A few things...

One thing learned:  no more playing with background color behind the text.  It comes through the feeds looking like a FOIA document.

Well, for good or ill, here are a few paintings...

6" x 9"
Oil on birch
This was a quick, end of day study.  He took over my chair while I was painting and I couldn't resist.  I'll probably go in and clean up that lower right corner sometime but otherwise, I like it. 

And here he is from the front: 

"Oh good god.  Another damn photo?"

I love my Japanese rabbit.  This is a study I'll finish as soon as I figure out how to do the copper bits on the brushes.  That is what's stumping me at the moment - I know I just need to sit down and draw them but I guess I decided to take the hard road and you know, not draw them. 
The shadows need something too - I'll tinker with them.  Maybe.

6" x 6" Oil on primed watercolor paper

I was thinking of those old Silver Stream campers when I began this one.  This is a possible entry for this year's tomato festival.  That is if I can get it to come together a little better.  It's better than it was - I completely redid it this morning.  I got entirely too fiddly and overworked the hell out of it.  So reboot. 

It has potential.  Somewhere in there. 

9" x 12"

Oil on birch

That's it for now, y'all.  Have a good one.

The Art Police

Neil Gaiman gave a great speech at the University of the Arts back in May.  In it, he talks about something I struggle with all the time, despite my brave declaration (rambling?) in the last post.

He said:
"The first problem of any kind of even limited success is the unshakable conviction that you are getting away with something, and that any moment now they will discover you. It’s Imposter Syndrome, something my wife Amanda christened the Fraud Police.

In my case, I was convinced that there would be a knock on the door, and a man with a clipboard (I don’t know why he carried a clipboard, in my head, but he did) would be there, to tell me it was all over, and they had caught up with me, and now I would have to go and get a real job, one that didn’t consist of making things up and writing them down, and reading books I wanted to read. And then I would go away quietly and get the kind of job where you don’t have to make things up any more."

Oh yes.  I know the Fraud Police well.  I call them the Art Police.  Sometimes, I see them as Men In Black - the weird, anachronistic ones rather than Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith.  I would be there, standing in front of the easel when they drive up in their 1940's but brand new looking sedan.  They would get out of the car and in their strange, robotic voices, tell me they were on to me and I would have to put down the brush and stop Right This Minute  because I was perpetuating a major fraud on the world and if I didn't, then Dire Things may happen.  I may even have to ask people if they want fries with that.

I'd like to say that I always know how to deal with the Art Police.  I don't.  Sometimes, yes, I can turn the imagery on its head and invite the MIBs to sit down and have some tea.  I can question every Dire Thing they threaten me with and they stutter and stammer.  But just as often, I still get caught in the trap and their lies about the Dire Things, especially when those Dire Things seem to happen when things are starting to go well.

Yes, it happens sometimes.

That's when I just have to remember - and sooner or later, I do - the Art Police don't have any power over me, unless I give it to them.  That goes for crazymakers and busybodies too.

Art isn't some elitist thing.  There is no "You must be this educated/talented/crazy" bar to stand next to in order to get on the ride.  All that is required is that you show up and do the work.  The ride takes care of itself.     

What I know

Now that I've got a decent, and more importantly - reliable, internet connection I don't have any excuse not to update these blogs, eh?  Art will be forthcoming, once I get used to the idea of being able to show off a bit again. 

In the meantime, I'm going back to the original premise of this blog.  I started blogging way back when there was still a Geocities and I thought it inconceivable to fill up a whole *2 MG* of disk space.  I did it as a way to gain a bit of self - confidence.  I need a bit of that again. 

I've also decided to be a little more out there in regards to my paganism.  I've always been a little reticent about talking about it, mainly because I haven't had the most consistent schooling.  I don't have any degrees or lineage in a tradition.  I certainly know I'm not the wisest person in the world.  You know what?  While I am always open to learning and growing, I not sure I care about all that anymore. 

I may not know all the correspondences of every herb or stone listed somewhere in a book.  I could care less about planetary hours or if the moon is void of course.  I do know better but I can't help thinking every time I hear that the moon has suddenly left its orbit and going to go crashing into the earth or something.  

What I do know is the moon and sun don't just go from East to West.  Over the course of a month or year, they trace a lemniscate in the sky - an infinity symbol.  I know there is a star that marks the seasons - it appears in a different "corner" of the moon - upper left, upper right, lower right and lower left. 

I know the cycles of life.  I see Her in them, from the fresh maidenhood of spring plants to the lush bounty of the mother in summer.  I see the coming of the crone in the fall and the faceless one in the clean, cold sleep of winter.  I see it repeat every year. 

