A girl, more geese, and a cat who mean's business!

Here are the projects that I've worked on over the last couple of days. I've started adding color to my seemingly black and white geese, and smoothed the ripples out a little in the process to keep the black ripples from looking too purposefully placed.
Also, I made a colored pencil portrait of my charming and adorable two-year-old niece, Victoria. I did her on my most favorite paper in the world to draw on, colourfix paper, a colored, grainy, sand-ingrained paper. See at Dick Blick. Be sure to scroll all the way down-they have an awesome list of colors to choose from. My favorites being black, brown, and terracotta. But really, I love them all!
Lastly, here's a piece that I started just last night of our older cat, Rudy. I just love his expressions. He always looks to me like a proud, calm warrior. He acts like one, too. His movements are always slow, careful, and well planned. This piece is on terracotta colourfix paper.
Thanks for looking and don't be shy, let me know what you think of my blog and my art.

Gander of Geese

This is a project that I've started today. Last night, I was thinking I should become more serious with my artwork. My major thought was that I needed to challenge myself, so that I would overcome increasingly harder and harder obstacles. So I thought, hmmm....what should I try out today?
So I decided to try geese, but that isn't the hard part, the seemingly simple water surrounding the geese is the challenge. As I have never done water, this will definitely be a learning experience for me to say the least.
To start off my piece, I did all the darkest bits first. I put a mediumish layer of indigo blue onto the paper first to give the black I would later lay on top to make a deeper, bolder, black. Also, to keep it smooth and nicey, and to keep it murk dark as well, very sharp pencils are a must. If your pencil sharpener is making eerie, groaning, wheedling banshee noises, and after all that wasted time of grinding your pencil didn't do anything but make it a longer dull lead, it probably means you need a new pencil sharpener. My brother kindly got me a new one for Christmas last year, which ordinarily I would have pouted at. Oh how nice! A pencil sharpener! I've always dreamed of owning one. But I was thrilled to see it. He and I had both witnessed the old pencil sharpener's miserable and pathetic buzz-saw whines and groans, and the lack of point on my dull pencils.
Thank goodness for observant brothers!

Happy blogging!

Two finished pieces to offer

"Stephanie" 8 x 10 inches on brown colourfix paper, done with Prismacolor pencils.

"Watchful" 5x7 inches on brown colourfixpaper , done with Prismacolor pencils

Hi folks! Last night I finished two pieces! I will admit, though, that I will have to touch up the horse portrait's shoulder a little bit.
Also finished (actually finished mind you) a leopard I did for a thread challenge (Wetcanvas.com).
Today I went shopping at a favorite clothes department and searched diligently through the sales rack for something nice-(I'm always chronically short on pants, my bed or dresser must be devouring them in my sleep) and as usually you'll find size 0 or 2 pants (Argh!) and if you find your size (oh, this looks promising!) you find it has ticky-tacky graffiti or unfavorable rips, extra embellishments, zippers, buttons, or embroidery. Alas, I did find a decent pair of green cords in my size as well as a comfy fleecy blue sweater! Plus I got to go to the bookstore (high pitched girly squeals excluded) and found two books to my liking.




My new green corduroys!

Ah yes, it is turning out to be pretty good day! (Quote from the movie The Money Pit
a fantastic movie if you want to laugh until your eyes water)
It didn't start doing slushy rain mix until after I got home either. Count your blessings.
Oh yes, and here's a yummy sandwich to try if your ever interested in trying something different (IT'S FLAMIN' DELICIOUS!). Toast two pieces of honey wheat (or your favorite white bread) bread. Put mayo on both slices. Split half of a cooked chicken breast in half sideways and cut that half longways. Take a little of that cold stuffing taht's in your refridgerator that you made the night before with your baked chicken and put it on your slice of bread. Lay on top of the stuffing your two quarters of chicken. Top it with a slice of provolone cheese. Put your other toast slice on top. Voila!
Do you want the extra special (extra delicious) version? Here goes:
Toast two slices of bread. Mix cranberry sauce and mayo together,( make it 3/4 cranberry sauce and 1/4 mayo). Spread a hearty amount on each slice. Put bean sprouts or baby spinach on each one slice of toast. Put a layer of cold stuffing on top of that. Then add cold thick sliced turky (carved thanksgiving turkey is the best) or chicken breast on top of that. Lastly, top it with provolone or swiss cheese, (provolone is da best, but swiss is pretty close).
There. I hope I made your day. Now go make that sandwich! I'm going to go eat dinner now.
Happy blogging!

