A Little Snicklefritz and I HAVE NEWS!

 Happy photos of Snicklefritz and ME!  

She has had a very busy summer with swim lessons, zoo camp and this week more swim and dance lessons.  Plus she and her Momma took a small 3 day trip to OKC to visit museums, visit friends and family and to let her Momma give a talk to the Oklahoma City Modern Quilt Guild.

She is growing so, SO very fast, soon to turn 5 and in August will officially start Pre-K!  Wow!

Now the NEWS

That said door leads to my NEW STUDIO, art studio actually.  

When I started painting in 2009 my "studio" has been in the house in a guest bedroom.  I also have one set up at the office, but I don't paint there often.  One of the reasons is that at the office there are phone calls, deliveries (my studio is upstairs...operative word STAIRS!)  The constant interruption is maddening.  You just get started and in the zone then the phone rings or the deliveries begin.  At home, I like painting at home, but the room is getting full, and I am easily distracted by laundry, dishes, usual household duties and the occasional hubby popping in all times of the day.  Again, distraction.  

In a perfect world I have a dream to own a building where there can be studio spaces for a few friends (renters) and class space then gallery space.  I want a gallery.  The problem is The Hubby is just not cooperating in that idea.  I found a building I wanted but he is not in the market to get another loan, ever.  He hates owing money and because we have he building loan that has about another year on it he is ADAMANT about it.  I had a problem with that thinking because I guarantee if he finds another "building" or money making opportunity with real estate he will want me on board, like always in his plans.  That may not happen again!  That's enough...on to the good news.

My friend, my painting friend Linda and I found an opportunity to lease a space with another artist, Gil, and it was affordable and we JUMPED with both feet.  It's actually close to the house, has enough space for three of us and both people are super, SUPER nice.  I paint with Linda a couple of days a week anyway and we have great fun.  It's wonderful to have her feedback and help because she is a superb artist, as is Gil.  We are in the process of moving stuff in in this HOT July summer, slow and steady.  PLUS we have teaching (that is Linda's department), and we can have ART SHOWS!!!  Maybe Christmas time we will be have a big one!  Look for the announcement.  I will have pic's when we get all set up.  

Toodles my friends!

Time for Change

This week I squeezed in a moment for a bit of change in my life.  I thought it was time to rethink the hairstyle.  I've been growing it long, long, long for since last summer and then in September I made the decision that gray I would be, so that was happening too.  What was the result was long hair I really enjoyed but two-toned hair, blond on the bottom and lots of not necessarily gray but white on top.

BEFORE...

AFTER: 

There's still blonde but not as much and the girl told me to get some "purple" shampoo and it will ashen the blonde to blend better with the white.  I think I like it but may go shorter next time, in a few weeks.  The Hubby actually thought I would go shorter.

I TOTALLY Forgot

Oh My Gracious Gert...I TOTALLY FORGOT that June 29, 2006 was the very first time I wrote on this blog, 11 years ago.  It was called "BORED AT MY DESK" and was all about the impending loss of my mother and the recent loss of my best friend Gail and our sweet little dog.  Thursday was the anniversary and it just slipped past me.  Time flies as life rolls on that is for sure.  There have been lots more losses, ups and downs, and many joys since that day, but I'm still here, still trugging on with my words to share.  I hope you have enjoyed, laughed and cried with me on my journey of life.  I don't post as often but will continue to try and be here as often as I can.  Happy Blogging my friends!

White Pants Saga

Since about the age of 13 to 60 I have not worn white pants or white dresses, successfully.  

We lived four very long blocks from the junior high and I walked back and forth to school every single day.  This trek was down Main Street, the main artery of the small town I lived in.  One day I wore a really sweet white dress to school and felt so pretty.  I had art for my 6th hour and after class I gathered my things and proceeded to walk home, like every other day.  Sometimes the senior high boys would honk and it was quite flattering, this day was another one of those days.  I reached our front door and went in to change into some play clothes but when I took my beautiful white dress off I saw to my horror a HUGE bloody stain on the entire backside of my dress.  Yes, Mother Nature left her nasty calling card all over the back of my dress and I walked down the main street of my town with it on there, not knowing the honks and probably laughter was aimed at me.  I was HORRIFIED!

White was usually NOT in my wardrobe after that point, except maybe my cream colored wedding dress!  You see, I'm a denim, blue jeans kind of gal and have even requested to be buried in them!  I LOVE blue jeans.  Since my complete hysterectomy last year I thought, hey, white pants!  So a couple of weeks ago I bought a cute pair of white Capri jeans and yesterday I wore them.  I felt so pretty, stylish and cool in the cute ensemble.  I dressed, gathered my purse, IPad, phone and headed to the office where usually no one sees me but that's okay because I felt good.  I slid into the drivers seat and looked down in my lap and on the top of my thigh there were brownish specks on the pants.  CRAP!  I thought well, there must have been a flaw in the fabric, but it was okay, it was small and my long linen shirt covered it.  At the office I went to the bathroom and when I pulled my pants down I discovered a huge swipe of a blood stain in the front tummy part.  DAMN IT!  I realized that one of my many red moles on my leg had been scraped or something and it bled over my new white pants.  Luckily again the shirt covered it but DAMN IT!  

