Saturday uuhhhggg

Hi Everyone!

Well it has been a full day already and it isn't over yet. I made it to the store at 6:30AM got the things I needed but our stores are still out of a lot of items. Home, washed everything with bleach water before putting it away, then out to the garden. I moved my tomato plants from the yard to the deck. It gets hotter on the deck and with our cool weather I figured the tomatoes would be better off there. Cleaned the deck, washed garden pots that I was storing under a table. Moved my potato plants out to the yard and watered everything. I am whipped.  Taking a quick break to say, "Hello" to all of you and then off to cann some pickles, squash and carrots. I hope I have enough jars. 

The Tuna is in and everyone is canning their catch, so no jars in town.

Last evening I made Mr. M. an almond streusel cake.  

The Streusel is not crumbly for this cake. It is baked in. Yummmm.

Yesterday I picked a big bowl of blackberries that grow in my yard. Yes blackberry jelly will be made from these.

And a 20 minute warm up sketch. 

This is an actress that I found a photo of on line. 

I changed her face but the rest is hers. LOL

Have a nice weekend and be safe out there.

Nicole/DVArtist 

Honor and integrity in art, in life.

Paint Pary Friday Aug 7, 2020

Hi Everyone!

Happy Paint Party Friday to you. I tried all day to make time to get a drawing done for PPF. I found time, I started to draw and the beginnings were pretty good. To my eye.

 However, as I was looking at the drawing I noticed that the left eye was too far over to the side of her head.  (Using the old school of left and right) So I erased the eye and moved it over. OMG!  It didn't work out too well. I just could not get that eye correct. Soooo in art all things are fixable. She just got an eye patch. LOL

Here is my piece for PPF

OK, not one of my best but at least I have something new for PPF.

Stop by Pain Party Friday blog to see what all the very talented artist have created this week.  

Nicole/DVArtist 

Honor and integrity in art, in life.

TAD with Rain

Hi Everyone!

Today is Thursday Art Date with Rain. This weeks theme is.... well my main form of art, Abstract. When I was about 5 or 6 my Grandmother, "Nan" who was quite a famous artist, took me to an art gallery in Seattle. I don't remember the name of it but it was huge with room after room of paintings. Each room with a designated style of art. I liked the art but remember thinking some of this is boring. Until we turned the corner and found ourselves standing in the abstract room. I was in awe and so happy. Nan and I were the only ones in the room at first and I danced around, squealing and pointing to one painting after another. On the walls were bursts of colors, movement, sudden stillness, then movement again,  gritty, no boundaries, emotion that filled me. I could see my dreams vivid dreams in the art. I could see my joy, my fear, my strength, my weakness, my hate and my love. Others started to enter the room and I was asked to calm down by the curator. That was my first introduction to abstract. I have loved it ever since. Nan taught me about abstract and the artists from around the world my whole life. Some of them she knew. Well I could go on and on about this but you don't have days and days to read this. LOL Here are a few of my favorite abstract pieces by me

 

Part of my Black To White Series Show.
Abstract painted glass Cabs
Very large 48x24" First place win.	Another large piece abstract of the bridge in my town. 30x30"
I wish you could see this in person. It has some real depth to it and is one of my faves.	This has some great texture.
Abstract beaded bottle  I made this in 2008	Abstract beaded necklace These are made with tiny size 13/0 Charlot cut seed beads. 2003
I love this piece. Made on a beading look in 1998 and sold.	This is how I feel when I have a migraine. Ceramic face glass eyes.

Nicole/DVArtist 

Honor and integrity in art, in life.

Riden" South

Hi Everyone!

Yesterday was a good day. We had some batteries on rain check at the True Value. It is just up the road from my house.  Then we headed south to the next bigger town about 20 miles away. The town is Reedsport and the population is just over 4,000. The drive is pretty and it was nice to get out. Our destination ACE Hardware. ( A little tidbit, I could spend all day in a hardware store. LOL) ACE has different and some very cool items. The canning section is far superior to True Value and I got some small things that I needed. Then we turn and there is a canning pressure cooker. Uhhhh yeah M. Mr. insisted. 😁 So now I am totally equipped for my new adventures in canning.  On the ride home we stopped at Tahkenitch Lake camp ground.  We spoke to the grounds keeper a very nice lady who said good thing we didn't come on the weekend. I won't get into how the tourists think it's normal times.  Anyway I wanted to share some photos. Enjoy a bit of Oregon.

The skies here are almost always over cast.

Have a great day

 

Nicole/DVArtist

Honor and integrity in art, in life.

Monday 2020

Hi Everyone!

I have been up since 4AM. I am back on my old schedule. I love the morning when the house is quiet and Mr. M. is sleeping sound. I love being out side before the sun shows up. It is a time where animals still scurry around and the birds are waking. I miss the time when we lived remote in the Bitterroot Mts of N. Idaho.  Where our food was caught, or shot fresh everyday, water was hauled from the river and the sanitized over the fire. I miss baking bread in a cast iron dutch oven in the ground. I must have hiked a 1,000 miles in those mountains armed with my 45 and my bow. I had made a leather strap with a long pocket to strap around my thigh for my arrows. This gave me quick access for hunting. There is nothing like fresh Grouse cooked over the fire. I created a lot of art during that time, feathers never went to waste. Yes, I can honestly say the years spent remote living in a tent, building food shelters, hunting, tanning the hides and fishing everyday were the best years of my life.  

