Chrazy Chameleon Drawings

  I can't sit still and just watch t.v..  So I grabbed a piece of paper the other night and came up with these critters.  Done with a Uniball Vision pen on watercolor paper.

The second drawing reminds me of Bart Simpson.

Christmas Chameleon Greeting Cards from Zazzle.com

Christmas Chameleon Greeting Cards from Zazzle.com

Wow! My Christmas Chameleon is a hit and I'm really gratified by the response. The cards are now available for sale at Zazzle.com

Merry Mischief and Christmas Chameleons!

Here is my Christmas card for this year.  I drew it with a Uniball Vision pen and colored it with some markers and Panpastels.  (Terrific stuff, btw.)
Never thought I'd feature a chameleon on my Christmas card, but why not?

Postcard Art

I haven't made a postcard with a Halloween theme before.  Everything on this collage was on my desk by sheer chance.    Where I got the 13 cent "stamp" I have no idea.

Mail Art

  Making postcards or mail art is one of my favorite things to do.  There's a lot of satisfaction I get by cutting and pasting collage elements together.

  It's hard sometimes to part with what I make.  So in the future I resolve to change that by sending out random pieces of mail art.

The Latest Art

  The Process:
Paint.  Be glad I painted on paper and not on canvas since I can tear up paper when I don't like the result.
Rearrange torn pieces.  Again and again.  Glue  down and add collage elements.
Draw some personal things on art work.

"Dreams Get the Best of Me"

More Scenes from my Studio

This corner niche is my favorite feature of my studio. On display here are creations from other artists, along with some of my work.

Scenes from my Studio

Part of my work area.  This is the way it usually is: chaos.

My Latest Art Work

"Desert Dweller" 

  This assemblage is composed of two tiny hummingbird nests I found in our back yard.  One of them was half started, so I put them one on top of the other.  The "eggs" are beads-the approximate size of real hummingbird eggs.  The red bits are real coral.  The dried rose buds are from a bush in our back yard.   I used twigs from a palm as "antlers".  Placing them near the nest made me think of Georgia O'Keeffe's cow skulls.
  The background is acrylic with pastels.  (I LOVE Panpastels.)
  I'm really pleased with this.  

Gentleman Canine

 Today's bit of art comes from a piece of cardboard I got in the mail.  I can't even remember what came in it-I just loved the paper and tape itself.
  I'm not sure this piece is finished, so I'm letting it rest tonight.  I like the splotches of paint and the hand writing peeking through.
  The "orb" below the dog's eye is not on the image itself.  I don't know what to think of that.

   "Gentleman Canine"

Risky Pickups

I had a plastic shoe box set aside just for my aquatic turtles, Speedo and Phelps.  I put them in it when I do a big water change for their tank.  Anyway, I set the box out to dry one day and it disappeared.
  While picking lemons this morning I found the box stuck under a yucca plant.  When I picked the box up I got such a surprise I almost flung it over the wall.  Something in it was moving.  Here in the Arizona desert it could be anything from a rattlesnake to a tarantula, neither of which I want to be that close to.
  Instead I found this pretty lizard-about 6 inches from head to tail.  I guess the plastic walls of the box prevented it from getting out.  For a minute I thought of keeping the lizard and buying a reptile habitat for it.  Then I realized that all of the outdoors here is this lizard's natural habitat.  I knew I had to set it free.
  But not until I took its picture.
  I got three pictures taken before Lizard decided it had enough of the papparazzi.  It got all its strength together and leaped out of the container.  It ran across my foot, which resulted in me doing a few fancy dance steps I didn't know I had in me.  Then it dashed for the open slider door, with three chihuahuas in full pursuit.  I managed to slam the screen door shut before Lizard took over the house.   It headed off for some safe crevice in the patio wall.  My three chihuahuas  (regal Lola would never be a part of something as undignified as this)  were very dismayed that they'd lost the Amazing Race.    I was just glad the lizard didn't get into the house because Marko's always warning me to keep the screen door shut, just so things like this don't happen.
  Spring in Arizona promises to present me with more close encounters of the wiggly type.  I could do without that.
  I'm going to email my husband this picture.
  And I'm going to tell him it was a MONSTER,  at LEAST three feet long, and I was very lucky to survive the encounter.  

The Stuff that Dreams are Made of

My latest painting

4 x12 inches, Mixed media on canvas.  Acrylic paints, cheesecloth, paper, tiny marbles, turquoise and coral.
When I pulled out this canvas I'd had for years, I had another color scheme in mind.  One with pale green, gray, cream and maybe some black.  But my brain had other ideas.

The turquoise and coral are genuine.

"Wish I Knew What You Were Looking For"

4x4 inch acrylics on canvas.

20 Minute Challenge

Pigma Micron 05 in my moleskine

20 Minute Challenge

  Today I committed to artist Michael Nobb's 20 Minute Challenge  www.michaelnobbs.com
  I set my timer and drew for 20 minutes.  Once I was able to block out the ominous "tick tick tick" of the timer I got into my project, and drew and colored quickly.  I used my Pigma pen (no pencil, no eraser).

  I really enjoyed doing this and have caught the drawing obsession again.  I used to draw all the time as a child but got away from it when I was in my twenties.  Now I can see myself clearing the deck of everything else and just drawing.

Today's Journal Page

Stuff from my desk

Not in Wonderland

  I haven't drawn anything in awhile, so I decided to grab an envelope and make some mail art.  I was listening to Blondie's "Rapture" at the time.  My drawing morphed into this Alice theme somehow.

