oh my, oh my

this is a fast study of a dried leaf and some oriental bittersweet...it's in preparation for the last painting in my current nest series.
the leaf has been kicking around the studio for like 5 years, as the shape was so interesting to me-- the bittersweet is from photos .....
this is a weird painting i know..but for some really odd reason, i like it very very much! go figure!
i like the way i rendered the berries.... the larger (closer to you) ones brighter, the faded look of the leaf (which is much darker in real life), and the more subdued painting of the smaller further away berries- i even like the way the shapes relate to each other....... and the painted  border.... the palette for this was very subdued as well.... my own mix for the reds, yellow ochre and naples yellow for the yellows..... umber for the browns...... i like this so much that i am going to do a few more along these lines and then maybe even down the road FRAME THEM for my self!
never underestimate the lure that red berries have for me...... oye

now in other news, i am starting to respond a bit to the extra rest and vitamin d.... this morning is the first morning in months that i was not in agony when i woke up
my hands still hurt but my shoulders not where near as bad
the absence of debilitating pain is amazing..... now i still have pain but not that horrible mind numbing pain that i've been living with
i still can't risk knitting yet...... or carrying full water buckets or stacking logs.... but i am hoping i can in time again because i feel so helpless

meanwhile..... i have plans for going to the bird farm this summer to paint edwards pheasants, along with chickens, ringneck pheasants, wild turkey, white quail, and a few peacocks.....
most likely i will do a lot of photographs, some on site color studies....... and then do the actual paintings here instudio...
i don't think i would have the time to do much actual painting at the farm, so to make sure i use my time and my models to the best of my abilities..... most of my work will be photo sessions
i may have to go back a second time but since it's far away, i may not have the opportunity to

i would also like very much to see about illustrating a book of fairy tales....but not the traditional ones

now yesterday, despite the very bad storms, we managed to shave most of the winter mats off fawn and give her a much needed bath, she looks and i imagine she feels so much lighter, cleaner, and happier today--- i wish we had a way to take her to a groomer over the winter so she can be trimmed up, bathed and dried thoroughly before she came home.... we can't bath her as we can't keep her warm enough through out the winter
and with her thyroid condition she mats so easily so fast that combing and brushing can't keep up with it... i know, cause i've tried so hard......
shaving her down and weekly baths are the only thing that keeps her from matting
she actually enjoys her bath....she relaxes into the hot water..... no struggling, no crying...... no fighting us...she seems to enjoy the water gently rinsing her too...
she doesn't seem to like the towel though!

anyway this is where we are all at right now