It's almost done...

...2006 that is. So, dear reader, the year of 2006 will soon come to a close and, personally, there won't be any love lost for me. Far be it from me to dwell on crap though, that's soooo last year...er, almost. While there were some bad things that happened there were also many good things and while I could go on and list my own joys I'll pass and instead encourage you, dear reader, to reflect on your own year gone by. What would you change? What did you accomplish? More importantly, do you even care? If there's one thing I learned this year is that it's easy, almost too easy, to get hung up on what's not going right for yourself instead of trying to figure out ways to either live with it or "make it work". So that was my big, big lesson for this year. Will I remember it next year? We'll have to wait and see...

Also, I don't like to leave any unfinished business carrying over from one year to the next so I've posted another of my Workday Paintings and will post the draft horse picture when it's done. No unfinished business, at least not that you should be subjected to. This one is titled "Darkness in Light" (kinda sums up 2006) and will be available on eBay for auction in the New Year.

So there you have it dear reader, one year comes to a close and hopefully a new and prosperous year begins. I'll talk to you next year...y'know, Tuesday.

Wednesday already?

Hello dear reader. I was conflicted as to what artwork to display today as I've got quite a few things on the go and some works that have been freshly completed. I ultimately decided on this WIP I started recently. It's going to be 11x14 inches and is of some type of draft horse.

I haven't decided if I'm going to post this as a WIP or if I'll just tease you with this and then post it when it's done. I know, finicky artists...
There's also the Workday Paintings that need to be posted and yes, I still did them through the Holidays even while suffering from what we've dubbed at my house as "Turkey Syndrome".

So Christmas festivities were fun, I ate too much and we now have approximately 50 lbs of chocolate in various locations around the house not counting the 10 lbs of chocolate we've already eaten. It's funny when you mention to someone "Oh, I like (fill in the blank with your favorite sugary treat)" and then every person you know presents you with said treat. At first you're happy and then by the 14th box of Turtles, Quality Street, Ferrero Rocher, After Eight's, etc all you can think of is buying a blood sugar monitor.

Anyway, I plan on spending the rest of the week doing some more artwork, tidying up before New Year's, organizing some business stuff, planning the re-do of my website (stay tuned in 2007!) and other various odds and ends that I don't really want to carry over into the next year. See you on Friday when my sugar buzz will have subsided...but only marginally.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Hello dear reader. I'll keep this as short as possible since I'm sure, like me, you're just wanting to sit back and relax after a harrowing shopping season.

First and foremost, the horse ACEO (which has a touching story I might add, please read in the listing) can be bid on here and Arwen, well, she's mine. It's a small Christmas present to myself. I'm a huge LOTR geek and quite often let myself run away with my imagination and am doing a LOTR series for myself. I think I mentioned before, I'm selfish like that.

So I must digress to my previous post in which I assumed that the Blogger gods were displeased and I was waiting for a Coke bottle to land on my head (ever seen the movie "The Gods Must be Crazy"?) Alas, it didn't happen and I thought I must've really upset someone. As it turns out all I needed to do was pull my head out of my arse. My pop-up blocker was on and I forgot to disable it hence my inablility to post pictures. It's hard missing the obvious sometimes. Anyway, the situation has been remedied (I pulled my head out of my arse) and you can now view to your heart's content!

I won't be posting anything on Monday and will resume my babble on Wednesday when I'm sure to have stories of Christmas crackers, presents, turkey and trifle (mmmm, trifle). On that note, dear reader, enjoy your Holiday and eat, drink and be merry but for the love of chocolate covered caramels don't drink and drive...pull your head out of your arse! See you on Wednesday!

I forgot something...

Hello dear reader. Perhaps you'll notice something and that is that there are no pictures here for your viewing pleasure and that I'm a day late (but thankfully not a dollar short). It would seem that Blogger and I are at odds with each other. It began last night when I went to go write my thoughts and post my doodles as I usually do on Wednesday. I went to post the doodles and, alas, it was not meant to be. I figured it was a temporary glitch but now I realize it is much more. I'm going to try it again right now...

...see? Nothing. So, if you'd be so kind as to head over to my eBay auctions to see my newest Workday Paintings, which also happen to be ACEO's, you'll find two new offerings here and here. Think of it as a Holiday surprise. Surprise! I'll still be posting again tomorrow and maybe by that time Blogger will have forgiven me for whatever offence it was that I committed.


