Back to Creating

My little Buddy is now one month old. I can hardly believe how much faster this month went than the final month of my pregnancy. Could it be the endless repetition of feeding, changing, rocking, feeding, changing, rocking that makes it go faster because it feels like I'm not doing anything? Or perhaps it was the torture of waiting for Silas' arrival that made the last month of my pregnancy seem to drag. I don't know. But I do know that I'm very excited for when Silas stops eating every couple of hours and can hold off a bit longer. And for when he establishes some sort of schedule beyond constant eating. We have our one month appointment tomorrow, so I'm interested to see how much the Doc says he weighs and what percentile he's in. I have to be honest though, the main reason I'm interested in this is because I really want to write it in his baby book. There's a whole page dedicated to reports from his doctor's appointments, and it's just begging to be filled in.
I am also getting back to creative endeavors, slowly but surely. I painted a mountain scene the other day, and it was positively life renewing! It wasn't even that great of a painting, it was just so nice to be doing it again. It did make me realize that I'm not very skilled at painting mountains, and I need to practice.

Brand new painting

After a long hiatus, in which I was away for a month helping with the pregnancy of my sister and subsequent birth of my niece, among other things, I have returned to the blogging world. I have lately been obsessed with three things: working out (Bikini Ready, Fast! Oh yeah, farewell to the jiggly poundage that kept me warm this long, snowy winter! That is, if I can stick with it long enough to make a dent.), the Appalachian Trail (I have hiked on it a total of three times now, adding up to about, ehhh, six miles or so. But they're really more reconnaissance hikes.), and something else which will remain unnamed. Since this is a creative blog, I shall show you the painting I did yesterday. This one is a bit darker than my usual, but it is now hanging on my wall downstairs, and I believe I'll keep it. I attempted a sort of antiqued linen look for the background, which shows up easier in real life than the photograph, and an Edgar Allen Poe inspired tree with blackbirds. I have not yet named it. I actually had been looking into vinyl wall decals such as this one, thinking to perhaps purchase some contact paper and create my own to fill the empty white expanse of wall near my front door. However, since my walls are not properly painted, only primed, I decided it might not be a good idea to stick contact paper to them. I remembered I had a large blank canvas just hiding out in my closet, waiting for an inspiring moment to metamorphose it into something prettier than a blank canvas, and bada bing! Several hours later the painting is hanging on the wall and I'm sitting on a chair, reading a book, surreptitiously glancing up at it every thirty seconds. Hope you like it!

Winter Sunset

I'm back, after a long and luxurious break from the technical world. I must admit, it was refreshing to spend days, yes, even weeks away from the computer, but it's also good to feel connected again. I wanted to share my newest painting, of a treeline silhouetted against a lovely Ohio sunset. This is a scene by my brother-in-law's home, and it was a lot of fun to do. The water in the pond had a thin layer of ice over it in places, which reflected the color of the sky in an unusual way. I find water is not the easiest thing for me to portray. If there are any artists out there with some tips, I would highly welcome them! I will get this posted to my etsy shop as soon as I can manage to get some decent pictures of it. In the meantime, I will endeavor to create another carbon pencil drawing, perhaps of some type of animal. Shall I follow the etsy trend, and draw an owl? Or perhaps something else woodsy, a squirrel or a deer. Hmm, we shall see!

I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving! I certainly did. I made two apple pies as my contribution to the family repast, and also created lots of ornaments. My sales on etsy are now up to 20, which pleases me. But, I must say, I have been spending so much time on ornaments that I haven't had time to draw or paint anything else! So, I've decided to dedicate some time today to painting another landscape. I don't know what yet, but it will be something to do with trees, since that seems to be the one obsession in my life that remains constant.
On another note, back in October I blogged about learning to make yogurt. I have since made it twice, and it turned out spectacularly both times! It is creamy and delicious and mild, not too tart. I like to eat it with a drizzle of maple syrup to sweeten it, although I'm sure it would be good with fruit or jam or some other such thing. My elder brother, upon his first taste of plain yogurt (which, incidentally, he thought was vanilla) exclaimed vehemently his dislike. Then he tasted mine, which had maple syrup in it, and said, "That's not so bad." I will take that as a compliment, and a recommendation for everyone to try it. Here is my recipe for yogurt:

Make sure all containers and utensils are sanitized in the dishwasher or with boiling water.
Heat 2 cups of milk on the stove to 170 degrees. Pour into a bell jar and allow to cool to 120 degrees. Add 1/4 cup of dry milk powder and 1/4 cup Stonyfield Farm plain yogurt. Put into a small cooler with two other jars filled with boiling water, and allow to set for several hours, not more than twelve. You can use other plain yogurt as the starter, but make sure it doesn't contain gelatin. After you start making yogurt, you can use your own as the starter. The measurements are approximate, since I don't really measure. Milk is much cheaper than yogurt, so it makes sense to me that this would be cost effective.

Mockingbird painting

Here is a picture of my newest painting. I have not yet listed this on etsy. It's in a very different style for me, which I have been wanting to try out. I used a lot of glazing in this piece, so the colors are quite rich and deep, which doesn't translate very well into the photo. However, I'm thinking of doing another one in this whimsical style, only with a winter theme. I'm very seasonally oriented, if that isn't obvious. :) And on another happy note, I sold my first painting through etsy today! I'm so excited about it! And I really, really hope the buyer loves her new piece of art! It's one of the first paintings I did when I started this whole art thing back up again, and I love the pop of red in the leaves. If you are interested, you can view the painting I sold here. Happy day all! I know mine was! :)

Weekend

Dan and I decided to, or rather I decided and talked Dan into, traveling to Ohio this past weekend to visit some family. It was such a great time! I am very fond of my family. It was fun to see how my little two month old nephew is growing. My sister is also growing, as she is expecting her first baby! She has an adorable baby bump now, and we all celebrated together by eating three apple pies (and other delicacies prepared by my industrious mother), decorating pumpkins with markers, watching football, and passing the baby among us like a hot potato. I gave my sister a candle I bought from blisscandles on etsy, and matching mommy and baby hats I knitted for her. Now, it's back to everyday life. I finished and listed a new painting on etsy, which you can view here, entitled Wisteria. Not very autumnal, I know, but none-the-less, it is painted and listed. And I already have several ideas rolling around in my head for my next painting. :)

Connie Tom

This is perhaps one of my favorite paintings I have come across on the web. I think it's absolutely beautiful. I love the colors, the lighting, everything. It's called Lanterns of Gold, and the painter is a woman by the name of Connie Tom. I think I could just stare at it for a long time. Her web page is here. Check it out, she has many more beautiful paintings. Maybe one day I'll be able to paint that good. I have been practicing my woodland scenes, and so far they are looking like I need some more practice. But I'll post one eventually.