finally

So here we are...the end has come...and I am sadly behind.
Cheer up! I see the finish line ahead tho all the other racers are long gone.
I have prevailed against the sickness and the dark of night to rise victorious o're the foe.
In other words I did it. Even tho it took me longer than I wanted. It was fun to challenge myself.
Thanks to my teammates who accepted the challenge also!
I am wrapping up this last week in one fell swoop...
First some beautiful scenery. A beautiful beach is my idea of heaven. The sound of the waves...ahhhh....

Then something I don't like. This is open water. No land to be seen. Even photographs of open water make me nervous. This does not make me go ahhhh...

Next we have someone I love. She asked me to draw her. I love her. I left it as a sketch because I think it looks just like her and I don't want to ruin it.

The ironic title of this next piece is "anything I like". Notice that it is laundry filling my bed...which I do not like. I was sitting and staring at it while trying to draw. (also maybe trying to avoid the laundry doing)
Notice at the bottom..."and piles to go before I sleep". I must have read that somewhere because I cannot be that brilliant. Either way, it does make me crack up.

Finally, we have the last drawing in the series. The congratulations banner. Notice that you cannot read the entire banner and it kind of wimps out at the end.( More pennant like than banner. )
I just wanted to represent the fact that I lapsed in the middle and wimped out at the end...still, I conquered.
And that deserves a little rah-rah.

For the observant among you I confess that I skipped a picture here at the end. Someplace I would like to go. I left it out and I am amazed that you noticed. It is just that I wanted to put it at the end.
An artistic p.s. if you will.
Remember how they used to ask the winners "what are you gonna do now?" And they would holler...
"I'm going to Disneyland!!"
Yeah, I wish that were me.

Thank you all for joining me on this artistic journey. I hope you enjoyed it.
Please go visit the other players...you will be glad you did.

We now return to our regularly scheduled programming. Angst will commence when I am good and ready.


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If this is your first visit, we were doing a 30 day drawing challenge.
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a couple

Today the challenge is a couple.
Didn't say a couple of what.
I chose sisters.
Daughters.
A couple of daughters.
I drew this from one of my favorite pictures of the two of them.
They are standing in the light of a window. I wish I could draw light. It is beautiful in this shot.
As it is, I chose to draw the girls with very little in the way of shading. Just a line drawing.
I drew it pretty quickly and got really frustrated with some of it while other parts turned out pretty ok.
There are lots of places that need adjustment but since this is the place where I try to refrain from editing myself too much I am just going to leave it as is.

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needs

Today we draw a need.
I have one that I think about almost every day.
I didn't spend a lot of time in the actual drawing of this because it just wasn't necessary.
This need must be understood. Felt.
You either get it or you don't.

no, those aren't ghouls haunting my van...they are my children. They are flailing and hollering and doing other childrenish things like asking non stop questions and getting into each others' space.
If I had this magical invention I would be like the me in the picture...smiling. As it is, the car makes me go all frowney.
Disclaimer- in the rare moments that people are being civilized I actually enjoy the conversations they have with each other and with me. Alas, civility is hard to come by.
Thus the need.

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missing you

Sometimes a cry a little bit
and the tears fall salty
tho i'm thinking only of your sweetness
you are missed...

I miss chocolate. I have always been allergic to it but as I get older the allergy bites more so I cannot cross the line. Thus I cry.
Side note...did you know that the old Puritan women used to make one mistake(on purpose) in each of their creations because only God was perfect. Well, I did that.
Sort of.
I colored and I colored and I thought I got all finished and gah!!!
Oh well.
Can you see it?

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crow

apologies to my good friend Niki for even suggesting that she catch up already.
(hangs head in shame)
I said it with a wink and a smile if that makes any difference.
So, here I am...eating a big ole piece of crow pie with a catch up sauce.
(you saw what I did there, right?)
Anyhoo...
firstly we have something orange.

no, it is not an orange. It is an orange slice. As in candy. mmmmm.....
Which leads me to my next subject.
Something I want.
Far be it from me to waste a perfectly good orange slice.

Yes, technically I cheated. Let's just pretend you didn't see that.

