Settled in the Maritimes of Canada, surrounded by the forest and Acadian Mountain Chain, I live a simple life of gratitude. This blog is a journal of my art, food, furkids, garden, home, my life and my thoughts. Thanks for reading!
Welcome to Thursday's Art Date, today our theme is Mysterious and Dark. Bugs came up with the idea to pose as The Phantom of the Opera. That was a very dark and mysterious tale!
💗 I'm sorry I haven't been commenting on your blogs my Friends, I have been visiting though...life is a challenge for me these days. Please know that you all just bring so much joy to my life!! 💗
🌟🌟 A note for February's film-themed themes (say that 5 times fast)...you don't have to be a movie buff to participate! For example, next week is Westerns...it can be anything related to the Wild West! I come up with these themes to challenge you and help you find your creativity, and to help me do the same, so please don't think you can't participate because there are any rigid rules!! 😊 🌟🌟
Alien 3-D Art
One of my favourite movies is called The Night of the Hunter. It's starring Robert Mitchum, directed by Charles Laughton. It's very dark, very mysterious and extremely creepy! Well Friends, I'm not proud of this drawing of Robert Mitchum at all. I had such a hard time with it! Usually when I'm doing my charcoals, I feel relaxed and happy...this week has been emotionally draining and it shows in my artwork. Ugh. I decided to post it anyway because this blog is about my life - good or bad! Sorry Mitch! Next time I'll do ya proud!!
When I was a young girl, I learned how to play the piano. I played until I was 17 years old. Ever since then, I've dreamed of having a piano again. Well, guess what? I got a digital piano! It's used but in great shape so it was in the budget! I love it. I have to relearn, but it's coming back to me! Bringing this instrument to my home makes me feel like my life is becoming more balanced. I'll serenade you all some day in the future! 😊
Blogging friends are the best!! My friend Phil from the UK sent me this Bird Guide Book! I aim to put it to good use! Thanks Phil!
Date night at the bird feeder
In Flight
I'm still not sure if this gal is a Downy or a Hairy Woodpecker. I'm leaning towards Downy because of the length of her bill, but I have nothing to compare her to!
I'm linking up with these wonderful bloggers today, please visit them for some really interesting posts! And why not join in on the link parties? You can meet some really nice people!! 😊
That's all for now folks! Please check out the link gadget below to see more Mysterious and Dark artwork!
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"High Noon" (Prismacolor pencils 2019)
February 4th: Next Thursday's theme is February Films - Westerns. Click on the link for ideas and inspiration! Remember it's all about creating. You can showcase your paintings, drawings, photography, sculpting, baking, poetry...whatever you like! 🎨
Thursday Art Date With Rain. Click on the link for a description of the art date as well as a list of upcoming themes.
Don't forget to add the URL link to your post (not your blog) to the link gadget below to share your wonderful creations! Please revisit to make sure you don't miss those who join in a little late! Also, if anyone adds a link that has nothing to do with the art date theme, it will be removed! The link gadget expires Friday at midnight (EST).
Hello Friends!! 😊😊 Welcome to Thursday's Art Date, today our theme is Board Games and Game Night. Tweety Bird is having a grand old time playing Jacks. (I personally don't have the dexterity and was never good at that game!)
🌟🌟 Remember the link party is open until Friday nights around midnight so you have plenty of time to join in! It's a great way for people to see your art, your photography, your creativity! And you can meet lovely people this way!! Also, instead of answering questions on your blog posts, I will be answering them in the comment section from now on, so check back! 🌟🌟
My favourite game as a kid was Snakes and Ladders! I remember playing this game with my beloved Grandfather - great memories!! (Drawing done with ink and graphite).
"You've gotta know when to hold 'em..." - Kenny Rogers, The Gambler. When I discovered Kenny's music in the 1980's, I was a hardcore punk/alternative chick, so I had to hide my country music leanings 😊. ... I drew this with charcoals.
I loved Kenny Rogers, I got to know him with his song The Gambler - a song about a poker player. His song "Lady" is unbelievably romantic. Another favourite, "Islands In The Stream" with Dolly Parton. (Dolly is so cute in this video!)
Critters...Leo sunbathing - omg isn't he cute?
"The Twins" Jack and Marlene - always joined at the hip!
New birds at the feeder! A lonesome crow.
Woodpecker (Birding friends...is it just "Woodpecker" or "North American Woodpecker" or "Hairy Woodpecker"??) I think this is a female.
