Time for a post? Ya think? :-)

In case you've wondered....

1. Yes, I'm still alive, and

2. Yes, I'm still making art

and...... I have some news.........I'm a new grandmother!

My first grandbaby, Colton Joshua, was born on February 26, 2012. He's a little guy... a preemie. His Mom, my DIL, was only 25 weeks along when Colton decided he'd had enough and wanted out! At birth he was almost three months premature, weighed 1 lb 4.5 oz and was 12.5 inches long. He's doing very well though, and the doctors and nurses in the neonatal unit are doing a wonderful job taking care of him. He'll be in the unit for at least another two months. If you could weigh sweetness, he'd have been a ten pounder! This grandma can't wait for him to go home so she can hold that precious little bundle. The photo above was taken when he was three days old. He's gained a little weight since then.

On the art front, I've been active over on Drawspace, participating in the trades there every month since September(?). I find ATC's to be a wonderful way to get in some relaxed practice, and experiment with new colors, paints, surfaces and techniques. The first batch below is from the January trade with a theme of "What's in Your Back Yard"?

This next batch (below) is from the February trade. It was a trade to be done in graphite and/or pen and ink using any subject. I chose to do a series of shells. Normally, graphite is not my cup of tea (What? No color? YIKES!) but it was great drawing practice and, to tell you the truth, I ended up really enjoying just drawing for the sake of drawing.

Christmas ATC's

Participated in Drawspace's December trade with a theme of Winter/Christmas. Gotta do something to keep my brushes from dry rotting during this time of year while there's so much going on!

Each card is 2.5" x 3.5".

Had a lot of fun with these...  I used Hot Press watercolor paper for the first time, and did the cards in pen and ink and watercolor. I really liked the super smooth surface of the hot press paper. Love experimenting with art supplies!

Fall and ATC's

 I think it is, as my Mother would say, "high time" I did a blog post. I'm posting a series of two sets of ATC's (Artist Trading Cards) that I did in trades on Drawspace. I'm a newcomer to Drawspace, but really like the smaller number of traders and they're a great bunch!

The first set (below) was for the September trade with a theme of "Let's go to the Fair!". The second set (above) was for the October trade with a theme of anything to do with Fall.

I've also been busy knitting. Started a sweater a few weeks ago and just about finished with the body. It's knit side to side so all I have to do now is knit and seam in the sleeves. Will post a pic when it's done!

Hope you're enjoying Fall... I certainly am!

Canadian Shoreline - after Grant Fuller

"Canadian Shoreline" after Grant Fuller

I am SO ready for Fall! I've about had it with gardening for this season. My enthusiasm for growing things has nosedived and I'm ready for a deliciously chilly frost! (Heck, let's be honest here... what I'd really like is to wake up one morning to a foot of snow in the yard :-)

As usual, I've kept a low blogging profile through the summer months...just not enough hours in the day to get around to everything. Didn't get much done in the way of art either, but I did purchase a watercolor instructional DVD entitled "Painting the Sea in Watercolor" by a delightful Canadian named Grant Fuller. Love his instructional style! Clear, easy to understand, and a gentle sense of humor. It's a pretty straight forward DVD, mostly basics really, but even so I still had several "A ha!" moments... specifically in the area of how much water to use.... which is something that's been hit and miss. The light bulb finally clicked on. 'Bout time!  I followed along with the sample painting, and my version of Mr. Fuller's painting is what you see above.

Painting a Mural and Gardening = A Busy Summer!

No, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth! Summer is a super busy time around here.....taking care of blueberries, tomatoes, peas, okra and lots of flowers. In the meantime I've managed to work in a mural for my grandson, Tyler. He requested a lighthouse scene to match the border of his newly redecorated room. The mural measures about 10 ft wide and 7 ft. high. I'm posting photos showing the progression. The second photo from the top shows the happy "customer" (Tyler is in the middle) with two of his cousins.

How I approach murals:

1. Draw the scene on the wall with pencil
2. I usually work from the upper left down, making sure that the main features are where they need to be.
3. I use artist's acrylics because they have good coverage and dry fast (the fast dry feature is a must when painting in a kid's room)
4. Play some really good music while I'm working... another "must" :-)
5. Seal the mural with a coat of Liquitex Matte Varnish

So sorry I haven't been able to visit lately and see what's going on with your blog... I'll be back as soon as I can to see all the lovely things you're making in your corner of the world!