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stretching....

today the assignment was to draw something new.
I had some really great ideas. But the dog ate them. er...I am sure she would have if I had gotten them down on paper.
Anyway, I got to the end of the day with bupkis. (is that how you spell that?)
You see, I have been working hard on a party for my 6 yr old. A princess party. It is going to be fun.
I have been coming up with games that have a royal theme.
Pin the tail on the donkey (a party standard) just did not feel princessy to me.
Princesses don't do stable work ya know.
Donkey derriere...uh...no.
They are not above amphibian osculation tho.
This can be proven in classical literature.
 So I came up with a game.
Pin the kiss on the frog.
(Personally I think "amphibian osculation" sounds better but I don't think that would pass muster with the princess.)
Again with the anyway...I spent a good part of the day making a giant poster of a frog and many not so giant lips to press on him.
Then, when agonizing about my inability to satisfy the challenge of the day I realized that this frog was my salvation.
He is brand new. I just drew him. For my brand new 6yr old no less.
It's a stretch and I know it. But it will have to do.

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doodling around

Today we doodle.
Compulsory doodling is such an oxymoron.
You can't require spontaneity.
If you have it on the agenda then it can't be spur of the moment.
Trying not to think about it so that you can come up with something effortless and  fresh is just painful.
Truly, it's like saying, "don't think about that elephant".
Sheesh...
So I over thought things, as is my way. Then my daughter chastised me, "you can't plan a doodle, mom."
sigh.

Finally, I just reached in the far back part of my brain and yanked out whatever I could put my hand on.
Here you see what could be any of many notebook backs from 6th grade.
There is a small challenge here for you.
Can you decipher the clue pictures? (there are 5)
Can you make the housey thing with the x without picking up your pencil and without retracing a line?
The box is nothing but a box. No challenge but kinda cool.
The animals are just animals. Because I like you.
Enjoy.

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look into my eye

See the iris.
ha! I carack myself up.

This is my favorite plant. I love it in all colors shapes and sizes. It just makes me happy.

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inspiration

Lately I have felt very little in the way of inspiration. At least in the way of aha! moments.
So I sat and I thought. And I thought. And I thought.
Yep. None there.
So I looked it up.
Inspiration...
blah blah, inspired, blah blah creativity blah - wait...the movement of air into the lungs, breathing in
Eureka!

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Family Portait

The Family Portrait

the family portrait
a door in the wall
with scratching
and marking
to measure how tall
a race it would seem
tho the runners move slow
they all crow and look down
on the ones still below
then they turn their eyes skyward
and stretch to catch up
with the lanky fast growth spurters
sitting on top
til the sad happy day
comes too soon for us all
when the young ones pass mom
and mark dad for a fall...


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fairytales

You cannot ask me to name my favorite fairy tale. Well, you can ask. But I cannot really answer.
I just love fairy tales. Always have.
So, I get this challenge and my brain starts whirring.
I do not necessarily love the disney versions of the old stories. They are fine and mostly brilliant when it comes to encapsulating a huge story into childsize bites that don't makes this adult gag.
Still, I prefer the real stories. The danger...the intrigue...the fact that they don't all live exactly happily ever after.
C'mon, they're just so real! snort.

I landed on this story. You may know it as The Swan Princess. Hans Christian Anderson wrote it as
The Wild Swans.

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cartoon

 Sorry, this is a little hard to see.
Do you get it? Huh? huh?
If not...look here, and here...that should clear things up.
(you might not think it is funny but at least you will know what I was going for) 

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talk to the hand

Today's challenge was a bit easier. And I can't help but laugh at the irony (even tho irony is totally overused these days) of the fact that in this I will introspect when it was not called for when yesterday I lamed out in cold sweats at the thought.
If you followed that sentence you get a prize.
The challenge...latest accomplishment.
This challenge...is...my latest accomplishment.

I have not laid pencil to paper more than a half-dozen times in the the 20 something years since I got out of college. Something about forced art just sucked the life right out of it. Forgive me but putting on a grade on art is wrong. You cannot simply letter someones muse and then line them up in absurd best to worst case study. Your art may be bad but its your art, man. Who am I to tell you what you feel? Technique...yeah it has its place but art is art and you don't be messin. No critical suggestions. K?
Its like telling your 5r yr old she misspelled your name in a love note.
So, after the final exam I just fizzled.

