MORE ART AND OTHER STUFF

This is called THE WOMB OF MOTHER NATURE. Prismacolor markers on Bristol. I kept trying to use water color forgetting that Bristol won't take it. I almost had a wrinkled Mother Nature! Anyhow it was fun to do. ..... I am taking a creative writing class at a church. I took one long ago at JC and truly enjoyed it, so my friend talked me into doing it again. It's different this time, but just as much fun. The other night I wrote a two-page short story. Hmmmmmm Judie Danielle Steele, that's me! LOL Don't I WISH! ......I make these dots to change the subject becuz Blogger won't let me make paragraphs, in case you were wondering if I just had dot hand or something....If you get a chance, please go to HIDDEN HAVEN www.hiddenhavenhomestead.blogspot.com Maybe you will be able to help out at the auction this kind person Peggy is having for her friends. Even just a prayer might help. There are times I wish I had a magic wand, and I could wave it and make everything all right, everywhere! .....It's been raining heavy here this a.m. I love rainy days. The temp has actually dropped to 83. Wonderful...but now the sun is coming out and it will be the typical sub-tropic steam bath soon. But more thunderstorms are coming in from the Gulf tonight so it isn't over yet. Those of you who know her, cross your fingers for Pammie. Ernesto's rains are pounding the Charleston area right now and causing flooding and misery! Interesting that our beloved Mother Nature has this violent side.

NEVERMORE, NEVERMORE!

I got this tap, tap, tapping at my postal box. When I opened it, great black wings flew at me and squawked "Once upon a midnight dreary...as I pondered weak and weary...o'er many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore............While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a rapping ...at my chamber door..... and out of the envelope slid this wonderful crow that Pam Aries sent me. I love it Thank you Pamalalalahead! .........and thanks for refreshing my memory of the words above (which were written all over the envelope along with trees & leaves and crow art! I love my crow! :) It's getting late in the season, and I think they will be heading north soon. Did you know that in Auburn, NY they have HUNTING SEASON for crows!!!??? WHAT??? Tch Tch...

SLEEPLESS IN FLORIDA

This is called CROW SURVEYING HIS TERRITORY. That's what I have been doing all night, surveying my territory. I haven't slept at all. We have company, and my dog wants to sleep with the company. He left his door ajar so she could, but when the a/c comes on it shuts the door. Then she whines to get out. So I latched his door closed. Then she whined to get in. So I took her to bed with me and shut the door. Then she whined to get out. Grrrr! .......And it isn't just that. It rained hard all night, off and on. Every time I dozed...between dog whines...it rained and hit the metal awnings on the windows... DRIP..ZONK...SPLASH.... Instead of soothing me to sleep, it startled me awake. I think it's because I am aware of Ernesto, and will be nervous until he swirles himself to death. .....It would be nice to be a crow, and fly high on the breeze and own the air, and tuck my head under a wing and sleep whenever I want..................

CHOOSE WISELY

Yesterday morning I saw this quote on a Marquee somewhere, and it stuck with me, so I spent some time today drawing this illustration to go with it. I do believe that life is choices, even though sometimes we have to take a chance...a risk...to reach for that moon. But mostly it's choices, and hopefully we choose wisely.

WISH I MAY, WISH I MIGHT...

This was a fun little 4 x 4 (well almost) to put together. First I did a pencil and colored pencil drawing, then I typed a whole page of wishes from the wish book that Kai sent me, and I put the drawing on cardstock, then ran it thru again this time copying the wishes over it. I like it! I'm already thinking of other possibilities with calligraphy instead of the typed word. And..and.......I can use that drawing as a watermark in MSWord!............................................My dh just brought me a cigar box from Walgreens. It is from the Dominican Republic and it has the most beautiful artwork on it. And it's wood, not cardboard. I have been wanting one to decorate, but I can't change this. It's too pretty already. Inside the empty box there was also a small painting on glossy paper, raised (embossed?) a scene of castles in the mist and boats inside a ring of lovely flowers. It's a very delicate painting, and I was totally surprised to find it in a cigar box. .............................. Well, after I talked about it here, I decided I had to upload it to show you. It's so pretty. Now why....would this pretty painting be included in a cigar box? The clerk was just going to throw it away. Do people collect these?

TREASURE BOX

This is my little box of illustration treasures. There are 93 of them. What fun to have this treasure. Soon there will be 101, and I will have to make the book. I don't have a foggy notion of how to do that. Another learning experience coming up. But for now, the box is spilled out all over the table, and I have to put them all back in date order and..good grief...there is glitter all over the tablecloth!! .................... The other photo is a flower bouquet my dh brought to me on Saturday. The large white flower was closed, and it opened up so big and pretty, and has a very strong, sweet odor. I don't know what it is, some kind of lily I guess. Why the flower offering???....well, let's see.......the garage didn't get cleaned out. You think???

A 101

My 101's are nearing the end. I am really surprised. I believe I am on number 91 or something like that. Cannot believe I have done that many. They are all in a little box in the closet. It's really delightful knowing that I have this box full of illustrations. Last night I decided to do a pencil drawing of an angel....I was inspired by an angel calendar I received in the mail. And, I've finally posted all the drawings on Flickr, and hopefully this link will work: www.flickr.com/photos/artzyjudie/ I have also tried ONCE AGAIN to post links on my sidebar, to no avail. I follow the directions exactly but it just won't work. I went to the Blogger Help site to look for more answers. I see I am not the only one having that problem, nor am I the only one that cannot get the profile to come to the top of the sidebar. Oh well..I give up again! For now! Having a busy weekend here. DH has PROMISED to get the garage cleaned out, and painted. Now that he has committed, it will probably rain. Hope everyone gets good blessings today.......See you next week.

