Finally, Some Artwork!

I had finished this one some time ago but something wasn't quite right with it so I stared at it for awhile and finally decided what I wanted to fix on it. I am much happier now. She's done with acrylics on a 4x4 canvas.


"Say Cheese"
This little guy looks like he was a Star Trek fan as his shirt reminds me a little of their old uniforms. He was painted using acrylics and my ever so favorite Prismacolor pencils on a 6x6 canvas.


Ralphie was such a huge hit that I felt compelled to re-visit this particular picture several times, six times in fact, hehe. This is just one of them. They are all done the same way but each little Ralphie ended up having his own individual personality. It was rather amazing.

Another Etsy Treasury?

Wait!
Didn't I say I wasn't going to do another one of these that they were too darn difficult and took me all day?
Well, I just happened to be in the right place at the right time and managed to get another one of these and I had a much better time putting this one together.
Along the way I not only managed to find some amazing artwork but I also found some shops I simply must revisit. I also found that by looking at how other people took photos and what kinds of props they used or didn't use that it opened up possibilities with how I might be taking photos soon.
Very eye opening.

I also managed to figure out how to best catch a screen shot too.

Are you all proud of me?

Political Woes

I would like to start this particular post off with saying that I am so NOT going to get into discussing politics on my blog.
Hehe, this is a happy place and politics is not. So, on that note I would like to say that this clip that I found is so very funny indeed. Tina Fey actually scares me a bit because she does Sarah Palin so very very well that sometimes I actually wonder if there really are two women but actually only one. You all remember when we all thought that Michael Jackson and his sister Janet were the same person...right?

Here is the original interview that Katie Couric did with the actual Sarah Palin.

And here is the Saturday Night Live spoof that Tina Fey and Amy Poehler did.

Haha, Katie, I'd like to use my Lifeline. Yes, I would like to phone a friend.

I truly think that Amy Poehler did an awesome job as Katie Couric as well. She had that look of utter bewilderment down to a tee and the eye blinks...just wow.

I will be back later today with some actual artwork to share...finally.

New Member of the Family

I'm still in shock at how easily this picture came together. I only bothered to take two of them as none of the dogs were co-operating but this shot turned out amazingly well. Even more astounding is the fact I took it with my phone, wahoo! I'm getting better and better at this whole picture taking thing.

From left to right, Cash or Chase as I seem inclined to call him when my memory fails me and at this point I'm thinking it may be up in the air right now, my scruffy son, Cooper and Egg.
It was 100 degrees out today and it's at the end of September...unbelievable!

Doggy Jail

I came home from work the other day to hear the dreaded words, "Cooper is gone Mom!"

Cooper is my 2 year old yellow lab that came to live with me after finding his sweet face on Petfinder 2 years ago. He came to a rescue group in Saint George Utah after they found his Mother and all his siblings at a high kill shelter there. They were so accomadating that a friend of the rescue worker actually met me half way in Mesquite so I didn't have to drive so far to pick him up.

He and Egg were in the back yard and somehow the gate was opened and they were both out and free and apparently running around the neighborhood. After hearing from a couple of the neighbors I've pieced together a little bit of the story. Egg was found and returned home by one neighbor but didn't see Cooper. Another neighbor saw Cooper but was late for work so kept driving, and a third (unkown) neighbor found Cooper and turned him over to the Animal Cops. He had an I.D. on, his "other" collar that he had managed to chew off and I never bothered to put it on the new one.

I'm still in shock that after going to the most frustratingly disorganized shelter ever that we managed to find him. Oh what a pitiful sight there was to behold when we came upon his cage and there was my great big Cooper all huddled into a very small ball. My son called his name and he slowly looked around and when my son called his name again you should have seen the instant spark in his face. It made me so sad and of course thrilled that we found him. After trying to prove that he was indeed our dog and paying his 'bail' we were allowed to take our little man home. Of course we stopped at Petsmart and bought him a treat, a new toy and a bright shiny new I.D. tag.

However...we did manage to find and fall in love with yet another dog there. He's a Bull Terrier aka Spuds Mackenzie for those in the know. I've always adored this breed and this guy was an owner surrender. He goes in for evaluation today at 5pm to decide if he should go to adoptions. Unfortunately it is a first come first served kind of thing. I think we made friends with one of the guys there and may be able to get this guy adopted today.

Three dogs? What am I getting myself into?

Someone please talk me out of this!

Right?

My Very First Etsy Treasury

I've listened to the rumours and heard how difficult it was to get one of these things and how fun they were to do and then I just happened to be in the right place at the right time and thought, "why not!"


Of course I wasn't the least bit prepared for putting in my picks...at all.

Took me over an hour and I kept changing stuff.

Bah! What was I thinking? I've avoided doing one of these for so many reasons and not being prepared is a biggie.

In the end I think it turned out wonderful and I'm very proud of it. Will I ever do another one? Eh, not so sure...but maybe...

AND after trying to get the actual page to show up here and trying to print a screen shot also and being highly unsuccessful at it I give up and just added it as a link...boo!

It really does look good, hehe.

Oh and as a total ps I had someone show me how to go about using a thumbnail catcher so my treasury is now permanent, wahoo.

A Sneak Peek at Something New

Although now that I think about it showing the actual item in its' entirety and in its' finished state isn't a 'peek' but I shall call it a 'sneak peek at a new direction' and call it good, hehe.

I had first experimented with this guy and paper mache and enjoyed it quite immensely but got so busy with other things I never really got to play with paper mache again.

Well friends and neighbors that has all changed and I've got a succession of photos to prove it!

I thought it was interesting to take in progress shots for these guys and while there aren't very many photos I still thought they were informative enough.

I had to draw the eye on there just to give myself an idea of how he was going to look.

I really rather like the group of white birds, kind of look like doves, fat doves but I digress.


Doesn't it look as though the big one is teaching the little ones how to read?

I also prepped a stack of canvases with vintage pages for a slew of Ralph paintings.
You all know who you are...

Some More Altered Tags

Been awhile since I've been involved in any swaps on Craftster so I set about joining the altered tag swap. I of course ran out of time because of the megaphones and ended up getting these out late but they have all just shown up at their new homes so I'm free to finally show them here.

I based each of these tags on the list of things that each of my partners liked.

This one my partner liked blue and retro.

I have very little of my old 1943 yellowed newspaper left but this fabulous image was begging to be used.

Illustrated Insects.

I really wanted to hand draw these insects but just didn't have the time as they were already late. Gotta love clip art and those vinatge text pages.

Skulls and the color red.

I love skulls but always struggle with trying to get them realistic but look creepy too. More of that vintage text.

Anatomical Heart.

I loved doing this one as my partner has become a good friend along the way.