The newspaper and other thoughts

The Big Guy recently subscribed to the local newspaper for me. I enjoy reading the paper and the one I had subscribed to didn't really include enough local news to satisfy me. The Bulletin is almost totally local news. It drives me crazy! Not the local news part but the writing. The Managing Editor is the king of run-on sentences and misplaced modifiers! Doesn't he have grammar check on his computer????? I want to sit with a red pen when I read the paper! And then I want to mail the corrections back to him! Maybe I could get a job at the editorial desk.

It's raining again. The difference this time is we finally got everything that is still outside covered up today, before the rain started. It is supposed to rain through Monday. Can you say 'grim', anyone?

Speaking of raining, The "It's Raining Dogz and Catz" (aka The Red) sketchbook is well on its way to being done. I am all the way to the perforated pages.

Best Buds and Cherry - more granddogs

BEST BUDS - REDDOG AND NIXON

Red is now my oldest granddog, and, don't tell the others, my favorite. His best friend is Nix a VERY LARGE 14" Standard Beagle (with papers). He surpassed 14" at about six months! I used two photos to draw this because the dogs wouldn't pose for me - what a surprise! Again I did a light drawing with pencil and went over it with colored pencils. Wanted to use gouache but because my studio is in the throes of moving (e.g. a total mess!) I couldn't find them.

CHERRY

Cherry is the smallest of my granddogs. She is a feisty Maltese who loves to get in my daughter's purse and go shopping. Black and/or white dogs are very difficult to draw. I really like the line drawing I have done of Cherry. I think it catches her personality and my feelings for her. I sketched the drawing lightly in pencil first and then went over it with a silver watercolor pencil. The darks are graphite pencil.

I only have ten pages left in The Red Sketchbook unless I want to go back and draw on the backs of pages. I don''t really like to do that as it damages the drawings on the front, especially with the paper in this sketchbook. I am thinking about decorating the cover but that is the last the last thing I will do. Possibly use my dog and cat rubber stamps. Will see........

Catching up

LINCECUM, POSEY AND THE POES

I haven't posted in a while. Have been obsessed with the baseball playoffs and the World Series (Hurray Giants!) and of course, still trying to get all our stuff moved :(

The other day I unpacked some of my art stuff and found my plaster hand and my wooden hand models. So I named them! The plaster hand with the ball is Lincecum and the wooden hand is Posey! The POES are all of apaperaddicts plants which are visiting me for a couple of weeks. There is also a really cool mirror frame (I broke the mirror moving it) on the upper right that she made, too. Hard to see as the light is bad.

HOUSES ABOVE WILLIE THE CLOWN

This wonderful painting was done by apaperaddict earlier this year (pardon me but am having trouble with color/fonts tonight!). It is also visiting me for a while and I thought the safest place for it was on the wall. Besides, I like to look at it! The Willie the clown doll is a character of Emmett Kelly, a famous 1950's clown. I won the doll when I was about 12 at our church fiesta!

SHARON AND AURORA

I have been drawing and will catch you up on all of the ones I have done. This is my good friend, Sharon and her cat Aurora. Aurora wouldn't cooperate with the photography so Sharon had to hold her. Aurora and Roxy are pals. Roxy loves to visit and play in Aurora's large backyard.

RUBY BLUE EYE

This is a picture of the last dog I had before Roxy. I had her in the eighties. She was so much fun and she had a sense of humor! If you want a fun and challenging, energetic dog get a Basset Hound! Bassets are really good with children, too.
Ruby had one blue eye and one brown eye, a fault in dog show circles but a talking point in the world of pets. She also had the longest tongue in the world! I couldn't leave anything on the table or counters unless I wanted her to have it!

MARSHMALLOW KITTIES AND A CANDY KISS DOG

I watched a program on TV with the grandchild where an artist encouraged kids to draw and gave them an assignment. The assignment was to draw marshmallows. I adapted it to fit into my sketchbook. (can't turn off the italics!)

JUST SKETCHING

This is a page of messing around. What a sketchbook is about, after all.

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I call this blue tongue for lack of a better name. I was still messing around and came up with this wonky dog.

R.I.P. COOCHIE

This is my late granddog, Coochie. He was an old, black Newf who had had lots of hip trouble and finally got to the point where he couldn't manage anymore. His doggy brothers and sisters miss him as do his human companions.

Another view of Lincecum, Posey and the POEs. This space is the top of my dresser and is usually a serene altar.

I took all these pictures with my webcam as my camera is out of commission currently. I am trying to ignore my desire for a new phone that has a camera in it. It would be less to carry around and maybe I could get one with a real keyboard. Looked at them today and saw two that I might like... That should go on the bottom of my list but it just doesn't want to!