Round the Campfire - July

[jennaboo88]

Hi everyone. Whew, we finally got a half inch of rain today! I think it's breathed new life into everything, including the people around here. Very thankful for that.

Don't have a lot of time to spare today, so a quick hello to everyone.

Hi Lola, and thank you so much! Glad your toothache is gone - hope your hubby's bronchitis is soon better.

Scatdaddy, a very heartfelt drawing. So sad with what happened in CO.

[Catherine1]

Good Evening Everyone!
Not much going on here.. Hubby is finishing up vanishing the den.. Oops.. meant varnishing the den. I have been working on a few paintings, but am having trouble coming in for the landing with them. Ever get painters block but only at the end? Very frustrating..

I think I'm going to start complaining a bit more often about not having enough rain. '-) We did get a few showers here after I posted about how dry it was. Not enough to really help with crops but it did give the plants a bit of a break from the heat and sun. Thirty miles to the east of us got most of the rain but it doesn't help much in the long run for everyone if its just hit and miss.

Jim.. its a sad thing that happened. Why?.. I don't understand how people can get so twisted to where they act out as that fellow did. Did you do the drawing? It really conveys such sadness.. very fitting..

Jen.. People love to have portraits of their pets done. I think it will be a really good thing for you to get started on.

Linda... Sounds like you had a wonderful walk-about! Glad your home safe and sound.. So.. did cha get any painting done?

Lola.. Hope your Hubby gets to feeling better!

Hey Ron, Donald, Lenore, DJ, Jim, Lisa, Max (hope your enjoying the cool weather!).. and a hearty hello to everyone I might have missed!
Time to hit the hay.. Night everyone!

[rugman]

Scatdaddy- love the drawing. Thoughts and prayers have been sent...

Jillian- I like your attitude and couldnt agree more. Time is my issue. I barely have time to paint. I need to be building up inventory of "good" paintings right now, cause I feel I am lacking very many for sales, galleries etc. I can hardley keep my blog updated with recent work!

Jenna- yes, finished big job at VA hospital. My wife and I are entering some things together into our county fair for fun. A few pastel paintings from me, and some cards and scrapbook things from her.

Catherine- I have a plan for my studio setup. I will keep you posted how it goes when I get together my cabinets and my custom top Im going to build. If you cant find the perfect set up to buy, I figure I'll just make my own!

Frontier Days rodeo started this weekend. Went to parade Sat, hung out with family from out of town and took lots of ref photos (so many, people probably think Im a tourist) Also went to see my grandpa playing piano at the old historic governors mansion here in Cheyenne. Took lots of cool photos there as well, that would make for some interesting paintings. As I type, I hear the Air Force thunderbird planes arriving. The air show is Wednesday. I love to see the air show. Still have to work this week as well, so it will be busy.

Oh yea... my daughter missed getting first place at state shoot my 1 POINT!!! She even had twice as many 10x bullseyes as the first place shooter.

Talk at yaal lader....

[jennaboo88]

Hello everyone,

Hi Catherine. Glad you got at least a bit of rain. We got a little too and it sounds like more is on the way. The crops are so thirsty. Thanks for the encouragement! I hope to get a few (or ideally more than a few) takers in my pet portraits.

Hi Ron. I'm glad you're finished with the work at the VA hospital. Good luck with your entries at the fair! Let us know how it ends up.

[Jo Castillo]

Hi all y'all!

We are back in the 99 degree heat of Texas after a wonderful 12 days between 41 and 55 in Alaska! It was wonderful. We traveled by air, boat, train, bush plane, van and shuttles. Ate a huge amount of salmon, cod and halibut. Halibut is my favorite. Saw wildlife and amazing vistas. I will put a couple of photos. Some dogs that did a mushing demo pulling the four wheeler to keep them in shape for the winter, in Fairbanks. Then a caribou in captivity. I have a neat one in the wild but need to look for it.

We will be here a couple of weeks and then take off again in our Expedition for New Mexico, Colorado, Montana, BC, Idaho, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico again. Back in October sometime. We don't have any reservations except at a workshop in Montana, so internet will be haphazard.





I did browse a couple of times, but we didn't have much access, especially the last few days as we were in the Arctic. Flew through Denver but couldn't see much fire damage from the airplane. The awful shooting was the evening as we were on the plane so didn't even have much news until we got home. Prayers to all the families and State. Hard times.

