This Makes Me Want To...

Paint one of my son's guitars while he's sleeping, make those mushrooms for my backyard, go through the garage & inventory my spray paint, eat spaghetti, buy some pink flamingos (really) and definitely visit Austin on my next trip east!

A Little Word On Wednesday

For He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all they ways.
Psalm 91:11

In The Wild!

I was in the wild today. Wild is what my yard is. I raked and picked berries. I got started & couldn't stop. Our bushes are full of wild blackberries that are impossible to get rid of. We cut them down and they just come back the next year. Can't beat em', eat em'. There are lots more berries out there to be picked but it is just too hot out there now. I picked about 8 cups and have no idea what I am going to do with them all. Jelly really isn't my thing and I have the scars to prove it. So if you have any ideas I'd love to hear them.

Angel In Africa

Just listed on Ebay. Click here to view listing or purchase.

Playing With Crayons

I'm a grown-up that still loves crayons. I can feel my eyes twinkle when opening a box of Crayola 64 and my nose automatically dives in to have a long whiff. I've been having fun doing some paper batik & experimenting and thought I'd share the process that I'm doing. I did this picture in just a few minutes to show you, it's not particularly pretty or creative, just an example, it's best to really take your time & think your piece through. Crayon is unforgiving. It doesn't blend well. You should have your composition & colors in mind before starting. You can layer over some colors to blend but sometimes by doing so it will pull off the initial crayon wax. What you will need is simple, heavy paper, black acrylic paint or black tempura which I used, crayons, lots of muscle to get that crayon on thick and a little water. Make sure that the crayon layers are very thick. You can even melt the tip of the crayon a little if you like with a candle flame to make it thicker& stronger in color. When you are finished coloring & happy with your piece, crumple the paper into a ball. The tighter the crumple more lines & cracks will appear. Mix a little of the black paint or tempura with water and submerge your piece. The paint & water will not stick to the crayon. Gently wipe the black paint off the crayon area. It will looked aged & pretty. You can iron the paper if you like. By ironing the paper the wax will melt into the paper. Be sure to iron on the back side with another piece of clean paper underneath because some of the wax will come off. So pull out your box of colors & have fun!

Boring? No Beautiful!

Those of you who follow my blog know that I do not have a green thumb and too much dirt for my gardening abilities. One thing I love, not only for their beauty but because I can't kill it, it grows no matter what, is Oleanders. Yes "Freeway Flowers". They go unnoticed most of the time, they are unjustly disliked by many, thought to be boring, but I love them. I think they are beautiful. I know that they are poisonous which makes them all the more interesting to me. Deadly Beautiful. When I'm driving down the freeway they make me feel happy, almost as happy as the wild Black-eyed Susans. Although I have pretty roses blooming I couldn't help but pick some oleander this morning. Freeway photo by mistergoleta

It's OK to Play With Your Food!

Remembering Paint-by-Numbers

I saw this quaint little room on Country Living and fell in love with this paint-by-number collection. It brought back a nostalgic feeling. When I told my Mom about it she asked me if I wanted her to buy me a paint-by-number set! haha (I said No! but a little bit of me thought it might be fun.haha) I don't even know how many of these she bought me growing up. I used to love to smell the paint and it was a bit like doing a puzzle. I think one on a wall wouldn't necessarily be a good thing but a collection I think is really cool! I might keep my eye peeled for these on my next trip to the flea markets or antique stores even though I'm sure these are mostly found in Gramma's attics. haha

A few new prints listed on Etsy today...

What's New!

I started my morning with a big cup of coffee & fingers crossed that my computer would work for longer than a few minutes. I listed a necklace handmade by Teri Martin with my art as a charm. She sells these charm necklaces in 2 galleries in Downtown Disney and is doing quite well. She handpicks all the beads & disks to match the art with great attention to detail. I truly wish a picture could capture the real thing. She also paints unique & colorful jewelery boxes. I think her necklaces & boxes are wonderfully whimsical! I plan to list more necklaces as soon as I can. If you are interested in this one you can purchase it here.

