Fun With Paint

So, I just had the best weekend, feeling like a kid again because I just got myself a bunch of art supplies and had a blast painting.

I'm not really a visual person, and fine-motor skills have never been my forte, so I would never have thought that painting would be a viable hobby for me.  Turns out, I may have been wrong.  I doubt I'll ever be "professional grade" or anything close, but I'm having a lot of fun and I think I can still manage some okay stuff.

I blame a friend from church for starting me down this path.  This particular friend is a regular patron of a nearby Paint Your Own Ceramics type shop, which also happens to hold a number of different craft and painting classes.  After seeing my friend's posts and looking at upcoming offerings a few weeks ago, I became intrigued and decided--what the heck?--to try out one of the canvas paining classes.  These feature an image designed by an experienced artist, who gives step-by-step instructions how to re-create that image for yourself.  I really enjoyed the class, and I discovered that even when I couldn't do things "perfectly" the medium of acrylic paint is pretty forgiving.  So I could do this!

My first effort.  The leaves were only supposed to have thin streaks down the middle for veins, but mine turned out thicker.  Then again, that produced a really interesting two-tone effect, and my trees turned out well, so WIN!

Now hooked, I took two more classes.  The latest turned out really well, and the instructor jokingly remarked that, now I'd attended a few classes, I ought to be getting my own supplies to do my own art....  Obviously, great minds think alike, because I'd already ordered some books on painting (it pays to be grounded in the basics before going wild).  Those books arrived on Friday, much to my delight.

My latest painting class result.  This got rave reviews so now IT'S ON!

My appetite thoroughly whetted, it was "kid in a candy store" time.  Reference books in hand, and some extra money in the bank, I skipped to the nearest art supply store and proceeded to run amok.  I picked up an all-purpose easel, palette, some good-quality brushes and paints, a few additional accessories, and a goodly selection of stuff to paint on.  Once home, it was time to convert my poor, dignified dining room into a studio!

Leo and Castor examine my purchases to ensure quality.

Step one, of course, was to remove the (very nice!) table cloths and fold them gently onto a hangar to be stored in a safe location.  Step two was to deploy protective measures:

Smock and drop cloth (re-purposed heavy-duty garbage bag, since it was convenient) to prevent messes--or at least contain them!

Then I got to figure out how the easel worked--pretty straightforward once I got the hang of it--and deploy it in tabletop mode with palette and water-jars standing by.

Looking more like a studio!

Then came the fun part: unpacking all the paints, brushes, sponges and other supplies.  I then arranged them in the very nice caddy I found at the art shop.  With the easel being portable/collapsible, and almost everything else fitting in the caddy, stowing everything away for guests or cleaning days and getting it all back out again will be easy, which is why I splurged on the caddy.  Also, Pollux can't steal my paint brushes when they're stored inside.  That bit is important.

Stuff!

Next I just had to put something on the easel and I'd be ready!

Voila!  A studio!  I switched over to the long side of the table for more room.  

All we required was someone to do the painting....

Portrait of the artist as a young geek.

Then it was playtime.  I started by testing out my colors and getting a first feel for how they mixed.  The basic paint set involves a set of neutrals, a big tube of white, and two shades of each primary for mixing all the secondary colors.  (Turns out you need a yellow-favoring red for mixing oranges, and a blue-favoring red for purples and so on.)  So that's what I've got, though I confess I also picked up tubes of gold, silver and copper metallics.  Because shiny!

After that I tried a few basic exercises proposed by the one book to grow more familiar with my paints and brushes, which were interesting.

Leo and Castor help me with my work.  

Some of these early efforts have now been put up on the wall to add color, because an artistic space should be lively.  I practiced diluting the paint so it acted more like water color, using different brushes, and mixing colors.  I have been able to re-create the slate grey of Siamese Blue Point, but haven't quite managed Leo-Cat Orange, though I think I am close.

My "play wall"--and yes, that is painter's tape, so no walls were harmed in the making of this photo.

Yesterday, I tried creating some "moonglow" using a dry brush, and a nebula effect with sponges.  I think other techniques might yield better results, but that wasn't bad for a first try.

Dry brush "moon" and sponge-tap "nebula" done as an experiment on newsprint.  

That, then, was my weekend.  I'm looking forward to many more spent fooling around in front of an easel.