A lovely surprise, Evening Grosbeaks!!! It took me some time to identify these lovely birds!! They LOVE the black sunflower seeds!
The trailcams are amazing for taking action photos!
And the second dessert was Milles Feuilles. I challenged myself on this one, and they were so delicious!!
Are you a red wine fan? The Puglia region of Italy produces some AMAZING red wines, full-bodied, rich and smooth. This was a good one. No sourness...just a lush and flavourful wine. Stains the teeth and tongue a little black though lol...my Grandfather used to say that a black tongue after a bottle of wine indicates a great wine! 😊
I'm linking up with these wonderful bloggers today, please visit them for some really interesting posts! And why not join in on the link parties? You can meet some really nice people!! 😊
That's all for now folks! Please check out the link gadget below to see more Board Games and Game Night artwork!
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"Night On Bald Mountain" from Fantasia (Ink and Graphite)
January 28th: (Really??? End of January already???) Next Thursday's theme is Mysterious and Dark. Click on the link for ideas and inspiration! Remember it's all about creating. You can showcase your paintings, drawings, photography, sculpting, baking, poetry...whatever you like! 🎨
Thursday Art Date With Rain. Click on the link for a description of the art date as well as a list of upcoming themes.
Don't forget to add the URL link to your post (not your blog) to the link gadget below to share your wonderful creations! Please revisit to make sure you don't miss those who join in a little late! Also, if anyone adds a link that has nothing to do with the art date theme, it will be removed! The link gadget expires Friday at midnight (EST).
Hello Friends!! 😊😊 Welcome to Thursday's Art Date, today our theme is Birds and the Sky. Did you know that Daffy Duck auditioned for the starring role in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds? Mr. Hitchcock didn't see the irony of a bird being hunted by a different swarm of birds so he hired Tippe Hedren instead. Trivia: Tippi is the mother of actress Melanie Griffith. The Birds is such a great film, it's very suspenseful! Though I know it's fiction, I still get a little butterfly in my stomach when I see a large flock of black birds! The actual birds in the film were trained by an animal trainer and consisted of a mix of ravens, crows, sparrows and gulls.
🌟🌟 Remember the link party is open until Friday nights around midnight so you have plenty of time to join in! It's a great way for people to see your art, your photography, your creativity! And you can meet lovely people this way!! 🌟🌟
I took out the watercolour paints this week and tried my hand at clouds in the sky. I find painting clouds to be very challenging...I need more practice!
A watercolour hummingbird for Alex's birthday card. His b-day is tomorrow and I have some great food and sweets planned for him!
My idea of bliss...sitting with Jack and watching the starry sky. I did this with white charcoals.
I love this one! I followed a 5-hour tutorial to paint this duckling. It's done with coloured pencils actually. If you use solvent between layers, you get a nice painterly effect.
Critters: New birds at the feeder!
I had to ask my birding friend Phil to help me identify these, I'm such a novice! The consensus is that these are House Finches. They are lovely!
Charlie and Oscar the Cat watching the birds.
Wabbit tracks in the backyard. 😊😊
Mexican Night: Huevos Rancheros, Refried Beans and Spanish rice. My friend Elizabeth sent me her recipe for the rice and it was delicious, thanks Elizabeth!
I tried a new recipe, Pour In The Pan Pizza. It's basically a focaccia bread topped with cheese, tomatoes and oregano...and mamma mia...it was one of the best pizza's I've ever eaten! The crust is nice and crunchy but the dough itself is soft. You don't need to overload this with toppings for a delicious meal! Not sure why they called it "pour in the pan"...it doesn't quite "pour"! Click on the links for the recipes! PS: I'm halfway through updating my Recipe Page with all of the food I've made since Halloween, I should have all of the recipes up by the end of January!
I'm linking up with these wonderful bloggers today, please visit them for some really interesting posts! And why not join in on the link parties? You can meet some really nice people!! 😊
That's all for now folks! Please check out the link gadget below to see more Birds and the Sky artwork!
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Monopoly game card (drawn in ink)
January 21st: Next Thursday's theme is Board Games and Game Night. Click on the link for ideas and inspiration! Remember it's all about creating. You can showcase your paintings, drawings, photography, sculpting, baking, poetry...whatever you like! 🎨
Thursday Art Date With Rain. Click on the link for a description of the art date as well as a list of upcoming themes.
