Aaaah. Summer.

Today I painted and drew a cat and practiced drawing.

I watched my kids play in the wading pool and answered questions about volcanoes, continents, and learned that even though you tell a 2-year-old you are out of popsicles they don't believe you until they have emptied the freezer themselves.

I practiced a smidge of kitchen alchemy (from nothing, dinner!)

I successfully avoided folding laundry.

I learned that inchworms are moth larvae, and that I'm going to need to get a terrarium soon.

I enjoyed cool breezes and blowing bubbles and the fact that my first born insisted I call him Oberon for about 2 hours.

New for Etsy!

I had finished the bird series and the postage series in time for the Tutti Insieme festival this past Saturday. Both the circles and the squares measure 1" across. The birds are watercolors, and the postage series is made from real-live stamps with a silhouette of the country of origin over top.
All have mirrors on the back.
Next I have to finish a collaborative work, and then it's back to more pendant making!
Oriole

Ireland

A warbler.

After this weekend!

I am not abandoning you, I promise!
I have been involved in tunnel vision! I am set to sell some work at the Tutti Insieme Festival (at Arabian Knights Farm in Willowbrook Farm, IL) this Saturday.
Once the festival is over I can breathe a giant sigh of relief and get back to chatting with you.

Till next week!

Onward!

Hello, friends!
I have a new favorite art blog: Geninne's Art Blog
It reminded me how much I love to draw & paint birds. To that end, I am doing a new pendant series for etsy--tiny watercolor birds. The oriole below is 1 inch across.
It was good fun, too.

I should be

I should be painting now (or washing off all those scratchy hairs you collect after a haircut), but instead I am quietly bubbling with anger.

I have discovered what is the ultimate downside to Facebook(and other networking sites): people you thought you were well rid of sending you lame "hey i'm sorry, let's be friends" messages.

Heads up, dude: if we parted on sour persimmons 10 years ago, I'm not real keen on being fake internet friends now. Thanks for the offer, but I'm gonna pass on this one. Have a swell day.

Madder than a March Hare

Dooooom!
It is summer break & I havent had any studio time for days. Instead I have been trying to keep my kids from killing each other, killing me, and me killing them.
In all, I have to say that crazy begets crazy....
and at this point they are too young for me to just throw them into the backyard to fend for themselves.
Thank goodness the babysitter starts next week.
Until then, I'll be fighting the urge to recreate the scene below....