topiary cats

topiary cats

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

AED.12

Throat Chakra
Oil Pastel

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

AED.11

Heart Chakra
Oil Pastel

Monday, November 10, 2008

AED.10

Solar Plexus Chakra
Oil Pastel

Sunday, November 09, 2008

AED.9

Sacral Chakra
Oil Pastel

7 Random Facts

Soulbrush tagged me.

So here goes:

1) I had a pet skunk named Truffle when I was a kid. He was really cool except we had to re-home him because he refused to be litter box trained. The person who took him in had the same problem. The third person kept him outside and I heard some years later that he only lived for a year or 2 more after that.

2) I deeply love all kinds of tea and do NOT like coffee. Not even coffee ice cream with chocolate syrup on it.

3) When I get mad at someone for being obnoxious I am the one who feels bad for getting mad at them.

4) I don't believe in canned pasta (with the exception of emergency rations).

5) I still believe in Unicorns.

6) I dearly hope that my daughter and I will be close friends when she is an adult. I never had a good relationship with my mother, can't see that I will in the future, and I don't want my child to feel the lack that I have always felt.

7) I'm still mad that Crayola retired Lemon Yellow and Green-Blue crayons.

Saturday, November 08, 2008

AED.8

Root Chakra
Oil Pastel



Julie:
The stapeliad sketch from yesterday was done with a Micron pen tip size 005.

Friday, November 07, 2008

AED.7

Quick ink sketch.

Thursday, November 06, 2008

AED.6

Today I went to New Jersey to see a client. The foliage was spectacular, and I wish I had my camera with me.

This is a quick sketch in oil pastel.

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

AED.5

Oil Pastels

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

AED.4

Anatomy study after Burne Hogarth.

Cat

I'm not sure exactly how but I managed to change my camera settings. Click on the photos to enlarge them.













Monday, November 03, 2008

AED.3

I'm calling it finished. And reminding myself that it's a sketch, not an oil painting!

Sunday, November 02, 2008

AED.2

This is a little sketch of a color garden and it isn't finished. I'll probably need one more session with it.

It's watercolor though I should have used gouache and prob will tomorrow.



This is fun; I almost feel like I am back in college with assignments. Except that the all-nighters are optional and I have a day job. And a kid.

Ode to My Pencil Box

Not being the most organized person in the world, I pick and choose what I'm obsessive about when it comes to keeping order. For instance, I require a clean desk at work with everything in its place. I do prefer order to chaos but it's always been a challenge at home.

Another thing that falls under "must be perfectly organized at all times" is my pencil box. I am rather fond of my pencil box. You see, I've had it for over 13 years- since my first year in college. I was so excited to get it, and I remember having to wait a few weeks to make the purchse (something about being broke...).

Through the years it hasn't changed much. (Although I used to keep a little vial of Walnut ink in there and I can't find it! I wish I could!) The google eyes that used to be on the front came off years ago and it's collected a lot of art-grime that I have never been able to clean off (though not for lack of trying).

Here is the grand tour of my pencil box:



I keep lots of stuff in there, all perfectly arranged so it will still close.

Most notable things are:
*The usual assortment of graphite pencils, both regular and water-soluable
*A pastel pencil I have had since I was 9 years old. (From a General's Drawing Set)
*Ink pens and a brush or two
*An Altoids box for pencil shavings. (Got the idea from my high school art teacher. And it fits perfectly!!)
*A pretty Black Goldstone rock (because I like it- pictured in close-up above)
*Xacto knife and blades
*A dry point needle
*Bamboo pens, more assorted loose charcoal and graphite
*A few different kinds of erasers
*A white moonstone, a blending cloth I've had in there since college, a purple die, and a cross stone.

What's in your pencil box?

Saturday, November 01, 2008

AED.1

One of the things I would like to get out of this month of art every day is to start working regularly in my sketchbook again. It's been a long time since I kept one, and I know they are indespensible to any artist.

Starting sketchbooks (and journals!) is very difficult for me. Once I've worked in a book for a while, I get to "know" it but that aquaintance period is difficult. So I thought to start with a dedication.

Here is Athena, who I have loved since I was a small child. She is a goddess of wisdom and war, but also the arts.



