Pilgrim's Progress

Hello Everyone! It's a beautiful THURSDAY evening here. My calendar is a bit off on this blogland clock.

DogGirl is coming along pretty well... she gets her new home and name (Thanks to Velvet Ginger!) this weekend in an art journal which seems pretty happy she's coming to stay...

As is often the case, I rendered this in coloured pencils, and then laid down some fairy dust, bits of return address labels for good measure, and a layer of gesso around her. Presto Chango.... !

This seems to be a common theme in my line drawings. And other work, admittedly. The solitary girl (woman) and the one animal.

DogGirl isn't finished just yet, but I will show you the completed product soon, I hope. Now that I have started, I see how much more I have to go until she's ready to "leave home" -- haha.

Check you all Sunday and until then,

Get More of You Know What,
Candace

Sing, Oh Muse!

Recognize those words? From The Odyssey as well as "O Brother Where Art Thou," someone's Muse is definitely giving some shoutouts around Athens... how appropriate.

Hello everyone!

I am evidently going on a personal odyssey of My own. Line drawings have called to me recently, as they always have, always do and always will. I have gone back to a blast from the past journal I have (literally, I have hundreds of these line drawings. T says thousands, but I think that's an exaggeration.) and am moving forward again on it.

While these two images may seem like a dearth of materials here, they are undergoing transformations as you read these words. Sorry, about MercuryGirl's lips. They look more whited out than silver, tsk.

On MY wish list is a Panasonic digital. But I digress.

DogGirl's face is rendered by using a favourite technique I learned from one of my favorite contemporary artists, Duncan Regehr. In his book "Dragon's Eye" he discusses -- very briefly -- learning to use one line for a single drawing. Yep. You put the pen or pencil or whathaveyou down and you do not pick it up until done.

I have lots of these drawings and it does take a bit of work but it's fun -- and it can be beautiful, weird, extreme, sedate. It's up to you and how far you are willing to take that one unbroken line and yourself.

The next time you see these girls, they will have undergone The EyeCandy Treatment. Let's just hope I haven't undergone theirs. With a name like DogGirl, I'm not quite sure I would be happy.


On a more colourful note, I heard from Teesha Moore, and evidently, I will indeed be goin' to ArtFest '09!

HOOHOO.


Get More of What You Love,
Candace

Reflections

"The world is a looking glass and gives back to every man the reflection of his own face." -- William Thackeray

Something to remember during this transition into Autumn, which is not coming soon enough to suit some of us and seriously, as we view our own personal view of ourselves and what we hold dear or what we deem important in our private world.

Hello Everyone!

Victorian Gazing Glass has always been a favourite of mine and I finally sprung for one last week. These once upon a time must-haves still fascinate me, and were considered magical by some (and still are by others, ahem!). When the morning sun came across my tiered yard this morning, its reflected light so brilliant it was blinding, it was simply impossible to get a decent photo.

And I did indeed join the Suzi Blu Church. What a gal. Check her out here if you're new to this or if you simply need a quick boost. Okay I'm back. Yep, I just had a quick dose of Suzi and am all the better for it.

And while I think most of us know about Mrs. G's Man Cake over at Derfwad Manor, here is some Man Cake of a different sort from Jeanne at One Day At A Time. And the flowers she has posted there are so lovely and sweet. All these flowers and the fruits (and vegetables) of others' farming labors -- something is definitely going on over there in the Northwest.

Coming up this weekend, Art Shenanigans with Kitten and Kiki. That sounds like a lounge act, doesn't we? Well, just you wait till you see this girl group, trust me.

Until then, Get More of What You Love!
Candace

Ah, The Mighty Javablu Award

Hello Everyone!

Is it because of the fall of the year, the dying of the light that we tuck into life more than ever? Well, doh! That tree has even more red and yellow on it today. I kid thee not. Lookatit! At the edge, softly red, hints of yellow and up in the higher branches, a splash of orange.

As promised, here is (almost word for word) the rules for the Javablu Awards from Denise at Bless This Mess.

1. The winner can put the logo on their blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.

3. Nominate at least 5 other blogs. (Thanks for that "at least", Denise. Key phrase.)

4. Before listing the nominees give a brief reason why you chose them.
5. Put links of those blogs on yours.

6. Leave a message on the blogs you have nominated.

I wish I could tap *all* of you who have made a difference to me and my journey, you all mean a lot to me and, indeed, myriad things to me. And I wish there was a way to say what Denise said so well about the awards given out to the peeps she chose without basically repeating her, practically word for word.

Well, let me try. You have indeed made a difference -- in some cases, a very big difference -- in my life and I daresay others' lives -- art and otherwise -- and I do think of you as fellow travellers on this big, beautiful, blue marble we are on together. Some of these blogs I read for pure joy and entertainment, but there are some I read and actually learn from about a technique, a journal’s beginnings and recyclings, and some are just fun glimpses of shenanigans in general. Families and feasts and vacations in places known and unknown and just general fooling around.

