Thursday, February 09, 2012

Carmel for the weekend

 My husband and I, along with our four dogs spent the weekend in Carmel-by-the-sea celebrating our wedding anniversary.  We couldn't of asked for better weather.  As you can see our kids were enjoying the beach.  Carmel is very dog friendly, with lots of hotels and restaurants encouraging you to bring your dogs.

My sister and her husband drove down on Saturday to spend the day with us.  They surprised us with a coconut cake and Kir royale, which we shared later that day.

I can't believe it's been at least 7 years since we last visited Carmel.  So much has changed during that time.  I think the economy has really had an impact on the town.  Lots of galleries that had been in Carmel for years were closed.  Favorite small gift shops were gone; and big galleries and stores on Ocean Avenue were moving to smaller locations.  There were still a lot of galleries and tons of restaurants, but just not as big. But the one thing that hasn't changed, everything was still over priced. 

This get-a-way was great because it recharged my artistic batteries.  Came home with lots ideas, that hopefully I'll put down on paper.  I did see a couple of artist working on paintings, one in particular using a palette knife and acrylic paint.  The canvas that the artist was working on was really big,which appealed to me; just need to find the space to work on that size.

I've always have loved Carmel and didn't realize how much I've missed the town.  My husband and I dream of moving to Carmel, hopefully it will become a reality some day.  In-the-mean-time, it's back to creating.

Wednesday, February 01, 2012

IF -- Forward

The sisters are moving forward to the trees.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Shih tzu liver or champagne

When I first brought Maddie home, she had dark brown fur.  As she grew and got older, her fur changed from brown to a milky brown.  My breeder said that her fur color was "liver".  It wasn't until Xmas when other people saw Maddie that they said she looked more like champagne.  So instead of saying I have a liver Shih Tzu, I now can say she's a Champagne Shih Tzu.  Even dogs have problems with hair color...go figure!!!

Did you say Birds???

I'll be the first to admit, I can't draw birds, realistic birds.  I never seem to get their body portions right or their feet.  No matter how often I attempt to draw or paint them, I'm never happy with the results.  So I finally said to myself, the hell with it, and just draw birds...so that's what I've done.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Sidewalk cracks Polar bear

This little guy was inspired by cracks in the side walk.  It's been so cold for him, he just had to have a nice red sweater to keep warm.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Take me

This is the look my baby Maddie gives me when she wants something...like a cookie, a walk, or a ride in the car.  The look I was trying to achieve with just markers wasn't working, so I  used a combination of markers and colored pencils to enhance the drawing. 

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Girl with the blue eyes ... manga style

I'm really having a lot of fun drawing these girls.  I love the big eye expression..