The Wisdom of Diving in

Well, I did it.  I dove in and started painting over the layers I'd loved.  And just as I was holding my brush, ready to paint, this happened.

My big guy showed up at the house with his lovely girlfriend...and she told me that she really liked it and then pointed out the particular bit that was her favorite.

Oh, no!!!  Second thoughts came out of where they'd been hiding, doing their best to convince me to just leave it as is.  But my third thoughts came 'round and sweet talked my second thoughts and soon this wise guy showed up solidifying my commitment.  And, by golly, I think he makes the background look even better!

Tune in tomorrow to see Hoo! shows up next.

Click here to view my gallery

 

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Seeing Spots

I had to pick my kid up early today from his high school physical conditioning camp.  Nothing...nothing...could have prepared me for it.  Now, don't get me wrong.  It was a bunch of sweet high school kids, mostly boys, one even came up to me as I walked in to see if I needed anything and he immediately fetched my kiddo for me, but the smell.  The smell!

I hang out with chickens a lot.  They have a smell.  It's a farmy kind of smell and I actually rather like it...or at least I don't find it offensive.  We have dogs.  We love 'em, but they definitely get their funk on.  I hug them anyway, of course.

But the smell of fifty-ish kids using heavy weight equipment in an un-air conditioned environment that likely doesn't get much cleaning, in very tight quarters, well, I turned around and waited by my car. 

And I must've looked pale or something...I was definitely seeing spots.


Little guy:  "That smell hit ya like a haymaker, eh, mom?"

Me:  "If that means I got hit in the face by something really big and hard, yes."


And then we drove home, me sweaty after a long walk on the trail and my little guy who admitted that he'd not had a shower in two days.

Dave had no idea of the haymaker that was barrelling his way!


P.S. I still haven't added a layer to the larger piece I'm working on.  Perhaps tomorrow.

 Click here to purchase this piece.

 

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

The Second Layer

I've fallen into a trap.  I'm finding myself digging a layer whose very reason for being is to end up mostly covered up...but it's just so darn happy and full of love!!!  I was warned of this phenomenon, and here it is.

I may just have to sit on this one for a couple of days and then dig back in.

Tune in tomorrow to see what's happened.  Or what hasn't.

Click here to view my gallery

 

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

One Layer at a Time

I'm starting on another bigger project.  Bigger for me, that is.  I usually draw and paint on paper and canvases that are 8x10 or smaller.  This guy is 12x36.  My goal is to do it in a number of layers.  So...I'm going to post photos of it one layer at a time as I'll likely get to only one layer per day what with dry time and all.  So here is layer one.

And I'm already just a tad anxious because I rather like the way this looks as is.  But cover it up I will...thankful I have this lovely crooked photo to remember it by.  I know, I know, mad photography skills.  A girl's gotta have some bragging rights, eh?

Tune in tomorrow!

Click here to view my gallery

 

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks

Celebrate Love!

I painted this for an amazing and beautiful woman I'm ever so grateful to call my friend.  She just married her long time partner and as I thought of my friend and the love she has for life, for others, for this amazing woman with whom she shares her life and love,  this piece welled up in me and landed on a canvas.  This is a celebration of who she is and how she lives life each day...with passion, kindness, empathy, appreciation, humor, strength, humility, contemplation, compassion, generosity, enthusiasm, gusto, fortitude, and love.

Celebrate love...celebrate life!!

Click here to view my gallery

 

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Up All Night

At about 6:45 this morning my little guy came in our carport door.  He'd spent the night at a friend's house and I'd expected to go pick him up around 9:00 as we had plans at 10:00.


Me:  "Gosh, you're up early."

Little guy:  "Not up early...still up from yesterday," he beamed at me.

Me:  "You've been up all night?"

Little guy:  "Yup.  And I feel great!"

Me:  "I still expect you to do what we planned."

Little guy:  "I know.  I'll just stay up through then."

Me:  "No, you won't."


And within fifteen minutes that guy was asleep...of course.

I'm sort of nice so I let him sleep till 9:00 at which time I made him take a shower and get moving.


Showered - then fell asleep.

Got clean clothes out - then fell asleep.

Got half way dressed - then fell asleep.

Sat at the table - then fell asleep.

Got in the car - then fell asleep.

I shook his leg to wake him up - "Awesome!" he yelled in his sleep.


Way to rock sleep-deprived dreamland, little dude!

