brush woes

lately i've been working in gouache almost exclusively... botanicals (i use that term loosely)
but my kalish brushes gave up the tips FAST
so again i am on the hunt for new springy tippy brushes that will last more then 5 gouache paintings
lots of suggestions
and lots of cost variations
meanwhile my poor petunia painting languishes on it's easel
maybe i should have a brush fund raiser (it's only half a joke, brushes aren't cheap)
anyway that's what i'm doing right now with my summer

and the summer is fast flying

i'm battling allergies or something, it's giving me a lot of trouble on and off with breathing
so i'm really not doing much except painting
we did manage to get some very good bargains on meat so we stocked the freezer.
we're trying to stock veggies too now
i am back to knitting again, but very little at a time.....and my circular needles keep breaking
meanwhile i'm planning paintings
i also wrote to the copyright office about the orphan works act
so thankfully i got that in to them in time
and i am researching small appliances for the kitchen, drop in cooktops or wall ovens
narrow fridges....... 18'' dishwashers or dishwasher drawers.....
i can't afford them yet but in the future.......
that's about it

again dodging fibro flares

but slowly things are getting done, with a lot of help from bernie as i can't do much of what i used to do .......
bernie told me that the upright freezer is now full
(all the container meals)
we have to rotate the hams out, the precooked ones will stay but the ones that need cooking are to come up, be cooked and then cut up, packed and put away as meals
i have beef to look for next (a good sale would sure help)
and then i'll be doing more veggies
we have a lot of sliced peppers put away, and hope for stuffed peppers to be put away
he's got a guy at work who has a small truck garden and we're getting bushels of stuff when we can
we've gotten potatoes and peppers and corn so far over the past year-
meanwhile i need to seed spinach for the fall
this morning we put away 6 small pork roasts
yesterday we put away 10 meals of breaded porkchops and about 40 of hot dogs (it's a compromise, i don't like or agree with hot dogs, he loves them, they were on a bulk sale at the provisioners, so we got them.
with bernie's help we can get done part of what i used to be able to do in a morning...

i am still debating a kickstarter for printing work
i don't quite have the energy yet... so that's on hold
but i would really like to get the gouache paintings printed so i can sell the originals..
as if i keep them i am going to have to either get flat files or frame them

so that's what's up..oh and rain..... tons of rain and more rain

and how is it by YOU?

and here it is.....JULY!~

i've been sick off and on with fibro flares in response to weather
today isn't too bad so far
when i'm able i am devoting all my time to painting
currently gouache on black paper..... flowers-
i did the birthday orchid from bernie, horizontal pansies from the deck,
vertical pansies from the deck (in the midst of that one)
and planning on doing the lime/fuchsia striped petunias as well (one horizontal one vertical to 'go with' the pansies)
ed my amazing printer is on vacation in i think colorado......no doubt fly fishing
so nothing is going to be printed until he's back
unless i get cards done
one of my friends has a printer that does her cards and although i'd have to ship, i may do this just to get the cards done

if i do 5 paintings a month as cards.......wait who am i kidding, i am so prolific that i would have to have 15 paintings a month printed to cover the new work as well as making a dent in the backlog of paintings that are piled up in boxes
ahem, i also need more archival boxes at this point

as has been pointed out numerous times (yes i know you're right KAREN) if i sold the originals........... yes yes yes i know
but until they are in digital files i can't do that
i really should get one box started a year though

meanwhile i am liking (ahem was liking) the gouache, these vertical pansies are kicking my ass a bit right now.....maybe it's too much yellow
or specifically CADMIUM yellow
but the other two yellow gouaches from m graham aren't the right shades of yellow and no amount of mixing helped that

well ok....it's time now
i have to get dressed and get to work
those pansies aren't going to paint themselves