New year and newcomers

Hey everybody, and happy New Year!  Wow, I haven't blogged since last year (guffaw).  Sorry, but I just couldn't pass that one up.
I hope you've all had a great 2012, and that you'll have an even greater 2013. 

 So, I just wanted to introduce the newest additions to the farm...

...I'll start with the horse.

 

Here's Hylla.  A friend of Daddy's gave Maura this little Arabian mare about a month ago (I know! This post is way overdue!), and I think the two really dig each other.

And here are the first lambs of the year.  I think those brown markings are sooo cute!

All right, these PVC pipe troughs that Emori built for the sheep qualify as "newcomers" too.  We're actually pretty excited about them...well, not quite as excited as when Hylla or the lambs arrived, but if you'd seen the old broken down things that used to be in our fields, you'd probably feel a little excited about these newcomers too.

Yours etc.,

Callie

Daisy

My cousin has this really cute dog (Daisy). 

Rabbit Trail: Daisy is so sweet and sensitive, and will sit by you for as long as you'll pet her.

End Rabbit Trail.

Anyway, my cousin asked for a pet portrait. I took some (not very great) photos of the painting process in case I wanted to blog about it.  

I want to blog about it.

So, here's Daisy!

I was given several photos to look at.  I mainly drew from two of them, using the ear language of one, and the facial position of the other.

(Oh, and please excuse the weird lighting.  Yeah...I did these first steps under lamplight.)

Since I painted this on a canvas, I used the "opaque" approach with my acrylics, as opposed to the "transparent" approach. 
(With the first method you use more paint, and go from darker to lighter layers of paint.  The second method uses less paint because all you do is start with light washes, going from lighter to darker layers.  But the transparent method works better on watercolor paper than on canvas, I've found. Hence my opting for the opaque method.)
 Whew. Anyway, moving on... 


Okay, so I started with my good old rake brush, blocking in the main colors, brushing the paint in the direction of Daisy's hair.  For the eyes, I started by painting them flat black...



...then I added more details and colors.  In the eyes, I brushed opaque brown on the underside and dotted some white around the top.  Then I finished blocking in Daisy's fur.

Next, using a detail brush, I added lighter strokes of paint to the fur to imply depth.  The tops of the eyes I lined in a mix of blue, white, and black to give Daisy her adorable eager look.

Okay, another day here, and better lighting. 

I repainted the background in a more shale-like color, to create better contrast.

 Finishing up, I added even lighter shades of brown to the fur, always stroking my brush in the direction of Daisy's fur.  I deepened shadows and lightened highlights.

 (A note on shadows: it took a while, but I finally learned that when doing shadows on animals with white areas, it helps to mix in a little of their other color - in Daisy's case, brown - to the "shadow" color of your white area - which would be white and black - in order to make the whole picture mesh together. Does that make sense at all?  If not, pretend this parenthetical insert was never written.)

Added yet more highlights, shortened her neck fur (to make her look less shaggy), gave her a few whiskers (I love that part), finished her collar, and signed my name.  

And we're done here!

Thanks for popping in, folks!

Yours truly,

Callie

Wood Works

I set out to paint some wood plaques a couple weeks ago, and decided to chronicle the progress of one.  You know, just in case it turned out pretty. 
  

Here's a step by step of how I did it!

Oh, and quick note: I'm using acrylic paint...I like it because it's so versatile and fast drying (helpful for patience impaired people like me).

Okay, for the background color, I mixed some yellow, white, black, and red together (and, yes, my palette is indeed a Great Value plastic ice cream bucket lid. Hey, it works great!).

I painted all three plaques at once, so that the color tones would match.  Anyway, after overlaying this board with my tan mixture, I worked some plain white into the center...

...to create sort of a "spotlight" effect. 

(Please excuse the funny lighting in the rest of the photos.  I took them under lamplight as Maura read us Series of Unfortunate Events.  Great books, by the way...better than the movie.  Okay, moving on...)

After the paint dried, I made my sketch then started painting.  This orange ball is not an simplistic interpretation of the sun.  It will eventually be a peach.

To the flat base coat I added a some brighter highlights, using more orange, yellow, white, and a little black (just enough to prevent "neonization").

For the leaves, I used a base coat of yellow and black mixture.  I made the stem brown with some black, yellow, and leftover orange from the peach (I believe in using leftovers).

Then I used some of the brown for shaping the darker side of the peach.  Using some shades of yellow, I also highlighted the brighter parts.

Okay, here I added the brightest highlighting of all, smearing in yellow and white with my finger.

The leaves I deepened by adding black and yellow mixtures to the undersides, and yellow and white to the top sides.

Using an old and frayed brush, I then took some plain white paint and scrumbled the edges of the fruit to create the impression of peach fuzz.  This is actually easy to do...especially on a wood surface.

Well, this is pretty much the finished product.  All it's missing is my signature,  but I'll not worry with including that here, because you all know that I'm...

Yours truly,

Callie

Bits and Bobs (weird title, I know, but I just love using that expression!)

Hi, folks!

Time didn't slow its pace for Month Eleven anymore than it did for its ten predecessors; and it looks like I'll have to wind up November from a December perspective.

