Gardening is good for mending me

Good evening!
Boy it's been a stretch of doing rather non-creative work the past while, lots of typing and web maintenance. I am painting now though, after being inspired by this adorable blog: Doe-C-Doe
It's full of vintage retro goodness and it made me want to paint vintage-y looking things (involving rabbits and cats!). So I am.
In other news, I am making a garden! I tried one last year and utterly failed at it, so I was rather discouraged about trying it again this year. But I've been urged from the inside to do it, so here I am. This time I used baby plants instead of seeds, so hopefully that will significantly increase my chances of actually getting them to grow!

Ah, yep -- those are cat sand buckets. Gotta recycle, right?
On the subject of cats, it is time for gratuitous cat pictures! Humor me, will you.

Must be nice to be a cat, lazing on top of bookshelves. And Kiba manages to look so bored whilst doing so.

I like this shot of Bitsy in the front yard. Spring in the forest!! She's been spending a lot of time outdoors these days, as Kiba has taken a sudden love of chasing her relentlessly around the house. Poor Bitsy!

Here's that ruffian now, with his sly look.
Well dearests, I have managed to eat nothing but chocolate for dinner. This simply won't do. I'm thinking baked potato with feta, sounds like a strange yet intriguing idea.
Hopefully there will be art to post soon!

Innocence

Good noontide!
It's a sunny but chilly day here in the forest. I'm about to go work on some website stuff for a client, but thought I'd put in a bit of a post first -- and eat chocolate. For you non-Twitter folk out there (and thus haven't heard me gush about it already), I just discovered the most wonderful indie musical group! They've been around awhile but I'd never heard of them until now, called The Innocence Mission. I picked up their album Small Planes a few days ago. Anyway, I identify so much with the lyrics and the motivation behind them, besides it being beautiful to listen to. Like I see life through a similar lens.
Just had to gush for a minute. ;)
From the sketchbook:

A bit of a pictorial "journaling" on mourning the rather destroyed life I left before I moved here -- and time to let go of it, because I've gained a much better prize when I moved to this house... and that is Jesus.

Kiba is modeling the afghan I just finished crocheting a couple of days ago. Isn't it cheerful? I think it looks like a garden.

Today I felt compelled to bring the lilac bush inside so I could look at it and smell it whilst working. It's difficult trying to keep Kiba out of the plant water though! It's sitting on my "new" shelf that my mom just gave me. I haven't had a proper bookshelf in 3 years! Finally everyone can start emerging from the piles under my bed and stand up like proper little books. :)

The bottom of our hill.... oh cheerful yard, how I wish I could roll around in the grass and dirt all day!

Childhood

Thinking a lot about childhood today... it's been a weird day!
Firstly I have been practicing more sequential art (or art from the same story) and I have this little boy and his squirrel friend to show you:

Balance ACEO
Original is on Etsy


Sharing a Meal ACEO
Original is on Etsy

I was outside sketching in the sun earlier, and made a drawing of a little boy flying a kite -- at which point I burst into tears because it reminds me of my brother Travis and I miss him! He lives in Seattle. He used to love to fly kites when we were kids.
I was feeling pretty nostalgic in general, listening to music that my parents used to play when I was very small! Puts me in a strange state of mind. I have such an emotional connection with childhood, all the beauties and fears.
Also I had a really scary nightmare last night about a serial killer who would suffocate people with plastic wrap and I caught him in the act. I woke up yelling! Boy, haven't done that in a while. Maybe I need to watch less tv.
Scary as that was, it really was a very beautiful warm day outside. Butterflies were swirling all over the air, mostly to have a meal of the lilac bush and many of them went for the periwinkle as well. While I was smelling a lilac, one of them flew to my cheek! :) My Kiba cat sure had fun watching them too -- I had to intervene once when he pounced on one. Okay, now I feel I MUST post some pictures of butterflies.

Black Swallowtail -- the kind that was on my cheek!


I don't know what kind this is, but I like them.


Another Swallowtail.

Now it is evening and we really must go grocery shopping. I made a chocolate cake and also must make hot fudge frosting for it! As you can see, I'm no longer avoiding sugar as a rule :P ... don't want to go hog wild either but hey, tomorrow's a holiday. Happy Resurrection Sunday/Easter to all!

Illustration Friday: Talisman

Talisman of Escape
A good story book is a talisman against the dreariest of days – turning them into adventures and sunny places.

