This lovely peacock was completed using only 4 different blues -colored pencils- on a small piece of black Stonehenge paper. I used a white gel pen for all those white highlights.
​Took me about 30 minutes for this little guy. Fun exercise.

A fairly large piece of Stonehenge Black- 16"x20". 
Total time to complete was mmaaayyybbeee hour and a half.
(This is a phone photo taken after it was framed. 
​Yea. I forgot to take a decent picture first.

This lovely black swan was the most complicated and the most fun and satisfying to complete.
I used the black of the paper for any black part of the swan- the feathers were minimal coloring using
various purples and blues but paying careful attention as to how the light hit them.
For the background I used 3 pencils plus white, sort of an abstract sunset.
It took 2 sessions of a couple hours each to complete- this is fairly large- 16"x20".

For the past year I have been living with and caring for my grandchildren.
Four of them (and their parents of course!) moved out from Virginia last year.
They rented a place and I lived with them for this last year.
But now they've purchased a home. They are moving. I am moving.
Moving is SUCH hard work! 
In 2016 I moved from my daughters home into my own place- lived with her for 6 years.
In 2017 I moved into my son and daughter-in-laws rental- lived here a year.
In 2018 I am moving back into my own place again.
I sure hope this is it for awhile!!
Anyway- a lot of furniture is gone. Not much remains. So we have to find ways to entertain ourselves.
TV and Tablets...a LOT!
But we have played outside for as long as I can contain and maintain our special needs little guy.
(It's a lot of work for gramma (me) twice the parents age and without a spouse or others to aid in the herding of the tribe.- Explaining not Complaining. well ok I kinda am)

I found these two end tables- both for $8.00
*Ugly falling apart shades - didn't get a picture of those.
*Blonde kinda bashed about finish.
*Wobbly- needed some fixing.
But HEY! $4bucks a piece? What a deal.
So I sanded- primed- painted - added some awesome turquoise shades.
(they were $5..00 each)
So for a total of $10.00 each (tables, shades, primer and paint I already had) -
​and a little time and effort-
​I now have a great set of end tables!

Following is a post from 2016 on my old blog: webeginbeing.blogspot.com
I still adhere to these words. 
I have since discovered Pinterest, which is AWEsome!
I have since given away or sold some of my supplies so that I can concentrate on a few things
instead of being overwhelmed by so many.
I focus mainly on Colored Pencil and Collage work now.
I teach Various Colored Pencil Classes. My hope is to have some on-line classes- stay tuned.


Learning from Any/Every Source                             
​I like to Learn.
Whenever I can.
From whatever Source I can.

I like to Observe/Look at All Kinds of Art, Nature, People.
If we Limit ourselves to only one Type/Kind/Philosophy/Idea 
then we will Always be coming up with "The Same Stuff"

I receive newsletters in my personal box from:
Daily OM
Free Will Astrology
Christine Kane
Talent Smart
to name just a few. 
Some are daily, some, weekly, some monthly.
Sometimes I get a great deal out of the post and sometimes I do not.
But they are a good source of the written word from which I can gather
Ideas and Information and Thoughts.

I  "like" numerous Artists pages on various subject matter on my Facebook Page .
Painters, Musicians, Collage, Photography, etc.
I enjoy going to sites like Demilked or BoredPanda
for more Visual Different/Interesting stimulation.

I go to the library and look through magazines and check out books
from a Wide Variety of Topics.

Fortunately or Unfortunately I also have this kind of SunRay Approach  to my Art. 
I have yet to "settle" on a specific medium, theme/subject matter, type of Art. 
So .....
I sew.
I paint.
I tinker.
I collage.
I draw.
I use fabric, paper ephemera, colored pencils, paint.
I work on paper, canvas, wood, textiles.
(when I had a MAC I also did computer driven work)

It can get/be over-whelming sometimes.

I am trying to follow The Buddhas words:

"Do One Thing Well."

My photos have been coming out truly sad... washed out... can't see detail.
Grey Girl Graphics (company that built this site) showed me how to make my own Photo Lightbox.
I made this one- learned some things and will make another=Larger with White Tape instead of Black.
​All in All though it came out pretty good I think.

Step by Step of Dear Darling Dudley.
I took a gazillion photos to get a decent one I could use... he was such a sweet dog. 
I was gonna leave off the slobbery brown bits around his mouth but owner Jim said "Leave it in. That's Dudley."
So I did.
This is literally the second pet portrait I've ever done.
The first was of my own Sweet Squirt. I was unhappy with it. And too depressed as I drew it.
She passed. VERY hard to handle.
I started the portrait years later. But couldn't deal.
It's been 8/9 years now. 
I may try again... we shall see.

At this point I am getting really annoyed with myself. Just DO this thing already.
The drawings are not coming out as I wish- so let's go with my love- Collage.
​All right! Let's DO this thing!!!

That's it. That's the One. My Left and My Right= My WHOLE Brain.
TaDa!!
​Done.

What can I say about my love of collages?
A lot probably but I'll try to keep it simple.
More in future posts perhaps.
I love searching thru my paper ephemera- text and images-
choosing. 
arranging. 
re-arranging. 
commiting. 
​completing.
it's soothing.
it's zen.