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 Musical. One of my favourite musical movies is The Sound of Music. I grew up watching this movie! It was on TV every year around Christmas time and I never got tired of it. I think I fell in love with Christopher Plumber in that movie! Bugs Bunny had a great time singing in the mountains while posing as Julie Andrews! 😊
I'm just as happy as Bugs is today because I had my first Pfizer vaccination on Tuesday! My arm was very sore and my lower left eyelid started to twitch like crazy for about 3 hours (so annoying). Yesterday my upper lip went numb for an hour and I felt like I'd taken a few Valiums, sigh...very heavy head, dizziness, white pasty tongue...cotton mouth...my body doesn't like this chemical injection! But you know what? I'm on my way to being safe and I will endure the second shot next month and possible side effects for that reason. 😊 Please get your vaccination and always wear a mask, Covid is not gone yet.
In June we had the theme "Jump!" and a few of my friends mentioned that they always think of that Van Halen song when they hear the word Jump...This is for you TB, Aimeslee and Traude! I haven't done charcoals on white paper in a long time, but decided to try it out again - here is David Lee Roth for this week's musical theme. I don't know what's bigger...David Lee's hair or his ego lol! What a great entertainer!
Here is the video for Jump by Van Halen. It's so much fun! 😊 Eddie Van Halen (r.i.p.) is so cute in this...the drummer is Eddie's older brother Alex, you can definitely see the family resemblance!
Speaking of Eddie Van Halen, here he is in ink and graphite. He has great eyes and a very unique smile. That smile can light up a room. Love that rock and roll hair!!
Another musical movie that I really loved was Grease. I saw it in theatres and it was so much fun! Here is John Travolta in ink and graphite. What a character he played! I loved that story so much that I went to the staged show when it came to Montreal in the 1990's. Adrian Zmed played Travolta's role of Danny Zuko. Besides seeing Shakespeare plays and Death of a Salesman in high school, that was the only "Broadway" play I've ever seen.
Here's the scene in Grease where John Travolta and Olivia Newton John sing "Summer Nights" - one of my favourite scenes!!
During the summer I try not to use the oven as much as possible so we've been eating lots of sandwiches. This is my favourite, a CLT (Cheddar, lettuce and tomato).
I'm happy to announce that I have two more art tutorials up on my YouTube Channel! Click on the images or on the links below if you'd like to see them! In the Annie Lennox video, I have Jack with me during the introduction! 😊
Feeling Ducky Lately! (photos taken by me from 2015-2019)
This week's highlighted artist and/or blogger is my friend Louise from Standing Into Danger blog!! 💗 Louise and I have a special bond, we both have a pull to the Fundy Bay and the Maritimes of Canada. She is such a lovely person who is not only a geologist (OMG SOOO cool!), but a well-traveled lady about town, a pinball wizard 😊 and a talented writer and photographer! The photo above is part of her contribution to last week's theme of "Your Favourite Decade"...it's of her lovely mother who taught her some amazing life lessons! Please visit her blog!! 💗💗
I'm linking up with these wonderful bloggers today, or at least trying (!!), please visit them for some really interesting posts! And why not join in on the link parties? You can meet some really nice people!! 😊
Click on the links for ideas and inspiration! Remember it's all about creating. You can showcase your paintings, drawings, photography, sculpting, baking, poetry...whatever you like! 🎨
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! All spam and non-related links will be removed! The link gadget expires Friday at midnight (EST).
Welcome to Thursday's Art Date, today our theme is Your Favourite Decade. Without a doubt my favourite decade was the 1980's. Bugs Bunny is doing his best Jane Fonda impression this week!! I was totally into the aerobics craze, I had every one of Jane Fonda's workouts and did them daily!
I created this collage of just a few of my favourite music artists from the 80's, can you name them? (Answers at the end of the post!)
Those were the days when I was in high school and beginning university. I loved the music, I loved the fashion (at the time!!) and I loved going to clubs and dancing the night away. I moved out on my own and worked my way through university as a bartender in some of the trendiest bars in Montreal (Sir Winston Churchill's Pub and Alexander's for those who might know them). Does anyone else relate to this decade like I do?
I decided to focus on 80's music for my art this week. Here are The Blues Brothers in ink and graphite. Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi created these characters in the 70's but the movie came out in the 80's. I love this movie and every bit of music in it! I admit I haven't seen the sequel that Dan Aykroyd made in the 2000's with John Goodman. Maybe one day I will but it's hard to replace John Belushi. Here's the trailer for The Blues Brothers.
My newest art tutorials are now live on You Tube! Thanks SO MUCH ♥♥♥ my friends for supporting me on this new venture!! If you'd like to see the videos, click on the above thumbnails or on these links:
Annie Lennox in charcoals. The Eurythmics were fabulous and Annie is gorgeous! There was not one song that this band put out that I didn't like. I had quite long hair during the early 80's and I used to tease it à la Pat Benatar. But when I saw Annie Lennox in the "Sweet Dreams" video (here's a link to the video), I chopped it all off, shaved it short and coloured it bright orange!! I would bleach it all out every month and try a new colour. My poor hair back then...
...but at least I didn't sport a mullet!!! 😁 Though technically the mullet became popular in the 80's, I think the most famous mullet-wearing country boy was Billy Ray Cyrus during the early 1990's!!
Michael Jackson in charcoals. I actually saw Michael Jackson live in 1985 in Montreal at the Olympic Stadium. It was part of the "Victory Tour" he did with his brothers. It was fabulous. Those were the days when you camped out in front of the ticket agencies to ensure you got good seats! I remember staying up all night outside The Bay store in downtown Montreal where they had a ticket booth. That concert was a very precious memory for me!
