My Wild Cat Rescue Continues

I began caring for a stray cat before Thanksgiving and at that time he was so weak he tipped over from lack of food. He then began to live in my garage and loved to be held. He knew how to use a litter box so I knew he had been someone's pet. The day came when we started the snow blower and he became so scared he ran away. From that point on he only came in the night to eat in the garage. Unfortunately, so did raccoons and a fox! I would see Nicky every once in awhile but having such a mild winter I was not too nerveous even though he was apparently living under decks at area cabins. This last week however, it dropped to -50 to -60 degrees with windchill factored in and I became alarmed and did not see him for 4 days and no food was eaten. I thought he either froze or the fox got him but guess what!? Nicky appeared again and he is eating on schedule. The dish is empty this morning. He is a miracle cat and I hope to tame him but as time goes on he is becoming more wild. Hopefully by spring when I can be outside more, he will become use to me again.
The book is coming along well. I am working on chapter 4 and hope to get an editor one of these days to read over things so I am not suddenly surprised with alot to redo!!! I am sorry this seems to be a once a month log but I hope to get better at this...I need someone to write to me and remind me! HA!

Studio Painting Alert!

What I say here is in jest but I feel there is some merit to what I am about to say! As you know I am working on a book so I seem to be in the sitting mode most of the time. I have come to the conclusion that this can cause one's butt to take the shape of the chair it is sitting in! HA! Therefore, be careful that it has a nice shape and that it is not a stool that could cause you to droop over the edges or to cushy to cause you to become fluffy as well! It is just a joke but sometimes when I stand up after sitting so long I think it might be true and think we should invent a chair with a nice butt shape in it. My theory is it would work like retainers for teeth, keeping things in alignment! HA! I have named it the Tush Push!
I am progressing and have completed most of chapter 3 at this time and one complete painting with progressive steps and several demos. I have drawn 3 more complete paintings and one is 1/3 painted so as you can see, I am making some headway be it ever so slowly.
Thought I should post something for you to look at so will post a Christmas tree I had outside this year. Actually, I had three done like this and it was fun to see them lit up at night. I miss them now but we hardly have any snow left so they would have looked rather silly if I had kept them up. It has been a very mild winter for us.
I will try to be better about this blog and keep you more informed...that is my New Year hope anyway!

North Light Books---Here I Come!

I have been asked to write a book for North Light about how I paint. That was a tough one as there are some things we do by instinct and then we do not think about why or how, we simply do it. I am finding it is going alot faster than I had expected. Now maybe it is because I know more than I thought but I doubt it! HA! I think the process is teaching me to look at how I paint and to answer these questions, often for the first time. In the end I shall know alot more just because I had to put it into writing. I think the process will be very fulfilling and enriching for sure! I am boxing up most of chapter one today and will mail it off tomorrow. Once I begin chapter two, I will feel like I am moving forward. Needless to say, I will not be completing many new paintings but will work on alot of demos instead. I will have to post pictures from my website when I can. Stay tuned!

Life Has Seasons

I have been very remiss in writing here in my blog but for very good reason. Mostly I had nothing to say! I had a friend who was dying of cancer and his wife is my best friend. I just did not paint, making myself available if she should call. She did not call often but I was always ready. Instead I spent time in the gardens and completely removed one, sending the perennials to the ditch to bloom there. All in all, I think what I did was take a break from everything and spent more time in thought about what I really want with the rest of my life. I am not sure but the time gave me new avenues to investigate. I managed to make 160 blankets for the police and social services for the purpose of placing around children that are removed from homes where there is rape, incest, domestic violence and meth lab situations. I would never have had time for such a thing if I had not put my art on hold.It was an opportunity to give back to my community. The picture above shows the last load going in of 80 blankets.
We all go through seasons in our life and rather than beating ourselves up about it, step back and use the time to look at the life you lead. Is it of quality and full of happiness and blessings and friends or do you need to spend some time in one of these areas? Friendships take time just like marriage does. Time to talk and bond and support one another. I am so grateful that I had this time. I could easily do it again next summer just to enjoy the gardens and get up at 5 am and weed the garden while listening to the loons call across the lake. It was "soul time" and I feel enriched to have had to opportunity to try it.

Chipmunk Challenge

I have been rescuing this small creature for two years now. He or she lives under my deck and has a routine that includes teasing my two cats. The cats take it for awhile but the little rascal gets closer and closer and before you know it...either George or Gracie have it in their jaws. Luckily I am there and can tell them to drop him and off he runs...to this fish at the end of the deck and continues to chip and squack away. He seems to be telling the cats off for awhile and then goes away for an hour or so. Then the routine begins again. I see his determination and even some sense of humor and think about all the creatures out there. Many have personalities and voice their opinions. This guy definately has an opinion and that opinion is that the cats should stay in the house and not come on his deck I guess! HA! Anyway, I thought you would enjoy seeing my little friend. Perhaps one day he will be in a painting and immortalized.

The Creative Person

I have not been painting. Not because I do not want to, but because there are other things that I also want to do that are coming first. I think many artists think they must paint everyday. I do not find that to be true for me. I really love to paint and do so whenever I can but I also love to garden and take long walks. I have friends with cancer who I love to spend time with. I live by a lake and love to go out paddling on the water and enjoying the beauty that surrounds me. I feel each of these is a creative venture as well and should not be overlooked, for we are not just one but many faceted people. It would be a shame to only nuture one part of ourselves and leave the rest unattended, thinking it is unimportant, when it, in fact, can make us whole. To be complete as a person, we need to pay attention to all our interests that make us who we are.
I painted the kitchen last week. I hope to do more of it and think that we need to make our enviornment as pleasing as possible, which I think makes other creativity possible. It is hard to be creative in dreary surroundings. Make your world a happy place and it will make you happy as well. I think this is critical for artists who face long winters such as I do. We do have a tendency to get depressed and it is important to make the world we live in as bright and cheerful as possible so the winters are not so gray! Yes, there are many beautiful shades of gray but they do not belong on my walls!
Spend some time thinking about those areas of interest that you have, that you shove to the back of your mind. Are they something you think might be worth investigating? Will doing one of them increase the quality of your life or give you greater happiness? Then get off your butt and do them, for we only go around once. I am more than an artist who paints in watercolor. I would be selling myself short to leave it at that. So would you. Nourish those forgotten creative areas that you have hidden and see how happy and full your life can be!

Painting Lace

Lately I have been getting emails asking me how I paint lace. I am sure it appears to be difficult but it really is not. You are basically painting the holes in the lace and that is what makes the pattern. Therefore, it is very important to see the pattern the holes make. By following this, you get some very believable looking lace with little effort.
To do this seems daunting but I find that if I blow that area up in a photo or on photoshop, I can see this easier. I also isolate that area so that is all I see. Once you find a starting place it becomes easier. Just hold your finger in that place and move it only as you complete each hole...then move your finger to the next hole and draw that. By never moving the finger off the photo or computer screen, I do not lose my place. Otherwise, there are just too many holes and it all becomes a blur. This little trick has helped me alot and I use it any time there is something complicated that I am trying to paint.
Another thing I do is use jeweler's glasses for magnification. That has been a life saver and I think as we age, anything that helps us see is fair game! HA! I love detail and I want to know what is really there, even if I choose not to paint it. I think getting all the information helps me paint a better painting.
Hope this will help and encourage you to try some lace!