Girl Tribe Art, Ideas for my next painting, and More

Last evening, the hubster and the son went to a Tiger game. I was going to go with the hubster, but I encouraged him to ask Adam, so I could have Miss 7 and Miss 6 months for the evening AND have a wonderful seat in my living room from which to watch said ball game. And what a game it was - a nail biter that was finally decided with a walk-off homerun from the bat of Ramon Santiago - YAY!


Before the ball game, Miss 7 spent some time in my studio working on one of the backgrounds that I'd prepared. She chose to use my watercolors instead of the Neocolor IIs and here is the result:

Although Miss 6 months isn't crawling yet, she is all over the living room rolling and grabbing. I wasn't able to spend time in the art room because I didn't feel I could leave her alone for a minute. She is such a delight, though, laughing out loud and trying so hard to get to things that interest her.

I do, however, have a painting I started some time ago - Adirondacks on the beach - but decided it wasn't at all right. The sky, the lake and the beach were each about 1/3 of the height of the painting - BORING! And the quality wasn't very good, but it sure was fun and gives me more ideas for the future.

I think those were supposed to be rocks on the beach.

I suppose it could have been cropped a bit to get rid of the even areas for sky, lake and beach.

Too late now. It has either been gessoed over and used for something else or the back has been painted.

I would also like to share some pix that I think would make good drawings/paintings. Feel free to use one or more if you like the composition.

This is from the wonderful park-like property at my friend Sandy's house.

This is St. Mary's Star of the Sea church in Jackson. Love that building style.

This is a street scene in Chelsea.

I took this in Battle Creek when I was there doing a sketch crawl with Dee.

Well, it is 11:30 and all I've ingested is two cups of coffee. I am headed for the kitchen to saute onions, mushrooms and zucchini; then add some scrambled eggs; and when it is almost done, add some cut up tomatoes. Mmmmmm, gotta go!

I hope to see you tomorrow.

xoxo

Art Prize and Sketches

A few days ago, as I was reading the blogs to which I subscribe I found there was a giveaway in progress at Art Hearts Place. It was a beautiful watercolor card. I left a comment hoping that I would be fortunate enough to win it - and et voila!

And I think her business card is also a work of art. 

If you don't already know Barbra Joan and you are into watercolor, you really should go over for a visit. There is a link above.


Now onto some of my personal attempts at growth. I've been eating at least two apples a day for about a month now so what would be more natural than to sketch one. I can't believe I chose a pencil instead of a pen. I spent way too much time erasing and reshaping this one. Next time it is pen.

And a few days ago, I tried those dratted Adirondack chairs again. I am determined to get better at them. As a matter of fact I am planning to sketch the three under the trees in the north yard and make it into a watercolor painting. Practice, practice, practice!

I've found my next favorite workout on the treadmill. I walk slowly for a couple of minutes and then do a slow jog for 30 minutes followed by a slow walk cool down. I also did a bit of weight training on the balance ball. I don't feel sore today, so think I must not have worked with the weights very hard. That has to be a first for me. I seldom do things by halves.


I have pretty much decided the Canson watercolor block is not of the quality that I want to spend a lot of time on, so am planning to cut a piece of Arches and begin again on the boats on the beach with buildings. I also may get started on sketching the Adirondacks under the trees.


The hubster is taking the son to a baseball game this evening and I get Miss 7 (who will be 8 in 5 days) and Miss 6 months here at my house. I think I have the better part of this deal - no long drive, no crowds, a much better view on the tv, and two of my girl tribe to hug and hold and do art.


I hope to have something to share with you tomorrow.

xoxo

The Girl Tribe, The Ham, and A New Watercolor WIP

I had Miss 8 and Miss 3 on Friday and we did a bit of painting. I had a 12 x 16 piece of watercolor paper with a very dark linear pattern painted on one side and the dreamy background that I showed you on Friday painted on the other. When the girls asked what we were going to paint, I cut the paper into 4 and we played. Miss 3 did both sides of hers:

Miss 8 did just one side, but what a wonderful job she did. She has such a good imagination and paints freely and with confidence. I need to borrow some of that laissez-faire. 

Mine were less creative and more predictable, but the girls heaped praise on my anyway. 

I had my six month old sweetie yesterday and how she's grown and progressed. She is such a happy, pleasant baby and is rapidly changing. It won't be long before she is crawling and then the fun begins.

This morning I decided I'd looked at my latest sketch long enough and it was time to apply some color. My goal was/is to use shades of gray on the buildings, roadway and beach and put some color in the boats. At first, I thought I should have added a bit more yellow to gray this purple out, but I'm not totally unhappy with this color, just very disappointed in its application. It would appear that I had too much of a difference between the amount of water in the first stroke on the top of the buildings and the next stroke and this made a separation that I didn't intend. I was hoping for more of a soft, flowing wet in wet look. I will work on my "fixing" skills and see if I can get this first wash to be more acceptable before moving on.

I guess that is one thing about being a beginner at watercolor - you learn the fix-it stuff before you get better at the "doing it right the first time" stuff.

This is what it looks like right now - sorry, I know you winced when you looked at it.

I sent in my membership to the Jackson Civic Art Association this morning and am planning to attend the life sketching class on September 15th. There is one on the 8th, but I think I will be at my sister's house then. The Fall is shaping up to be quite busy - I'm going to visit my sister just after Labor Day, I have a wedding in Mackinaw City on the 17th, I'm visiting my Mom the first full week in October, and the hubster is scheduled for surgery on his Achilles tendon on the 11th of October.

Miss 7 (who will be 8 next weekend) started school today and I am anxious to talk to her to see how it went. Miss 8 starts the day after Labor Day and Miss 3 (who will be 4 on September 18) begins preschool the next week. There is something very nice about the return to schedules after the long, unstructured summer break. 

I need to go get a bit of breakfast and then get myself onto the treadmill and then do a bit of weight training. I've been slacking and that is just not acceptable to me. I am 15 pounds thinner, but I still need to firm up and maintain this new me.

I hope to get some art done today, and am working on my handmade journal page with new photos and am planning to add the new ones. You can see them here. I'm thinking a repurposed journal would make a nice gift.

xoxo

Phase 2, Sketch for Next WC, Blank Journal, and New Background for Girl Tribe

Today I officially begin Phase 2 of the HCG diet. Using the data acquired on day one and comparing it to today's data, I have lost 15.3 pounds and 12.5 inches. I feel like a new person. Today I get to add in moderation all foods except sugars and starches. I am planning scrambled eggs with onions and mushrooms for breakfast with an orange.


The grandgirls, Miss 8 and Miss 3, are coming this morning to spend the day with me so before I went to bed last night (actually it was 1:30 this morning) I made a new background. When I talked to Miss 8 around 10 last night when she asked if they could spend today with me, I asked her if she would like to paint on a watercolor background again. She said she would so I asked her what colors I should use and she asked for blues and purples. She was thinking night time. I'm afraid I got carried away pouring colors and it probably isn't at all what she had in mind, but I can't wait to see what she does with her 1/4 of it.

It is actually a bit lighter than it looks here.

After I made this background, I put away the church I've been working on and began a new sketch for my next attempt. I found a picture I liked in a 1979 book by Peter Caldwell called, "Draw Boats and Harbors". I still need to work on perspective and then erase it a bit before I add color. You can see I tried using a 3 x 3 grid and it seemed to help a bit, but the buildings are still a little wonky. I made the photo of the sketch a bit dark so you could see it.

And finally, I sewed the signatures and chose a pretty wallpaper for end papers and finished "The Motor Girls on Cedar Lake". I have to get my new books photographed properly and add them to my Faint Heart Art site and offer them for sale. I have been neglecting that part of things and have a large number of blank journals taking up far too much space in my studio.

I think I'd better go get some coffee made and make my breakfast. It is going to be a strange day indeed having a lot more freedom as to what I eat. It is a little scary actually, but I am going to try hard to avoid the pitfall that besets many on this diet (according to the literature). It seems that many people don't ingest enough calories after Phase 1 and their bodies go into starvation mode and store fat - exactly the opposite of what a dieter wants. At this point I am supposed to eat enough calories to maintain my new weight to allow my body to adapt to this new set point. Wish me luck.....

xoxo

Watercolor Turned Into Mixed Media and Books

August continues to fly past and soon it will be September and three of my four grandgirls will be in school. It is almost inconceivable that the two older girls are already going into third grade and my Little Miss 3, who will be 4 in mid-September will be going to pre-school. In some ways it will be nice to settle into a more scheduled life - ballet classes will begin soon for Miss 8 and Miss soon to be 4 and the girls will be busy with school and friends and homework and all that entails. I already have an overnight scheduled with Miss 8 and Miss 3 and am hoping I can get Miss 7 (who will be 8 next weekend) to come over and join in the fun.


I didn't get my signatures sewn yesterday; I read two books instead. The Dry Grasses of August was a pretty good read and the other, 13 Rue Therese, was not so good. It was an easy read, but pretty insubstantial in story line. I am finding myself reading more these days - fiction rather than art "how-to" books. I recently read a couple of books by Francine Rivers. The first, "Her Mother's Hope" I really liked and the follow-up, "Her Daughter's Dream", was a good read as well, but not quite as complex and enjoyable as the first.


I appreciate your comments regarding my watercolor of St. Mary's Church and have decided that I am going to play with it with watersoluble oil pastels (Caran d'Ache Neocolor II) and see what it becomes. Here is what I've done so far.

There is still much to be done. The shadows on the church need to be resolved. The facing part of the tower is too dark and the front of the building should share the shadow. The strip of yellow behind the hedges (which I like better now that I've added some lighter colors to its top) needs some variation, and I would like to enhance the sky a bit.

I'd like more input if you don't mind. I find you to be an invaluable resource when I can't trust my own eye. One thing I notice is that I like it much better when I get up and move across the room (more like how the hanging picture would be viewed).

We had a wonderful light show accompanying the thunderstorm last evening. The hubster and I sat in the screened porch on the swing and watched until the rain began to come through the screen. I really love a good thunder boomer if it isn't too extreme and doesn't do damage.

As an aside: I went to the post office to send the watercolor book that Cathy Holtom won (by the way I saw a book at the library yesterday whose author was Cathy Holton) and tried to send it media rate, but apparently there isn't one available to Italy. Needless to say, the postage cost more than the book did. Now I understand why many bloggers limit their giveaways to the US. 

I hope you are having a wonderful day today. The weather here is supposed to be cooler and pleasant for the rest of the week. The hubster and I are taking a little trip to Mason to the Maple Street Mall to take his wishing well up to try to sell it.

I am within 1/2 pound of my goal of 155 and am feeling like a million bucks! Now the trick is to stay there.

What is with blogger today. Before I even got the first paragraph written, there was a warning in red at the top of the post saying, "Autosave stopped because this post has been published." And sure enough when I went to my blog there was today's post with just half a paragraph. HUH???!!! I deleted it and hope to get this in its place.

xoxo

Watercolor WIP and Palette Decisions

Good morning! I just got the most wonderful email from a home town friend that I haven't seen in a while. It just so happens that she is a good friend of a blogger friend of mine and happened to see my name in the comments there. Isn't life interesting and what a reminder of how small this world really is. Hilda, your email made my day!


I've been adding darker values to my watercolor in progress and am not sure if I've improved it or totally ruined it. Here it is now - it is painted on a 140# block, but it is Canson and it is buckling as you can see.

And here it is cropped and matted (digitally).

Opinions and/or suggestions please!!! Don't hold back - give it to me straight; I can take it.

I have registered for Laure Ferlita's Artful Journaling: Foundations class that begins on September 12. This is an online class and I am so looking forward to it. My friend, Dee, in South Bend, is taking it at the same time and we hope to get more out of it having someone we know to share with. I've purchased the recommended paints from Daniel Smith and am getting ready to organize my palette. I am thinking that I will put red at the beginning of the left side, yellow at the beginning of the top, blue at the beginning of the right and the earth colors on the bottom. This will give me space for the oranges between the red and yellow, the greens between the yellow and blue, and the violets beyond the blue approaching the earth tones. What do you think? Is this totally a personal choice? Or is there a better way? I have had problems finding a definitive answer.

I have some running to do this afternoon and then am promising myself that I will sew the signatures of the book I am working on (the signatures have been waiting for me for more than a week). I am also planning to make some value sketches of the next watercolor painting I want to try.

What do you have planned for today? Are you taking time for yourself and/or those you love?

xoxo

The Girl Tribe and More Progress on the WC WIP

My daughter had to go into work at 6 am today so I took her two girls overnight. They've been away camping and I missed them terribly, but we made up for that last evening. Miss 8 and I painted over the other two watercolor backgrounds that were left over from Miss 7 and I painting lighthouses. We used Caran d'Ache Neocolor IIs and had a blast.