Now, onto what I forgot. Here I thought to myself on Tuesday that I finished my Christmas gift shopping and, more importantly, the grocery shopping. I was smug, dear reader, smug and feeling quite pleased with myself that I was crafty and organized enough to pull off such a feat. Then yesterday, amidst my upcoming Holiday schedule planning, I realized it: I forgot something...the potatoes and foil for the oven. These two things, to some, may seem trivial. 'No Rita, don't put yourself in harm's way by venturing out into Holiday shopping with only 3 days before Chirstmas. It's just not worth the risk!!' However, there are a few things to consider here in order for me to rationalize my decision. First and foremost is my memories of this past Thanksgiving when I successfully cooked a turkey for the first time and then, upon setting the oven to clean, set fire to the oven (it was put out quickly and safely). BBQ grade foil for the oven is not just needed for ease of cleaning but also to avoid any Holiday cleaning (not cooking) mishaps.
Then there's the potato issue. I could just feed them some other root vegatable and I already have parsnips and carrots. However, I come from a large Irish family and forgetting potatoes at Christmas is like pouring your Guinness improperly into a glass...or just not drinking at all. My mother, who is not Irish (she's Latvian, another potato loving people) forgot potatoes one year when we used to have large family Christmas get- togethers and she has never, and I mean never, lived it down.

So, dear reader, once again I foray out into the hoardes of Christmas shoppers who are growing grumpier with every swipe of the debit and/ or credit card. Check back with me tomorrow since I may not make it back in one piece.

Is it safe?

Hello dear reader. I will venture into Blogger territory regardless of the threat of this post being eaten by the unpredictable Blogger gods.

First order of business is the horse ACEO, yet another of my Workday Paintings, which can be bid on here and my beloved Rosebud (aka-Wubby, Nublin, Oompacha and any other ridiculous name I can think of) well, I'm very much at odds over whether I'm going to part with this one. We'll have to wait and see... she's just so darn CUTE!!

Let me comment on the Survivor Grand Finale last night, you had to know I was going to go here. First and foremost I was tickled, just tickled, to see all the finalists being from different ethnic groups. They devised a plan and stuck to it for a very long time, something of a first in Survivor between 4 people, lest we forget poor Sundra who ran out of matches at the final Tribal Council. On top of that they opened up a whole can of whoop ass on the other tribe after the infamous "mutiny" not just once but several times! I cannot tell you how glad I was to see them smoke the other tribe of supposedly physically superior competitors despite being grossly outnumbered and demoralized. That and I didn't care much for that Adam fellow or his little groupies Candace and "Poverty" as Jeff kept calling her (and I kept laughing). While I am happy tha Yul won, he played an awesome strategic/ social game, I did want to see Ozzy win. First and foremost he's young and, hopefully, would've had enough common sense to put the money to good use as he said he would. I also must confess that while stories of familial woe don't normally get me his particular story and comment about the "person that created you doesn't want you around" struck a particular chord with me (I won't elaborate). He also seems to be a very genuine person and, from what I can remember, aside from throwing the one challenge to get Billy off he played an honest game (gadzooks!) Finally, let's face it, he's cute as all get out. Although I do have to say that I liked the unshaven, tree-climbing Ozzy over the clean shaven, well-dressed Ozzy. Personal preference...

Anyway, that's my babble for today. Please, visit eBay and bid dear reader, bid away to your heart's content. Me, I have more art to do and I'll see you on Wednesday!

Rumours!

The Andalusian stallion can be bid on here and the black Arab stallion can be bid on here.

I hear rumous of discontent amongst other bloggers about posts being eaten. I cannot fathom such a thing but in the interest if saving my words I shall heed these warnings and wait until monday. Take care and on monday, hopefully, I'll have some gem of wisdom to impart. Um, maybe not tho...

Why?

"Clear Skies for Santa" can be bid on here and "Santa Sees You" can be bid on here.

They're both just so darn cute, aren't they? You may remember, dear reader, that the first Santa was posted not too long ago...kind of as a teaser. It's true, my rapid pace has slowed over the past couple of days but for good reason! I went Christmas shopping. Yes, I ventured out today to purchase what needed to be purchased and I lived to tell about it. The Christmas shopping wasn't too bad but the grocery shopping was. One small child, one small, ear drum bursting, screaming child. That was what it took for me to consider taking a bottle of Scotch with me whenever I go grocery shopping.

