispellings...I amaze myself sometimes
:)
have a great day!
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
CowGal...
We rent out the pasture where cow/calf pairs nourish during the spring and summer or until it gets too dry.BUT, there is a section of CRP they are not allowed...where they look over the fence ans see the lush tall grass and pond to cool their tummies and nifty trees to go get lost in during the heat of the day...darn fence.
UntiL!!! that is someone leaves the fence OPEN...mooooooo come on girls lets go check this out.
Well it is night time when we discover their party and they are bedding down so we plan to herd them out of there first light in the morning.
I hope my trusty steed Hondo! (picture above...Hondo moonlights as a sprayrigger)...load up and moooove out.
They were all down in the bottom which kind of made it somewhat sorta easy to herd them up to the fence they needed to go through.
They are all nestled up to the fence and I am thinking wow
that went lots easier than I thought it would...this is only like my second time to ever herd a cow.
We are up to the fence as I say...and I am staying in my spot that is supposed to deter them from heading the wrong direction...
when
some young calf thinks he doesn't wanna go across the fence and crossed the pond instead and all the rest of them
follow
suuuuure...
now Hondo and I have to cross the pond...have i told you ..mud and i are not friends...well i get across
and travel up up and more up to keep the herd from going any further into these trees..I DO have a helperCraig is on the other side trying to push the herd to me and we then move them on...only...
hondo experiences an issue...and Craig had to come revive it and the cows dispersed...where is JOHN! the cowmaster...well... he is opening gates over the west end which is near to his dads place
and he decided to move the day to take the herd from our pasture over to his dads corral...so
i am now going to move this herd...
only first I have to get over TO them..I ask on the radio just which was is best...they gave such general directions like I am supposed to know what to do to get them..yeah right...okay so I see john and motor on...up some pretty rickety stuff...I really thought for sure a couple of times I was going to flip...but I made it!
Craig says you came from THERE!?...
well yeah..
why!? didn't you come that way
because I didn't KNOW about that way..well I can't believe you made it up that place that has to be THE worst spot on the whole place..
maybe (i say in my mind...not out loud)...I am a better rider than you! P...
well it actually all went pretty smooth from this point...i just followed the critters along and kept any from branching off but
I suspect it is because there were now three of us and not two....so
that is the cow story...
mauoooo
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Guidance for this Challenge
This has been a horrible challenging week. So I thought I would share a piece I did years ago...my young angel. She is done on mouth blown antique glass using frit powders and vitreous staining and enameling techniques....methods worked through in the high temperatures only a kiln can provide. But lets hope she can breath a little peace into the beginning of our new week.This past week has been busy and some of it the stories are humorous and I will share those later this week maybe after I calm down.
But Wednesday met with a turbulent cause and effect that stems directly from a negligent parent.
Said parent was visiting at my sons place, he lives in the country.
Country living means parents should be watchful over their children.
This said, Brian (the visitor) brings his 2 children with him out to JR's (my son).
Brian's 2 children are unruly horrible little brats. They are vicious to the animals...poking their eyes with sticks, twirling the cat by the tail this kind of behaviour. And Brian does not correct his little beasts.
Jen (DIL) generally tries to keep what control over these children what she can by the older one plays usually with their child in the house or right at the door, but the smaller boy won't be anywhere but with the father, as he was this day. IN THE FATHERS CARE!
Who was more interested in sipping his beer and smoking a cigarette visiting JR in the shed.
NOT watching the smaller child.
10 minutes is a long time to not check on a youngun.
As in this case the next thing heard was screaming.
No one sees what might have happened to this child but his lip is split and needs a drs stitches.
He could have fallen on the rocks (probable)
the dog Bo might have bitten him from abusive behaviour (most likely)
the cat may have bitten the child again due to abusive behaviour...but
no one saw what happened so no one knows.
The first response of Brian is he ran in the house accusing BO of biting the child...then he is off to the clinic for 4 stitches.
The next day (Thursday)
the cat is being accused of biting the child.
The certificate for rabies could be found for BO but not for the cat.
Voluntarily!!! JR and I take the cat (a valued member to the family) up to the vet clinic in town CDAC
for OBSERVATION...10 days to guarantee the cat has not got rabies...
The receptionist Vickie, assures us, guarantees to us NOTHING will happen to this cat! he is SAFE with them.
During the course of the day the Health department lady calls asking us to put the cat down to undergo the test for rabies
an adamant NO was recorded to the health department. When the health department heard the rest of the story they said further investigation was needed about this incident...they were not even aware of the dog...so
the calls were made to the clinics
medical clinic in town and the vet clinic...that the cat would sit the full 10 days for observation.
It is 4:00 pm now and the children have been picked up from school and JR was by to talk to his father about a cement job they were planning and all the family were loaded up to go see the kitty at the vets...
they get to the vets and Vickie the receptionist said the cat had been shot ..his head was on the way to Pierre for the rabies test.
!
