Cats 3 – Arlene 0

Seriously, have you ever tried to mat and frame a painting in a house full of cat fur?!??! First, you have to brush the painting thoroughly, use a tape roller to remove any missed hairs. Then the mat must be cut and secured to the painting, making sure to put acid free board behind the painting to protect the back. NOW you are almost ready. Quickly clean the glass and use canned air to remove any missed cat hairs, and QUICKLY put the matted painting into the frame………..OH NO…..cat hair behind the glass…….OK, so we repeat procedure, brush and tape roller painting and glass………and  OH NO!!!!! Still cat fur behind the glass……..Ok, repeat procedure again……… still cat hair. Ok, so hang the painting with the cat hair……..sigh…….guess the cat hair makes the painting look better. You know come to think of it, I saw an original Van Gogh at the museum, and noticed a lot of brush hairs and cracks in this oil painting……..maybe those weren’t brush hairs after all……..Van Gogh must have had a cat.

Ok, I must get to the day’s drawing results. A sweet, kind Facebook friend of mine has given me permission to paint her beautiful rose breasted cockatoo, Bambi. Here is the drawing on the watercolor paper, in my Otto Paper Stretcher. I usually edit it out, but for those who have an interest in how I keep my paintings flat, you might want to see it.  This one is for you Holly!!!

 

 

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Step Away From the Painting! AGAIN!

So Candy is saying, “Step Away From the painting”, as I continue to make little adjustments. Owwww, Candy don’t throw stuff at me, you might hit the painting…..Okay…..Okay, I get it! So folks, guess I will sign it and step away, LOL. Ok, so here it is….with all of the cat hair removed! Darn cats, I caught one of them walking across the painting on my desk, I know he was intentionally shedding hair all over it! Thank goodness for drafting brushes and roller tape…….bwa ha ha ha! Foiled the cats again. Owwwww! What was that scratch for? What do you mean it looks batter with cat hairs on it!?!?!?!?

Time out for a commercial break! Don’t forget my kickstarted project!  https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1030315317/watercolor-parrot-art  Even though it is fully funded, I still have to get the current painting scanned for prints, have cards made, etc. in addition to the framing costs for the upcoming show! Prints of Triple Time Blues will be available as a choice for any rewards including a Giclee print! The rewards are a better deal than the normal prices, so check it out!!! You only have until July 8th!

Meanwhile back at our regularly scheduled programming: Tune in next week to see if the cats manage to get more cat hair on the painting before I get it to the printers!!!!

A mind is a terrible thing to lose!

As long as I can remember, this has been a favorite saying, “Of all the things I have lost, my mind is the thing I miss the most. ” After walking into rooms for years and forgetting what I came in to do, retracing steps, remembering, and deja vu, repeating the whole sequence……. this saying still has relevance, LOL!  Apparently  in this world of endless data, our minds are hiding somewhere, looking for a simpler time. The good news is the cell phone. One touch brings up the internet where you can find almost anything you need. It is making a fairly good substitute for my brain, as long as I don’t lose the phone!!!

SO with that being out of the way, here is the update on Triple Time Blues! Hope you enjoy, and don’t lose your cell phone!

WIP – Triple Time Blues

Triple Time Blues

So, here is the first painting update! There is one fuzzy little parrot but………the rest is coming. BTW, we have some new faces here watching, so I will try hard not to splash paint on the newbies. Just remember next time to bring your raincoats or ponchos, plenty of snacks, and your sense of humor. There are five parrots, four cats and maybe a clown or two, and a cartoon character or two in the building. Yes, we have to endure, feathers, cat hair, and splashing water, but this is watercolor WIP, so what do you expect?!?!?!?!? Also, we could run out of chairs, so if you have a comfy chair you want to bring, please feel free to bring it. Cell phones are allowed as long as you put them on silence and just stick with texting and posting on Facebook or twitter. A couple of my friends would not come if they cannot bring their cell phones. Yeah….you know who you are! No food fights, the food might hit the painting, no rotten tomatoes allowed in the building! Other than that, relax, sit back, and enjoy!

Advertisement: I made that bold for those of you who would like to skip over it. Please check out my Kickstarter project, Watercolor Parrot Art, at :

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1030315317/watercolor-parrot-art

Meanwhile back to our regularly scheduled program: See you in a few days with a new update!!!

I got The Blues Again….and again…..and again!

Usually when you think of Blues, you think of sad times, but Thanks to a wonderful friend of mine, Laney Rickman, when I think of Blues, I think of music and parrots! She is the head of a wonderful organization, the Bird Endowment, which has the awesome Mission of “Saving The Blues”.  Bird Endowment works with the Blue Throat Macaw, which is one of our most endangered macaws in the wild. To learn more about them, please check out their website:   http://www.birdendowment.org  – They have some great programs to help you get involved in Blue Throat Macaw conservation like the Nino Adoptivo program, you can actually sponsor a nest and help the propagation of the Blue Throat Macaw in Bolivia!

SO what does this have to do with I got the Blues again? My personal mission as an artist is to support Avian /Wildlife organizations who promote conservation, education, rehabilitation and research. SO I donate a few paintings to organizations to raffle, auction, raise money, or even just to raise awareness. Laney sent me a photo of the Blue Throat Macaw triplets and I could not resist, even though it has taken me some time to get to this project! I thought of a great name for the painting, Triple Time Blues, and so without further ado, here is the beginning of the WIP, the drawing. Hope you will follow along as this painting progresses!

Removing rehabilitating wildlife photos!

Due to the following, I have removed all of my photos from Liberty Wildlife, I know you have enjoyed them, and I posted in my enthusiasm for rehabilitating Wildlife, but I would not want to be responsible for jeopardizing Liberty’s permits. Thanks for your understanding, and I will continue to post photos taken in the wild, and of course my paintings!

USFW has certain regulations concerning the commercial use of images of the wildlife in our care and if these regulations are not followed, the permits that allow us to keep operating might be placed in jeopardy.