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

i'm thinking.... the drought's got to be over

rain and rain and rain and more rain
and rain
rain rain rain
those are my days and nights
after a while you're actually afraid of the sun!

today i did color charts, i did most of my watercolors (missing two on the chart)
and i did most of my gouache
i am adding two cads (yellow and red) and eventually cad orange
i think that'll be ok for gouache then
as i seem to be able to mix enough colors out of what i have and adding regular watercolors to the mixes as well

i was hoping to do another flower on black paper in gouache but i don't have one
i would like a blue one
alkanet would be nice
a blue poppy
or even delphinium
i can't do acronite as calpurrnia loves to eat the models and that will kill her, ditto on the nightshade

so i have to take stock of what is finished and what isn't finished in my series and go from there
i am going to ditch one of my frogs so i need to do another frog painting, just when i thought i was finished with them and could move on to newts
i am considering a mallard for the next migratory bird series
and due to rain, i can't go to the bird farm for the upland birds-
i don't have the teacups for the rest of the teacup series.....
oye
i could do another northern myth/folklore/fairytale.....
or i can add to the foxes either other small predators or maybe just more fox?
of course there is always CORN to paint.......
oye
OYE OYE
so that is the state of the studio this very rainy night

oh my goodness

no i didn't forget you all, but i have not be the best with the weather changes
it's really rough on a fibro body
meanwhile
painting continues when i can,
i finished the russian wood spirit and foxes
a portrait of the two foxes
a frog (one more to do as now i don't like one of the series enough to keep it)
and am working on pansies on black paper
it looks like mid/end of july for the bird farm visit so that could be late summer into late fall paintings

in household news, we're stocking the freezer, chicken is on sale so we're stocking
i think we'll end up with 200 pounds if i can (yes it's that cheap )

today is our 'sunday' so bernie due to rain is resting in the house
he's playing video games on the old computer
i'm intermittent painting- as my body allows.....
i am trying to rest as well, and dodge the fibro pain

so that's where we're at now
how is by you folks?

happy 100 birthday mom

that's my mom, the oldest daughter.....she would have been 100 years old today, we lost her 30 years ago to bone cancer. 

after the rain

it's been raining here too, not just texas and oklahoma
everything is very moist and very green
thankfully because the uphill neighbors were burning garbage illegally throughout the drought
it was pretty scary after having seen the big fire down at blue mountain

all is pretty quiet here otherwise, thank goodness
i'm painting (finished a russian wood spirit with foxes, and a portrait of two foxes-which we may be printing)
i was asked to go to the bird farm and paint the turkey, peacocks, roosters and pheasants there
i am hoping that i can make time by end of june
meanwhile since the weather did warm up, i am feeling a bit better so i've been able to get more done
i put by chicken freezer meals as chicken was .89 a pound
and i'll be trying to put by more meals if i can
against the days i can't

i also found out that a friend of mine from high school died.....in 2012, but i just found out yesterday, i don't know from what......but it's made me very sad to hear the news
he'd relocated about 20 years ago to the southwest.

in animal news..... mostly everyone's ok here for now.... captain cuttle wants a birdie friend so bad....and i would like to get him one this summer. he's taken to sitting at the extreme top corner of his cage so he can see me and chirp at me while i work
the lapermies are having allergy problems
it's the rain now
chickens, ducks and mrs quail are in the molt......... so are out of sorts

and this is pretty much all the news from here

til next time

omg a week?

i've been trying to do this next layout and sort of floating
so that accounts to the week gap between posts

the weather's changed to cold too now
good sleeping weather-however it's sort of cold (ahem....SORT OF? i got three shirts on and a wool hat) in the studio

now i am working also on more of the eastern europe/arctic myths of the feminine series
working on the second 'spirit'
also sanding and prepping boards for silverpoint

i have to decide something---- do i set up the next phase of the web presences for my work with a studio name? or in my real life name?
if i go with a studio name then i have to do a DBA......oye
what do you folks think?
i got a partial webpage put together that is optimized for mobile-
i am thinking of a FB page as well to go with
as well as society6 and fine art america

i know i have to do something... i'm not really getting enough exposure right now, and folks do actually like what i do!
so any thoughts anyone have.... there is an email button or you can comment (remember i approve comments so if you say something ....only i will see it -and you can ask to not be published)

the cold weather continues.....good sleeping weather.
it's rather dark out right now so i am sort of expecting rain, and since it's 2pm, i got time to paint before having to wake bernie and start supper

that is basically catching you all up in a fast fly by post
ok?