I'm back......again

I know, I know, I should do just one post a day. But I can't! The aliens won't let me stop!
Here's an update on "Stephanie" and a new one which goes nameless for now. Anyone have any ideas for names? Post a comment!

I'm Back!

*I'm back!
*After having some terrible plague from the Bible for 3 weeks straight.
Here's a work-in-progress that I've been working on that I'm loosely thinking of calling "Stephanie". "She's" 8 x 10 inches on brown colourfix paper, done (as always) with Prismacolor pencils. Every piece I do is a learning experience, and this one is no exception. Already, I've noticed that she will need a nose job. I exclude smacking myself in the forehead and grinding my teeth.
My 2 year old niece is very funny. She, her granna(Nonni), and her uncle were playing with blocks, and she drops one. "Oh, I dropped it!" she says seriously. "That's okay." Nonni responds.Then she says, "Oh, I'm sorry." "That's all right" her uncle and Nonni reassure her.
She's like a little person! I squeal excitedly to myself.
Among these sentences while building she'll exclaim in a bright serious voice: "Another one!", "More blocks!", "Oops!", "Beautiful!", and "Here's a big one!"

Sigh.

Thank goodness Christmas Holiday is over. I really do not care for Christmas shopping because you never know if the person your buying for will actually like it. Then you do find something the person will like. Oh G- it's a hundred bucks!
Does anyone agree with me?

Squeeze one more outta me

Here's one more for today. An ACEO (2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches) on Bristol Smooth paper, done with Prismacolor pencils. It's of one of my newest favorite subjects: tigers. I tried to find a guy's name that meant wise, or knowledge, but wasn't satisfied with the results. Instead, I just named him a noble sounding name, "Gordon".
Happy Blogging!

Frederick

"Frederick" ACEO (2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches) on Bristol Smooth, done with Prismacolor pencils
It will be on ebay this evening (make sure to type in Blarneygirl16 into the ebay search engine to find all the art that I'm selling in one place).

Hey-ho! Here's my art card offering for today. Can't make any promises on holding back my eager fingers, so this addictive ACEO may not be the one of the day. I thought I would be free and whimsical today, and add little overly cheerful dabs of easter-eggy, pastel colors into the background (I don't know what came over me!) and into his mane and- well, really into the whole thing! Among cheerful colors used in my pallete: blue-violet (purple), mulberry, limepeel, yellowed orange, canary yellow, pale vermillion (orange), parma violet, and true blue.
Happy blogging!

Merry Christmas and Loads of Art

Exeedingly sorry for the wait.
I've been a busy little bee, what with Christmas literally, (as true as my fingers are scratching my chin, wondering what to talk about) just around the corner, (this weekend in fact!). I have not been *slacking, however.
*Not much ;)
Here (above) I have my finished "Earnest", a portrait of my coy, evil, (but wonderfully adorable) and innocently blinking bum of a kitten, Vinegar ( you know the jingle: eating all the time, and clawing all the way, oh what fun it is to have an insane orange kitten today, Oh!). Okay, maybe he's not that bad, but he's plenty enough with his insanely driven sister, Tamlin.




Also completed is a scottish landscape (from a beautiful photo that my enviously clever sister took) which I've dubbed, "Home Again". I can just smell the delicious melt-in-your-mouth cranberry and orange or cinnamon and raision scones and some black breakfast tea with extra sugar....and don't forget the clever Border collie sitting imploringly at your feet, eyes begging for your dinner (tea included).



I've also recently gotten into acrylic painting! Pencils are fun and detailed, but once in a while, a girl's gotta get a break and let loose by making brightly colored blobs on canvas. This still life painting here, is called, "Group Hug".




Lastly, here is a work in progress, "Just Dating" (also from another great photo that my sis took).




