Thoughts on a Thursday

Is it legal to travel down a road in reverse, as long as you’re following the direction of the traffic?

Wordless Wednesday

As I Sat and 'Listened' to the TV.....

These guys showed up...

Not all at once though....cuz, that would be scary......

We Interrupt Our Regularly Scheduled Program…….

Last Friday I got a message from Blogger telling me:

European Union laws require you to give European Union visitors information about cookies used and data collected on your blog. In many cases, these laws also require you to obtain consent. 

As a courtesy, we have added a notice on your blog to explain Google's use of certain Blogger and Google cookies, including use of Google Analytics and AdSense cookies, and other data collected by Google. 

You are responsible for confirming this notice actually works for your blog, and that it displays. If you employ other cookies, for example by adding third party features, this notice may not work for you. If you include functionality from other providers there may be extra information collected from your users.

Unfortunately I don’t see the header to which they refer on my blog….so, either I’ve added some third party doo-dad that is effectively blocking the banner or ‘they’ have screwed something up. I spent the weekend Googling and conferring with my tech support to try and figure it out. After two days of this I find I no longer care…..

So…..consider yourself informed of the new European laws and that I never share ANY information with ANY third party.

I have no idea what Google does……

Also……since getting this message, your comments no longer forward to my email. So I can’t reply like I usually do. I prefer to respond to your comments personally in an email rather than publically on the blog because I can be more personal in an email.

I’m still trying to decide whether to just ‘wait it out’ until they figure out they’ve broken something and fix it so we can get back to business as usual, or, if I will reply to your comments on the blog.

But I wanted to let you know what’s happening so you don’t think I’m ignoring you or that I don’t appreciate all your wonderful remarks!  I DO! I read every one of them, every day (all five of them, lol!)

So that’s where it stands for now. I hope it doesn’t stop you from visiting or leaving comments because I’m kinda’ hooked on them now and if I didn’t get any I’d be crushed!  

Just sayin’…….

What's on My Workdesk.....

I know it's not Wednesday but.......

I've been playing with my new Jane Davenport watercolors. 

The Mixed Media Petite Palette Neutrals

 A big step up for me from student grade. 

I don't know if I'm getting better or if having better paint is making me better....or I'm just deluding myself.....lol. 

Even if I'm not getting any 'better' I'm certainly getting faster! 

Media used:

Jane Davenport Watercolors

colored pencils

china marker

acrylic ink

Pentel Arts Hybrid Technica pen 0.3mm

I'm not sure if it's finished or not....I might add some spatter to add a little movement to it....hmmm....

Yup, definitely spatter! :)

Thoughts on a Thursday

If ghosts can walk through walls and glide down stairs, why don't they fall through the floor? 

Wordless Wednesday

Who IS This Guy……..

And why does he keep showing up in my art?

 2015

2015

And just yesterday......

2018

Am I channeling someone.....is my subconscious trying to tell me something....is someone trying to 'reach' me from the other side….???? 

Maybe I don’t really want to know. 

....but he's getting cuter, don't you think? lol

Punny Monday

“It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried.” — Winston Churchill

The Muse is Back

You know how ‘they’ are always telling us to stretch and grow and ‘get out of our comfort zone’? I disagree. Sometimes what I want is to be ‘in’ my comfort zone and make some nice sketches that I feel proud of and get a confidence boost! THEN maybe I’ll feel like I can venture into the unknown and stretch myself……

Like these……

I LOVE doing blind contours! It takes all the pressure off. You can be as sloppy as you want and they still have a ‘charm’ to them! I almost always like the outcome…..well, maybe not the profile guy……but the rest of them have their own kind of charisma.

I also got a chance to use my new ‘grease pencil’ or is it a china marker? It’s the old fashioned kind you get at the local hardware store. Carpenters use them. They can be used on almost any kind of surface….which make them perfect for mixed media work. They worked great on this toned paper and over the colored pencils I used. 

Then, of course, I had to take one into the digital realm and play…..

Aaaaand, she’s back! (At least I think I am…..I hope…..) 

Thoughts on a Thursday

Can crop circles be square?

