Pink Tree Symphony Journal page

Have you ever seen a pink tree? Or heard a tree symphony? I have!

This page is on mixed media paper and is another experiment with masking tape and dylusions spray ink. I taped the tree form off, then sprayed the inks over it, let dry, and peeled the tape off, leaving a white tree form. The inks are intense, so I used some white gesso brushed on top of them, mixing with the ink colors. I used gel medium to glue decorative papers on the tree form, but didn't like it and covered them with modeling paste and let dry. I used a brush to add some of the ink to the tree, a stamp to add music, added a few spatters, and wrote the words, "Sit quietly in the woods and the trees will play you a symphony," with a pencil. They will too. I've heard them. :)

I may have been discouraged from making pink trees as a child, but trees are not always brown like we're taught as children. I, in fact, have seen pinkish grey tree trunks in the early morning light with the sun rising and touching everything with nature's paint brush, casting a pink light over everything it touches, and it was magical and beautiful, and I'm grateful to have seen it.

I love pink trees and tree symphonies! :)

Shopping Trip and WIPS

I actually typed this whole post a few days ago, only to discover I was having internet problems and blogger hadn't saved most of it to publish. Interruptions kept me from finishing it until now. Hopefully, I will get it posted before I get interrupted again. :)

Tuesday, Mar 27, was our 42nd anniversary and hubby and I had a spontaneous day out, just the two of us. We couldn't decide what we wanted to do, if anything. We had to take some stuff to the bank in town, so after we dropped it off, we just started driving northwest and wound up an hour and a half later in one of the nearest large towns (or small city?) to us in a huge shopping center. The drive was beautiful and we chatted and laughed as we drove, just enjoying being together.

I had received a Hobby Lobby gift card for Christmas from our nephew and his family, so we went in Hobby Lobby for a few minutes, where I spent the gift card, plus a couple of extra dollars, on a crop-a-dile II. Then we had a delicious lunch at Ruby Tuesday's, which we relaxed and took out time with.

After lunch, I went to JoAnn's Fabrics while hubby went to a sporting good store. I found way more great things than I could afford, but I came home with a sheet of plastic canvas for stenciling, etc, a liquid gold leaf pen, a fabric bundle, a sample pack of glitter, a small silk pouch, mama some pipe cleaners, and a CPS magazine.

We enjoyed frozen yogurt at Sweet CeCe's, which was do-it-yourself and the NY Cheesecake yogurt with almond slivers was really good. That's the only shopping we did in the center, but on the way out of town, we stopped by a Goodwill store. It took some digging, but I found an unopened box of Anna Griffin print-it-yourself wedding invitations with background paper of navy/cream, invitation cards of cream with silver borders and rsvp cards to match, with navy ribbons and two sizes of envelopes. 25 of each. I also found two bundles of nice napkins, also unopened, and some unopened Disney stamps, all for about $8.00!

Close up of the smaller napkins. Metallic gold borders with black/white drawings of the four seasons, and the words are in German. There are about 25 of these. How cool is that?

The larger napkins, also about 25 in pkg, are about hankerchief sized and have a cloth like feel to them. I love the colors and vintage look! I have already used both napkins on journal pages, plus I have plenty to share in a stash swap when one comes along. I loved finding these treasures!

The drive home was beautiful also, and we got here safe and sound, plus hubby surprised me with a copy of the Cloth, Paper, Scissors book. It was a good day of bonding and we're grateful to still have each other and that we were able to enjoy the day just enjoying each other's company.

 These are a couple of projects in progress. The one above is a sleeve for my e-reader. I needlefelted some yarn samples onto the edge of a piece of needlefelted material, lined the inside with a colorful turquoise, black, and white cotton cat print, and used bookbinding thread to stitch the edges together. I still need to attach some sort of fastener to the top to keep the reader from sliding out in my purse, and I may or may not add an embellishment to the front. The needlefelted material is thick and soft enough to help protect the reader from bumps and bruises in my purse too.

I had a 9x12" signature left over from the journal I made for Misty Mawn's class, so I cut it in half to make two smaller signatures. I used a scrap of canvas for a soft cover and stenciled on it with modelling paste, let it dry, and rubbed over it with titanium buff fluid acrylic paint. Enough of the pink was still wet enough to mix with it, giving it a pink tint.

