Nov30Art

If you've ever wondered about ordering pens from http://jetpens.com let my last order be an example.  I ordered the Zig markers along with some white gel pens on Tuesday evening, Wednesday morning I got the notice my order was shipping… today my order arrived.  I could not ask for faster service especially since I did not pay extra for expedited shipping. I LOVE the uniball Signo white gel pen… nice rich white.  I also tried the cheaper Sakura gelly roll white pen… it is ok… but the uni-ball is definitely worth the extra money.

Nov29Art

We avoided the stores and any place too close to a mall today.  I don't like crowds and reports of fights in a local Wal-Mart over some music CD was enough to keep me home today.  It has warmed up a little, but is still cold here.  We need to buy some toys for toys for tots events we are attending… so tomorrow we'll shop a little, hopefully the frenzy will be over by then.

Nov28Art Happy Thanksgiving

The only thing missing today was the smell of turkey roasting in the oven.  I do love the smell of a turkey.  The ham was good, and we'll enjoy it, but I do believe I'll be cooking a turkey in a few weeks for Christmas.  Got birthday gifts ordered for JeAnna and the grand daughters… finally, been bugging them for weeks to decide.

Nov27Art

Taking the easy way this Thanksgiving, having a ham, I'll bake potatoes and make some vegetables, and pop a pecan pie in the oven and we'll call it dinner.  We haven't both had this much time off at the same time, since we got married… and we have absolutely nothing planned.

Nov26Art

Beau is the oldest at 16, his son Jeb is next oldest at 13 years old, then Gracie is now 11 years old and Dixie… the Lab who showed up pregnant in our yard January 2008 is probably 7 or 8 years old now.  Someone recently asked me when I was going to get a puppy, and while I'd love to have a puppy… no way I'm bringing a puppy into this house full of incontinent old dogs.  How can I housebreak a puppy when all the old dogs have forgotten their training?  So no puppies for me for a while… a very long while I hope.  I'm thankful for my old dogs, we've had many fine years together.  I'm thankful for my husband who indulges my need for dogs, lots of dogs.

Nov25Art

Cartoon dogs are NOT SUPPOSED to die, Pluto and Marmaduke are over 40 years old and so is Snoopy… so this killing of Brian is shocking.  Maybe I'm overly sensitive about this because my real life breathing dogs are all over 10 years old and the oldest Beau is 16… real dogs die, but cartoon dogs can live forever… so WHY would anyone kill a cartoon dog?  It's just wrong on so many levels… and while the producers probably won't miss me one bit, I will NEVER watch the show again.

Nov24Art

Ever have one of those days that just flies by, and you sit down to catch your breath and realize it's time to make coffee and go to bed.  Winter always seems more frantic to me, with the darkness falling so early in the evening… I feel like the day is over and I've gotten nothing accomplished.  BOOM… it is COLD… below freezing tonight, turned the ceramic heater on for the bird and may pull another blanket out of the closet… that's what I get for bragging to my daughter in Chicago about our 80 degree weather… at least it won't snow and this will be over in a day or so (I hope).  Gotta find my wool pants to wear to work tomorrow.

Nov23Art

Assignment in my new book 'Drawing from Within', is to draw hands, pages and pages of hands.  I must admit I haven't done the first assignment which was to draw people, I'm not around people much as I work at home alone with my dogs rarely leave the house except to get the mail.  I am really enjoying reading this book and the hand exercise is easy… well I can draw my own hand, not very well but the book's premise is that if I do it enough I'll get better at it..  I know it's been slow, but I do see that my little daily drawings have gotten better over the years.  Granted I can still turn out a stinker on any given day.

Nov22Art

Another continuous line drawing, this time of my left hand, and my wedding ring. I still love our wedding rings, with sailboats on the ocean cast in the gold.
All week tv has been full of shows about President Kennedy's assassination, I was in the 7th grade in the library when the principal came in to tell us the President had been shot and they were sending us all home.  My mother came and picked me up from school and we drove to Northside High School to pick up my older brother Gene, I remember it was a Friday and all the church bells in Atlanta were ringing, it was very spooky and quiet.  We were glued to the tv, which stayed on the news for 3 days.  Back then there were only the 3 networks ABC, NBC, and CBS… no cable, no CNN, no 24 hour coverage… but they covered this non stop. The entire nation mourned Kennedy's passing much as they mourned the people killed in the twin towers on 9/11/2001/. Sad that the only time we can mend our differences is when tragedy strikes.

