Tag Archives: Watercolor painting

Crafting

Halfway done.

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I currently have 50 mini watercolor paintings. Painting every three days or so is working. Some are blah, some are okay, some might actually be decent.

The first two mini albums. The upper one has 24 pockets and the lower has 26.

Another view of the albums.

My studio is quite crowded. I’m thinking of putting the drafting table in the shop’s free area and bringing in another folding table. The drafting table is a couple of inches too high and can’t be adjusted any lower. Plus I need another flat surface more than a tilted surface. I have a couple of easels if I need paintings tilted.

I covered up the logo on my lab coat. The kitty patch adds character to a nice cover-up for messy crafts.

I’m rather messy when I’m painting or crafting. Actually, I’m rather messy everywhere. The only two places at home that are not messy are my bedroom and the bathroom. My house is a little short on storage space. People in the 1920’s didn’t have a lot of possessions and no one since has upgraded the storage. My need for storage is for craft supplies and yarn.

I cleared out my Craft room at the house to make a bedroom, but it turns out I’m trying to stuff way more things than I have room or storage for into what is actually a smaller space. I can’t go as high up with the angled ceiling since I can’t use the end wall without blocking the stairs. I have a desk against the half wall, but can’t go higher because then I can’t reach the light switch for the area.

I did not plan very well. An alternative is to get rid of the dining table and chairs and move the crafty stuff to the living room. Another alternative plan is to move two of the tall bookcases from the living room to upstairs and then move the craft tables and their attendant storage pieces to the living room.

At any rate, I have too much stuff and need to weed some of it out. Hey Makerspace— incoming!

Crafting

He got a job!

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So the boomerang child is once again employed. I hope this works out. If you sense a bit of underwhelm, it’s because he has quite a shaky employment history. The longest he’s held a job is just under two years.

More tiny paintings

I’m still painting. I have three paintings to do and the second book will be filled. That will be 50 out of the 100 paintings completed. I’m also working on some larger pieces— 9 by 12 inches.

My soap making class was cancelled due to a lack of interest. I only have one person registered for my paper making class on Saturday. Maybe my teaching fee is too high. I think I’ll make some feedback forms to find out what members want.

Mostly me, My own damned opinion.

Newest painting

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It’s different. it has a colorful background and a slightly stoned looking cat.

Goofy cat

I’m still doing the painting project. So far I have 40 paintings. Some are okay, some are bad, and others are just plain weird. There’s no particular theme. I’ve probably done more cat paintings than any others because they’re rather easy. No one cares if the cat isn’t realistic. I swear sometimes my own cat doesn’t look realistic. When she sleeps, she’s so calm. But when she’s awake – bitey scratchy thing.

I allowed my son to move back in and his old habits are already coming back. I really wish he could stand on his feet, but there’s something broken. I can’t fix it. All I can do is wait for the crash. sometimes I think I’ll out-live him. As a parent, that makes me sad because I can’t fix his problems. That’s not my job anymore.

Sometimes, I’m ready to raid my stashed liquor, but common sense takes over. When I die and the kids find all the stashed alcohol, they’ll probably think I’m a secret alcoholic. Not so. It’s stashed because it will be drunk by my son very quickly if he finds it. I rarely have a drink and since I’ve been on multiple medications, I don’t want to risk a bad interaction so I abstain.

I guess I’ll start mowing the lawn. My son won’t get to it. I never understand. I have bad knees, brain damage, bad wrists, ankles that give out, and excruciating pain in various other parts, but I manage to get things done because they need to be done. Otherwise, my house would be a hoarder dump, people would avoid me because I would smell bad and look dirty and I’d just be wandering around mumbling.

Oh wait. Parts of my house look like a hoarder dump – I need to finish my re-arranging of the upstairs areas. I smell bad because I had my morning routine disrupted by a trip to the ER and then to the free clinic. And here I am mumbling at you.

So I’ll end here, go do some organizing, mow the lawn while I’m still stinky and then take a shower. And mumble at you another time. Peace and tranquility to you.

Crafting

I didn’t realize how long it was between posts.

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I’ve been having a devil of a time with the shop light in my studio and the concrete wall. Even though the light weighs less than 5 pounds, the double-sided tape I was using wasn’t strong enough to hold it, in spite of the claim of holding up to 10 pounds. I used double layers of the tape and the light fell down,

I added an extra layer of tape and the light stayed up for two days. Finally, I bought a different brand of tape which is rated to hold up to 38 pounds. The light fell down. At no point had I removed any of the prior strips of tape. I bought another roll of heavier tape and applied enough to create a 4-strip deep layer and added several more of those thick layers to the back of the light. It hasn’t fallen yet. Yay me!

I like the light. The two led panels tilt down so I have bright light on my desk. There are six outlets and two USB charger ports. It’s working quite well now. I’ve been spending most of my time at the shop. The internet has been wonky so I haven’t posted from there.

I made a book to hold the paintings I’ve done so far. The paintings slide into the pockets. The idea came from a woman on YouTube named Joke Hardenbol. Even though I don’t speak Dutch, her instructions were easy to follow. I left a like and a comment on her channel.

By the way, the light is still on the wall.

Mostly me, Painting & Drawing

Where did I leave off on the paintings?

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They’re not all good. Painting such tiny paintings is tough. But I hope that by the time I paint 100 of them, I will have improved. I’m scheduling my life now. I have so many unfinished projects and so many unused craft supplies that I could open a second-hand craft store in my garage.

