Our little town had their first annual St. Patrick’s Day parade! Okay, so it was a parade of only children. They decorated their skateboards, bikes, mini cars, hoverboards, etc., and had a parade around Main Street. This is the 9-year-old. Wish you could see the full picture of the bike. My SIL hot-glued the hell out of it. LOL That’s a leprechaun’s hat attached to her handlebars. The parade was fun and afterward, we went out to dinner to celebrate the holiday. It is an Irish household!
I’m working hard on finishing a book by next Friday. Just wrote the first sex scene. It wasn’t what I expected. That’s all I’ll say. 🙂
I’ve been painting every day of #the100daychallenge. So far, I haven’t missed a day. I passed the 1/4 mark of the challenge yesterday. Here’s a couple of things I finished this week…
So, I’ll keep my nose to the grindstone and power through until Friday. I’ll get ‘er done (I really detest that phrase!).
Puzzle-Contest
For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle, then tell me when, where, and who is he?
I have lots of bad habits. I’m sure you do, too. The one that causes me the most stress is the one where I think I have to conquer one mountain at a time. By that, I mean if I have a huge edit job, I have to work through it to the exclusion of writing. Which causes me to go down to the wire when it comes to finishing a book. I wrote Guarding Hannah in a ridiculously short time. Yeah, I’m really happy with the story. In fact, I think it’s one of the best I’ve ever written, but that isn’t the point. I need to destress, not run on adrenaline.
That’s my big goal this year. Destress the work. Get little bites done in an orderly fashion as I march toward completion. I know how to do this. I was a program manager in a past life. I used to work on multiple story projects at one time using some advanced planning techniques, but I’m not going for that now. I don’t want to write MORE. I want to write in such a way that I have time to devote to something that gives me greater joy—like painting.
Yes, doodling things like these makes me happy.
I want more time to sit with paint and paper. I want more time to take some classes and learn how to do it well. I feel like I did when I started writing—I want to know everything, try everything, right now! Not that I’m looking to make it another gig for money. I just want to explore an artistic path for passion’s sake.
But to get there, I have to rope in my chaotic work habits. I’ve begun this year anew. So far, so good. I’m making progress on my new story, Mica, and I’m working on a set of edits I’ll finish this week. In the meantime, I’ve been painting in the evenings and organizing my studio space (does that ever end?). I’ll get there…in incremental steps rather than putting all my energy into fits of activity. That’s so exhausting, isn’t it?
So, I’d love to give away one of these postcards. Winner’s choice. Tell me what bad habit you’d like to tackle this year.
UPDATE: The winners are…miki, Pansy Petal, and Carol Burnside!
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I’ve been painting so many bookmarks that I need to find homes for them! I know some of you mostly read eBooks, but maybe you have an old recipe book lying around you can use this in.
Anyways, this is such an easy giveaway, and I’m feeling lazy. All I need is an envelope and a stamp, and it’s gone!
Three bookmarks, three winners! All you have to do is tell me what you’re reading. I’ll use a random number generator to choose the winners.
UPDATE: The winner of the Amazon gift card is…Amy Fendley!
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So, first—that’s a horribly unflattering picture. 🙂
Had to get that out of the way. We dressed for messy fun, and it was cold outside, so…layers!
What is this? A big painty mess! The local art guild that I’m a part of held an acrylic paint pour. Most of us had never tried it. Mine turned out an awful mess, but I had a blast and learned something new.
When I first started writing and publishing, I tried all kinds of genres. Over time, I’ve found my groove, but I had to experiment a lot. Now, that I’m there, I’m just a little bored with the entire process.
Thank goodness for art! I’m obsessed learning new media, playing with color, making messes… All of it is a learning journey. Is paint pouring for me? Probably not, but it did teach me how fluid acrylic paint can act, and I have some ideas for “mini-pours” that might be something I could work into collaging or pendants… See? My mind won’t stop. And that’s a good thing.
Anything that keeps us excited and engaged is good—especially as we grow older. It really does keep us young.
So, my question to you is, do you have anything new you’re trying or want to try? Have you taken steps to DO IT? Comment below for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!