....and there you have it! Remeber to check your to-do Christmas list twice!
Happy Blogging and Merry Christmas!

art card offerings

"Twilight Molly" Bid on this art card at ebay.com
(Type in Blarneygirl16 into the user engine to find all of the art that I'm selling in one place)

Here are my two art card offerings for today. I know that I should cease and take a breath, alas, the little green galactic aliens won't let me stop! The first in line is "Twilight Molly" and the second is the bird of our wonderful country; the bald eagle, called "Stealth". Come on by and bid on these two, and "Farid" (from previous post) on ebay! Happy Holidays, Christmas Season, blogging, and bidding!
Meanwhile, post a comment to let me know what you think of my art and my blog. Also! Don't forget, House comes on this evening, (and the special CSI, too, at the same time unfortunately). Grab those Christmas coated cookies, or doughy, melty, fresh-from-the-oven chocolate brownies, and a lot of milk, and enjoy!

"Stealth" Bid on this art card at ebay.com
(type in Blarneygirl16 into the user engine to find all the art that I'm selling in one place)

Sleepy Farid

"Farid" (ACEO) Bid on this at ebay.com
Type in Blarneygirl16 into the user engine to find all of the art that I'm selling in one place.

Today's offering is yet another art card (2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches) , of my newly found favorite subjects; big cats.
This one is one of my favorite big cat species, the snow leopard. I named it "Farid", and it is done on Bristol Smooth paper, done with Prismacolor pencils, and as with all of my art cards, sealed with protective fixative. Take a visit by ebay and and make a bid!
Happy Blogging!

Softy

Here's my latest art card (2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches) on Bristol Smooth paper, done with Prismacolor pencils. Happy Blogging and Happy Holiday and Christmas Season!





"Pretty Please?" Bid on this art card (ACEO) at ebay.com (type in Blarneygirl16 into the user engine to find all of the art I'm selling in one place)

Grrr!

"Ronald" (ACEO) Bid on this art card at ebay.com (Type in Blarneygirl16 into the user engine to find all the art that I'm selling in one place).
This is my art card (2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches) for today, "Ronald". This big bad kitty (though adorable as well) is on Bristol Smooth paper, done with Prismacolor pencils. It will be listed on ebay today, so take a visit and make a bid!
Happy everything!

Art Cards out of the Wazoo!

"Daniel" (ACEO) Bid on this art card at ebay.com (type in Blarneygirl16 into the user engine to find all of the art I'm selling in one place)

Here are two more of my latest art cards, "Golden Brown" and "Daniel". You can go to ebay.com and type into the user engine "Blarneygirl16" and find all of my art together by itself.
Drink mugs of delicious hot chocolate with mini marshmellows (they don't taste the same if they're any bigger). I know, I'm a whiner, but I like my marshmellows teeny tiny when they're in my hot chocolate. Happy bidding, Happy Holidays, Happy Christmas Season, and lastly, Happy Blogging!
"Golden Brown" (ACEO) Bid on this art card at ebay.com (type in Blarneygirl16 into the user engine to find all of the art I'm selling in one place)

Bid on "The Queen" and "Showing the Cheek"

Go to ebay.com and type in Blarneygirl16 in the user engine to bid on "The Queen" (above) and "Showing the Cheek" (below)

I've recently gotten an ebay acount! Hurray! Find my art by typing in the user engine at ebay: Blarneygirl16. Happy Blogging and Happy Bidding! Oh, and Happy Holidays and Christmas Season! Eat lots of baked goods and milk and think merry thoughts of sugar plum fairies.

Joyride

This is my latest finished piece, called Joyride. It's of my irresitable and mischieveous little one-year-old nephew, Will, and it's 4x6 inches on blue Colourfix paper, done with Prismacolor pencils. You can also find this piece at my online portfolio, at http://sitekreator.com/Blarneygirl15 under People Portraits. Happy Blogging, Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas Season!

At a "Standstill"

This is my most recent project, which for the moment, I've named.....Standstill; a picture of a 4-ounce shot glass with water in it.
It's 6x8 inches on Bristol Smooth paper, done with Prismacolor pencils. I've used black, salmon pink, sunburst yellow, cool grey 70%, powder blue, indigo blue and putty beige. You can see here, the three stages in which I've done so far.

















This is a rough sketch of the glass, which was drawn out with a simple graphite pencil.


















Now, I've started adding the darkest parts of the
glass.



















And this, is my lastest update. I've begun to add less than the darkest colors. Colors, such as putty beige and cool grey 70%.
Happy Christmas Season and Holidays and Happy Blogging!

