"A Coat Of Many Colors"

(click to enlarge)

Here's my latest watercolor project. This is my out building that is getting ready to be torn down and replaced with my new "Big Girl" goat barn. It was here when we purchased the property, as I am sure you could have guessed! It was painted red many years ago and it has had a few new colors tried out on the sides of it. I don't know who did that?? hehehe There have also been several boards replaced over the years which are different colors too. When we decided to build the barn in it's place I changed my mind about painting it. Instead, I took this picture of it this winter while playing with my new camera, of course when the snow was on the ground. I really saw this building in a new light in this photo and of course I just had to paint it. What's up with me doing all these snow scenes? I don't like snow and I sure find it hard to capture on canvas! Go figure! I think I am always up for a challenge!

This is done on watercolor canvas and is aptly named "A Coat Of Many Colors".

My first watercolor

"Frankie"
Frankie is my dachshund. I took this picture of him
a couple weeks ago when I got my new camera. I planned to paint this one but I didn't plan on watercolors. I made a new friend in Michaels friday while I was hunting paint supplies.
She asked if I had ever done watercolors. I told her no and she said I "should".
She turned around and picked up a pack of watercolors and threw them in my buggy. She said "Here go paint now!"
I said "Oh no I can't draw!"
She said "Learn how."
OMG girls I don't know how to draw.
She helped me pick out a book that I do not like at all now, so I have been on Youtube all weekend and lots today.
I did draw this one all by myself.
Danny even likes this picture. He said it looks just like the digital picture. Yeah, Danny needs glasses too.
Maybe he is just being nice after he made me cry on Saturday critiqueing my oil painting of the barn. I am doing an Impasto technique with a palette knife and he wanted to know what all that stuff was on the canvas. He snarled his nose up and acted disgusted with it. He knew it hurt my feelings so he decided he better say this one was good!! He likes to eat!

I ran out of paint on the barn and have some more ordered. It is a big canvas and takes a lot of white paint to paint all that snow!!!


Guess what this is?

Yep, it's sunshine beaming in my windows today!!
We don't get much of that anymore.
We are to get more snow tomorrow. We had been told anywhere from 15" to 24" but that was just a rumor.....I hope it was anyway. The weatherman is now calling for no more than an inch but it is supposed to snow for about 24 hours.
What's 24 hours? It snows almost every day now.
Not today!! It was sunny enough to lift my spirits and I did a lot of housecleaning and laundry.
Of course I only did those chores while my watercolor was drying!!

I hope we don't get snow because I have a date Wednesday with my new friend Judy that I met at Michaels. She has invited me to go to her tole painting club with her!! WooWoo!! They meet once a month in Roanoke and have class most of the day. I can't wait!
So Please no snow!!

For my closest friends only.............

and you know who you are.

The friends who do not judge me.

Who although they know I am crazy and scatter brained and

suffer from a non professional diagnoses of ADD, wouldn't

ever criticize me to my face or on my blog.

wink wink wink

Those who will understand that I am in no ways

a professional painter.....hahaha....that's funny to even say!! Ha professional!!

They know that I am self taught....if you can even call it that!

So they will see the beauty in my efforts to put this on canvas!

The snapshot taken Dec 19th in our first snow thru the truck window.
This morning......


a little later....
(how do you like my easel? My other one broke and I had to get creative. This works beautifully)


the latest installment............

I just had to share it with you guys!
I am doing this in oils....and it's a good thing because of the extra long drying time.
I have suffered a mind boggling, body numbing, organ shutting down migraine today. It hit me like a meteor out of the sky and put me in the bed midstream around noon today.
I just knew that my life was to end right there in that bed with my oils dried to my hands and my hands were a beautiful smurf blue.
What do you think the autopsy would show??
Hypoxia just went to a new level!!!
I would have died happy anyway......I think painting is truly one of my very favorite things to do. It is above sewing and quilting....believe it or not?

Now that I lived thru that headache I just may be able to finish this up soon.
I know it's rough but it is a work in progress!!

Wish me luck!
Wish my husband luck on getting supper tonight!!!

Love to all,
Picasa Smurf

I just had to show you these......

This is my favorite picture of me! Was I not a beautiful baby? Yes I have to toot my own horn! I was beautiful! Look at those eyelashes and those huge green eyes. The dimples have left my face and went everywhere else now. Those perfectly shaped brows are no more. The curls....what I had curls? One would never know it! The yellow smocked dress was made by my Grandmother Goldie (she was my favorite person in the world) I had Robin's picture taken in the same dress at 1 year old and she had Morgan's taken in it too when she was 1 year old. I have to gather those up and let you see them too. But I want to just warn you that I was a much prettier baby than they were......wink wink wink!!!!! That's OK they are a lot more beautiful young ladies than I am!! (That's my brother with me, David. He was a dapper little devil too!)

