Sunday, November 30, 2014

A Wee Little Bit of Home Improvement...Kali Style

Because drawing, painting, and glittering flowers by day isn't enough for me (I've been doing this, here...check it out!), and because my family is super cool about me turning parts of our house into a canvas...well, I painted a door in our hallway.

I keep threatening offering to paint my teenage boys' doors, too, but thus far they've turned me down. Ya, I don't get it either.

While I'm not selling this door, you might be able to talk me into painting one of your doors.
Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.
 
I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Saturday, November 29, 2014

Gone Buggy

Silly me...

I made an agreement with a cockroach.


You see, our kitten likes to "play" with cockroaches.  And by "play" I have to admit I mean "torture". So when I saw this hobbling little big cockroach, I felt a bit bad for it.


Me: "OK, cockroach, here's the deal.  I won't squish you if you stay away from me."


The cockroach slowly hobbled away and I went to the kitchen table to eat my breakfast and check my email.  Everything was fabulous until I caught a glimpse of something big and dark brown on my right sleeve. And I commenced flipping out.

I jumped up.

I swatted with everything I could think of.

I yelled, "This was not what we agreed upon!"


Then I spied the cockroach hobbling, even more than before, into the kitchen. And I put the little fella out of its (and my) misery.

<shudder>



And here is a much cuter bug...

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.
 
I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Friday, November 28, 2014

Lit Up

Year after year we've put lights up on the outside of our house for the holiday season...sometimes a big display of lights and sometimes small.  But for some reason, last year Dave and I never got around to it at all.  Now it wouldn't have been any big deal except for that our house is on a corner and all three of the other corners were lit up.  We felt the friendly pressure, though not enough to actually do anything about it. And one night we came home and our house had lights!  One of our delightful neighbors had decorated one of our bushes.

So what did I do today? Well, I ran out front and wrapped one of our trees in the very same lights that my neighbor had given us last year.

Feeling quite festive and accomplished...and sparkly.

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.
 
I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Thursday, November 27, 2014

Thankful

I want to take a moment to thank all of you for accompanying me on my creating/blogging journey.  It's been three-and-a-half years of absolute bliss for me and I plan to continue well into the future. To celebrate my gratitude I'm going to have a HUGE sale on my art.  Everything on my DailyPaintworks site will be 50% off through the month of December.  There's no way for me to mark everything down on the site or to provide a discount code, so just contact me via DailyPaintworks or on this blog site and let me know which one you'd like and I'll alter the price.

Thank you, thank you!

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.
 
I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Keyboard Warp

I love happy accidents. 

My awesome brother somehow managed to have his right hand fingers just one-key-to-the-right off.  (This actually happens to me A;; TJE TO,E! ALL THE TIME!)

Well, lucky me, he was trying to send a message to his bud "Jakub"and, of course four letters in he ended up with "Kali"...and happily, I received a delightful message from my brother. 

And because I am who I am, I keep imagining his right hand doing the "Time Warp".


It's just a jump to the left.

And then a step to the right.


:pve upi Love you, baby brother!  Now put your hands on your hips.... <big sister snicker>

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.
 
I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Pretty Kitty

We have these huge quilted decorative pillows for our bed.  What we plan to do is this...each day after we get up and make the bed, put the decorative pillows on top.  What happens is this...we half-hazardly pull the duvet up and walk away.

But it works out just fine because each day after we pull the duvet up, our cats get on our bed and settle in for their all-day-long catnap. And it turns out that cats make the best decorative pillows ever. 

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.
 
I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Monday, November 24, 2014

Blog Hop Around the World!

I'll get to the blog hop in just a moment. First I want to share with you my daily painting for today. This post is all about love...my love for my fellow artists and their work, our love of creating art, and the love of art appreciation.  Here's to love....

  Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.
 

 What's a blog hop...

A few weeks ago I was invited by Rebekah Nemethy to participate in a blog hop. I responded immediately with a big "Yes!" I'm super excited to have the opportunity to share Rebekah's beautiful work with you, share a bit about myself and my work, and give you a glimpse into the work of several other amazing artist friends of mine from all over the world.

First, Rebekah...she and I met through Daily Paintworks, a website where artists can upload their work (many of us are daily painters) and offer them for sale.  I'm thrilled that Rebekah noticed my work and got in touch with me.  I do so love this amazing internet artist community that I'm lucky to be a part of!

