The Wedding Gift

 Our grandson, Patrick, had planned to get married next weekend. 'Save the Date' postcards were sent out many months ago. Then we were hit with a pandemic. Patrick and Grace, his fiancee, had to postpone their ceremony. They sent out "Unsave the Date" postcards. I must admit, I have never received one of those before!

Rather than postpone for a year...or however long it would be before it was safe to have a gathering, they decided to just get married. On a Thursday a couple weeks ago, they found a beautiful park and exchanged rings with just their parents present. 

The next day they came to our house and had lunch with us. That Saturday they had a Zoom reception for about 40 family members! 

Actually, the zoom call was fun. We were able to 'meet' so many of Grace's family who were literally all over the world. The call was at 2:00pm our time. With time zone differences, some of the 'guests' were having breakfast or lunch. A few had to get up at 4:00am, others were having dinner on Sunday! It was a lovely shared experience and certainly 'made lemonade' out of COVID 19 lemons!

But, back to the gift. 

A week or so after they sent out the Unsave the Date postcard, we received two small wineglasses in the mail. 

 

There was a note about the reception and that we could raise these glasses (with the champagne that they had brought to us) for several toasts while we were zooming.

Since they had postponed the wedding, we had not given much thought to a wedding gift... and here we were about to celebrate! I needed to paint something personal for them.

I decided to pick up on the 'we do'. The other obvious theme for me was that they are both musicians. Patrick is an accomplished harpsichordist and Grace is an amazing vocal artist. 

Preliminary sketches help me to visualize ideas and to see how they can be developed. 

First thought...

Expanded to "we do...make beautiful music together"

Maybe add a music staff...names and date?  It's getting too much....

Tried to make the glasses smaller... eh...

got rid of the glasses and played around with the staff...

Then I had this hokey idea that if I was going to paint a staff, I could copy real music. I searched around for something appropriate...  A few more sketches experimenting with some color....ta da!

After I took this photo I added the little heart that was on the glasses. (Forgot to take a final photo)

For those of you who can read music, you know the mystery tune... Yes, of course, Grace and Patrick knew right away!

July - Sketch a day

I just realized that I got so caught up in all the dogs - Dog days of summer, I guess  - that I forgot to post my sketches from July.  We are now well into August so I had to go back and find them.

There are days that I have to make myself sit down and sketch...and other times when I want to skip ahead and do several. After all this time, I am giving myself permission to do what feels right...without guilt! If I get caught up in something else, it's OK - I'll get to it tomorrow and probably enjoy it even more.

Inserted after writing - after I finished writing all this and dropping in the images, I went to "Preview" to check before I published. For some reason several of the images do not directly line up with the text. In this area, I am technically challenged - as a friend of mine says..."Way above my pay grade!" So, I beg forgiveness and urge you to please read on..

As before, I tried to make up reasons how the sketches on each page might be related... here we go...

Summer or Winter...I added 'Ice' and thought of cold drinks in the summer. Ice in winter is definitely an igloo!

Flat and Waiting - I chose 'flat' on a music staff...I suppose I could sing flatly while I am waiting.

Chess and Necklace - I am working hard here...maybe a person could wear a necklace while playing chess.

Moth and Butterfly - more similar than different. When I looked for images, I found an amazing array of beauty in both categories.

                           

Mum and Dad - Well, I guess these are obvious go-togethers, but I never called my mother 'Mum' so I went with Chrysanthe-mum. I love the child had holding Dad's hand.

Ticket and Mushroom - Probably nothing here...but I could make up a story about going to a mushroom farm and having to buy a ticket to get in...

Rose and Balance - I see nothing here to go together! All I can say is that I really enjoyed drawing both of these sketches!

Hammer and Do Not Cross - Hmmm, maybe this is a construction zone and there is a piece of large equipment (not shown) that is in the way. Or, if you dare to cross this line, I'll hit you with a hammer...

Experiment and Vote - I loved drawing the experiment...I could imagine anything. The vote thing is a 'hot' issue right now with an election coming up in November. I definitely don't want VOTE to be an experiment!

Crown and Pie - The crown certainly represents royalty... hmm, maybe it takes me back to "Sing a song of sixpence" although there are NO blackbirds baked in this pie to set before a king!