(And, if you want this for your very own....)
Original is on Etsy
Prints are on Artwanted

Random stuff on a Wednesday

Good morning!
I had this weird dream about an owl with bright colored feathers around his head, and it would come into the house if you hooted at it. Then it would play with your kittens (and not eat them). And everybody at our church lived in the same apartment complex. Heheh.
Anyway, right now I'm painting this:

Trying to think how I can work this into "Talisman" for IF! A good book is a talisman against boredom, right? Yeah. That's it. Though I don't think I would be bored at all with a couple of cats on a sunny, flowery hill. (But hey, maybe that's part of the story)
I have this weird dry scaly patch on my eyelid, for a couple of weeks now. I wish it would go away! I've been putting Vitamin E oil on it.
I really must paint now.

I can't help it

Good evening!
Right now, I am excited about this:

The lilac bush right out the front window is my favorite thing about spring. It smells so lovely. Every year I end up blogging about it, haha -- but I can't help it. The other wonderful thing about the lilac bush is that all the butterflies show up too! So far I've seen black swallowtails, monarchs, and some little brownish orange ones. Our finch feeder, normally completely swarmed with yellow finches, is now deserted. Methinks a natural food source has opened up somewhere now that spring is here. My hummingbirds are still visiting their feeder but not as often -- I'm sure they vastly prefer flower nectar when it can be had!
My niece went back home yesterday and I had to clean up the tornado path of toys and coloring supplies throughout the house, heh. It's fun when she comes. Also had to go through the outgrown baby clothes and sniffle a little bit, remembering when she used to wear them. Kids grow up SO fast! I decided I would do a little quilt type thing of fabric from her outgrown clothes. A few dresses I couldn't bear to cut up, though.
The other day whilst visiting a family friend's house I went out and took a bunch of pictures of "weeds", as my dad would say. ;) Really, it's wild mustard and very cheerful! This honey bee certainly thinks so.

My mommy's house also had some loveliness on her fruit trees in the front yard:

Alas, I have no art to share today since I've been rather busy with a couple of side jobs of late. Nothing terribly exciting, but I don't mind it and the extra money is a blessing.
It is almost baked potato time. Two nice ones in the oven as I type! Soon one of them will be accompanied by olive oil, salt, pepper, nutritional yeast, and pepita seeds. Oh, glory!
Last but not least, I've been awarded a little Kreativ Blogger award by the lovely Pixie Wildflower! Thank you, Cathy!

And I in turn dub Heather Sleightholm of Audrey Eclectic a most Kreativ Blogger. This is one of my favorite blogs to read (not to mention the drool-worthy artwork), so go check it out!! It's all about nostalgic, olden days prairie goodness.
Off I go then...

Little Miss, Fairies and such

Yo! So my niece Araya is here this weekend :) and right now it is nap time. I can't believe how big she is getting, I took a cute little home video of her playing her child-sized guitar and singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". Very talented two year old, hee hee. I insist upon watching the Secret of NIMH later on!
So I made a FAIRY, felt like doing something old-school. I also decided to put her on auction, though I already had some kind of shady bidding made on it and had to relist. Anyway, here she is:

Cyclamen Fairy
Click here for original on auction

It was supposed to be for the EBSQ show "Cyclamen", but I ended up not getting the scan color-adjusted and all that in time because of the New and Wonderful Computer business. Oh well! I love to paint flowers anyway.
Oh yes, I got around to fixing my very broken music page on my website, for those who are interested in hearing some:
Carmen's Music Page
It's kind of like a movie score-ish style, with singing in some of it.
Uh-oh. Little Miss is stirring!

Newness and some murky deep thoughts

Hi neighbors! I've been a bit scarce for a number of days... long story short, my old computer was getting to be nearly unusable and..... I got a new one!!! God is so kind -- I've been praying and praying for one, as it has become very difficult trying to run my business off of the old battered thing. Last week an anonymous benefactor (and fellow believer) felt strongly that they wanted to give me a computer, and they didn't know I had been praying for one either.

When the new one got ordered I burst into tears actually (heh) because it was just such a kind thing for God to do and I felt His love for me. I didn't have the funds to just run out and get a new machine, that's for sure! Not by a long shot.
So it arrived yesterday :) and I've been setting it up with my files and programs since then. Also I got a random wild notion to rearrange my studio/bedroom, heheh. So there you have it -- disappearing Carmen!