We had about an inch of rain here while we were gone. They had 10 inches in 5 hours near us, but we didn't get to share. Ha. Thunder and clouds today but so scattered we are lucky if we get a shower.

Everyone sounds so busy. Must be summertime, eh? Well, Jillian is probably a bit cooler, too. We may get to Oregon after Idaho, we shall see.

Congratulations, Jenna. Way to go! Liked seeing your photos.

Jim, always happy to see the rodeo photos. Good ones. My bull riding brother in law, well, ex bull rider as he is 60 plus now, likes them, too.

Robert, you are getting close!! (to the end of the piece)

Aleada, guess you are in NM now. Maybe see you in September.

Take care all, back soon.

[KJSieloff]

Droppin' in to say a collective hello to all! I haven't dropped off the face of the earth, just very busy, but I'm still around!

Prayers to Colorado again!

Kate

[Catherine1]

Morning everyone!

Coffee is on.. Just good ol' 8'oclock but full of get up and get cha goin. Sorry I don't do breakfast..

Ron.. Can't wait to see pictures of your set up. Building what you need is always the way to go. Joe hates to use a level or a square, and doesn't see where a 1/8 inch is a big deal ::shudder::.. so we tend to get into a scuffle. It was easier to buy workbenches that would do than build my own. The first project he worked on for me.. Well, I took his tools away from him.. lol... I'm interested in seeing yours!

Jo... can't wait to see your pictures.. and hear a few more stories! The sled dogs are so cool.. and glad you got to cool down a bit and had a safe trip!. We got some rain last night.. not enough for to save the beans or corn.. but they are calling for it today and tomorrow.

Hey Kate... Glad to see your still roaming about! Its been quiet here in the forum. Summers such a busy time isn't it?

Jenn.. People will order a pet portrait before they would get one of their child. At least thats the way it works here. Hope you get the rain that you mentioned.

I have an acrylic workshop class in sept. and have been practicing a bit, I miss the oils. This is my first large workshop with some really talented painters. I'm sure the learning will go both ways but I'm still a bit nervous over it.
Back to painting.. Hope everyone has a grand day.. Hi to everyone who pops in later!!

[Lisa M]

Hi all,

Greetings from the dust bowl! No it's not quite that bad just yet, but I really feel for the farmers around here. Everyone, ranchers included, is working double time to scrape up any hay that might come for sale. Yields are running around 25% of normal to way less (of grass and alfalfa). Grass fires in the western part of the state are making things even worse. I'm happy to hear some rain is falling in a few places.

I've been running and riding in the mornings when it's "cool" (strangely humid upper 70s reaching 80s by midmorning). Another local trail ride was canceled last Saturday due to the heat advisories and humidity.

Ron--Congrats to the kids on their winnings, and I hope you keep finding some time here and there for fun. Finishing the hospital job must feel great.

Jo--Your travels sound so refreshing! My parents visited Alaska a couple of years ago and loved it.

Jillian--Good for you getting your artwork out there! I think the reason I haven't wanted to paint is that my painting "studio" is my work desk, which I look at with contempt since I spent most of May and June working far too many hours at it.

My neighbor friend's kitty recovered from her condition of dragging her back legs--yay! I hope the litter stays away from the poison or poisoned critters. I looked at our local Humane Society website a few days ago and they seem to have about 5 times as many cats and kittens as usual. Poor little things.

Well I'm off to continue the current project: garage cleaning.

Hi to all, and happy painting, everyone!

[Fredrix 45]

Yes Jo we arrived 3 days ago. We are in Mimbres NM, just off of highway 35. I hope you will visit in September and we will paint out. I am now getting used to the higher elevation. We chose a lot with a beautiful view of the mountains. Now we are going to Deming to look at manufactured homes. Things are moving fast, but it may just be a case of hurry up and wait.

I haven't had time to paint yet and this is gnawing at me; so I know I will be painting again very soon. The trailer is a mess so I also need to work on organizing and cleaning also.

I don't listen to the news much and now we don't have TV here. I can not understand why someone would mass murder; like in Colorado and I hope no one will follow suite. Scatdaddy; the art memorial is beautiful.

I hope we put time into creating art and in this way we may keep a positive outlook on life.