Actually I started drawing daily a few days ago and it feels really good. A lot of insecurities surrounding my art and creativity and surfacing, and most of it is my belief that I'm not as good as I should be because I haven't put the time and effort into my craft. I need to build a current portfolio.

I always had a wish that I needed to make art like I have to breathe- but over the years I've had difficulty finding that fire of inspiration.

Serena, thanks for being my friend during this journey. It's great to have some moral support.

:)

Friday, October 31, 2008

New Year

My intention for the new year:


May you also be blessed with happiness.


Daya was a faerie. It suited her very well. Please note that the almost-three year old is bigger than I am.


And my cat says hi. One day I will learn how to focus my camera properly for close-ups.

Happy Halloween/Samhain!

Yesterday, Chris posted a ficticious scary story and invited readers to post their scary stories in the comments section. I was going to write my scary story there but felt it might be better placed here.

This is a true story, from my deep dark past. After you read it I think you'll understand why I never tell it.

Some years ago I was involved with the Pagan scene here in NYC. I was in what I guess you'd call a coven. That in itself was not scary- liken it to very small religious services. A lot of it was a good experience and I learned a lot. But I digress.

During that period I was also on a couple Pagan-oriented email lists. I think it was still eGroups at the time. (Remember eGroups?) Well, on one of the lists I got into a small tiff with a girl who was into some questionable stuff. (demons I think?) She got mad at me (why I can't recall) and threatened to "show me" (paraphrased). I didn't think too much about it- perhaps at most I thoguht I'd have a strange dream. But I didn't.

***pause for some background details***

At the time I lived in a basement apartment in a private house. The windows were small and high up near my ceiling. My bed was positioned in a corner so that my head was near one of the windows.

The girl I got into the tiff with lived across the country somewhere. She was not on the east coast.

***resume story****
This happened over a weekend because I was sleeping in. The next morning I was fast asleep and i heard a voice outside my window. It was a male voice, very deep and oddly, very beautiful. Something about it, though, "carried through the air" wrong. (I don't know how else to describe it.)

My blinds were down but I could tell that it was bright and sunny outside. Anyhow I couldn't really make out what the voice was saying, being half asleep and all, but as I came to full awaremess it was saying things like "You don't believe in me I'll show you." I don't recall anything else it said except for it's threat to "piss on my head". Which meant it knew where I was in the apartment without ever having been inside or seeing through a window. I was really freaked out and so did the only thing one can do in that kind of circumstance- I prayed.

And it worked. Immediately. The person/thing went away.

I tried calling the police but my phone was dead. I quickly got dressed and my very freaked out landlady was at the front door of the house. She said she had called me twice and left 2 messages on my machine. I never did get them. The incident also blew out the power supply on my computer. (That really pissed me off.) I asked what the man looked like- she said he had longish blonde hair, was walking funny and had a bottle in his hand. They had never seen him before. I told them I had no idea who it was and it wasn't a friend of mine. I don't think they believed me but nothing more ever happened.

My phone started working again and I bought a new power supply for the computer. I also slept at my friends' place the following night. For over a month I slept with the lights on.

Remind me sometime to tell you about the stuff that was happening in my apartment right before Daya was born when my ex was completely loco.

I'm off to Target now! Happy Halloween, love and kisses!

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

31

Today I am 31. I am definitely older, my wisdom is questionable at best, but dammit I can still fit into the cute shiny blue shirt I wore in college AND the cute size 4 grey and black business dress I bought at the World Trade Center back in 2000. (I somehow can't part with it so it might as well still fit!)

Those two items of clothing are my size benchmark. The dress is a little tighter (it was really loose when I got it) but I had a kid ok? And I gained wisdom and that's got to take up space somewhere right? Actually I can still wear the dress and not feel embarassed.

I know because I tried it on this morning. If it wasn't true I'd be lamenting instead of being happy.

Did you know that having kids does awful things to your body? I really think that is the most unjust thing about being a woman. Pregnancy should make our bellies tighter and definitely should not make The Girls flatter than they should be. The kid doesn't want to come out? Mom gets a C Section belly for life! It's so unfair. Yes it is.

But all in all, I still fit into the same size clothing I wore 11 years ago so I'm feeling pretty good about that.