Don't forget to add the URL link to your post (not your blog) to the link gadget below to share your wonderful creations! Please revisit to make sure you don't miss those who join in a little late! Also, if anyone adds a link that has nothing to do with the art date theme, it will be removed! The link gadget expires Friday at midnight (EST).
Hello Friends!! 😊😊 How is 2021 treating you so far?
Welcome to Thursday's Art Date, today our theme is A Facial Feature. When I asked Bugs Bunny if he intended on keeping his New Year's resolutions this year, look what happened!!! Just like Pinocchio, when Bugs tells a lie, his nose grows!
Groucho Marx (charcoals)
I had a lot of fun with this week's theme. One of my favourite comic trios is the Marx Brothers (I'm not counting Zeppo!!). I have all of their films and I watch them often when I need a good laugh. Groucho's real name is Julius and he was definitely the most quick witted. His trademark eyebrows and mustache are great facial features! I love to read biographies and Groucho Marx's is one of my favourites. Though, if you read Chico's daughter's book...you see Groucho in a very different light (not so favourable!). Gossip aside, the comedy is what I love!
Hook (ink and graphite)
More eyebrows and mustaches! I recently re-watched the 1991 version of Peter Pan, the movie is called Hook. Robin Williams plays Peter and Dustin Hoffman plays a brilliant Captain Hook. I think it's his best performance! (If you're a fan of this movie, would you agree that Bob Hoskins as "Smee" is also a brilliant performance?)
New Year's Eve was a cheesy affair! I made a Baked Camembert in puff pastry with my Homemade Firm Camembert cheese...it melted wonderfully! I also tried a pull-apart bread for the first time! I made a loaf of my No-Knead Bread, cut diagonals in the bread, brushed it all with garlic butter and stuffed it with Mozzarella and Parmesan, wrapped it in foil, 10 minutes at 350 C in the oven...oh it was good!!!
Alex and I toasted 2021 with some apple cider bubbly and we feasted on my homemade profiteroles. (I promise the recipes will follow at some point!!) I filled the cream puffs with pastry cream, whipped cream and ice cream - what a treat...and easier than it looks!! (Truth be told, Alex had to wake me up at midnight! I just couldn't make it lol!)
New Year's day we had Chicken Pot Pie, barbecued chicken legs, mashed potatoes and my Homemade Fruit Ketchup. Dessert was homemade cheesecake with mulled wine. I tried to make a tree design with vanilla ganache. It reminded me of a football when I was done, a delicious football though! 😊
One of the trail cam's picked up a coyote running down the road in front of the house. I've been hearing them yip and howl each morning when I wake up.
I took this photo of my beautiful dogs on New Year's Day. No snow.
Two days later, here is Charlie diving her nose into the fallen snow to sniff around! I had to don my snowshoes to walk her down the road that morning! Today I'm grateful for my snowblower!
A heartfelt thank you to my Blogging Friends for your wonderful cards this holiday season! Getting a card in the mail is so thrilling and you all brought so much joy to my life:
❤️ Thank you Pam, Heidrun, Gwen, Christine, Karen, Andrea, Phil, Dorothy, Nik, Dino, Tammie, Maria, Doug and Bill!❤️ (If you want to be on my Christmas card list for 2021, please send me a message with your address via the Contact Form on the right sidebar!! 👉 👉 👉
❤️ Thank you to ALL of my Friends who have visited and left comments in 2020! I am so excited when I get comments! I'm like a contestant on The Price Is Right running down the aisle!! 😁❤️
A dear friend informed me yesterday that she never received my card 😕 If you've sent me one and I didn't mention your name in my thanks...ugh...what to do???
I'm linking up with these wonderful bloggers today, please visit them for some really interesting posts! And why not join in on the link parties? You can meet some really nice people!! 😊
That's all for now folks! Please check out the link gadget below to see more A Facial Feature artwork!
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Chickadee (ink and graphite)
January 14th: Next Thursday's theme is Birds and the Sky. Click on the link for ideas and inspiration! Remember it's all about creating. You can showcase your paintings, drawings, photography, sculpting, baking, poetry...whatever you like! 🎨
Thursday Art Date With Rain. Click on the link for a description of the art date as well as a list of upcoming themes.
Don't forget to add the URL link to your post (not your blog) to the link gadget below to share your wonderful creations! Please revisit to make sure you don't miss those who join in a little late! Also, if anyone adds a link that has nothing to do with the art date theme, it will be removed! The link gadget expires Friday at midnight (EST).