This brings me to the topic of children and the whole idea of raising them. "Little people" I call them, not children, for I truly believe that most little people, nowadays, by the time they're 4 or so have a pretty good grasp of the adult world and it's basic functioning. After all, if they didn't how would they be able to manipulate their parents so well? I have mixed feelings about parents as well and their decision to produce little people. On the one hand it can be summed up by asking "Why?" Really. You dedicate X number of years of your life, who knows how much money and emotion and time and in the end it's really up to the little person themselves as to how they "turn out". I can think of many instances of kids from crappy homes that came out, for all intensive purposes, as functioning members of society and kids that came from seemingly stable homes that are now in politics...and who knows what that leads to...

Then the sympathetic side of me kicks in and I think of all the things that are going on in the world today and give kudos to parents for choosing to undertake raising a little person (or people) in such a tumultuous world with so many societies that could basically implode on themselves at any given moment. Whew! And then I ask myself "Why?"

So dear reader if any of you have an explanation I'd love to hear it. In my eternal quest to cram my brain full of knowledge and rationalizations this has been, by far, the most baffling mystery I've come across. So...why?

A Little Shopping Never Hurt Anyone

The smiling snowman can be bid on here and the hanging snowan can be bid on here.

So dear reader we're creeping closer and closer to Christmas and I still have yet to purchase one present. Every once and awhile I like to tread on the wild side but this is ridiculous. With every passing day I realize that the stores will become more and more crowded which thereby increases my chances of getting mowed over by some woman with a shopping cart full of toys, decorations, clothing, food or any combination of those items. It could be a man with a shopping cart, but let's face it, men have a poor constitution for shopping at any time of year let alone at this most glorious of retail seasons.
Fortunately I have the advantage of being able to go out during the day while many people are at 9-5 jobs and I like to pre-plan my shopping excursions so as to avoid any bodily injury. Why just this week-end my other half went out to start and complete his Christmas shopping and was shoulder checked by some woman who made a point immediately afterwards of turning around and glaring at him like if he had the audacity to stand off to the side of the isle again she'd just plow him right over. Keep in mind my husband used to play hockey at a level that was pre-professional so to check him in any form whether it be shoulder, hip or full on body is like throwing down your stick and taking off your gloves. My husband counted to 10 instead, bought his items and left.

This is why I love the Holiday Season. I know of no other time of year that is supposed to be for goodwill and selfless acts of kindness that ultimately turns into a blood thirsty every man, woman and child for themselves kinda occassion. Think I'm exagerrating? I've seen people get into fist fights in parking lots over parking spaces. I've seen parents screaming at each other because they saw the last Tickle Me Elmo at the exact same moment and neither wants to give it up. Keeping in mind we're in a Toy section and there are children watching this most dignified moment of adult "reasoning".

So please folks, this Holiday Season remember to be polite, say thank you, and remember all the good things you have. If you just can't do that then save yourself the headache and stay inside until January 1st when the madness should have, for the most part, subsided. 13 more days...

It's outta my hands

Hello dear reader. What can I say? I do love a good apple. The Bowl of Grannies can be bid on here and the Cortland can be bid on here.

So it's friday and I've completed my first official week of my Workday Paintings. I'm on a roll too because I've got ideas in my head that are just bursting at the seam to get out so if I get ahead of myself from time to time please bear with me...it's just the erratic behaviour of an artist. Lots of ideas..I'm so excited!! My first week has also taught me that I need to do what I "feel" I need to do in terms of art and my subject matter. I won't elaborate because, far be it from me to ruin a good touchy- feely, open-ended artist's revelation. You'll just have to stick with me to find out what the heck I'm talking about.

On another, but vaguely related, note I'm feeling particularly Christmasy because 1- we had some snow this week that actually stuck, 2- it's colder than all bejeezus and 3- they're playing Christmas songs on the local radio station. There's nothing quite like hearing the Red Hot Chili Peppers's "Dani California" and Elton John's "Island Girl" broken up by the Barenaked Ladies rendition of "Good King Wenceslas"...gotta love the musical melting pot that is Belleville.

With that I leave you for the week-end dear reader. I have commissions to complete and ideas to work out. On Monday I suspect you will find something of a Holiday nature gracing this blog and I hope you'll find it just as appealing as my previous work. Enjoy the week-end!

Alas, George Clooney's pig...

The Haflinger can be bid on here and the Arab can be bid on here.