The signature already had five holes punched in it, so I just went with it, and, using bookbinding thread, stitched them in in the uneven holes, giving a wonky look. I plan on carrying this one in my purse, so that's ok. It'll also be light, and if I need more signatures I can add them.

Since these pictures were made I practiced using the crop-a-dile to put little red eyelets on the edges of the closure. I kind of messed up the ones on the front, but I finally got the hang of it on the back ones. :) I tied a piece of the bookbinding thread through the center eyelet on each side, then tied it in a bow. I also added the title, Jots and Tittles, in black marker on the front. I will do some more to the covers when it tells me what else it needs. Right now I'm thinking I need to take some of the buff paint off the dancing ladies for a start?

Hope you enjoyed seeing what I came home with and some of what I'm working on. I sure am enjoying playing with everything. :) 

I AM HERE

Misty Mawn's Open Studio Workshop doesn't officially open until January 9, but she gave us a few preliminary things to do to get acquainted. One was to write a poem, of sorts, titled "I Am Here". This is my effort. The lines are not in any particular order, but in the order they came to me.

I'm a little nervous about sharing it, because some of it I've never shared with anyone, plus the fact that I'm not a poet. But for some reason, I want to share it. I hope you can make sense out of it. :)

I AM HERE

By SP Pope

I AM HERE

Still
By some miracle
By the grace of God

Despite childhood illnesses and accidents
Despite polio’s paralyzing attack
Despite being an only child
Despite the mistakes of my youth
Despite close calls with divorce
Despite being childless
Despite the pain of an adoption falling through
Despite suffering many losses
Despite being paralyzed by grief, trauma, and fear sometimes
Despite menopause
Despite many disappointments, heartbreaks, and heartaches
Despite life lessons learned the hard way
Despite bouts of anger and depression with suicidal thoughts
Despite not getting to spread my wings beyond my home town
Despite the guilt that my parents had no grandchildren
Despite a job I was unhappy doing
Despite all of my weaknesses
Despite rejections
Despite loneliness at times
Despite being made fun of in school for walking with a limp and having a weak bladder
Despite feelings of being totally overwhelmed at times
Despite the adjustments of retirement and hubby and I learning to live together 24/7
Despite the aches and pains of aging
Despite waning eyesight and memory lapses
I am here

Because of loving and caring parents
Because I survived polio to walk, run, and dance
Because of amazing friends and family
Because of wonderful grandparents
Because of having loved and been loved
Because of rejection
Because of the encouragement of teachers
Because of bosses who believed in me
Because of three best friends, who, since childhood, have stood by me through thick, thin, and weirdness
Because of all the wonderful pets I’ve been privileged to have in my life, who loved me unconditionally
Because of all the happy times
Because of a mother who loved me enough to encourage, and sometimes push, me to live life
Because of my strengths
Because of being an only child
Because of my imaginary friends
Because there are many sides to me
Because of accepting God as my personal savior long ago
Because of my husband of almost forty-two years
Because of the love of learning
Because I enjoy solitude
Because of my passion for art, writing, music, and reading
Because of finally finding peace within
Because I’m learning to live in the present
Because of life’s lessons learned through the people and experiences I’ve crossed paths with
I am here

Today I am loving retirement
Today I am enjoying my husband, despite the occasional disagreement
Today I am battling type 2 diabetes
Today I am ecstatic with my creative endeavors
Today I am still learning new things daily
Today I feel vibrant and alive
Today I don't have to be busy every second
Today I love my own company
Today I have gray in my hair and I am overweight
Today my body is all soft and mushy, the way grandchildren would have loved it
Today I am more concerned with inner beauty than makeup and fashion
Today I let things go that “should be” done, in order to enjoy the things and people I love
Today I am still making mistakes and learning from them
Today I am living one minute at a time
Today I still grieve and feel overwhelmed sometimes
Today I still live in the small town where I was born
Today I love and am loved
Today I still have my mom and my husband
Today I am still an only child, but with many “adopted” siblings in the form of friends and cousins
Today I still have a home and I am able to live in it
Today I can still take care of myself
Today I still have my old friends, and I continue to make new ones
Today I’m having adventures and looking for the everyday miracles and magic
Today I am on my computer discovering all the wonderful things that the web has to offer
Today I am older, wiser... and a little more forgetful
Today I am content on my little patch of earth
Today I am learning how better to cope with life and all its ups and downs, now that its winding down, but
I am here

