A gift...

A long time friend told me that more than anything, she wanted one of my new style paintings.
This one is an 8"x10" canvas, acrylic/house paint, pastels.

Mixed Media: Tissue paper, paint, pastels

I recently took my second class from artist, Lynn Whipple. This time around besides using house paint and pastels, she added tissue paper.

I know I have a thing about yellow-headed blackbirds.

Frank and the Brown Thrasher

Six years ago my dear friend, Sandra Thorne-Brown, asked if I would be interested in illustrating a children's story she had written. I kept putting it off, because I can be a procrastinator and because I needed to draw a Brown Thrasher bird and it is just a brown bird the size of a Robin and I couldn't see how to do it.

January 2016, I told myself, "Either you are going to do this or give it back."
 Here it is, all edited and ready for reading!

Illustrations created in Photoshop with a Wacom Stylus.

Fourteen illustrations in all.

Including a coloring page.

Still....mice...

I still have mice; although, I have relocated nine to the Oregon Trail so far.

I was up in the middle of night and wondered if I would meet one of my mice.

One day Lee called to me to see a new mouse trap. A mouse had fallen or jumped into a garbage can in the garage. It was just tall enough that the mouse couldn't jump out. That didn't stop the mouse from jump,jump, jumping to try. I carried the can outside and freed the mouse.

The next morning I heard a thump, thump, thump. Sure enough, either the same mouse or a different mouse was jump, jump, jumping. I guess I need to put a little drop of paint on him to see if it is the same mouse.

Papier Maché

There is something immediate about Papier Maché. It is so simple; just a bit of flour and water and strips of paper are all you need.

Occasionally, the ease of this medium calls to me. I was looking at some Christmas ideas on Pinterest. There was an idea about making a swag wall/door hanging out of a hanger and greenery. The way they had bent the hanger made me think of a woman's body.

Giving myself permission to drop everything and play with paper, flour, water, a hanger, paint, a bit of glitter and vegetable bags.

Here are five lovely ladies.