Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!

8.5" x 11"

colored pencil, ink

I hope that you are having a wonderful Valentine's Day with those you love!

I took out the earbobs (the kind that you screw on, not pierced) that a boy gave me many years ago, when we graduated from high school. I've worn them every Valentine's Day, that I went anywhere, since that time. I thought that they just look like Valentine's Day.

The earbobs are heart shaped with a pearlized background surrounded by gold. In the center, is a red rose. On each side of the heart, there are 3 blue stones, in what I call gold spokes extending from the side. There are two more little gold spokes at the top and one more larger one at the bottom.

I don't think that I had anymore dates with the boy after he gave me the earbobs. I went off to college and he went off to the service and we went on with our lives. I was very surprised that he gave me a graduation gift. That was very nice of him, and it is still appreciated. He was cute, I thought. When he died, not so long ago, I immediately remembered the earbobs in my jewelry case.

I'm not going out anywhere, but I took a picture of the earbobs and a piece of popcorn that my grandson brought me this morning. He found a kernel of corn that he thought looked like a flower. (Last year, he found a heart shaped potato chip that we took a picture of!) So our picture is called "Hearts and Flowers". I guess that was my valentine for this year.

I thought I might need to add the photo of the earbobs to our family pictures. And, I might draw them for my sketchbook.

Remembering all those handmade Valentines that I had my students make to give to veterans, people in the nursing home or hospital, and service men and women, I did the above little valentine with some old fashioned symbols, and an old fashioned saying.

Often, we just used copy machine paper, which was easy to get, and wasn't so heavy for mailing. In good years, when we had more money, we used construction paper, and things like ribbon and rick rack to decorate the cards.

The above card was done on copy paper with Prismacolors and pen. The saying on it became so trite that it was discouraged. And since it had not been used much for a long while, I thought I would add it. I think I started hearing that saying when I was about in second grade! My boyfriend printed it in his Big Chief tablet and passed the paper back to me. (The teacher had separated us, believing that we were too young to have boy friends and girl friends! I wasn't so interested in having a boy friend in my class, either, but we ended up together almost all through school. She didn't know that I had my first date at age 7! The grown ups weren't so in favor of it, though.)

I always thought that, on Valentine's Day, it would be so nice to be treated really well by someone special. That's the day to get jewelry, like diamond rings, candy, flowers, and be taken to some place really nice to eat, go out dancing in some romantic place, etc.

It usually is a disappointing day. Watching others get balloons and valentines, making them for other people, watching romance on tv. We did have one principal who gave each lady faculty member a rose on Valentine's Day. I sort of felt like it was for the ones he really liked, and the thorns were for the rest of us! But it was nice for my desk.

Ashton's class had a party at school yesterday. He only showed me one Valentine he got-a 3-D or hologram type of thing with a dog and a kitten on it. As you move the card, the animals change. He said they had ice cream sundae's at their party. He thought they should have had more. I think he was hungry. He didn't eat breakfast, and didn't like the lunch at school.

When we were in school, some students were allowed to decorate a box for all the valentines. Crepe paper and ribbon were the favorite materials used. The box sat on a table in front of the room, and valentines were added until time for our party.

I thought that the hat boxes at Grandpa's dry goods store would be ideal for a box to decorate. I begged and pleaded for a box for years! I just got a grouchy "No"! Pappy explained that they needed the box for business, but I thought that they could spare just one for our Valentine's Day party.

One year, he gave in and let me use a hat box. I was so proud and thought that was the most beautiful Valentine's box that we ever had. I still didn't get to be in the group that decorated it. But that was okay.

I don't think that we had to give a valentine to everyone, as they do today. It was war time and times were hard. We never thought about making cards, either. I think that we bought our little cards at Fink's Variety Store and, those with more money, or those who had saved to buy one for a special boy or girl, bought those at Taliaferro's drug store. Cards to our special friends were written and addressed with great care and dropped into the hole on the top of the hat box. It was nice when the sound indicated that there were a lot of cards in the box.

Parents brought cookies and punch to school for our party. Those were enjoyed quietly at our desks. We read our cards as we walked home, and, later, talked to our friends to compare notes about who had sent us a card.

The Baptists had a special Sweetheart Banquet for Valentine's Day. It wasn't for sweethearts, particularly,but for older teens. A chance to dress up and use our best manners. If anyone actually had a date for this, that was really special! Most of us just went on our own. I found a program recently from one banquet that I attended. As I recall, I only went to one, or maybe two. For one thing, we were Methodist, and, for another, I was shy and had a bit of an eating problem. I think my friends and my mother insisted I go, or I never would have gone. But, it was nice.

