30 Paintings in 30 Days & Sunday Funday

"Roll with it" Rerolled bag of kolaches, two watercolor sketches in one. The dangers of painting and sketching at the kitchen table on a Sunday afternoon and the same time fending off the hands and the Q & A "Is this the bag of kolaches?"

I also tried Angela Fehr's idea of "Palette Mud" - using the leftover colors in my palette from a previous painting for the shading/values.

And I put a new Art Graf water-soluble Carbon Intense Black disc ($2.89 from the Hobby Lobby clearance section) through its paces to sketch and practice line/contour drawing a la Charles Reid.  

I thought it was fun (and the kolaches were delicious!)

Update 1-23-17 - The other sketchbook paintings from yesterday...much easier to photograph in the morning sun than indoor lighting.

House of Pies Chocolate Cream pie!

Practicing painting people!
And I enjoyed a delicious Caramel Macchiato!

Adventures with Brusho - Part Seven - "What's in a name, that which we call a rose?"

"Winter Solstice Roses"
9" x 6"

Emerald Green, Leaf Green and Brilliant Red Crystal Colors. Can I be honest here? I was just shaking the Brusho -- trying to make a Christmas tree! I scrunched Saran Wrap on it and walked away from the table, met a friend for coffee and came back to find this. Looks more like roses than a tree. And in Texas, the winter can produce the prettiest roses. The colder temperatures turn the pink of our Pink Promise rose into more intense shades, matching the colors of this painting perfectly. "What's in a name, that which we call a rose?"

The promise of pink
Pink Promise rosebud
December 2016

Flight of the butterfly

The Giant Swallowtail butterfly visiting the Asclepias in the backyard this afternoon.
Because everything is bigger in Texas. . .

Twos-Day

Walking along the Seawall in Galveston, I kept seeing all these twos. . .

Sidewalk Arf

Clever use incorporating tar or gum splotches on the sidewalk along the Galveston Seawall --

Pretty in Pink - September Pre-Fall Rose Edition

Signs of upcoming Fall - the Pink Promise rose starts cranking out lovely blooms again.   I always await with anticipation when I see a bud form, for depending upon the weather conditions, you'll never know what you will get.

Make Way for the Ducklings

Sixteen ducklings hatched yesterday in the planter in front of Beck's Prime in Sugar Land - A prime location indeed!  (In addition to their great burgers and steaks, may I suggest their Kirby salad with grilled chicken add-on - you will eat every last bit)

Love is all around us - Footprints

Even down and in the dirt. . .

“Yet we keep flashing, disappearing, and again blossoming out in this Eternity.” —Yayoi Kusama

What is neat is the lights do disappear and then return. . .
(You get less than a minute, but I was lucky with my allotted time and was able to capture the light - and take photographs, too)

“Yet we keep flashing, disappearing, and again blossoming out in this Eternity.” —Yayoi Kusama

This "Aftermath of Obliteration of Eternity" is one of two installation rooms.

The other is "Love Is Calling"   You can stay in this one up to three minutes and walk around, awestruck also.  The silken tubes extend from the floor and ceiling and constantly change color.

In the background you can hear Kusama reciting a poem in Japanese. . ."Residing in a castle of shed tears"

The Museum of Fine Arts Houston has the Kusama exhibit through September 18.  It took me three tries to get in to experience it.  Reserve/purchase your tickets online and don't miss this opportunity.

Meet me for coffee - HEB Cafe Ole' Houston Blend

This is one of HEB's Cafe Ole' Taste of Texas series of K-Cups - How could I resist trying the Houston Blend?!

Love the logo design for the flavor, which is described as "This rich coffee is marvelously blended with a combination of praline, pecan and coconut flavors for a finish that is smooth and delightfully sweet"  Medium roast, 100% Arabica coffee.  I have no idea what that means, as you all know I am first and foremost a tea drinker.  But I'm trying to hang with the cool kids and they all drink coffee, too.

For $6.99 you get a box of 12, which are now Keurig 2.0 compatible.    Good news if you don't live near an HEB, you can order online, unless oddly you live in California.

Cute stereotyping

This flavor is also available in whole beans, which you can grind in the store.  Which I tried to do in order to try a little bit in the my K-cup at home first before buying the box.  At least I could smell the beans first before I tried to ground them with whatever the heck was left over in the grinder...and it did not smell the same at all.  Some stores have dedicated grinders for flavored coffees, perhaps HEB should consider that, just saying.  I dumped that bag in the trash and took a chance going back for the K-cups instead.  If you have a grinder at home, you can also buy the bags with whole beans or already grounded.  Don't mess with the grinder at the store, seriously.  Drop a few beans in your hands and see if you like the fragrance and take alternative routes.

The flavor and scent - definitely coconut, but not overbearing.  The praline and pecans add a nutty sweetness.  You may want to rethink your creamer if you use it.  The Italian cream made it really sweet.  I think I would cut it with some fat free half & half.  You definitely don't need sweetener.

I also thought it tasted similar to Starbucks new Iced Coconut Milk Mocha Macchiato, so if you are looking to save calories and carbs, give it a try.  And also the Starbucks drink if you get that in a Tall size.  Seriously, that is a yummy drink and a smaller size will still keep you within and under range of your added sugar gram limit and you behave yourself for the rest of the day.