REACH YOUR HIGHEST

Sometimes throughout our lives we linger...instead of reaching. Linger in a relationship that has gone stale, linger in a creative mode that doesn't really excite us any more, linger in surroundings that now bore us, whatever. As I look back at my own life, I can see places where I lingered too long. And if I had only reached...really REACHED for the things I wanted, I would be much different today. Maybe it was my destiny not to reach, or maybe I just liked that comfort zone and feared leaving it. I believe fear of change is one of the biggest factors that make us linger.....stay in that warm place, it's too cold out there. My grandma used to say, "no use crying over spilled milk.", so I don't. But still, sometimes, I wonder...............what if I had not lingered, what if I had stepped out bravely into the cold?

LEFT HANDED ART

I have never really tried any left-handed art before, except for a little doodle. So I decided to get my other half of my brain working and tried it. This was done completely left-handed on Bristol; first with pencil, colored with Prismacolor markers, then outlined with black Micron. It's sort of flat-looking. The stars are just stickers. I think it looked better before it was outlined. LOL I think it would look MUCH better right-handed. Ah, but it was fun! PUT YOUR HEART IN ART! :)

FINDING PEACE

Birds are not always nice. They are beautiful, and sing melodious songs; even Macaws sing, tho it certainly isnt melodious, more like monotonous, but precious just the same. BUT, sometimes they can be mean and vicious and ungrateful and horrible. That's how my pet has been this week. She demands to be on my lap. She begs constantly. She follows me from room to room. She chases the dog. I sit at the table and try to paint, with soft classical music playing, otherwise silence all around, way into my work, and all of sudden SCREEEEEEEEEECH!!!!. Of course I jump ten feet. Have you ever heard a macaw scream? For no reason? Two feet away from your ear? Unexpectedly? And I have been visited by crows lately. Cawing outside. At least a hundred of them. They have babies too. I have seen them feeding other birds babies to their own babies. Such cannibalism! Tch Tch. Yes, birds are not always nice. So, one has to find a retreat...to get away from all of that bird mess. Find a "mountaintop" where you can be peaceful and alone and regain your spiritual self. But wait.....what is that speck in the distance...coming over the mountain top? Sigh.............no rest for the weary! :)

RETIREMENT

These guys are retired. They used to work hard for their oats and beef, but now they are just cared for in their own ALF, and they all live here in this area. First is the Chimpanzee...you may recognize him (sure) as the ORIGINAL Cheetah. He is in his upper 70's in age, and was Cheetah who starred with Johnny Weissmuller, the original Tarzan, in the 1930's and 40's. He lives at the Suncoast Primate Sanctuary, and he does finger painting, in case anyone wants to commission one. (True Story!!) He loves peanut butter sandwiches. NEXT is Lucifer, the hippo. He is 46 and very friendly (but I don't intend to get close enuff to find out) and lives at the Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park. He was born at the San Diego Zoo in 1960 and was a movie star. His credits include the TV series Daktari (remember that?)and the movie Cowboy in Africa. His favorite treat is birthday cake. Did you know a hippo's closest relative is the whale? NEXT is Buffy, a Siberian-Bengal mix tiger, who used to perform with the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus. Buffy is 20, 10 years beyond his life expectancy, and now lives at Big Cat Rescue in Tampa. He eats 10 pounds of meat daily and his favorite treat is ...........a bloodsicle! Ewwwwwwwwwwww. Its a bucket of frozen blood, water and beef. Go for it Buffy! You can have my share. THESE PHOTOS AND INFORMATION ARE COURTESY THE ST. PETERSBURG TIMES. I really thought it would make more soothing reading than the current bomb/airplane problems going on. Kudos to the officials in the United Kingdom who caught these dreadful terrorist acts and no doubt saved thousands of lives!

THINGS A GIRL CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT

A page from my art journal, a collage. I have a daughter that is like this...gotta have it...can't live without it.. I am more simple than that. Jeans and T shirts work for me...altho I do have a fondness for jangly bracelets. Must be a holdover from my hippie days. And I'll never turn down a diamond...I'm not a total dummie.. LOL. This daughter has also informed me that LARGE sunglasses are coming back in style...she just sort of "mentioned it in passing" one day at lunch and I noticed her closely scrutinizing the pair I was wearing, so I watched ET and that other movie star show...sure enough, fly eyes are back. Not me! Well, not yet anyway. I'll resist as long as I can!

WORLD MELTING POT 101

OK, YOU KNOW ITS HOT WHEN: - Hot water comes out of both taps - The temperature drops below 95 and you feel a little chilly - Your biggest fear is you will fall off your bike and lay on the pavement and cook to death - You realize that asphalt has a liquid state - The birds have to use potholders to pull worms out of the ground - The potatoes cook underground, so all you have to do is pull one out and add butter, salt and pepper - Farmers are feeding their chickens crushed ice to keep them from laying hard-boiled eggs - The trees are whistling for the dogs......and so on and so on. And.....I burned my stupid fingers trying to burn the bottom of this drawing to make it more authentic......LOLOL Serves me right for playing with fire! I hear thunder...hopefully a little cooling down is near. Keep cool everyone!