Rest

We rush and hurry and rush some more.  Busy, busy, busy!  Gotta get  more done.  Can't forget anything on the list.  Gotta make sure the summer is filled up, overflowing, taken advantage of.  When the list is finished, gotta make another list.  Go, Go, Go!  Gusto grabbing and gung ho!

God gifted me with pink eye.  Seriously!  I've been home for what feels like a very long time.  Seeing nobody.  Cancelling commitments.  Home.  And as I painted this, it dawned on me that being home, with no chance of going anywhere, was a gift from God.  I HAD to be still.

Thank You, My Father.

Learning, Learning, Learning...

What can I say?  This painting was based on another reference pic taken by my friend, Jen.  I'm really not sure what I think about it!  The bee sort of disappears in the mass of purple.  And I've already painted his wings twice.  I've never done any glazing...which might make the wings more transparent, but I'm not sure.  Clearly I need TO LEARN!!  The problem is, I'm not sure WHAT I need to learn!

Dandelion's Cousin

Back in the day, when I was living in the city, I would have yanked this baby up before it had a chance to bloom.  But there's something about going for a hike and stumbling across a grassy area just FULL of these. Once again, my definition of a "weed" has morphed significantly.  As I'm sitting here staring at this one, I'm seeing some tweaking that needs to be done....

The Painted Cow

Done!  I had great fun doing this one.  I love the pink in her neck.  Murphy asked me if I was going to paint the tag in her ear, but for some reason I just couldn't!  There's a hint of magenta in her hide, so I'm calling her "Pretty In Pink".

Curious

I've drawn this guy numerous times, but never tried to paint him until this week.  I got the reference pic at my cousin's house in North Carolina, where the blue birds have more color that the ones we have in Colorado.  He's a curious bugger, isn't he?

Out On A Limb

Have I mentioned how much I'm loving these tiny canvases?  I'm trying to resist the temptation to switch to a smaller brush.  If I painted this with a tiny brush it would be so tight it would lose all it's whimsy!  I love the thought of a breeze coming by, and this little guy hanging on for dear life!  It's the Elitch's of the bug world!

The reference photo for this painting was taken by my dear friend Jen...she has a great eye!

Can You Say "Moo"?

I inked this cow well over a year ago, only back then the end result was much more whimsical.  This time, I was thinking that I wanted to paint this cow, and I needed to be sure I could draw her again.  So, I ended up with another inked cow.  Yesterday I painted her, but the paint is still shiny and wet, so I can't take a pic of her for a couple of days.  I'll show you when she's dry.

Cock-a-doodle-do!!

Every once in awhile (more frequently than I like), I start a painting and in short order I end up hating it...convinced that it's going poorly...thinking maybe I should just start over...what on earth was I thinking, anyways?!  That happened with this guy.  But I was just reading in Romans about perseverance bringing about proven character, and I so-o-o-o did not want to just give up!  Press on!  Keep going!  Never, never, never give up!

And, as it turns out, I LOVE the end result!  Roosters just speak of joy and exuberance, don't they?  I'm calling this "Doodle Do".

Spent (This Time in Oils)

Who knew that a dandelion gone to seed could be beautiful?  Certainly not a city dweller!  But in the land of no lawns, dandelions are just part of the landscape.  Along with those astounding purple thistles (which I have reference pics of, but so far am too chicken to paint!).  And loco weed, which I think ranchers hate, but I love.  The definition of a "weed" is definitely loose where I live!

How many tiny white lines do you paint when you're trying to communicate a dandelion seed?  I don't know!!  I just decided it was time to stop!

Procrastination Begone!

Not long ago I posted a sketch of this flower, thinking I would paint it...someday.  Well, I'm pleased to say that "someday" came much sooner than normal!  Procrastination was not my bedfellow!

I've been thoroughly enjoying these little paintings.  They're just 6" square and they go fairly quickly.  I've painted eight so far, and this week I'm going to the art supply store to buy more canvases.  This one I've called "Gimme A Black Eye".

Zacchaeus!

Everyone sing it with me:  "Zacchaeus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he!  He climbed up in a sycamore tree for the Lord he wanted to see!"  Takes you back to Vacation Bible School days!  I don't actually have a reference  picture of a man climbing a gnarly tree wearing a skirt.  So I had to completely wing it!

This is sketch number 4....at least 4 more to go!  How would you paint the feeding of the 5,000?

...And Another...

It's a boat-load of fish!  This is the story where Jesus takes Peter (and his fishing partners, I assume) out in their boats to the middle of the lake and tells them to let down their nets.  Peter says, "Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing...but I will do as You say and let down the nets."  Peter never struck me as a super submissive man, so his willingness to submit to Jesus here is remarkable.  They ended up getting so many fish their nets began to break, and when they got the fish into the boats, the boats began to sink.

Here's my thought, though: do I really want to have an 8' square canvas on the church wall with just a bunch of dead fish on it?  I'm not so sure about this one!

Another Sketch for My Church

This is another possibility for the next set of canvases for my church.  This would depict the day that Jesus entered the temple and read from the scroll of Isaiah 61, and said, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."  I would paint this as if it were a stack of overlapping photos, just like the previous sketch I posted.  

The Hebrew took me FOREVER.  I'm not entirely sure I want to paint this on an 8' square canvas!!   We'll see!

If you're interested, the story in the bible is found in Luke 4.

Doodling

I doodled this while on the phone the other day.  I'm pretty sure he hovers about 3 feet off the ground.  Not sure what his purpose is though.  If I could choose, I'd have him cook all our meals.  If only!

I haven't done anything remotely creative for at least a week.  There's ANOTHER fire burning, closer than the other one, and life has been seriously disrupted.  Today our evacuated-doggie-house-guests go home, and the mountain pass that serves our community is re-opening, so maybe life will get back to normal again.  Stand-by evacuations are still in place, though, so we'll see.  Our forests are dry, dry, dry!