I am who I am
I AM HERE
Still
By some miracle
By the mercy and grace of God
And I am grateful

Still Here

I hope you had a great holiday weekend. If you're like me, it was a busy one. :)

I just wanted to say hello and that I'm still out here. I have had a couple more of the 21 Secrets workshop projects finished for several days, and I was going to scan them to share here, but I started cleaning up my work room/space, and in the process misplaced the pages, along with my friend's birthday card. Her birthday is today and I still haven't found either. I know they're in this room, but I don't know which pile they're in. :/

Not much time, or space, to work on art for several days. Too many other things, called life, going on around here at once, besides the really hot weather.

Two of my buddies, Cooter (goat) & Miko

 As soon as I find the pages I will share them. Meanwhile, I hope you are having a wonderful creative summer wherever you are. Later y'all! :)

Mixed-Media, Play Things, & Snow

Remember these?

This one was a rough draft drawn with a brush on a 20 x 24" canvas for a "Get It Out, Get It Down" workshop by Connie Hozvicka in the 21 Secrets Playground.

This one is how it wound up after multiple layers of writing, stamping, texturing, and pasting papers.

It was too busy to suit me, so I covered it in a thin layer of white gesso, then added more layers of papers, paints, etc. I lost track of how many layers. It now has a bit too much blue and pink to suit me, but I'm stopping while I'm ahead. Below is what it looks like now. I like it better than the other version...at least for now.

The words have a lot of meaning for me, because of the message the preacher gave at my aunt's funeral. His words really spoke to me and have stayed with me. I also wrote messages on papers, tore up, and pasted them under the layers of paint and textures. It's been very cathartic for me. I got a lot of stuff out and down on this canvas among the layers.

This is some of the art stuff I got for Christmas this year.  My niece got me a lighted paper cutter, my nephew and his wife gave me paints, canvas boards, aqua pencils, snow texture, and matte spray, and hubby gave me markers and hi-liter pens. I love it! I later took money that I got for Christmas and ordered some fluid acrylics, acrylic inks, unruyu paper, pens, markers, sketchbooks, 2 new cds, and some needle felting stuff to go with them.

I also got a lot of freebie art materials in the form of bubble wrap, tissue paper, shoe sole stamps, boxes, ribbon, papers, etc. I'm set for a lot of fun. Watch out! :)

We have 4+ inches of snow in downtown Rabbit Hop. This a picture of my grandpa's old shoe shop school bus. It was his last shoe shop, and is now parked next to my dad's work shop. The bicycle is an old one that Daddy bought at a sale before he passed away. He had plans to combine it with an old push lawn mower and make it into a novelty riding mower. He made one, but he was planning to make a better one. He had a lot of fun out of the first one. Great memories of both of them.

It's been a good year so far. Hoping it stays that way. :)

Amusing Myself

Yesterday I rode to town with hubby and waited in the car while he went into the grocery store for a few things. We live in a really small town, so it's fun to see or talk to the other people going in and out of the store. Most everyone is friendly and will speak whether they know you or not.

Anyway, as I waited, a large white van pulled into the space right in front of the door. I had already noticed little fuzzy heads bobbing around in the seat beside the large, older man, who was driving. The man got out and walked in a slow, painful looking, shuffle through the store entrance, leaving the windows down in his van.

Immediately, two little heads popped up in the window away from me. They were standing on their back legs with their front feet propped on the armrest by the steering wheel, like two little fuzzy kids. They weren't missing anything going on outside the van either and would occasionally yelp, causing someone to look around.

The smaller one was a toy breed and solid white. I don't think it was a poodle, but it's hair was curly fuzzy, like a poodle, and covered it's stocky little body. I'm sure when it was curled up asleep it looked like a big cotton ball. The other dog was some taller and more wiry looking, with medium straight hair, a weir haired terrier, I think. It was black, except for some white on it's chest and the salt/pepper of it's chin whiskers. Neither of them lacked for energy... or love. You could just tell.