Rebekah is an amazing photographer.  What I love about her work is that rather than stepping back from something and seeing it as a whole, she captures the small details that make up the larger piece, the bits that could so easily go unnoticed, the parts that I find truly make me take pause and reflect.  It's sheer perfection that she has named her photography business, "Reflective Photos". Here's a sample of her lovely work.




Much of Rebekah's photography features animals and her love of creatures great and small shines through...she also donates a portion of her sales to a number of organizations that support and care for homeless animals.

I invite you to check out her delightful blog that currently features a weekly project that introduces a new photo and 100 words every week.

Her work is available for sale here.


And now a bit about me...

1. What am I working on?  Since June of 2011 I've created something (a painting, a sketch, etc.) each and ever day, and in August of 2011 I started my daily blog featuring my creations. I'm always working on something. I carry my sketch pad and small ruled notebook everywhere I go.  I'm constantly jotting down ideas in either picture or written form. One thing I'm putting a lot of energy into these days is creating the illustrations for a picture book I'm writing.  It's a lovely and amazing thing to tell a story in such a visual way.  I'm also feeling the itch to do another large mural...look out walls of my house...another one of you is about to get some colorful attention!

2. How does my work differ from others in its genre? Well, gosh, this is something I've never really thought about.  I would like to think that my art infuses its viewers with love, joy, happiness, and bliss. That my work tells a story that people can relate to. Really, I'm not even sure what genre my work belongs to unless "Whimsy" is a genre.  

3. Why do I create what I do? It's quite simple.  I create because it makes me ever so happy.  If I have any stress from my life, my art diffuses it.  If I'm already feeling happy, I feel even happier. I've heard that when you dance or sing you cannot help but be happy.  For me my art is like that.  I also absolutely love, love, love to give my art away as gifts and when my art is purchased I'm beyond honored that someone has chosen to welcome it into their home. 

4. How does my creating process work? I typically have at least ten pieces that I'm working on at the same time, often many more. They're all at different stages and I complete them in no particular order, it's just when the urge strikes.  Sometimes I'll lay them all out on the table and one will actually call to me, "Pick me!" :-) Much of the time ideas just pop into my head and I simply paint something that makes me feel good.  Flowers are like that for me.  Sometimes I am inspired by an event or something I've seen and I'll draw/paint from memory or a photo I've snapped on my phone. Basically I'm all over the place with my process, but it works really well for me. Then each day I pair a completed painting with a funny/silly/goofy/crazy/whimsical story from my life and post them in my blog.


Continue the blog hopping on 12/1/14 with these amazing artists!

Prerna Poojara is an amazing artist living in India that I met through an online course we are both taking, Dancing with Your Dreams. Prerna's lovely and intuitive style is breathtaking.  The faces she creates are truly incredible as well as her projects, Infinite Buddhas of Compassion and 108 Ganeshas



Prerna's favorite mediums are canvas and paper and for her, art is a spiritual practice to heal and understand her life purpose. Prerna's beautiful work is available here.


Salima Alikhan, a fellow Austinite, is an incredible artist I met when we both took a picture book writing class at The Writing Barn here in Austin.  She's beautifully illustrated three children's picture books and has written and illustrated one.  She's been drawing ever since she could hold a pencil, and has loved art pretty much more than anything in the world all her life. The first thing she attempted to draw was Mighty Mouse, in chalk, on pavement.  Here's one of my favorites of her many amazing pieces.



 
Her illustrations are painted with such incredible feeling and sensitivity. I love the emotional connection I get when I look at them. Links to Salima's published works are here.


Amy Burke O'Toole is an amazing artist and teacher from Pennsylvania.  She beautifully put together the Dancing with Your Dreams course that Prerna, I, and many other artists from around the world took together. Amy is an incredibly heartfelt and sensual artist.  She is an intuitive painter and her work leaves me breathing more deeply, my spirit more calm, and my mind more at peace when I see them. Here is a recent piece that I absolutely love.



Amy works with a huge range of media and is one of the most creative creatives I have the pleasure of knowing. More of Amy's work can be seen here.


Wanda Collins Johnson is a lovely artist from Tennessee I met at a picture book workshop at The Writing Barn.  Wanda exudes beauty, love, and peace with her being and that is beautifully expressed through her paintings and writing as well. Both her writing and painting are exquisite in their expressiveness and as a reader and viewer you melt into them. This is one of my favorites of her work. 



