2017 look back

Everybody says it but it is too true. Time passes too quickly anymore! Hard to believe this year is coming to a close. 

Looking back I created a ton of art!!! Almost a painting everyday! I started off finishing up my alphabet kids....

And though I never put it into a book I may still do that some time.... 

after that I went on to making paperdolls and practicing my lettering....

Then I started the 100 day project and created a “joyous watercolor” everyday for 100 days!!!!!

Shortly after and during that I worked on some assignments for the make art that sells boot camp class with Lilla Rogers! I don’t seem to have pics in my phone of the final projects....but it was fun and inspired me to really want to try to start submitting my art to different types of companies.... housewares, kids clothing, fabric etc. still haven’t done it but It will be at the top of my 2018 list. 

Then I did 30 days of painting cabins...

Then Inktober....

Then the cabins inspired houses with quilts

And then a 3 color series 

And then these yellow circles that I dreamed up well laying awake with insomnia

And then these baby images came  about

And really there was more art than this but if you want to see almost all of it you can just follow me on Instagram where I post daily. 

I have a new series started which you can see there if you go....

And through all of this art I really did manage to work full time, spend time with family and live a normal life. 

According to my goodreads page I read 26 books in 2017.... some on audible, some actually paper books. Alot of the books I read were, like last years, about bookshops. A lot were set in the highlands. Some were about knitting, some about writing. Many that I listened to were actually read by the author, which makes it really nice. You can see my list 

here

We went on vacation to a cabin in Allegany state park that I don’t think I ever posted about..... we hiked, watched hummingbirds, shopped at the huge antique store in town or at the gift shop which, like many buildings there, was built by the civilian conservation corps and still looks like a 50’s camp lodge, like ‘dirty dancing’ could have happened there. And we sat around and read. 

We enjoyed our garden and did some canning

But the hardest part if the year was having all my children, but Jace, move not only out of the house but across the country. Bran the oldest was already in Arizona but now Jesse, the next in line,  moved out there as well.

They drove across the country together and I loved seeing all their photos but I was so anxious about their trip. I thought if they didn’t get killed they might kill each other. But on top of that type of worry it was just hard to have them gone.... kind of like the worry I had during each of their senior years.... like you are losing them or it’s too late to do all the things you meant to do as a parent. It really was quite a difficult time for me. 

But they made it there, and they are both doing great!

And it also meant no more babysitters, or help with our son Jace. That has been an adjustment. I finally found a great sitter to watch him after school till we get home from work.  But the girls still miss him too.....

I do have another son, Wade, who moved out to Ohio at the same time, but no photos to show.... he is not always agreeable to photo taking. I miss him just as much but it is a little different with  a son. He, also seems to be doing well away from NY.  

All this moving out left me with an empty room to remodel into the art room I have always wanted. I will do a post soon with detail photos of my room. I am loving that!!!

Well, that is the highlight reel of my year! Hope you enjoyed it. Now onto plans for 2018.......

Merry Christmas, happy holidays and all to everyone reading.... 

see you next year!

An ordinary autism mom

Awhile ago I was trying to decide what I wanted my blog to be like, what my purpose was with it. I am not sure I ended up with a clear view of my goals for this blog or anything but I did decide I would just put my whole life on here, realistically and not just throw art at you all the time. Since then I have pretty much just thrown art at you .... oh well. I guess if you follow me here you will get what you get, and it may change at any time. 

And I do appreciate all of you who stick with me, especially because I rarely get around to all of your blogs to comment anymore....

so  today I thought I would write more than post art, but of course there will be some art. And I can’t say there is really a point to my story today... just sharing a bit of our life struggles. And I know our struggle with autism is just what we deal with. Everybody deals with something , and this is just what our something is. 

It has been a tough last two weeks with my son, who most followers know has classic autism.

He was sick for about 5 days before we got him into the doctor (his regular doctor was unavailable) and this new doctor diagnosed him with strep throat and bronchitis, and gave him an antibiotic. Days later I called the doctor back because he wasn’t getting better and the receptionist clearly didn’t agree with me asking for a stronger antibiotic but she did get the message to Jace’s regular doctor, who immediately called in a stronger prescription and then Jace actually did start recovering. His level of Autism makes it hard because Jace can’t tell you it hurts or where or how much so we just guess from his body signals and such. Plus he has a really strong pain tolerance so by the time he shows his pain it is really bad. He was up all night coughing for at least a week, and my husband and I took turns staying home from work with him. 

