i think it's really actually spring now!

watercolor and colored pencil on hp

really truly actually spring! how about that! and here is my first run of watercolor/colored pencils.... not too bad for the first time out.. i could use some frog study time but all in all not too bad .......not quite as real as i prefer but i love his background and he is satisfyingly froggie so i am pleased for now. plus i do like the contrast of loose and uncontrolled with tight and rendered. oh and the value contrast makes me happy too. so i think this is a good first try with colored pencils- and if you are looking to get colored pencils the caran d'ache luminance are definitely worth it- i was given them as a gift but let me tell you...sell the baby if you have to...they really are that good.

next up.... i am healing from that horrible fall i took a week ago monday. all the black and blue marks are coming out now.... my whole leg from the knee down is a total mess.
i'm still having trouble with stairs, bernie still won't let me do anything, not chores, not dishes, not even cooking.  i am also having trouble lifting things and lifting my arms up as well. i have a doctors appointment this week so some of this in addition to the thyroid issues will be brought up, as well as the intermittent dizzy spells

proposed changes in studio

and now, here is a rough sketch of what i am going to be doing to my painting area in the studio.
that is the back wall with all the windows, the drafting at the lower left is staying where it is.so is the painting table that is already there (on the left is the strip of tabletop) where the easel is on that drawing is where the new table/work surface for gouache is going to go. i have carts that will fit under it for storage. and between windows i am going to add some shelves for the smaller drawer units to hold everything.
there are two taborets that i need to fit in as well, one is wooden, handmade and been with me for forever...it's about 4' tall and on wheels- the other one is plastic also about that same size and on wheels. the plastic one is more usable as the drawers are larger and deeper, and while there are less of them, they function better.
under the easel in the drawing is a shelf hung basket. i have one by my drafting table that holds my waxed paper, saral paper, soaps for brush cleaning and for using maskoid with, as well as odds and ends such as maskoid-- it is so useful that i am going to buy another one for under the small tabletop easel.  oh and SHHHHHHHhhhh don't say anything, but i am considering a third easel/workstation, just for pen and ink drawings.

 Sadly i have realized that the floor needs to be sanded.....that all the washing etc, is not going to make it work, and that only a thorough sanding will fix the mess of the floor. now the floor isn't actually a floor sort of .....it's a subfloor from when the subfloors were real wooden boards. it's pretty rustic. wide gapes between boards. however if we do sand it all down and put several coats of acrylic floor sealer/finish on it i think it will be fine
i would also like to replace the windows that are 13'' apart with two 6' wide windows on each wall, which will get rid of the 5 windows per wall we have now (6 on the back wall looking over the yard)
and if we can i would like to also ditch this ceiling.... and put in 'beams' and track lighting
the dropped ceiling in here really is just a race course for mice anyway

oh and in duckling news...misha has learned to go in and out without too much trouble now at all
so that is very good news...
the other ducks/chickens and quail are doing well from what bernie tells me, as i can't risk going up and down the basement stairs at the moment. i miss them all so much.....they call me and i talk to them but that isn't the same as petting them all
i am hoping that this will be fixed soon so i can go back to normal
i can't even risk going out to the garden to plant right now unless bernie is with me. ( yes it is that bad)
well at least i can paint again...i wasn't able to do that either for a few days

til next time