drawing with Ava - dwellings page two

 

this is what it looks like when i'm creating.. no  matter the project - i have my Ava kitty on my lap.. today i was lying on the bed to soak up some sun, since it was a little too cool to sit outside.. i got to doing another dwellings piece.. i picked a building with sharper lines.. it was fun.. and i'm sure using colouring pencils will get easier as i continue.. 

dwellings in art - page one

 a new art project

i have been inspired by a post i saw on twitter.. if the link works here, i will share.. Francisco Fonseca .. i decided to try something similar.. it is most definitely out of my comfort zone.. i love to draw animals & trees & people.. i love detail, so drawing each hair, fur, feather & leaf excites me.. i've never really thought about buildings.. what with their straight lines & definitive structure.. i am not a fan of sharp edges & rigid corners.. i am a fan of messy, liquid, flowing shapes.. so yeah,  this is really putting my creativity to the test.. - and - i never just do one drawing.. i have to make it a project.. so i dusted off a new art book, made a title page [that is how i cement myself in to this idea] and i got drawing.. i started off in pencil, as that is just naturally my medium of choice, but if i am to push my comfort limits, i need to put the pencils away.. i pulled out my lunch box full of colouring pencils..

 

and so, this is my first dwelling.. i can see now that i reverted back to my comfort zone some.. this wasn't intentional.. do you see it? of all the buildings i could've chosen to draw, i picked one without strong lines or edges.. i leaned towards crumbling walls, swayback roof.. a lot of room for error.. too much room for error really.. so for my next one, i will try to pick something more structured.. it's not that i want to be uncomfortable while drawing, but rather i want to challenge myself.. it's too easy to sit and draw a bird, horse or tree.. i have been doing that since i was 5.. 

and.. i hope to see some improvement with each new piece.. the last project i took on was to do a study of flower vases in pencil.. i might have drawn 30 or so before i felt i had improved enough.. and really, i just knew one day i was done drawing them.. 

like last night when i knew i would wake this morning & draw dwellings for a spell.. i would love to know what you think.. should i attempt backgrounds, rolling hills, clouds? or would that pull away from the building? more shadows & highlights?  ah, it's late & i'm rambling.. 

"you may say i'm a dreamer.. but i'm not the only one"  - j.l.

meh .. just meh and a zebra

 i have lots on my mind tonight, but all in fragmented pieces.. i can't seem to pull my thoughts in to any one thing for very long.. i started a new book, tried to set new moon intentions, pulled out my journals, my oracle cards, art books and just zero inspiration.. so i took a nap with my kitty, thinking that would reset me.. went outside and then it started to rain.. fed the foxes & the squirrels.. even cooking couldn't inspire, ate left overs.. the fella was having an uncomfortable day [chronic pain from a myriad of issues] .. tv couldn't inspire me.. i sound so hum drum.. sure i am prone to moodiness, but it usually passes quickly.. i have so many interests that i can usually just distract myself & before i know it, i'm wrapped up in something mystical, mysterious, curious & unknown.. meh.. i'll get a good nights sleep & be ready to rock n roll tomorrow.. 

so i managed to post a new listing on etsy.. lounging zebra.. that was the extent of my creativity today.. not doing the painting, just posting it.. 

g'nite ya'll.. 

impromptu book review

 

i just finished reading a book i started a couple days ago and i always give my honest thoughts in reviews.. in this case, a one star review.. i don't particularly enjoy giving unsatisfied reviews, but i like to be honest.. i love reading and there are so many books that demand a permanent spot on my book shelf.. this was not that.. the book in question tonight is "i am, i am, i am.. 17 brushes with death" by Maggie O'Farrell.. what an intriguing title for someone with a morbid curiosity [ahem, myself] 

this book did not deliver.. her writing style is wordy, intelligent and almost poetic.. i love a well versed author with a vast knowledge of the english language.. 

and that is the good part of this book.. the style of writing in a jumbled timeline was irritating.. her brushes with death were more acts of stupidity and disregard for her welfare.. the welfare of her friends and family, children.. she wraps this all up in the excuse that she needs adventure.. but adventure is NOT jumping off a cliff at night knowing you have sketchy swimming experience & the remnants of a childhood illness that messes with her equilibrium.. 