Friday and Saturday, I was part of the local art festival! The city board did well with the setup. The tents were lovely and provided shade. They had portable airconditioners pointed down the rows of tents to try to offset the heat. But the heat… It was killer this weekend. 88 degrees on Friday. 97 on Saturday. And we were there from 10:30 to 7:00 both days. I wilted.
Can you see how flushed I was? Both nights, I came home, showered in cold water, drank a sh*t-ton of water (see the bottles next to me?), and I was in pretty good shape compared to some of the more elderly artists who had to close early or limit their hours to prevent heat stroke. I guess all those years in the Texas Army National Guard trained me how to survive—don’t move around too much, keep out of the sun, and drink, drink, drink.
There were so many intrepid art enthusiasts who came. Maybe they were there for the live graffiti artist painting a mural, or staying for the food trucks and live bands, but they strolled through the tents. I can’t imagine how much more foot traffic we might have had if the festival had been held in October. But still, it was fun. And something to trade “war stories” about. 🙂
My dd was there, popping in, or having one of the girls keep me company so they could run for iced drinks or food, or just to make sure I wasn’t fainting from the heat. LOL
She was also responsible for setting me up, bringing in some fall decor to spruce up my tent.
My favorite piece was the first sold.
The postcards and bookmarks were very popular.
I sold those blue pumpkin earrings very quickly, too. See the wooden box? I found it at a flea market. It was yellow and very dirty. My dd painted and distressed it, then used chalk paint on the front so we could use chalk to write in our pricing on the little items. Cool, right?
And paintings were sold. I still have many, many items to bring to December’s craft fair and to post on Etsy. I have to get photos ready and then open up my Etsy shop. I made a ton of bookmarks and still have some left, so I will be thinking about how to gift them away… (Psst… Susan…)
But I still “feel” like a real artist. I’m glad I did it, but next year, if they schedule it for September again, I might not be there. Unless the forecast is for actual fall weather.
Psst! Be sure to check out yesterday’s post!
There are 8 open contests listed there that you can still enter to win!
I’m trying to keep focused on my work schedule, but it’s really hard!
I am participating in the Arkadelphia Festival of the Arts this coming Friday and Saturday! I’m super excited even though temperatures are expected to soar to 90 degrees!!! I’ll be in a tent, so in the shade, and I’ll have a cooler of water handy, but still…
If anyone happens to be in the area, be sure to stop in and say hi!
In the meantime, my lovely dd is helping me get ready. She’s been framing paintings and packing tubs with artwork. I’d be lost without her because she’s so dang organized.
I’m still finishing up some pieces for sale. Easy, fast-drying things, like this ceramic tile I used alcohol ink to paint. I have half a dozen tiles I can whip up pretty quickly and seal before the weekend.
My daughter started packaging some painted earrings I already had and decided I didn’t have enough of them. So, today, I’m painting some whimsical things like these pumpkin earrings. She’s finishing them for me (attaching O-rings and earring wires and packaging them) so all I have to do is paint. I’ll do some floral ones and abstract ones, seal them and be done!
I’ll be writing and editing all week and painting in my spare time. So, up to my eyeballs. As usual. Enjoy the rest of your weekend! ~DD
Of course, I was working on other writers’ projects yesterday. Then my dd, SIL, and the 18-year-old went to a concert in Hot Springs, which left me with the little ones (9 & 13—so technically, not that little 🙂 ) to babysit. Because I would be away from my computer, I set up at the kitchen table to paint. It’s soooo relaxing, and I don’t get to do it often enough. I have an art show to prepare for that happens in September, so I guess this is really “work” but it sure didn’t feel like it.
This one is 6×9. Smallish. (My preferred size actually, because I can complete one quickly.) I played with the colors. Don’t you love that brown at the bottom? The color I mixed granulated as it dried. I tried to make the pot look like a pinch pot—you know, with the fingerprints showing on the side. Not sure that came across. Maybe it just looks blotchy. LOL
Then I painted a quick postcard with some shiny peach mixed with red paint for the flowers. My favorite part is the pot. I dotted the reddish peach on the side of the vase as the shadowed part. The colors are ones I love.
Anyways, you see what I do when I’m not writing or editing. I think I’ll be doing more of it. Practice makes, if not perfect, better.
If anyone happens to be in the area, be sure to stop in and say hi!