That said, here's a quick conglomeration of the last few weeks' highlights...

Thanksgiving is my FAVORITE holiday of the year.  Usually it circles around Mamaw's house.  Although she's a tireless (and need I add exceptional) cook, all the relatives chip in some vital asset to the feast.

I'm going to say it...this year, one of the things I'm most thankful for is my awesome family.

I know it's cliché. But, you know what? Maybe it's cliché for a reason.

I spent a couple of nights at Mamaw's place before Thanksgiving to give her a hand with the prep work.  It was a lot of fun cooking with her.

Mamaw: "That looks good, Callie."

Callie: "Think so? Maybe I'd better taste this one - just to make sure."

Aunt Nancy, Daddy, and Mama, viewing our annual "Talking Dog" Youtube video...it's really funny.  You should watch it some time.  Or, watch it now. Right now. Just click right here. Come on, live in the moment!

The desserts...tadaah!!! 

*   *   *  *

Later on...

 

A work in progress.  

While Daddy was home between load deliveries, we had a major overhaul of his workshop.  We were really glad to get that done!

*   *   *   *

A "just because" occasion. 
 Popcorn, sparking grape juice, four sisters, and Whist.  Remnants of the sweet buttered kernels can be seen in the above insertion.

"Cheers!"

Me, using my cards to render my countenance inscrutable.

Check out that froth.

Shuffling...

*   *   *   *

Oh, and here's a really neat typewriter that Emori found at Goodwill!  Maura's taking it for a test drive.

She said that it's easier to use than a keyboard.  Hm.  Maybe, but I really do dig the features offered on a computer's word processor.  Just sayin.  But this is a really cool find.

On the Road Again!

Daddy's trucking business takes him all over the place, and he's brought back some neat stories about what he's seen.  Well, after he got this new truck that included double bunk beds, a new chapter in road trips was opened for our family...we can take turns seeing the world with him!  First, Mama got to spend a fortnight in the passenger's seat.  Then, week before last, Katie accompanied him while he "went into battle" (as he terms it).  She set out appropriately armed, packing our one and only digital camera.

Anyhow, thought I'd document the trip with her pictures.  But first let me insert a brief prelude:

Rewind a few weeks, to the "rigging up" of Daddy's current man o war...

Yes, it is a needle and thread.  In a semi truck.  For logical explanation, see next picture.

Daddy's CB radio cord was quite long, and he needed it to reach from the front of the truck to the back without flopping everywhere.  So, Maura sewed it to the ceiling.  Eureka, right?

Seamstress @ work.

Daddy, Katie, and Monsieur le Shop Vac.

Yo.  Whatsup?

*   *   *   *

So, Katie sat down and wrote some notes about these pictures she took.  I drew from these to use on the post.

Shipping out to Texas!

I really like this picture Katie took of the rain spackled Mississippi bridge.

Inclement weather, crossing the (can you pronounce the name right first try?) Atchafalaya bridge.

"Dat wamp probby got some gaters."

Railroad crossing in TX.  Eerily beautiful.

Katie's stock shot photo of Houston.

Katie also mapped routes on Daddy's laptop.  The courses can constantly change, but it helps to stay on top of things. 

Entering Galveston...and gazing at the impressive architecture.

Yeah.  I'm glad I'm not in charge of washing those windows.

Search for the ferry, finding a dead end, appreciating nice view.

Warmer.


 
 On the ferry at last.  Free passage, too...nice.

"Set a course South, South West!"

Daddy's smile gets so big when he's near salt water.

Ferry pictures....

A barge that passed close by.

Buoys at Port Bolivar landing.

Riding in the truck again.

Truck mirror photo shoot.

 Doesn't this scene look like something from a black and white western movie? All that's missing is a stray tumbleweed or two. (Oh, Katie asked that you excuse the dust on the camera lens.)

The Bolivar Peninsula reminded Katie a lot of what the island of Chincoteague might look like...

....Especially when she saw this cute spotted pony.

They stopped at this quaint restaurant for omelet and French toast.   Hmm.  I'm sure it must have been a Mexican version of French toast...

Katie said the place was really neat.  Judging from the pictures, I agree...isn't the trailing ivy beautiful?  (The Senora told them it was one and a half years old!  Wow!)

They picked up a load of a couple trucks, bound for Tennessee.  

Tow Mater...

...wouldn't run and had to be towed.

Oil drilling in Bolivar Peninsula.

Heading to Tennessee!

Tennessee pastoral.  This is such a scenic state.

Dropping off the load.

The Wyatt Museum (here's a link to the Website ) was just a few miles away from their delivery, so they stopped by.

They got two more successive loads that took them south.  Closing in on home territory, they passed some "southern snow" as we like to term ripe cotton.

A neat note that Katie thought I might mention was that one of their loads was of steel, and delivered to a man who Daddy used to work with when he was in his early twenties.  Like then, the guy is still into steel manufacturing.  Isn't it so cool they way they were able to meet again after all these years?

A beautiful farm that they passed on the road home.  And, speaking for myself, 'most everything is more beautiful when it's seen

 on the way home.

Thanks for reliving Katie's road trip with me!  Hope you had as much fun as she and Daddy did.

Yours, Callie