I am watching JJ today and tonight is his 1st sleepover. He was a little angel all day and went to bed without a whimper. He was so funny. He would bark at the dogs & they would bark back. So we had a barking match going on for a while and lots of laughter. The other day we gave him a lemon & waited in anticipation for him to make an awful face. We were belly laughing when he didn't even wince. He loved it! We looked at baby pools the other day. Today I wished we had bought one because I would have been in it with him. It was so hot! ugh. I starting to pine for rain and yarn. I don't know why but this time I year I always want to knit or crochet. Maybe because it's a good excuse to just sit inside where it's cool.

A Little Word on Wednesday

“Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and Thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth Thee.” Nehemiah 9:6

"The Jeweler's Keeper"

No you aren't having devaju! I did post this last Wednesday but the painting was in progress. It's finally finished. I could pick it to death to the point of ruin but I am going to leave it as it is before I do that. I am pleased with it. I debated on whether to antique it or not but feared I might make a mess of many many days of work. Even though I used softer colors than I normally do, still it's vibrant & bright full of life. There are little subtle things that I have put in it as well. A few of the pearls have an almost subliminal reflection of a heart.

Ringo Starr's story of what an Octopus's Garden really is inspired me. Turns out Octopus are pretty amazing creatures. They are very intelligent and live in dens. When they catch a crab they take it to their den, they dine, then they stack the shells up neatly at the front door. They also like to collect shiny objects. The Octopus's garden essentially is all the lovely things he has stacked around his den. My octopus I am calling the "Jeweler". He is perhaps a great pearl collector. I love how he is showing off his prized pearl by holding his arms up mimicking a crown. Did you know that they had 3 hearts? Does that shed a whole new light on how they presented Davy Jones as an octopus in Pirates? arrrrrrrgh I love me pirates!

Big Ol' Bears

Here's a peek of a few rough doodles in my sketch book that I have yet to get around to painting... Aren't they sweet?! Maybe soon. My computer is still acting up after a week of talking to Dell and constant virus scans. It's a big ol' bear too. I can only be on the computer a few minutes at a time before it freezes up. Arrrgh. I miss looking at blogs. I think I'm becoming a blogoholic.

Just For Now...

My Little Spot on The Planet

My computer is sick. It has a virus of some sort or it's just dying. I can only be online for about 10 minutes before it freezes up. Hopefully it can be fixed. I have been saving all of our photos just in case of a total crash. Being away from it has given me more time to paint!

I was sitting on my patio thinking about how I need to rake again instead of paint then went inside & painted!

Then I was thinking about my husband's band playing at Windwalker Winery next month & how fun it's going to be hanging out with our friends . So I painted the tree at Windwalker.

I started having so much fun doing these landscape paintings that I did one more, which is really just inspired by El Dorado County, my little spot on the planet.
These photo's don't do these justice. It's many layers of paint on each one which makes the colors very rich.

All of these paintings are now listed in my Etsy Shop.

A Little Word on Wednesday

Work in Progress

“Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and Thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth Thee.” Nehemiah 9:6

Oh Happy Day!

There are several people that have really made my day today! A big Thank you goes out to Mel Avila Alarilla At Literatii-An Artistic Blog for a wonderful surprise feature & critique on his blog. I am very flattered, honored and humbled. To Suzi at Art With a Touch of Whimsy for The award is for "Great Attitude and Gratitude" blog award. So sweet! I will pass it along soon. Also Thank You Natalie at Bubbles Variety Shoppe for including my Peaceful Beach Angel in her very creative Etsy Treasury! You can check it out here. I had my little Doodle Bug today and he wore me out! I'm exhausted. I could go to bed right now but I have to stay up to watch the Bachelorette. (I know. I'm a hopeless romantic.) He only took 1 short nap and then he turned into the Energizer Bunny. He was into everything and danced danced danced! My son said he crashed out the minute they got in the car. He's been making this scrunchy face that's so cute. I didn't teach him that either. haha I did a few pages in my journal the other night that I wanted to share one with you but honestly I don't have the energy to scan it, upload and post it. Tomorrow...