Click here to purchase this piece.

 

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Blank Canvas Dreams

As my big guy came out of his room today as I was putting a sealer on the hallway mural I did last month.


Me:  "Hey, you should let me paint your door."  I was seriously craving a new big painting project.

Big guy:  "Sure, you can paint it."  And then he went into the bathroom.


And my mind started whirling with excitement.  I never thought he'd say, "Yes."  I'll paint flowers!  No.  I'll paint skateboards!  Maybe.  I'll paint it all cool and graffiti style!  That's a fit.


Me:  "I'm so excited!  I'm thinking about colors.  What do you like?"

Big guy:  "White, mom.  You can only use white on my door."  And he went back into his room.


Oh....


And then my husband, who is a most excellent co conspirator, pointed out that there are tons of different shades of white.

Hmmmmmmm, I just might be able to make this work!

Click here to purchase this piece.

 

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Hoot, Hoot, Hoot, Hoot, Hoot, Cluck!

I love drawing and painting owls.  I really, really do.  But a funny thing happened.  I started inside, one owl at a time...and then I went outside...and suddenly a chicken appeared.

Clearly mind control takes place when I find myself hanging out with my chickens.

Click here to purchase this piece.

 

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Phyllis

So we have this chicken.

Phyllis is her name...and flying her freak flag like Phyllis Diller is her game.  Her feathers are poofed out all over her head in the most chickeny 'fro ever.   She is awesome!


On top of having the best chicken look ever, Phyllis is the sweetest chicken you ever could meet.  When you walk through the gate into their part of the back yard, Phyllis is the first one to come a runnin'.  That sweet girl wants you to pick her up and put her on your lap.  And then if you'd just spend a good long time scratching her back and smoothing her feathers everything will be just perfect.

And then there's this thing where when she gets startled she runs as fast as she can in the opposite direction of said startle until she runs smack dab into something.

So she's a little heavy on the sweets and a little light on the smarts.  I say that makes for the perfect chicken.

Click here to purchase this piece.

 

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Up, Down, and All Around

I generally like to blog about things that make my day, but today I'm feeling particularly generous, so I'm blogging about something that made my kid's day...though decidedly not my own.


Late last night I was letting one of our dogs out to do her business. 

Me:  "Scout, come on back!"

And she ignored me.  She does that.  I'm convinced that it's selective hearing.  But while waited for just a moment before deciding to close the door, a BIG cockroach scurried in.  Our kitten, Tommy, who is an amazing cockroach killer batted it...and it disappeared.  Tommy and I looked up.  We looked down.  We looked all around.  And then I felt something in my hair.

Me:  "Aaaaaaaaaaaa!!!"

I swatted it out of my hair, Tommy pounced on it, and that cockroach met its maker.


Then Scout showed up at the door ready to come in.


And then I realized that even though I'd screamed, no one had bothered to come check up on me.  So I went to the kid's room.


Little guy:  "Yeah, I heard you scream and wondered why.  And that's so awesome about the cockroach!"


I love making someone else's day!

Click here to purchase this piece.

 

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

A Quick Change

I had a long list of "never do"s today...that I did.

- wear ironed clothes
- make-up on
- hair held in place with hairspray
- addition of one bobbypin

I'm usually wrinkled, pale, and out-of-control frizzy.  But since I had an audition I decided to put my best professional foot forward.  Just as I was leaving I went to my little guy's room to say, "Bye."


Little guy:  just staring at me, saying nothing.

Me:  "Do I look like myself?"

Little guy:  "ish"


And off I went.  And then I came back.  And within five minutes of getting home I was my wrinkled, pale, out-of-control frizzy...and very happy...self.

Click here to purchase this piece.

 

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Twin Sisters

This afternoon we took Hazel, our big dog, to meet her sister.  They hadn't seen each other since they were about two months old.  And there's a pretty darn cool, small world story behind all of this.

Dave, as is his style with new family dogs, showed up one evening with the cutest ball of black fur ever (and to be totally honest here, we had talked about getting another dog at some point, just not when).  I was instantly in love, of course, and proceeded to take tons of photos of this sweet little one and put them on facebook.  Not long after that, a friend from high school was posting very similar photos of her new puppy, and she sent me a message wondering where we had gotten ours.

And sure 'nuf, her mother-in-law and my husband had gotten puppies from the exact same litter and those dogs ended up in our homes.

