Join me as I try to Post everyday in November

I signed up for a November challenge, to create something everyday. It doesn't have to be a painting, it could be a poem, a thought but you have to post something you create daily. So, I am already behind but I will jump in now. Better late than never. I picked the last of my persimmons off the tree before we left for Houston, taking many with us to snack on during our trip. When I returned home none of the kids had snagged the last few so I decided to do a small painting of them before I eat them! Will you join me in the fun of creating something and posting everyday in November? Check out all the details here, http://creativeeveryday.com/art-every-day-month and join me!

Day 4- Thankful for the Harvest!

I was just minding my own business when....

This morning I was in one of those moods where you have so much on your mind its hard to get focused. I laid with my iPad and answered emails and thought about what I needed to buy for Thanksgiving, the food that needed to be prepared. I also thought about all the Christmas decorations that will be making there way out right after Thursday! I thought about my Christmas party and all the wonderful friends that will be coming to spend a few hours together, celebrating the season and each other before all the craziness begins. As I checked my mail and was going to start working on the portrait I got an email from my dear friend Ann Turley. She congratulated me on my quilt making the SAQA Journal! Wow, I didn't even know, I wasn't notified and it was still sitting all wrapped in plastic waiting for me to read! What an awesome surprise, thanks Ann, I don't know when I would have noticed if you hadn't emailed me! I sent that in so many months ago I had almost forgot. The little quilt was done with ties and boiling vinegar water and muslin. We had a play day where our art quilt group boiled ties. Check out the post! It was tons of fun and this little quilt was a result. It looked like houses and cars and there were big areas that looked like cracks. I called it Urban Sprawl. I grabbed my coffee, sat down and took a few minutes to enjoy the SAQA Journal this morning, have you read yours yet?

What a great way to start my day! What fun, I then went into my studio and FINISHED my commissioned portrait!! YEAH!! I am so glad it is finished early so they have time to get it framed before the holidays. The lighting isn't good for the photo but you get the picture!

Then, the fabric company called to say that they needed my next full line of fabric in two weeks!! Wow, really?! Sleep? I don't think that will be happening but I am so thankful that they decided on something they liked enough for me to develop. And then lastly, tonight, my husband came in to announce that my persimmon tree had 4 persimmons on it! I thought they had burnt in the heat in August and shriveled up and dropped off. Now with all the leaves gone the little orange ornaments show up on the sticks that are left. Such a tiny tree, only two years old, and to carry such a burden. Their limbs bent with the weight all the way out on the tips. I thought I would never get a persimmon, thinking the tree didn't like where I planted it, but look, four! Well, three because part of two are damaged but fruit anyway! Yippie, a good life day today for sure, so much to be Thankful for this Thanksgiving week! 

You can see the sunburnt area that looks bad but I have a knife!

Damaged but edible, expect some sketches soon!  I need to journal about this for sure!

The Daily Paintworks challenge

This week for the DPW challenge we were to select just one item and divide our paper or canvas into 4 small squares, about 3"x3", so thats what I did. Then we were to take our one item and set the timer for 10 minutes and paint our object in one of the squares. When the timer goes off stop and reset the timer and move to the next square. We were not supposed to get caught up in the details as you will not finish in time. Most of the painters on the site use oils so they don't have the drying issues I was having with watercolor. I might do this challenge again and use pastels this time but I appreciated the challenge. As you paint each new image you get better at judging the time and you are able to get more in quickly. I struggled as my paint bled and moved around too much to get much of any details. I also chose persimmons since I had bought them recently and love them! I ended up with what seemed to be nothing more than 4 yellow/orange blobs. I think another fruit might be better but maybe it was me. I continued to play and fiddle, I was done with the challenge, now I was having some fun. I added lines, pencils lines, white gouche, more layers of paint, anything I wanted. Here is my progression, I don't know if I am done yet and will revisit it all tomorrow. It is starting to remind me of tiles and I am liking it. I need to get some sleep! I am under so much stress right now with not much time for painting. I find it leaves me without an outlet to relax so tonight I took some time to paint. AHHH, now for an excedrine PM and bed!