Aleada; the new New Mexican

[tuzigoot]

Hi All - As long as I'm spending the entire morning on this machine I may as well check in here.
Aleada, so glad you finally made it to NM! Welcome to the West! You'll stop gasping for breath in a month or two.
Ron - you sound proud of your kids. And you should be!
Jo - my nephew lives up in AK. Spends all his spare time hunting and fishing and hiking and fishing and snowshoeing and skiing and fishing. He sends lots of pictures, and some fish too, and they are pretty much always wearing parkas. (Doug and his wife in the photos, not the fish...) Which sounds pretty good these days. We'd planned to head up there this summer, but it got too expensive, so we just decided to take a little drive in the prius - like 4300 miles... Catherine, I did get out to paint twice. Dreadful results. I doubt even MOBA (museum of bad art) would take them.
I think we need to send out the grammar police on that last paragraph.
My sister reports lots of rain in the Colorado mountains, so at least that crisis is abating. Probably not in time to help the hay or fill the reservoirs, but at least it's no longer a tinder box. And now another tragedy. How do people get to that point?
Hope everyone else is staying cool. Let's send up for some rain for the midwest and Texas!

[djstar]

so.... I am housesitting for a possible $25 a day for a friend, and still was hit up for a charity donation. I am going to push this as far as it will roll...


Click over to see the bidding
Running....
dj*

[jennaboo88]

Hi everyone. We have been blessed with some gentle, soaking rain and things seem happier with some moisture.

Hi Jo. I'm so happy you had a good time in Alaska. What a wonderful memory that must be. Please feel free to share photos. We are always happy to see pictures at the Campfire. Those sled dogs must be fun to watch. Have fun on your next adventure. Thanks for the comments.

Hi Kate. Glad to hear from you. Hope it's a good kind of busy for you.

Hi Catherine. I don't know if the pet portrait over children's portrait is a good thing or not...I suppose it is for pet portrait artists. Have fun at your workshop! Keep us posted on how it goes.

Hi Lisa. I hope you get some relief by rain soon. I'm so happy the poor kitten dragging his legs recovered. I wondered if it could be distemper too...we once had an outbreak of distemper with our cats when I was a kid and that was such a difficult time for me. So many kittens suffering and acting so strangely. I'm relieved the kittens over there are doing ok.

Hi Aleada. Welcome to your new home! I hope it's all you dreamed it would be. Hope you get painting soon.

Hi Linda. I really like your newest "not afraid" painting.

Hi DJ, and congrats!

[Donald_Smith]

Jenna You got what? "Rain" Isn't that some mythical invention created by fictional writers?

DJ I like that snake!

Have a great day,
Donald

[Jo Castillo]

Hi Kate! Guess busy is good!

Catherine, thanks for the coffee. Interesting to see the different mixed breeds they are using now for the sled dogs. Breeding for strength close to the sled and smart and fast for the front. Boy, our central US needs rain. We are OK, but just. They predict drier than normal for the next few months.

Lisa, happy garage cleaning. Always feels better after! Hope you get rain, too.

Aleada, that is such a beautiful valley where you moved. We have some beautiful photos from there. Hope to see you. Good luck on the home.

Linda, sounds like you drive around like we do. We are home a couple of weeks and then off again. I sure couldn't take a winter in Alaska. Wow. We wore jackets the whole time.

dj, great snake and donation. Hope it does super! Good for you.

Jenna, thank you. Wisconsin was about our 48th state I think. Didn't stay long, one night in Racine I think. Happy for your rain!

Donald, nice to see you.

Take care all.

[KJSieloff]

Hi gang!

DJ - I love that snake! I know, most folks don't like snakes, but that painting is way cool!!

Have to make this one quick, so I'll tell ya all what I've been doing. I've been working (HARD) at a colored pencil drawing for a friend of mine, and I've bombed it three times now. It's incredibly frustrating! Beyond that, the wind came and blew ALL the beans off my mesquite trees, so I've been cleaning that mess up. It dumped them all into my rose garden. I usually get to pick them, but this year they all ended up on the ground. Now I can't use them for jelly. AND, we have been fishing on the weekend, plus a 250 mile road trip with friends, and an all day buggy ride into the mountains. The road trip involved going by an orchard, now I have a bushel basket of peaches I also must deal with - peel, or whatever for this year's jam making. And did I mention it's also time to pick prickly pears, and hubby wants to do saguaro cactus jelly this year too. Have I missed anything????

AND, my new responsibilities have been really fun - but keeping me VERY busy here at work, so no wetcanvas time (which I shouldn't be doing anyway...

Gotta go, y'all have a great day!

Kate