and it looks like....RAIN

this is how a painting starts out...i try to not draw it out too much, but.......
something like this i got no choice.... there is way too much going on in this to wing it so to speak
(and yes i know that bird looks like shit)
meanwhile i am painting in the corn field in the background... and DREADING when i have to go back in with the sky....which is gray..... and stormy.....
however once i do that, i can finish the shadows on the other stuff and correct the colors etc
and make that damn bird look a lot better...he does look pretty iffy
i don't know if i am going to like this yet when i'm done...i do like that corn in the background......i love how it sort of looks down on the crow (sorta like it's going to get that crow for eating it's babies)
and of course i love the pumpkin....i LOVE pumpkins!
now this is also much larger then i have been working lately... (not as big as my black and whites but bigger then the color work i've been doing)
there is a reason....
i didn't want to crowd this too much and i did want to get a LOT of background corn stalks in there
so i went bigger
not quite as large as i wanted to
but big enough that i can put in detail and still scan it here
WHAT?
doesn't everyone do halloween in june/july?

still raining

and i am painting nests ...........and birds...AGAIN
this is one of the middle photo's...it's not finished in this one.....however in real life it's done and in the box for the printer
believe me it's MUCH better then what you see here..... light years better.

tomorrow i will most likely start another painting, if i don't start one tonight.
i am thinking of another small furry mammal as i have to finish that series

i need to do a few portraits of kids.....
i would like someone around 5 years old or younger....
3-5 is probably perfect
normally i would do girls as i was so used to looking at my nieces but i would like to do some boy's portraits instead
anyone want to volunteer their kids?
i'm not that good an artist so they probably won't be recognizable
hahahahahaha
oye
meanwhile, even though i am not posting, i AM still working my assets off.......still researching wide bed printers.....still trying to find a good way to digitize these paintings so i can print them and then sell the originals- it's a lot of work
and my acute bronchitis is going away- i am coughing up stuff here and there.... but i haven't had to use the inhaler for two days now....
today i didn't use the allergy meds either and i can breath!
i helped bernie bring the ducks in (in the POURING monsoon rains) and was ok to breath!
so i am getting better it would seem
but i am out of stuff to read......(yes me, in a house made of books, i have nothing to read.....nothing NEW to read)

ok then, back to the drawing board

didja miss me?

life goes on....budgie life that is

mrs fezziwig is fine it looks like
she is out from under the heat lamp..
meanwhile stella and emma are laying now
so we are having eggie days here

i can't believe that mrs fezziwig made it.....what are the odds?
but i am so glad
what a plucky little girl

meanwhile, i will be wondering if we are going to have baby budgies here or what?

mrs fezziwig the budgie

 a lot of stuff has been going around here
one bad thing was that mrs fezziwig was egg bound
we soaked her yesterday and put the heat lamp on her
today she passed two eggs
then took a HUGE poop ( you could SEE the relief on her little face)
we think she is going to make it
we hope she will
she's still under the heat lamp as she hasn't moved out from it
but she's eating so we count this as a miracle
we also hope that it's the sign of better things to come......

half done oven bird

woman's right matter

so  for the first time every i voted.................

for the rights of woman must be upheld....
and stupidity needs to be squished

work continues

this is a crop of a house finch......... he wasn't quite finished here but that's ok....there is enough to see where he's going.
meanwhile the weather has changed again.....and i am continuing work on these small paintings.
i need to pick another watercolor paper for the next project which is botanical illustration.
i am torn between sanders, canson 100, and just going for twinrocker.
meanwhile the rest of the chickens and ducks are ok......we were so worried about them
and if you don't hear from me....rest assured, i am working

chipping sparrow

chipping sparrow.... midway through painting..
i did finally finish her (see the egg bulge? that's a girl! we know all about egg bulges around here with 11 female birds)
she is actually finished, and in my box waiting to be scanned for note cards
and i will go on record as saying
i like her

oh and i fixed her beak


now in very sad news
malcom passed away the other day..... i do miss him very much.
we think he was poisoned by a neighbor using rodent bait
we have to believe it was an accident