I can't tell you how nice it is to be able to edit art files in GIMP and not want to tear out my hair because it takes 5 minutes to do any little thing. It just zips right through now!
Part of my rearranging of the studio (which also happens to be my bedroom) included making an inspiration board:


Random pictures from magazines, cards, wrapping paper, just anything that took my fancy. And some crochet flowers. ;)


Snaggle digs her new spot in the yarn basket. She can see everything from there! Plus having the yarn out makes me feel cheery. Those two albums are full of old pictures of my ancestors, mostly Victorian with some Civil War. Very cool!


There's the dresser. I love that little tea kettle on top of the speaker with the cheerful yellow and orange flowers. I found it at a second hand store and it is rusty inside, but it made me feel happy to look at it so to home it went!


In the three years I've been here I had never put pictures on my walls. This is very strange for me. But I decided it was time to do it now. The little girl in the photograph is me, drawing at my grandparents' table. :) I think I was three?


My nightstand. Not sure why I'm showing you all this, haha, but I just liked how it came together with the turtle candle holder and the pineapple doily. I seriously need bookshelves, I've got books crammed under my bed all over the place.

Anyway, the combination of all of these things have actually kept me awake at night a few times, like some big CHANGE is on the horizon. I don't know why, but this arrangement of my sleeping and working space makes me feel like a very little girl again -- I mean 4 and younger, before some very terrible things occurred in my life. So I feel that 4 and younger is like, the real me... and maybe the big CHANGE in the air will be something to do with that.
Wow this post is long, thanks for hanging in there!

That sneaky old artist's block

So this is what I *want* my desk to be looking like right now:

But alas! It is pretty clean. No paints on it, just a cup of tea and my computer that hates me. Hopefully soon I will be getting a new computer -- seriously I've had to do hard drive re-formats about 7 times now on this thing. Four Windows installs and three Linux installs (may have lost count). Woohoo! This poor old thing wants to retire badly.
Anyway, I'm having some artist's block at present. I think what it is usually is that I have struggles with Big Bad Time Management. Time Management is scary to my nebulous brain. I would love to learn how to deal with it in a way that is nebulous brained creative person-friendly. Prescribed routines that last too long tend to be rebelled against. So this all leads to me constantly feeling pressured to be DOING SOMETHING (!!!) and that isn't a very healthy place for art, not even art with deadlines. Deadlines are a fact of this business, painting with or without inspiration is a fact of this business -- but I am not helping myself by this constant pressure of guilt about time management. Just thinking out loud. :) Also I did not eat very well nutritionally yesterday and that often brings these things on. Blah!
So, lastly -- I decided to join Twitter and give it a whirl. I don't know that I love it yet, but I'm giving it a try! Random thoughts are appealing to me. This is me: http://twitter.com/yarmalade
Until next time!

Illustration Friday: Subtract

Just One

These two naughty mice don't think anyone will notice if they steal one of the apricots off of the table.

Notice the small things

Howdy and now for some random thoughts...
It seems our society is very interested in bigger, better, more exciting, more flashy, MORE period -- and I thought it would be nice to step back and look at some of the *little things*, simple things that I enjoy that would probably not even be noticed usually.
1. I like how the little drops of water line up on the top rail in the shower, all in a row. I like to take my finger across the rail and make all of the drops go down my hand -- and they're always cooler than the hot water of the shower. Maybe that's weird, but there it is. ;)
2. A patch of moss on the ground can be almost irresistible! Velvety green and squishy and I like to touch it.
3. I like when my cat's fur is in a patch of sunlight, and if I look real close every hair has rainbows in it.
4. I like how when you stir a cup of hot chocolate, you will get a spiral galaxy in your cup.
5. I love to smell a box of crayons.
6. My favorite word is "susurrus", which means the sound of the wind through the trees. It reminds me of Psalm 96 where it says, "Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy before the LORD". I really think they are singing, with a little help from friend wind.
7. The smell of wet, fallen leaves = mmmmmm.
8. I like to watch people write with a pen. Just how they move their hand and how the letters form.

Wasn't really going for a set number here, but that'll do for the present. Wow, I *really* need to stop eating these kettle chips. Help!
Lastly, here is a tiny woman riding a rabbit from the ol' sketchbook:

Afghan mishaps, etc.