They kept me entertained, bobbing from window to window, but mostly they stood side to side looking out the window. Had I been a dog knapper, I would have stolen these two. I know the heartbreak of having a pet stolen though, so instead I scrounged around in the car pocket and found an old Bic pen and a pale yellow post it note pad and tried to sketch them, as best I could, given that their heads were in continuous motion.

When hubby returned, I pointed the little dogs out to him. He started whistling and talking to them, at which point I had to caution him that he'd cause them to jump out the window. When we left, the little black and white heads were still sticking up in the window side by side, excited by what was going on outside the world of the van. I was excited by spending time in their presence and getting a, not too well done, but fun, sketch of them down, which is going into my sketchbook.

For some reason, I wanted to share this little excursion with you. I enjoyed it immensely, and from now on I'm not going anywhere without my sketchbook, even a quick trip to the store. You never know where or what subject matter will pop up that you want to capture! (Note to myself! :))

Miko-Horse Sketch

This is actually NOT the first time I ever tried to sketch a horse. It WAS the first time I ever tried to draw a goat, a donkey, and a pony (see previous posts). I used to try to draw horses all the time when I was young and in school. My best friend and I were crazy about them. I was never good at it though. I'm still not, but this is about the best attempt I've ever made. I meant to try another one before I posted, but can't seem to get focused enough. This sketch is again with a Zig pen in the Moleskine book.

This is "Miko"-the horse. The 4th Musketeer (or Horseketeer). Miko looked almost like a skeleton with skin stretched over it when he came to live with us. His ribs and hipbones were very visible, and he was infested with worms. He has never been broken to ride, and he was very antisocial to begin with. He would take carrots out of our hands, but didn't allow us to touch him. He would lay his ears back and try to bite us or run away if we tried. It took a while, and much patience, to get him to let us pet him. Miko is a beautiful horse, and the only member that will put Boxey-Tail in her place. They don't really fight though. They are like siblings squabbling at the dinner table.

Miko has come a long way. They all have. With plenty of pasture and water and attention, he has gained weight and filled out. His coat is slick and shiny, and he let's us pet him without trying to bite us now. He won't push himself on us though, and is still a little standoffish. They have come a long way, but we're still VERY careful around them. I guess we're still learning to trust each other.

The thing that I love is seeing them all four coming toward me, side by side, different heights, sizes, colors, species, fur textures and patterns, personalities, voices and lauguages, and backgrounds. As different as they are from one another, they still move as a unit of friends. They sleep together, eat together, communicate, cool off together in the barn, receive attention from us together, and play together, and except when they scuffle a little over treats, they get along together really well. People could learn a lesson here. :)

They have a hundred acres to ramble around on with the small herd of cows, which they also get along with, but seem to prefer being segragated from. The cows are usually at one end of the farm and the Horseketeers at the other. There is shelter, plenty of food and water, woods, and fields for them to explore, and they seem happy. They provide me with lots of photo ops, and the happiness they've given us far exceeds what we paid for them.

I had to use two photos below to show you the 4 Horseketeers (sometimes Cooter thinks he's one too), and I was further away in one. It's hard to get them all four in one up close. Anyway, from left to right, it's Miko, Doris, Boxey-Tail, who is actually a little shorter than Doris, and Cooter.

I know my sketches don't do them justice, and this one concludes the introductions, but I'm sure there will be more sketches and tales to come...:)

Hope you enjoyed meeting them. I sure enjoyed introducing them to you! :)

"Doris"-1st Donkey Sketch

I shared my first attempt at sketching a goat with you, so I thought I'd share my first attempt at sketching a donkey. It's a quick sketch from a photo I took, and I used a Zig marker. I seem to have an aversion to leaving room for feet, and the large ears almost didn't fit, but all in all, I think I did okay on it. And Doris does have woolly bangs. :)

This is Doris. When we answered the ad in the paper for a donkey, the guy told us it was a female. For some reason hubby started calling her Doris as soon as we went and saw her.

Doris is various shades of tans and beiges with a really dark brown stripe down the spine and shoulder blades. He also has a deformed back foot. The hoof turns up like an elf's shoe, but it doesn't hamper him about getting around. We don't know if he was born that way or it's been broken. The halter was so tight that it had grown into the top of his head and made sores under his chin. We finally got it off him though, and it's healed up and he is free of it. He's only a couple of years old and has been through so much. He's loved now though and is a pet.

Doris was in a small pen with a horse and a pony, not a blade of grass, just mud, with a makeshift shelter barely big enough for the three of them, a roll of sagegrass hay, and an empty dishpan for water. They were a sad lot. Cooter goat went in and out of the pen as he pleased, so he was getting plenty of grass and water.

We fell for Doris and Cooter as soon as we saw them, and we felt sorry for the other two. The fellow was selling out to move up north, and hubby got him to make a price for the three of them, plus the goat. So the next morning, on our 40th anniversary, we brought them to live on our small farm with our cows.

We kept them in the barn lots with plenty of feed, water, and shelter for a few weeks. We wormed them, gave them treats, and spent lots of time with them before turning them loose to have the run of the farm. They are still having trust issues with us, but they are getting better. They look like different animals than what we first brought home, and they have already given us much joy. You can no longer see their bones and the lice are gone. They are fat and sleek and have life in their eyes again. I'm thankful we are able to give them a home and love, along with carrots, apples, and they adore caramel cookies.

Doris turned out to be male, but the name had already stuck, so Doris it is. We wanted a donkey to help with the coyote problem with our calves, but Doris likes the barn and Cooter doesn't get too far from him. We've been told that most donkeys are hateful, but Doris has such a sweet personality and spirit that everybody just falls for him. Doesn't matter whether he helps with coyotes or not, he has a home and love now, as do Cooter and the other two.

Two of the Four Musketeers (Doris and Cooter). Stay tuned for the third member, and if I get REAL brave, I may try a sketch of the four together...

Happy New Year and some Misc. Sketches

I have been MIA for several days, but I hope you all had a great Christmas and I want to wish you all a very happy New Year. I have missed you all.

The past 3 weeks have held good, bad, ugly, blessings, and trauma for us. They have been busy and bittersweet, but God is helping us to go on. On December 16 my husband's only sibling, Kay, who was the same age I am, died suddenly and without warning. We are a very close family and the loss has been almost unbearable. She was also an organ donor, which was not easy for us either. My father-in-law was sick already and the shock of losing his baby girl was almost too much for him. Kay loved Christmas so much, and already had her gifts wrapped and tagged, that her kids and grandkids wanted to go ahead with Christmas, which we did. It was hard. Kay was so full of life and always doing everything for everybody that she will be greatly missed by many people, besides her family. She left a big hole in our lives, but with God's help, we will all carry on. She would have wanted that.

I have tried to continue sketching every day, although there were some days when I just couldn't. I am sharing some of my attempts with you in this post. I scanned them as BW documents, and I don't know whether that was a good idea or not, but the pencil sketches just don't show up enough.

The first one is an attempt at a Zentangle that I call "Hiding in Plain Sight." One has a bluejay feather with a perfume bottle, which I'm sure you recognize if you've seen previous sketches, and a resin pear. One is a wild turkey feather, which is mostly fuzz held by a doll hand that fell off while I was sketching the doll in the doll challenge. Then there is a page of one white porcelin rabbit ornament jumping all over the page. He wouldn't be still. :) The last one is for Kay. It's a stone angel that I kept from her mother's funeral almost six years ago.

I hope I didn't depress anyone. I just felt like sharing today. :) I also got hung up on a Christmas Moose and sketched him 3x. What can I say? He was fun and he took my mind off things for a little while. Look for pictures soon! :)

Happy New Year All! I pray that it's healthy, happy, and creative for all of us.

PS- If the paragraphs don't seperate when I publish this time, I give up, for now. It's getting on my nerves. Will try to fix it later! Sorry!

Ghost Story & Image

I posted a little ghost story with pictures on Scribbles if you'd like to read it.

I can't get my copy and paste on blogger to work anymore or I would have posted it here too. Sorry! :)

IMT Challenge-Ghost

Two small fiery lights glared at her from the deserted Rabbit Hop Cafe. At least she thought it was deserted. It had been abandoned years ago when all the patrons were scared off by the large cats that took over the grounds.

The fading words spelling out the name on the painted top were barely visible in the pouring rain as she looked out the window.

A ghostly apparition appeared from the right as multiple orbs of light danced around the old Cafe in the dark cloudiness of the day. Nobody in the house believed her as she described what she was seeing.

