Best laid plans..... of Computer crashes and Blizzards. And Studio/Garden updates.

In case you noticed I haven't been around... my computer decided to die. I had a 5 year old Dell and even they weren't sure if it was the power supply or the motherboard. I decided to rebuild; using my existing sound and video cards as they were practically new. The rest I replaced. Took about a week and a half to decide what to get then have it shipped then have it rebuilt. Still some quirks in the bios but it's working great!

I want to thank certain family members for putting it together and certain computer savvy friends who helped with the other issues. Yes: I promise to never go into the bios again unless you're with me :)

I'm very glad that I've had most everything backed up on an external hard drive so I didn't loose anything too important.

Though; if you are one of the people that I correspond with via email you might send me a message so I can get you back into my address book :)

So... I'm back!

Garden update:
This was also the week of the earliest Blizzard apparently in known history for Massachusetts. We've had snow; even heavy snow earlier but I think it's the first blizzard. The picture above is out the back window looking over the back yard, garden and woods and hills beyond.

Fortunately I'd gotten the greenhouse bedded down under it's plastic row cover and winter blanket. Unfortunately I still have to dig up my Celeriac and a few other things, if they've survived the foot of snow and temperatures in the low 20s. There were even still some beans on the vines I didn't get to on time.

The hard part has been for the trees. They still have their foliage and the weight of the snow can snap not only branches but trunks. The Japanese Maple out front has been particularly stressed and so we had to go out in the storm and knock the snow off with a broom.

Studio Update:
At the time of the crash I was working on 5 canvases of Ravens. I think I may have gotten Ravens out of my system but we'll see. :)

You can see them below with descriptions.

I've mostly been puttering in the studio as most of my free time has been reloading the computer with all my programs. I did do some painting; I'm just putting the finishing touches on so I'll post that next time.

I'm not giving myself a Challenge this week. Aside from trying to do something creative everyday. I have my oncology appointment on Wednesday following a Pet Scan to check on the anomalies found last Spring; aside from the two liver tumors that were removed (and discussed in a previous post). I'm a bit nervous so I don't want to put any pressure on myself.. beyond that. Even fun ones like the Challenges.

So here is the report from the last one; better late then never:

Raven Challenge:
(all are 9x10", acrylic paint and pastes, collage, oil pastels)


This and the next one are the first two I did and my favorites. I love the colors and general feel/mood.

The second is fiber paste rather then the usual molding paste. I found it neat but not sure if I like the texture.

This one was a bit different as I didn't use any acrylic pastes. Just paint, inks and oil pastels.

These next two I tried a different color palette. I'm not as happy with them as the first three; particularly the first two. But they are nice I think: particularly the last one.

That's it for today. As I said I'll post that other painting I did last week. A rather nice abstract on 4 6x6' canvases.

If you're in the North East USA; stay warm!

Studio and Garden Update and this weeks Art Challenge.

Studio update:

I didn't write here last week. I think I was still acclimating from the long weekend in Maine. I did work in the studio though. I've been working on rusting more of the paper mache prints (see previous posts) as well as I finished the last canvas from the previous weeks Challenge. I'd only been able to do four due to the trip and the last was still drying.

It was another experiment with crackle paste. I painted a layer of acrylic paint and collage papers first. Then I put crackle paste on part of the canvas and painted it a turquoise color. Then I copper leafed the crackled part and some of the texture from the collage. I used the adhesive lightly as I wanted the acrylic layer to show through. I finished it with a layer of acrylic faux encaustic goop I make up with matt gel and paint.

It's different and I like it. The image is to the left.

I'm sticking with 9"x10" canvas this week, as well as Ravens. I going to do a Raven a day for 5 week days. The first which I did yesterday has it's molding paste drying so I'll start a new one today. The paste should be dry on the first one tomorrow.

Garden update:

So far no "Black Frost". I still have some beans out there and if I get them in soon I'll have at least a serving. Not bad for October. I still have some in the fridge I'm eating. And carrots.

The mulch in the greenhouse has me ticked off. I've used this same companies shredded straw in the past with no weed issues: yet this time it's full of them and I'm pulling grass stems out of the entire bed.

The lettuce is up; the celery is looking very good after it's transplant; the artichokes are perking up some and hopefully survive the winter in there. No sign of carrots or spinach but then it's hard to see with all the grass.

I'll report back on Friday on the Challenge and the grass in the greenhouse issue :)

Updates on last weeks and this weeks Art Challenges

I'm a bit off schedule this week.
I didn't report on last week's Art Challenge finale on Friday as I'd planned; which was simply I had to do something creative for 5 days of the work week.

What I did was mostly “rusted” some of the paper mache prints I'd done in the past few weeks. I explain where I got the idea and how I was doing it in 'my last post's Studio update.

I really like the way they turned out. The image above and the next two are the rusting experiments:

This week's Art Challenge I'm going back to my first challenge: an 8” x 10” canvas frame a day for 4 days. (I'm heading back to Maine for the long weekend! So 4 paintings instead of 5). Any medium I want but it will probably be acrylic and either/or mixed media.

Here is the first canvas this week (yes, I'm still on my Raven kick :) ):

As stated in the past I'm trying to avoid spamming those that read this (and the Face Book posts) so I'll report back on the challenge on Thursday. I'll try to post a garden update on Wednesday too.

Day 5! Last Canvas for this Challenge

Day Five and Canvas 5! Last day of my first self challenge.

And I think it's my favorite. I knew right from the start the direction I wanted to take and that I wanted to experiment with molding paste. I also wanted to do something dark so starting with dragging Titan Buff and Black horizontally. Adding the same type of collage papers I used in the others. I drew a picture of a Raven (from staring at photos online of them: no Ravens in my hollow that I know of). Then I cut out a stencil of the drawing on an old manila folder and used that as a mold for the molding paste.

Painted the Raven black, used some alcohol inks and highlighting areas with acrylic paint and water color crayons and then made a glaze from Interference Blue (Fine) over the whole thing. The image is a bit more white then it actually is.

I actually named this one: “Raven's Treasure”. The collage paper had some old bits of acrylic paint for texture that I think looks like stuff Raven might keep in it's nest. I like how the spiral left over from the collage paper from another project looks like a moon.

Next week the challenge is going to be projects with Block Printing. Carving, printing or other projects that involve the blocks I've made in the past or new ones in the coming week.

I'm also going to change the format a bit and only post the art work twice a week: that way I have room for reporting back on The Garden and the kitchen and the infamous Random Thoughts.

And, please, let me know what you think of them all as well if you have favorites.
Thanks!

So... here is the final canvas this week: