I Like Thursday 7/23

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

I like seeing the colorful things that come from my garden.

I like berry-picking season.

I like (Well, I don't know that I really "like" it, but it's interesting
and kind of cool and mildly weird to see.) when it starts to get
hot and huge turtles come to our side yard to lay eggs.

I like being able to crop my photos so that the world doesn't
have to know that my cat wants to be a part of
every single project, craft, or photo.

I like these huge squash leaves! By the way... if anyone
needs squash or zucchini, I'm your girl...
(Oh, my goodness, what am I going to do with all these?)

I like, no I love this random sunflower (that I didn't plant)
that decided to grow and stand guard over my whole garden.

I like spending a weekend with my sister at Welcome Home Retreat.
Three whole days of creating, visiting, and relaxing.
I did several watercolor pieces during my stay.

I like  seeing these little handprints on my backdoor. 
They show that there are 6 tiny humans who've been in Gram-E's kitchen.

I like the way this giant sycamore stump is starting a new life!
(The top photo was the end of April.  The bottom was the end of June.)

What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? who makes it? soft serve or dipped? Do you buy it in the huge box or a pint at a time?  My flavor of choice depends on where we get it.  Coldstone: Cake batter ice cream with almonds and Heath bar toppings. Shakes: Snickers. Dairy Queen: Cookies & cream. Braum's: Chocolate almond. Home: Vanilla with raspberries. 

Tell us about a favorite memory from childhood of eating ice cream.  When I was very little, our treat after church on Sunday evenings was to stop at Tastee Freeze and get an ice cream cone with a swirl on top.  Then they went up from 10 cents each to 15 cents each, and we no longer got to go every week.

Remember the ice cream truck driving around your neighborhood in summer? Did you go out with your money, stand in line and get a treat? Remember how it felt to go out on your own and leave with that three colored popsicle or the chocolate coated vanilla on a stick? What was your favorite frozen treat? Is there an ice cream truck that still goes around your neighborhood? I  grew up on a dirt road in the country, so there was no such thing as an ice cream truck.  We did make popsicles though.  We had a little Tupperware mold that we'd pour Kool-aid in to freeze.

Front Porch

I have happy memories of my grandma and grandpa's house.  I was #20 out of 21 grandkids. Sometimes I got to stay with them by myself or with some of the younger cousins.  Sometimes it was a hive of activity with lots of cousins, aunts, and uncles.

My grandparents passed away before I was a teenager, so my memories are few, but the ones I do have are special and maybe unique. These memories are specific to the porch.

• Marigolds would be planted in front of the porch.  Always marigolds.  (And, I always plant some marigolds in my garden and think of them.)
• The front porch was huge and where lots happened. (Although, I found photos of it, and no... it wasn't huge at all!  It was small!)
• There was a welcome mat in front of the porch.  Every evening, they'd put some scraps and vegetables then wait.  We'd have to be still and patient, but eventually the rabbits would come.
• Later there was a ramp put up beside the porch steps for two cousins who became paralyzed and needed wheelchair access to the house. My #21 cousin and I had so much fun on that ramp.
• Grandpa would sit on the porch and peel his daily apple.  He'd use a pocket knife and go around and around the apple making one long peel.
• Fly swatters hung on a nail.  Whether playing cards, swinging, waiting for rabbits, or having a snack, swatting and shooing flies was just part of life.
• Anytime a car passed by on the dirt road, they'd discuss who it was and where they might be going or where they'd been.

For my companion piece for my Creative Companion group, I thought about memories I had for each of my senses.

• Taste
• Noodle dumplings
• R.C. Cola
• Smell
• Food cooking 
• Marigolds
• Touch
• Bitter cold Meyer Creek
• Cane-bottom, ladder-back chairs
• Hear
• Laughter
• "The Price Is Right!"
• See
• Barn, garden, & smokehouse
• Bookshelf, where I found and read all the Little Women books.

This month's topic for Creative Companions was "A Memory that Resonates Through Time."

Original Oil Painting on 10"x 10" Wrapped Canvas

My Garden Harvest (June 16-30)

Watercolor Wildlife

Never say never...

I never thought I'd even try painting with watercolor.

I never thought I'd get the hang of how painting with watercolor works. 

I never thought I'd start to enjoy painting with watercolor.

I never thought I'd want to do more painting with watercolor.

And yet...

I signed up for Watercolor Wildlife with Tamara Laporte of Willowing Arts. She's such a good teacher, and I learned so much. I got better and better... And liked doing it more and more... Amazing what lessons and practice will do...

All of the following have been done in the last 3 months.  The first 8 were from her Watercolor Wildlife lessons.  The last 4 were from lessons she did in other places (Sketchbook Revival tempter session, Kaleidoscope taster session, Life Book 2023 session) 

My Garden Harvest 2023 (June 1-15)

Old Barn & Fence in Summer

My weekly-ish challenge was "Barns" this time.  Now that (finally) is a comfortable subject to put on canvas!  When I started painting back in 2007, I painted a lot of barns.  I went back to look and do a little math.  About 1out every 15  of my first 350 paintings was a barn.  (Click HERE to do a quick scroll through of my barn paintings... There are a lot of them!) 

Then... I don't know why... I quit.   I've only done 2 or 3 out of the last 200 paintings. 

What a pleasure to learn that I was "assigned" to do another!

I found the reference image I used on unsplash.com.  There were many barn images available, but I was drawn to this one immediately.  What a surprise I got when I went back to get the link and give credit to the photographer, Mick Haupt. He wrote "Exploring through the Ozarks with the family and had to stop and capture this rustic barn. Enjoy it and paint this scene. Rushing, Arkansas."

Oh, my goodness!  Well, no wonder I was drawn to it! It was taken right here in my own Ozarks! Thanks Mick!

Original Palette Knife Oil Painting on 11"x 14" Wrapped Canvas
[SOLD]

Red Panda

Well, hey there! Aren't you a cutie!

This little guy is actually supposed to have been done in watercolor.  I'm taking a Wildlife Watercolor class with Tamara Laporte. I really liked this one, and I had a couple of reasons for wanting to do him well.

Reading between the lines, "do him well" might imply that he wouldn't have looked very good if I'd done him in watercolor.  That would be correct. I'm trying, but I'm not good at it. Am I having fun though? Hmmm... good question... Fun? Well, I'm learning,  I'm committed to do 8 lessons, and I'm being challenged.

A friend's favorite animal is the red panda, so she'll get a surprise for her birthday next week.

Also my weekly-ish challenge was "Unique Creature" so that worked out. 

Oil Painting on 8"x 10" Wrapped Canvas

[GIFT] 

Unique Planters

Relax... Create... Inspire...

These words are the heart of Welcome Home Retreat in Weatherford, Texas.

Pretty much every single thing is fabulous there, but the courtyard is especially wonderful. Plenty of shade and enough rocking chairs to go around... Lovely plants growing out of odd containers... And a feeling of complete peacefulness.

The challenge for my Creative Companions group this month was "Unique Planters." The ladies who keep the grounds at Welcome Home Retreat are so creative with... well, with everything. I could literally just take my pick as there are "unique planters" all around.

For my companion piece,
I had to consider both of my favorite places
to be surrounded by pots and planters.

I've actually painted part of this scene before, but it wasn't quite the same. 

It's not always birds who have a snack at the  sweet little bowl-on-a-stump... 

Original Oil Painting on 18"x 18" Wrapped Canvas

[SOLD]