take good care

froggie froggie

i'm working on my 5th frog in the series
in looking back, the early 3 frogs i put the background paint on....and then sprayed it with water to soften it up, and make it 'watercolor washy'
these last three........yeah no
hard edges and tons of speckly splattery colors

since i do'nt know which way i like better, i may do another series only with turtles or newts
and do 3 of each

now, the weather is cooler, we actually had a frost warning last night, but no frost.
i did however, bring in the delicate plants.
everything seems ok
at least on the deck plants...the rest of the landscape isn't so lucky.
our yews and rhodo appear to be dying for no reason.... we don't think it could be drought as we had a lot of snow cover and then some rain
i'm not sure why else though
and the yew by the front door has a robins nest, bernie felt three eggs and they are blue
that made me happy

the new prius is averaging 49-51 mpg........ i was so hoping for much better mileage (it's getting what it's rated for though-but the prius forum some folks get better mileage)
i had forgotten how small and NOT A VAN that car is....and asked bernie to bring me home pallets from work
yeah that isn't going to happen
and no tow package so no towing a trailer with them either
gees i so miss my van
i thought maybe we put the seats down and tarp the back????
bernie said no
~~~sigh~~~

well that's the update from here
how is all of your summers going?

isn't there a way to save the heat for winter?

cause it's hot as hell today

humid too

ok.... the news here is:
art supplies have landed
and bernie made the save after the town (not mine) post office decided not to bother to deliver
and were about to send it back

i have tried the paints
cobalt teal is now my new love
i am trying to see if i can use the ground on my twinrocker 200# hot press paper so i can do silverpoint

and the muse has deserted me for a while ....... at least as far as the goddesses and mythic females go

meanwhile
we had the first real salad off the deck lettuce bucket
we have about three more cuttings on that one....then there are the other plants

what else? .............idiot uphill neighbors were burning the other night, in-spite of it being not only the wrong DAY (as in between 9 am and 4pm saturdays) .....but also we are under a red flag wild fire watch......
so naturally they are above that all.....
and they burnt garbage for about 3 hours (we're only allowed to burn papers.....not the household garbage and even mattresses they burn)

i was up watching the fire incase it got away from them

then had nightmares cause they are low lives so i didn't know if they'd try to burn my house down to retaliate

let's see what else?
oh i put up a 'faux' hornets nest
made out of a brown paper bag
to attempt to deter wasps and yellowjackets
meanwhile we are finding more and more bumble bees dead for no reason we can see
it's alarming

we aren't seeing a lot of butterflies either.... which also is worrysome....
normally we're overrun
i have water out for the birds and the bugs too

anyway..... i need to get back to work now
i hope everyone had a good weekend

i swear i need a manager

i am overwhelmed again

painting is happening
right now i am working on a spanish water spirit
first in a series
i have to decide if i continue this series in this palette or do i move on from the restricted palette i'm working with to a full palette (relatively speaking of course)

summer appears to be here
it's HOT out there
we went from 40 to 80 in a few hours
so everything is popping now

meanwhile
some art supplies i really couldn't afford and sorta didn't actually need... are on their way
i am going to do some silverpoint work
which is using .999 fine silver to draw with on a specially prepared paper
however it WAS onsale and i got 25% off that and free shipping
i am figuring silverpoint is a good option for me considering how i work
so would egg tempera.....
but right now no extra $ to lay out
the other thing i am DYING to try is painting on vellum (calf vellum)
the botanical artists are flaunting their vellum paintings all over and i am getting really interested in trying it

but meanwhile i am still slowly healing from that fall in december, and i am still painting
still pushing the envelope of what i do and how i do it
and still challenging me

i hope your spring is good where ever you are

averaging 51MPG

not too shabby huh?
bernie is enjoying his gas mileage
today we went over the mountain to giants for chicken, and on the way back he excitedly watched the MPG climb to 76.4!!!!
but we average between highway and city about 51.
so it looks like the prius is going to pay it's own payment in a way.....
with what we save on gas....
it uses 7 gallons a week to commute and also for running around (with a round trip down the valley for either the book store or the art supply)
so we are thinking that he's most likely use about 7 gallons a week during the winter (without the extra round trip down the valley)
