"Sparky"
3" by 4"
Oil on Masonite








I've always loved snakes. I've been catching snakes since I was a very little girl.

My first book was 'Poisonous Creatures of the Desert Southwest' (I was born and spent the first seven years of my life in Tucson, Arizona) and I colored in the black and white photographs as I caught the critters in the book.

My Father was tickled to find me lecturing to some fellow tourists out of it on a trip to Mexico. I was six. It was over a velvet ant, which is actually a wingless wasp, and I remember it was bright magenta in color.

But rattlesnakes have always held a special place in my heart. I remember begging my Father to catch a sidewinder rather than kill it. He did, and I kept it for a week.

The first snake I caught in Texas was a rattlesnake. It had different markings than the ones we had in Arizona. I took it in the house to look it up and my Father made me take it back outside.

But my record is catching twelve rattlesnakes in an hour just south of San Antonio last year. I turned all of those loose.

David won't let me keep them in the house either. :(

Doesn't this guy look friendly? Look, he's wagging his tail! He just wants to be friends with you. . .

"I Want To Believe"
3" by 4"
Oil on Masonite













Yesterday, I heard that there's a new X-Files movie supposedly coming out this summer.

I'm *so* hoping it's not an early 'April fool's' joke.

With that in mind, I decided to paint one of my favorite things from the old series; the 'I Want To Believe' poster, which is based on a Billy Meier Pleiadian 'beamship' photo.

If I were to have a personal motto, I think it would be 'I want to believe'.

"Nude #2"
3" by 4"
Oil on Masonite








Nekkid day at Dougherty Art Center.

Yet another very nice model.

Very tall.

Well. . . as tall as me, which is 5'9".

One of the other artists was raving about how she was the perfect proportion of eight heads. We're talking superheroes and Greek godesses here.

I *was* that proportioned once upon a time. Not no more. Ah well. I'd rather paint than model.

I think my figurative painting's improving. Still need work on my skin tones though.

More practice.

"Flatwoods Monster"
3" by 4"
Oil on Masonite













As long as I'm showing y'all West Virgina monsters, I might as well show y'all the Flatwoods Monster from Flatwoods West Virginia.

Supposedly ten feet tall and possessing an oily stink that caused one boy to faint and two others (and their dog) to retch for hours, this horrific thing floated hissing out of the woods in 1952.

I promise, no monsters tomorrow.

Tomorrow is nekkid day!

"Reepicheep"
3" by 4"
Oil on Masonite
After an Illustration by Pauline Baynes

Last week, I saw a trailer for the upcoming "Prince Caspian" movie.

Reepicheep, the talking mouse, is going to make or break this film. Needless to say, he's not in the trailer.

So, I did a bit of research on the 'net. Turns out Eddie 'Executive Transvestite' Izzard is doing the voice of Reepicheep.

Again, make or break. I adore Eddie, but I'm very worried about him going over the top with dear, sweet, too-honorable-for-his-own-good Reepicheep.

I'm also worried that they're going to make him the wrong color.

It's not described in Prince Caspian but in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, he is described thusly:

"-- a Mouse on its hind legs and stood about two feet high. A thin band of gold passed 'round its head under one ear and over the other and in this was stuck a long crimson feather. (As the Mouse's fur was very dark, almost black, the effect was bold and striking.)"

I'll bet dollars to donuts he's done up in brown for the movie.

So I painted him right. :)

"ABH #1"
3" by 4"
Oil on Masonite








Today in Adventures in Art, we're playing 'Anywhere But Here' as I have a dental appointment this afternoon.

Antigua, anyone?

"Eligius"
3" by 4"
Oil on Masonite












Week two at the Dougherty Art Center's Tuesday morning art modeling session.

(I'm trying very hard not to call it 'nekkid day'. Hooray, it's 'nekkid day'!)

Very nice model.

I didn't paint his tattoos, the largest of which was across his lower back and was apparently his confirmation name.

Really need to sit down and work on faces.

"Rolling Clouds"
3" by 4"
Oil on Masonite







The skies this evening were magnificent. I just had to try and capture the pink in the rolling steel gray of front clouds.

I haven't painted any skies since November. I guess I'm out of practice as this one took forever. However, it was the first one I've ever done Alla Prima, so I suppose I should be pleased (I usually paint the background first, let it dry and then lay in the whites so they stay pure. This time I just laid in the colors carefully and used q-tips and Gambesol if things got muddy).

"Reverse Engineered from UFOs"
3" by 4"
Oil on Masonite










I *love* those new silver VW Bugs!

The silver ones are referred to as 'pods' by those in the know and every year, just before the anniversary of the Roswell Crash is celebrated, they have a huge meet-up in Roswell, New Mexico.

When I am ridiculously wealthy, I will learn to drive a stick and get one. :)

"Une Cerise"
3" by 4"
Oil on Masonite













This is another of my Central Market finds. A Washington State Cherry. Cool reds and hot yellows. Not your average Shirley Temple find.

This little tiny picture took me forever.

Actually, I should have been finished after the first 45 minutes. But I just had to keep messing with it until I messed it up and spent the rest of the day fixing it. :(

Tomorrow, I'm setting an alarm for 45 minutes and I'm putting down the brushes and walking away for a bit.

I keep messing up paintings by messing with them for too long. I need to learn to get in, get the job done and leave it alone.

Alla Prima, baby. That's what I'm trying to learn. Alla Prima.

We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

"Fireworks"
3" by 4"
Oil on Masonite













Here's the first of my new series!
I'm rather pleased. It took me about an hour with multiple distractions, but I'm happy to say, I managed to ignore most of them and keep plugging along.

I oiled the new carrier and it'll be ready to hit the road as of tomorrow.

I'm hoping to do some plein air works in this format and maybe even go crazy and do some live model sketches. The Dougherty Arts Center has a live model on Tuesday mornings.

I may use it as a warm up for the next Dr. Sketchy!

Anyway, Happy New Year!