I also see those cycles are also spirals.  Animals born, plants sprouted.  Mice and critters get eaten by the cats and the neighbor's cows and horses eat the plants.  The spiral moves onward and upward with those left behind.  New generations of animals born.  New seeds scattered.   Life moves on.

When it comes to magic, most times I use what is around me.  Five finger grass and yarrow are native plants here.  So is vervain, although I haven't found it yet.  Oak, hickory, cedar and black locust are abundant here.  I have a few herbs growing in the yard but mostly, I use what is wild. 

So, yeah, I suppose I am fairly ignorant when it comes to many forms of paganism.  I never claimed to be a wise person anyway but this is what works for me.   Apparently They are satisfied with it, as well.  I suppose that is all that matters.   

A gardener's tale...

I've been harvesting the seed from my arugula and purple kale plants.  I have to, especially after the last time.  I didn't know.  I just.  Didn't. Know.

I was looking forward to huge bowls of salad when I first planted them.  All those purple and green leaves.  Gourmands called them 'spicy,' but most folks I knew just said they were bitter.  My plans worked well - bowls and bowls of salads came out of my patch.  Arugula, kale, romaine.  Sweet lettuces too, to balance the bitterness: oak leaf, grand rapids, black seeded simpson.  I had them all. 

When the arugula bloomed, I daydreamed about even more salads.  Same with the kale.  The plants were prolific, putting out thousands of seed and dispersing them before I even realized they were ready.  Again, I didn't think much about it.  I just thought I'd find plants in strange places for the next few months. 

Then the people started disappearing all across northern Sumner County.  One or two at first then more.  It soon spread to southern Kentucky and beyond.  No one knew what to think about it.  The people were just...gone.   

Someone soon noticed there was arugula growing in every place a person had disappeared.  A few plants by a front door.  Several hidden beneath the weeds by a hiking trail.  Later, people noticed purple kale growing in some of those places as well. 

They had gotten smart.  They had gotten hungry.

The authorities got curious and dug up some of the plants.  It was horrible.  Bits of synthetic fibers, rubber soles from shoes and tiny bone fragments were found tangled within the roots.  No one knows to this day how they managed to dig the them up without becoming a part of the debris.  Especially now that we know how the plants fed themselves. 

You see, somehow what they were getting out of the ground wasn't enough anymore.  They needed more.  Somehow, both the arugula and kale developed facile roots.  They were certainly strong  enough to grab any passing animal, including humans, and drag them beneath the loose soil and feed on at their leisure.  It was no surprise when several horrified people in a local park caught them on film, on the move to their next feeding grounds.   

After that, the extermination program began.  The plants were attacked with extreme menace whenever they were found.  New plantings of arugula and kale were banned.  It was a hard fight and we almost lost.  Like I said, the arugula is very prolific.  The kale isn't far behind. 

So I've found some of the plants trying to hide in my garden.  I trapped them before they could feed on anything.  In my mind, turnabout is fair play and I'll eat as many of them as I can find...and keep them from spreading more seed throughout the county.

That's why I have to stay on top of harvest.       

Sketches and potential paintings...maybe.

This has been a month for getting images on paper that I've been struggling with for ages. The exceptions are the unicorns but even they came out better than they have in the past.

Click for a bigger image.


I remember the dream this faery appeared in, even though it was back in the '90's. She lived near a streambed and I, along with two others, had to repair it after it had been damaged. I never knew what happened to the streambed, just that she thought we had done it. I remember thinking I had to watch my p's and q's because she could actually kill us if we accidentally insulted her. We managed to fix the stream to her satisfaction. Thank the gods - even if she didn't kill us, I wouldn't want to be whacked with that stick.


This is another dream image that has stuck with me. I remember dreaming I was on an island when two unicorns came trotting out of the water. I love how the horn isn't in the usual place. Here, I just played with the idea of a mare and colt, especially how the colt's horn would be just starting to grow.


I'm going to have to refine this one for a painting, if only for myself. It's another idea I've played with for a few years and just couldn't get it to work.

I like the little one with her eyes shut tight. I imagine her sounding a little like Ike from South Park: "Oh no...." I also like the farmer just waving away, like flying through the air over an alien landscape is an everyday thing. He may even be yelling, "Hello! Nice night, isn't it?!"

A few goofy cartoons

As usual, click to embiggen


Hee - I should probably stay inside during the next few (twenty, thirty) storms...


I remember that day. It was the umteenth day in a row of near 100 degree heat and bazillion percent humidity. I was sitting at the table after switching out sketchbooks because it seemed my new one was soaking up half the humidity out of the air and my pencil felt like it was dragging through the damp pulp. It was the middle of the afternoon and I thought, "That's it. I have officially Had Enough."


