Simple fun

Monday I had volunteered to take a friend to a doctor's appointment over in Orlando. So I took mom along for the ride and while our friend was at her appointment, we went over to the downtown library.

We used to love going to this library. Mom, Russ, and I loved to haunt the used bookstore as well. I snagged four Dean Koontz books on this particular trip!
The other thing we loved was their AWESOME kid's section.

On Tuesday, I had the brilliant idea to take a road trip to St. Augustine. I had heard an ad on the local public radio station about a Pablo Picasso exhibit at the visitor's center.  Shirley got to come along for the ride!
So here's some pics of that fun. . .

Castillo de San Marcos and lunch at the Spanish Bakery

Pics in front of the fountain. . .

Fun wandering around the old city. . .tacky tchotchkes, an old old old cemetery. . .

Pigeons EVERYWHERE. . .and a look down St. George street. . .

 Mom and I hamming it up in front of the Fuente de los Canos de San Francisco. . .

 Now, the real reason we came to Northeast Florida for the day. . .
This particular show for Picasso's work focused on his prints regarding bull fighting in Spain.
It was neat for me, because I actually have experience making lithographs. . .although I wasn't really any good at it. Plus, my back could not handle the weight of the stone or the continual bending over.
Anyways, though mom and Shirley weren't really thrilled with the show, I loved being able to see some of his not so popular work. It made it that much more interesting to me to be able to dive into the lines and shapes.

"The world today doesn't make much sense, so why should I paint pictures that do?"
Loved this quote!

After viewing the art, we strolled down to Kilwins to buy fudge slabs, required for every trip to St. Augustine.
Then, we took a moment to sit at an outside table and enjoy the wonderful weather and each others company.

Shirley and mom talking

Shopped a little more, but my feet and knee were killing me.
So, here's a little backyard garden at the art glass shop to end with. This is what I want my yard to eventually feel like.

Painting projects

My palette

I’ve mentioned at least once that I’ve been working on a project for a friend. I’ve actually been working on two projects, both of them paintings. One is for my neighbor down the road, Carol, whom I dog-sit for. The other is for two of my best friends, Danny and Richard.

The first project came about because I found a couple of choice pieces of slate at the thrift store about a month ago. They were already prepped for hanging, with holes drilled and a leather thong strung through. The only problem was that they were already painted on. In fact I probably wouldn’t have even noticed them if it wasn’t for the fact that they were painted. I was digging through the shelves of junk when I came across these truly awful flamingo and palm tree things! Yeesh. They were that bad. Of course, in noticing just how bad they were it came to me that with a little sanding I could paint right over the top of those horrendous images.

Now, I am over exaggerating a bit. Somebody loved them enough to buy them from Pier One Imports and pay $25 a piece for them. I’m not kidding, that’s what it said on the price tag that was on the back.

However, I felt like they truly weren’t worth much more than the $3 price that the thrift store was asking for them. The greatest part of this is that my mom is a haggling genius and managed to get the store to sell them to us for $2 a piece. AWESOMENESS! 

 

 

Anyways, I took them home, sanded them down, and began my first painting for Carol. I decided to do a Screech Owl for her. We have a visiting Screech Owl who nests at my parents house and hunts at Carol’s house.

The second project for Danny and Richard was something I have been wanting to do for about a year. They love Beagles, and had three up until last March-Copper, Skipper, and Buddy. Buddy was their most recently adopted dog, and also the youngest and largest of the three. I felt pretty close to Buddy because I helped name him. He was this tall, lanky dog with the most solemn face. Because he was the newest member of the Beagle clan, he was also the lowest on the totem pole. So his demeanor always seemed a little cowed by the other two. I just loved him.

Well, I’m sure you’ve noticed that I’ve been using the past tense in reference to Buddy. He got hit by a truck back in March of 2011, and Richard saw it happen. It was awful. They had just come back from a fishing trip and were trying to put the dogs back inside the house, when Buddy got loose and ran down to the street with Richard chasing after him. The truck driver didn’t stop. Danny drove his truck down to where Richard sat on the side of the road holding Buddy in his arms. Even though they rushed him to the vet, praying over him the whole time, Buddy didn’t make it.

Now you know the back story behind why I wanted to do this project for Danny and Richard. 

Sketch

 Buddy is buried in their back yard, but currently has no marker.  I have just recently begun painting on sidewalk stones as a possible means of side income. So I had a large concrete brick that was perfect for my idea. I asked Richard for some pictures of Buddy and used them to sketch out my design. 

Under colors 1 and 2

It’s almost done. I just need to add his name in the corner and then polyurethane it for added protection. 

Finished colors

The finished stone

I know you’re having fun in heaven, Buddy, chasing all those possums and raccoons!

 Love you and miss you.