Shutting Down blog for A Few Months

Here is one final photo of my nextdoor neighbor.  I have come to the realization that all the social media I participate in, is a huge distraction from what I should be doing......painting.  Along with the pressures of family and bad health from time to time, I am just falling further behind in creating my art as well as the business and marketing of that art.  Our recent relocation over the past year, actually cost me about 5 months of career building.  Therefore, I have decided to shut down my blog for a period of time in order to regroup and refocus my art career.  When I return, I hope to have a different approach to this blog.....less personal junk and more art educational focus.  Until then, Ciao

Tree Trimming During Snow Storm on Sunday

Since the snow had us pretty much prisoners, we did start putting up our tree.  We hope to finish decorating this weekend.

Snow Cat

Since I am in the studio today working on the Christmas Card, I will just post these cute pics of my snowcat, Spare Kitty.   He got his name because every car has four tires and a spare.  At the time he wandered in, we only had four cats.  Anyway, this cat was feral and has an honest fondness for snow.  We had a large white boxer, named Molly at the time and the two became best friends immediately.  Spare would actually chase Molly around the yard in the snow and Molly would reciprocate by rolling Spare in the snow.  He still has a fondness for the snow and this is him jumping around in our first snow up here in Gore. 

  PS. Guess who is not getting her Christmas Cards printed in time for Christmas 2013?

White Walkers

For all my IMC friends and lovers of The Game of Thrones........these are my White Walkers.  They stand just beyond our deer fence and drool over the delicious plants in our yard....even in the winter. 
Be warned IMC friends, Winter is Coming!

Delayed Christmas Card

According to the movie, The Agony and The Ecstasy, Michelangelo was supposed to have said, "When the wine is bad, throw it out" in reference to the bad start he got on his Sistine Chapel murals.  That passage has resonated with me since I was a teen.  I am about to throw out some bad wine, aka Christmas Card 2014.  My idea is a good one, I just don't have a winning composition and I also realize I missed the mark with my birds choice.  So, you are all getting store bought cards this year.  But, I will start the card again and it can be next years card. 

First Snow in New Home

 

Our first snow in our new home.  You see here that we are feeding the birds....also a lot of deer.  About midday we had at least six inches on the grill and it was still falling.

Christmas Card Design for 2013

Here is the beginning of my card for 2013.   Colors look dull and not much detail at this point.  More to come!  Hope I get it finished before 2014!

Christmas Cards

As always, I am running behind.  I decided to create my own cards this year......just did not get around to it til now.  I am in the semi warm studio today, doing up the art work and hope to finish it by late this evening.  I think my print company can get them done rather quickly and then I can get them mailed before Christmas Day.......I hope!!!!

Demo at the SPCA Fundraiser

Here is yours truly, doing a pastel demo of our cat Remington at the SPCA fundraiser.  I met lots of incredible people, all dedicated to helping animals.  Not only did I meet lots of terrific people, but I also met some pretty darned adorable animals.  I fell in love with a little black and tan pup named Murphy.  When we left, some nice folks were considering adopting Murphy.  I will check back on Monday and see if Murphy went home with that family. 

Demo Tomorrow

I  have spent the entire morning getting together the equipment I will need for my demo tomorrow at the Winchester SPCA.  I am going to do a portrait of my big orange and white long haired cat, Frederick Remington...... we just call him Remmy or Remington.  We think he is a Norwegian Forest Cat since he is bigger than any Maine Coon Cat I have ever seen and his fur is just like the description the breeders use for this breed.  He has what looks like a lions mane and weighs nearly 20 lbs.  He is the biggest cat I have ever seen.  I will post photos this weekend.

Class Schedule Coming Soon

I am currently working on my class schedule for 2014 at Studio Frame in Warrenton.  I will put it up on my Website as well as this blog, very soon.  I HOPE!

Demo at the SPCA This Weekend

I will be demonstrating my Charcoal and Pastel Portrait technique this Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 7 & 8th at the Winchester SPCA.  They are having a fund raising event from 11 am on Sat. and 12 noon on Sunday.
I will be doing a dog portrait one day and a cat portrait the next day and taking orders for pet portraits.  $20.00 of each portrait order will be donated to the Shelter.  If you are in the area, come on by and get a Christmas Present for a loved one and help out the shelter at the same time. 

Thanksgiving Day

I am thankful for the staff at Loving Arms Rest Home. The girls are very gentle and caring.   Mom was doing pretty good on Thanksgiving Day, very lucid and aware that her only visitors are my husband and I. She repeatedly asked me if anyone was coming to see her. She does this during most of our visits.  It is a shame that we have become a society who has forgotten the folks who raised us and gave us everything they possibly could so that our lives would be better than their own.  Dinner was restaurant style that day, very nice and we were served at our table by the staff. The food is prepared by a real full time chef and is as good as Cracker Barrel.  It was very un-crowded, and very few of the residents had guests to eat with them.  One nice lady, Pauline, asked if she could join us and Hang Out, because she was lonely.  Another resident, Justine, is French and I try to speak a bit of French I have learned....she really likes when I speak to her in French.  All in all, Thanksgiving was nice and I know mom appreciated being with us on her second favorite holiday.

Quick Sketch

This is mom.  Some days all she can manage is to sit up in her chair.  She drifts off and slumps down in the wheelchair, so I have started bringing my sketchbook along for those days when our visits consist of me watching her go away to the Alzheimers place.