Hands On

Almost done, as usual, I put it up where I can see it then make a few adjustments. Still stuck in Black and White –  I am enjoying it so much, think I will work on a raven. We took a trip to Yellowstone Park a few years ago and got some good close photos of a raven. I have done him several times, but he was so good at posing, and just has that raven look of disdain which is so typical, LOL. I still have some more hand projects in the lineup, so stay tuned……

Kitty report just in straight from the art desk! While working on the pottery hands, Dante just jumped up on my desk and made himself at home. He dragged his tail over the left side of the drawing and as you can see laid down right on the top of the drawing. I guess he knows charcoal is delicate and wants to make sure it is smudged and has plenty of cat hair on it.  Cats 1 – Arlene – 0

Time for the weekly cancer report, since it is Rest Week, I am doing well, only two more treatments before we stop to evaluate, it will go pretty fast.

Have heard a lot of complaining from my friends (and even family) this week that they are freezing. I admit, I did get out some sweaters and have started wearing the light long sleeve tops, but REALLY……..high 70’s in the day and high 40’s to low 50’s at night. Yes it is cooler than the 100’s, but look at the rest of the country, THEY have something to complain about! Guess everyone just loves to complain about weather.

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On the other hand…..

Having had a really good week last week, I made a lot of progress on the new charcoal on black paper. This is one of those pieces which has bugged me to get going with it, but I had so many other projects that needed to be done, that it kept slipping back in line. Think I took the ref photos a couple of years ago, intending to add this one to the “Hands” series which is on display at the Beatitudes until Dec 3. There is just something about black and white which makes me want to keep my hand in and do one or two a year in between the birdies! There are more hands coming, but I think it is bird time after this one, LOL.

SO hubby and I are noticing that it takes a little bit longer after each chemo treatment to recover from the fatigue. Had a little more nausea than usual, but am feeling well now, just very fatigued. Usually by the weekend, I have recovered and am ready to go. Well, four down and eight to go, so we are one third of the way, and may get a break during Dec if they decide to interrupt after chemo 6 to do surgery. The nice thing about chemo week, is that the kitties stay close and we have a lot of kitty therapy.

Talk To The Hand…….Cont

After spending a week in cool Colorado, photographing wildlife, I can only say…..WOW! We were there during Elk rut and was it awesome, elks bugling everywhere…..they even gave us a private wake up call right outside our room two of the days! The birds were out, along with the deer, chipmunks, bear and cottontails. What a week! It is in the high 90’s back here in AZ, and we are having a little bit of a hard time getting used to the heat again!

If you were thinking that you would get off without an update, LOL, try again, some work DID get done through all the fun! This piece is almost done, just a little bit of work before stepping away from the drawing.

There is no place like home, so it is good to be home, however, the velociraptors made quite a mess while we were gone. Needless to say, hubby and I have spent most of the day cleaning. If you ever want company in your home and you don’t like to clean, avoid the parrots species like the plague! They can fling food in a 12 foot circle around their cages and play stands. If the cage happens to be near a wall, you will end up with dried fruit about one thick after each feeding. I know, I know, they are just doing their jobs. In the rain forest, the parrots job is to get everything from the top of the forest canopy to the bottom. So they eat one bite of food, then fling it with abandon. All the little critters are waiting at the bottom of the forest to share in the bounty. If no one is there to eat it, seeds are planted to keep the forest alive. I have tried to explain to the guys, that there are no critters waiting outside their cages to get the food, and that my FLOOR is not a forest. DO you think they listen, nooooooooooo, they keep doing their “job” and I keep scrubbing.

Whooooo Hooooooooo my kickstarted Project is 94% funded! Thanks to all of you who have backed my project!!!!!

Back to scrubbing!

Talk To The Hand

Sunny and Charlie on their outside perch.

The Painting Hand WIP!