Nov21Art

We have a huge sugar maple tree in our front yard.  It is actually a survivor of hurricane Hugo, so it is a tough old tree.  It has blanketed our yard with yellow, orange, red and brown leaves, and yet it isn't bare, so no need to rake them up yet.  Got another book today 'Drawing from Within' by Nick Meglin,  I've only read the first chapter, and the first assignment will be a tough one, since I never have drawn people much… only way to improve is to do it right?

This is a letter idea from my lettering book, she used the round scraps from a hole punch.  The only hole punch I have is heart shaped so, I punched holes in red, pink and white paper, glued to a black sheet.  Turned out pretty cool looking I think.

Nov20Art

Got one of the books I ordered from Amazon today, 'Creative Lettering' some really creative stuff in this book, and I'm planning to try some of them very soon… maybe tomorrow.

Nov19Art

I got this eraser at Barnes and Noble a few years ago… couldn't decide what to draw today when this bright red Rhino caught my eye.  Really hectic day at work today, trying to wrap things up so that I can enjoy Thanksgiving next week.

Nov18Art

We went to Parson Jack's Bar and Grill for dinner, I LOVE their pizza, Ron loves their French Dip… moon rise over the trees on our way home caught my eye as we crossed the river… such a gorgeous pinky/orange color.  Not really sure if what we saw was a real 'harvest moon' or not, but what else could you call such a sight?

Nov17Art

Didn't do much today, Ron thought he felt better, I made the mistake of taking him grocery shopping… he didn't do well at all… it was too much, too soon.  Back to ZiCam, vitamin C, and hot tea… and lots of rest for him.

Nov16Art

Been serving hot tea, and chicken soup all day… while trying to keep the dogs quiet so that Ron can get some rest.

Nov15Art

I tried to draw this tangle of ribbon, by just doing the outline, then painting the inside.  Didn't turn out very good… but not as bad as it could have been.
Is anyone else in America OFFENDED by the government 'allowing' us to keep our insurance… I worry about a people that accepts a huge government that 'allows' them to buy what the government decides you can… we're in big trouble folks, and it has nothing to do with healthcare or insurance… it's an ATTITUDE, the attitude that BIG BROTHER knows best.  Big Brother can't even build a stupid website that works with 3 YEARS of lead time.

Nov14Art

Been using the same car insurance agency since I moved to Charleston in 1998, but they just didn't seem to want my business, until I told them via an email this evening that I was calling tomorrow morning to cancel my insurance with them.  THEN they want to know why, and was it something they did?  I wrote them an epistle on what the ''didn't'' do… which was call me back when they said they would among other things like telling me something was the 'LAW' in SC, which I called the SC insurance commissioner's office and found out that was NOT TRUE I do not like being lied to.

Nov13Art

This week's lesson with Jane LaFazio is continuous line drawings.  Always a challenge for me, but I gave it a try on my desk lamp.  Been busy at work the last few weeks with a big project moved to production this month… so haven't been keeping up with the class.

Nov12Art

I got Ron to take them into the kitchen, before I ate them all.  I ate way too many of them today,  easy to pop just one in your mouth. Then another, and another… not good for me to do that.
Charleston County Republican Party meeting is be held on Tuesday this month, so I'm off to the meeting shortly, in the new 'Smart' Car.

Nov11Art

Happy Veterans' Day to all the veterans and all those currently serving… and while I'm at it let me say 'Thank you',  because you stand in harm's way I am safe and free and I appreciate all that you have given me and my family.  The world is a very dangerous place these days, but thanks to our veterans and soldiers I have hope for the future.  That you volunteered to serve your country makes me admire you even more.  Thank you for all you did and all you do, you are the best.

Nov10Art

People really are curious about our little car, almost everywhere we stopped they would ask us about mileage, or how fast it would go, or relate stories of a cousin with one.  We ran around town in it all day, and I barely was able to sketch it before it got dark.  I hate it being dark so early, and it only gets worse from now until December.