now don't faint- studio organizing

 i wanted to show any one that needed a safe idea for expensive brushes what i ended up doing with my VERY expenisve kolinsky brushes that i collected and watched for sales for.
Hobby Lobby has cheapo brush sets for a few bucks in a COOL plastic cylinder. With the styro bottom support..... VERY GOOD IDEA i took the cheapo brushes out that i now use for liquid frisket maskoid.....(use synthetic brushes, wet and soaped, the wiped down and mask won't stick)
and i replaced them with my good ones....i poked extra holes with a knitting needle and this houses almost all of my short handled watercolor brushes-- I AM THRILLED WITH THIS IDEA
the remainder of my cheap brushes or my good synthetic brushes are in that crystal jar bottom (it rings bright and CLEAR like a bell every time something knocks it)

now that black thing..... it holds erasers, scissors etc......that thing was like 5.00 at a back to school sale at staples one year... it proved itself worthy of space on the work top
that red round thing with the dark top is my folgers water container
folgers coffee in the red plastic canister works very well for me for water. the label comes off and it's RED
the lid fits tightly so thaddeaus peabody can't drink my watercolor water...
i decided that since i am using my nieces' desktop i would put the water container and the spray bottle as well as the paper towels in a plastic tray to help with drips but i do plan on getting a plastic cover (clear vinyl)

now i need an idea for a brush drying rack......brushes need to dry with the bristles facing down i bought one but it's not working very well......
now clothes pins work as long as i put them in the wire shelving to hold them

but i need some other idea..a drying rack of sorts
preferably one that the brushes clamp in.....all different sizes
any ideas would be appreciated

ok off i go......
happy passover to those who celebrate
happy easter to the others
and happy weekend to everyone else

ps: bernie worked about 85 hours this week.... last night getting home at 11 and tuesday getting in at 10
we're going to rest all weekend

you know the drill..............

 i put the red desk top in the watercolor corner of the studio.....and i am still really busy..... i think though this area needs to be 4' long not five.....
so we're going to talk about a custom table.....that fits in that corner around the moldings and maybe will have three flat paper drawers

in duck news.... everyone is fine...malcom has to be watched as he's feeling randy-three of the 4 girls are laying
the chickens like their 'new' day pen which isn't really finished but they can use it as long as it isn't overnight- colette is starting to lay outside...i  was not happy about that either, as i want them laying in the house not outside
the cats and budgies are fine- for my birthday, we had a total blast...... we went to well sweep herb farm- then a used bookstore in an amazing old building in easton.....followed by barnes & nobel....... then outback for supper...... home to bring in the poultry.....and finally finishing with a movie at the local community theater..... all in all a wonderful day just bernie and i..... it was marred early by his job calling him like crazy.... but i unplugged the house phone and turned his cell off
we were so busy that we didnt' get around to birthday cake until saturday!
so now you all are sort of updated but i will tell you i am totally busy...... someone asked me to can for them (for pay) hahahaha i don't think i will have the time to can for ME
ok i have to get my woodstove lit for the night
take good care
til next time

still too busy

a waterfall has replaced the block

ok in no particular order (or state of finish as these are all random shots of the work i been doing lately..none of them are finished in these pictures though) here is some of the color work i have been doing.
i would say that the muse has returned and the flood gates have opened.....
now where does that leave me on the duck book? ahem...... slightly behind again as usual. but in my defense....... i have been working on the second draft--- and i hope to get that done by friday.....maybe
at least i hope so
i may have to break to do the taxes
i emailed the tax guy but i have a bad feeling about him and the taxes this year

now as to the drawings....if there are a preponderance of squirrels....... yeah i know.. i would imagine that in a while there will be a glut of bunnies or mice or something .........you know how these things go right? i explore a theme....... (that sounds about right for what i've been doing huh?)