Sunday Shout Outs & Surprises

"Peaceful"
Now listed in my Etsy Shop.

A few Sunday Shout Outs... Thank you to Split Rock Ranch for being my top dropper for June! Be sure to stop by her blog. Thank you to Terraworks for including my Angel in her Modern Folk Art Etsy Treasury. Her clay work is a must see! Thanks to Kelly at Love Is My Religion for the MeMe Blog Award! Surprise! Kelly has a wonderful blog & whimsical art. Another must see! The rules are to share 7 things about myself & pass to 7 other people. Here are 7 things other than what is down below at the bottom of my blog & on this previous post:
1. I'm the only one in my immediate family with blonde hair & blue eyes. I've been told I'm not adopted even though I've often pondered the thought. haha
2. I can eat an entire can of jalapeno peppers & still want more.
3. I've taken a ride in a hot air balloon once, on an elephant twice and I am terrified of heights & bridges.
4. I've have been to 37 states and stood in 4 at the same time.
5. I have a hard time throwing away a glass jar. When I have too many a jars in the cabinet, a fairy shows up and makes some of them magically disappear. I've never caught that fairy. I miss the jars when they are gone.
6. At age 5 I was in a parade and twirled the baton.
7. I love to cook and I'm not afraid to try anything strange. There may be a few exceptions but not many.
My 7 choices to pass the award to are:
The Charming Place ; Trial & Error; Groggy Froggy ; WallFlower Studio; Magic Markings Art ; Tattoo Dreams; & Happy Shack Designs.

Happy Independence Day!

Synapse & Cardia

Last night & today I've been working on some digital collages for my son. He gave me a little idea of what he wanted and I got to work on it. He likes the girl & tree which is why I have done several. You may notice the background photo in one from a few weeks ago that I took at the creek. I thought it was for a inspiration poster for his work but turns out it's for his album cover. Duh. Synapse & Cardia, well he does work in the medical field & it was an email. I'm easily confused, the ol' neurons weren't working. hahaha I've had fun doing them & I've stayed inside where it's nice & cool. I wish I had a better photo program. Mine is super basic. I had to put my little Doodle Bug in one! These are a few of my favorites so far, I didn't want to post them all. Just curious...which one do you like the best?

When Dieting...

...paint food! I can hardly go a day without a tomato. (or jalapenos, maybe that's next) The tomato & eggplants are ACEOs. The juicy red pears are painted 8 x 6 canvas prepared with fine sand for lots of texture. I just listed all in my Etsy shop. You'll know I'm really hungry when I start painting hamburgers, fries, hotdogs & mac-n-cheese! haha

"The Last Tomato"

"Eggplants In Waiting"

"Juicy Red Pears"

Some shout outs... I am in FOUR Etsy Treasury's today! WOW! How sweet is that?! I'd like to thank BlingbyChristine, please click here to check out her Treasury; Hullabaloo, click here to check out her Treasury; Estudiomartita, click here to check out her Treasury; and TheBeadAerie, click here to see her Treasury! All of these Treasury are very creative with a great collection of goods. One of these days I will try to do one myself but it seems complicated and time consuming so I really appreciate the effort & creativity when I browse through them on Etsy.

Wednesday Visitors

I had a wonderful visit with my dear friend Mary and her new dog Titan this morning! Titan is an English Mastiff and big huge lover boy! So mellow & sweet. I just fell in love with him and so did my little Roadie! I loved it when he came over & put laid his head on my lap for me to pet him. When I was standing he would come up and lean against me so I would pet him. Awww*heart melting* Mary loves dogs as much as I do, maybe more if that's possible. Titan had heart worms and was going to be put to sleep before Mary rescued him. She also owns a toy poodle named Bindy that is smaller than my Roadie & Reeda. Titan & Bindy must look really cute together. Her visit made me want to get another dog! Isn't he awesome?!