So today my little guy and I drove out to her place to get the girls together.  And they were instant best friends.  Who knows if they remembered each other or not, but they were gleeful to be in each other's presence.

LOVE this small world!!

Click here to purchase this piece.

 

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Rockin' Old Lady

I saw the cutest thing ever today.

I was driving through my parents' neighborhood today and there was an old woman walking on the sidewalk.  She was shuffling along in what looked like the classic old lady SAS shoes.  Her white socks were scrunched at her ankles.  Her long tiered baggy jean skirt swayed just a bit to and just a bit fro.  Her floral blouse was rockin' every color of the rainbow.  And her vest hugged her rounded sides.


Me:  "Aw, check her out.  She's slow, but she keeps on truckin'."

Little guy as we passed her:  "She's slow because she's texting, mom."

Me:  "Wow!  She walks faster than I do when I'm texting."


So, rock on technologically awesome little old lady!!  Rock on!

Click here to purchase this piece.

 

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Fun is What you Make it

I've officially crossed the line over into nutville.  Yesterday I had to take one of those standardized test things for my teaching certificate.  I was given five hours to complete 150 questions and I was finished in three.  But for those three hours I was ridiculously happy.  While I'm not a fan of the amount of such tests being given to our 3rd through 12th grade students, I , personally, rather enjoy the things.

Perhaps it's because it's the first such test I've had to take in over ten years.  Perhaps it's because I knew I was fine whether I passed it or not.  Perhaps I'm just a whack job.

But enjoy it, I did...even on those questions where I totally thought to myself, "I know nothing about what they have in the question and absolutely none of the four possible answers ring any bells about anything."

And unlike the tests I took a decade ago, which I had to wait a very slow and agonizing two plus weeks to receive my results in the mail, I was given my results this morning via email.  And I got 90% of it correct.

Yup, I dug it...does this girl know how to have a good time or what?!?!

Click here to purchase this piece.

 

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

What Sleep Brings

So the little guy has been attending a summer fitness camp thing.  I would have thought that he'd be raring to go in the mornings...you know, wake up easily, jump out of bed, gleefully get ready, happily eat a hearty breakfast, and give me a hug, kiss, and "I love you" when I dropped him off (after all, I'm getting up super early for his summer thing, too.).  But, no.  We grog our way through all those steps and I merely receive a grunt when I tell him "I love you!" at drop off.

But today we were rewarded with a little whimsy, a bit of humor as the fairies and elves had obviously been up to mischief whilst we slept.

The kid got up (after multiple requests).

The kid got dressed (under duress).

The kid ate one fourth of a bagel (with minimal resistance).

And as we walked out the door and he was shoving his phone in his shorts, "Hey, there's a teeny, tiny sock in my pocket!" And he tossed my sock on the table.


...and I just smiled figuring I'd keep the fairies and elves that live in our house my own little secret.

Click here to purchase this piece.

 

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Eye Opener

My big guy's car was in the shop and he needed...he needed...to go see his lovely girlfriend.  I get it.  She's awesome.  So, anyway, he borrowed my Prius.  Over the years he's made little comments about my car.

"It's funny looking."

"It's a girl car."

"I'd never be seen driving it."


But when he got back with my car he had seriously changed his tune.

"I can't believe it...I drove all the way out there and back and the gas gauge didn't even go down one tick!"


My funny looking girly machine is looking better all the time!

Click here to purchase this piece.

 

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Walk this Way

I rescue bugs a lot.  If you read this blog, you know it's true.  This morning as I walked on the hike and bike trail around the lake I spied a walking stick in my path.  It had stepped out from a crop of poison ivy and was just frozen there.  So of course I stopped, too.  I had to get that little guy out of danger.  I was on a mission.

I tried picking it up.  Nope.  I tried scooping it up.  Nope.  And then I tried poking its rear.  Yup!  Back into the poison ivy it ran.

My job was done.

Click here to purchase this piece.

 

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

And this is how I Ruined the World Cup

Yup, hard to manage, but somehow I did.  Innocently enough, though, I assure you.

Here's the thing.  I don't watch TV.  The only thing I know how to do with our set-up is to turn the TV off with the remote when someone in the family leaves the room with it on.  Beyond that, I'm completely ignorant of all the details and capabilities.

