Shoe Portraits

I'm making this post because I'm in the mood to draw some shoes, boots...your footwear! Message me if you'd like to commission me to do a portrait of your favorite shoes. 

    ©Anna M. Rodriguez

Drawn September 2017....my brother's boots. 

©Anna M. Rodriguez

My old shoes.

©Anna M. Rodriguez

Manny's boots. My nephew. 

©Anna M. Rodriguez

Drawn in Januaary 2018....Lisa's olive green shoes. A friend. 

©Anna M. Rodriguez

Drawn in January 2018

Liz's Huaraches. A long time friend. We get together and draw what we see. We're due another session! 

Love = Faith

"Love = Faith"

© Anna M. Rodriguez

Still Here and Thriving

"Still Here" 

© Anna M. Rodriguez

I've come back from a trip and I have decided not to waste anymore time on things that keep me from posting work I've completed. No frills. Simply putting them up. 

Gee, it's good to be back home again!

Grateful to be alive. 

Grateful to have another day to experience a new adventure of living in this life of mine. 

I am reading. 

I am sketching. 

I am exercising.

I am listening.

I am learning.

I am being of service wherever I can help another person. 

My random list:

The Seven Storey Mountain

Andrea

On Being

A New Earth

AA

CEA HOW

Daily Reflections

24 Hours A Day

You Are Here

Foothill Unity Center

Austin

My father

LOVE

© Anna M. Rodriguez

Fly, Fly, Fly and Morning Ritual

"Fly, Fly, Fly"

"My Morning Ritual"

I am happiest when I sketch wherever I am at. So I'm carrying my sketchbook and pens wherever I go. 

These two lovelies are in my home where I feel at peace and so I had plenty of time to obsessively add details. HahahaHahaHahaAH! 

 ©Anna M. Rodriguez

SaveSave

A new sketchbook and playing with words and fonts.

Created this one with no reference. 

Enjoyed this so much! 

I got bored with the food. 

click on image to get a better look. 

Food and Photoshop Day 9

Yesterday I weighed myself and I've lost 7 pounds! Feeling great! 

Photoshop- must practice sub-layers. Snails pace, but I'm motivated! 

Food and Photoshop Day 7

Today is day 7. (the drawing is from 2 days ago)

Learning to cook different vegetables because I'm getting a little tired of zucchini. My first time using cauliflower and I liked it. The "caldo de rez" was a treat.  Breakfast was put in containers because I had to be somewhere at lunch time. I'm getting used to eating my food cold because I've been drawing all of my food intake before I eat it up. It's also slowing me down so I can enjoy my food. 

Learned some new tricks on Photoshop, but I'm going to try them on some other sketches. I will continue to draw my food and I'll be a little more selective about which food I put up. 

Food and Photoshop Day 2

I learned how to layer and add color to my sketch! 

I now know how to keeping my sketch opaque and color behind the sketch. My explaining the steps may not make any sense to anyone else, but it does to me, and I'm so happy that I'm not spending hours trying to figure out how to do this. A friend is helping me with tips...and I will mention his name later..if he lets me. 

As for the food I'm doing well and not feeling starved. I'm enjoying my cup of fruit every morning. The vegetables, I'm getting a little bored of my preparations. I'll need to look up some recipes. 

Remembering Her Hands

"Remembering Her Hands"

Pen on paper

© anna m. rodriguez

Our Forests

"Forest"

..from the sketchbook...

©Anna M. Rodriguez

Christmas is done and gone! I am so relieved and ready to continue with my art. 

Choosing health insurance coverage

"Dead Rat"

© Anna M. Rodriguez

What comes out of me when having to choose health insurance coverage.

Rose Colored Glasses

"Rose Colored Glasses"

© Anna M. Rodriguez

From My Sketch Book

© Anna M. Rodriguez

Up with Gratitude

Good Morning! I got out of bed this morning at 5am because I heard the first bird singing. I was up before the bird’s song. Wide awake. I needed to hear its morning song to jump out of bed. This is my favorite time of day. I had to take a picture to capture my feeling of gratitude for a new day. Also, to show our new member of our home. Our Beautiful Comfy Green couch. 

We love you, Comfy Green Couch!

Warm and Tender Frijoles

This morning I am happy to say that I have time to work on some drawings in my sketchbook. I will be heating up a pot of frijoles while I work. I shall have warm and tender beans when the family gets home. 

I am also listening to Eve Ensler being interviewed by Kista Tippett on On Being.

Life is good. 

Arbol

"Arbol" 

©Anna M. Rodriguez

ink, opaque and transparent watercolor on paper

Family

"Family"

micro pen on paper

Listening to the podcast OnBeing "Gustavo Santaolalla" and painting this morning. 

Yesterday, I called my father and it's difficult to express all the thoughts I have after talking to him and seeing him. Since he is alone and my mother has passed I am constantly reminded that family will continue to change and we are all going to be gone one day. 

This awareness is the reason I am changing how I approach my days and interactions with everyone I see each day. It's a slow process, but every day I am given a chance to practice a new way of appreciating all that I experience myself and with others. 

Simple acts: eye contact when I cross someone when I'm walking. A smile. A thank you. Saying I'm sorry when I realize I made a mistake. 

Listening. 

Living and Creating

"Shadows" ©Anna M. Rodriguez
From my sketchbook. (Pen,markers,watercolors)

I have finished my studies in Child Development. 

I have turned 51.

In the next months I will be researching and looking for ways to open up shop again to sell my work. 

More will be revealed as I keep up with my passions. 

Preschool Traffic Signs

I am done with my Child Development classes and my internship. I will continue to volunteer some hours because I would like to donate my time to make some items for the children to use at the preschool on the campus. Here are some traffic signs that I made with reused materials. The images and lettering I made out of cut out paper that I purchased at the local 1$ store. 

 Before we went outside to play we read a book about traffic signs to the children. They applied what they learned from our circle time to hands on learning. Cognitive and Motor Development skills made into fun play! The Children had a good time and so did I. 

We created something similar to Kidspace and all made with reused items (except for the 4 sheets of paper I purchased for .69 cents). 

With yellow chalk we created two lanes and with a pink chalk I drew arrows (see below) so they would know what direction they had to go to avoid any collisions. 

We also drew a crosswalk for pedestrians! We taught them to look both ways before going into the street.  The Signal light was created by the teacher Diana C. which has sticks and white cards to uncover the red light, yellow light, and green light. It has lights on both sides of the box for traffic coming the opposite way. 

So this is where I've been the past year. I should mention that I got Student of the Month in October and I was the winner of the Merit Scholar Award in Family Consumer Science in May. I will get my Child Development Certificate in July. It was a wonderful experience going back to school and realizing that I love teaching preschoolers. Homeschooling my girl for 4 years was the spark to get me excited about teaching young children. I have learned so much these past 9 years with my girl and I am so grateful. At this point of my journey I feel free and open to so much more!