After Isaac

Isaac has finally left our area (it is now bedeviling the poor residents of Arkansas), but it made quite an impact on "the landmass" before it left.

Yes, this is the ACTUAL tornado watch box that was in effect all day yesterday, stretching hundreds of miles inland from LA to FL.

Some residents in our area are likely to be without power for several days, and flooding is still a concern throughout the state.  There is no telling right know how bad the damage was right down on the coast, but it looks pretty awful.  Miraculously, my own home never lost power, and even though my workplace seems to have had a few short outages overnight the other night, we had full power for the workday, so we more or less carried on as normal.  My little redbuds look a bit raggedy, but made it through, as did the figlet (hooray!) and my other plants.

The most shocking survival is the fact that the magnolia tree just next door made it through the storm.  To understand why this is such a shock, you should first have a look at a healthy magnolia tree:

Notice the luxurious, thick growth of healthy, dark-green leaves.  Magnolias are much-loved, of course, because they produce beautiful, creamy flowers all over, just about the whole warm season:

Now take a look at the tree next door. It looks slightly different than that first image.....

I have no earthly idea what ails that poor tree, but so far nothing has been able to finish the poor thing off and put it out of its misery.  My one colleague (readers may remember him as Super Sociable Guy) dubbed this tree "the Charlie Brown magnolia" for its resemblance to, well, this:

I think the analogy is fitting, don't you?

Note for those who don't get the "landmass" reference:  When the path of Isaac had yet to be determined, there was evidently a commentator on The Weather Channel who discussed a possible hit on Mobile, and a possible hit on New Orleans, and in the process dismissively referred to the territory in between (also known as Mississippi) as "the landmass in the middle".  This on the near-anniversary of Katrina, no less, which was devastating to the MS Gulf Coast.  The indignation on Facebook was epic.

Too Many Eyes

My recent adventures have included my flurry of anual checkups, not the least of which was my eye exam which yielded a new prescription for me to adjust to, which has of course been fun.

However, everybody's attention has been on another eye--or should we say "I" for Isaac? The storm (whose own eye, coincidentally, could be seen today when it formally reached Hurricane status) has just made landfall and is preparing to churn inland bringing wind and rain.

Even though we are reasonably inland where I live, we could still get a fair dose of the wind-and-rain, though our biggest risk would be widespread power outage, rather than serious structural damage or flooding.  Still, the roof repair folks (remember them?  They're still working on our roof from months ago.) were scurrying around frantically the last couple of days.  They were pretty close to done before now, as soon as I can tell, but obviously they wanted to be sure to put on some finishing touches before their work is put to the test.  

Meanwhile, the local schools have been closed both of the next few days, which I definitely think is panicking in advance of the need, but maybe that's just me.  I've done what sensible things I could--filled up the car, brought in a few loose items from my back porch, and drew a little cash.  This evening, I decided to go ahead and pick up some bread and peanut butter in case of widespread outage (no power = no cooking) and a jug of water, since while at lunch we started hearing rumors of runs on these items.  I am glad that I filled up the car, too, as memories of Katrina, fears of power outages (which would also mean no working pumps), and fears of a run on gasoline...have prompted just such a run on gasoline.  Sigh.

Luckily, the little car has plenty to get me through a normal week, and right now I'm thinking that the anticipation is likely to be rather worse than the reality of what makes it to our area.  All I know is, the kitties are snug, I'll keep an eye on things, and I've had enough for now of things that sound like "eye".  

Bats From The Past

I just glanced out my porch door/window, and I saw something that is still almost as fascinating as the first time I noticed it: bats in flight.

It turns out a small (as far as I can tell) colony of them live somewhere in the immediate vicinity of my house.  I do not know where exactly they live, but when the seasons grow warmer, and I am lucky, I can sometimes catch sight of them.  The first time, I just happened to look outside right at sunset, and it took a moment to realize what I was seeing when a silhouette when flashing past my field of view.  While our neighborhood is home to a very healthy community of swallows, who sometimes fill the air, their peak time is about an hour before sunset.  They were long abed, and their swooping flight is quite distinct from the flight of my sunset visitors.  It was a sort of flittering motion, combined with instant, on-a-wingtip changes of direction, and that was my big clue: anything flying like that had to be an insectivore, and there's only one creature that comes right to mind when one is thinking about insectivores that come out as night falls.  So I was seeing a bat!  That was a real first for me.