So here's what happened.  I was sitting at the kitchen table painting and mindlessly scanning through facebook (yes, I can do both at the same time) and all my guys kept roaring and cheering and making all sorts of other strange game-watching sounds.  One big cheer over a play erupted just as I'd read a post with a video from one of my little guy's fabulous former teachers who happened to be in Germany right at that moment.  Cars were honking like crazy and fireworks could be heard in the background.   

So, thinking that the Germans in the video were also excited about the play my guys had just seen, I say, "You should see this video of folks celebrating in Germany!"

They all stopped cheering, looked at me with their jaws dropped, and then glared.

Me:  "What?!?!"

Well...apparently Dave had DVR'd the game and they were watching it just fifteen or so minutes after real time and I just totally gave away the ending.

Technology...jeepers, right?

Click here to purchase this piece.

 

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

And then I Made a Grown Man Cry

Poor Dave.

Not only has every mosquito come to the conclusion that he is the tastiest source of blood in town, but he swells up in welts each time they get him...which is a lot.  Poor guy has even sworn off wearing shorts during the summer, which is a big commitment in Central Texas.

Anyway, today we were in the bedroom and I saw a mosquito flying around.

Dave:  "Get it!  Get it!!!"

And I'll be darned if that silly mosquito didn't land on the edge of a laundry basket that was directly in front of me.

"WHAM!!!!!"

And then Dave commenced crying with immense gratitude and appreciation.  OK, he may have been faking it, but only a little bit.

Click here to purchase this piece.

 

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Black and Blue

It's so liberating when you first get to drive off in your own car.  My little guy is so ready to get to that point.  He's just on the cusp, almost sixteen.  But when you're on this side of the cusp, stuff like this still happens.


- Stuck having your mom take you to a doctor's appointment that very soon you'd be able to take yourself to.

- Notice in the reflection of the building's big window door that you're wearing a blue shirt.

- Notice that your mom's reflection is also wearing a blue shirt...the same shade of blue!

- Notice that you're wearing black shorts.

- Notice that your mom is wearing black capris.

- Your mom makes a totally unhelpful comment:  "Hey, at least we're not both wearing strappy sandals."

Click here to purchase this piece.

 

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Hip Check on a Hippie Check

Me:  "Who's more hip...me or dad?"

Both of my kids point at me.

Dave:  "Who has more hips?"

Little guy:  "I think that's her, too."


I'm just going with that makes me a hippie chick.

Click here to purchase this piece.

 

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Further Proof that my Kid has Hollow Leg

Within thirty minutes of gorging ourselves at an Indian food buffet....


Me:  "I'm very full."

My dad:  "Me, too."

Little guy:  "I could eat."

Click here to purchase this piece.

 

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

For Stuart Hutto

A dear friend of mine died several days ago.  I was eleven when my parents hired him as my french horn teacher, and he brought the most delicious, crazy sanity into my life.  He taught me how much fun it could be to do something you love, to always find the whimsy in everything, and to never take things too seriously.  That third one is still a challenge for me.  He taught me how to make a white Russian, that playing music really loudly while pointing in rhythm is absolute bliss, and that burping excessively while pulling ones own finger is one of the purest joys ever.  He turned me on to The Alan Parsons Project and delighted in calling me The Kali Parsons Project.  He adored me, cared deeply about me, and was pretty much the only adult at the time who saw the amazing in me simply for being who I was, not for the things I could do.

I will dearly miss sharing this planet with him and will forever remember my weekly lessons on life with him...during which every once in a while we even played french horn.

Love you, Stuart.

Click here to check out my gallery.

 

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Crazy Hair

And sometimes we reverse our roles.


Me:  "Man, I've got crazy hair today."

Little guy:  "You should try brushing your hair every once in a while."

Me:  "I don't like to brush my hair."

Click here to purchase this piece.

 

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Bubblicious!

OK.  I made a new discovery today that was so awesome!  And I know you likely already know about it, but to me it was all new and amazing.  Today for the first time ever, I tried one of those bubble drinks.  Bubblicious awesomeness!!!  I got avocado milk...with bubbles... which made my family curl their lips and raise at least one eyebrow in suspicion, but it full on rocked!

Avocado...perfection!
Sweet condensed milk...bliss!
Tapioca balls...fabulous!

It's officially my new favorite thing!

Click here to purchase this piece.