I've been crocheting an afghan that looks like a garden of flowers, and realized today that I forgot to make a whole bunch of the squares (and I've already made ever so many joining seams). Rats! Guess I'm not as close as I thought to finishing.
Anyhow, I have a new little painting to show:

Garden Dance
Click here to buy original
Click here to buy prints & such

I thought we might have a little more "random photos from my life" today. Well they're really not that random, because it is all about how I spent my morning once I got home from church. I really did not want to go to church at all at first but I am glad I did -- I'm always blessed when I go despite my morning grumps. (Not really a morning person).
I had this for breakfast:

Grilled onions and bell peppers with seeds sprinkled on! It was so tasty, I wish I had some more to eat right NOW. I've been on an absolutely no sugar, no caffeine and no white flour detox for a couple of weeks, so I have learned to eat my veggies in new ways. Bah, I'm such a grain-eater. I really miss chocolate too. I am trying to do this for about a month.
Here is my morning tea ritual:

Peppermint, yum!
Also I practiced my alto recorder for awhile -- shame on me, I haven't practiced very much for a couple of months. When my niece was here I played it all the time since she enjoyed it and I couldn't really do a lot of painting and such. Now she has her own green one, too that I keep here for her when visiting. ;)

Off I go to figure this afghan thing out! :P

Sometimes I feel impish

Ah, so it is Friday. The week has slipped right past me! I didn't get an Illustration Friday done, bah. Better luck this week I hope.
Today I bought a couple of coloring books from the dollar store -- I've been coloring in them like mad lately. My dad likes to tell me I'm too old for coloring books, but I say nonsense! You're never too old for coloring books. My grandma used to go to her good friend's house often and color in coloring books when my mom was a kid, I'm told. Apparently it was good stress relief. :) That's one thing I love about Grammy, is that she has never lost that impish youth on the inside.
I give you all permission to have your very own big box of crayons and a color book! If anyone tells you that you are too old for them, just stick your tongue out and blow a raspberry or three. That's what I do.
Well I have an ACEO to share! I sketched it out on St. Patty's day, whilst sitting in the sunny yard. That day I had decided that I needed to do as much of my work as I could outdoors, so I plucked out a clover sprig and came up with this little girl:

In His Light
Click here to buy the original on Etsy
Click here to buy prints & such on ArtWanted

And now I will share one of the weirdest trees I've come across....

It's very Tim Burton, don't you think? This tree is along Highway 99, near many many almond groves. I've never seen an oak grow quite this nutty! Here it is from a bit of a different angle:

Very snaky, very "too many trunks". Or something. But it is cool!

Official Spring is only a day away!

This is me, being a better blogger. ;)
Spring has arrived on my little foresty hill, hurrah! Our neighbor's Mimosa tree, although having no leaf buds yet, is covered still with the dried seed pods of winter. Today I heard the wind go through them and they rattled just like little rattlesnakes! It was almost as if each one was being shaken from the inside.
I do have some lovely pictures of the blossoms on the plum trees coming out...

Little white tree brides by the stream. A lot of frogs have been chirping out here!

I'm not sure what kind of tree this is, but it has really pretty pink flowers. They smell good too. :)

Here is a little sketch I amused myself with when I was doing jury duty (not while in court, of course!). What if the wolf really wanted to be friends with Little Red but was too shy to just ask?

Something about Little Red's face reminds me of "Coraline", which of course makes me want to go see the movie. I already have the soundtrack oddly enough -- I have never bought a movie score prior to actually seeing the movie before this, but it is so quirky and lovely.
Lastly today I will leave you with my tiger cat:

He has decided that my shawl makes a perfect blanket for his bed. I hope everyone is having a bit of Spring wherever you are. I have to go kick my hiney and get some work done. I've let it pile up and I'm a little overwhelmed!

....Crawls out of the muck.....

Well I'm still alive! Combined jury duty and a nasty flu has had me rather wiped out for awhile. I read a really good article on Empty Easel about blogging types, and it got me thinking about what I really wanted out of this blog. My favorite blogs that I read every day are generally blogs of other artists, and they do more than just list their latest work -- they really give an insight into their own little worlds. I want to do that! I'm afraid I've slipped into mainly "look what I've painted next!" out of laziness and uncertainty about what to write. I think that sort of blog is good too and I also read many of those, but my favorites are definitely the ones that share an inner world along with the art. So I will now challenge myself to be better at that sort of journaling. :) It's funny, I have kept regular pen and ink journals all of my life and have no trouble at all with those! It's just that I use those for processing thoughts and emotions and not really a list of what I did that day, so I'm not sure how to do that here. Hm. I'll figure this online thing out somehow!
Anyhow, NOW I am going to share some new ACEOs :) -- and they are on auction here if anyone should desire them...