bernie was using between 27-30 gallons a week with the kia just commuting to work and small around town errands so that's a huge savings- and it may not only cover the car payment but also some odds and ends (like snows) for the prius
so this maybe was a smart move- with an eye to the bottom line


my two grips with the prius is...it's too low...i feel like i am sitting in a pot hole
and there isn't a passenger left arm rest so my arm hurts on a long run
if it were a bit taller...... and i had an arm rest i would totally adore this car
even though it's not a van

and i guess in two years we're going to see what strides have been made in car technology and either get a second car for me, if i am still mobile.......or trade this in on a new more efficient (and taller?) vehicle?

meanwhile the warm weather seems to have a positive effect on my continued healing
although i am suspecting that part of my back pain may be a kidney stone
cause i did NOTHING to have this weird pain by my kidney
and it's getting worse not better

we also have to figure a way to get money for wood and oil.... for winter
the oils is about out...and there isn't any wood......we need at least three cords NOW to season and three cords in august
oye

meanwhile i'm painting
so that is where you can look for me....at the easel

happy mayday

first of may
raining here

april doesn't seem to have showers anymore, it seems that showers are now moved to may
it's overcast and cold
it's really cold in the house
i put the heat down to 65
so it's very chilly in the house, i'm wearing a light jacket and hat

working on layouts for aloja (water spirit) in the moonlight
and wondering how on earth i am going to get this to be interesting to the viewer as well as interesting to paint with enough detail to keep my occupied
so that is going to be part of the challenges for this painting..as well as painting moonlight and a scene that doesn't exist with a person that doesn't exist
the lighting of course is going to be the biggest challenge
and i'll be having to mute my normally bright palette.....

i decided on 9x12 portrait for this one..... on quarter sheets of watercolor paper
and a palette based on cobalt blue

i am hoping to start transferring a layout by sunday..... so far my layouts are crap
(this is the time i wish for a drawing tablet attached to the computer --- which was always part of the plan.... for the future)
or at least a better handle on paintshop pro (i think an upgrade for that is also a plan for the future, as this one is 15 years old now)

other then that i am slowly transplanting lettuce seedlings to other planters on the deck... i transplant two and have to sit- the weather change is getting my knees bad right now
but at least so far it's not touched my back so i can deal with it

if i could get out i would be bringing in violets and daffs to paint but i can't get out there
i am so hoping when the weather stabilizes i can
however we do really need the rain so i shouldn't complain too much huh?
better then the massive wild fires we had about a week or so ago down the valley

ok i'm off

finally got ox gall

and a palette knife
more paper too

and approximately 48 mpg on the prius
which as a passenger is uncomfortable
due to no left arm rest
as a driver it's not bad except i felt like i was sitting in a hole

now onto studio news
i have finished a fourth frog in the series
i have two more to go but no reference right now

i am however going to revisit some goddesses/female myths
as a series
probably a horizontal format and maybe larger
(and i'm also looking at studio easels with a smaller footprint then mine has------ which is lost someplace in the recesses of the basement)

i would like to do half sheet painting (15X22) and full sheet paintings 22x20.........
so i need to get a big easel up here soon

ok now this morning (it is finally spring!) i transplanted some pansies and that petunia, and some baby lettuces (from the planter i seeded two weeks ago)
i've got more to transplant and some spinach too
a tiny bit at a time

i am also starting to get a bit used to my fawnie not being around....i miss her so much
sometimes i don't realize and i call her
the others still are looking and crying for her
it's so heartbreaking
i miss my ducks and budgies and mr quail too
i wish i could give mrs quail a friend ........... but with my health this rough .....no new poultry or cats
i may get the captain a friend but probably just one
he's doing ok again now-- however he does miss birdie friends
i play youtube budgie videos for him a few times a week

so that's about it
i have work to do
i am procrastinating
as i am still recovering from that fall and i tire very easily
i hope all of you are well and it's good weather where ever you are

i am hoping

that life can settle down again now
stuff is still up in the air for some things
however i took today to work ON the studio
washing brushes..... rearranging stuff
general things......

we got some plants yesterday that i am hoping to paint
*two pansies and a petunia*

they will be in the house for a bit as we got them, but then we got snow and tonight is going to be frost!
