WIP Pygora Goat

I am planning to have a booth at the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival to sell my wares, and here is the first piece specifically catering to the theme of adorable fibrous ungulates. I may push through tonight and finish him up....He's 8x10" acrylic on canvas (my first oval!). I think i may use only white paint, or break down and use a pale yellow for the eyes. I hope it's not too creepy.

Lily for Lara

Behold, dear reader!! Lily number nine! (Numba 9, numba 9, numba 9...) I painted this for my dear friend Lara Michell, who had her birthday on sunday. It is 8x8", acrylic on deep-cradled canvas. I used my typical-when-I-am-not-super-lazy technique inspired by the PRB, which is to say that I primed the canvas about 11 times, sanding between coats. Smmmmooooooooth.

Poppy #1

I am not exactly sure what it is, but all three paintings that i have done while at Barlow creek have something in common. (For those interested, Lily #2 and Iris #1 were done at the same campsite as this one. Anyone care to comment on their similarities?) The background was inspired by my love of red and light blue together, and my desire to break up the smooth fluffy edges of the poppy. I also felt that she needed a background more fitting her scandalous reputation. She's 6x6" on claybord, the yummiest of media.

Floor update.

So I realize, dear reader, that you were on the edge of your office chair for the last 3 weeks waiting for pix of our shiny new floors. Refinishing was a very rewarding experience, and I have learned many things:
1. You can never vacuum too many times between sanding and varnish. Seriously.
2. Finishing floors with 10" of bare plaster showing (where the trim was before they ripped it out to put in 'wood' paneling) causes very much plaster and grit to be spread onto precious floor.
3. Re-sanding after the first coat with 220 grit paper on hands and knees takes a long time. (See #1 and 2)
4. Ignore patronizing males when they say things like "oh, boy, that machine is probably too much for you to handle" and "you gals might want to leave that to the professionals." Although the floors might be a little grittier than if we paid someone 3 grand to do it, we spent 200 dollars and a weekend of work. The machines weren't really that bad anyway, in fact they were really fun to use. Stella almost cried when the edger broke, she had grown so attached. She cradled the poor thing in her arms like a wounded lamb.
5. Doing something this big for yourself means very much confidence-boosting and chest-puffing like arrogant bluebird. We are officially "handy" now, and everyone coos over the beauty of our floors. Observe:

I return to the downy bosom of the internets...

It was a long 2.5 weeks in our new house sans interweb, but I re-emerge, doubtless the better for avoiding my favorite time waster during the most crucial period of renovation. I even managed a show and a new painting in the interim, on top of new trim, unpacking and painting the walls. Here's the new piece, Lily #8. FYI, it has already sold...But there are many more to come, I just took dozens of pictures of this season's lilies... and as long as people keep buying them I will keep painting them...

Birthday post

My mother asked me a few months ago what I wanted for my birthday. I snarkily replied: "A house." Be careful what you wish for, because you might end up spending 12 hours on your birthday refinishing floors. We took possession of our bungalow on the 9th of June, and since then we have:
-Built a chicken coop, complete with hound-resistant fencing buried 12 inches down and 12 inches out...
-Torn out all the carpet in the house, including about 400 sqft that was screwed (!!) down with 1" wood screws
-Ripped down all the "wood" paneling
-Coaxed out 2 bedrooms worth of linoleum (pry bar)
-Patched and painted the great room
-Patched and painted the 2 downstairs bedrooms
-Built a 6'x6'x4' garden bed
-Sanded through vinyl backing and mastic to reveal handsome wood floors. We started today with 18 grit sandpaper and are currently on 24...tomorrow, brace yourself as we do 38 through 100 and try to put finish down before the lady starts her insane 3 week class on Monday morning.








Check out some pictures, trust me I have more of them than eloquence after wrastlin' with that drum sander all day.

Eyes heart spring...

Its visitor season again, and my college friend Robert just returned to Minneapolis after a delightful week-long visit to Portland. I admit, my bee is arrested in the inchoate stage and I have done no work on him/it. (I also admit that I openly discriminate against haploid individuals. I would caution you not to inform the bee but--come on, he's haploid..) I have been busy with traveling, packing, entertaining and a nasty flu. Its been more than a year since I was sick with a traditional ailment and I confess there's something comforting about being sick and knowing there's no danger of it spiraling into something uncontrollable, losing 30 pounds and my sanity in the process. Health is so precious and tenuous and moments like this one make me cherish it even more. So now seemed a perfect time to share a few photos taken on my various spring adventures.