Whale Watcher


Daisy Girl

I think I need to paint a whale again, it was fun! It's an absolutely glorious day here in Northern California, and I spent some of it wandering around outside in the trees and grass. My tiger cat enjoyed it too, we both needed a good airing out. Some of the trees are blossoming, and the beloved lilac bush is showing baby leaf shoots. I can't wait until it is in bloom! I really have to get on myself to go outside and be out in Creation. I get so wrapped up in my little cocoon of desk, paint, and computer that it can sometimes be very draining. Watching movies on Hulu while I paint is nice but there is just nothing like being outside with the beautiful creatures God has made.

Girls and Dogs

Well I've gone ahead and put "Sunday Breezes" up for sale:

Original on Etsy
Prints & Products on ArtWanted

Also I have three new ACEOs with dogs in them! I rarely paint dogs so I thought I should get some practice in.
The dog ACEOs are all on auction here!


Best Friends


Dog School


My Yellow Dog

Maybe not very mysterious that they all look like our family dog Lucky, heheh.
It's been a strange kind of half-rainy, half-sunny day. I like the sunny parts. :) But of course, California badly needs rain so it's great we are getting so much lately.
I enjoyed painting "Sunday Breezes" so much I think it is time I did more faith-based illustrations. God is always my inspiration anyway!
I have finally obtained some new rechargeable batteries for my beloved digital camera, so I hope I get some nice pictures of the outdoors, sketches and such soon. I have missed my camera!
I think I'm finally coming out of this brain fog I've been in for weeks... sorry if I've owed you an email or have been slow about commenting. I've let papers pile up, messes creep in and that is never a good thing for this little scatterbrain. I've been spending some time organizing which is helping enormously.
God bless you all!

Illustration Friday: Breezy

Sunday Breezes

Little Julia is on her way to church one windy Sunday morning, with her Bible in hand.

Noon on a Wednesday

Thank you everyone for your birthday wishes! :) I did have a very nice day, just hanging out with my family. And there was Swiss chocolate cake with pecan frosting! With coconut sorbet for ice cream, yum. At the bookstore I picked out Amigurumi World: Seriously Cute Crochet by Ana Paula Rimoli. Sooo cute! I can't wait to make the little apple with the worm in it.
I have a new morning ritual. I got these little dainty teacups/saucers for my birthday, three of them with a different flower on each. So! Now I am going to make a pot of tea and drink out of my little dainty cups, like I am doing today. There is "Candy Cane Lane" tea in it at the moment! Yum!
Anyway, on to business! I finally finished up the colored version of "Clandestine" and it is here:

The Owl and the Pussycat
Purchase the Original on Etsy
Purchase Prints on ArtWanted

Also, I put my little rabbit drawing from last week up for sale:

Garden of Time - Original on Etsy
Garden of Time - Prints on ArtWanted

I've had some requests for more children, so I think I'll have to do some more of those and hold back my urge to do millions more rabbits! Ha ha.

Happy Birthday to Me

It's my birthday today! My dad has already made me a super tasty breakfast :) and hopefully there will be some nice tea and cake later on.
Anyway, I wanted to share my new painting today because it seemed so tea-party-ish even though there is no tea in it. Just the outfit I guess!

Little Mama
Original purchase information
Prints purchase information

I think we might go to the bookstore and I will go pick out a neat book. I love books!!! I've always cared far more about books and music than I ever have about clothing, which is evident in my very non-trendy wardrobe. ;)
For some reason I am really into crochet food right now. Especially desserts. I bought a pattern the other day to make the most adorable teapot!! It is from KTB Designs on Etsy, and is in fact my first Etsy purchase. All of her patterns and creations are UBER CUTE. Check them out!
I'd best go get ready to head out for birthday festivities.

Illustration Friday: Time

Garden of Time

Illustration Friday: Flawed

Flawed

Miss Iris cat frowns at her mirror as she dresses for the ball -- one whisker simply will not comb out nicely like the others!