Chasing the sun for good light

It always feels good to get several hours for painting. I've been working on this piece for several months now. Lately I've been lucky to get a Saturday or Sunday to paint for a few hours. Come this summer I will have more time to paint. It's probably difficult to make out, but it is a landscape. Landscapes have been on my mind a lot and it's been easy for me to express these visions in my latest paintings. I need to get out in open spaces. My girl has been noticing how much I enjoy painting. On this day she gathered her art supplies and started to draw on her table beside me. She's learning to spend more time on her drawings. Her details amaze and inspire me. Love!

Her Favorite color is Green

Her favorite color is Green!

*image from Google Images

It's been two months since I've posted here on my blog. I'm glad to say that things have settled a bit and I can concentrate on projects that I've postponed because of lack of time and money. I had to do a lot of thinking about my situation and not get sidetracked into a different direction because I was isolating.

Back to my goal: Simple living, recycle and reuse anything that can be fixed or given to someone who can use.

I did go through a month when I felt a strong urge to become friends with a mother in one of our Mommy & Me classes. She and I went out to dinner in the city at a popular somewhat upscale restaurant. To tell the truth - I wouldn't be able to say what upscale is. All I know is that I felt uncomfortable. I had no dressy clothes for the kind of restaurant it was and it turned out to be a bit more expensive than I had expected. The parking was $7 and I'm not used to paying for parking to eat out at a restaurant. The food was good, but the conversation was one sided. It was difficult to make my food last an hour and a half when I was doing the listening. My new friend had made it clear that she enjoyed fine dining and pampering herself by spending money. I knew I could not keep up with her tastes or entertainments. When I got home I felt like a pup with my tail between my legs. What did I expect? Why couldn't I find like minded friends? A week later, after my bruises had slowly disappeared, it became clear that I had strayed from my goals.

So the fog has cleared and I am back on track. I am growing some yellow onions outback. I've gone to St. Vincent's to purchase three new "used" t-shirts - $4 for all three, and I wear them proudly. I've decided to continue with the Homeschooling and a couple of Mommy and Me classes for another year for my Toot. I am still painting, but it's coming along slowly.

I have also met an amazing woman who has taken me under her wing to guide me into a healthier body. We've already met and we walked for an hour yesterday. While we walked she gave me tips on healthy eating. I was amazed to see her lunch bag filled with one ingredient foods. Six meals a day and all small portions. Wow!! Her favorite color is Green and for fun she plays her guitar at home and would like to be a Hippie full-time!

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Here are some photos of a project the Toot and I worked on in April, but never found time to post.

Caterpillar to Butterfly

The caterpillar came in this container with food already packed at the bottom. You can't see the caterpillar, but when we got the little creature it was about 3/8".

I was amazed how quickly it grew in 7-10 days. Here it was about 3/4" and plump.

Making a background for the caterpillar's new home, a box.

The Toot's drawing of the caterpillar inside he chrysalis. We got so busy with the construction of the box that I forgot to take a photo of the chrysalis stage.

Out and all grown up with its new wings!

Getting ready to release in our backyard.

Luxurious butterfly home - vacancy!

At Kidspace they were selling netted butterfly containers about this size for twenty dollars. We didn't spend a cent to make this homemade one.

Nice Home for Worms

We've been in this house a little over a year now and we've recently been getting a taste of how expensive it is to keep up with repairs on a home, especially since it is an old house. I've been trying my best to stay optimistic and hopeful, but it does get difficult during these cold rainy days. I still love the rain, but I don't like the mold we've discovered on the north side of the house because of it. I know it's not good for us and I've been dealing with it as best I could with the information I can get off of the internet. We also have very old old old plumbing and we recently had our plumber fix a leak which made our water bill go way up for the past two payments. I've been buying water filters every two months because the water is also full of rust. The furnace is also old and we recently had some work done because we were breathing carbon monoxide. Smaller items needed to be replaced like our phone and yesterday we had to spend $100 dollars on a new modem for the computer. And to add to our major expenses - one of our cars has been consistent with unexpected car repairs. All I can say is, "We're doing the best we can with what we've got".

And our got is getting pretty slim.

My other self is thinking:

I'm ready to build my canoe and drift away from all these expenses - of course with my papoose in tow.

Buzz Light Year - Cardboard and Thick Gray Tape

Head hung low. My knuckles are dragging because I haven't had time to paint, but I did make this last night. This is our latest creation out of cardboard. A Buzz Light Year space suit for my gal. This is all her design and I fabricated it. Tomorrow (if I have time) I will paint. She's thrilled with her space suit and I'm looking forward to see what details she'll add to it. You can't see the empty vitamin bottle that is strapped with tape to her back. Again, this was her idea. The vitamin bottle is her rocket launcher so she can fly in space. This pose was her idea and she had many more. She's got style!


We've been busy with classes and learning. The learning never ends and I'm enjoying every day I get to share with her. So my painting will have to wait for a short time.

Tempest

It's late and my Toot is sleeping on the couch while I finish putting up this piece. Something quick that I promised myself to do in a couple of hours and put up tonight. This is what happens when I don't have any time during the day to paint. Made this on the computer in Painter. A bit rough, but I wanted to get a basic composition and have fun with it. It was raining when I started and now as I'm putting it up on my blog the rain has stopped. I'd like to make this into a painting or a drawing.

I spent Sunday organizing my desk and paint supplies. The next few days we will be going through several storms and it'll be a perfect opportunity for me to make some quick pieces. If the Toot lets me. Lately, she's been wanting to takeover whatever I start and then I have a hard time finishing. How am I'm going to go about this? Quick pieces is my latest idea. Or...more of these late night computer pieces. 2:30 am and I'm going to pay for it when I have to wake up on her schedule.

I don't think I've mentioned this on my blog or anywhere else, but I've joined The Society of Children's Bookwriters and Illustrators! I've been a member for several months now, and I've put up some of my drawings and paintings. Not much activity there (on my part) lately, but I am glad I finally joined. It's something I've been wanting to do for myself to keep me focused. Take a look at my gallery. I know I've got a long way to go to get my portfolio up to par with the professional children's book illustrators, but I've taken a step forward and that's good for now.