The image of a coyote sat howling up toward the eerie lights. Shivers ran down her spine as the lights looked directly back at her, then bounced down and across the yard.

She was glad to be safely inside the house. It was real. The proof was in the pictures.

After all, pictures don't lie...or do they? *

Photo (no photoshop) and story by SP Pope

IMT Challenge--I AM...

The IMT challenge this week is to finish the sentence "I am..." with one word describing myself. This a page in my sketchbook using inktense pencils and water on a doodle sketch.

I do sleep a lot, but I dream whether I'm asleep or not. Colorful dreams. I love daydreaming while sipping coffee and watching the animals in the back yard. It's like a circus out there and sometimes I join in. :)

Hope she makes you smile!

Red Fox in Black Boots

We've seen this red fox in the backyard two evenings this week. The first time it was running one of the cats across the yard until it found some cat feed and it stopped to eat that. It was right before dark. It saw us watching it through the kitchen window and didn't run.

I wondered where Sammidog was and went to the door to see. He was laying on the porch with his feet dangling off the edge watching the fox. The fox didn't move until I stepped out on the porch and yelled at it. It ran through the fence and up through the pasture.

Of course, as soon as it started running away Sammidog took out after it like he was going to eat it up. He stayed on this side of the fence though. :)


Click on to enlarge --See his black boots

Yesterday evening it came back a little earlier and I managed to snap a couple of photos through the window over the sink. Sammidog was on the porch and the cats were all hiding. The fox was looking for something to eat as it ran back and forth on the little bank behind the house. All of a sudden it started toward the porch.




I made a racket trying to get a closer shot of it through the window (below) and it turned and ran back across the yard with Sammidog giving chase. It is so beautiful, but dangerous, not only to our animals, but to us. Sadly, we will have to do something about it. It's the first fox we've seen in a long time, and it's much larger than the others. I love animals and I always want to make a pet out of everything that wanders into the yard, but that's not a good idea most of the time.





I started to delete the above photo, but when I adjusted it some and enlarged it, it looked kind of dreamy looking, and I liked it, so I'm keeping it. :)

Sammidog and the cats were all acting hyper-alert this morning, and Sammidog was whining and carrying on, so the fox is probably still around close. Jim thinks it may have a den in the hayfield next to the house. He's seen a den that something is using. We'll see.

Sorry about the picture quality, but I had to take them through the dirty window over my sink. Didn't have time to clean it first. :)

Have a great weekend!

CED Check In-More Doodles

These pictures are a portion of the doodles I did this week in the CED challenge. I continued to do at least one a day every day, but I decided not to show all of them this time. I also did this one and this one this week on this blog and this one on Scribbles. Well, I actually did Ze Artiste a while ago, but I just decided to share her this week.

"Rabbit Ears"--is a Judi doodle. The image was drawn out of the shapes with a pencil and gone over with a black sharpie in the Moly journal. I will color him evenutally and write around him. Excuse Sammidog's face from the previous page looking over his behind. Too much sharpie. :)

"Sammidog"--is a Melissa doodle in the Moly sketchbook, colored with watercolors/pencils. I did add the toe divisions and the face with my eyes open. I forgot his face when I was drawing with my eyes closed. ;)

"Kibbles and The Cats"--is also a Melissa doodle, but in the Moly wc book. I added the ball and their whiskers after I opened my eyes.

Not too much arting this week. I played on Facebook and with my mp3 player too much. :) I did take some of the clay, that I softened up to make a doll, out and played with it some. I think it's now too moist. It got all over my hands like biscuit dough, and I can't stand stuff on my hands. I had to wash it off that time, but I am going to work with it again. I'm determined to sculpt a doll out of it somehow. :)

Hope one of these made you smile. Have a great week. I plan to! :)

My Melissa Doodles in Gallery on Pugnotes

The blind doodle drawings (I call them my Melissa doodles) that I did of Kibbles (1981-1997) trying out a new doodling technique, are being featured, along with several others who tried it, in a gallery on Melissa's blog page Pugnotes.

She generously shared the technique a few days ago on her blog. Her pug drawings are such fun that I wanted to try it, and I loved it. While you're there check out Melissa's blog. You won't be disappointed.

