It is COLD!!!

I have friends who grew up in Canada and who live in Canada and some from MN and ND.  They don't have a problem with this weather we are currently having, but I do!!  -12F and -40F with the wind chill factored in is too darned cold for me!!  I am a wimp and proud of it.  Come on, when exposed skin can freeze in 5 to 10 minutes!!! 

 
I did go out yesterday and I did get a perm and do my assignment for Jane's class.  We were to go out, sketch and paint in public at a coffee shop.  So I did.  I did the background and writing at home.  I even penciled in the writing before inking and I still couldn't follow the lines and messed up the 'chill' because I was 'chilled'.  The experience of sketching and painting in public wasn't as bad as I thought it might be and it is true, people just ignore you.

The studio froze up through all of this lovely weather.  Thought I had left the water dripping, but apparently not.  Hope the it will thaw out without any major hassles.

January at its end

I cannot believe it will be the last day of January tomorrow!!!  Where, oh where, has the month disappeared??? 

Thought I would post once more before the end.  I am about ready to tie myself to my sewing room chair so that I can get my quilts done for the class I will be attending in 2 weeks time in TX.  I have two that must be made from scratch, two others I would like to redo, we will see how the time goes.  Then I have to get packed for the class.  I was going to dye some wonderful fabrics to take there this year, but alas that hasn't happened either. 

The photo today is of the latest watercolor painting.  Pleased with most of it.  Should have kept the date by my name like I usually do.  I wrote '2010' instead of '2011' and had to fix that.  The blue in the box became a little darker than I would have liked.  
 

Running a little behind!!!

  Thought I should post a note before January got away from me.  Where did the month go??!!  Time seems to be moving faster.  I blame computers for some of it, I am also thinking getting older has something to do with it as well.  I forget what I am going to get between locations, have to do things over again because they were wrong the first, second and sometimes third time ---- I will stop there. 

  Between bookwork, a few trips to the Front Range, and online classes I have been busy, just don't have much to show for it. 

  I am currently taking two watercolor classes, one from Jane LaFazio and one from Laure Ferlita.  Jane's is a journal watercolor class, one where I am to leave white areas in my paintings, and Larue's is more the way I like to paint.  I have new watercolors and I am learning what they do.  Behind in both classes, but hope to change that in the next few days.
  I also signed up for Susan Sorrel's Funky Felt Pins class on Joggles.  It looked fun and something I can sit and do at night.  Behind there as well as the felt came right before we left for the weekend.
  Cleaned the sewing room, it was necessary to make the felt pins, and have no idea how it became such a disholved mess since I haven't made anything lately.  And then there are those quilts for Hollis' class in TX and it is coming up quickly.  
 The picture is of a key I drew while messing around one evening.  Love Zentangels and it was a fun way to do a lesson, however it doesn't count since there is not any watercolor paint on the thing.  The Zentangle heart does have watercolor on it.  

  I just completed working on a piece of fabric for a swap we had on Dyehards.  It was an ugly fabric swap.  We were to send a piece of fabric we felt left a lot to be desired and transform it.  I thought Mary's piece was lovely, mostly yellow when I received it. 
I was pleased with the piece I did, learned a few things and finally overcame my fear of working on complex cloth pieces.  Now if I had more time to get over to the studio and start over dyeing some of those pieces of fabric I don't care for.

  Life use to be much slower in the winter, I would sit reading garden catalogs, waiting impatiently for Spring to arrive.  I need to get the seeds ordered too, but I am not sure when I will get that done and March is just around the corner. 

  So life moves on at a crazy pace around here, even in the dead of winter. 

Latest Watercolors

I finished another online class, that is two in a row!!!   This is the latest and last assignment from the class I took from Laure Ferlita, Clever Christmas. I posted the moose this morning.  He is  not one of my better paintings, but he is cute.  I reduced him and made a small name tag for a package, looked better that way than the actual size.

I plan on taking some of her other classes, thinking of starting at the beginning.  That would be a novel idea wouldn't it?  Sometimes I wished I had discovered wc's long ago, but then I am not sure I would have had the same interest.  Things come along at the right time and now is the time in my life for watercolors.  

  I have solved a few design problems with a couple of quilts that must be finished by Feb. and taken back to TX for Hollis' class while working on the watercolor assignments.  Who knew it would be so rewarding.  I just get lost when painting.  And to think all of this started because I needed to work on drawing.  One never knows where things will lead if given a chance.  

  Also the packages are wrapped and under the tree, the house needs a few things done here and there, but it is not in total disarray as it usually is this time of the year.  When I took the paints, wc papers and all the other items I have had out for the last 10 days down to the sewing room today, I put them away where they belonged.  I have no idea what is going on, but I'm lovin' it!!!  Of course the Christmas cards haven't been sent out, but that would be over the top.  This wc was from lesson 3 and I had hoped to use it for our cards this year.  I need to redo it as this is only 2.5" x 3.5" and has some issues here and there.  


Wishing all of you who take the time to read my ramblings a very Blessed Christmas and pray that it will be spent with family and friends.  

Lesson # 2

Today we received our second assignment.  I drew the head of a snow lady.  I wish my mind worked a little faster at times.  I needed to make the hat smaller or her head a little larger.  I will just pretend she has melted a little since she was built.  With the temps we have had of late, that wouldn't be a stretch.  The stretch would be having snow to actually build a snow lady, the reason I have had to resort to painting them.

  I will use this as a gift tag, there  is a "To:" and "From:" stamped on the back of the little painting.  I used crystals for the little holly berries.  Apparently they don't refract scanned light. I think I did a little better today with shadows and making things look like they were a bit dimensional.   Need to practice stamping again, it's only been 10+ years. 

More Watercolors

I signed up for another watercolor class.  Jane's was over and I have enjoyed this process.  I need to continue working at it so that I can stop making some of the mistakes I continue to make, i.e. going outside the lines on occasion. 

It started today.  It is a quick 10 day class with a lesson every other day.  Laure Ferlita is the instructor.  I drew some hats.  These are done on ATC sized pieces of watercolor paper.  2.5" x 3.5" is not very large.  I have done three of them.  Would like to change things about each of them, but hey, I am learning something each time I do one.

Lesson 6

I forgot to post this lesson earlier.  Not exactly what we were suppose to do as I got a little carried away with the paints.  I had hoped to get another one drawn, but didn't finish painting it.  So it is here, I finished all the lessons, second online class that I have actually completed. 

  I received this frog a number of years ago and he sits in the flower bed against the house.  He has a broken foot, but I still like him.  He is flaking here and there, but then I am not as together as I once was either.

 The sketch of the angels needs to be painted or inked and then washed with water.  Haven't decided which way to go on those.  Hope to get to them in a day or two.

I actually dyed some fabric yesterday.  So might have those samples to post tomorrow.  I did a couple of color wheels.