Her choice of media and colors give her work a dreamy quality that soothes my soul. Wanda's work is available here.



Thank you so much for reading about some of my favorite artists!  Be sure to check out each of their blogs on December 1 when they post a bit about me and a few of their favorite artists.

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

Sunday, November 23, 2014

No Shave November Fail

I've been actively participating in No Shave November.  Actually, now that I think about it, it's not an active thing at all.  Rather, I should say that I've been passively participating in No Shave November.  And things were going quite swimmingly until....


Me: "Those few long hairs on your face are getting pretty long, kid." Turns out that sixteen year old boys get random long hairs while all the other hairs just stay short, sweet, and delightfully prepubescent. 

Little guy: "You can trim them if you want," he said as he played a game on his phone.

Me: "OK."  And I did.

Little guy: "Wow, mom, serious No Shave November fail."

Me: "Ack! Why didn't you remind me?!?!"

Little guy: "I'm just joking, mom. You're the only one in the family doing the No Shave November thing."


Yeah, but gosh, somehow I feel like I just blew it.

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.
 
I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Saturday, November 22, 2014

For the Love of her Boys

Last night, like most weekend nights, there was a boy fest here at our place.  Thing is, our sweet dog, Hazel, is convinced that she is one of the boys.  So when they closed the bedroom door at about 1:00 AM leaving her on the outside, she fell into deep despair. 

She came into our room and whimpered endlessly.  She jumped onto our bed and shook with sadness.  She sighed often and heavily driving us absolutely nuts.

So after trying unsuccessfully to sleep with my head completely covered by our duvet for at least an hour, I got up, opened the boys door just a Hazel's width, let her scurry in, and returned to my bed.


And "Zzzzzzzzzzzz" filled the house. 

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.
 
I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Friday, November 21, 2014

The Kid's got Nerve, I Say

Just the big guy is hanging out at the house tonight.  We hadn't seen him all evening, though the "boom, boom" base rang loud and clear from his room.  So...when he finally got thirsty enough to bless us with his presence, well....


Me: "Hi, snoopy-poo!"

Dave:  "Schnickerdoodle!"

Me:  "Love bunny!"

Dave:  "Punkinater!"

Me:  "Cutie boo-boo!"


And the kid totally ignored us.  The nerve!

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.
 
I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Blissfully Frozen

Due to the kid's athletics schedule these days we find ourselves out and about during the wee hours of the morning when it's still around freezing temps.  We heat up a blanket in the dryer, get in the car, snuggle up, and we're off.  And we always...always...see tons of people working out on our way.  Some are running, some are doing yoga, and some are doing some sort of boot camp/crossfit thing. 


Little guy:  "I'm concerned about these people's mental health, mom."

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.
 
I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Silence

This morning as I drove through our still pitch black neighborhood I spied a dog. An amazing dog. Only it wasn't an ordinary dog at all.  It was a coyote.  And it was simply magnificent.  The kid and I followed it for a bit in silent awe until it dodged up a driveway, disappeared, and we were left staring at where it had been. 

I love that my kid understands the value of silence.

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.
 
I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

A New Kind of Fight

We've reached a new point in my kids' fighting.  Not sure if it's a new low point or a new high point, but get this.  Today their choice of ways to fight was a "Hug War".  Yes, a "Hug War".  How can something so lovely as a hug be paired with the word "war"?  Well, it's pretty easy 'round these parts. 

A "Hug War" is where you wrap your arms around your opponent and squeeze as hard as you physically can...all while your mom yells at you to make sure you and your brother don't accidentally break the glass in the door. 

And then they stopped just as quickly as they'd started, all giggles and smiles.

I think I like this new kind of fight.

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.
 
I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Monday, November 17, 2014

Chicken with a Beard - American Cancer Society Fundraiser

One of our sweet little chickens, Piper, has an eye infection. She's been patient for the most part as I work on cleaning her eye regularly, but every once in a while she lets out a squawk of protest.  And lucky for that chicken, her faithful friend, Hazel, our big dog, is always right at her side to lend a sympathetic whimper. 

I adore their unlikely friendship.


I'm finally getting around to fulfilling a friend's challenge to put a beard on a chicken.  After all, why not?  People have beards.  Billy goats have beards.  Even my dog, Hazel, sports quite a beard when her hair grows long.

So, I give you, chicken with a beard.