Now onto these hotties!! LOL!!
I recreated this picture of Danny and I in 2005 (good thing I dated it, I have already forgot) in charcoal from a little 3X5 sketch that was done in a token booth at Chuckie Cheese. The kinda booth that as adults you have to squeeze into in order to get all your parts in the picture! We look scared don't we? We were afraid we were not going have ears when the picture was finished!! When it was finished I couldn't believe how it turned out, it was by far our best picture together so I had to recreate it. At first I was going to do it in oils but I wasn't sure if I could pull that one off. Charcoal ended up being very easy. I was so pumped when I finished that I wanted to do everything in charcoal.

My children are scared of this picture because they say that the eyes follow them around the room. I just tell them that their parents always have and always will be watching them!!!!!

The truth is ..... I am self taught and have no idea how to fix the eyes ;-) That's OK I'll just stick to my story.....

See I definately don't look as good as I did as a baby! What do you think?

Fundraising Fashion Show

This evening I was invited to participate in a fundraiser for the Community Action Emergency Fund for our county. It was held at the home of Jeannie O'Neill. She has a gorgous home and gardens on Main Street.
This little building (the back of the building shown) used to be her fathers vet office. A few years back my daughters and I rented this from Jeannie and had our ladies consignment store in there. It has now been renovated (wish I had pics) into the cutest ever B&B type nightly rental. While we were getting ready for the fashion show a gentleman from England came up requesting a room. He got a great room for the night and was invited next door to the show and 2 doors down to Jeannie's husbands birthday party after the show!!! What a deal he came across!!

Her back yard.

Her boutique Jeannie O'Neill Originals. She is a fabulous artist and clothing designer. Robin and I used to do some sewing for her. Her items are being modeled tonight.

One of the models, Cindy. My job was to dress the models in Jeannie O'Neill Originals. These are her handbags too. There were four other stores from our town that also had their clothing shown.

Side of her home. It's huge.

Front room of her boutique.

Some of her art and jewelry on display.

More art. Love the "nothing to wear" sign.

I can't believe I am telling this on myself, but this is "MY BUTT" .......really it is.......when we rented from Jeannie she came into my store and asked me to come outside and model for her. I did as I was told....bent over and she took a picture of my butt!!!! The rest is history! You have to know Jeannie and I don't think it would make any of you mad. I always thought this was my best side ;-)

Some of the models gathered for pictures. Notice Jeannie's art hanging on the side of her house.

This is an old friend and previous co-worker of mine Lori. A fellow hairdresser and her boyfriend Michael. They were both models tonight for another store. I was so happy to see them here.

Here's the crew. All my models and Jeannie second from left.

There were door prizes and a silent auction with a lot of great items for auction. If The Fairy's Rest was ready for guests I would have given a weekend to the highest bidder!! Maybe next year.

This is Jeannie's sister Temple. She modeled vintage dance wear and was caught dancing later in the evening. The band was great too. I think everyone really had a good time. Jeannie is quite the hostess.

She also offered me a job before the night was over!!!

"Sage" this is for you!!

Here is my walnut dough bowl and rolling pin that I found at a yard sale last summer for $35. It is shown with my rendition of a Bob Ross!! The spinning wheel lamp is an Ebay find!!

I made the mini log cabin quilt!

A closer view! Man I am craving a hot buttered biscuit!
Look at that grain! Oh and the chest of drawers is OLDER than ME!!! Yes, older than dirt!!

I have had it my entire life. It has been with me as long as my skin has!!
And this is my incredibly clean quaint living room. Thanks to you I have a lot of clean rooms this week!! You can just barely see the edge of the wood basket that is beside the wood cook stove and it has some newspapers sticking out, maybe not as clean as I thought, huh?

The sectional is just right for the two of us, his and hers! The big enormous crock in the corner came from an antique's store and I am planning on a big batch of 14 Day Pickles, just like Mama used to make, this summer and some kraut this fall. The coffee table was another yardsale find. The entertainment center was a wonderful buy from Leslie and Travis cuz they had to have a big screen HDTV!!! their loss right? And I made the curtains and painted the floor red!!!

Pretty frugal, huh?

The portraits on the wall are my precious little girls that I reproduced in acrylic, don't look too close.

And if for some strange reason you happen to see three different colors of paint on the wall you will need to get your computer serviced. I have heard of some of those puters that do just that and if in fact you do see three different colors please don't tell anyone just get it fixed soon.