We should have taken more photographs of those things.

My "romantic" evening is going to be watching the British comedies on Houston PBS while eating supper, and having some of the yellow cake with lemon frosting that my daughter made for my mother's birthday. (She makes a cake for all the family members' birthdays, although they are no longer with us!)

Hope you have a great Valentine's evening, and, at least, have some great memories to enjoy!

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I thought that my "Rain Dance" picture wasn't going to work, but, there are clouds to the south moving toward us, and it sounds like thunder in the distance. Let's hope we get some nice gentle rain!

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If you like to draw or paint, I hope that you will be joining us Saturday for the Plein Aire Workshop in Calvert. Virginia Vaughan will be painting with us on Sunday, for a while, too.

I know it is going to be fun! And we are going to learn a lot!

Contact Cecelia at grannyc_54at yahoo.com for a supply list and information. It would help to know if you plan to come.

We've got a lot of material to work from in Calvert!

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An Old Fashioned Valentine

An Old Fashioned Valentine

8.5" x 8.5"

colored pencil

When it was close to Valentine's Day, when I was growing up, there were maybe 3 or 4 messages that people would start to write and recite, preparing for the day when they would present a valentine to classmates, friends, teachers, boy friends and girl friends during the Valentine's Day party in class.

"Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet, and so are you." That one was the most popular one. The very words brought giggles of embarassment or innocence that pretended to be very knowing of the ways of the world.

It was said so much that it became trite and boring, and out of date.

A message that hinted of romance might be printed on notebook paper with a drawing of a heart, then passed on to someone special with the help of classmates. And all involved, hoped that the teacher wouldn't catch them. How awful for that note expressing their love to be read by a mocking teacher to the class, or, worse yet, in front of the whole study hall. And, then, soon, that teacher might have a talk with parents, which brought on another set of problems. Might even "nip that in the bud", and that's what the adults hoped for.

Of course, there was "Be mine, Valentine." and other such traditional sayings.

I just happened to think during a Valentine's Day party at a nursing home, that we don't hear those old sayings at all anymore. I can't remember when I saw a simple, old fashioned valentine. Today's valentines are tiny, at least the ones used for kids' parties at school, and they don't even have an envelope to address. The themes are cartoons or movies, or gimmicks to catch attention.

When I was teaching, I had my students make valentines to send off to VA hospitals, as part of the Valentines for Vets project. If we had an address to mail to service men and women, we would send there. Then we made extras to deliver to the local nursing home and hospital. As I visited in the nursing home, this Valentine's Day, I noticed that local students had made a lot of valentines for the people there. Sheets of construction paper were filled with pop ups, colored shapes, printed messages, and decorated with glitter and string. I was glad to see that someone else was carrying this project on. I thought that my students enjoyed making the cards, got a feeling of pride when they delivered their work, and the recipients got to enjoy some bright and cheerful art work, made with care.

So, at the end of the day today, I wanted to draw something to add to my blog about Valentine's Day. I ended up with the little drawing above. A valentine with an old fashioned message. Not so fancy, but a memory.

Hope that you had a wonderful Valentine's Day!

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And now, a drum roll, please.

I was so excited and pleased with the comments I recieved with the One World-One Heart event. I thank everyone who added such nice comments. I really appreciate all the visitors and hope that you come back again.

I was trying to visit each blog, and comment on them, but there were so many to read, and my computer was acting up. So, I didn't get around to seeing all of them. Those links will remain so it will be possible to go back and look as I have time.

There are some wonderful blogs out there!

I had said that, if I got 50 comments, I would add a second watercolor for the giveaway. That was shown on my last post when I went over 50 entries. Today, I received a few more, bringing the total to 60. I left it open until midnight, in case anyone else wanted to be included.

After that time, I made a list of all the names, cut them apart, put them in a hat, shook them up. I wanted to have my grandson draw, but that's a little late for him to be up! My drawing was the old fashioned way.

Congratulations to the winners!

Tammie Lee is the winner of "Fun Tree".

Reeva is the winner of "Dream Tree".

I'll be contacting you by e-mail , or comment on your website, to let you know that you have won. Just in case you don't see it here. In the event that I can't contact someone, I will redraw in a few days.