Okayyyyy... I didn't know I was going to go there but 

now you know a bit more about me. 

Yesterday I really did take the day off. Except for tending to my garden, I watched movies, drew a face, and, and, and that was it. I didn't even cook. It was fend for yourself day. LOL

I guess I needed it.

People ask me where I get the faces I draw. Most of them are copyright free images from google. When I do find one that belongs to someone I try  my very best to reach them for permission. I am NOT selling or giving my drawings away, so I am with in legal bounds 

of drawing from images off line. 

This one is a girl that just struck me. She is young and my image makes her look older but I am happy with the results. 

Have a happy Monday.

 I see some differences but for the most part I am ok with this.

Some of how I work.

 

I get so in grossed in what I am doing 

I forget to take step by step photos. 

Nicole/DVArtist 

Honor and integrity in art, in life.

Rain

Hi Everyone!

I hope your Sunday is a good one. I am resting today. 

Not going to do much at all.

It rained last night and early this AM it was still sprinkling. I know I should bake some bread while it is cool but I just don't have the gumption today. 

I did want to share that I now preserve food. I actually made sweet pickles yesterday. I only have an 8 quart pot so these are small jars. I called  the two places in my town that would have a larger pot and neither of them did.  So I ordered a 20 quart canning pot form Home Depot. It was actually less expensive than Amazon, howeeeeeeever it is going to take 12 days to get to me and with the "thing" in the white house's new post master general it may take even longer. 

Anyway it is ordered.

After making these pickles I found another youtube with a different recipe and way to make them that I like better. So at my next harvest I will use that recipe. Rain left a comment letting me know that canning is addictive. Ohhh she is so right. I am looking up recipes to cann EVERYTHING! LOL So here are my pickles. I sure hope they taste good. Ohh Mr. M. ate almost a whole jar of jam on his pancakes. LOL 

I don't know how he can do that and stay so thin. 

Have a nice Sunday.

Nicole/DVArtist 

Honor and integrity in art, in life.

20 minute warm up

Hi Everyone!

I got up at 4:30AM just couldn't sleep any longer. I was going to make bread but I just didn't feel like it.  I did a 20 minute draw instead and then went out to meet the day. 

This is my third batch of lettuce and first cabbage. These were tiny yesterday and this AM woke up to these joy.

 And from the garden more cucks and a double squash. 

The larger part of the squash had stopped growing 

so I thought I should harvest it. Especially

since there are two more growing under this one.

Also a note. A few weeks ago I received a package from China.

On the front it read, 'earrings" I sanitized it and then opened it. It was a small package of seed beads. I threw it away. Today on the radio it is anounced that China is sending unsolicited packages of seeds to grow. 

Don't! you are asked to contact your local dept of agriculture. I posted it on FB and some of my friends, especially from Canada wrote that they too have been receiving items from China. On gal got a shirt, another a mask. They threw them out as well.  So be beware!

 

Nicole/DVArtist 

Honor and integrity in art, in life.

Eye Docter and veggies.

Hi Everyone!

Today I had to drive to Eugene for my eye exam. The drive in, ( about 90 miles one way) was not bad. The road into town is a 2 lane hwy that is curvy and locals as well as tourist just can't get it through their heads that 35 and 40mph IS NOT ACCEPTABLE!!! Sooooooo, the drive in was not bad. The doctors apt was horrible. I got my test right away and there has been improvement with the blind spot of my right eye.  However, I waited over an hour for the doctor to examine my yes. I don't know what was going on but geeeessss... I got there at 10:00 and didn't get out of there until 12:30 and all but 15 minutes was waiting. uuuhhhgggg..... The drive home was horrible. Tourist and people from Eugene heading to the coast. Ya know, like there is not epidemic in the US and everybody can just go on vacation. OK, I am getting upset and I need to calm down. Ohhh I know beer thirty. LOL Plus I want to show you what I got out of my garden. Now being home and playing in my little garden makes me happy. 

Isn't this a beauty? I took this shot a few days ago.

and now.....my haul for today. I have a small container garden and I am happy with this.

I will be canning cucks this weekend.

Since I have never canned before,

 I thought I would try it first with something easy. 

I made Strawberry Jan.

 I don't know what took me so long to grow a garden and cann

My great grandam, my grandma and my mom all had gardens and canned. 

Well they would be proud of me now for finally doing this.  

Tomorrow morning I will bake some bread, whip some butter, 

and have a nice home made snack with my jam.

Hope you are enjoying your day.

Nicole/DVArtist

Honor and integrity in art, in life.

PPF Texture

Hi Everyone!

I have been working on some abstract texture pieces. However, I didn't have near enough molding paste. Not to fear, I just made my own. It's an easy recipe of Plaster of Paris and white glue. In fact if you can get the consistency right it works better than store bought. 

So here is one of the pieces. 

I am linking up with Paint Party Friday. Click on the link to see all the other artists that join in. 

Have a great weekend

Nicole/DVArtist 

Honor and integrity in art, in life.