Winter Robins

Winter Robins with Leaf

9" x 12"

Acrylic on Paper

We used to read about people up north, looking for a Robin Redbreast, the first sign of spring. That was hard to understand because we had robins, sparrows, and other birds, in our yards in Calvert all winter long. I thought about that as I watched Robins, playing around in the yard one winter afternoon.

The grass was brown and gold after winter freezes. We had saved a maroon leaf that had been covered with ice and I added that into my picture.

One large, fat Robin strutted back and forth in the yard and, at one point, nestled down in the dirt in the driveway to splash sand over him with his wings. Another bird appeared and watched the sky over the field across the street. Three fat Robins seemed to compact their bodies and whiz low over the road. They looked a bit like jets going past.

My scanner doesn't take 9" x 12" paper without cutting off part of the image, so this is a detail of the painting.

I used a limited palette of Gamboge, purple, and a bit of Indian Red for this picture. The paper is 65 # Canson acid free paper.

I'm sure that there are places that are ready to see the return of the Robins.

Here, we would be happy if we could get some gentle rain, along with the cloudy, windy, cold days. Snow would be nice, too, but I guess it may be too late in the winter for that. Sometimes February is cold, but, in recent years, the pear and other trees have started blooming in February.

I wonder when we will see Bluebonnets this year. They may not be so large this year, since we are behind on rainfall.

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Here is an interesting article to read about Virginia Vaughan, who will be coming to Calvert Feb. 21. This appeared in "Country Lifestyle". http://www.countrylifestyle.net/node/227.

Don't forget to reserve your place in the class. You can contact me, or Sonny Moss in Calvert, for more information. We would like to have reservations in by Feb. 1. If you are interested, let me know.

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Are you up on your shots or vaccinations? Who would have thought that, those of us who had all the childhood diseases, on schedule, and had the right immunizations when we were growing up, would now need shots! Although you may have had Chicken Pox and thought that was behind you, now we find out that, your immunization is probably no longer any good, and you need a shot to prevent a form of Chicken Pox-Shingles.

Ask Barbara. She will tell you to get up to date on your shots!

As I was flipping through tv channels last night, I saw part of a discussion about this.

On our local tv, and on the panel discussion, they said that older people also need to get the Whooping Cough shot and a Pneumonia shot, as well as a Flu shot each year.

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If you are in this area and are interested in family history and preservation, look for an announcement with more information about a program on "Archiving History". Susie Cox, Curator at the George Bush Library, will be the presenter. The date is Feb. 12. There should be more information about this sometime this week, according to Cindy Peaslee of the Downtown Bryan Association.

Watch for their events announcements about what is going on in Bryan.

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Look in my sidebar for information about upcoming events of the Brazos Valley Art League. Spring is always a busy time of year for artists. You can also look on their website. You can Google it, or you can click on the links in my sidebar under Events, and Organizations.

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It was sad to hear that we lost another schoolmate from Calvert High School last week. I had just wished Walter a speedy recovery on my blog, when I learned that he had died. I know that he will be missed terribly.

Walter made the lives of so many people richer. He was a strong supporter of the Trojans and Calvert High, and was the force behind the Calvert School Reunion, for one thing.

Of course, I remember him most from the days when we were students at Calvert High.

The family has been hit especially hard since Walter's younger brother, Charles, died only months ago.

Our deepest sympathies go out to this family.

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Cedar Fever, upper respiratory problems, sinus trouble, viruses, all seem to be going around. I've been sneezing with runny eyes, can't get my breath, dizzy, etc. The OTC allergy medicine didn't do anything, so I resorted to taking some Benadryl, which knocks me out, or makes me so sleepy I could just fall over! That stops most of the sneezing. I was going to paint some, but I think I may have to take a nap, instead. I hate to do that since it may keep me up tonight.

Did you ever see anyone sleep on the keyboard of their computer? I think I could do that, now.

I have dozed off and jumped up before my nose hit the keyboard, in the past.

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Whoop Te Do! Another Big Saturday Night!

Whoop Te Do!
Another Big Saturday Night!
18" x 24"
Mixed Media: China Markers, markers, & watercolors
There was a time when Saturday night meant going out-dancing, out to eat, on a date, to a movie, riding around, or even out with other girls, hoping to meet some suitable guys.
Time passes, however, and, while there are still things going on in the world, Saturday night might mean doing something mundane, watching tv, eating supper in front of the tv with the British comedies, washing clothes, ironing, taking a nap on the couch before going to bed.
The above self portrait was done at my kitchen sink after supper was finished and dishes had been done. Dressed in my housecoat, I looked out the window over the sink at the full moon outside. Light from the moon reflected off a few clouds that drifted past. A pottery windchime dangled in the window.
To do this picture, I placed a drawing board with 80# drawing paper on the sink, where I had been washing dishes, and worked from the reflection in the window. I could still see a bit of the night sky with the full moon, as well as myself.
I thought, "Whoop te do! Here's another big Saturday night!" as I looked toward the university and city. In times past, I would have taken my little car, and been out there having a good time with everyone else.
I selected china markers for a loose drawing medium, with some use of markers, and tried to work in an energetic way with lots of searching lines. Light washes of watercolors were used to complete the picture. Standing, and working with larger materials, seems to allow for more energy as well as a loose technique. I limited my colors to browns and blues-a neutral and one primary color.
Hopefully, those of you who need rain are getting some relief this weekend. (We're having clouds, a little sprinkling of rain, and thunder. It's dry here again with burn bans that have put a stop to the big Thanksgiving game bonfire, for now. Several counties have put a burn ban in place again, after we had caught up with our rain deficit during the summer.) I hope that everyone is able to "kick up your heels" and have a good time .
Let me know if you see something that particularly appeals to you. I do appreciate your comments and your support.
Thanks for reading and passing this along to others. Have a nice weekend.
On a personal note, our youngest family artist went to his first U.I.L. (University Interscholastic League) meet for his school district today. He was scared, but came home beaming, with a medal and a certificate. He elected to try for Picture Memory. We've been looking at small cards with famous fine art paintings for several weeks, studying titles, artists, and information about each work. The thing that we didn't work enough on was actually writing out the titles and the artists' names, which is what they ended up having to do. I thought that was a little hard for elementary school! He didn't win a top place, but I'm thrilled that he stayed with it, faced his fears and anxiety, represented his school, and participated. Now we know what it is all about and he can be better prepared for next year. His art teacher, and another teacher who helped coach the students, did an outstanding job with the youngsters. He made the comment, "At least now I really know a lot about those paintings!" And he does!