Thanks Melissa! What fun!

CED Journey For The Week, IMT, & Artygirlz

Come go with me on this past week's creative journey as I share some of my goings on with you for the Creative Every Day, Inspire Me Thursday (Moon this week), and Artygirlz (Butterflies) challenges. I hope you enjoy the trip. :)

Note: I have learned a new doodle technique this week from Melissa Langer, who has a cute blog with her creations using this technique. So when I refer to the drawings as Judi doodles, they are the ones where I drew shapes with my eyes closed, not thinking about what I was drawing, then let the image emerge. When I refer to them as Melissa doodles I drew an image I had in my mind, only I drew with my eyes closed.


Fly Me To The Moon...And Back--Inspire Me Thursday
Monday--I played with my mp3 player and danced with Cher, and drew the above Judi doodle sketch in the Moly wc book. The words, Fly Me To The Moon...And Back!, were digitally added.


Tissue Carnation
Tuesday--I played on Facebook some, then set up the above still life of a tissue carnation in an old Vick's Salve glass jar and practiced drawing and shading for a change, using a regular old pencil. It wouldn't make really dark darks. I drew in my Moly sketchbook. I wrote a long group note to my regular email buddies and sent it, just to let them know I was still living. Then I painted yesterday's moon rabbit doodle with wc/pencils/white gouache and added digital words to it.



Little Blue Elephant
Wednesday--Played on Facebook some more, then drew and shaded the little elephant figurine above from both sides in the Moly sketchbook. The white gouache hi-lites didn't help anything. I also touched up the rabbit painting again.

Seashells

Kibbles Marie
Thursday--Played on Facebook again. Got out a couple of seashells. I bought a bowl of them at a yard sale for almost nothing. I have some that I've picked up myself, but these were different. Anyway, I drew them and shaded them from two different angles in my Handbook sketchbook. I added a pale pink wash to the top one just to see how it would look.

Then I decided to try a Melissa doodle, so I closed my eyes and pictured my Pekingese dog-baby, Kibbles Marie, and started drawing. She has been gone for over eleven years and I still miss her every day. I was surprised at how well I did. Color was added with wc/pencils. This was also in the Handbook sketchbook. I also listened to good music by several of my favorites and spent time with Jim and his dad.

The Handbook is ok for just drawing, but the pages are thin, so they buckle with even a light wash and sharpies show right through, so you can't use the backs of pages. I much prefer the Moleskine books.



Mardi Gras Butterfly-Artygirlz


Kibbles-Bored


Kibbles doing what she loved best.
Friday--More Facebook playing (it's new to me), but I also did two Melissa doodles of Kibbles and colored them with wc/pencils/snippet of white gouache and black sharpie words. Again in the Handbook sketchbook. They are meant to make you smile/laugh. Kibbles loved to play ball, but she was nowhere near that skinny. She actually had very long hair all over. I meant to post a photo of her, but forgot to get one out.

The butterfly above Kibbles is a Judi doodle sketch in the Moly pocket wc book and is colored with wc/pencils/white gouache/fluid acrylics, and a black sharpie. Then I took a creative nap. :)

Kibbles in a predicament


Purple cat gestures
Saturday--More Facebook playing and blog reading. I have to stay inspired you know. I also touched up two paintings and did a page of cat gesture drawing studies in the Moly sketchbook with a purple uniball pen. The words are digital.

On the other side of the spread is another Melissa doodle of Kibbles colored with wc/pencils. She looks like she's sliding backwards and can't stop, but I did have my eyes closed afterall. :) These are fun to do. Thanks Melissa for inspiring them.

I chatted with some friends on Facebook, then Jim and I ate minute steak sandwiches and popcorn while we watched two movies on TV together, 10,000 BC (not very good) and Shutter (good).

Tree Snow


Sammidog in motion always-Loving the snow
Sunday--I know a lot of you are sick of snow, but this is our first one this winter, aside from a little dusting way back. So I'm only sharing a couple of pictures out of the many that I made this morning. As you can see, Sammidog was having a blast.

So far today, taking pictures and uploading them and working on this post has been my creative endeavor for the day. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, I did a little writing for the One Minute Writer challenge and posted it on my other blog and spent time drinking coffee and chatting with a friend.