Then the day after he was starting to get better our furnace broke and it was COLD in our house for hours. He just did not understand why I was expecting him to keep his sweatshirt and socks on, and was starting to get mad. I finally just got him bundled and took him to McDonalds in a nice heated car,  and before you think how unhealthy McDonald’s is, you have to realize it is his favorite thing to do in the world: go for a ride and get French fries! He laughs all the way there on the 15 minute drive! Anyway, the heating guy had us fixed up shortly after returning and the house warmed up and all was well again. And today he is back at school and life will return to normal again.... (well normal for us.)

Jace is just such a brave man, you can’t help but love him.... truly! 

Designing for babies

Thinking that I would submit work, like I mentioned before to different places, and one of those places was LandofNod. So with that in mind, I concentrated on creating images I thought would look good on baby onsies. 

So then I uploaded them to my cafe press shop. You can purchase these designs there on onsies, bibs, diaper bags, and burp cloths.  

here

Still haven’t submitted anything to any companies though.... it is a weird combination of fear and procrastination and uncertainty.... 

I will put it at the top of my to do list for 2018. 

1. Submit artwork to publishers

2. No really, actually submit it.

3. Break it down into tiny steps... write an email to a publishing company 

4. Attach examples of at least 5 pieces of art

5. Hit send on the email

6. Try again to hit send

7. One more try, really just hit send. 

Why is this so hard?

Hope your holiday season is going peacefully well!

A new series

Always trying new things, so I have been challenging myself to stick to 3 colors in a series of 5x7 watercolor pieces....

I liked how I could paint anything and it still all seemed to work together due to the colors. Just experimenting, I did some abstracts as well...

I used paynes gray, yellow ochre, and a sky blue. I really enjoyed the challenge if only the three colors. It helped to simplify the design when you no longer had to worry about color as much. I think it is a challenge I will try again soon, just with three new colors!

Giveaway

I promised to show you the bare essentials I carry everywhere with me. These are the things I cannot seem to live without, and use on a daily basis. The first pic shows what fits in my well worn tiny polka dot purse.... small supplies for a small purse. 

💭permanent black Sharpie

💭White Uniball signo pen 

💭non permanent black marker (to paint over with water and let the black bleed out a bit)

💭tiny spray bottle of water (I spray the paint to help activate it before painting, and I use it to clean my brush as I go) this is a new one, mine usually looks pretty dirty 

💭leather journal from redwoodwillow (I have also gotten an even smaller version from Amazon) 

💭Altoid tin filled with: 

            💜half pans from  imlothmelui that are handcrafted and came with a magnet affixed to the back so they stay put

imlothwatercolor

            💜half pans from redwoodwillow that did not come with magnets attached so they are held in with sticky tac 

            💜 a small pencil with an eraser 

            💜 a small brush (I broke it then sharpened the end till it was small enough to fit. I use the sharp end to scratch into wet watercolor for  an interesting effect)

            💜 a folded up paper napkin to wipe my brush on

This all fits because the only other things I carry are cash, cards, stamps, BurtsBees chapstick, Mr. Rogers "encouragemints", hair band, pen, comb and a pocket talisman or two.

                                  And

Here's some pages I haven't shared before .... 

Then when I know I will have time to paint I carry a bigger bag that will fit the following extras:

💭strathmore visual journal

💭Jane Davenport bright watercolor set

💭a bigger brush

So, now to the giveaway part....!!!!!!

last night on instagram I just hit 1000 followers so as a thank you I am hosting a Giveaway there.... just go to my 

instagram account to sign up. If you don't have an instagram account and you really want a chance to win, then leave a comment here that you want to be entered into the giveaway too. 

Here's what I am giving away:

💭Shutterfly writing notebook (the cover is made with my rainbow rice art)

💭a writing pen

💭a 5x7 print of the same rainbow rice piece

💭an empty altoid tin to make your own travel kit 

💭 4 empty half pans to add your own tube watercolor to 

💭a new spray bottle

💭a postcard of a painting of mine 

💭a magnet of a painting of mine

💭a roll of glitter washi tape 

(A total value of $50!)

Good luck and hope to see you over on Instagram!