Cactus Wren WIP…….Taaaaa Daaaaaa

What an eventful weekend. We went to a Perry family reunion in Creede Co, expecting to have cool temps, and crisp, cool, air. The temps were much cooler than the 115 degrees we left in Arizona, but the air????? We passed two fires on the way to Creede and the valley was filled with smoke and cottonwood tree debris. It was GREAT to visit with family members we haven’t seen in two years, even though we were all coughing and choking…….of course, the Perry family cannot get together without the domino games and are they a competitive bunch!!!! We had some good BBQ, some of us rode horses, and a few of us ventured into town for a little shopping. My sister, Debi, was attacked by a vicious crack in the sidewalk. It jumped right up at her, tripped her, and she fell and broke her arm. We spent Sat afternoon in the emergency room in Del Norte to find out that Debi needed surgery. They made arrangements for her to see a Dr. as soon as we got back to Phoenix. She returned to the reunion late Sat night, just to get up the next day to make the trek back to Phoenix. On the way back, we passed another HUGE fire near Cortez. Wish I would have had some time to stop and take photos, we saw the helicopters dropping their loads and coming back to refill. Amazing. Debi has had her surgery, which went well, she is recovering among LOTS of prayers, cards, well wishes and flowers…..Aaachooooo………Aaaaaaaachooo. So she will be staying here next week, while her Hubby, Don, goes to Canada, then they will make the return trip to New Zealand. Aaaaaaaaachoooooo…..Aaaaachooooooo.

In the meantime……back at the ranch…It is time to “step away from the painting” as Candy says. Betcha thought with all of the activity and excitement that no painting would get done this week! Surprise, surprise, surprise. So we will wrap up this Cactus Wren and look for my next victim…….uh……I mean volunteer……..uh……….um………… hey, you should just be glad I paint birds!!!!

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Cactus Wren WIP……..almost done!

First a BIG REMINDER! Don’t forget to buy your raffle tickets for the Kakapo Painting. See, I knew you would forget! Go to https://chirpingcentral.site-ym.com/store/view_product.asp?id=1120674 and get buy lots of tickets to help support the Kakapo Recovery Project! You only have until August!!

The Cactus Wren painting is almost done, just need to finish off those pesky cactus thorns and do a little bit of shading. WOW has it ever been hot this week! If it doesn’t cool off soon, I think we are all going to melt! My sister is visiting from New Zealand, and they finally got thawed out about the end of last week, and I think they are starting to break out in a sweat. Not sure yet if it is sweat, or just the ice that finished thawing out. At any rate, they have just about had enough of the heat and we are all going to a family reunion in Colorado for a couple of days to cool off a little. Poor Jon has to stay home and feed the birdies. Maybe we will be nice and bring back a t-shirt for him!

Cactus Wren WIP…… Merrily we roll along!

Cactus Wren Work in Progress

Another day, another WIP! Here is the start to my latest painting of a Cactus Wren. The plan is to do a few Arizona Native birds to have them ready for the fall shows. You know how plans around here have a tendency to go!!! Hubby is off on a work trip, so we are going to have Wednesday with Candy instead of Tuesday with Candy, so bring a snack and a folding chair tomorrow for a field trip!

On the way back from the airport, I am going to make a little art supply stop, so don’t tell anyone! This time it is just for fun – NOT because you know who chewed up my pencils and brushes! WAIT! NO! Sunny, Charlie, how did you guys get out??? What are you doing on my art desk? HEY!!!! those are MY pencils…………….my brushes!!!!………………SIGH……………..

OK……JUST don’t talk to the Cactus Wrens about modeling fees!!!! Off to the art store!

 

Communicating Hands WIP – Done for now!

So my first thought as I write this blog are: Do people really pay attention? Is anybody reading the blog?  Am I just sitting here entertaining myself? Will anybody ever comment? Did anybody notice that Communicating Hands WIP #1 is upside down? Does anybody really know what time it is?

Yes, those are some of the burning questions which plague me as I post this finale to the Communicating Hands WIP. Now if you have EVER read my blog, you would know that I have been accused of clowning around from time to time. Let me assure you, that it is purely accidental. I don’t set out to purposely live this Lucy Ricardo life. Things just happen. Now you must realize, that I go through life at 5 million miles per hour, with my hair on fire, so accidents will JUST happen. Ok, make it 2 and a half million MPH, since I am 49 years old again this year and am slowing down a little. But who will do all of these things if I slow down?

The good news is that I do have one of the answers to my barrage of questions…..the next painting is going to be a Cactus Wren! Hey that wasn’t one of the questions, Oh well….have a good week…….keep those cards and letters coming!

What a Lovely Nomination!

Hi to all of my birdbrained friends, and Happy Wednesday to all of you! Today, this blog was nominated for a “One Lovely Blog Award” by the fun and charming Pumpkin von Bandersnatch. If you have not kept up with this philosophizing Pumpkin Head, you should go over and check out his mini sagas! http://vonbandersnatch.wordpress.com/   Thank you for the Lovely nomination! From a featherhead to a lunatic, this nomination is the loveliest thing that has happened so far today!!!!

Now for the rules of acceptance:

-Thank the person/people who nominated you and link back to them in your post.
-Share seven possibly unknown things about yourself.
-Nominate fifteen or so bloggers you admire.
-Contact the chosen bloggers to let them know and link back to them.

1) In my youth, I was quite shy.

2) My birds eat better than I do, after fixing all those meals, I am to tired to fix my own.

3) I performed as Arleenie Beenie the clown from 1990 until I recently retired to become an artist.

4) I am not REALLY 49 years old but that is a secret between you and me, please do not tell my children.

5) OK, so I occasionally lie about my age.

6) OK, so I lie about my age more than occasionally.

7)No I will not tell you how old I really am!

 

So I would like to nominate the following bloggers for the “One Lovely Blog Award”! Sorry it is not 15 yet, but I am still kind of new at this blogging thing, and barely have time to blog and do my art!

Reflections of a Journey by Dina Schiaffo – an honest, encouraging, exploration of life as it is.

Photo Nature Blog by Jeffrey Foltice – some beautiful photos

photobotos.com – One beautiful Photo a day

Deidra Alexander’s Blog – What can I say, a fiction Writer.

von Bandersnatch – The Pumpkin Head!

Anarty – Online Art Journal

Spencer Angeltvedt – an animal blog

Oregon College of Art – an art blog

Lara Joseph – a bird and animal training blog.

Rich Adams Fine Art – a wonderful graphite artist

Clouds of Colour – a world of colour

 

 

Communicating Hands WIP…….cont

LOL, it just keeps getting better………went to the book store and saw my shirt reflected in the glass window – it was covered with blue pastel chalk. Now you must realize, this was a red shirt, so it was just a little obvious………no one said anything, so I am not either. MUM is the word. So if you ever see a strange older lady running around with, bird poop, black charcoal, blue pastel, or watercolor paint all over her clothes…….it could be me, don’t laugh too hard.

The Communicating Hands WIP is progressing nicely, will post it here for your viewing pleasure. NOW what store can I terrorize….oops…….I mean visit…… er shop at. It is just a good thing I do not paint in oils or work with clay!