Here is hers:

I love how she draws people and that she included a dog.

And here is mine:

Earlier in the day before the girls came over I worked a bit on my Annette Raff watercolor lesson of St. Mary's Church. I still need to do some shadowing to get greater value variation, but so far I'm not altogether displeased with it. If I don't make it any worse than this as I continue, I may even display it in the living room.

Instead of tracing her original picture, I drew it freehand. I think my buildings are leaning a bit.

Yesterday was the last day of the HCG drops on my diet. Now I just have three days of the 500 calories a day diet to get the last vestiges of it out of my system.  I started at 170.9 and am now at 155.4; I'd really like to be at 150, but 155 isn't a bad weight for me. I am 5'8" and am almost 60. When I was in my mid thirties 145 seemed to be an ideal weight for me, but I find that as I age I need a bit more to look healthy. I am so thrilled with this diet and am hoping that I can stay wherever I end up on Thursday. Beginning Friday I can add everything except sugars and starches. I follow that regimen for 3 weeks and then it is on to the maintenance. 

Both girls are still sleeping, so I am going to get my second cup of coffee and enjoy the quiet. It is a beautiful, cool morning with lots of sunshine. Now if only the mosquitoes would disappear the outdoors would be a wonderful place to spend the morning. Unfortunately, the mosquitoes are not only larger than normal, they are voracious.

I have some errands and running to do when I take the girls home later today, but hope to get something arty done so I have something to write about tomorrow. I've been thinking of participating in the 20 minute challenge to get myself warmed up.

xoxo

Gesture Sketching, More Happy Dancing and A Winner

Good morning! And what a beautiful one it is - 51º and sunny. Who could ask for a better start to their day!


Yesterday while watching baseball (the Tigers swept the Indians - YAY!!) I decided to get my sketchbook and do just a bit of gesture sketching. I find it very difficult to get anything at all when both the players and the cameras move so much. For what it is worth, here is what I have:

And while I had the sketchbook with me, I did an almost blind sketch of the book I am currently reading. I call it practically blind because I didn't have my glasses cheaters on. In the case of drawing something a bit away from me, I need to have my glasses to see what I am going to draw. But with my glasses off I can't see what my sketch is looking like. Hence, almost blind.....

I feel as though the weekend got away from me, but as I think back I realize that I was busier than I would have given myself credit for. On Saturday I went to Milan to a baby shower with sisters-in-law and nieces. It was a very nice one and I am glad I went. I packed a large container of spinach leaves and shrimp along with an apple and so was legal with my diet. On Sunday, Miss 8 and Miss 3 spent some time with me while their Mom mowed her lawn and got caught up at home. They'd been gone on a week's camping trip. I also managed to watch two baseball games and lots of tennis.

As for the happy dance - I've lost 14.5 pounds so far and 14 inches. Today is the last day of taking the drops and then I have three more very restricted calorie days. At that point I can add everything to my diet except sugars and starches. This phase lasts for 3 weeks and then I go on life time maintenance. Wish me luck!

And now - drum roll - the winner of the watercolor book giveaway is:

As you can see I didn't stay up until midnight last night - I selected this morning.

Cathy - if you will email me with your "dusty" little snail mail addy, I will get this lovely book into the mail and on its way to you. Thank you to all of you who took the time to enter.

xoxo

Painting Fun with My Little Miss 7

And my little Miss 7 is turning 8 in just a couple of weeks. Where does the time go?


My son called yesterday morning just after the hughes.net tech arrived to ask if Miss 7 could spend the day with us. I jumped at the chance as I don't get his daughter very often. We decided to have her spend the night. We had a lovely day. She played her Kidz Bop music while I walked the treadmill. I don't think I ever want to work that hard in just that way again, but it was a precious half hour.


We always have to do art when any of the girls are here. She played by herself for quite a while in the little girls room with colored pencils and stencils and then asked if we could paint together. If you remember I had a large watercolor background of yellows and oranges with just a bit of purple that I cut into four. We each decided to use one of them as a background and transform them. I chose a photo of the Round Island lighthouse from Google images because it reminds me of home (I was raised in St. Ignace) and my daughter and her family are up in the Mackinac Island area right now and I am missing them. Katie decided to use it also but from a different perspective and she added a bit more to the picture. She is quite a natural artist.