 

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Marco Polo

I remember not liking that game as a kid.  I found it completely impossible as someone for whom dog paddling was the best swim stroke available.  I got stuck in the land of "it" for way, way too long.  But when I played it today with my kids I pretty much loved it.  I realized there are a few tricks that I didn't know about when I was a youngster.

1 - Splash the face of the person who is "it" if they're pursuing you.

2 - If I'm "it" full on lunge in the direction of the "Polo".  Hold nothing back.

3 - Oh, and it's OK to peek every once in a while.  It makes it so much more enjoyable.

Click here to purchase this piece.

 

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

A Little Morning Magic

I went for a lovely walk this morning in my dad's neighborhood.  As I was walking down the driveway there was a lovely doe to my right having a little snack.  She looked at me and then to my left.  I followed her gaze and there were two white spotted fawns.  I kept walking down the driveway and in the cul-de-sac there was a bunny.  I stopped in my tracks unable to move from this magical spot and looked around figuring surely I was in a Disney movie.

After a bit I was able to keep walking.  As I rounded a bend in the road there was a woman standing with her dog.  The dog was staring into the trees completely transfixed by the two bunnies that were just feet away.


Dog's person:  "We can't get anywhere when there are bunnies."

Me:  "I know exactly how your dog feels."


Nice to see that the dog felt the magic, too...only I suspect the dog was thinking of the edible type of magic.

Click here to purchase this piece.

 

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

A Good Thing

My fabulous brother and his wonderful family are in town right now.  My nephew is totally into trains which led us to get the big boxes of model railroad stuff out of the shed.  The kids paid a bit of attention to it before they wandered off...and that left me, my brother, and my dad to dig through it all.

With all that stuff comes oodles of memories.  Good ones!  My dad and brother were pretty much in charge of the controllers, track, and cars.  My mom painted the backgrounds on canvas panels.  And I painted all the little people and helped with the creationing of the buildings.

We did this for many years and were even in TV and magazine stories doing our thing. 

And to quote Martha Stewart, "It's a good thing."

Click here to purchase this piece.

 

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Grackles Rock!

I really like grackles.  I know they're the scroungy rats of the bird population, even lower on the totem pole than pigeons, but I think they're pretty awesome.  They're scrappy, they're resourceful, and they keep on truckin'.  Case in point, the grackle I saw the other day with only one foot.  He was the most adorable peg leg ever.  And that bird was fast!

While I usually see grackles that look like they're a bit rode hard, a bit ravaged by time, I saw two today that look like they have managed to live their lives in the lap of luxury.  As I leaned back against the edge of a pool with my little guy, two grackles landed at the pool's edge, and proceeded to take the most spectacular bath.  They dipped in.  They splashed a bit.  They puffed out all their feathers in the most adorable way.  Those grackles were livin' large!

And then one landed right beside me.  It had a pretzel stick in its mouth.  It dipped that pretzel stick in the pool as any kid would dip an Oreo in a glass of milk, and gobbled down his moistened treat.

Grackles rock!

Click here to purchase this piece.

 

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

One of the Kids

I went to the gym today.  They have a really cool double waterslide, tube on one side, open top on the other.  I'm a tube girl.

After I worked out I put my swimsuit on, went outside, claimed a chaise, and lay down.  I've been very gradually working on correcting my funny school year tan...basically I'm tan only on the top of my chest in a scoop neck shape.  So I set my timer and did a brief "bake" on each side and then head over to the waterslides.  Up, up, up the stairs I went till I reached the top platform where I stood waiting with about a dozen kids under the age of ten.  I felt like an amazon towering over them and when my turn came this chick, four times older than all of her peers, blissfully and quite speedily slid down and...SPLASH!

And then I raced back up to do it again and again.  Love!!

Click here to purchase this piece.

 

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Smile

I go for walks every day.  Sometimes twice a day if I'm feeling particularly ambitious.  And when I'm walking I'm so, so, so happy!  Truly it's pure bliss.  And when I'm on my walks I always have a companion...one of my two sweet dogs or my iPhone playing podcasts from NPR shows (not the news).

What I've noticed is this.  I catch myself smiling or laughing goofily often throughout my walks.  I also catch a lot of other people not smiling or laughing.  And so one of my favorite things is to catch other people's eyes and share a genuine smile with them.  And I tell you what, I bet 90% of them return my smile...and if I'm with one of my dogs they got a big smile, too.

So go share a smile, they're seriously contagious!

Click here to purchase this piece.

 

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!