Again, I'll donate the sales of these bearded wonders to the American Cancer Society in memory of my wonderful and totally not bearded, yet cool as all get out, Nana.

 Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.
 
I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Peace and Love

Do everyone's kids fight or just mine?

Mind you, their fighting has changed over the years.  When they were younger they fought with the seeming purpose of actually doing each other harm.  These days they seem to fight for fun.  Yes, fun.  At sixteen and nineteen they sweat and giggle their way through battles that take up the entire livingroom and they delight at its conclusion as they show each other battle scars on their bodies and ripped clothing.

Fun...hmmmmmmm...I say, "Peace and love, dudes."

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.
 
I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Saturday, November 15, 2014

Baby's got Back?

I was driving the kid to a friend's house today so they could do a school project together and he had control of the radio. 


Song:  "...but your booty don't need explaining."

Me:  "Gee, does my booty need explaining?  This song has me thinking."

Little guy:  "Mom, it's not a thought provoking song."


I'm soooo glad he knows that.

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.
 
I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Friday, November 14, 2014

Going just a Tad Punk

The big guy's car is out of commission, so I've offered to let him borrow my car since I can pretty much just walk or ride my bike anywhere I'd like to go.  It's been hard on the big guy, though.

You see, he has a sweet little sports car, a lovely thing that reeks of power and cool.  Me?  Well, I have a sweet little Prius, a sweet thing that reeks of practicality. 

Big guy:  "No, mom.  I don't want to be seen driving to school in a Prius."


But he's been using it frequently anyway because he does need to get from here to there.  Thing is, I've noticed that he's made one small adaptation to my car.  And I'm not counting the fact that he scoots the seat all the way back so his tall, lanky self can fit.  No, it's that he removes the sweet little origami crane that I have hanging from my rear view mirror and puts it in the cup holder. 


Me:  "Hey, you keep taking my crane off when you use my car."

Big guy:  "Yeah, mom, it's bad enough that I have to drive around in a Prius with an 'Oops, I went punk' sticker on it.  I am not driving around with that crane, too."


It's OK, I can rehang an origami crane with the best of them.  And, hey, it's good for the big guy to go just a tad punk.

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.
 
I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Birds of a Feather...

...it turns out, really do flock together.

Especially when it's cold outside.  While we have four chickens that happily live in our back yard, we really know practically nothing about them.  So when I realized that it was supposed to get almost down to freezing last night and below freezing tonight, I consulted my chicken lovin' friends.


Me:  "What do I do?  What do I do?"

My friends:  Basically..."Nothing, they'll be fine.  They're birds and birds are designed to be outside."


OK, so nothing it is.


But I had to peek just to be sure, and those chickens were having an adorable group hug.

Chicken love....

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.
 
I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Wisdom Love

After looking high and low for my gloves, on my winter shelf, in my winter chest, in my winter drawer...it was super cold this morning...it occurred to me that I had wisely thought at the end of last winter that I'd put my gloves in the glove compartment of my car so that it would be obvious to me where they were when I'd next need them.  Eureka!  Albeit a-significant-time's-worth-of-searching later.

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.
 
I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

No Shave November 3 - American Cancer Society Fundraiser

Sometimes I think I'm quite the tough old middle-aged broad.  Here's what I can do.


I can be texted a photo of my kid's latest injury...a lovely bloody gash down his shin "I think it goes all the way to my bone"...and never miss a beat whilst eating my potato and chick pea soup.

That, and I can also watch an episode of "The Walking Dead" with no eating hesitation.


Yup, tough.  I have my kids to thank me for that.


Again, I'll donate the sales of these bearded wonders to the American Cancer Society in memory of my wonderful and totally not bearded, yet cool as all get out, Nana.

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.
 
I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Monday, November 10, 2014

Dream Castle

What makes me wish I could dash away to my very own dream castle?

Mornings like this....


Me:  "What, honey?"

Little guy:  "That was my butt."

Me:  "I responded to your butt?  This is a new low for me."

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.
 
I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Sunday, November 9, 2014

Crazy Works

I haven't a clue as to why, but I've had the hiccups every day for a while. And I remembered that recently I'd heard of some crazy weird remedy on an NPR show. So since I was driving when this last bout came on, I had the kid look up the known remedies. 


Little guy:  "Try holding your breath."

Me:  "That's what I have been doing. HIC!  It's not working."