:)

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Friendly Letter

Dear Neighbors That Keep Flooding My Kitchen,

STOP IT OR I WILL FREAK THE FUCK OUT AT YOU. If the water coming out of my kitchen drain is from your dishwasher, use the correct fucking soap. NOT dish detergent. If my floods are from your illegal washing machine, get rid of it, suck it up and pay the $1.90 to wash and $1.90 for a half hour in the dryer like the rest of the building. Yes it's highway robbery and I totally understand but that's no excuse for you to flood my kitchen.

I do not want your waste water or your soap bubbles in my sink or on my floor or on my counters. GOT IT?

Love and kisses,
J

Art Every Day

Ok, so I have to paint soon or I'll go loopy (-er than usual). I've taken to starting anatomy studies of hands after Daya goes to bed but I can't focus very well.

My brain has been Googilized. :(

Wonderful Serena blogs about the Art Every Day Challenge for November and I'm trying to push myself to DO IT ALREADY.

So while a huge part of me is protesting (I can be such a toddler, really!) I'm signing up to do it because I think I really need to kickstart my sorry ass into producing some art!

I do much better with project deadlines and a little pressure.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

The Things We Do...

...to get a kid to poop in the potty.

Daya hates to poop. She says it stinks. So she'd rather just avoid it altogether. It's not hard to figure out that this is not a workable solution, clever though it is.

So I stuck a suppository up her butt and I am hoping for the best. So far she's incredibly resistant. But in the end she can't possibly win the Poop War.







Thank goodness for laptops with DVD drives!

Thursday, October 09, 2008

Dualistic Humanity

I have no qualms about admitting that I often feel frustrated and disgusted at human nature. But then I am priveliged enough to bear witness to situations in which there is such a genuine and selfless outpouring of love for someone who really needs it from so many people, that- I don't know- humanity gets redemption points or something. If you haven't already, go read about Annika.

The human experience is tough because it's all one big fat hairy paradox.

For example:
I am deeply thankful for a nice apartment in a nice neighborhood and the ability to more or less manage the rent.

But then comes a 4.5% rent increase (previously was 3%) and that just pisses me off.

Does that make me gratefully pissed off? Cause I'm grateful for sure...as sure as I'm also pissed off.

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Prayers for Annika

A liver became available for Annika. This is her third transplant. She's 7.

http://moreena.typepad.com

Please pray for Anni, and peace for the donor family.

Then go hug all the people you love.

I'm Here!

It's finally October!

I am such a sucker for autumn. The air has cooled off very nicely and I have once again started with my almost nightly hot baths. Work has calmed down considerably and since I have so much vacation time left, I am taking off all Fridays for the rest of the year!

A WHOLE ENTIRE DAY EVERY WEEK where I can put the child with the sitter and do whatever I want to ALL DAY!!

Museums, hello! Swimming, hello! Painting, hello! Afternoon naps, hello!!!

Now I must go catch up on blogs from some of my favorite people.

Love and kisses to all of you!

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Maia

Tomorrow my friend's daughter turns 2. So of course I did a faerie portrait.

Here is MAia as a Bubble Faerie.



This whole month has been extremely hectic. I'm snowed under at work. Hopefully things will calm down a little in the next couple of weeks.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Life These Days

We're already into double-digits of September. Amazing.

More and more as I get older (ouch!) I think about how each day of my life could be the last...and how short life really is. And how lazy I am.

Work has been really draining my energy. This is not a complaint, as it's such a rare occurence. But there have been problems at work, both with the team as a whole and specific people. It has been unpleasant. And long-term. I have been feeling very bad and angry. The good news is that earlier this week a lot of the issues really came to the fore and I do think it had to happen in order for positive change to occur.

I am not a punching bag for other peoples' shadows. It is very difficult being sensitive to the energy of others in a corporate environment. I pick up on intentions. Some people are very difficult to be around.

There have been quite a few days lately where I come home feeling bad and the one thing I want is a hug from someone who really cares. That's the crappy side of being single.

But anyhow.

I'm tired. In October I'll take a few days off to decompress. Something nice to look forward to.

Thanks Serena for checking in. It really does make me smile.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Long Overdue

Todsy I went and FINALLY got myself a decent lamp for my drawing table/easel. (My old one died a few years ago and I just made due for a while.)