(Not THAT kind of fooling around -- although some little derfwad might think so!)

And more than a couple of you have inspired and encouraged me to spread my little dodo wings and fly fly fly!

Jeanne
Judy

Misty

Nina

Kitten

PharmWife

Southern Girl

Velvet Ginger

Suziblu

Mrs. G

Okay, okay, I did more than five. So sue me. It was a tough row to hoe. And yes, now I know that even successful artists we admire have an off day, that my fears and wonderment are often theirs as well, and we have more in common than not. And that if it's not fun, don't do it. Odd how folks forget that.

Get More of What You Love.

Later,

Candace

Wow, I am so surprised!

I swear the dogwood tree was all green yesterday! I guess today we were finally given notice that really, truly Summer '08 is packing up her bags and soon trundling off to even greener pastures -- New Zealand or Australia, maybe. Or Alaska...



Hello everyone!


Tomorrow, class, we will discuss The Javablu Award from Denise. See that nifty little logo over there to the right?
That's it.

Denise has got a fabu blog here or over there (the "Cools") under Bless This Mess. (Mmm... wonder what that means, really??) Check it and the Javablu Award Rules pronto. She tapped me for the Javablu Award and now, it's my turn to tap five folks, link them here for your reading and visual pleasure and who knows what else?



Here's a piece of art I did Saturday night/Sunday morning for an art journal I pull out occasionally. There are some folks who have a problem with my size -- always have, always will, I guess. Here is a quick coloured pencil sketch called "Inside Every Thin Girl is a Fat Girl Trying to Get Out." When T, Melody and others of That Old Gang of Mine first met me, fresh out of college, I weighed 85.

Yes. Pounds. T said if she had had a dollar for every time someone asked her if I was anorexic, like Annie Lennox says, she would have had a pile of money to her chin, her chin, her chin...

The words around Thin Girl are things people have said to yours truly. Don't tell me that you or other people would love to have this "problem". It's not a problem and no, you/they wouldn't. The words on Fat Girl Trying To Get Out are simple. "Shut Up" over and over again and "Please" over and over again.

So, this is how I deal with "tough stuff", so to speak. I draw it out and look at it and process it. I don't even think about it, really, it just pours out of me like some potion. And I get a pretty good beginning to a journal page too!

And now, for something completely different! I am signing out now to go register for Artfest '09 ! HooHOOOOO!

Later,
Candace

Fun Stuff

Hello Everyone!

I now have a new teeny tiny laptop. To show you just how teeny tiny, here is a photo of the laptop with T's hand for reference. Hoohoo!


This means I am truly mobile and I could not be happier... altho I am indeed typing this on what feels like a HUGE desktop now. But really it isn't.



Okay, show and tell is over. In a couple of weeks, Appaloosa opens with Viggo Mortensen (if I were Mrs. G, I would say "My Secret Boyfriend No. 1"), and Ed Harris. Cowboys... the true American Mythos. Along with baseball and jazz.

Get more of what you love.
Candace

Labor Day

As always, Kitty Boy has picked the perfect resting spot. Which just happens to be T's head... what the -- ? He's asleep and so is she. Go figure.

-- and the GOP just announced VP pick Sarah Palin's 17 year old
unmarried daughter is preggers. How ironic...!
We also have word that ANY DAY now, Michelle and Chris's little Devon should make his way into Our World and Welcome To It.


So, that's the windup and here's the pitch.


Check out this little gem of a book, courtesy of my friend Kitten. She has thrown down the gauntlet, and I will be revamping this baby in the (near, very near) future. Looks like a job for SuperCandy and it will be a bit different the next time you see it!

I didn't get a photo of hers and it is just grand with all sorts of beading and copper wiring. Maybe next time.


I'm also working on some more of my watercolour tea party series. They look better up close and personal than they do here. The ladies' hats are actually cups and saucers.

Kitten and I are planning an actual tea party and as T has THREE new hats (including a gorgeous top hat) and I have two, Kitten said maybe it should be The Mad Hatters Tea party. Mmm... maybe she's trying to tell me something. LOL.

Saturday, she showed me how to make real kefir, not that glorified yoghurt in plastic jugs in the stores, and she showed me how to make cheese as well, and to top all this off, we had some great homemade lemon cookies too, with lemon filling. Y.U.M. Then we watched a bit of Mad Men.

Well, overall, as you can probably tell, the weekend was just incredible. I will be going into more detail later in the week about what was up Saturday at Athens Farmers Market. But, long story short, on Saturday, T needed a break so before Kitten came over, we went to the Farmers Market and just had a blast. The last Sat of each month, the regulars show but so do the arts and crafts folks. I will show off lots of photos of these folks' art shenanigans as well links to their sites.

Just lovely, impressive work anyone would be happy with and proud of.

Until next time, Get More of What You Love!

Later,

Candace