Tangerines

Tangerines are very special at my house. You see, my daughter is very allergic to citric acid.  (Do you realize how many things are made with citric acid? A lot.) She can't have it in her house.  Even being around it or being in the room when someone peels an orange causes a reaction.  So, I have a place in my fridge just for tangerines. Every single time my grandkids come over, they know Gram-E will have a tangerine or two for each of them. It's our special Gram-E treat. 

As they came bustling in the other day, one said, "I'm ready for my tambourine!" 

Ha ha 💕💕

My Weekly-ish Challenge was "Citrus." That made it the right time to paint tambourines... I mean, tangerines.

Original Oil Painting on 5"x 7" Wrapped Canvas.
Click Tangerines if you'd like to purchase this little painting.

Degas Vignette

My Weekly-ish Challenge partner had this prompt: 

Paint a vignette from a painting of one of the Old Masters. 

• Look up "Old Masters" to see exactly which artist is and who isn't. (FYI - There were 25 listed.)
• Decide who I'll choose.  
• Go to the library to check out some big books. (It's the old-fashioned way, but it works just as well as it always did. The internet is very guarded with its images of the Old Master paintings.  You can see them, but only enlarge them to a couple of square inches.)

• Find a painting that I'd like to spend time with.
• Choose the small portion to focus on.

I have the quote "Painting is easy when you don't know how, but very difficult when you do. - Edgar Degas" on a small card hanging beside my painting table, so I knew I wanted to find a way to incorporate that.

When I was "assigned" this one, I wasn't planning on enjoying it. But, much to my surprise, I thoroughly did.

Oil Painting on 9"x 12" Canvas Board, Vignette Copy of Degas Original

[GIFT]

I Like Thursday 4/24

   Thank you to Leeanne of Not Afraid of Color for reminding me to notice things I like. 

I like the purple of redbud trees. 
It's so fantastic that it's Dr. Seuss-ish

I like my strange little daffodils.
They look kind of like a carnations.

I like a hot fire on a chilly spring day.
So does Buff. He loves a good nap right in front of it.

I like our neighborhood road in every season.

I like these gals... and Pete.  
They've been giving me so many eggs this spring!

I like the sound of windchimes.
They're especially lovely in the spring winds.

I like these 6 little ones who call us Gram-E & Pop-E.

I like having a greenhouse... Actually, it's the upstairs bathroom. 
There's a big window that gets lots of sun.
And, there's a door... to keep the cat out.

LeeAnne's  get-to-know-you writing topics this month:

Amusement Park or Day at the Beach?  I'm going to pick "Day at the Beach" but only if it can be a rocky, big-wave, lighthouse kind of beach... or a windy, shell-scattered beach if it has to be a sandy one. My dreamy day isn't the lay-under-an-umbrella, watch-the-same-never-ending waves, white-sand, turquoise-water beaches. 

• The best rocky beaches I've been lucky enough to visit... Maine, Washington State, Indonesia 
• The best shell picking beaches I've been lucky enough to visit... Outer Banks of North Carolina, Indonesia
• Bucket-list beach to visit... Nova Scotia where the tides are the highest/lowest in the world.

Morning Person or Night Owl? I'm forever a lark, a morning person. Get on up and get 'r done!

Crunchy or Chewy? Crunchy, for sure.  What's the point of Plain M&Ms or a regular Hershey Bar? Or cereal without almond slivers sprinkled on top? Or salad without croutons? Or a soggy apple? Or Milky Way when there's a Snicker's around? 

Bed And Breakfast or Luxury Hotel?  We've had some of our favorite experiences staying in Bed and Breakfasts.  I'd recommend any Select Registry place. Where ever your next trip might take you, there's probably one nearby.