Meanwhile back at your local WIP station, the Painting Hand WIP is progressing. The main drawing is done, and the first layers have been started. This is the fourth of the “Hand” series, with several more planned. I am very excited that the local sculptor’s group is going to let me take some photos of their hands at work, so I should have a lot more drawing “fodder” soon! That is, if……..I can keep the charcoal pencils out of reach of the Velociraptor flock here, LOL! Actually they have been very good the last couple of weeks………which makes me wonder, “What are they plotting now!!!!” Since my son will be their slave next week, while I try to go out and get some new reference photos, I am sure it is something BIG! So stay tuned!!!! I would like to finish one more watercolor in the “Native Arizona Bird Series” and have them ready to go by Nov 30th for the “Gifts From Nature” show.

Just cannot go through the blog without shouting out a BIG Thanks! to all who have supported my Kickstarter Project ( http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1030315317/arizona-native-bird-painting-series ), we have 12 backers to date and are almost to 50% of the goal! Awesome support team!

Well, it is back to the drawing board for me………hmmmmmmm……..they are just TOO Quiet………?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!

Communicating Hands WIP……….so I look like a chimney sweep!

WIP 1

Yes, so I look like a chimney sweep! The result of working with charcoal, LOL. Started to leave the house, and LUCKILY, I passed a mirror. Needless to say I could have been on the set of “Mary Poppins” as the chimney sweep’s assistant. Black smears on face, arms, definitely black, and clothes looking like they went through the UNwasher. The parrots never tell me, they just let me leave the house that way and laugh the whole time I am gone. Guess I have to stay home unless my family is here to give me the “going out of the house” inspection.

Anyway, here is the progress to date. Hate to post when so much of the drawing is a mess, but it will all get fixed, LOL! See ya at the store! you will easily recognize me, the one who looks like a chimney sweep!

Hands WIP – Finished!

Love’s Offering

Ok, I have to step away from the drawing……….am calling it finished, even though I still keep finding cat hairs on it! Thought I had them all off, then took the photo, and guess what!!!!! Those cats…..no respect!!!! So this will be the second Companion piece to “Working Man’s Hands”, have already started the drawing on the next one. Right now have material for five, but I still have one or two more ideas, so do not know how many will go in this series. Hands are just so INTERESTING! SO think I will do at least one more in this series before  going back to the birds! Wishing you all a wonderful weekend AND DON’T FORGET to buy your raffle tickets for the Kakapo painting!

https://chirpingcentral.site-ym.com/store/view_product.asp?id=1120674

Don’t wait until the last minute and forget………now is the best time!

Hands WIP …….. Almost Done!

This certainly went by fast! Maybe it was because I have been running at 5000 mph with my hair on fire, LOL! So when you click on it to view, please ignore the cat hairs…..that is why I said it is ALMOST done. I won’t go into a diatribe about cat hairs, so you can stick around for a few more minutes. Hey, don’t forget about the Kakapo painting raffle! Tickets are available on https://chirpingcentral.site-ym.com/store/view_product.asp?id=1120674  They are only $1.00. Barbara Heidenreich’s Blue Fronted Macaw, Blu Lu, is going to draw the winning ticket at the AFA Conference in August. I know, you are waiting until the last minute to buy tickets, but get them now so you don’t forget to support this AWESOME project!!!! Meanwhile, I am going to put the hair fire out, OWWWWW, head burns……don’t forget…….tickets……..OWWWWW………AHHHHHH……..Phew, much better……Sunny, put the paint brush down……ARGH…..MORE cat hair….

Hands WIP……….cont.

Now that we took time out for a break from my life, LOL, back to the WIP! As you can see, some progress is being made. Despite cat hair, feathers, birds chewing on my pencils, baby bird drop-offs, and various other distractions, these hands are continuing to come out of the paper. See ya soon with another update! BTW, don’t forget to click on the photo for a larger view!

The new Work In Progress

With all of the fur and feathers flying around here,it is time to take a break. Recently I completed the first of the “Hand” series with “Working Man’s Hands”, so thought I would go on to the second in this series of charcoal drawings examining hands.  Being so vital to us, it is hard to imagine what life would be like if we did not have the use of our hands. They communicate, express emotion, make art, music, and help us complete a myriad of tasks. They have so much character and are so full of expression. It is hard to keep from getting sappy while working on this series, so without further ado, here is the beginning. A tribute to emotion.