the one brush with death that annoyed me the most was when she went to the doctor to have a screening STD blood test.. is this really a brush with death? have we not, all of us, had a blood test for screening some illness? cancer? virus? bacteria? is every mammogram that comes back clear, a brush with death? thwarting lyme disease with every tick bite, dodging west nile with every mosquito bite.. damn, i have had hundreds of brushes with death..

ah, i'm being over critical perhaps.. but once someone "ticks me off" i seem to hold onto that, like it gave me a splinter and i'm irritated, i keep reading, but that little needling keeps making me roll my eyes and i begin to skim.. 

on a different note.. i kept hearing noises from my porch.. it's too late to be my usual suspects, the squirrels begging for peanuts.. so when the thumping became loud, i sprung open the window with a flash light and catch 2 fat raccoons scrambling down and waddling off.. my flash light catches eyes and i see 2 of my grey foxes near.. 

on this note.. what photo do i want? what title fits my musings? yeah, these work.. g'nite ya'll..

twilight zone nostalgia

 

i'm not sure where my evening musings will take me tonight.. sometimes i just start writing and let the ebb & flow of my thoughts take their own path, mostly unedited & unfettered.. 

i'm lazily watching "the Twilight Zone" re-runs on tv.. this was one of my absolute favourite tv shows when i was little..  i have always been drawn to that unknown element, the things that spark a mood, emotion & definitely the "what ifs".. i would watch them with curious wonder.. i don't ever remember NOT being curious about such things as ghosts, synchronicity, time travel, deja vu, dreams, premonitions and the power of the mind.. i remember being all of 7 years old, in the dentist chair with a mantra of MIND OVER MATTER.. 

if there is the slightest element of the unknown in something, my curious mind is delving down into the grey matter of it.. 

now, to find a photo to accompany this ramble.. this is my creative mind at work & i need to satisfy that part of me.. can i find a photo of mine that matches this post? GOT IT! in my head, this spiderweb works.. it reminds me of the spiral in the beginning credits of the Twilight Zone.. 

musings - 21sept2022

 

i really need to stop watching true crime before going to bed.. it's a guilty pleasure of mine, but i feel i should end my day on a positive note or a moment of peace.. so i flipped the tv channel over to NatGeoWild and there is a show called In The Womb - Animal Babies, because well, how can ya not feel happy & fuzzy inside while watching baby animals? seriously tho, what a nifty show.. the photography is so amazing, i wonder quickly if it's CGI, but the more i watch, that is real babies in the womb.. just as the title says.. [back it up, did i just use the word nifty? yup.. my inner hippie is showing] looking back up to the tv, how cute are meerkats? 

i had a nice day today.. i cleaned my house early on.. the buzzing about, sweeping/mopping and such, had lil Ava all up on her toenails, so i spent some snuggle time with her.. we curled up on the bed in the afternoon sun for a spell.. i read for about an hour then got up to go for a walk outside.. i took kale stems & cauliflower stalks out to Winston the woodchuck [she's fattening up for her long slumber] leftovers after making a big pot of soup.. 

the fella just wandered thru carrying the jar of peanut butter & a bag of butter pretzels.. i already had my snack, baked corn chips with cilantro & lime hummus..

alrighty.. i think i will unplug & do a quick meditation & get my fanny to bed.. till tomorrow, be well, be happy & grateful.. 

a bobcat pooped on my driveway

 

so yeah.. a bobcat pooped on my driveway today.. i was walking up the driveway to check the mailbox and i spot .. yup.. poop.. i live in upstate New York in a rural area.. my little postage stamp of property that i affectionately refer to as "the six acres woods"  how do i know it was bobcat poop? well, i've educated myself on such things, because i like to know what critters are frequenting my woods.. i've seen the bobcat on a few occasions.. i wonder, what makes a bobcat choose my driveway to poop on? is he being territorial? is he giving me a big F You? even my outdoor kitty knew enough to poop in the woods.. ah well.. i'm just jibber/jabbering.. 

and to spare ya'll a photo of bobcat poop, here's some cuteness.. my babygirl AVA..

if anyone wants to donate to Ava's vet bill gofundme.. thank you!