so anyway this is why no one's heard from me for a while. i suppose you all will forgive me right?
oh and in other topics......this election crap is driving me nuts so i really haven't been too happy about all that lately- another reason i've had nothing to say

as soon as the sun comes up

i hope to sit down and do some work

if i am still blocked, i am going to just do some color charts

i still have town errands.....po first
but we'll see

over the weekend we got duck crates cleaned.
i got myself soaked when i was hosing out the crates, and the hose slipped..
it's all bernie's fault i got soaked (it's my story and i'm going with that)
since he had WARM water on for the duck ponds......and it took a bit for me to register that i was getting WET....as i was finally warm!

see how i justified that?


now in other news, we ran out of wood.....(just like i said we would .....so does someone tall with glasses listen to me???? )

i have to call the wood guy today i suppose
we scrounged around out back and picked up some dead fall and some logs we'd cut off some downed trees and i am burning that right now but i sure would like a nice big load of split logs right about now


i uploaded a beginning of the hawk i am going with...and some photo's of my studio helper for this week.... (fawn is taking a break) ....little blue eyes has been talking to me and hanging around with me almost non stop lately......so here is her 'helping' mom

oh i also ordered leek seeds and (since i've been lazy and behind on starting) leek sets.....
the garden still has some leeks and some chard, carrots, garlic and onions in it...
i am about to add more leeks, carrots, spinach..... it's been such a mild winter

ok the light is coming up.....so i have got to go

take good care everyone

soooo down to the wire and i've got writers AND artist block

and a materials problem....my paints keep chipping off the duralar
add to this all the rain, the spring fever etc
and we have one unhappy artist...with a gapping hole in her book

however knitting is going swimmingly! i finished the cream and sugar cowl in record time...out of sunna from spirit trail in a deep red/maroon color that works quietly with my charcoal wool town coat
now i'm back to the gold fish shawl
and beading
then i'm mopping up the UFO bag
in between drawings

i also had an epiphany.. about my art school and my education- i don't remember a watercolor class!
if there was one...... i didn't take it
so i have been learning stuff on my own through trial and error......
well i finally figured out that i needed to look up information on maskoid and boy was that amazing
turns out i was on the right track but i picked up a few tricks along the way- which saved me a LOT of money that i would have wasted on ruined papers
1) winsor newton makes a colorless mask that is good for 'soft' sized paper
2) frisket paper needs to have the edges sealed with white mask
3) soap a brush and then dip it in the maskoid
4) 140-300 pound paper resists the mask damage the most
5) there WILL be damage on the paper surface from the mask ( here i was kicking myself silly)

now some of the trial and error things....... the use of the toothbrush to splatter mask so it acts like snow... yeah i reinvented the wheel there.........
and i had an inkling that i could mask some colors out......say in the northern lights but i didn't do it
the ducks i ruined....... i should have used frisket...and sealed the edges with white mask instead of painting them all over with mask

so now i am wondering.....what else could i have possibly missed by not having a watercolor class in art school....
i remember we did oils
and got full instructions in etching ( gees i love etching...i would so love to do it again)
but we only got a smattering in 'water' mediums......and that covered acrylics at the time
they treated watercolor as paintings poor half sister
and basically ignored it
we did get instruction in gouashe... but only in commerical art

oye
either way it's all good right???

someone want to please tell me that?

still busy

still drawing (scrapped the last one but did a much different one....and now i hate hawks)

still trying to come up with a card line....
that's not easy for me at the moment (once i dig into it though it will be....that's how these things always are)

i do need to talk to someone who can tell me about die cutting machines that i can program myself to cut around my own designs and drawings
as well as cutting basic shapes out of chipboard

in other news, the weather here is getting a bit warmer
and we've run out of wood....JUST like i told bernie we would
we burn 5 full cords a year here due to antique windows that seriously need replacing
i need to find yet another wood guy
the last one had good wood --- great wood actually but his '3' cords was more like 1.5 cords
the guy before him had 3 full cords but his wood was shit

can't i find someone who has full cords and good wood for a fair price?

anyway..... i also have spring fever BAD....seriously BAD
so bad i am thinking of making a terrarium and sticking frogs in it!
or putting up the fishtank and getting fish! (we have no room for either)
although maybe a hanging terrarium without frogs would work?

