Art 102

Hello everyone!

I hope you are all well today.

I am doing good, still fighting with this cold that doesn't want to go away completely but, oh well, such is winter time I guess.

I have been painting more this week and I wanted to show you two paintings that I finished up on.

The first one I completed about two weeks ago.  

It is ok, nothing spectacular, I was learning about reflections and practicing my beach grass and just playing with colors.   

I am not thrilled with how it came out but that's ok, I learned about distances and details and trying to reflect a time of day or type of weather.

My next painting I did on a bigger canvas, 12 x 24.

This one took me a while and a couple of do-overs. 

That is what I love about acrylics, if you don't like it you can paint right over it and start again.

I found that I love masking tape. :)

It really helps so much.

It was fun trying new things with colors, especially with the sand.

I would have never guessed that you would used blues and purples in the sand but when they are mixed with other colors I was having so much fun applying them.

I was really nervous about the driftwood and I have found that blocking in colors and then layering really helps.  Above I blocked in the driftwood and then later added the details.

Same with the grasses (though I still need to work on them) blocking in a section and then building on it works much easier than painting every blade of grass and gives depth to the area.

I am pretty happy with how this turned out, there are still lots of things that I need to improve on like waves, grass, color mixing and glazing.

I had a good time with this one though and took my time completing steps on different days and it helped that I could walk away when I wasn't  doing so well.

Some of you expressed your interest in picking up that brush again and I say go for it!!

I am really enjoying this and find myself actually finding myself!

Does that makes sense? 

I am happy when I am painting and I have even found myself thinking about what kind of painter I want to be, finding a style and a certain feel to my paintings.

More on that later though,

 right now I am enjoying the journey and seeing what I can do. 

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!!

More Eagle Photos!! YEAH!!!!!

Good Monday to you!  

It is sunny and freezing here today but that's ok cause I am so excited!!

Yesterday I went for a ride to the lake and was so bummed because there were about 20+ Bald Eagles, both adults and adolescents sitting on the ice in the middle of Lake Mac (the small lake that flows into Lake Michigan) and I didn't have my camera!!!!!  GRRRR!!!!!

BUT!

Fear not!

I went out this morning with camera in hand and as I turned the corner towards the lake I could see in the distant that they were there again!! 

I was so excited I about peed my pants!

It was another gorgeous sunny morning so I went clicking away at all the wonderful wildlife that visits us each winter.

We get quite a few varieties of birds including Loons, Swans, mergansers, bufflehead and of course Bald Eagles.  I have only seen the Loons on occasion and while some of the birds stay for the summer, most head farther north away from the more populated areas. 

Anyway, here are my photos, they are a little blurry because I don't have a telephoto lens, but you get the idea. :)

These are mostly adolescent eagles just hanging out, possibly warming themselves

or waiting for some of the adults to come back

with breakfast.

It is so amazing that they feel safe to come here to breed and raise their young.

  Over the years they have increased their population quite a bit.

I spotted the adults across the channel high in the trees

and flying around looking for that perfect fish.

I also caught one even higher up in the hills.

(he is at the top of the photo)

and he was sitting above this gorgeous house/cottage.

This was my perspective, they were in the trees on the other side there.

Had to get a close up of the seagulls. :)

I love seagulls or as my mom calls them 'Jonathon Livingston'

 or rats with wings.

The swans were in close this morning so I was able to get a few photos of them as well.

 I love swans too. :)

This is Big Red and the channel that leads out to Lake Michigan.

The ducks like to hang out in there but I was getting cold and being already sick I didn't venture any further.

Mallards flying around.

There was so much activity going on it was so fun to see.

Nature is really incredible and I am so lucky to live in an area where it is only a short drive away.

I hope one day that it is right at my doorstep, I could sit on a deck or dock all day and watch everything that goes on. 

 And speaking of watching nature,

these little snots have figured out the squirrel-proof bird feeder. 

I should probable get a latch for that. :)

 Thank you for letting me indulge in more photos.

I truly love the water and all that comes with it.

I am feeling much better today, thank you for the well wishes.  

My voice is almost back and the cold is on its way out.

I hope to show you some more of my paintings that I have been doing later this week.

Until then, have a wonderful start to your week!!

I Got Him, I Got Him!!!!

Hello!

Sorry I haven't been around lately, I am nursing a cold that we seem to keep passing around the house. 

 I feel a bit better today but still stuffed up and now my voice is gone.

I wanted to share my joy with you today.

On my morning drive out to the lake, I spotted that elusive Bald Eagle that I have been trying to get decent photos of.

I turned into a little parking lot, quickly grabbed my camera and to my delight, he landed in one of the trees that surrounded the parking area.

They are so magnificent and just amazing.

Everything about them is so majestic.

The sun was out this morning 

and I think that he was fishing

from high atop the trees,

a great view of the waters all around him.

I think he picked a pretty good spot.

He could see the Lake Michigan, the channel and the smaller lake, a perfect place where all the fish seem to congregate.

I love watching them and I could have sat there all day I think.

Although my sneezing and blowing of my nose might have been a bit distracting. :)

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and I will see you next week!

Happy Valentines Day

I hope your day is filled with 

Warmth

&

LOVE

Come Take A Looky-Loo!

Hellooooo!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend!

Today I wanted to just share some blog love. 

 I have come across a few new or new-to-me blogs and I just wanted to share them with you.

La Vie en Rose is a beautiful blog by Keity.  She has beautiful photography and loves to garden and create beauty around her home.

Coral and Coast  - Kirsty shares her love of the sea and decorating, she live in New Zealand and takes amazing photos of the world around her.

Sommerwhite - Gaby, who also lives in New Zealand but is orginally from Sweden, shares her love of the sea as well as Scandinavian design.

Art By Raliegh - I featured Raliegh a while ago and her beautiful watercolors that are inspired by her home in Hawaii.  To my delight, she has created a blog to share her inspirations, paintings and island living with us.

(she also has an Etsy Shop)

I hope you can take a minute to go take a looky-loo and say hi!

I also wanted to thank Debra from Bungalow, she featured my home in her Feature Friday series. She just finished her guest room and it turned out beautiful!

She painted the fabric on the chair!

So cool!!

Also, a while back (I am sorry that it has taken me this long) Carolyn from Sweet Chaos passed on the Versatile Blog Award to me.  

Thank you!

Carolyn has a gorgeous home!

Check out their mater bath renew.

Ya, I know!!

Thank you to all of you who read my blog, say hi to me and leave encouraging notes.

I can't say enough how much this community brings joy to me on a daily basis.

Sunshine On My Shoulders.....

...makes me happy!!!

I love John Denver, he was always my favorite guest on the Muppet Show!!  :)

He was an amazing singer and songwriter, and another brilliant soul taken too early.

The sun has been shining here for a couple days but it is too cold to go out and thoroughly enjoy it.

I am longing for the days where I can go to the beach and feel the warmth of the sun on my shoulders, my feet buried in the sand and listening to sound of the water, making this girl VERY happy!!

Since it is supposed to snow again this weekend I thought I would leave you with some rays of love shining down to warm you up.

Source: simonlekias.com via Michelle on Pinterest

Source: weheartit.com via Michelle on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Michelle on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Michelle on Pinterest

Source: couturesplassh.tumblr.com via Michelle on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Michelle on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Michelle on Pinterest

Have a wonderful and warming weekend.

*Thank you so much for all your kind comments about my Papa's carvings. It means so much to me that I can share them with you.
I also wanted to apologize for the confusion, my Papa is my grandpa, I called my grandparents Grammy and Papa, sorry about that.