What gave you the right to kill our cat...WHO gave YOU authorization!!!?????????
she says: "the medical clinic called! and DR Hagge ordered the test"...
that does not give you the right to kill our cat
who killed the cat...Vickie says WE did
WHO did we ask...she would only say We the CliniC killed the cat....
where is Jay the VET and owner??? he isn't here today...who is certified to kill the cat...
no answer
(no one at the clinic this day was even a certified technician...there is a receptionist and 2 dog walkers)
they assumed the role of owner and vet and took it upon themselves to execute this animal on the supposed call from the medical clinic...(there is still no proof said dr made this call, it could have been anyone)
These 3 workers did not stop...make a call to the owner of the cat, make a call to the owner of the clinic, make a call to the health department (which had made the call to them remember that this cat was to NOT be killed) there was not a court order nothing!
They killed this cat and sent him on the UPS truck in a hurry to make the 430 departure from town.
The owner vet Jay returns and discovers the events as just described. He is heart sick, as is the family of this cat.
The test came back negative by the way...and the injured child is going through the rabies series shots anyway
because
NO ONE saw what REALLY happened...anything could have bitten this child..if it was a bite
he could have fallen on the rocks
a stray cat roaming through the property, a raccoon...anything could have occurred, as NO ONE was watching the child.
the parent was negligent and then got to the dr clinic and lied...
he didn't want the dr to know he was sucking a cigarette and downing a beer while his child was unsupervised, and thus in there needing stitches.
He admitted to Craig, (my husband ) that he did not know for sure what happened...the neglegent parent did by phone on Oct.7 at 12:27
And Vickie LIED the cat was not safe with the clinic, entrusted to their care, they did not protect their client.
Due to LIES an innocent member of our family was killed.
The children are suffering nightmares and want to know when they can wake up daddy's cat.
JR was the closest to this member of the family the cat helped him therapeutically calm down at night de-stress and finally rest himself after a painful day at work.
This was a very special kitty (as everyone sees their animals that are members of the family)
Twyla Edwin Hunt will be greatly missed!
We hope there are angels among us who will help him be guided as a spirit to watch over the family as they continue to mourn his passing.
Monday, October 4, 2010
The Egret SplogsThrough the Marsh
The last update had the added brown paint..which i thought too drab..
so i added the sienna and a maroon...which perks the piece up a lot!
i loved working with the wax...talk about layers of textures to work over.
if you let the layer dry well the texture sets up good and the next layer picks over that texture
it all works so well together
i still have to add the coat of wax to seal it
but for practical purposes this project is complete.
Thank you Christy for adding to my repertoire of arts...gosh that word looks funny..but spell check says that is it...
Christy is nearly done with my website...
and beans update
they were finished today and the last truck is in line for empty tomorrow
i think (i am not 100% sure) but we keep this afternoons price intact through the dumping tomorrow morning
He isn't acting very devastated so i guess we did okay
once the planting/feeding/herbicides/more spraying/harvesting/trucking expenses are deducted
we might have food and heat for the winter
and get the wheat into the ground...
and then the next worry begins
:)
thanks for coming by!
Sunday, October 3, 2010
WWWWWWWHHHHOOOOPpiiieee
came home from grass cutting and they were harvesting my beans!!!see that gold stuff on top of the combine...my beans....which is excellent
saturday the market crashed on the bean prices they were 12.50 a bushel then 10.70
and this evening 9.00 a bushel
so the faster john harvest them and has them in the truck and in line first thing in the morning
we stand a better chance of getting this price as opposed to the next low price...i doubt they will come back up...
hopefully we do better than just break even but i even hope we do not go further and lose!!!
john does not usually harvest on a sunday
we were scheduled to begin tomorrow
his prudence can bring in a HUGE difference for us
thank you john!!!!!!
Saturday, October 2, 2010
First Frost
In 1998 when I had just arrived to SD yesterday 10/1 it was 32 degrees and that afternoon it snowed...yesterday 2010 was the first major weather change again true to form, it cooled up dramatically yesterday afternoon and last night we had the first frost. This picture is kind of bleary when i use the night time setting it does that. Regular setting did not work yet there must not be enough sun up.
Here is steam coming off the lake bed across at Harold's place and you can see the frost as well on my pretty grass, which is usually dead this time of year but with all the rain this yearis still green...which is why i still am employed cutting grass!!!..but it is all beginning to stop growing now
it will most likely be the last time i cut this weeks areas.
Christy is nearly ready to launch my website
I AM SOOOO EXCITED
she has a classroom where I can offer classes
she has a cart where if i choose to sell pieces through my site i can
as well as show what i offer at etsy
and
my blog can be accessed through my site
and all my information is in one place....wonderful!
have a good weekend
i hope to work some more on the egret wax piece I think it has set up enough for continuing...so check back
:)
and i also hope for a few minutes to be visiting y'all!!! see ya
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Cold Wax Update
I added more color to the background the other day...then last night i finally decided what my painting's subject was going to be when i saw an egret at the reservoir...i have always associated egrets with calm and peaceful
so i was again finally able to work on the painting some tonight...i have the egret begun...
there is a lot more to do to just the painted portion but i need to add some more texture to the overall piece and i needed to know where the bird was going to sit...
i just happened to have some green in the piece...hmmm was that a subconscious plan...muuuaaaawwaaaaaa hahahaaa
probably not
so stay tuned for the next phase of the project
PLUS
tahdah...soon will be the launching of my new website!!!!!
i could not do the site myself...i tried
i totally do not speak web design...and it was beyond frustrating for me
so
admiring a fellow artisan who does web design as well
Christy Sobolewski at www.gulfspite.com
she has all the features within her site i was desiring...so...i asked would she design me a site
and i am SOOO excited ...she would!