Showing the Cheek

This is my latest art card (2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches) on Bristol Smooth paper, done with Prismacolor pencils. This aceo was done by a reference to my lovable and silly Scottie, Lucy. When she sees that camera, you better believe that she's going to show off. My shameless canine willingly sat down on the grass while I brought the camera out and turned her face at a tilt sideways. Quote from the Mask "She is so coy."
You can also find it at my website under ACEOs, under dog art cards.
Happy blogging!

"It's Showtime!" finished and Chistmas Shopping

9 1/2 x 12 1/2 inches on olive green colourfix, done with Primacolor pencils, "It's Showtime!" is at last finished! And good riddence! (I hope I spelled that right!) Those dimples on those oranges were driving me cerrr-razzzay! You can find this latest still life at my website under Still lifes.
Christmas season is finally here! Hurray! My how fast the year has passed. At least, to me it has. My family and I bought stockings yesterday, among other elf-like shopping trips. That's when I realized how crazy and spastic Christmas shopping is. I mean, really! People get so wound up, including me (!) despite having told myself that it's silly to get so hectic. Yet......we do it anyway! Is it in our human nature? From our genes? All that delicious (ooooh, oh so sinful) holiday sugar and caffeine highs?
Whatever it is, low oxygen seems to make this annoyance worse. I know this all too well from shopping at Walmart yesterday. Your husband (any man that is with you for that matter) will start getting more and more enthusiastic, and not neccesarily in a good way. He'll begin pulling at his chin, running his fingers through his hair until it stands up madly, his eyes will get bloodshot, and he'll complain about how hungry he is, in between giving us more sensible females strange and otherwise less than sensible gift ideas. "Hey honey, let's get this hair trimmer set for my sister, she loves to give hair cuts!" or "Oh look! A cheese grater for Sam!" or how about (against your feeble protests) "This is bigger, let's get this one!" You get the idea.
Maybe I can't stop you from becoming hectic, but at least you won't say that I didn't warn you.
Happy Christmas Season and Holidays!
oh, and Happy Blogging!

Earnest again!

Here's my next update on "Earnest". I added more face, more blanket, a tail, and an arm.
Since my brother-in-law can't make it for Thanksgiving today (awwww), we're going to celebrate it tomorrow so that he can be with us.
I can't wait for all that food, especially since my older sister, who happens to be the best cook ever, is making it! Whoo hoo! *I guess I can wait another 24 hours.
*Biting my nails and eating oreos while vibrating until then.
Anyway, everyone-I know that I've said this a million times before, but happy Thanksgiving! Oh, and don't worry about the burnt turkey, the slushy mashed potatoes, or the crunchy stuffing. Really. Honest. Don't worry about it-people will give you grief cause they know they'd end up doing the same thing, though since they're not they can tease you about it.
I should know, I overcookied the turkey a teeny eeny bit last year, and got so angry about my sis comenting on it's color that I pulled the thermonater out of the turkey with my bare hand. That was extremely unpleasant.
So, anyway, my point is, at least you have a turkey to burn, the stuffing to make crunchy, and the potatoes to make slushy. Also, last but certainly not least, be glad that you aren't stupid enough to pull out a turkey thermonater with your bare hands. But then, I guess you could be happy that you had a hand to burn in the first place. Ha! Well, happy blogging and happy thanks!

Earnest

This project-work-in-progress is called "Earnest" because that's the best defination I have at the moment for this little guy's adorable expression on his face. This is Vinegar, and if you haven't read the previous posts, he's one of my two manic and lovable kittens. This is 8x10 inches on Bristol Smooth paper, done with Prismacolor pencils.
His beautiful innocent eyes were what most encouraged me to draw him; they were done with black, tuscan red, henna, grass green, spring green, kelp green, dark umber, burnt ochre, violet, and indigo blue. The blanket beneath him includes violet, indigo blue, ultramarine, copenhagen blue, and non-photo blue. His face includes a lot of tuscan red, also black, dark umber, light umber, burnt ochre, violet, indigo blue, henna, and peach, and salmon pink.
I'm so excited! My older brother and sister and her amusing husband have come down for Thanksgiving (little squeal/shriek erupts). Gotta go, we're all gonna watch a some video, (*it may be bad, but I don't care!)
*don't care means 50%
Pass out the dark chocolate, milk, oreos, and ben and jerry's icecream, yeah!
Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Blogging everyone!