Bits and Pieces

"Emmy"

9" x 9"

Graphite/charcoal

Today's blog is about gathering up some loose ends and bringing you up-to-date now that I'm back from my travels.  First, I was working on this pencil portrait at the end of July but had never shown you the finished product.  So here it is.  This portrait of a friend speaks of the grit and determination of a western cowgirl and of the beauty she seeks to bring to life. Emmy has blessed my life!  The original drawing is now available, as well as prints.

Next, you may recall the cargo trailer I built this summer to haul my art gear to shows.  Long term plans were to cover the top with wood-hinged doors.  In all the going's on of summer I hadn't time for that, but had just used a tarp.  So this week I've been busy with the drill, screwdriver, and table saw doing just that.  Oh, the guys at Home Depot love me!  They wanted a report on my trip and were full of advice on how to complete my doors project.  I've been there so much that I feel like they are my second cousins once-removed.  Here's some photo shots of the doors project:

It's been five days since I returned from my 3500 mile trip.  I'm still thinking much about all that I drank in visually from that trip and the great people I met.  Once I get finished building and catching up on my bookwork, I am so eager to launch into some new painting/drawing projects to share with you some of the grandness that I beheld. 

(Wind River Canyon, Wyoming)

Here's a little study that I did of some antelope I saw in the middle of Wyoming:

(ink and watercolor)

Antelope are so wary that it's hard to get close to them.  I'm glad that I know a God who longs for me to be close to Him.  Like King David wrote in Psalm 42:1..."As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God..."  so I want to long for God with that kind of desperate, earnest desire.  Here is a study I did of a deer in Yellowstone National Park enjoying streams of water:

(pastel  9" x 12" study)

Be thirsty for all of life and God this week!  Dive in like the deer!  

And here's the last bit...it's a teaser.  Next week I will tell you about another exciting adventure and opportunity I'll be going on with my art in 12 days!

Be brave and courageous!