be yourself - everyone else is taken

 

my sister called me a lil bit ago and we got talking about OCD.. is it a learned behaviour or is it something we are born with? genetic? environmental? so we talked about the varying degrees we've known it personally.. she called me out on it and i didn't recognize it at first.. so i looked at it from her point of view and yeah.. i'm a counter.. i count every swallow i take of water, how many times i splash water on my face [always 5].. how many times i rinse & spit when brushing my teeth [again, always 5].. i count cows in fields and geese flying south in the sky.. and so on.. and so on.. 

so i said to my sis that i don't have OCD.. because i didn't even realize i count so many things.. meaning, i am not a prisoner to counting.. i don't feel that it is debilitating, so how can it be OCD? she laughed.. not at me, but the irony.. i've often busted her balls about her routines.. not to say i was laughing at OCD, but we are a shoot from the hip bunch that never pussy foots around anything.. 

anyway, it was an interesting conversation that had us thinking back to childhood situations that felt like the beginning of some of our compulsive behaviours.. 

be who you are.. love yourself with all your quirks.. own all your flaws and flaunt your muchness!!

above all else, be yourself, everyone else is taken..  [wink]

happy birthday lil sis

today is my lil sis's birthday..  i remember before she was born, i would put my head on mum's stomach and have long conversations with her.. i was just shy of 4 years old.. who knows what kind of things 4 year old me what telling her, but yet i felt i knew her.. it felt like i missed her.. 

oddly enough, we looked so much alike at birth that even mum couldn't tell us apart in baby photos.. we both weighed in at the same wee bit of 5 lbs 5 oz.. i often wondered if we were twins born 4 years apart.. maybe that is why i missed her.. we've always has a strong bond.. we have often had the same dreams on the same night.. ah, there are many seemingly unexplained connections between us.. anyway.. 

                       HAPPY UTERINE EVACUATION DAY CHICKY!

neurographic art - 2nd attempt

 

last night, i sat up late, in my living room.. the fella had long been asleep, i could hear his snoring thrumming thru the house.. i turned the television off and sat doodling with just a clip on book light attached to my art pad..

the negative emotion i  had clinging to me was "disappointed".. in what? well, i was actually disappointed in myself over the 1st attempt at neurographic art.. i know, i am hard on myself and how is it anyone could be a perfectionist with something as transformative as art? but all artists out there hold themselves to their own standard.. the first attempt was fun as all hell, but i didn't like that the finished piece didn't FLOW to me.. it looked so pieced together.. 

this piece, my 2nd attempt.. i thought about my disappointment, and as i doodled, swirled and spun, i felt that negative emotion leave me thru way of my fingertips.. what a therapeutic exercise.. somewhere around midnight i was calm and really happy with this piece.. i decided to leave it without colour.. oh, i know i'll be exploring this type of art more.. 

first time trying neurographic art

neurographic art - first piece - watercolour paint

so i was curious about a type of art that has been coined as neurographic.. it's an interesting enough concept.. how i understand it is that when you create in this way, it opens up new neural pathways and can be used to relieve stress, anxiety or fear.. i'm always interested in anything that combines creativity and wellness, so i gave it a try..

it was a beautiful weather day today, sunny but not too warm.. so i grabbed my art stuffs and such and went out on my porch.. being out in nature is always therapeutic for me.. before i started, i wrote on the back of the paper, a word that represented a thought/worry, that i wanted to release.. then with my non-dominant hand [left] i used a permanent copic marker and free flowed/ scribbled on the paper.. adding some circles and such, then everywhere the lines intersect, i rounded them out.. taking out any sharp edges.. lastly, paint.. i started with shades of green, then purples and ended with the blue spectrum.. [just the initial squiggles were with my left hand] 

maybe it works on calming my thoughts and maybe it's placebo effect, either way, it felt good.. of course i think the setting has a lot to do with that.. painting while deer walk by, birds sing, honeybees flutter and foxes come near.. it's already a wonderous setting [for me]

i already love painting and find it calming, so to concentrate on releasing a specific stress/anxiety is very much Law Of Attraction inspired.. what we focus on, we create.. 

all day rain

it has been an all day rain today.. it's entering dusk and it's still raining.. it's good if you are a flower or a frog in a flower pot.. so what do i do when it rains? i enjoy some rain, of course..  i also made a pot of soup for my fella, snuggled the kitty when it thundered & started a new book.. if i stick with it & finish it, i will share.. now maybe i'll indulge in some guilty pleasure & get my true crime fix with some lazy, rainy night tv..  