I’m running out of time. I probably only have ten or twenty years left, or an hour after I leave the house. I don’t want to leave a giant pile of craft supplies that will be tossed away. I don’t want to die and leave the neighbors talking about the craft supply hoarder. Recognition of the problem is the first step even as I sit here trying to decide if I really want to spend money on some more paint markers.

There’s a void I’ve filled with stuff like that. I think it goes back to the nomadic life of a military dependent and oldest of way too many siblings. Everything I had had to be shared. I had nothing for myself. Dolls, games, art supplies, books, and even clothing. The only thing I have left from my childhood is my original birth certificate. I don’t even have my baby pictures any more. That’s the only thing that is not my parents’ fault.

My daughter took my pictures and albums to make a scrapbook of my life. She didn’t get to create it though. Her house caught fire from an electrical fault and everything was lost, including my baby book and photos. A few charred fragments were found outside afterwards, but everything else was gone.

You may ask “doesn’t your family have some of those photos?” Well, no. The Crazy Lady ( mother, dearest) burned everything in the fireplace during her mental collapse. Paintings I did in college which were in stored in the attic — broken, torn apart, and burned. Actual furniture from the living room — burned in the fireplace. Clothing, books, whatever — shredded and burned.

Her fragmented mind created fantasies — people were breaking into the house and taking things or leaving things, the children living at home had been replaced, but sometimes they came back. My father tried to get her help and take the kids, but no. This was the olden days where mothers got to keep the kids in the divorce. He almost got them, but her sister spirited them away to California where her other siblings and her mother had settled.

Why am I telling you this? Probably because I’m just as crazy, but in a different way. No one is out to get me. People aren’t talking about me or looking at me funny. Well, no more than they would any other white-haired older woman dressed in tee shirts and leggings, wearing a ball cap. Comfort first, looks second. At least I comb my hair.

I think I’ll go get those markers.

Newest of the series. So far, I have 17 out of 100.
Crafting

Well, I’m glad that’s over.

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I don’t have to see any more Brad Schimel ads. He lost. In spite of all the money Muskrat put in his pot. I’m glad. We really don’t need someone who hates women on the state Supreme Court. Of course, his apologists will say otherwise, but his record speaks for him — hundreds of untested rape kits, belief in an archaic abortion law, rapists let off. Bah!

Someone I used to work with ran for an Alder position on the West Side. She didn’t win, but yay for trying. She’s a very strong minded person, a good librarian, and someone I was friendly with at work. I think she’s younger than me but not by much. I’ve gone from one of the youngest on my block to the oldest. But I still have young attitudes.

There are three houses across the street that still have the residents who were here when I moved in. There are four on my side that haven’t sold yet. These are just on my block. Up the street, in the next block, about half the homes have changed hands since I moved here years ago. Most of the houses were built here to house families working in local manufactories that have since gone out of business.

My house was the original farm house back in the 1920’s when the neighborhood was farm land. Most of the houses that are around me were built in the post-WWII boom. According to a former neighbor who was the oldest on my block when I moved in, six boys were raised in this dollhouse. It’s actually smaller than I would have liked, being the craft supply hoarder that I am, but perfect for one old lady and her cat.

I mean, what’s an old lady without a cat? There used to be four here, plus a dog. I kind of still have them all — in a small plot in the back yard. Every now and again, I do check to make certain they haven’t crawled out to terrorize the neighborhood. You can blame Stephen King and my imagination for that.

Now for some more of my awful watercolors. I actually going to make one or more mini books from them when I finish the series.

Latest paintings.

Have fun. Remember, you’re going to look back on Covid-19 as one of the high points of your lifetime because this year is going suck worse.

Crafting, My own damned opinion.

More paintings and stress.

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Sorry. I’ve been stressed about my Social Security check. This month’s will be deposited. Next month, who knows. I used to accept that Republicans had a differing world view from mine. While I’m sort of a registered Democrat for election purposes, I’m more of a free-thinker.

What I want from my government is provide a stable framework of laws and regulations to ensure that every citizen has an equal chance to live a good life. But the current gang of grifters, sycophants, and haters has no moral compass, no loyalty to the principles of the Constitution, no conscience, no care, even for their constituents.

I doubt I will live long enough to see this country return to a nation based on Constitutional principles and laws. Right now, laws don’t matter. The orange buffoon sits at a desk and scribbles his signature on whatever is placed in front of him. I seriously doubt that he even knows what his proclamations really say, or even cares if he does.

Okay. Rant over. New topic.

These are all the tiny watercolor paintings I’ve done so far. It’s a year-long challenge. There are a couple based on Van Gogh, a couple of interesting objects from the neighborhood like the pizza oven and the hydrant, Devil’s Tower from a road trip, and some from other sources. 7 done and 93 more to do. I’ve spaced then out to very three days because I tried certain other timed projects that were daily and never completed them.

My first 7 watercolor paintings. They’re supposed to be this small as a way of not being overwhelming.

The first challenge I participated in was to knit 52 pairs of sock in a year. I did manage to complete 39 pairs in varying sizes from Barbie doll sized to ornament-sized, to baby and toddler-sized to the 15 pairs of socks I actually still wear. The last two 100-day challenges were never completed. I would find myself skipping days or not completing even a single project within the time frame. This current challenge is spaced out to 100 tiny paintings in a year. So far, so good. One painting every three days is working so far.