so far i have resisted both impulses.

i've also did some sunscreen research...only to find out that my current one is woefully inadequate.
so i ordered new mineral sunscreens online...these have zinc.
i would rather have had titanium
i have to order the nanomicron titanium and make my own i suppose
and the new standards appear to be 18-20% mineral particles
ok i can do that

so chickies there it is....i haven't abandoned you all....i've not forgotten
i have been absurdly busy
dealing with normal household issues and trying to hit deadlines....as well as a reticent hawk that was quite a great deal of trouble to capture on paper

right now i am struggling with my aversion to color in my work- i do need to do some color work
but as usual.....i start and think...... 'this is all too distracting from the image'

hahahaha
oye

happy happy V day to you

me? well the muse struck again..... but something tells me it's going to be a LONG long drawing....
i have three layouts on the drafting table and this one i actually like..... the others i like the IDEA of.....but i don't think they work for this story.......

this one however seems to my eye as the 'right' one

we had a good weekend....... bernie got some of the studio done....i worked on the duck manuscript and next i have to scan work that is getting printed up for the meeting i have to schedule at the end of the month

so for now......this is what's on my board for the next while........

maybe i should have curled the wings forward a bit more???

OYE

happy heart day to you all

1977

on this day.......we were married.

no one thought it would last
we didn't think so either
things were very rough for us

but here we are
still married.......still in love
we've had our ups and downs...........

somehow we continued to love, learn, grow.........

i've discovered strengths i didn't know i had
he's learned he can be strong and steadfast

we've built a life just the right size for us two

and bernie, i love you more today then i did when i married you
and i know (cause you told me yesterday) that you feel the exact same way about me!

happy anniversary nooggums.......

newer work

however i don't know if i like it so i am redoing it!
i already have the second one on the drafting table
and have plans for a third plus color work

now this weekend (our anniversary) bernie decided he is going to help me with the big stuff in the studio
which is a very good thing.....however it also means down time.
which i really don't have time for
good thing i already have a decent backlog of paintings ready or i would be even more worried then i am normally
i am however seeing this project wrapping up. which is always sad but it a good thing too. that means it's almost complete! and i am thinking about what is coming next
no i'm not totally sure yet
i'll see after  i have the meetings with the potential new client- as if i get that account, well that changes what i will be doing,  won't it?

i would imagine however that a second book will be in the works as i doubt i can stop myself.
there are more stories and more drawings
so maybe another one no?

ok so i showed you mine.....now show me YOURS.........

FINALLY a night's sleep!

we drove the new van around a tiny bit yesterday (food shopping ......woohoo what a wild life we lead!)

bernie adjusted the seat and now i can't use the brakes without breaking my hip!

ok so back to the drawing board so to speak

right now he's doing wood
and we are running up to get a new dishwasher in a bit
then i can do dishes (the new one won't be installed for a while) and then maybe draw?

in duck news.... both little girls are laying, and both little girls loves them some momma.....
and amelia gave her daddy duckie kisses last night (she nibbled his hand and jacket cuffs- remember now these guys can and do bite.... they have serrated beaks and a small tooth on the end of thier upper beak- she was so soft and gentle that it tickled and not a scratch on him)
you know....i really do love these ducks so much, they are so much better then dogs
even with all the PMS they do have and the rapid mood swings and the liquid manure.......
well i do love them when they are sweet

did i tell yous that due to getting points back, i threw the van on the CC?
hahahahaha
yup i did
and paid it off already
i love stuff like that
and the reward points...... well i could get a new camera or a temporary car port for the new van

it's cold out today here... ice on the ponds, but i put falstaff out anyway, as he's been doing so well lately.
bernie is bringing extra wood in and i have the stove stoked

i cast on a new shawlette i nicknamed the 'goldfish' shawlette.....it's the bright yellows/golds/oranges of  goldfish
so i am putting aquarium plant bright spring green beads on it... and also further up, aquarium blue beads....it's fun!
it may be my last shawlette for the winter....we'll see
i still need to do mittens and hats and a few sweaters