I could hardly believe it, but once seen, they are kind of unmistakeable.  I have never seen them well enough to tell their exact species, given how they are zipping about in near darkness, but they are small and I assume that if there are some near my house they must be from a species that is pretty common.

My only other encounter with a bat, besides the occasional glimpse of my neighborhood colony, was one at my mom and dad's house.  They have a lovely porch, with all the usual patio furnishings, including the table with an umbrella for providing shade.  Well, one day while I was there on a visit, a little black bat had apparently decided that the table umbrella (folded down at the time) was a perfect, cozy spot to sleep away the daylight hours.  Alas for the bat, we elected to go out to the porch to relax, and when dad opened the umbrella out, there was the poor little bat hanging there--and probably wondering what had happened to its great napping-spot.  Dad quickly called us all out so we could see it, and we were privileged to get a really close look at it. 

It wasn't long before it flew crossly off to a nearby tree, but I managed to snap this picture:

Just look at those adorable ears and nose!

That definitely ranks as my closest-ever encounter with these fascinating creatures.

Rain, Rain

Well, the weather man said that our glorious stretch of perfect weather was not going to last, and he was right.  By the time I was up and around this morning, rain had moved in.  On the plus side, it's providing some welcome water to all the trees and plants, and we'll be missing the rain when the hot, dry days of true summer settle in.  Of course, it was still a soggy experience running Saturday morning errands, which I got through as quickly as possible.  Fortunately, I didn't have too many stops I had to make. 

Alas, no outside-play for the cats today, since the back yard currently looks like this:

Glub, glub

With the weather as it is, what I really feel like doing is curling up with some tea, wrapping myself in my cozy sweatshirt, even though it's not really cold, opening up my book and snuggling in with the kitties.  In fact, other than having some laundry to run, things are in pretty good shape, so I might just go and do precisely that.

I hope everyone is dry and warm wherever you are.  'Till later.

They're Everywhere!

After a round of rain--which we sorely needed--we have been enjoying several days worth of nearly perfect weather.  There have been balmy temperatures, low humidity, and plenty of gorgeous sunshine.  Of course, that round of rain turned our office space into a dark, dripping cave again (yes, we still have no roof) but right now that seems to be a small price to pay for our current lovely conditions.

We've been going full-tilt at work, but between the lovely weather outside and the fact that I seem to have hit a nice peak with my workouts where I am gaining energy rather than being worn out by my workouts, I am feeling really good right now.  It has also been really nice to get to spend some time in the back yard and enjoy the green, growing things.  The cats, of course, naturally insisted on enjoying the lovely outdoors, too:

Elegant kitty is elegant.

The planter basket is doing extremely well.  Everything I planted is still green and generally blooming up a storm:

Some very happy flowers.....

Also, the cardinal vine seeds I planted have sprouted...along with about fifty "volunteers" that sprang up after last year's vines (evidently) self-seeded.  Alas, in the interest of not having the little surprise sprouts take over and strangle everything, I had to pull most of the volunteer vine-lets, but the ones where I am wanting them have of course been left in and are doing well.  They're the ferny, feathery-looking plants, and they're growing fast:

Cardinal vines making their debut.

I don't think it will take long before these find the trellis and totally take off.  The baby fig is also doing well, budding out a couple of new little leaves on its growth tips.  It also appears to me that it has a miniature hitchhiker that arrived with it in its pot: 

Can you see the eeeeensy violet?

It's hard to see, but if you look next to the trunk on the side opposite the fig leaves, there is a mystery sprout with suspiciously heart-shaped tiny leaves.  I have a feeling that this is yet another violet.  Of course, this seems to be a tradition given the very healthy violet that came with my bigger redbud tree:

Not the best picture, I am afraid, with the lighting throwing it off, but it's a very good-sized plant with deep-green, heart-shaped leaves.  This, readers may recall, is the one which has begun to colonize my yard and has an offspring currently doing pretty well in my flower bed.  Could it be that the famous Bible verse was actually meant to read "the violets shall inherit the Earth"?    Inquiring minds want to know!