I was listening to Science Friday and they were celebrating the 50th anniversaray of SETI, the Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence. It's silly but it made me laugh to think of a little grey getting anxious over the SATs and trying to figure out what a train was, let alone when it will meet another one.
The strange thing about the smiley sketch...about twenty minutes after I doodled it, I looked up and saw a nearly identical one in the clouds over head!

Tomato Art Fest time again!

Good god, it's been over a month since I posted here?! Well, it has been a little busy...

I'll admit I had my doubts about entering the Fest this year, mainly because I couldn't seem to get anything off the ground. No ideas. Nothing. Zero. Zip. Nada. I finally went back to an old sketchbook to look at some ideas that didn't pan out before.

I had this idea three years ago and just couldn't get the village to fit into the tomato. I guess it just needed time to ripen (pardon the pun.) Here's the first version:

I actually liked this version but I just couldn't justify in my own head how the tomato would burst like that and still be on the vine. So I tried again, this time with the tomato on the ground:

This version made more sense in my head and so here the finished 8" X 10" painting. I'm happy to say it's sold!

I also did another series of Ode (they're all around 2" x 3") for the festival. As far as I know, all of them but the bald one and the pigtails have sold:

Bast's followers are at it again...

One of these days, I may just get slapped upside the head for these cartoons.

Daily Drawing - The place where I do most of my drawing

The daily drawing prompt was to draw the place where I do most of my drawing. I sit under a big cedar tree most of the time, except when it's really cold or raining. There are a few things I'm not happy with in this sketch - like Nathaniel's leg. I think it actually attaches a little differently to his body but of course, like all life models, he started moving whatever part I was focused on. I don't know how in the world he can sleep like that either.

Click on the graphic to embiggen.

Daily Drawing: Carnivorous plant

I've been on the Daily Drawing list for a long time now and I decided it was high time I started contributing to it.

One entry was for a carnivorous plant. I decided to go to one of my favorite books of all time for inspiration - Day of the Triffids. Here is my rendition of a triffid but I forgot to give it any leaves.

Poor little naked triffid.

Sketch: Giant Leopard Moth

I had a visitor the other day. This fella stuck around for hours. I figure it had just come out of the chrysalis and was drying its wings. According to enature.com, it is a Giant Leopard Moth - what wooly worms become when they grow up!

Wishcasting Wednesday

Jamie Ridler says on her website: "You can be a maker of magic and a tender of wishes. It's easy." All you have to do is answer the prompt on your blog and link in. Today's prompt is "What do you wish to know?"

Oh gods, there's an entire universe, both out there and in here. What don't I want to know?

Some of the things I want to know are pretty mundane, if fangirly. Will Atlantis ever get back to the Pegasus galaxy? (I hope so.) What was it Sam felt so bad about before he died in "Under the Dome"? Will we ever get to ogle see Wolverine in another movie? (Oh god yes, please.)

All right, I suppose I won't waste wishes on those.

Other things I want to know: why do all the best songs come on the radio just as you have to leave or get out of the car? Why do I always have plenty of pennies in my pocket, except when I need them? How does my cat always know when I have something to eat, even when he's two floors down and outside?

I guess I won't waste wishes on those either. Sometimes it's better and more fun to wonder than to actually know.

Will we ever find definitive proof of life elsewhere in this big universe of ours? Is this the only one or are there many, many other universes? Can everything be explained and unified by one little elegant equation, like Einstein tried to find? I kind of hope not on that last one. I'm not so sure I want everything explained. Not only does it seem to be way too much diversity to be explained with one tiny equation but honestly - what fun would there be in it? There wouldn't be any mystery left.

What's life without a little mystery?

So what is it exactly do I wish to know? There are so many directions to go in. Spirit, career, love to name a few. I may as well go for a big wish, one that is a little scary as hell for me. May as well kick that fear to the curb, even though I know it won't go without a lot of screaming and kicking of its own.

I know I am a solitary person. I don't need someone in my life 24/7. In fact, I need solitude in order to function or things can get very ugly and surly. It's just the way I am. I don't need to be "completed," "made honest" or "a real woman" by another person.

Even so, this doesn't mean I don't want to share things with someone. Someone who can appreciate the mystery, the splendor, the...total awesomeness of this universe but doesn't need someone around 24/7 either. Of course, I say that now. We could choose to be inseparable, for all I know.

Thing is, I'm not sure I know how to do this. I was with someone a long time. It wasn't perfect (what is?) but it was relatively stable. I guess a part of me decided, for good or whatever, that was it. When it was over...I don't know. How do you undo a decision you weren't even sure you made until it was taken away?

So here is my wish. I wish to learn how to let go of this thing that doesn't even exist anymore. I wish to learn how to let go so I can get on with living, loving and even more creative insanity.

This is my wish, I reckon so. (Heh. Thank you Josey Wales.)