in studio work, now that i have the new van.....i plan on getting some of the things i've been painting printed.
i have to source large envelopes of about 4'' wide by like 16'' long... with a cello window would be good too
but really the best would be right now to get back to work
oye
i hate interruptions

next week is our anniversary...we've been married since 1977
bernie said the sweetest thing to me this morning

he told me that he loved me so much more now then when we married......he said that he loved me then but NOTHING like the way he loves me now.
i guess i grew on him like a fungus....hahahahahahaha
actually i do know what he means
he's my family
i do remember blood family of course..... but it seems so far away to me now.
and really the only constant for way more then half my life has been him
we have ups and downs.... but we've managed somehow to stick it out
and we've grown as people
i couldn't ever imagine life without him...... i don't know where i leave off and he begins!
and sooooooo many people never ever thought we'd make it.....ha

(and it was while getting his anniversary card that i got a new client lead!)

oh and one more thing..... getting the new van while totally traumatic for me (i soooooooo hate change) actually worked out better, smoother, and all around easier then i ever expected!!!!
it's just that i really hate change....
and my old van had seen me through thea's illness..... dad's, kisses........... it had hauled sheep, ducks, chickens and pigs......along with hay, plywood.... etc
it took us to rhinebeck, out to the farms....... and to KY and VA to see family and get thaddeaus....
there are a LOT of memories tied up in that van

but i guess the new van will make us new memories... and rhinebeck won't be a problem at all this year
possibly even MDSW .......we'll see

ok folks til next time....... and there are pictures of some of the girls for you folks to see

and tomorrow is the big day

we pick up the new van
i am very excited as i know that i can get the animals to the vet, get to the doctor
get to rhinebeck etc without worry

meanwhile i have been busy. drawing yes
writing ........ahem ........well yes i have been

doing housework......yeah not so much
knitting .....well i did caston another forget me knot ....this time in goldfish colors
and i need to make a decision about the beads for it.....FAST
i have a spring green that would work but i would prefer aqua matt

you know.....to look like water and pond plants.
well i have a bit of time, so i may go and see about getting some aqua matt beads

in duckie news..... falstaff has come back from the nearly dead!
he is so old, and the cold was bothering him
but yesterday he was his old chipper womanizing self
telling the girls how he was thier stud muffin!

poor malcom is getting a complex!

meanwhile the little girls are taking time out to graze, and i am encouraging that as they are laying.
the big girls are still fighting
my discussions with them all is going something like this:

'MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMM- she touched me' (this would be phoebe)

'I DID NOT TOUCH HER MOM, SHE is LYING' (this would be lilli)

girls stop fighting (this would be me.....)

~~~ sounds of honking and feather flapping~~~~
GIRLS STOP FIGHTING.....

i'm going to get the hose
ok i got the hose now cool off  ~~~ sounds of water being sprayed on fighting ducks~~~~

ENOUGH

'mom i loves you the best'  (this is from both of them once i separate them)

AAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKK this is me being frustrated

oye

at least the little girls are getting along.

now i had planned to talk about lofty things like 'free will'
and 'respect for other's choices'

in light of the Komen foundations move to defund planned parenthood
i am very angry with Komen now...as planned parenthood was the ONLY help i was able to get when i had the bilateral lumpectomies in 02... we had no insurance and bernie was on workmen's comp and CRUTCHES having gotten his leg blown up at work (we really should have sued the company for negligence)
no one would talk to us or work with us..... planned parenthood was there for me
they arranged the mammogram, ultrasound, stereotactic biopsy, the bilateral biopsy, and the follow up care...they paid for it as well since we did NOT have insurance and had exhausted our emergency fund as bernie had been out of work for three months on crutches with daily PT.

unfortunately in america, health care is taken as a privilege not a right- and the result is.... people die
people are disabled.
and health insurance companies are getting wealthier and wealthier ( maybe we should all invest in shares in the insurances?)

i don't know what the answer is....... i think maybe germany and finland have better health care models that we may want to take a look at .......but in the meantime
we need organizations like planned parenthood..... or more women will die of breast cancer from lack of access to care