Artful Dreamer

We have really got a lot of snow.  First it rained yesterday, then it snowed all night.  Makes for dangerous driving.  Tonight it is windy and COLD.  I should have gone to a meeting tonight but couldn't force myself to drive on the icy roads.  Guess it's old age setting in.

Once again, it is beautiful, though.  The trees are covered with ice and snow.  The branches are awfully heavy so I hope they don't break.  We lost a lot of branches in the last ice/snow storm.

It looks beautiful if I don't have to go out in it.

Our little weathervane is looking like a farmer working in the snow.  Time to quit for this year.

I've been hard at work getting out my Christmas cards so I haven't had time to do any fun projects for a little while.  Oh well, I'm sure I'll have time next week.

Enjoy the snow!

Sharyn

Artful Dreamer

Thanksgiving is tomorrow.  Lots to be thankful for - family, friends, food, shelter. . . . .

The weather is supposed to be stormy by tomorrow so, hopefully, people won't try to drive beyond what the conditions allow.  It's not worth it to get into an accident.  A lot of people will be working sanding and salting the roads tomorrow, so we can be thankful for them, too.  This week we've seen a lot of people in a hurry, taking chances passing the plows and trying to pass on the shoulders.  Not a good idea!

I wish my granddaughter in Washington and my daughter in Arizona could be here this year, but that's a long drive.  Telephones and emails are great to keep in touch.

I've been taking advantage of the cold weather to work on a few projects.  I finished another "Froggie" page.  When I was in Paris, there were artists all over.  Many were excellent and it was great to see their work.  There were also those who constantly approached tourists in the hopes of earning a few dollars.  This artist seems to be very persuasive.

Mousie makes a great model, tho.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sharyn

Artful Dreamer

We just went to see Harry Potter.  I don't know why, but I can't really seem to get into it.  I love Narnia and the Lord of the Rings, etc, but not Harry Potter.

 I think I'm finally finished with my painting of the French countryside.  It was really fun to do.  Now I can concentrate on "Froggie".  I go crazy if I don't have a project to work on.  Think my brain must be hard-wired goofy.

I've been trying to take a decent photo of it, but it's really hard.  Guess I'll have to have it digitally scanned. Wish it weren't so expensive.

Anyway, this is what my photo of it looks like.

Hope you like it.

Sharyn

Artful Dreamer

I've been working on a new oil painting.  I haven't used oil paints for about "1,000" years but they were always my first favorite medium.  I quit because they were so messy and smelly with the turpentine, etc.  Now they've come up with a water mixable formula that are very odor tolerable and dry more quickly.  They are definitely the medium for me.

It seems like I am stuck on painting French based studies this year, but it is a fascinating place to see.  I loved all the ancient forests and buildings, the cuckoos singing in the forest early in the morning.  My favorite place was the countryside and the people there.

This is one of the many photos that I used when painting my new picture.

It is typical of the many farms and fields that dot the countryside.  I loved watching the sheepherders and cow herders spend each day just watching their animals.

Sharyn

Artful Dreamer

Another beautiful day!  Have to go to the dentist in a little while, but that, too, shall pass.  Not my favorite thing, but so much better than the "old days".  Imagine having a root canal with a foot pedaled drill.  And that was a step up from the past.

TJ's piano recital was great.  He is improving so much - I'm very proud of him.  It was at a nursing home so the older folks could interact with the kids.  A great idea!  The kids wore their Halloween costumes so it was a lot of fun.

I finally finished another page of my Froggie book.  Here they are seated at a bistro table sharing a soda.  This picture was inspired by a photo of my potting shed.

It could easily have been at a little French bistro - sitting in the sun.

Sharyn

Artful Dreamer

This has been a very busy weekend so far.  Luckily the weather is absolutely gorgeous.  The sun is out but there still is a crispness in the air - supposed to be 61 degrees today.  What more could you ask?

Yesterday I went to breakfast with two former co-workers.  It was fun to see them again (and gloat a little about being retired).  It's always great to reconnect with people.  I do miss them.

Then my daughter and I went to St. Cloud to the Christmas opening of Accentric (a wondrous store with loads of good things).  They had wine tasting and goodie tasting but also about a "million" people milling around.  Have to go back another day when you can actually move around.

Then to our annual Artists del Norte art show at the Blaine Government Center.  I hope some of you will be able to view this show during the month of November.  We had tons of goodies there, too, so I think it's time to think a little more about nutrition.  Always good to splurge, tho.  I was fortunate enough to win the "Award of Excellence" with one of my digital photos.  Some of you have commented on it so I'm happy to share this good fortune.

It is printed on metallic paper.  It really gives it a neat effect.  This was originally a photo of two cactus flowers in Arizona.  I played around with it in Photoshop and was amazed at the colors that it produced. Hope to be able to do more of this in the future.  Right now, tho, I want to try painting with oils again.  I haven't done that for many, many years, so it will be a challenge.

Sharyn

Artful Dreamer

Wow! Fall is really here - cold and blustery.  No snow yet, tho, so that's great.  I think we finally have everything put away in the yard so if the "big one" hits, we should be ready.  Always so much last minute stuff to do.

Elections are finally over so, hopefully, the signs will all come down.  They are so distracting.  It's good to get the election ads finished on radio and TV, too.  It's interesting, but enough is enough.

Halloween is over, too, so now it's Thanksgiving next.  Thanksgiving kind of gets lost because everything is gearing up for Christmas long before Halloween is over.  It's time to just take the days slowly and enjoy the seasons as they come.  I wish we could think of Christmas with it's true meaning instead of commercial ads to buy more and more!

I've been trying to get time to work on my Froggie book and have the first page finished.  I hope you enjoy this new book.  Hopefully Mousie will "let loose" a little more.

This is how the streets looked the day we got to Paris.  It was raining softly and people were walking in the rain and shopping.  Beautiful!  We had to run to catch our train so I snapped this shot while we were running.

Sharyn