I will have my classroom and all my information in one place!
which i think is awesome
plus
i don't have to wonder if the site i join and begin to have host my classes is going to change or die...
so
soon will be the unveiling of my beautifully designed site...
thank you for coming by have a great weekend!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Sunday Snaps
Saturday, September 25, 2010
GAH!
SEE this STUFF!!! HAIL!
By the time I got the camera out and going most of it had already begun to melt and the rain had begun...my beautiful drying bean crop...
This struck at 2:30 this morning!
Craig looked though and luckily not all of the pods were knocked off..maybe where they weren't all the way finished drying and still leathery helped keep more on the stem.
what also helped was no wind!
I AM thankful though it was not the golf ball size or larger hail being reported in other areas.
This was about the size of a dime. Lasted 4 minutes...but torment just the same.
I hope for this week no more of this stuff and they can combine me and be done!
Yesterday Hannah and Charlie began painting the backgrounds for sack to take trick or treating.
they made a huge mess and had a great time...i won't put up pictures of each step but i will place their final project bag up when we are done.
Have a great weekend!
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Late...

Can you see the babies? This is a really late hatch..they can't be more than a couple of days old. Momma was carefully watching out for mr hawk..while the babies were probably warming their little feet in the sunny dirt.
Here it is cooling off so much and supposed to be below temperatures this week
rain on the way...there is still lots of cover so they might do okay
and they are in our beans which are weeks away from harvest...
i hope they grow...
Craig spotted them for me to get their picture....i was ready...or i surely would have missed them...
if i can enlarge them just a little more
they will be the next pheasant platter...
i am STILL enameling the platters!!
i haven't fired again though so nothing to show...
thanks for dropping in and have a fabulous day!
holiday too if you celebrate those kinds of things...
Friday, September 3, 2010
Call The Girls...!
I foresee fun with this feature! 3 pictures stitched together for a panorama!!! Today...I am still enameling the platters I began the other day of the turkey and pheasants...it is also cow check day where I help out River Hills Ranch...okay gonna go check the cows...I check the east of town ones first because they are furthermost away...everything is fine..
go to the pasture south of me and I see the girls need mineral...again...out of habit i look in the creekfeeder...empty...look around...humph they came and took the weanling's out...don't need to call in about creekfeed...turn around and the tank is empty...go trip the breaker
sometimes it trips itself and is a simple fix
nothing
check the oil
this is a really old well and an even older engine to get the water up...oil is fine
hmmm
call nick...the electrician
cause i sure don't know what i am doing
nick arrives
by now the girls are hovering around me
they are thirsty and wondering when i am turning this rig on...
nick looks over everything
welll...he says...(and i am lucky to get that much he doesn't say a whole lot)
you need to call REA...the wires into the fuse box were fried
oh
i guess that was in the storm the other night i heard a really loud thunder crash and knew it was close
i guess it was real close
yyyeeep...(tell ya he is really chatty)
so he gives me REA number i call them...
gonna be an hour
okay
plus once this thing does get started it isn't the fasted fill tub in the world..so
to contend the situation i go to my place
(just a mile)
and retrieve an old tank i used a few years ago for a planter
(when i was into gardening...i have since outgrown that for awhile anyway)
it has holes drilled in the bottom for drainage
so
i ducktape over those and put the tank under another water source further over in the pasture
a old fashioned pump...not that old a fashioned i didn't have to hand prime it or anything
just turn on...
called the girls
that is in cow language
mmaaaaoooooooooooooooo
and the picture above is the wait line at the tank...
aren't they cute
and courteous too
thanks for helping out today!
have a nice holiday weekend!!
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Face It...

the last storm we had i snapped some pictures of rainbows and a few funnel looking cloud formations
i didn't upload them until today and i found this nifty cloud image...
do you see the face?
it has been a busy week....seems like everything is getting in the way of my creation energies...
when i do have a moment to go into the studio
i am just too tired
i have learned not to do artwork if i am too tired
i make too many mistakes...
consequently i am kind of in hohum funk...
i was discussing with another artfriend...what is the point anyway...
i don't have anywhere to show and sell...very few commissions dribble in...there just aren't the people out here...and what little interest there might can be i am not in their price range...
and totally misunderstood as for the price set as it is...materials are expensive! so...
other than personal pleasure..what is the point...???
do you have a point?
make me see why we still do what we do...
thanks for dropping in...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)