Things in my Studio

  When people come over to our house, eventually they congregate in my studio.  I surround myself there with things I love and inspire me.

  I got this 3 foot tall, richly dressed Hare at Home Goods 5 years ago.  He spends his time consulting his pocket watch, chiding me if I am on the computer too long.

My Latest Painting

 I started this painting so long ago I forgot.  I don't think I've ever painted something and liked it right away or considered it finished right then.  I seem to let them sit and percolate because they are missing "something" to me.
  After being scolded by the very big raven that considers my back yard HIS territory, it was time to finish this painting.  It's a little one, just 4 inches by 4 inches, done in acrylics.
  Maybe I'll try a larger canvas some day.

  " A Murder of Crows"

What Makes it Last?

  It was such a beautiful day here in Tucson.  The sun returned and it felt so good to be outdoors.  I just love my back yard-it makes me happy.
  I started looking around me, wondering what I could find to use in a piece of art?  We have several yuccas and I admit I don't care for them.  Today I REALLY looked at them and found interesting twigs, an almost burlap-like bark and fibers that resembled twine.  All from two yucca plants!  So I gathered a bit of each, plus some eucalyptus leaves from an old floral arrangement.
  Inside my studio I rummaged around and took out two real quail eggs that I saved from last year.  Attached to the dried out eggs were a few quail feathers.
  The paper background is something I painted awhile ago and the white frame came from my stash.  On the one hand I cringe thinking just how much stuff I have.  But I'm using my other hand to pat myself on my back because I used up stuff and some of it was absolutely free.
  The idea to make this piece was inspired by Vancouver artist, Kirsten Chursinoff.  She makes awesome art quilts and pieces inspired by nature.

  While making this I was listening to Stephen Bishop's "It Might be You".  It's "our song".  There's a line in it that says
  "Looking back as lovers go walking past...
  All of my life
 Wondering how they met and what makes it last...."

76 Postcards for Dad Project

  Almost three years ago I started a project called "76 Postcards for Dad".  I wanted to make a postcard for every year of my dad's life.
  Sometimes the creating was easy.  Other times I'd go for weeks without inspiration.  Last night the elements came together.
  I call this postcard "On a Happier Note".

Dragonfly Fantasy Necklace

This necklace was a kit from www.beadinspirations.com  It's called "Dragonfly Fantasy".  There's a small photo of the finished necklace but I ended up putting my own spin to it.
I love antique brass.  The kit includes brass findings, beads, crystals, glass beads and a large brass butterfly.

Finally Finishing a U.F.O.!

 I was going through my fabric stash when I came across an unfinished quilt top.  I never knew what to do with it either.  Sadly it languished in my fabric stash for at least 5 years!
 I also had a Dayrunner  organizer/folder that had seen better days.  But I didn't have the heart to throw it away.
  Then a *Lightbulb moment* came.  I glued some batting onto the folder to give it some padding.  Then I used a strong fabric glue to attach the quilted piece on top of that.  Then I glued some a fabric border around it.  Voila-a new journal I like and feels good to carry around.  Plus the scraps will make nice bookmarks too.
  It feels fantastic to finish a former "UFO"--an Unfinished Object".

  Even if the project had its beginning in another decade.

Small Treasures, Small Pleasures

 I got this little 2 inch brass thingamabob years ago-I can't remember when or where.  I had it sitting in my little curio cabinet. where it never thought of it.  Today I decided it would make a neat pendant. It's made of brass and has a wonderful scrollwork design aroound it.
  I was surprised to hear something rattling around inside it.  When I unscrewed it I found a wooden needle holder with a bit of thread still wrapped around it.  There was also a rusty thimble inside. What a treasure, especially since I love to sew.
 I'm having fun thinking of what I could do with this.

Here it is, opened with its contents:

One Trueself

  Painting is difficult to me.  But I keep at it, getting into the process and letting it take me wherever....
  I paint horses because they are my totem animal and I am a Wood Horse in Chinese astrology.  I've always been attracted to them.  And I love mythology too.
  I call this painting "One Trueself" because I am always trying to discover what my "style" is.  I create in a sunny studio, surrounded by things created by artists I admire.  I remembered a quote Judy Garland said-"Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else."

"Comes to Water"

  Comes to Water was inspired by my love of prehistoric cave art and ancient petroglyphs.
  It was painted with acrylics on a piece of plywood.

D'arte Frog

  Today is just a gorgeous day here in Tucson.  60 degrees and sunshine.  The rain yesterday washed the sky clean and even the air smells fresh.
  I was thinking how Winter in Tucson is so different from other (read "colder") parts of the world.  Now is the time we plant snapdragons, pansies and other annuals and enjoy their beauty until the summer comes.
  Today I wanted to be outside and start sprucing up things.  The first thing that needed attention was a metal frog I'd bought a few years ago.  He was a brown, rusty color that to me, just didn't suit its whimsy.  So out came the metallic red and purple paints, some flat marbles and some industrial glue.
  Froggy can go courtin' now.

My Home is My Canvas

 I was  feeling guilty about not creating as much as other artists seem to do.  What do I have to show for all my time?
   Then a thought came to me, almost like a voice shouting out, "My house IS my canvas."
   It really is.  What better place to experiment on?  To do things to that say "This is ME.  This is what I LOVE."
   An on-going project.  A large, ever changing gallery and living exhibition.
  The biggest mixed media expression I can make.
   My home is my canvas.