The Freedom to Create

Elsie says "MOOOOOO-rning". It is such a gorgeous day she's decided to jump off the table and go out to pasture to play with Molly. Keep your pencil sharp. I brought out the #6 pencil to deepen the dark shades using short strokes for hair on her body, face and nose. Deepened the dark areas on the crown, ears and eyes also. She was fun to play with and now it's time for her to go play. On to another project. Bye!

This little bovine is becoming more real as I work on the hair detailing above the eyes and ears and adding the little freckles on her nose. Keep your pencil sharp. I had used an eraser to lighten some areas giving depth to the overall look. She is a glamor girl for sure. Well time for her to head into the barn. Tomorrow we may finish her up. Hope you've enjoyed Elsie today as much as I have. Look forward to hearing from you. 

Elsie says "MOOOOOO-rning!" as we get started on today. No Elsie didn't need milking. She's enjoying the bright sunny gorgeous day while sitting on the kitchen table. Keep your pencil sharp. To start I am using a #4 pencil to increase the shaded area. In the photograph her picture was taken on a  sunshiney day so there are a lot of different tonal areas on her. I see by this posting her left ear looks natural with the different shades even though the light source is coming from the right, that right ear doesn't look as natural. But she is a "work in progress" so I'm not to concerned. I am happy with the shading under her chin on the left side it is appearing to have more of a "hair" texture to it along with her belly shading with the natural dimples. I love her nose and it feels as though I can pet her.  I know she is enjoying all this attention. Woops! Molly the goat outside is getting jealous. Hope you follow along today. I would...

Hi I'm back with stage 3 of playing with Elsie. Still using a #2 pencil. I thought I should attach her head to something. So I set in some of her body. Layering the dark areas, enhancing her eyes and putting in more shading. Keep your pencil sharp. I think I will stick her back in the barn for today. Tomorrow I will move on to a #4 pencil to emphasize the darker midtones.

Ok I am back. This is the second layering on "Elsie". I think she is progressing. This girl has a lot of shading. So far I am only using a #2 pencil. Always keep your pencil sharpened. On this layering I worked primarily on the bridge and nose. I work all around as to see some contrast in the shading. I want her nose to "pop" out at you. Also added the reflective areas on the eyes and enhanced her gorgeous eyelashes a bit. Now this gal has some cornrolls don't you think? I think this will be all for today. I will try to come back tomorrow. Sometimes when I put it away for awhile I can come back with a fresh set of eyes. I hope you've enjoyed this as much as I have. I look forward to your comments. See you tomorrow.

Today it is cold and raining. What a great time for painting.  I saw a picture of a cow in a magazine. Sh e looked so sweet I knew I just had to paint her. Rounding up my materials to spread across the kitchen table, I hav e my paper, pencils, pencil sharpener, eraser and the photograph of "Elsie" from the magazine. This is the first stage of "Elsie". Taking a step back I can see that I usually put to much in ( to much detailing). So I need to relax and not be so tight. I am aiming for realism and a sweet expression.  Time for a break. Hope you will follow along and please feel free to post your comments. I would love to hear what you think. 

The porter shou ted "Metter. Next stop". The air sweet with honeysuckle and cedar pine. Stepping off the train my heart was home. The depot, once alive with chatter and bustling people, is silent. The only activity one can witness are the mowers whirring as the caretakers tend the grounds. Now the train sits lifeless, ghostlike. Where have they all gone? It was 10:30pm when we arrived in Metter. Pitch dark and feeling lost and exhausted after our 900 mile trip. The car was packed tight as a drum with all our belongings, 2 dogs and a cat. No where to lay our head. Finally something broke and we were able to rest. I tried hard not to let my daughter hear me sobbing from exhaustion. She reached over and said "it will be fine in the morning". "Yes it will" I replied. Waking the next morning, the sun was out, the air was sweet and my heart was home. Filled with the anticipation of adventure we couldn't wait to discover new territory. We piled in the c...

"Hey, sounds like you need a girls day out. I'll be right over." Twenty minutes or so passed when there was a knock at the door. There was Sarah all decked out in her riding apparel. "Sarah, why did you ride your bike over? You know I can't ride that and our car is in the shop." "No sweat, I brought an extra helmet. Do you have someone to watch the kids?" "Yeah, Sam is home. He'll watch them." "Hop on. Let's roll!" "Where to?"                               "Thought we'd head down to the river. It's an absolutely awesome day." Sarah tossed me the helmet that was strapped to the bike, revved up the hog and we're off! That's what I love about Sarah. She's always filled with excitement and enthusiasm. Ready to take on whatever the day has in store. She always has a smile on no matter what. And never takes "NO" for an answer. The ride was fantastic! Feeling the wind...

We found a stick today (actually it was yesterday). Th e sun was shining, a gorgeous near 60 degree day. Jaime and I decided to take a stroll through our surrounding woods with the camera to see what we could find of interest. There is always something happening in the woods. We saw that the dried up creek beds were filling with the winter thaw of the ground. That was fun for Jaime as she had just gotten some high fashion water galoshes to go splashing around in. Give her a mud hole and she's a happy camper. The bed of the woods is covered with fallen leaves from fall. We have been raking and making trails to refurbish our woods. We also came on broken limbs from trees that were clean as a whistle, cleaned of all their bark. Jaime and I have been collecting these for later uses. As we strolled through nature we came upon this enormous tree which was still firmly anchored in the ground. Must be nearing 30ft. tall. The amazing thing with this one is that it was cleaned right up to t...

OK-that was then.........NOW WHAT? Yesterday was totally frustrating as I tried to re-establish connections to old art sites. Trying to upload work and getting no where. Wait a minute........that's one of the things I left behind when we traveled to this location. Try, try, try.............trying to hard. Finally I had to shut this off and tell myself........All will be done in His time. I turned this computer off and took my kitchen compost out to the garden. That is where I love to be....outside no matter what the weather is. I dug my hands into the compost and sprinkled it onto the soil, grabbed my pitchfork and gave a good mixing. Looked up to the heavens and said "OK Lord, let it rain" and so He did. A whole day of it. Ummmmmmmmm Good! Since coming here to Metter a year ago, it has been very peaceful and quiet. Leaving everything behind to start over. Including most of my finished art pieces. Gaining a fresh perspective, allowing Spirit to speak. Technologies are goo...

This is the day the Lord has given me. The first thing when I wake I begin each day with a Big "Thank you Father-Mother God for all your wonderful blessings." Once I get started I don't stop. Sipping on my first cup of steaming hot coffee I continue with my gratitudes and all the things I am thankful for. And so the Divine Creative Spirit that God has blessed me with begins here-this day. Thank you dear Lord. Let's sing the song together: Row-row-row your boat gently down the stream Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily Life is But a Dream Thank you dear Lord for bringing me out of bondage into my land of milk and honey. That I am finally in the Zone with You, dear Lord. How wonderful it truely is. That for the first time in my life I am not in want of anything. I know that You, dear Lord are my Source and Supply providing me with everything, daily. "The Dream" (your dream, my dream) can be anything you choose. Isn't that truely exciting? How can we not b...