Workshop and Kiddos

Last Friday was a bit of a whirlwind.  I participated in an acrylic painting workshop at the Art 302 building in Broken Arrow with the incomparable Chantel Barber!  

OMG, acrylics are not in my wheelhouse but I wanted to try it and Chantel was the perfect instructor to help me pull it off.  I haven't finished the painting yet and don't want to share till I do at this point.  The workshop was a 3 day workshop and by the end of the first day I was ready to toss it in and go get my oils, but I decided to stick it out, to learn.  The last time I had worked with acrylics I was 14 years old and hated them then.  I'm still not a fan but it was a great way to reintroduce myself to the medium.

Chantel is absolutely was one of the best instructors I have ever had.  I learned a ton and she was kind and generous enough to share her knowledge.  She's promised to return next year!!!

After 3 longs days of learning art stuff I was then tasked to take care of the 3 year old again.  Sadly Mighty Max Sunday morning woke up not feeling well and by the end of the day Min was dropped off at her Auntie Biff's for me to get later in the day while Max was taken to the emergency room.

A baby with half a heart needs to be watched closely and quickly in the evening his temp was rising.

Poor little guy had pneumonia.  It's a common thing in these heart babies.

They quickly put him on strong antibiotics and they kicked that pneumonia's butt!  By morning Monday morning the pneumonia was gone and he was smiling.  This baby....

Min spent one more night with us but so very happy to be able to hug her little brother again.  She was really so good with us, not the potty training regression (thank GOD!)  With her getting a bit older she is so much more fun to hang around with, yet it is tiring.  I just couldn't get her to leave the house.  I really needed to go to the studio but she did NOT want to leave so we just hung at the house.  

I'm very glad that all is well with this little guy and that they are all home. Today they had to go to OKC to his cardiologist to check the heart with an echocardiogram and all turned out fine!  That's a good thing.

Can't We Just Get Along

"Can't we just get along."  Words spoken several years ago by Rodney King.  I turned on the television this morning and see rioting in the streets.  See Mr. Trump, what your vile vitriol has wrought.  People, please settle down.  It was voted, it is done, do you think all your screaming, crying and rioting is going to change it, NO.  Get involved in a peaceful manner, no name calling. 

Now on to what I did yesterday to ease my mind, to think happy thoughts.  I let my mind go to creating stuff.

This one I call "Confusion" 12x16 acrylic on gallery wrap canvas.  It was the first thing I worked on trying to get the junk out of my brain...welcoming happy thoughts in.  Trying to utilize what I learned on Saturday at the workshop.

Because I was spending a lot of time waiting for things to dry I was bouncing from acrylics to watercolor on a new product called Yupo paper.  Cool stuff.  It's plastic paper and you work watercolor around on it, swirl it, blot it and wait for it to dry.  Then you take paint off, put paint on, more blotting.  Such fun but I'm not sure it's me.  It's a bit frustrating and I wanted it to work like oils that I am familiar with, but I will continue.

"Black-eyed Susan's" 12x14 watercolor on Yupo paper