I want to thank Lisa for all her work in getting this together. It has been a fun event, and I feel like I have really expanded my world in getting to know a little more about other bloggers and their work. The event seems to be a big success. It has really grown!

If you have a blog, and you learned about OWOH too late to participate this year, you might want to think about it for the next time.

Keep checking back here. You never know what ideas I might have added!

Thanks for reading and sharing!

For some reason, the picture of the "Dream Tree" seems to have disappeared from that post where I announced it. So, here are the two watercolors in my giveaway again.

And How Do You Feel Today?

And How Do You Feel Today?

The Flu

9" X 12"

colored pencil and ink

This is an assignment that I often gave my classes, when it was obvious that many people were coming to class feeling bad, when something happened that made everyone upset or sad, or even, on days when everyone felt good.

How would it be possible to show how we felt when we suffered with the miseries of the flu? Or how we felt about the illness or death of a student? Or how could we express what it was like to feel sunshine and joy?

Expressionism is certainly one way that artists use to deal with their feelings.

Who has not, at one time or another, looked at Edvard Munch's painting, "The Scream", and thought, "That's just the way that I felt!" Or looked at Kathe Kollwitz's prints of fearful mothers and thought, "I've felt that fear for my child, too."

Even our reactions to things that aren't so serious as war and famine, are often found in our art work and creations. Sometimes it is through our choice of colors, or even the way we make a mark on paper. But, those emotions are bound to come out one way or another.

In our house, this past week, we all fell victim to the flu bug that is going around. First the elementary school age child, then his mother, next, his brother, and I got it last. That meant trying to coax everyone into getting plenty of fluids, rest, and using a lot of tissue. Making sure they took their medicine, had something to eat, and could sleep or watch movies on tv.

I thought of the assignment that I once had my students do, and, so, I thought it was time to do a new "How I Feel Today" picture.

Not exactly a self portrait, but it shows something of how the flu feels!

Nose dripping like a faucet, eyes red and pouring, ears stopped up, head in a vise, with bells ringing, dizziness, mouth and throat so dry it's like prickly cactus in the desert, needles and pins sticking all over, throat so tight you feel like you are being strangled, nausea, stomach ache, head feels like it is on fire, and all that goes with the flu. This time, though, we didn't seem to have those chills and sweats, or the very high temperatures. While we have been feeling really miserable, we must have had a mild form of the flu, this time around.

I guess things are better this year, though, because, last year, at this time, two of us, and one dog, had bronchitis.

Sometime, when you think about it, write down or draw the way that you feel. You might be surprised at how much detail you can put down. And, they might give you a bit of a laugh, later.

Stay well!
And sign my guest book, if you haven't already. I appreciate your comments, and enjoy looking at your pictures.

Warming Up

Warming Up

8.5" x 11"

colored pencil

It finally feels like winter here. No snow, ice, or extreme temperatures. But, it has drizzled a bit and, at night, has reached freezing, leaving the trees bare and the grass dead.

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In Conitz Dry Goods Store, there was a large, black, double sided metal gas heater in the center of the store, near the cash register. Another large gas heater, popped and hummed in the office area in the back of the store. This was all the heat in the building.

The stoves were stored in the summer, until more recent years, when they were left up all year, and just checked for leaks before they were turned on. That meant turning the gas on, striking a match near the hoses and the stove to see if there were leaks. Sometimes, in the closed building, there would be a bit of a smell of gas, but those old stoves served the store and its customers well. On a really cold day, frost might soon form on the big plate glass show windows in the front.

The big black metal box of the center heater held two sheets of a material that looked like cotton, one one each side of the stove. Round holes in rows, on both sides, top and bottom, allowed the heat to escape, and it also provided a place where you could watch the cotton-like material "burn". Only, it never really burned. It might singe or scorch, and seem like it was going to ignite, but it never did. I guess that was asbestos inside the stove.

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The stove in the back was a one sided, open front stove, with wire across the front so you couldn't reach in. It had a cotton-like backing behind the burners like the black stove.

It was hypnotic in the quiet of the buidling, to hear the noises from the stoves, and to feel the warmth that they radiated. Sometimes it was extremely hard to stay awake while the heaters were going.

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As people came into the store, on a cold day, they first headed for the stove, where they held their hands for a few minutes, then turned themselves to warm up on their front and back, then back again until they felt comfortable enough to shop or do business.