Greyhound and Ferris Wheel - A fast, skinny dog and a wheel that stands vertically and spins around... really? What about 'entertainment'? There are dog races that people attend (although there are also people who are offended by this and work hard to protect the dogs) and carnivals with all sorts of rides.

Pyramid and Standing Stones - Certainly all made our of stones carefully fit together.

Stepping Stones and Puddle - I was wishing the standing stones and stepping stones were on the same page...but, not so. The stepping stones are the walk through the garden. The puddle calls for a little boy whose mother probably wished there were stepping stones so he didn't get soaked. But, come on, that's what little boys do!

Piranha and In the Forest - A mean, biting fish (although colorful) and an inviting path through a cool forest do not go together! Sometimes it's better to not try to make things work...

Black Cat and Itchy - There are people who are allergic to cats of any color! 

Sneeze - It's a bad time to sneeze or cough right now in the ongoing lockdown from COVID 19. I almost didn't even want to draw a sneeze!

That's it for July! Another fun month of some challenging drawings. More surprises coming up in August.

Izzy - or 'Withie, part 2'

This is a follow-up to my last post about Withie, the dog that a friend of mine re-homed. Not sure that is a real word, but for me, it means that my friend found a new home for her four legged companion. 

The family that Withie is now living with, had a labradoodle, named Izzy. She died a few months ago. I offered to paint a portrait of Izzy if they would send me some pictures of her.

I began on a light green pastel paper. The first step is putting in blocks of darks and lights. 

Next I had to try to find the right colors! I was a little anxious about this because I had never met the dog and it seems to me that everybody's computer/printer makes the colors different. There were dozens of shades of brown, beige, orange... I threw in some gray and some purples.

In most of the dog paintings I have previously done, the dog had a black nose... not Izzy... it seemed white, gray, pink, purple... and a little off center! And then, there were those yellow/orange eyes!

I did a lot of tweaking, trying to get the nose right and attempting to get the look of soft, curly hair.

I had fun playing with her collar... and then put in some background. Thinking I was almost done, I left it for a day or so. When I came back to it and looked closely... her left eye was up higher than her right! I got out a bristle brush and wiped the eye off... trying it again...

Doing a painting is a little like trying to get all the legs of a table the same length or redecorating a house...you make one adjustment and then find that there are other things that need doing!

More tweaking here and there...  At some point, I just need to call it done! I know if I don't sign it and put it behind glass, I will want to keep touching it...

Here she is!

I delivered the painting this morning. There is a part of me that just wanted to get my hands into her hair. She looks soft and is just begging to be petted!

Withie

I seem to be in 'dog mode.' I woke up one morning after painting all the dog days of summer - all the dogs wearing masks - with an idea that really made me smile.

I have a friend who had the most adorable little dog. His name is Withie. My friend lives alone and had been experiencing some health issues. She did not know how long she would be able to care for him adequately and had talked to the dog's groomer about her concerns.

The groomer loved the dog and offered to take him when my friend was ready to part with him. As it turns out, the groomer has two other dogs and could not take Withie anytime soon. However, the groomer did know a couple who had recently lost a dog and she thought they might be ready to adopt Withy.

About a month ago, the groomer arranged a meeting with my friend, the other couple and Withy. Of course, the other couple immediately fell in love with Withie and my friend was delighted to see that Withy would be cared for in a loving new home.

A couple of weeks ago my friend bid farewell to Withie and he went to live with his new family. Transitions like this are never easy, but knowing that Withy would be loved and cared for did make it less difficult. It was thoughtfully and carefully planned.

So, when I woke up recently I had this crazy idea. It turned out that I knew Withie's new family! I emailed them and asked if they would take some pictures of Withy so that I could paint his portrait for my friend.

Within days, I had some reference photos and got to work. Withie is a fluffy little guy - curly hair is not easy to recreate!

Using my pastels, I got the first shapes and colors in...

I began to define his face more - to capture his expression - and to figure out about the fluffy body. As it turned out, he had recently been groomed so he was not so fluffy... he had more of a shaved look.

