I will "BEE" on vacation for a little while...

Meanwhile...
I know I haven't posted anything in a while but I have been really busy with several things. I have been making books. This is one that I wrote several years ago and never published it. So I put it in Blurb and made a book of it. It is really cute.

But goodness gracious--the prices including shipping are too high! I guess it's because it's full color but this is surely not an option for this little 20 page book.
Here is the inside. They really did a great job but it took me hours to format it to their specifications.

But here are the Blurb links to the book and the eBook for your iPad or iPhone.


So, as I said I will be taking a little bloggie break but still busy with Lollapalooza classes, making books and visiting grandchildren.  I will see you all soon!!!
Hope you are enjoying your summer!

Hughes Easel

 I have been saving my money to buy myself this fabulous Hughes Easel because at the touch of your hand it moves up and down and side to side. I have a back that doesn't like for me to stand up too long at a time so I have to sit down and stand up, sit down and stand up while I paint and this easel allows me to adjust the painting whether sitting or standing.

YAY!

 

 Here are my guys putting it together. No problem!

 

 "And I helped!"

Sugar Pot

Yesterday was our monthly art buddy painting day with my buddies, Rynda and Betty, and we again painted from our current favorite painting book, Problem Solving for Oil Painters by Gregg Kreutz. We choose an interesting painting from the book, read what he says about it and then attempt to paint it. It is a great exercise to "paint what you see" and just basically log in brush time. The more brush time---the better painter you are. This sugar pot was actually quite a challenge because of the shapes and the lights against the darks as well as the darks against the darks. All in all it was fun painting together since each one of us paints in a different style and interprets it differently. If you are a painter, find some buddies to paint with. You... and they will benefit from it!

More of Lori's Tulips

My buddy, Lori, is a very good photographer and here is another shot of her tulips that I painted today. Painting glass is tricky for me. My mind says to paint the glass where really I should just paint the reflections. It's a test in painting colors and shapes that you see with your eye and not think in your brain.  I fractured it a bit which gave it a more distressed look.

Julie Ford Oliver has a tutorial on Daily Paintworks to show how to fracture. I love her paintings.

Sweet Little Gigi

I have been wanting to paint little Gigi for a while now. Gigi is very old and is working on her 9th life now. She lives next door to my studio and her owner, Sarah, is such a sweet neighbor that I thought I would try to capture Gigi for her. Gigi doesn't come outside much any more but this time she was having a nice little rest on her favorite chair. She posed for me. I am certainly not a cat person only because I am allergic to them but I do love Gigi. When it dries I will give it to Sarah.