On The Homefront

Like many Saturdays, today has mainly been about getting things done around the house.  Along with stowing groceries and starting the laundry, I took the time to water everything outside on account of how hot it has been.  I even watered the bigger trees, because if the summer is half as hot and dry as it feels like it is planning to be, I figured it would be a good idea to fortify everything against it as much as I can.  So the planter box got some water, the fig got some water, the redbuds got some water, the kitty got some water....

Hold on a second....

The real main event of the day, however, is an event that has been in the works for a while.

One thing about having my first real job post Grad School has been coming to grips with the fact that I am no longer a lowly student living in a grad pad.  It was a nice grad pad, really, and perfect for my circumstances at the time, but it was pretty clearly intended for the rental market, and I furnished it on a pretty tight budget.  The few nicer things I had in it were either the furnishings that had been in my room for years growing up, or were pieces my parents had to spare and were kind enough to pass along.  (I don't recall ever thinking such things, but if, at any time, I ever was so foolish as to think that it was "lame" having parents who spent so much time in antique stores, I have long since realized my folly.) 

So, I had a lot of work to do when I moved into my new place.  There were only a couple of things to do to the house itself; one room had previously been a nursery, and was painted ohmigosh PIIIIIIINK, so that had to be fixed, and the back door to the patio was originally a (really ugly, cheap-looking, ill-fitted) set of French doors, so a much nicer sliding door had to be acquired and installed.  Also at the top of the list was a washer and drier set with more than two cycle settings between them.  (The set that sold with the old house were on the simpleminded side.  Their general settings were Harsh and Harsher.  The Washernator and Dryzilla got the job done, but they were not kind to clothes.) 

Once these items were taken care of, however, I was still left with two empty rooms, one half-empty room, and a totally tasteful collection of Walmart Special particle-board furniture that desperately Needed To Die.  This whole process of furnishing my new place has taken quite a while (is it still a "new" place at almost three years?) but after a long journey the place is really looking great.  I picked up a set of office furniture for the first guestroom/home office/den (the ex-nursery), and bought some nice living room furnishings from a colleague who was nearing retirement and looking to downsize (that worked out well for both of us).  Then came the super-classy particleboard entertainment center.  That turned into quite a project.  After all, if I was replacing the furniture, it might be time to think of upgrading the serviceable but now way too small TV that sat on said furniture.  And if I was going to get a really nice TV, it was going to need some sound to go with it....  The people at Best Buy loved me that day.

All this, of course, has been the work of a couple of years (no hurry, right?).  With the Great TV Upgrade, the last piece of particleboard was finally dead, and I felt quite accomplished if I do say so myself.  The one thing really remaining was the dining room--or, more accurately, the space intended to be a dining room but which has gone unused because of a complete lack of dining furniture to dine on.  Well, a little while back on a particularly pleasant Saturday I hopped into the faithful car and took a road trip up to a great little antiques place my Mom and Dad discovered on the route between their place and mine.  They had exactly what I was looking for: there was a cute drop-leaf table with Queen Anne feet which would fold nicely out of the way if/when I need the space for orchestra practices, and a set of really neat chairs with a kind of unique design to their backs. 

The biggest hitch was getting them all back home, since my car--as awesome as it is and all--definitely did not have enough room.  So I had to arrange for shipping, which was not cheap, but it was the only feasible way for me to manage things.  It also meant having to wait for a while until the shipping folks could arrange the pickup.  Well, after all of that, today was Delivery Day, and I can now proudly say I have a proper dining room--and a fully furnished house!

The dining room is a small space, but a nice one.  Here it is "before," ready and waiting:

And finally:

An actual dining room!  The pictures on the wall are hung thanks to my parents, who took time to help put them up before heading home last week.  Only one thing was needed to properly complete the whole ensemble:

There!  Is perfect.

Leo got to spend a little time in "kitty jail" while everything was being brought in, as he apparently thinks he's part of the cast of The Great Escape, making it his mission in life to find a way out the front door.  However, he clearly held no grudge against the new arrivals, finding the table to be an excellent vantage point from which to survey his Vast Domain.  The chairs were also objects of great interest:

Does this mean he gets Fancy Feast....?

So!  It was a very exciting day, and it really feels nice to have finished (more or less) putting together my home.  Now to decide how to celebrate....