Fall is in the Air

Hello just a note to say FALL IS HERE OR PRETTY CLOSE TO IT... I can safely say that because right now when it should be in high 90's it is about 78 degrees.    I do love fall with the warm colors the trees give us.  Well less color in the trees here in  our part of Texas  than back East but we still enjoy them.  I always get so excited about Fall.   Everything is still basically green and pretty and no scorching heat to cook us.   I enjoy when we first get our first cold  front for maybe 20 minutes  into the cold I say OK enough of the cold weather for me and please be back to our 90 degree plus weather.  I guess you would say I am a wishy washy patron of the weather.   

I do have to share a couple of the digital paintings I did several years ago of fall.  Well actually it is just a quick photo of our fall wreath outside and then I played with it digitally.   I did so enjoy the digital painting with all the "brushes" being like the traditional brushes.   Something in me though nagged at me, you know that little voice that keeps you straight and narrow.   It had been such a long absence that I painted traditionally so the voice said get your goodies out, meaning brushes and paints, and play with them Annette.  Get those hands dirty and some paint on your clothes.    It would be a shame not to  have paint on my clothes now. 

Now this little print I did have to add Grandaughter's beautiful eyes.   It is kind of mysterious but loved it.    Do I have prints of these, well of course not.  It is one of those things you think you are going to get around to.   Right?

 Now speaking of getting around to things you are going to do and then dilly dally around and not do it and finally do it and your body is screaming at you?   Weehave been in this home for nearly 8 years, I have painted and repainted many things in it.  I love painting walls and don't mind climbing ladders.   We have thought about me hanging on to the ladder and Eldon just dragging it around to the next spot but figure that might not be the safest thing we have done.  What do you think?    Our Master bedroom I know I have painted 3 times so far and probably will get another coat or two when we can move the furniture again.   Long story on that one.   I have hated, well maybe not hated that is a strong word, some of our cabinets and thought OK Annette it is time.  I think it is getting close to a month that I am working on them and can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Almost!!!!  When finished I will sharepics with you and the professional advise and praises I got and then I know I am finished.  Every day my body is telling me "why didn't you do this years ago ? Do you enjoy punishing me everyday" ?    I will post before and after pic.  What I am trying to say don't put off giant projects,  DO IT!!!!!
 
Alright,  the bunny trail back to Fall.   It is sad when we trim the bougainvilleas to go into the sun room.  We are going to be meanies this year and just move them to the back garage.  It is heated but we are getting tired of sweeping up all the blooms when they die.  So back garage they go.  It always seems a waste  to trash these blooms.   I guess just the woes of Old Man Winter coming.   

 

 I have not painted or sewn to much while the cabinets are getting tired.   I did stretch my wings on this little painting and did a figure of sorts.    I save my magazine ladies, as I call them, to paint and use as subjects.  The pretty ladies that are showing off clothing or jewelry.  They make great models and I add hair pretties and usually different clothing.    

I do have to make a note to myself and remember not to do faces smaller than your thumbnail.  Well if you were a giant I guess you would have big thumbnails.  It is hard to do those tiny little faces.   Most of this painting I use my watercolor crayons, Tombow pens and a little bit of white gesso for the dots and fairy sparkle.   I also glued some oat pearls on her dress and head piece.   AND it is about 11x14 ish on Water color paper.  

There you go for today and thank you for stopping by and seeing what is going on in my world.  

                                                                XOXOXO

                                                                  Annette

Rain Drops and Faeries and Crayons

 Hello and hope all are doing great.   We have been so fortunate to have gotten rain, sadly some have gotten more than what is called safe.   Evey time it rains I think of when we were little kids and run outside with an umbrella and stomp around in the puddles. I loved doing that, did we ever think of lightening hitting us?   No way, it was just an fun thing to do.   I also think of the little song in Bambi with the drips and drops of rain when he was asleep in the woods.   It just makes you feel good about rain. Bambi's rain song     There are so many little songs about rain--"Rain Drops Falling on My Head " is another song I think of. 
               
 Now when grown and farming we loved the rain also.  Well, except when it rained and rained in September when the crops  did not need water. The Cotton and Peanuts were getting ready to mature to be harvested.  No no no , not rain now.   The Cotton getting ready to pop the boles open and show off the pretty white fibers We would always say--it is good for next year.   Peanuts in the ground getting read to be turned up and dried out.  One time when our daughter was teaching I sent her a box with some dug up peanuts in it.  How the dirt as still on the peanut hulls with the goodies inside them, the leaves were dried out and really a pitiful looking inside of a package.   When she opened it the janitor said who would send a package like that?   " My Mother" she told him.  I do believe though the kids in the class liked it, seeing how peanuts really came and not from a tree but from Mother Natures good sandy soil. 

I have been busy painting, not Faeries, well some Faeries, but cabinets.   Will have to share that one next.  


This first Faerie I did have fun with it and added lots of color.  The subject was a lot younger than this little pixie turned out but some ways I like it.   She is in a tree just thinking about what mischief she can get into.   I always do their faces first, just to see what and where the painting will take me.  I used some water colors for the background using Caran D'Ache Neocolor II crayons.  They are such fun and look like a crayon but are water soluble.   When I finished her I thought she needed a butterfly and some birds just to add some more life to the painting.  I love the strong colors in this painting and the little castle in the background.
 

The crayons, not pretty anymore but they work great for what I am using them for.  I am not, I repeat, I am not a water colorist and just do what I do and run with it.  Just in case I have some purest out there.  They work great with one of the water pens while I am watching TV.  Yep that is my artist's loft in the evenings.  

This next Faerie I really tried to do soft colors, do you realize how hard this is for me?  It is very hard.   I can't remember but thinshe was a magazine lady.   You know the pretty ladies in the magazines?   I just sketch their sort of features and go from there.  Now this little pastel Faerie is showing off her new home in the tree.  I forgot to leave enough room on the left for her wings.  I mean she had beautiful hair, not the magazine lady but this little faerie.  I did mostly the watercolors for her just pale.   BUT no beige had to have some color .    She was going to be black headed but somehow evolved into this color.  They have a mind of their own.  No really, they do. 

Now a quick look of the other September block that is for CQJP 2016.   For some reason I did  2 for September but I guess September needed two?   I have got to get started on the book I am going to put these in.  Our Granddaughter will have a giant book when finished with this.  Most of the blocks will be what I created and 5 of the blocks will be embellished by some other ladies in a Round Robin I was in.  Can't wait to show it all to you.  

 

This block has some Brazilian roses  and some vintage Sari trim.  Talk about world wide little bunny.  I can't remember who gave me the red frog, I just thought he fit the story.  Hope red frogs aren't poisonous from the Amazon or anything like that.   Oh well the Queen of Hearts would cut his head off wouldn't she?   

Now here is the second block for September.  I did go outside the lines with the tree.  The ciggie was brown tones and I thought why not leave it that way?  It is a kookie  little story and it could happen. 

   

Well there you go for today and thanks for stopping by and seeing what is going on in my world today.  Besides mowing  some backyard grass that had gotten almost as tall as a giraffe's knees because of the rain.  It is now just hoof tall.   

XOXOOX

ANNETTE