Here is hers:

I love that she added a light to the lighthouse and showed that the sun was going down. Nice sailboat, too.

And here is mine:

We both used my Caran d'Ache Neocolor II crayons. I added the color first (I maybe should have sharpened them a bit first) and then added a bit of water with a brush. She took the color off the crayon with a wet brush and applied it like paint. We both had a great time. I only have about a dozen of the Neocolor II crayons and would like to get more.

I do think I am going to make more backgrounds of a variety of colors and styles and have them on hand to use with the girl tribe. There didn't seem to be as much difficulty starting when the page already had something on it.

I don't know for sure what I am doing today other than running the little one home mid morning. I think I will do some recycling while I am in town as the empty water bottles are overflowing their tub and the cardboard is piling up as well. 

Don't forget to leave a comment on the post of August 17 if you want to be entered for a chance to win a lovely watercolor book. So far only 13 have commented so your chances are very good. I will be drawing at midnight Sunday and will not be posting again until I announce the winner on Monday morning. Good luck to all who enter!

xoxo

A Watercolor Redo and My Latest Repurposed Book WIP

I didn't get a lot done yesterday. Somehow the day just got away from me. I did walk the treadmill, and rescue (maybe, I'll let you be the judge) a watercolor I wasn't happy with, and I did get a bit more work done on the repurposed book I am working on, and I did straighten and organize my studio. Hey, maybe I did get a lot done yesterday.


At any rate, a couple of weeks ago I was working on a watercolor challenge of a vase of flowers and wasn't at all happy with it, but I did post it. I went to the library yesterday to pick up a couple of books from the interloan system (I DID get a lot done yesterday) and they were both on oil pastels. Looking through them got me hot to work again with my Caran d'Ache Neocolor II crayons. And I did. Here is the result. I think it is a bit dark overall, but I like it much better than how it was before.

And here is the book I am working on:

I've added a strip of wallpaper to the inside of the spine to reinforce it.

I haven't yet chosen my endpapers, but will share that with you when I do. Today I will sew the signatures together and then finish it.

I am expecting the Hughes.net technician this morning to replace something on my satellite dish so that I will get more reliable service. I sure hope it works. While I am waiting for him I am drinking my coffee and planning my day. There was a wonderful thunderstorm just before I arose this morning and everything smells fresh and there is a misty fog outside. Quite pretty actually.

If you haven't yet entered the drawing for the watercolor book, you can do so by leaving a comment on yesterday's post.

xoxo

A Happy Dance, A Blog Award and A Giveaway

I am doing the "oh so happy" dance this morning. The scale read 159.9 today. I know that isn't very far into the 150s, but it is there nevertheless. My goal is 155 and I hope to reach that by the time this HCG diet has reached its conclusion. I am on day 16 which means I just have another week to go. So far it has been fairly easy. I am not hungry and I have lots of energy.

I had the absolute pleasure of receiving the Liebster Blog Award from Maryann at Words on the Shelf (thank you so much Maryann) and this is what she had to say about my blog:

"she blogs about art, I love art, what more is there to say? Keep the beautiful pieces coming sweetie :)"

 As far as I can tell the word liebster means "very dear" or something close to that in German. The award is given to blogs with fewer than 200 followers and I am so pleased to be awarded this. Now I am to choose five blogs that are dear to me and that have less than 200 followers. After much deliberation, I have chosen the following in no particular order:


Roz @ Roz Wound Up - she has an information filled blog with lots of art and her personal review on   
                                          paper and pens and other art supplies.

Lin @ View from The Oak - lovely, lovely watercolors.  



Nina @ The Other Side of the Ocean - She writes about her life in Madison, WI, and her travels to all
                                                              parts of the world. She writes beautifully (you feel as though you
                                                              there) and she takes spectacular photos.




Kip @ Small But Mighty Arts - She is a wonderful, warm woman who is very involved in art and its 
                                                   promotion in the mid-Michigan area. She has a huge heart, lots of
                                                   charm, and multiple talents.

Ann @ Ann's Art @ Studiohyde - She has lovely sketches and watercolors and has interesting stories.
                                                       She also participates in art challenges and has links to them.


Once you've had a chance to check out these blogs (and I know you will want to) I'd love to know which ones have become daily reads.

 I was supposed to post an image of the Liebster Award, but blogger is not cooperate.