But I digress...this Houston girl would give and show hometown loyalty to the Houston Blend with five stars.

July Fry

Near record temperatures and Houston is going strong to beat July 1980 as one of the hottest Julys.
Map inspiration from Space City Weather.  And coincidently today is also National French Fry Day!

#WorldWatercolorMonth
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Impasto-ble!

Tube Paste

Discontinued, so half off Texas Art Supply's already discounted prices
Odd size, but easy to work with in the pad format and then cut down afterwards 

Kicked myself all the way home to Texas my first visit to Australia when I didn't get this
- made a beeline back to Bondi Art Supply the day I arrived and grabbed it

Got the gum arabic, the paper and the pigment.  All set for play time!

June Moon

"Spaced Out"

Space was the theme of the June ScribeDelivery Box.   How perfect is that for this Houston girl?  Check out that Space Shuttle notebook!

(Note:  I do not get any special compensation from them, I just want to pass along an opportunity to support a US/Texas-based company of two people with a great idea.)  

We all know the curated monthly box subscriptions are all the rage now -- Paper Pumpkin from Stampin' Up, Art Box, Art Snacks, even dinner.  It reminds me of the National Handcraft Society Craft of the Month Club from the 70's - of which I still have some of the things I made from their small book-sized mailing box.  They were very creative. My Mom belonged, but I would open the box and make the projects.  They were just sitting there.  Remember twice a day mail delivery?!
Who doesn't like getting neat things in the mail and a surprise you know you will like, too!

I've been a Scribe subscriber (haha!) for the past four months and I have to say each one gets even better.  If you like paper products, pens, pencils...you should give them a try.  Also if you like to draw or are an artist you will be very happy with them.   The items they include are perfect and often you can't find them in the stores.  Hello blacklight Gelly Roll pen!  The items encourage portable creativity, too.  I can just slip one of the pads and pens/pencils in my purse and be ready for any unexpected artistic sketching opportunity or to jot down thoughts for life in general or a book.  I've always found that if you have cool tools, you tend to want to use and find ways to use them more.

Check out their website and sign up for the next box opening.  They only get limited amounts of the goodies and often only have a few openings available.

I spy a spider lily

Our spider lily started blooming a few days ago. . .

Thursday Tea Time - Lifetime Tea Time

Big Tea Bag!

"My goodness, that's a big bag of tea!" said hubby at Costco.  Definitely eye catching in color and price - $9.97  And size - Costco-sized one POUND bag!  (Item #1011004)

I had never heard of nor seen Tiesta Tea before.  But the cool name - Fireberry, flavor combination and the fact it was caffeine free and immunity building helped make the decision to toss it into the cart.

Bright Life Jacket Yellow
 -it's big enough  could also be used as a flotation device!

Ingredients:  Hibiscus, elderberries, currant, rooibos, sweet blackberry leaves, candied cranberries, rosehip, rose petals and natural flavors.

I brewed it for just a little under 5 minutes and added a teaspoon of honey.

Good honey, too!

Another, whoops! Take the picture before drinking it all!

It turned into a beautiful color and was actually quite good.   I will definitely try it iced.

Get the pink out

It has been so warm, my recent Pink Promise rose bloom has but a mere trace of pink along petal edges and took on more yellow cream tones.

The only promise we have of cooler weather will be the calendar in about four months. . .

Pink rain lilies have returned!

My bright pink rain lilies have reappeared from all the rain Houston has had the past few weeks.  The front white and pink bi-color ones are in full bloom, but I haven't seen the solid pink ones in my side garden in over a year.

Hello, Gorgeous!

 Also impressive!

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Watercolor Wednesday - Texting Texture

Added (and finding) value

Another sum of the parts is greater than the whole example.   One of those days watercoloring and different parts were working and not.  On a big sheet of paper, yet.  Go big or go home.  It was still a fun class and good time once you reach that point of no return/no rescue - just play and slap paint.  And some areas looked really nice.  So I turned them into cards!

The April Paper Pumpkin had a variety of stamps and a pretty stamping ink pad - Very Vanilla.  It looked so yummy, I actually sniffed it (sorry, non-scented).   Two areas I stamped with the "Happy Birthday" looked pretty good against the watercolor.  I will just trace around using one of my extra envelopes from all those "donation" based cards, and write a message on the back.

I must say, the Paper Pumpkin's #allabouteverything special stamp set in the April box to celebrate their shipping of the one millionth kit  is a nice surprise and will be put to good use with my watercolors and Gelli-ing.

If you are interested in subscribing to the Paper Pumpkin, you can use this link.  There may be a special for new subscribers, if there is, I will find out and post the promo code.  My sister is a Stampin Up representative - Paper Pumpkin is part of Stampin' Up - and she has a great blog with ideas and special promotions.  Click here to see.

I love getting boxes in the mail!  I get this one and also Scribe Delivery.  If you enter your email address, you can get 10% off.  I've been very pleased with Scribe, too.  A fun way to get stationery supplies - pens, pencils, paper, journals, inks...  which you normally wouldn't be able to find.  In fact, some of the companies only produced limited quantities specifically for Scribe.  And they are a Texas-based company.   If you have found other interesting ones, please post in the comment section.