Give Thanks... Everyday...

Today is the day most in America give thanks for the blessings in thier life. And I do too... However... I am grateful everyday. I've learned to be... Grateful for life and love and laughter, grateful for my husband and the time I have to spend with him, grateful for my family and friends who love and support me... and I'm grateful for Fred, my dog and the joy he brings me...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone...

but remember to be grateful every day!

Just not feelin' it...

Sometimes you just have to let yourself be sad... If I'm not around for awhile, I'll be back... and I'll be alright... See you all soon.

New Art and a Little Advice...

My newest piece, framed in a distressed black wood frame...

5"x7" oils and journaling on gessoed scrapbook paper...

It Sings! I can even hear Maya Angelou's voice saying this...

What is Bruce of the Thicket looking at from his perch atop my whiteboard at work?

Must be his new temporary neighbor, across the desk...

I bet this is what he's thinking....

Newly Finished Painting...

Remember these backgrounds?

I finished one...

Poison Dart Frog 1: mixed media - oil and archival ink (rubber stamped moth and journaling) on acrylic and clear gesso washed and sealed vintage dictionary page over 6x6 inch masonite board.
The other one is a bit more than half finished.

 

Across the Road...

The third installment of "Why I Love my Bicycle Commute!" Across the road from the abandoned house from the last post is a huge wooden privacy fence.  And this...

it tumbles over it and cascades down...

like a colorful waterfall.

It is Trumpet Creeper, another Florida native and a great hummingbird attractor!

There weren't any hummers here this day..

but it's beautiful just the same!

and so was this Hempweed (not the kind some people smoke) vine entangled in it.

Waiting for a hummingbird...

The Cycle of Life...

The second installment of "Why I love my Bicycle Commute!" involves the (formerly) overgrown yard of an abandoned house. I say formerly, because, sadly, the yard has since been mowed and cleaned up. Sadly? Yes...

This yard was covered in wild Passion Flower vines...

These amazingly beautiful flowers were everywhere...

even over the concrete driveway...

Passion Flowers are a Florida native plant and grow wild here...

Their fruit, Pssion Fruit, are edible and put in teas, yogurts, etc. My dad grew up calling them Maypops. They grow wild in Georgia too. I'll get pictures of the fruit when they are on the vine.

They are the larval host for the Gulf Fritillary butterfly.

The females lay their eggs on the leaves and when they hatch, the caterpillars eat the leaves.  See her in there laying her eggs?

I was upset when I saw that the yard had been mowed and cleaned up. Only the vine covered bush in the middle of the yard remained.  At least it is still there and the vines are thriving on it... They are very persistent (Is that why some call them weeds?) and will be back next summer...

My Neighbor's Garden...

First installment of "Why I Love My Bicycle Commute!"

I took the time one morning to stop and take pictures of one of my neighbors' gardens... What a lovely sight on my way...

I don't know what this yellow flowered bush is...  but it's so cheerful!

This is a Purple Allamanda...

and what a beauty it is,

With it's big soft violet flowers...

A brilliant yellow flowering tree... A False Ponciana? Don't really know... but it makes me smile...

and this beautiful Angels Trumpet tree...

I just love the flowers!

They are this soft shell pink...  See the bee?

Heavenly... don't you think?

Problem...

My menu bar (New Post, Design, etc) that ued to sit at the top right of my blog is gone! Any clues how to get it back?  Thanks!
 

Lunchtime Surprise!

Yesterday morning my hubby called me from the grocery store asking about the pin number of the card he was using... Then he asked if I was in the office... Of course... and would I meet him in the parking lot at lunchtime... Of course... So he calls when he gets to my building...

and gives me this! A pretty little pink rose bush for my desk! He said I had a little desk, so he got me little flowers...

A couple of weeks ago I snapped this picture of our resident squirrel... He's sitting in a little Dahoon Holly tree between the building and the parking lot, eating green berries...  I see him in this tree a lot.

Today I snapped a picture of him relaxing in his favorite place to hang... Chillin' out in the shade on the wall of our little dining patio... Apparently he lives in the eaves of our building and he's very often spotted sprawled out on the wall.

Next post will be full of pictures of why I love my bicycle commute!

Metamorphosis...

My husband came in from the garage the other day and told me to hold my hands out. I did...

He put these in my hands... It's a good thing I'm not squeamish! A shed caterpillar skin and the resulting pupa...  Here's what the pupa looks like up close...

The underside (top) looks almost as if it has a face and on the back (bottom) you can tell where it will split open...

Photo source: www.carolinanature.com

To reveal this! An Imperial Moth (Eacles imperialis) ... with a wingspan of 5 to 6 inches...

I've been working on an oil painting of a Prairie Warbler on gessoed purple scrapbook paper that looks like old wall paper. I'll post it when I'm done. But I thought I'd post a few of the backgrounds I've been prepping for other oil paintings...

Vintage sheet music adherred to 5" x 7" masonite and coated with with matte gel medium. After a few coats of the gel medium, comes a couple coats of clear gesso and then a final wash of clear gesso with a few drops of turquoise acrylic paint mixed in. Finally before it dries I wipe alot of it off with a paper towel. A singing bird will go on this background.

These vintage illustrated dictionary pages are prepared the same way, but are on 6" x 6" masonite, with the wash being green. I'll be painting Poison Dart Frogs on these.

Metamorphosis in progress... in nature... and in art...

Workspace Additions and New Art Supplies...

Well, I just had to do something with the only boring space at my desk...
didn't I???
I brought a small magnetic whiteboard from home...
It already had a bright green frame....
 

Friday's haiku is written on it... and yes those are button magnets!
 

I used double sided tape to stick the magnets to the buttons.
I think they turned out quite well!
 

 

Also got a colorful lidded water tumbler to fill up at the water fountain...
There's a  charge to fund the water cooler and coffee.
 I don't drink coffee and I use tap water for my tea!
 

 And what is this that Bruce! Of the Thicket! is minding?
 

A new plant... a little craussula (sp?) with pink edged leaves that I brought from home. I doubt the leaves will stay pink without the sun.
But it's pretty (and living) just the same!
 

I'm off today, because the Health Dept was closed due to Tropical Storm Isaac. 
The weather didn't get nearly as bad as we thought it would...
In fact right now is the hardest rain we've gotten and the wind gusts aren't much.
 

 

You can see the clouds, but the Italian Cypresses across the street are not bent over. And there have been birds flying around.
 

 

Most of you know that I paint with oils and chalk pastels and that I've not had good success with acrylics. That might be because I was using craft acrylic paints.
Well I got a 40% off Michaels coupon and bought some cheap artist acrylic paints to experiment with! They were just over $6 with the coupon!
 

 

There are 2 tiny tubes of each color in the bucket...
but I have acrylic matte gel medium to stretch it if I need it.
 

So I put my sewing projects away and got my brushes, palette knives and hard boards out and am going to start playing! I've always been so caught up in the details, that I've always painted realism.
I want to paint more freely... with more expressionism and flair...
Maybe some whimsy... I'm going to try! 
 

 

I've also started re-reading one of my favorite books.
It inspired a poem the first time I read it. I'll post it soon...
 I have to find the file or re-type it in a post.
This time, I'm hoping it will inspire some paintigs!