Not too many ladies or girls were wearing slacks or jeans in those days. So ladies came in with their dresses, sweaters, jackets, coats, scarves, and wearing stockings held up with garter belts or girdles, and sometimes socks on top of the stockings, their shoes, and maybe galoshes, if it was wet outside. Older ladies might wear knit underwear and cotton stockings, but the younger ladies had stockings and thin underwear. Stockings with a seam in back were the vogue and, when stockings were hard to get during the war, ladies might use an eyebrow pencil to draw that line directly on their leg. Sunbathing was also popular and the tan made it look like the ladies were wearing stockings with that line up their leg.

Ladies, with their bare legs, tended to back up to the stove. For best results, the skirt was lifted up a bit in back, so that they could get the warmth on cold bodies. Of course, they had to be sure there were no other customers, or that the men were occupied elsewhere while they took advantage of the stove.

Sometimes, my great-aunts, grandmother, aunt, mother, sister, and I , and any company we might have, would line up in front of the stove, dresses hiked up in the back, warming away. There might be too many to get full benefit from the stove, so we were glad when a man or customer came in, and someone had to move to go wait on that person. Gave the rest of us more exposure to the heat.

At times, we would have to warn someone who was enjoying the stove too much, to move away from the stove, or to put their skirt down some. Men were in the store and about to come to that area.

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I don't remember that anyone ever got burned on the stove, but, at certain ages, we had to warn children of a certain height to be careful so that they didn't hit their head on the corner of the stove if they should not be watching. Fortunately, the stove was not on when children of that height were being a bit rambunctious.

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We've heard the old stories of stores with pot-bellied wood stoves, and the cracker barrel, with men sitting around telling stories and playing checkers.

Well, we had "the stove", where people gathered around and visited and talked. Some people made their daily rounds, to visit in the stores on Main Street, stop in for coffee somewhere, or piece of pie, then visit some more on their way to and from the Post Office, or to pay a bill or buy some needed item. People could walk all over town, but most did drive their car, or even a tractor, or pick up, to town. And, as they visited, news and stories were spread through town quickly. People came from all over to visit with Grandpa, to interview him, and to hear his stories, especially in his later years. Grandpa started that store in 1901 and worked in it even on the day he died at age 96. After he died, friends came by to visit with his son and daughter.

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The two foot stools used for measuring feet from the shoe department, were placed near the stove. There was a rocking chair, a folding chair, a couple of lawn chairs, and a leather and chrome chair, that stayed around the stove. A couple of worn wooden benches were placed near the stove. These pieces of furniture remained in the warm weather when the stoves were taken across the street to a building Grandpa rented for a warehouse.

Grandpa would work, but, when he was finished with his customer and the books, he would sit in the leather and chrome chair between the counter that held baby things and gift items, and another counter that held towels, tablecloths, bath sets, and cup towels. Here he would sit silently, share a story, listen to the problems that people brought to him, or discuss politics and the news.

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Central heating, now, is nice. But it sure would be nice to be able to hike my dress up and warm myself by a real heater in this cold weather. I just can't get that close to the vents in the ceiling to get nice and toasty warm!

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I used Derwent Colored pencils in the drawing above. Pictured are "the stove", with someone's hands reaching over it from the right side of the page. Between the stove and the counter with the cash register, a woman with a green jacket and a black plaid dress is hiking up her skirt to get warm. One of the footstools from the shoe department is in front of the counter. On the next counter, on the left, there are some sweaters, folded. On the counter to the right, is the cash register, done in a fucshia color. You can see the glow from the fire inside the stove through the double row of holes near the top. There were more holes in the bottom of the stove.

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Thank you for reading, and for your interest.

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Don't forget to sign my Guest Book at the bottom of the page.

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Among Her People

Among Her People

9" x 12 "

colored pencil on paper

I made a slide show of this one, beginning with the first drawing. (Scroll down to the bottom of the post to see the slide show.) So far, I like the drawing best. I think it is because I have looked at this for so long, that I need to see it with fresh eyes, as they say.

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Originally, I had intended to dress my central figure in a white flowing scarf and a light blue dress and jacket. However, at night, when I started to color, I just couldn't find my white or light blue pencils. I picked up what I thought was light blue and colored away, before I could tell that it was actually green. I thought I could go on and work with that, but I was disappointed. I guess I could have started over, but I wanted to work this picture out. The next day, in the sunshine, I found the light blue and white pencils! So, I used those on the lower part of her clothing, and in the scarf.

Then I couldn't find the black pencil, and so I substituted brown and indigo blue, which usually works. I even added some violet and blue violet to darken. It wasn't dark enough, I thought. The next day, the black pencil appeared in the container. So, I blended the black with the other dark colors.