Wordless Wednesday

It’s a Conspiracy!

To make us old people look stupid!

Not that I’m old you understand, but to the people still in the workplace I guess I am......

Case in point: I was trying to update my online prescriptions the other day. I logged into the website but….everything looked unfamiliar. There was no Rx history….and as we ALL know I’ve been taking numerous meds for AGES……

I poked around here and there and it was like a ghost town….nothing but dust bunnies and tumbleweeds…..No history, no completed orders, no pending orders……I couldn’t even get it to recognize an Rx # when I entered it………..nothing.

WTF?

I called Husband over to look, you know, just in case it MIGHT be me…..lol. Nope, it didn’t work for him either.

So I broke down and called. 

Turns out, since I went on Medicare, I needed to re-register on the site. WHAT??? I’ve been using this online service for literally over thirty years!!!! I get emails ALL the time. Alerting me to things that usually don’t even apply to me but for THIS IMPORTANT issue not a word! Not a peep! Not even anything on the site alluding to the fact that I MIGHT need to update my personal info…..nothing….nada…..zilch!

I’m convinced it’s a conspiracy to make the aging population look like idiots! If they make us all look like drooling incompetents then they can feel superior! And it will be easier for them to just dismiss us and not feel bad that they are letting us down!

So to all the Millennials out there I have this to say: Don’t forget who taught you to use a fork! 

Punny Monday

The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education.

Evolution of a Face

...sort of.....

Start with a face.

Reach that point where you're afraid to do anything more for fear of ruining it.....
Scan it and import it to TableyToo where you can play to your heart's content without doing permanent damage.
Play around with backgrounds.

 Add more shading.

 Add shading AND a background.

Find satisfaction with the digital image.
Post to your blog.
Work on finding the courage to actually finish it in real life!

It's been a while since I tried anything 'for real' with watercolor....my muscle memory is a bit rusty. But I find him rather compelling......in a sad/creepy kind of way.........

....and finally the real thing......Taa-daa!

Thoughts on a Thursday

Why does quicksand work slowly? 

Wordless Wednesday

A Perfect Day in Paradise

....with my boys.....

It was the big one's b'day. 

AND......

affogato! 

Who could ask for anything more? #contented

Punny Monday

A problem is really only a fact that someone is resisting.

Do I Need More Art Supplies…….?

Of course not!

Did that stop me from going to Michael’s and getting more Copic’s?

Of course not! 

Hello, my name is Robin and I'm an art supply shopaholic.......

Thoughts on a Thursday

What is a picture of a thousand words worth? 

Wordless Wednesday

Gratuitous Advice from a Nobody

We’re sitting in the car in companionable silence, Husband and I, running errands. I’m just ruminating….as always…..and I see a sign outside a gas station advertising what I assume is a good price on a pack of name brand cigarettes, $6.31!!!! 

Holy cow! I quit when they were $2.50 a pack and I thought THAT price was ludicrous, I can’t even imagine how people can afford it today.

Then I start to wonder if Vaping has had a significant impact on the tobacco industry…..which leads me to think about the comparative costs of one over the other. I start to list the cost of the initial ‘accoutrement’ that is involved with Vaping, and the cost of the oils…..I happen to glance over at Husband and notice he’s looking at me in an odd way (okay, he looks at me like that a lot but this was an unusual scowl…..) it’s then I realize I wasn’t just thinking my thoughts I was saying them out loud.

“Did you ask WHY a lot when you were little?” He says.

My parents used to say I was exasperating with my questions when I was small. I asked why about everything and anything. They started answering with things like, “I’ll explain it later.” (which they usually didn’t) or, the one I hated the most, “You’ll understand when you’re older.”

I guess it comes with the territory, being the youngest, but I always felt like I was missing out on something, missing the punch line, as it were….everyone else got it and laughed….except me.

I learned early on to laugh even if I didn’t get it. That little strategy saved me in many a situation as I got older. It also led me into a few awkward moments….but on the whole I’d say, laugh when everyone else laughs….even if you’re the butt of the joke!

So I laughed!