Little guy:  "Eat a spoonful of sugar."

Me:  "Nope, that'll make me feel even worse.  HIC!"

Little guy:  "Drink some water and put your fingers in your ears at the same time."

Me:  "HIC!  That's the one I heard about!  You have to help me do that when we get home."

Little guy:  "I'm not going to put my fingers in your ears or help you drink."

Me:  "Gee...HIC!"


So, dejected and on my own at home, I took a big gulp and held the water in my mouth, put my fingers in my ears, and then swallowed.

And it worked!


...yet another fabulous reason why I love NPR.

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.
 
I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Saturday, November 8, 2014

No Shave November 2 - American Cancer Society Fundraiser

When I started thinking about this whole No Shave November thing, to be quite honest, I was thinking of only drawing and painting dudes with beards.  But of course I was immediately challenged to put beards on other things...like flowers...and chickens. 

So not being one to back down from a challenge, I give you a flower with a beard. 


Again, I'll donate the sales of these bearded wonders to the American Cancer Society in memory of my wonderful and totally not bearded, yet cool as all get out, Nana.

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.
 
I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Friday, November 7, 2014

No Shave November I - American Cancer Society Fundraiser

So obviously I can't quit shaving my face for the month of November, though I could easily blow off eyebrow plucking for thirty days and I will.  I can also give up shaving my legs and pits for the month.  But I can do even better than that.  For the month of November I'll be featuring a series of awesomely bearded dudes and I'll donate the sales of these to the American Cancer Society in memory of my wonderful and totally not bearded, yet cool as all get out, Nana.

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.
 
I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.

I love that Picasso quote. 

And it's exactly how I feel.  Some people can't help but be happy when they dance or sing...for me it's when I'm drawing or painting.  It has the superpower to take me away.  Pretty much just like those Calgon commercials I remember from being a kid...only better.

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.
 
I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Through the Rain

It poured last night.  A lot.  And at about three in the morning I heard some rustling in my bedroom which kind of freaked me out because there's been a need for a lot of police activity a couple of doors down lately.  But thankfully, it was just Dave arriving home from Forth Worth after a night with Senator Wendy Davis. 

And being the awesome wife that I am, today I admonished him for driving through the rain and coming home so early because, after all, of all the women I'd be OK with Dave spending the night with, Wendy Davis is pretty much the highest amongst them.

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.
 
I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

The Crowd

The school where I work was crowded today.  Super CROWDED!  Especially for me as my classroom is the closest one to all of the voting hoopla.  And while it was a tad troublesome to get in and out of my classroom, for my parents to drop off and pick up their children, and for us to take our students to and from where they needed to go during the day, it was simply FABULOUS to see the crowds.  For the entire day there was a long and simply delicious line.  All was peaceful.  All was efficient.  It was a beautiful thing.

That crowd was definitely Kali approved.

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.
 
I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Monday, November 3, 2014

Chickens do What?!?!

I swear these feathered friends of our teach us something new every day. 

For instance...did you know that chickens can kill mice?  Turns out they most certainly can.

But in addition to that, did you know that chickens will eat the mice that they kill?  Again, that's a "can do" for a chicken.

And to top that all off, did you know that they eat their mice whole just as a snake would?  Well, yes, indeed.


And the cherry on top...did you know that my husband is officially a nature photographer now?  Yup, he took a delightful series of step-by-step, inch-by-inch photos of the entire eating process that he sent me via text while I was very much enjoying chicken and mouse free time with my brother's family in California.

Gotta love technology...and chickens!

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.
 
I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Sunday, November 2, 2014

This is all I need....

I've realized something.  I really only wear about five outfits...ever!  And I have those five outfits with me on my trip.  They fit into my carry-on luggage with ease.  When I get home I'm quite sure I'll wash them and simply wear them all again.  Now to see if I can hold on to this revelation long enough to get rid of most of my clothes when I return home....  This will give me something to do while that washing machine is churning.


This is just a little painting I did when I was working on my personal symbols.

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.
 
I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Saturday, November 1, 2014

New Favorite Activity

It's official.  I have a new favorite activity.


1st - Go through a haunted house enough times to memorize everything and no longer be scared of anything.

2nd - Follow people through the haunted house that look like they're likely to be screamers. 

3rd - Maybe, just maybe, scare them at just the right time.


Good times!

Boo!

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.
 
I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!