I liked the lilac color and added that to the figure in the right foreground and those around her, then, to lead the eye, I added a bit of that color on up into the trees, the sky, and down into the left side to lead back to the center and the first figure. I knew that I would layer colors over each figure to get the final colors and highlight and shadow. Since the figure to her left is wearing dark purple, I thought of , perhaps, using more indigo blue over the lilac and going darker on her clothing. But, I liked the way that lilac led the eye around the page. So, I settled, so far, on just blending some darker colors from the bottom. (Of course, I like purple, and green, so that part is satisfying, to me. I'm just not sure that it is the best choice for this particular picture.)

The sky was another problem. Working with thin pencil points, and layering colors, takes a long time. With these type of pencils, I try to avoid scratchy pencil marks, and insist that I try to get everything super smooth. I'm not there yet, in this one. So far, I used cerulean blue, then white, then indigo blue, true blue, and white, with a tiny bit of violet, all blended with white.

Prismacolors are my choice when using colored pencils because of the ability to layer and blend to an almost photographic finish. In this one, I also used some Derwent pencils to vary my colors. I did have black in that set, which helped. They do have a very different feel than Prismacolors.

This picture was done on Canson 65# acid free paper.

As I worked on the clear blue sky, I felt that this left the background too empty. So, I added a hint of buildings on the left, and some vertical trees on the right, to echo the upright figure. I also darkened a few areas of the sky to give it more variety.

The skin tones are also layered, and show up a bit more yellow in the scan, than they actually are. I feel like I should have worked larger, as it is really hard to do those small lines of things like lipstick and eyeliner. Of course, I always feel like I need to work very large, but it is not convenient to carry around or to store those large pieces of paper and pictures.

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There is an old saying that goes, "It takes two people to paint a picture. One person to paint the picture. The other to hit the first in the head and make them stop!"

I think that is true. I often reach a point where I have to stop and ask someone else's opinion. Sometimes that is my grandson, who has a good eye. He is extremely observant! We have had several discussions about this picture.

Another option is to just put the work back for a while, and look at it again much later. All kinds of things that could be done will usually show up then. And, if I put something back to work on later, I may never get back to it. I find it best to try to finish something all at once. Besides just losing the work, I also lose that original feeling that is so important. I'm not disciplined enough, I guess, to be able to work on something for a little while, then do something else, and come back later and continue. I can always tell where I left off. Everything changes.

Sometimes, I just stop because I am tired of looking at the work, and it looks like it needs so much work still, and, at that point, I'm often ready to just throw it away. It takes a lot of self talk to convince myself to put it back for a while and not put it in the trash can. I'm much better at saving things than I used to be.

I am tempted to stop on this one, but I still think the sky could use some more layering and blending.

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The first Prismacolor drawings that I ever saw, were on display at the University of Texas in Austin. They were quite large, and were just amazing. I had taken students there on a field trip, and we fell in love with Prismacolors. We just had to get some and learn how to use them. Those original drawings had around 32 layers of color on them. I remind myself of that when I am tempted to stop with only 8 or so layers of color.

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I do like to draw "girls" and drapery in material. And I love to play around with makeup and hairstyles. As a student, I would do that instead of my classwork, and try to hide my papers so the teachers wouldn't catch me. I think that they all knew that I was drawing instead of doing my work!

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This picture is of a beautiful, elegant, amazing woman, surrounded by her people-the people she loves. It is a clear, beautiful day, to match the beauty that she exhibits. There have been such women in history. We can use many more dedicated, intelligent, strong, beautiful, and loving women who will make this world a better place for us all.

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Thank you for reading, and for your support. I hope that you enjoy my work.

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Be sure to read my previous post on The Vision Test and Macular Degeneration. Other art work and experiences on the subject can be found in the Archives and are prefaced with the word "Vision". Also there are links in the side bar under Eye Sites.

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Virginia Vaughan is having workshops and also shows of her paintings on the subject of "The Last Year On The Farm". Her book of that title will also be coming out very soon. Check out her website and her blog for more information. There is a link in my sidebar.

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Russell Baker posted another touching painting of a rescued dog that didn't make it, on his blog. You can find a link to him in my sidebar also. These are such touching paintings and stories!

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Laura Brittain's post on "Sandpaper People" was certainly timely for me. You can check out her link on my sidebar, too.

Check out my Guest Book!

Scroll all the way to the bottom of the page.