Flip Ninja PRT

So back at the start of July I had this Idea that if we had Deadlines it would make the month go by faster because time flies with a deadline.

Week 1 was to come up with a story in 4 parts
Week 2 was the storyboard
Week 3 first 2 paintings
Week 4 last 2 paintings

All I can really say right now is that July was a truly brutal month and I'm not in a good place and it is pretty incredible I painted at all. And I have to get through PRT.

Weirdly I have this nagging suspicion I did 4 paintings but I know I only did three and at least I stuck with a theme of some sort.

Carey and I didn't know what our title would be so she said Flip Ninja and that sounds fine to me.

All are 8x10 pastel on Richeson sanded paper.
The first 2 I previously posted.

Lagoon

Standoff

The Waiting Pools

Flip: Broken

The theme Broken is in honour of Carey's fridge, which was in a broken state more than any fridge has a right to be.

ACEO 2.5x3.5 pastel on bristol with Golden pastel primer.

DOOM

Carey's Fridge Tribute is here.

FLIP: Shoes

Poor Daya has been pining for pointe shoes- badly.  She still has to wait a little while, we are waiting on teacher approval, but I gave her this painting for her room, so she has her own pair of pointe shoes like only her mom can make.  :)

Soon

9x12 pastel (mostly Unisons) on pastelmat (it was grey)

About 2 1/2 hours

Carey's shoes are here! :)

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What a surprise this morning, my pastel plein air painting from a couple of weeks ago was featured iin a Sennelier article!! Wow!!  Thank you Sennelier!

(they also called me young so I love them)

I'm telling you, my pet Central Park raccoon was good luck!

FLIP: Spike

Once every several years or so I get a short-lived but intense urge to use watercolor.

I always start out well enough, nice and light and transparent- and then I muck the whole thing up.  This got mucked up mostly because I changed my mind about the colors, and you can't really do that with watercolor without having to start over.

But then Carey moved and we took a Flip break and during that time my watercolor urge passed. I didn't worry too much about the mucky state of the painting because that's why I have clear gesso, which is lovely and toothy under pastels.

Uni-Shroom

5x7 watercolor and pastel (mungyo semi-hards)

on watercolor paper (strathmore for the paper geeks)

Flip: More Cowbell

There is a member of my household who would insist on more cowbell in everything and that member is Pebbles.

So here she is, and yes she is judging you to irrational standards.

Watercolor and inktense. ACEO

You have to see Carey's... it is hilarious.

FLIP: Wasabi

Wasabi is cool.
I like to put a huge glob of it on, say, a tuna roll and die a little bit.
It clears your sinuses and makes you cry.
If it is fresh.

Most of us have never actually had true wasabi.
True wasabi is wasabia japonica.  It is very uncommon even in Japan.
It must be freshly grated and the potency only lasts for about 15 minutes.
It is small and finicky about where it grows.

Cousin Horseradish on the other hand, is larger and grows more quickly and that's what we are actually having with our sushi.

Wasabia japonica is a seriously funky and cool looking root.
And it is a wonderful weird shade of green, which makes it even better.

Here is as little painting of the root.

9x12 pastel on Colourfix

FLIP: Prohibition

I'm with Georgia.

Prohibition was something that people got all insane about back in the 1920s.
Amazingly that was almost 100 years ago!
This really is a very interesting bit of history, though,

I am not sure this is a valid case for prohibition,

as no one was suggesting to outlaw water.

Mom might need a glass of wine sometimes.
She does not look happy in this picture.
She is also a giantess and the baby is bigger than the girl.
Just... DRAWING OBSERVATIONS
:p

******
I had trouble figuring out what the heck to do for this week.
Nothing great from my end... I did  this last minute without the benefit of contact lenses, because as of Monday 7:30pm MY EYE STILL HURTS.

Just a little play on the wet/dry concept.
ACEO pastel on colourfix 2.5 x 3.5

I'm sure my cylinder is off perspective but I can't see it because I literally can't see.
Ugh.

Thursday Things

I went to yoga last night.

On the way to yoga I was listening to Wayne Dyer (again/still).

I was early to class, which I like because it gives me time to get a nice spot in the room and meditate.

Normally I do not bring my phone to class because I don't want or need it there, but I decided to continue listening to Wayne while chilling on my yoga mat in such a nice peaceful environment.

When class started of course I turned my phone off and double-checked because I like to be very careful about that kind of thing.

So the teacher came in (oh, she is so wonderful! She sings during the meditation part of the class and that alone is worth going for!) and she was talking for a few minutes etc etc.  All was quiet. We settled in for opening chants and I heard something odd.

It was Wayne Dyer talking through my headphones!

Now, even though I don't think anyone really heard it except maybe the person next to me, I was so embarrassed- I never want to be that person with the obnoxious phone but it was rather funny at the same time, especially because Wayne Dyer was a long-time yoga practitioner.

So he came to chant with us.

I told this story to the teacher later on in the changing room and she thought it was fantastic that Wayne Dyer had joined us for chanting.

*****

Daya had an excellent evening in dance...she said all her teachers and some other students were complimenting her. 

After ballet one of the moms told her how good she is, and that she could do ballet professionally, she is that good.

Which I agree with...Daya really is that good and it is because she works incredibly hard all the time.  I'm ridiculously proud of her. I have never known an 11 year old that works as hard as she does. I certainly didn't when I was that age!

She was so excited on the way home, she texted me the whole thing because it couldn't wait til she saw me.

It is so incredible when your child shares their happiness with you and that happiness is a result of not only your support but what they have done- their cumulative hard work over YEARS- and they see and feel the results.  It is good when others see recognize it too, but that is secondary.  

There is something about a cumulative process of hard work and dedication which cannot be gotten from any other source- I am so deeply glad Daya knows this at such a young age, and I hope it shapes her life in a positive way.

AND because it is my blog and i can brag on my kid if I want to--- she has straight As in honors and a 100 average in math!!

****

I have to figure out my FLIP project pretty soon...and it's a good one this week!

Kind of a long involved one, and I need to start because I don't have any weekend time with competition.

****

Speaking of competition, another mom is helping us out and everything is ok.

I do have to pay for a hotel though, ugh... but I just have to do it and make the best of the weekend.

Which is easier now that I have help and I am feeling better.

*****

Rob has been working crazy long days all week and he's not done.

We haven't really spoken much all week and that's ok, but it also means he's completely wiped out.  Poor Rob.

*****

I called this post Thursday Things but everything I wrote about happened yesterday!

FLIP: Crystal

Carey and I are crystalline this week.

Crystal Flats

9x12 pastel on Colourfix

(mostly pan pastels with some mungyo semi-hards)

FLIP: Smoke

Carey and I are working with smoke this week!

Amazingly, I finished (and started) this one on Sunday night.

The Ember Tree

9x12 pastel on Colourfix (it was aubergine when I started...)

Mostly Pan Pastels and some Mungyo semi-hards.

I might be addicted to Pan Pastels.

FLIP: Sparkle

Carey and I are sparkly this week!

Here are some Unicornfish!

9x12 pastel on Pastelmat
Mostly Pan Pastels and some Mungyo Semi-hards.
I used several of my iridescent and sparkly pans! :)

oh my gosh I LOVE Pan Pastels!

FLIP: Messy

Carey and i are starting our projects again!

FLIP Illustration- Fun Loopy Illustration Projects.

The theme this week is Mess.

Here is Furball looking clueless and derpy after she knocked over my tray of Unisons.

"I Didn't Do It!"

9x12 pastel (mungyo semi-hards) on Uart 400.