I had to think long and hard about joining this challenge. I didn't know if it would feel like a requirement. It hasn't yet. Maybe I am more mature. Maybe it is better because I chose it. Whatever it is...it is fun.
And I feel like I am much better at it now that I make the choices.

So here is me...drawing. Notice the paper is blank. I choose to leave it that way to remind me that I get to choose. And I like it.
That in itself is a major accomplishment.

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turn, turn, turn

Today we had a drawing challenge that accosted me mentally.
I really despise questions that require introspection without perspective.
Don't get me wrong...I love to navel gaze. I love to think deep swimmy thoughts about the whys and wherefors  of my current pertaining to my past.
I just don't like to answer on the spot questions about my inner workings. Gosh, that is just kinda like being asked to sit onstage while they play video of your most embarrassing moment on the jumbo tron.
(Reallly, hope there weren't any cameras around on that day.)
Alrightythen, for this challenge I chose to think outside the box.
Turning point.
Here ya go.

Sad to say, my children did not know what I was drawing. I said merry-go-round and they laughed at me.
Merry-go-rounds have horses. Duh.
So what do you call this thing?

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favorite candy

 yes please.

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here's the story

backstory that is...

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he or she?

My favorite animated character...

beepbeep.

I say she is female. Others beg to differ.
What say you?

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word

Today the topic of drawscussion is "favorite word".
What is my favorite word?
Long ago I would have told you that my favorite word was ranger.
Ranger.
I guess I still kind of like it. Not in a Ranger Rick way. More in a 14 yr old girl forest ranger man in uniform hearts and flowers kind of way. sigh.
gag.
Favorite word.
It would be way easier to come up with a least favorite word. I could probably spend all day making a list.
I have two that top the list. (actually, if we are going to get technical, these are phrases)
Ready?
cutting edge.
state of the art.
Just hate em.
Let's move on shall we?
This word hit my head as I sat and mulled. It fits me perfectly when referring to the word wielding part of me.
I am a word snob.
I am particular.
Careful.
Tight in puckered kind of way.
I will put back a birthday card because it said beautiful instead of lovely.
I will reject a song because it says "you're the best" and blasts me out of my worshipful reverie.
Words matter.
So my favorite word. At least for today...

Click to get a closer view.

I would just like to say that this word does not necessarily apply to other aspects of my personality.
Only word choices.
I chose to let the y have its own little quirkiness.
Just owning the notion that in my word world fussy does not mean uptight. Just precise.
Persnickety.
That's me.

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Caps for Sale

My favorite literary character comes from my childhood.
It is the story of a cap seller that sits down for a nap and awakens to find his caps gone.
I just loved that little salesman. 
If you haven't read Caps for Sale...you must now go out and find a copy.
Now.
Go on.
It's just that good.

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my best friend

not to be cheesy or anything...

This is my best friend.
My honey.
I chose to draw him from a photo taken back when we were just beginning our best- friendship.

my favorite place

each article and sweet refrain
all candy wrapped in cellophane...

My favorite place is the library. Preferably with no children (much as I love them) to talk to me.

nuff said

mmmmmmm.......

favorite animal

Day two finds me scrambling.
Favorite animal, I have none.
But then I hit a thought
or maybe the thought hits me
and I begin to draw.

A favorite.
Gangly and delightful in its beautiful stretchiness.
Not too much, not too spare.
Enough.
Giraffe.

Look back to HERE to see what I am talking about. (we are playing a drawing challenge. join us!)

new things

Things are getting entirely too serious round here so I aim to lighten it up a bit.
I am joining a 30 day challenge. If this annoys you go away. just kidding.
no seriously...you are at my house so we get to play what I choose.
I choose to join my friend Niki  and her friend Don and draw for 30 days.
Join the challenge if you want. It could be amusing!
Here is my first entry.

Self Portrait.
(this means I drew a picture of myself)
All I can say is that it is really hard to draw yourself while holding a hand mirror.
Really.
Ok your turn!

Challenge list HERE.