On to the giveaway - I have a lovely book called "Complete Watercolor Course". It has "35 complete lessons, expert hints and tips". It was published in 2001.

 

Earlier this summer I was in Schulers Books and found what I thought was a new book called "The Complete Watercolor Course". "The Ultimate Step-by-Step Guide to Painting Landscapes, Still Lifes, and Portraits." Not only is the title different, but the chapter headings are not the same. And although the projects are a bit different, the intent of the lessons is the same. The informational sections about supplies and paints are identical. This one was published in 2010.

Both books are wonderful and have really well explained lessons and content, but the first book pictured above, the blue one, is much lighter and would therefore cost much less to post. For that reason the blue one is the one that I am giving away. 

To be entered to win just leave a comment on this post. I will use the random number generator to select the winner on Sunday, August 21, at midnight eastern time. Please be sure to include some way for me to contact you if you win or be sure to check back when the winner is announced on Monday, August 22. Good luck!!

I think it is time to take a walk on the treadmill and then sew the signatures that have been sitting under a huge, heavy book overnight. I should be able to find the time to add a bit to my watercolor WIP also. I hope to see you tomorrow.

xoxo

Out and About and This and That

I just got home from a lovely spent with my dear friend, Nancy. We went into Ann Arbor and made stops at The Treasure Mart, Monahan's (where we had a luscious lunch), Hollander's, and Creative Papers Online (what a wonderful experience that was; I can't wait to go there again).


I picked up some fresh whitefish from Monahan's to bring home, so when I arrived I immediately cut it into 3.5 ounce servings in preparation for the next few meals. I then noticed the mail on the counter and there was a personal envelope for me. I have been participating in monthly swaps with the Watercolour Pencil Buddies Yahoo! group and my August card had arrived. It is beautiful and made me doubt the one I am working on for my contribution. The card was enclosed in a lovely card with a cat on the front with an equally lovely message inside. Here is the card I received:

I'd better get on my horse and finish the one I am working on and get it in the mail. I will share it with you once I know the recipient has received it.

On another note, you may remember the lovely cigar box that a smoking shop owner in Ann Arbor gave me some time ago that I didn't know exactly what to do with - my brushes were too long, my sketching pencils were too long.......

I've found it is a perfect for my sketching pens. I have an assortment of Microns, Pitt Artist Pens and Staedtler pigment liners that seem to have found a home here. I think the box has been lonely for someone to move in and now all is happily settled.

On a final note, I have an update to the watercolor that I've been working on this week. This is what it looks like now:

I am also in the middle of a couple of books that I will share when they are done and I am working on a couple more in my head for when these two are finished. I've also found that I somehow have two copies of the same watercolor book and think it must be almost time for a giveaway. Stay tuned.......

xoxo

Good Monday Morning

Or at least it is now; I just got off the treadmill and the internet is working, but wasn't again this morning. A technician is coming out on Thursday morning and until then my access is spotty at best.


I had a wonderful experience at the Repurposed Book Class on Saturday and it was such a pleasure to finally meet Camilla in person. She was a great addition to the studio and made a lovely book. She and Kip and I gutted books, folded signatures, sewed them together and then chose from a wide selection of wallpaper samples for our endpapers. Kip was working on a second book by the time I left. Overachiever!!! (grin)


Here are a few pix of our work. I'm sorry I didn't get more pix in progress including the people at work, but I was making a book as well as instructing.

I love it that Camilla incorporated some pink into her signatures.

Don't you just adore this leaf pattern?

And the rocky pattern is a good go with.

Isn't Kip a wonderful stitcher??

Isn't that the cutest painted rock - I used it to weight the book while the endpapers dried.

You gotta love the endpaper choices.

I did just a little work on my watercolor wip and intend to add to it today. For now I just used a damp brush and a paper towel to even out some of the color in the tower and sky. 

I think it is a little better than the last time I showed you.

 

I am ready now to go on to add a bit of green to some of the trees. I will share my progress tomorrow.

Meanwhile I am working on a new book design. I hope to make some progress on the design today and will share what I develop tomorrow as well.

Thank you to all of you who take the time to read my blah, blah, blah, and especially those of you who take the time to make comments and leave lots of helpful insights. I don't really know what I would do without you. I feel pretty sure I would have given up on being an artist long ago without your support.

xoxo