Nov09Art

We skipped the hockey game tonight, because I was exhausted from walking all morning at the plant (now I know why Ron is losing weight). We spent way more time at the dealership than I thought we would.  We've had an eye on the Smart Cars for a couple of years now.  Ron went to the dealership (did you know the Mercedes makes the Smart Car?) and sat in one Friday afternoon.  So we went back and test drove it, and that little shoe is in our drive way tonight.   I may draw it tomorrow, it is very cute, and has way more interior room than you'd think.  Ron will drive it to work, and save a lot of money on gas (not to mention his knees), over the Jeep TJ.  The Stingrays won the game tonight in a shoot out, so they didn't miss us one bit :-)

Nov08Art

Added Cadmium Yellow to my business card palette and alizarin crimson, dropping cobalt yellow and permanent rose.  Topped off the other colors so I'm ready to go with my new sketchbook.  I'm really amazed at how long the tiny amount of color really lasts.  We're headed out to dinner and a hockey game tonight.

Book 23 - Title page

Watercolor Moleskine sketchbook number 23…  I really like the creamy color of the paper, and so far the ghost of the previous page is not visible… so I'm very pleased.

Nov07Art

Last page in the sketchbook… next book will be a Moleskine watercolor sketchbook. The week is winding down, and now I have all these blank creamy pages… mocking me… I can hear them.  After almost 4 months of a portrait format I'm going back to landscape format, so that's a change to look forward too.  I need to refill my palette and I'm thinking about trying some different things, I think I've fallen into a rut.    

Nov06Art

Long day today…. I didn't sleep well last night, woke up at 2am and wasn't able to got back to sleep until around 5am… still a few lantana leaves that haven't turned brown in my yard.  The hibiscus leaves are beginning to turn yellow, but the flowers continue to bloom.  Noticed a honey bee gathering nectar from one of the flowers today.  I never have a camera when I see things like that.
My friend Charm Altman lost her husband yesterday, he has been ill for a long time so it is a blessing… even so it is still hard.

Nov05Art

I feel left out today, there was nothing for me to go to the polls and vote on today.  All across the nation, indeed all across the low country people went to the polls today, to elect city council members and mayors, and governors.  In my precinct there was no election today :-(  I'm proud of the voters in Dorchester County they voted down a 1 % sales tax… the sales taxes here are as high as they are in New York City… time to nip this trend in the bud.

Nov04Art

Next assignment a citrus fruit… my homework version… did not work out, plus I was supposed to cut and/or peel the fruit and draw the inside…. except the tangerine I bought Sunday, was already mooshy… when I tried to peal it, it fell apart and the smell was… less than appealing… so the rest of that page did not get done.  I may add something else to the page later… but it is done now… the tangerine is down the disposal… gone.

Jane wanted us to dot on color leaving white spaces to give the illusion of the citrus fruit textured skin…. looks a bit odd to me, I probably didn't do it correctly or it is too much like oil or acrylic painting which I'm not particularly fond of.

Nov03Art

Time change Sunday, either Spring or Fall… messes with my head and my eating and sleeping patterns get totally out of whack.  I don't know how much longer my hibiscus will continue to produce these huge orange/red flowers but I'm really enjoying this final bit of color in my yard.  The leaves are mostly gone, except for the live oaks, they stay green and only drop a few leaves now and then.

Nov02Art

Got a new scanner today which is why this Saturday page is being posted on Sunday… the new scanner has a bright green "on/off" light.  I don't remember exactly when this symbol started showing up on just about everything, it certainly didn't exist when I was a kid, and even my first computer's on/off didn't use this…. now it is everywhere.  Ubiquitous that's what it is, why?

Nov02Art

I'm doing an online class with Jane LaFazio, lesson one is fruit.  My normal sketchbook page will be posted tomorrow…. we had a very busy Saturday today.
We had a breakfast in Berkeley County this morning, afterwards my scanner broke so we went to lunch and then to staples to buy a new scanner.  Got the new scanner/printer hooked up… (still can't get photoshop to 'see' it)  got this scanned  just before it was time to meet our friends for dinner before the hockey game.
Stingrays beat Gwinnett again 3 to 1… good game.
My model for the fruit…

Nov01Art

Great hockey game tonight, small crowd due to the Fair being in town now.  Lots of people attend the Fair here, I've been to the State Fair in Columbia, but never this local Fair.  We went to Fairs occasionally when I was a kid, but it wasn't an every year thing that we did.
Almost done with this sketchbook, I find the see thru paper annoying, I'll not be buying any more of these.