Searching For Quails

I HAVE this idea if I sit under a sheet that is painted like a rock, I can take better bird photos. What started out as a search for quail pictures ended up as a drive down memory lane today.

DRIVING up the South Fork, I passed the first house we lived in here in Three Rivers, oh, about 35 years ago, and then I passed what I call the Wells Ranch, when a memory flashed of my youngest daughter walking down the driveway to catch the bus, only to be met by 30 wild pigs. A little farther up the road I drove up a driveway to see the barn where Bron and I lived for 2 years, artwork screwed into slanted walls, surrounded by the quiet beauty of the hills.

BY NOW I felt I needed to complete the journey. Cherokee Oaks turnoff led me to the house on Elk Street, where my 4 daughters and numerous foster children thrived on puppies and kittens and Star Wars for 13 years. It was here that I decided I needed to be an artist. It was here that I left my husband to do so, continuing on with 4 children, 6 dogs and 11 cats, a mortgage and an art business that ended with the split. It was here that I raised my fist (in a tribute to Scarlett O'Hara) and swore I would survive on my own.

I FOUND the house on Ferndale with a letter to Santa. It said "All I want for Christmas is a house to rent. Your elves can call me at..." An elf did call, and Bron and I moved in. Here we discovered if the TV was in a certain spot in my bedroom, we could get "Friends" every night at 7. We also discovered how rich we were in real friends, when so many showed up on my birthday to fence a dog yard.

I WAS crying by the time I finished up with the 2 houses on the North Fork. I have loved every home and almost all of my memories were happy ones. My heart is full today as I remember how rich I am – with family and friends, 2 dogs and 3 cats to share my life, in a great house, in this most wonderful little spot on the earth.

I CAN'T wait to get started with 2012. I wish for everyone a prosperous year, and one filled with the stuff of dreams.

Nadi

Persimmon Turnovers

10x14 watercolor, unframed. $200.

I LOVE persimmons. For my December recipe card this year I decided to make Persimmon Turnovers. I came up with the recipe, which includes zucchini and onions as well, because they were the only 3 veggies in my refrigerator. Sometimes the best recipes are that simple.

FOR A SPECIAL holiday treat I painted a watercolor of the ingredients instead of the usual photograph. I left off the logo with "recipe inside" and instead put a sticker on the clear envelope- that way you can frame the card as a print if you prefer. The painting is available below. Recipe cards are HERE.

Aengus and Caer 8- Finish

Aengus and Caer 7- Solid colors

BLOCKING in solid colors is next. I still hope to finish this by Saturday. 3 more days to go...


Nadi

Aengus and Caer 6- Black Lines

BLACK lines are painted on bright orange canvas. I buy my acrylic paint from Artex Manufacturing in Los Angeles. It's called Nova Color and most muralists use it. I love it- and shipping time is amazing. If I order before noon,I always get it the next day. And that's fantastic when you're working on a mural at another location.


TOMORROW I will start painting. I love this part the most...


Nadi

Aengus and Caer 5- Swans

THIS is my finished design. I'm going to enlarge it to 36x48" and print it out in 8 1/2" sections on my b/w printer, then trace onto 36x48 canvas that has been painted bright orange.



SEE you tomorrow...

Nadi

Aengus and Caer 4- Background

I NEED a background. I searched my DVD of Early European Photographs 1890-1915, Stock.Xchng online, and my reference files for lake pictures in Ireland. I dropped them behind my figures to get a feel for what I'm looking for.




Nope.




Not quite.




I LIKE the lake.




I LIKE the trees, but...


REVERSED is better. I think I want to combine the lake from pic 3 with the trees surrounding the figures. So I drop out image behind the trees and drop in lake picture behind trees.


THIS WILL work. Now for the other swans...
SEE you tomorrow...


Nadi

Aengus and Caer 3- Swan and Birds

HEY – I really like my first shot so I'm leaving this. I wasn't sure what to do with the bent knee but it worked. All the parts of the swan are from different photos. They are scanned in to my computer, the backgrounds are cut out and then each piece is placed around and behind the girl. Each piece is on a separate layer, which lets me move them around until I like the fit. All of this is done in Photoshop, which cuts my designing time into 1/10th the time it would take without Photoshop.



4 BIRDS added to Aengus. This is done the same way as above. Each bird is drawn, scanned in, put on its own layer, and moved around until I'm happy.





WHICH makes it easy then to place him in front of Caer. This is my basic design. Not sure where to go from here.

TOMORROW I'll figure it out. See you then...

Nadi