frog in the flower pot

 

when walking by the corner of my porch, i spotted eyes down in the greenery.. i leaned in and saw this big frog sitting in my cast iron flower pot.. there is a pond on my property, but i think this guy has the right idea.. no competition and right above him is a bright solar light, so i bet he gets lots of bugs that are attracted to it at night..

my green plump garden gnome..

vegan chili

 

dinner tonight - vegan chili.. i make these giant cauldrons of food and eat off it for 3-4 days.. freezing some up for when i have a lazy day or want options.. chili seems to be my favourite go-to dish.. i have a very restricted diet & i'll explain that in a different post, but my point is that chili has so much of everything i need & like.. it's packed with goodness.. 

i never follow recipes, just make them up on the fly with whatever i have handy.. this batch has the usual suspects of different beans, onions, tomatoes & peppers.. the variables in this one are lentils, barley, spinach, sweet potato & corn.. also, i love using a can of refried to thicken up the sauce.. the surprise ingredient was some mashed carrots i had left over in the fridge.. 

for spices, i sometimes use a low sodium starter packet & then go crazy from my spice box.. [onion, garlic, smoked paprika, cayenne, cumin, curry].. i added nutritional yeast on top before eating, not for flavour, but for the health benefits of it.. 

this chili has no meat, no dairy, no sugar, low salt, no fat/oils.. even the 'not at all vegan'  fella, loves it..  bon appetit!

a bit of my nightly routine

my evenings have fallen into a routine.. my fella & i hang out in separate rooms.. we like to spend our winding down time differently.. at 6p, he goes into the bedroom to watch the news.. then for him, it's usually sports, right now, baseball.. and he's a CNN junkie.. and i can't do news before bed.. it gets me up on my toes.. my kind of tv is true crime and paranormal.. when i am watching something on tv, i don't like to be interrupted.. i like to immerse myself in a show and it gets all my attention.. i am not one to leave a tv running for background noise.. i prefer silence, or my own thoughts or binaural beats.. so for a couple hours each night, i get some ME TV.. and now i'm winding down.. i open the computer and create a photo/quote image to send to my sister in the morning.. i thoroughly enjoy this part of my day.. it uplifts me to search for the perfect photo and join it to the affirmation or quote that calls out to me.. i am a font junkie, so scrolling thru hundreds of fonts is an odd pleasure for me..  after i am done with my blogging and computer work, i go into the bedroom and curl up in bed.. the fella is 2 cocktails into his own grogginess.. sometimes i meditate till sleep happens.. sometimes i read with my kindle on soft light.. 

does any of this have anything to do with the photo? well sure.. all of this is part of me creating my most joyful life.. i truly enjoy the majority of my days and nights.. 

creating my most happy life.. 

 

the bones of tired trees

there is something about a fallen tree that gets to me.. something so powerful & strong.. did it just give up? was it coaxed down by the wind? perhaps it was a sacrifice, for this downed tree has become a refuge for so many critters.. it has become its own eco-system.. the deer shelter from the wind, the foxes perch on top for a better view, the woodpeckers have their lunches here, mushrooms & moss have taken up the shady side.. from tree frogs to turkeys.. it's a gift for them.. 

i wish i could've heard it fall.. trees cracking as they give up their posture, is a sound like nothing else.. the very bones breaking and the tiny earthquake that follows..  it's almost an eerie feeling.. 

be the reason someone smiles today

 

just this.. nothing more..

this is the beginning of loving yourself

 i never know what i will title my blog posts until i'm done writing, because i never know what i'm going to ramble on about.. i open the laptop & start rambling.. letting my thoughts flow down to my fingers without any bumper rails.. 

i made this picture earlier with some flowers that grow wild along my drive way.. i love this quote.. if anyone stumbles across my blog, even if you don't make it thru my ramblings, i know that you'll at least see & hopefully read my talking photos.. self-love, self-care is so important.. how can we give anything to others if we don't start with ourselves.. 

repeat after me.. I LOVE MYSELF.. I LOVE MYSELF.. I REALLY DO LOVE MYSELF..  feel it.. then pass it on..  💚