Then last night I had a couple of art girlfriends over for drinks and a summer dinner.  We had a great time, 5 hours of chatting!  I headed to bed later that night and took my pants off to find that on the back side of the pants, in view was another stain of some kind, probably red wine.  CRAP! 

I AM NOT GIVING UP!  I WILL wear white pants again, after I bleach, de-stain, whatever.  I am just so hard on clothes.  

 

Oh My GOODNESS!  I am exhausted, physically and mentally.  These back to back workshops were almost overload, but it is DONE!

This one is a portrait 4 day workshop with Romel de la Torre.   

Day 1

We watch him paint in the mornings then... 

It's our turn...EEK! 

Goodness, I wiped this thing off at least 4 times before I even could get started. 

This is Paola from Columbia. 

Never got past the block-in.  We used a limited Zorn palette of black, cadmium red, yellow ochre and titanium white.  You can make a lot of colors you don't really realize, even green!  (HINT: Black is made from burnt umber and ultramarine blue, so yellow ochre and black make GREEN!)

Day 2

This sweet girl, Ama, is from South Africa.

Romel is quite amazing. 

Then it was our turn to try and make Ama look like a girl...I struggle with that. Such a beautiful girl.

Not great, but not bad either. 

Day 3 and 4 is the lovely Christina. 

Romel is quite fun to watch and full of helpful lessons on this journey.

He finished today.

A close up of the face, ABSOLUTELY LOVELY!

Now it was our turn.  This was my view.

Man-o-man, this thing was HORRIBLE and when I got in this morning I tried to fix it, but it just got worse and worse and I WIPED it off, twice.

I actually walked out early this afternoon with the canvas blank.  After the past two weeks of intense workshops I was DONE!  My head was throbbing.  Hopefully I will attempt on my own, sometime, after some rest!  All in all it was an awesome couple of weeks and my mind is just bursting with info.

Art Workshops and Fathers

 Home after a fantastic few days spent in Rogers, Arkansas learning from the wonderful artist Jeff Legg. My mind is absolutely bursting with new information to utilize in my art journey. Unfortunately, being able to use this info will have to wait a bit as I have my other job to do first then it will be an intense 4 day workshop in Tulsa with portrait artist Romel de la Torre. Plus it was my first trip to Chrystal Bridges with Jeff as our tour guide! That was awesome. It is very generous that other artists share their wealth of knowledge in this art journey to other artists.

Jeff''s demo was quite amazing.  The way he paints grapes makes them look like you could touch them and they would spray juice.  This beautiful demo is now my prized possession!

After watching, it was time for us, the students to paint.  What was really nice is that we were able to set up individual still life set ups to paint.  I spied this beautiful teapot in the wide array of stuff and knew I HAD to paint it.  It was a challenge and I'm not afraid of a challenge in my painting anymore.   

I'm quite happy with my painting but I know it needs some more work...just not soon. 

The night before the workshop was over we had a trip to Crystal Bridges.  I have never been, so was thrilled to know we were going with Jeff as our tour guide!  Fantastic to see things through his eyes. 

Final day and another still life.   

Unfortunately it is not near done but I will finish at home, sometime! 

Back home this week I hit ground running as it was Father's Day and on that note, Daddy is HOME!  He came home Friday from rehab but will have weekly PT that his friend Jay or my sister will take him too as it's on Tuesday and we ALL know what Tuesday is, my PAINT DAY!  

I went to see Daddy yesterday and went to the grocery for him to fill his freezer of his favorite TV dinners.  He was almost in a panic that he didn't have food to eat, yet his freezer is full of lots of stuff, except of his TV dinners.  My sister sent me a text Saturday that when she went to see him she found him on his riding lawnmower mowing the front yard.  I told her to tell him STOP!  Not only because he SHOULDN'T but because I paid my cousin for the month of June to mow.  Fortunately the mower pooped out so she got him inside and went to get him some orange juice but when she returned he was in the backyard mowing again, managing to get the mower started.  (Banging head on desk!)  He is NOT supposed to drive yet I guess he felt he could mow.  I know it is the one thing he LOVES to do but not so soon please.  

Father's Day and I fed The Hubby and the Son-In-Law as Daughter #1 is in California visiting Daughter #2 until tonight.  Snicklefritz was to spend the night with me, go to work with me while her Daddy works today.  I'm still waiting for her to wake up and it's a little after 7 am.  I promised her that we would go out for pancakes!  I have a ton of work at the office this morning because I was gone last week so she will play or watch videos while I type then we will go back home for lunch and stay until her Daddy is done for the day.  

Another art meeting tonight, Alpha Rho Tau then art tomorrow THEN yet another workshop.  I know, I know it is a lot with back-to-back workshops but it's just the way it happened.  Plus I am older and I've lost a lot of years getting into art so late in the game.  I have to absorb a lot in a short amount of time.  This week will be an intense 4 day workshop in portraits.  This one is in town so I will be able to be at the office at 6:30 or 7 then to the workshop by 9 every morning.  (I am going to crash next week!)

This Guy

This guy is having a rough week.  He had a stroke on Sunday and has fallen a couple of times.  As of this morning he is in the hospital...info when we know more.