I made pictures of some other things besides the snow this morning, but I'll save those for another time. I've also spent quality time with Mama every day, and I've had some very creative colorful dreams this week. I wish I had written them down before they slipped away.

Anyway, I hope something on here made you smile and put a little bright spot in your day.



Have a wonderful, creative week. I plan to. :)

CED Weekly Roundup

This is a roundup of my creative journey this week. Besides the daily doodle drawings and blog reading for inspiration, I spend quality time with Jim and Mama every day.

Bear in mind that the drawings are works in progress, and are experimental playing. I may or may not ever finish them or use them, but I am learning a lot from them and am a lot more relaxed when painting or drawing now. I've learned it doesn't have to be perfect to be fun or make someone smile. So, I hope at least one of these makes you smile. :>)
Monday-I did this doodle drawing spread in my Moly sketchbook, and, using a round sumi brush and watercolor, swished some color in. I put added a layer of fluid acrylics to the canvas ptg, "Hart." I also took a creative fall over Sammidog. You can read about it here if you want. Also went grocery shopping with mama and Jim.

Tuesday--I guess I was feeling a little Picasso-ish on the top one. It's a doodle in Moly wc book, where I outlined all the lines in a black ultra-fine sharpie instead of pulling out a specific image. I was going to leave it like stained glass, but after I filled in all the spaces with watercolor, this head emerged, so I used white gouache over the background, outlined the head in heavier sharpie with a red inktense pencil line on top, and embellished the eye. I actually kept going back to it over 3-4 days and doing stuff to it, but I did the doodle today. :)

The rabbit is a doodle in the M sketchbook. The image has been pulled out with a heavier pencil line. There could be something else to pull out, but I like it like it is. Color will come later.

I also re-joined Facebook, per a friend's invitation and worked on setting up my page.

Chasing Rabbits
Wednesday--Touched up the Picasso-ish page above, drew doodle of the sleeping dog in M sketchbook, and studied it for more images. There may be some more to it when I get time to focus. Sleeping dogs seem to be a recurring theme for the time being. Could be because I'm a sleepyhead. Also spent time with a dear friend chatting, drinking coffee, and laughing.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Thursday--I drew and pulled the image above out of a doodle. I don't know what it means, but this was daddy's birthday and I was missing him so much. I also wrote a personal piece post on Scribbles about my week's mishaps. I've collected some very creative boo-boos this week. :)

Group Hug

Friday--Doodle sketch in M wc book, pulled out image, added watercolor to dampened page and let bleed together. Went over outlines with black sharpie and re inktense pencil, then spattered paint on, just for fun. I toned down some parts of the "Hart" canvas painting with acrylic washes. I made three photos of Sammidog and the cats, then painted another layer of acrylic on ptg, and we rented the movie "Max Payne" on PPV and ate popcorn. Pretty good flick.

2 Kittens and a cow skull

Dancing With The Moon

Saturday--I watched a video on Black-eyed Suzie's blog. It was from Etsy featuring her making doll portraits. Pretty interesting. I also played with my camera and made a bunch of dog/cat photos, then painted some more on "Hart" painting. The above image emerged from my doodles in the M sketchbook. These sketchbook images will all become journal entries as I write on them.

I Do Not Have A Nose Problem!
Sunday--Played on my Facebook page some more, pulled the above image from the doodle marks in the M sketchbook, made photos of drawings and uploaded, and posted to blog. Took a loooooong, soothing, lovely shower and ate a pancake breakfast with Jim while we watched the tractor pulls on TV.

Hart Strings

This is the second photo of the "Hart" painting. It is still waaaaay too intense, even for me, but I'm getting there. I thought I'd have it done for the Artygirls challenge this week, which is wire, but I'm not going to. I'm going to put copper wire for the strings on the hart that she is playing, once I get the rest to suit me. I'm thinking about adding a layer of white unruyu paper to it to add texture and to dull it down a bit. The colors will still show through, only not as intense. I'm still pondering though.

This is what I do. I get about half way through a project, then can't decide how I want to finish it. So I move on to something else for a while. Frustrating!

Oh, well, it'll come to me eventually. :) So this was my creative journey this week. Hope you enjoyed making the trek with me. Can't wait to see how my journey continues next week. :)

Have a wonderful, creative week!