...but wait, there's more!

Watercolors everywhere!

Here are some bits of what I've been working on lately, and I tried to take pictures, but lighting is an ongoing challenge.


I enjoyed painting them, so I hope you enjoyed looking at them. B*B, Ysabeau

Acrylics are driving me crazy!

I've been struggling to get a feel for really painting in acrylics. How much medium to use, which brush for which technique, and it dries before I can quite get it. Here is an attempt at some fruit and flowers that I managed, and a version of the Cycladic scupture "the Harper". Patience! Please just give me some patience. B*B, Ysabeau

Adventures in Oils

We went to Mother's, a local health food store, and I wanted to find some more amber perfume, since it's my favorite, and I was running out of the tiny bottle I had been streeeetching out for months. They had some that had a good fragrance, but it was very diluted, so you almost couldn't smell it, and a tiny bottle was about $15.

So, I had a thought, and I went to the incenses, and found a couple of chunks of amber resin, one "golden" amber, one "spicy" amber, for $3.99 each, and a pint bottle of expeller pressed almond oil. I got out my trusty mortar and pestle, and a few minutes later, voila! A full cup of very wonderful, concentrated perfume that will do me for at least a year, and I can use it as often as I like.

Funny how I don't think of these things until I can't find what I expect to find. B*B, Ysabeau

Went to Huntington Beach

On Friday, and it was such a beautiful day, sunshine and light breeze, not too crowded because it was a weekday! We walked up the pier and I took some pictures, and we saw a family of dolphins swimming by the end of the pier, ok we just saw Part of them when they surfaced, but it was still exciting. I haven't been able to enjoy an outing like this for a while, so I was so happy to be at the ocean. We had a cup of coffee at the Ruby's restaurant at the end of the pier, people watched, and tried not to get too much sun. I didn't feel too bad the day after, either, but we were pretty careful not to overdo.
My only real problem was that I still have to get used to the thought that "going to the beach" does not necessarily mean I get to go in the water, or play in the sand. sigh. But, the air was fine, the water was beautiful, watching everything was really fun, and I was able to walk down the pier, so that's enough for this trip. B*B, Ysabeau

Q is for...

Quinn
Quit
Quiet
Quill
"Q" from Star Trek Next Generation
Quince

P is for...

Peace
Peach
Penis
Poach
Pariah
Please
Pinch
Prude
Pouch
Pieces
Pink
Particolor
Plow
Partridge
Pneumonia
Pistol
Portrait
Pint
Pickle
Poodle
Ping!
Priority
Pill
Puce
Power
Pal
Pale
Pell
Pool
Pile
Palooka
Pride

O is for...

One
Only
Oil painting
Oil blending
Ocean
Ochre
Oasis
Ore
Onion
Ouch!
Oestre
Old
Obi One Kenobi
Open
Odor
Oats
Omen

N is for

Nasturtiums - I've been growing them every year, and they are so easy and pretty
Neighbor - My neighbors run a tutoring class in their garage, and it gets loud, plus the teenagers waiting for class right by my front window get tiring
Neverland - give me some fairy dust and I'll be ready to fly!
Now - the most important time for everyone
Null - empty - void
Nag - am I nagging, or reminding? It's all in the viewpoint
New - is overrated, but sometimes interesting
Nurture - yourself as well as others, you are important too
Nature - affects me more than I want to admit sometimes, but I'm very connected
Narnia - my favorite fantasy world as a child
Noodle - I used to eat way too many cup-o-noodles, because they were really cheap!
No - I'm practicing saying "no!" when I need to, instead of saying "yes" and regretting it
Nacre - pearlescence, layers of beauty in a pearl
Nickle Song - ... they only put in a nickle and they want a dollar song...

That's some "N"'s!

B*B, Ysabeau

M is for

Moon rises in the East, I can see it from my bedroom window, and I open the curtains and let the light come in through the crystals in the window and cast moon rainbows on the walls and bed and people...
Miracles happen every single day, but we tend to take them for granted
Maybe, If, Perhaps, Almost... all those "in between" words, that sort of end up keeping situations in limbo and unresolved
Mince herbs into food and skip most of the salt, and people will wonder why their food suddenly tastes so wonderful! I grow my own herbs, mostly in pots, and tuck a sprig of fresh rosemary in roasting chicken, or French tarragon minced into eggs, fresh marjoram in chicken soup... and the aroma adds a whole new dimension to the food.
Mink is a beautiful color, but I don't want to rip the fur off the beasties and wear it, that's a turnoff and not practical. If I'm not going to use the whole animal, I'd never kill it for the skin, and minks aren't on my menu.
Murky motives behind recent politics have me avoiding the inflammatory propaganda that passes for the news
Millions of grains of sand on the beach, I love the crunchy/soft feel of it on my feet, but I don't like some of the places it tends to gather later
Munchkins are strange little people, when I saw the Wizard of Oz the first time, I thought they were scarier than the witch!
Metaphysical teachers can't agree with each other any more than art teachers, I guess it's usually a "YMMV" situation, and use what works for you
Metabolism - what's that?
Mehta practice is a wonderful exercise in seeing yourself as part of a larger picture in the world
More is not always better, even if it's quilt fabric or art supplies!
Minty fresh - that's better than dragon breath
Mule skinner's blues
Misty - sung by Carmen McCrae - is a golden classic
Mother should be a nurturing connotation, but that's not always so
Marciano Martinez is my wonderful Watercolor art teacher at school. A good teacher and a good friend, I'm learning a lot and enjoying it.

That's most of the M's for me, of course, I'll think of more later, but oh, well!
B*B, Ysabeau

Art Department asked me for a picture!

I got a surprise yesterday... the head of the school's Art Department asked me for a picture to use on their website. They needed it right away, and a certain size, so this is what I came up with for now. I feel honored, and also feel like this picture wasn't good enough, but it is all watercolor techniques, and due to the small size they needed I didn't want too much details, and this is simple.

They wrote back and said it was ok, so I feel relieved, but I know there are much better artists in class - but it's nice to be included!

B*B, Ysabeau