Hello dear reader. Hopefully you like the offerings I have for today as far as art goes. I'm quite tickled with myself over these two and, to be honest, I wholeheartedly considered keeping them for myself. I'm greedy like that. Alas, in my quest to broaden my horizons and develop the skills of an artist that is also a business-person I decided to let them go...to the highest bidder, of course. The Haflinger is titled "Bleached Out" and the Arab is titled "Regal Echo". The background for them can be found in their respective eBay listings, lest I be redundant.

So let's talk about the passing of George Clooney's pig (this is, oddly enough, slightly related to the Arab picture...read the listing on eBay, gosh darnit!). After all, everyone else is talking about it. This man, who is apparently a cassanova of all cassanova's is lamenting the loss of his most long-term relationship which happened to be with his pot-bellied pig named Max. We're told that Max was treated like a son, was allowed to sleep on the bed with Clooney (even with his dates) and was given $20 chocolate covered pretzels from time to time. Why do we know all this? Slow news day I suppose but, more importantly, do we care? The answer, dear reader, is yes.
We care because while the rest of us humble mortals trudge through the day working at our desks or caring for screaming children or operating a switchboard or doing some other routine task it's good to know that the insanely wealthy folks of the world are still forced to deal with real world stuff, like death. In this we find some comfort...and, let's face it, some amusement in a "sorry for the loss of your pig" sort of way.

On that note I must go. America's Next Top Model is starting soon and that means it's time for my brain to shut off. I leave you with the comforting thought that, as was reported to us mere mortals, Mr. Clooney has sworn off bacon for a year as a result of the passing of Max. RIP.

A kiwi or two...

Click here to bid.

Hello dear reader. So here is the second is my Workday Paintings, the first one can be found over at eBay...feel free to bid on that one as well!

So why kiwis? Well, simply put, because they were there...and they were on the verge of going bad. I'm not sure what happens when a kiwi goes bad but darned if I was going to find out. So, after I posed my little fruity friends I ate them. They were tasty and I'd eat them again if I had the chance. If that was always going to be the result of still lifes I'd be doing them more often but let's face it, the prospect of eating a vase and flowers just doesn't appeal to too many people. Well, unless you're one of those freaky people that tries to get into the Guinness Book fo World records for doing foolish things like eating a vase of flowers.

So basically I'm working on values and loosening up...oh, and getting faster. I'm getting there but as they say, practice makes perfect, and I'm far from being perfect. Let's just wait and see what Wednesday holds...

It's Friday!

Hello dear reader and thank you for returning. As promised there's some new art here for your perusal and I have my news to share.

First, let's address the art. So heeeeeeere's Santa! I figured with it being Dec. 1st and all I'd share something of a festive nature. Hence Santa. This piece, which measures 4x5 inches is also relative to the news I'm sharing. So without further ado...

Much like many an artist before me I have decided to stick my nose into this whole "painting a day" business. However, not wanting to be one to completely follow the crowd (I'm one of those people that likes to shove their way to the front) I have decided to tweak this experiment to suit my already overflowing schedule. So here's the deal: I'm calling this undertaking(?) the Workday Paintings. This means that I will do my absolute best to complete at least 5 paintings per week, all 6x6 inches and under. From time to time I may churn out a larger one in a day but I suspect that those will be few and far between.
I'm also, like many of the Painting a Day artists, going to make this a year long commitment. I figure if I can stick to this during December which is, by all accounts, one of the most hectic and stressful times of year then I can probably make it through the rest of the year without my head spinning right off my neck.

Why am I doing this? Well, I had a few goals in mind. First and foremost being my eternal struggle with values. It seems that although I've gotten better I still have a ways to go. Second is that I'd like to become faster at my medium of choice, which is coloured pencil. Third is that I'd like to experiment further with making myself work small which has always been a struggle for me. Not all art needs to be gargantuan in size. Other than that it's just going to be a weird and wonderful experiment for me. By this time next year I hope to have grown as and artist and honed my skills even further.

So there you have it. On another art related note I've won an award for my landscape submission to the juried show "Domestica" in Belleville. Both pieces made it in but clearly that one made an impression. Once again, I reiterate, I have absolutely no taste in my own art. I have to admit that I'm pretty tickled about it and the opening reception is tomorrow so I can pick up my award. I was planning on going to the reception anyway but then I found out today that I won an award so that makes it even sweeter!

So thanks, dear reader, for tuning into today's episode. On Monday I will have for you some art. Small, workday art and hopefully you'll stick around to find out where all this will take me. Stay tuned!