"Boating"

6 X 6 oil on masonite SOLD

Yea! I finished Karin Jurick's DSFDF assignment early for
a change! I found this one really fun. At first I thought
"Man...that's a lot of blue!" but once I got going it was
mesmerizing and went very quickly. Karin never ceases
to amaze me with her challenges. There's always a good
lesson in them. I made the boat a bit greener just
because it was such an interesting color. Another reason
it was so fun is because I have been doing so many Still
Lifes lately. It was nice to do a figure for a change.

Now, off to find a Maxfield Parrish reference
for Michelle Burnett's Following The Masters
challenge and James Parker's
Windows To The Words Art assignment.

Feels great to be painting every day again! I think this
is my 5th in a row.

"Lemon Basil"

6 X 6 oil on masonite SOLD

Been dying to try my new Radiant Turquoise
next to that bright Radiant Lemon and Radiant
Yellow! The reference photo was taken on my
cement lawn table so it was a bit challenging to
replace all the gray areas and do color correction
in the shadows since they appeared brownish.

I'm returning my neighbor's little custard dish to
her tomorrow so wanted to get one more painting
out of it. It's such a nice size for this small format.

"Four & Counting"

8x8 oil on masonite SOLD

This bunch of grapes was originally meant for
a more involved Still Life, but oops! They were just
too good. I rarely see these dark, dark grapes in our
stores. They look more like Black Olives than grapes,
but they are so good and sweet.

"Summer Vegetables" one more time

10 x 10 oil on masonite SOLD

This reference was provided by Karin Jurick.

"Breakfast"

10 x 10 oil on masonite SOLD

It feels so great to be painting again after nearly a month!
This is my new favorite breakfast combo. I get on
"food kicks" so this will probably be on the menu every
morning for quite awhile, especially with the watermelon
(which I could eat my weight in) in season and so delicious.

One of the unexpected benefits of my surgery is that I can
taste and smell again which has led to my wanting to eat
healthy food again. Everything tastes so great! I had truly
forgotten what food tastes like. For the past 5-6 years I've
craved sugar like crazy just because it was the only thing I
could really taste. It was like living with a 6 year old. I forced
myself to eat good things only because I knew I should. During
that time I would eat an entire chocolate cake for my 3 meals
a day! It's an odd feeling to put oneself on a diet for health
reasons rather than weight loss, although now that I am "of a
certain age" I need to watch it anyway.

The second, really miraculous, unexpected thing is that
I can sing again! I haven't been able to participate in that
activity for 6 years as well. I honestly thought my vocal chords
were damaged and that part of my life was over. I guess
a side benefit of not having my voice for 6 years is that I
learned to play Mandolin since singing isn't required to
participate with that instrument. Still, it just wasn't the same.
I began playing guitar/singing when I was 14 so it felt like
one instrument. No fun without the voice. Plus, playing and
singing with other musicians is the closest thing to Heaven
that I can think of. It's like I'm 14 all over again... relearning
songs, learning NEW songs, playing until my fingers bleed.
I'm adding songs that I would have considered "guy only"
songs before like Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl". Hey...she
could be my daughter (if I had one). There are other
"new games" to play "behind the Stadium" than sex!
I'm lovin' my life....painting full time, playing/singing again,
eating health, feeling great. It just doesn't get any better than this!