It's daylight spectrum magnifying glass! I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!!



Oh, and my friend does love her painting. :)

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Mikayla

My co-worker's daughter Mikayla turned one and today we went to her birthday party in Brooklyn. It was a ton of fun. She has a pool in her back yard and Daya had a blast.

As a gift, I did a portrait of Mikayla as a faerie. In watercolor, 11x14. I haven't used watercolor for about 15 years. I'm not sure if I should stick to oils and leave the watercolor alone yet...but w/c really is perfect for these types of pictures. Still not sure how I feel about the painting- I would have liked a few more days with it. It has some issues but I hope it's ok anyhow.

Here is the drawing (9x12):



I transferred it to 11x14 via the light box, painted it, then framed it.



I hope my friend likes it. (We didn't open the presents during the party.)

Friday, August 22, 2008

Political PRT?

Check this out from CNN! August Curse!

Maybe they should know about PRT; it might help.

More PRT developments:
I submitted an expense report on 8/8. I submitted my receipts 6 times. The system wouldnt recognize any of them, not even for the help desk. They don't know why. I uess they put it through because it finally made it to my anager for approval.

But I still haven't been paid. *sighs*

Saturday, August 16, 2008

PRT Buffer # 2

Just in case anyone is still doubting WHY I encase myself in the buffer of Pigeon Risk Time (PRT), here's a good story.

Tonight I had a disk in my DVD drive. Suddenly, I heard a very loud CRACK!! (it scared the cat)

Would you believe that a cd shattered- and I mean shattered- in the drive while it was playing???

Of course the drive is ruined. Which is a shame, it was not cheap.

Here is the photographic evidence:
(Game Time! Count the pieces of shattered cd!)


I called Jason, my computer-savvy friend in Georgia, to run this by him. (He had, in fact, heard of a zombie hard drive but had never heard of this!) Like many computer-inclined people, Jason has a lot of assorted computers and computer parts sitting around. In fact, he said it was on his list to ask around to see in anyone wanted parts. So he's sending me a new DVD drive!

Isn't that really nice of him?

I think so. Thanks, Jason!

And that, friends, is how PRT is a good buffer. Sure, the drive freaked out but I don't have to spend $$ on a new one. The CD wasnt really important and will be easy and very cheap to replace.

*****
Also, I got a note from my bank in the mail today. Apparently I went overdrawn for $2 and they charged me $34 a week and a half ago. What I think they do is mess with time stamps on activity so that debits come right before credits. They have charged me fees before claiming that my paycheck hit the account a half hour after a debit, so in their eyes there were not funds in the account. A half hour.

Fuck you Citibank.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Moving On

What else is there to do but pick up a brush and fix it?

I put in about 3 1/2 hours tonight...not too bad actually...I'm about halfway done fixing it to where it was before the water puddles.

Thanks everyone for the commiseration. It really helped. :)

This morning Daya said "I'm sorry about the painting." So that's good, she gets that she did something bad.

Saturday, August 09, 2008

Really Mad

I need to be mad.

Because Daya knows to stay away from my drawing table.

Except she didn't, and that's why an entire cup of water was spilled on my artwork, which I have spent MANY HOURS on and now it's ruined. I'll have to essentially re-do most of it.

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

PRT Buffer #1 Update: The Zombie Hard Drive

A while back I put a new 400 gig hard drive in my puter. I used the existing 80 gb one as a backup. The 80 gig died though, and has remained inside my computer because I was too nervous to take it out. Because I think I did something that killed it when I switched things out. Not really a big deal, I didn't lose any data, it has been sitting there dead and unused for a long time, except when I boot up I get a message that the drive has errors.

Except last night the clicking started. All googled results said impending death, badness, destruction, back-up-NOW kind of thing.

Then the constant clicking stopped but every few minutes it started clicking AND beeping!

Restarting the computer three times gave me three different experiences, until finally it refused to boot altogether. I could not pass the message about the slave hard drive having errors. So, I shut everything down and took the damn thing out. Ran CHKDSK which reported no errors.

So, can anyone explain why my dead hard drive came back to life just to say "I'm DEAD please remove me!"