Last night there was a memorial service for my sister in law's mother. The apt was packed with people. 10 grandchildren, their wives, husbands, boyfriends, girlfriends and 3 great grandchildren. If you live on through your children, then Bea is going to be around for a very long time. My little paper quilt is dedicated to Bea.
Ok well that horrible holiday urge got a hold of my very weak soul yesterday. And the worst thing is that it happened in Best Buy.
I switched back to att for my phone from cable. When cable goes out so does the phone. And living in Florida that happens alot. So I went to Best Buy yesterday to pick up a modem. There was no traffic. I didn't realize it at the time but that was because everyone was at Best Buy.
So I picked up the modem and thought while I'm here I'll wander around- a really bad idea. And then it hit me - the horrible upgrade your gadget urge. I thought I'd sure like to stream some videos. Ok, so I'll need a router. Ok and and a smart blu ray (the new electronics are called smart because the buyer isn't). The blu ray needs a HDMI cable and how about my other TV. In the wagon went the Roku and that needs a HDMI cable too. And the cable cost more than the Roku. Ok so out I walked with $400 worth of non needful urges. And then I thought I need a new TV because the one where the Roku is going is older and doesn't have a UDMI thingee in the back. Ok I'll get it tomorrow and probably spend another $600. I thought Best Buy was open today.
Thankfully, Best Buy was closed. Was I ever lucky. I had all day to think like an adult. All the gadets except for the modem are sitting in the back of my car to return tomorrow. And because I don't trust myself I put them in the car today rather than wait for tomorrow. New Year's resolution #1 - If the urge to upgrade surfaces, go to Goodwill. They're open on Christmas too.
Well this is one neglected blog. Been very busy with MRIs and surgery and dr visits. All over though and everything is just fine. Here's some beautiful creatures that need someone to love and love them. They need homes and can be found on Petfinder.com.
Moo Moo and Nikta.
and Valentino (and I can spell, I just can't write).
This one took about 1 1/2 hours to finish. I like how these come out but really they're not much fun to do. My hand cramps up and it causes quite a bit of panick when it's 1/2 way done. I don't really want to start over. So I finished 1/2 when I stopped and scanned and printed it out and finished that one. In case it wasn't any good, at least I wouldn't have to redo the whole drawing. And the boy's hand didn' come out very good, looks like a claw but I'm not doing it again.
I photoshopped the b&w taking out the black skirt. Printed and colored it. I think I like this version best. More warm and fuzzy. The order is for postcards, cards and magnets so the original isn't that important.
Here's she is in color. I think I like the B&W better.
Here's my next commission. I intended it to be color in my more usual non realistic style which is really what I most comfortable with. This style does take more concentration. I used an extra fine sharpie and when I did everything but the hat I panicked. I was afraid of messing it up. So I scanned the drawing without the hat, printed it out and finished the hat with a #2 micron. I realized I would never get the pattern right in the hat so I just tried for the shadows. This is one of the few times I've ever done teeth.
I have another photo of the same girl, that's next. I like to provide several versions and let the customer choose which one they like best. Sounds nice when I write that but really, I haven't had that many commissions. I'm not very good at drawing on demand. Something to work on next year.
And I like it. Yes I do.
Well since I misspelled the original quote I thought I'd just draw it all over again. This time with the photos fo the customer's cat (persian) and dog (chow). And there's the same drawing with a different quote. The first one is Shakespeare and the next is the Dalai Lama.