 Whereas, I like his stance, I decided to do a little cropping and throw the emphasis toward his expression rather than his body. This also solved my problem of what to do with the background. Would I put him in grass? or what?

A few more tweaks here and there...

Here he is.

Today I surprised my friend by ringing her doorbell and delivering the framed painting. We had a delightful visit and I left with such a great feeling. Almost burst into song "Oh, what a beautiful morning..." 🎵🎵

Dog Days of Summer

I don't think I have ever posted two days in a row, but this is an unusual time. Before I upload any paintings, I confess that I am getting a little quirky... (I believe quirky was a word that a friend used to describe me recently, so maybe I'm not just becoming quirky...  let's say Quirky 2.0)

So, what's going on today? My art group looks for a theme each week. I like having a focus - something to get me kick-started. This week our local art museum posted the theme "Dog Days of Summer."

It has gotten very hot here in the mid-Atlantic area and COVID-19 is spiking in our county... hmmm, the 'dog days of 2020.'

What if...???

I began thinking about all the dog paintings that I have done over the years... maybe they are a place to start. I went to my photo file and sorted through pastels and watercolors. I settled on six paintings and printed them out onto watercolor paper.

Then I began to give them a 2020 look...

But, then I thought, dogs are not known for transmitting this virus... so perhaps ...

I can't see these little girls smiling now, but they were in the original paintings!

I do so miss seeing the faces of my friends...and others I meet at the grocery store, etc. I miss smiles!

May we all stay safe and wear a mask! You are not just caring for yourself when you cover up, you are showing that you are for the people you are with. 

June - sketch a day

Yep, I'm still doing the daily sketches with the word prompts.  This is the month of June...

Unfortunately, the sketchbook paper is off white, so it doesn't photograph well...and my Photoshop keeps crashing when I try to manipulate...  Don't we just love electronics...when they work!

Last month I tied to figure out how things were related. Since my small sketchbook has room for two days on each page, here's another attempt to see how things might - or might not - fit. 

June 1 stands alone - Toast or Bread...  Apparently, each month begins with a question.

Bulldozer and and Caterpillar are on the same page. It occurred to me that they could be the same thing. Caterpillar makes large machinery. However, I have always loved the children's book "The Very Hungry Caterpillar"     

Insect and Snake - I have this thing about snakes and just cannot bring myself to draw one...thus the plumbers snake...a very useful tool!

   

Danger and Hippopotamus - they could easily go together.
Mermaid and Rapunzel - Possible two stories about young maidens...

    


Wind and Snowflake - I liked the idea of a fall wind blowing the leaves off the tree. That would be followed by snowflakes... I confess, I got a little carried away when I began drawing the snowflake. It does not look light and airy. ..and it just kept getting worse!
Seaweed and Puffin - Hmmm, theme could be water...

     

Shark and Frying Pan - now there's a challenge. I guess you could fry a shark steak... not sure I want to go out and catch one right now.
Birthday and Armageddon  - I see birthday as a fun celebration and armageddon as NOT. For me, this is a page of opposites - I love celebrating birthdays...but I imagine some people do not!

     

Teacher and Woodpecker - How do I make that work? I supposed I could have drawn the teacher with red hair... Really? Sometimes it's OK to NOT find a connection. Maybe someone else has an idea.
Baobab Tree and Giraffe - I think both these things might be part of a safari adventure. Although, that has not been on my bucket list. I did love seeing the giraffes at the Baltimore Zoo when my children were little.

       

Elephant and Fairy - Must be another page of opposites! Large/small, heavy/light. Or, maybe another idea would be 'magical.' One of my granddaughters loves elephants. They would be magical for her.
Tree House and Sleep - And, speaking of magic... what about building and then sleeping in your own treehouse? It's a child's dream come true!

        

Early and Tattoo - I don't know anyone who loves their alarm clock. Who wants to get up early? Unless you possibly had an appointment to go get a tattoo?
Nurse and Xray - Certainly these belong together...it's the medical page.

       

And the final prompt in June is Sign. There are so many things that could be sketched for sign...road signs, signs of seasons, ads, ... Lately, we have seen more and more people signing public announcements. I am always fascinated by the way they use their hands to communicate words. I offer this for the end of June.

We are now halfway into July... more to come next month!