i am going to be lighting the woodstove in a few

i am having a dilemma, over my irl name for the domain or should i go with duck?
folks call me duck.....
(which makes me laugh whenever they do, i do actually like it)
or folks call me vi
which i am so very used to for 15 years now

i got a new site all set up that is optimized for mobile (it's not live yet though)
i need business cards now too
oye
and the other day while i was down at B&N i was trying to get my color nook fixed so that i could use it as a digital gallery and could organize the photos in an order i could live  with....... the 'expert' there was less then helpful
(and a bit of an attitude as well.....i sure wasn't impressed)

so now what?

a new to us car

after bugging bernie for forever......we have bought a PRIUS
it's the smallest entry level one
it's a 2013
we got a good deal on it
(i hope it's a good car, as it is 6K below list which makes me wonder)
we traded in my beloved van for it
plus put savings on it
and financed part (my calculations seem to indicate that due to the gas savings, we will in reality only be paying about 50.00 a month extra )
we're expecting in two years to get a second car and/or upgrade this one
i will miss my van so much
but the gas savings are not to be sneezed at

painting continues

i'm about half way through the orchid painting on black paper
it's ok
i'll see how it goes

i am thinking too, it's time to go back to a 'big' painting
something like wood ducks that is involved and takes a while
and is a part of a series
i would really like frogs
but i haven't gotten any to study so frogs it isn't at the moment

as the weather is warming up, i am getting a bit better, the neti pot is working on my allergies for the most part
i am trying to adjust to life after fawn
and after falstaff, phoebe, and the budgies

life isn't the same at all here
it's so much quieter

this week bernie has to take a trip through work for a seminar, and we arent' looking forward to it
i'll be without a vehicle
we're going to keep the ducks and chickens in, and double feed and water everyone

we talked about it and decided that risking another fall for me was not an option
so that is our solution

oh and i got some lightbulbs!

i hope you all are enjoying the weather where ever you are

i'm painting again

while i wait for a frog
i am working on an orchid on black paper
in gouache
cause apparently i have totally lost my mind

so i have laid in two of the flowers on the spike (my birthday orchid)
and i am continuing with the painting

i realize now that the lighting issue has become critical in the studio
and that the next burst of energy i get i need to finish with the rearrangement
as it's still awkward and it hurts my shoulder

spring has finally come it seems to us
for which i am grateful
although the furnace is continuing to run off and on
capt cuttle is touch and go
and thaddeaus peabody has had to be outsmarted again
this time with cardboard covering the screen door from the studio to the main house as he's figured out how to scale it and go through the screen

he's sleeping with me every night now and i am sleeping so much better
but he thinks he can go sleep with bernie during the day and he just can't

bernie's birthday came and went
he had a problem with the van....the power steering went
so we had to take it in for an emergency repair
(he couldn't do it in the driveway )
i think we really need another car

next week the van is going in for some much needed body work
while bernie is at a seminar
i'll be on my own with no wheels
in case of emergency

so that's what is happening in my neck of the woods

how about you folks?

continuing on

spring has finally arrived here in the mountains......
i saw snowdrops by the duck pens
it goes my heart good
today it is so warm out that i broadcast lettuce seeds.....the other day i broadcast some spinach
we'll see

thaddeaus peabody has taken to busting out of the studio ( he really is a card that one)
and coming up to sleep with me
we've decided that this is a good thing as i've been having problems sleeping lately
except when he's up there
i still am not sleeping well but i sleep better and stay asleep a bit longer
calpurrnia isn't interested in coming up so it's the boy only

in studio news:
i finished the study/painting of the shells......
it was done in watercolor with colored pencil
everyone seems to have liked it so while i don't think it would make a print on it's own
i think it maybe would make a card
next up..my birthday orchid as i don't have frogs yet
and my new work surface is wonderful- but i must deal with the lighting as soon as i can

this week is bernie's birthday....... it's a biggie--- 60!
and no one thought we'd last together past maybe a year!

other odds and ends:  my fibro is wandering around my body......my back is better only to have my wrist in pain
oye
capt cuttle is still hanging in there
i am not sure if he's better or worse
the others seem to be ok

and i am about to attempt to start some flower seeds

so that's it
that is the news
 take good care everyone