Today's garden photos

That wicker chair wasn't repairable so I'm using it as a trellis for some of the climbing roses here. it should be really pretty next year with pink roses wrapped all around it and shooting up through it in places. It will be a solid support for the plants too.

  

Not too many flowers left these days but I thought this was the best one out there.

This is much nicer when I put all of the cushions out but I think it's great anytime. We call it "the summer living room"

Yes, there are a few of the mini sunflowers left so there's still time to do a bit of drawing and painting with them.

Living Space

 I finished hand quilting this table runner before shifting things around in the house again. The dining room table has gone back to the dining room and my work table is serving as a desk. The sofa is back too. Things change around here to suit the projects that I'm working on.

 We still like doing the computer work on the big TV but it helps having a 19 inch monitor next to the desk as well because we're often working on several projects at once.

 I'm re-working a few furniture pieces and that blue painting in the living room while I get things sorted out and set up to use the dining room as studio space again. A lot of this is seasonal and has to do with making the most of the windows and natural light available. My friends say that they never see the place the same way twice and they're probably right. I'm too "into" my projects to notice.

This little stand had a lot of paper cut outs and things on it along with all that paint. I'm in the process of removing all of that and coming at it with a new approach. No idea for a theme or anything yet but I'm really enjoying the work. Sometimes destroying a piece can be a very intense process-it helps you relax and think. Often the re-imagined piece is better than the first attempt ever was.

clean up and damage control

It's surprising how messy the house can get when I'm caught up in other projects so I'm taking a day to get things caught up a bit. I really enjoyed how that dot painting looked on the valentines day merchandise I designed in my Zazzle store so I'll be finishing off the edges of that so I can get it hung up and out of the way. That will make 16 paintings currently hanging in the living room so I'll be listing some of them for sale in by eBay store  hoping to gain some wall space and some money for bills and art supplies. I'm looking forward to changing from conventional watercolors to liquid ones or acrylic inks so that will be the significant investment I'm hoping to fund with the paintings I'm trying to sell. Wish me luck!

Exit the Knitting Machine, bring on the Holidays

 Don't worry, it's just been packed away a while so that I can focus on other things. It was impossible for company to stop by with that much equipment filling up the room and I was getting a bit lonesome.

 It was nice to have everything out long enough to get it all sorted out again. I sold a few pattern books I didn't need anymore so it helped with my plan for organizing and downsizing around here as well.

 Doesn't this look a bit better? We made some hot, spiced cider and settled in for some holiday movies. Yes, that sofa has seen better days but then again so have we...OK, you can stop laughing now...

Yes, I made the afghan. I'll be drawing and painting the flowers soon. You'll be seeing the new work as soon as I finish each piece.

As you can see here, even on a bright and sunny day the wall color in the "winter studio" (OK, it's the dining room...or it would be if only...) makes it much too dark to photograph or film art or craft projects in here.

The plants were enjoying the sun and the light hit a couple of the paintings I've been working on pretty nicely but I still didn't feel like I could really work in here.

I began painting out the brown on the walls but can't quite decide whether or not to go over those vines I'd painted over the doorway. What do you think?

Yes, I've got things over all the doorways. I haven't decided what to do about this shelf but I included this shot so you can see how much difference it makes already as we begin to re-do the walls. Now all I've got to decide is whether or not I want this room the same color as the living room. what do you think?

Making it big

Well, as you can see this painting is taking up a good share of my living room and my table so I've had to set the painting aside at this point and move on to some other projects. Just now the painting stands in the doorway between the living room and dining room and I'm folding a load of laundry on the table which of course is a lot easier on the back than tossing it on the bed or the sofa.

People are a bit startled to find the dining room table in the living room but everyone agrees it's so much handier when we're working on things and we gain an extra window that way as well.
Thinking "outside the box" is a way of life for me and I can highly recommend it in these tough economic times when most everyone has got to find the best ways of using the things they've got to make life better, brighter and more pleasant for everyone.

Well, it looks like I'd better get some housework done before I jump back into this painting. Whatever your particular struggles are today I wish you the best and remind you to take a minute to play as well, it  changes everything.

 Don't put it off or wait till you have the perfect project or materials. Draw silly things on your paperwork, see how many ways you can fold that receipt. Make people wonder and smile. You may not be able to change the world but you can change how you feel about it.