Take the Curlers Out First.

A morning watercolour.

Roots?  Flowers?

The Moon is a balloon.  A Malloon?

...dream with open eyes...


Here's this person.

There's a bug on his shoulder.

It needs more...

And her.

Good advice, after all, there's cameras everywhere.

Early Christmas Cheer and Grunge Sink Joy.

His belt's too tight, his hands are cold, and he's having trouble with the string lights.


This is a vintage-shop (junk) frame I painted bright red.  Had to do it, had to.

After working on that Santa and cleaning out my brushes I couldn't help but notice how happy the grungy art sink was.

Can't you just feel the happiness here?

Painting these Santas has put me right into the Christmastime spirit.
A lot of people complain about Christmas starting too early, but I'm in.  Let's get this party started.
Several years ago I finally succeeded in simplifying and spending less money.  It was the best Christmas ever.  I didn't think I would be able to ever do it.  Let's face it, we all want to give our kids the best biggest and brightest.  But it finally happened (after years of trying).  I cut way back on the gifting and the spending and the obligations and we simplified.  I made a list of the holiday happenings and then looked it over and really thought about it, about which ones we actually enjoyed and which ones we were just doing because it was tradition, habit.

I watched the teens trading gifts a few years back.  Small, inexpensive very sweet gestures filled with so much stinkin' love that it almost made me cry.  They were so happy smiling and trading goodies and laughing.  It sounds so stupid but it was a moment in time that I'll never forget.  They were the sweetest little gifts filled with thoughtfulness.  The feeling it gave me has never left me and I cherish that memory.  Time, love, laughter, attention, those are the things that make the gift trading so meaningful-not how much you spend.

One year my mother crocheted 4 afghans, one for each of us.  We live in a drafty old farmhouse so mornings are chilly.  We all got up on Christmas morning and we opened those first.  We all immediately wrapped up in our afghan and proceeded to open the rest of the presents all snuggled up in love.  Best gift ever.

I've never taken it off.

Dust Off the Crusade.

 My More Love Crusade gets ignored and forgotten at times, but its time to bring it out, dust it off, and put it into high gear.  Its time.  Yessirreebob, this is the time if there ever was one.
So straighten up all you meanies out there, the Crusaders are back and we're ready to be real real nice.


I made 21 little dinky Christmas ornaments today.  They're encaustic on wood.

A sweet little collection, right?

But alas, I had to stop crafting.  Its zombie night.  Zombie night btw is always on Beef Monday.  We like our beef rare on zombie night.  Real real rare.

And this hunk of fabulousity below, well, I had to take a picture of it and share it with the world.  Its a candle that looks like a cake.  Where else, Anthropologie.  Everything is perfect in Anthropologie.  I could have stayed in there for a very long time.  What am I talking about, I DID stay in there a very long time.  In fact, I might move there, sort of like the Bundy's did when their a.c. konked out and they moved into the GitMo freezer isle.  (I made that name up or my brother did, GitMo)

I wonder how long it will take them to notice.  Surely it won't be until after Christmas, so I'm good for a while.

That's where I'll be!

Nineteen Santas Before Sunrise.

The sun come up out my window while I painted Santa ornaments this morning.  Earrrrrly.  I had 19 well underway by the time it showed its pretty little orange rays over the hayfield.

I'm trying to give each one a personality, a unique character.

I couldn't get in the studio to put the wax over them.  Today was delivery day for art, so it involved a bit of driving and dropping off and then some shopping and hibachi grill.  My husband will take me anywhere if hibachi grill is involved.

I was rather falling in love with some of these guys at this stage:

Early stages, for anyone interested in the how-to's:

It must be Christmastime because the Christmas Cactus says so.

See.

It Takes A Pill
         by tereSager

Today the past walked by me.
It wanted me to see
how well how good how wonderful
that it appeared to be.

The cold black wind around it blew
and at first sight the lie I knew
that the show that was pretended
in its mind it never ended.
Down to blackness in the crash
a deep dark hole, a lightning flash
it let me see for one brief dot
with clarity, its life is not
what is portrayed upon the web
or anything like what is said.
Instead that sleep does not come still
unless each night it takes
a pill.

Enjoy Slugs Today.

Election Day Plan.

I've been painting at Command Central every morning.  Easy watercolours.  No big mixed-media messes.  Save that for the studio.

This way I can sip coffee in my pj's and play with paint at 5 a.m. while the house is quiet as a churchmouse and not make a big honkin' mess.  I make a little honkin' mess instead.

No matter what, this is going to be a busy crazy day and its going to be next to impossible to get anything done in the studio.  The vibe out there is sick.  Hiding from it in the studio behind a big big painting is comforting and wonderful, but sometimes difficult.  And when the vibe is sick, my phone rings a lot and people wander in and need to chitchat.  Stop 'N Chats.  Don't love 'em.

The plan is to make a nice big egg sandwich on cloud bread-my newest love. There are recipes for it all over Pinterest and I say try it, it turned out fantastic.  Zero carbs.  Heck, it might even be negative carb but that is my fantasy and not real so don't believe it, but I digress.

After consuming a gigantic neg carb protein breakfast I'm going to go do it.  I'm going to vote.  It's going to be awesome and its going to be a landslide.  There.  I said it.  Outloud and on the World Wide Web.  For all of my three readers.
   
Then I'll be going into the Dreamery to escape.  I have on a cute voting/election-day outfit, low-key but perfect.  It involves mauve velvet and silvery gray, oh and Cowgirl boots just like always.  But I'm busting out the baby pink ones.  All this means I'll have to wear the Lab Coat, and since its cool enough for it, all is well.

Happy Day Lovelies, enjoy!

Christmas During Indian Summer.

Its coming.  You can't stop Christmas from coming no way no how.  I know, I've tried.

Might as well get with the program and paint Santas and Elves.

These ornaments are encaustic on wooden discs and little flat stick-like pieces of wood.

Oh my gosh its totally putting me in the Holiday Spirit.  Humming Christmas carols is mandatory when you are creating these.

These are encaustic on Capiz Shells.

Translucence.

At last count I think I have made at least 30 of these crazies.  I can't stop.  Oh yeah, I've been meditating with Oprah and Deepak while I paint them, insane. The thing is, its mid-November and it still seems like Indian Summer out there. Christmas is going to be. here. all the sudden and freak us all out because we're all still in summermode, and I don't want to be freaked out.  So this is a perfect solution, its taking me there.

More Drinkin' Less Drawin'.

October.
Its always the prettiest month, and I'm a bit sad to see it go.  Painting some leaves is my way of keeping it right here.

This is a section of my daily squares journal page.

Another section.

I took this journal to the Drink 'N Draw with me but didn't even pick up a pencil to work in it.  We met at the local winery.  It was cloudy and sunny so the light was exquisite, and distracting.  The wine tasted good and I did not draw one single thing.

This was my Halloween self-portrait.  Isn't the "more love" heart at my feet wonderful?

Does this cape make my butt look big?