My friends and I loved the Thriller song and video. I especially loved it for the dancing but also because Vincent Price voiced a creepy poem in the song. I admit it...I learned the Thriller dance and could wow my friends with my Jackson-like moves!!! 😳
Here's the video for Thriller!
Another great product of the 1980's was Spinal Tap. A parody rock band created by Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer - all great comedians and musicians. My favourite Spinal Tap song is Stonehenge. 😊 The movie is hilarious, most of it was improvised and there are so many great actors in it. Rob Reiner plays the director who interviews the band throughout this "mockumentary"...or rather, "rockumentary" as they say. 😊 I have a copy on DVD and watch it regularly for a laugh! Here's the link to the trailer.
Let's see some critters! I put up two more hummingbird feeders in hopes that I will attract many more hummers! For now it just seems like there are only one or two who regularly visit. This one decided to sip from all three, I guess to compare which one was the sweetest!
This is a photo from a few weeks ago. My dog's perspectives of how they saw the Fundy Bay. The myth that dogs can only see in black and white was disproven years ago. According to Penn State University, it is biologically proven that dogs can see just as we do. I'm glad to know that! 😊
The weather has been really hot and humid. A few drinks on a hot night is such a treat. Here I made a ginger ale, Limoncello and red Vermouth cocktail; and a lovely Sangria made with red wine, brandy, 7up and citrus fruit!
I made another SUPER EASY Tiramisu. I have issues with egg yolks. The creamy custard of a traditional tiramisu is called a sabayon and it typically consists of around 6 egg yolks. I can't handle that, so I looked for a substitute for the sabayon - vanilla pudding. Worked perfectly! Here's the recipe!
I think I outdid myself....I made a Camembert Poutine!!! Using my Cams of course!! It was SO good. I followed my basic Poutine Recipe, but instead of the red wine gravy, I used my Chicken Gravy and topped it with pieces of Camembert. Seriously indulgent and decadent!!
This week's highlighted artist and/or blogger is Tracey from New Beginnings..Creating in my Corner blog! 💗 Tracey is such a creative artist. This is her journal painting from last week's "Mornings" theme. Tracey has a sweet little pup named Freya who is adorable! She's a very busy lady and I'm so happy when she graces us with her artwork here at the art date! Please visit her blog! 💗
Answers to my 80's collage!
1st Row: Freddy Mercury from Queen, Morten Harket from AHA, The Weather Girls, Weird Al Yancovic
2nd Row: Robert Smith from The Cure, Slash from Guns N' Roses, Olivia Newton-John, The Beastie Boys
3rd Row: Hall and Oates, Patrick Swayze, Cyndi Lauper, Boy George from Culture Club
4th Row: Axl Rose from Guns N' Roses, George Michael, Billy Idol, Tone Loc
I'm linking up with these wonderful bloggers today, or at least trying (!!), please visit them for some really interesting posts! And why not join in on the link parties? You can meet some really nice people!! 😊
Click on the links for ideas and inspiration! Remember it's all about creating. You can showcase your paintings, drawings, photography, sculpting, baking, poetry...whatever you like! 🎨
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! All spam and non-related links will be removed! The link gadget expires Friday at midnight (EST).
Welcome to Thursday's Art Date, today our theme is Mornings. Tweety Bird likes to start his day with some morning meditation. We should all be practicing some mindfulness these days, cuts down on the stresses of life!
Instead of portrait art this week, I decided to play around with my acrylics. This is how I would spend an ideal morning. Out in nature, the sun rising, surrounded by my pets as I create art! My friend Martha from from Mystical Empowerment recently showcased a beautiful Tarot deck and one of those cards inspired this painting. Thanks Martha! ♥
Morning comfort food: Potato, onion and mushroom hash with buttery toast!
Foggy mornings on the blueberry fields.
A photo I forgot to post last week, I just wanted to show you the enormity of these rocks on the coast of the Fundy Bay before the tide comes in!
Drum Roll Please!!
My new YouTube Art Channel is now live! I have a few videos so far, and there will be more weekly! The videos will all be instructional and informative. The tutorials will include a stencil, a supply list and a time-lapsed bird's eye view of me drawing. Anyone can follow along by slowing down the video in YouTube or pausing it. If I get more interest I may post the full-length tutorials with voice-overs. It's a heck of a lot of work creating a video! I had to get some good lighting, a special tripod arm to record over my head, video editing software, graphic design software...plus I needed to learn Photoshop and everything about YouTube! I'm still learning!
I'm so excited about this channel, I've been wanting to do this for years and I finally had the confidence to start! I hope to see you there!!! And if you have any constructive criticism, please let me know! I have a contact form on my right sidebar → but most of you know my email address anyway! 😊
Okay back to food and critters...Phil, you asked if I would have cooking videos up on my channel. Not on that one, but I do have high hopes to start a foodie/homesteady type channel in the future!! Of course it will include cheese making videos too. But that may have to wait a few years! This year, I'm concentrating on EATING cheese!! I opened two of my Camemberts the other day, oh they taste so good! These Cams are the best cheeses I've ever made!!
I don't have any recent bird photos, but wanted to share a photo of this Great Blue Heron that I saw when I lived on Prince Edward Island back in 2009/2010.
Check out that wingspan!
This week's highlighted artist and/or blogger is Valerie from Bastelmania blog! 💗 Valerie creates beautiful, uplifting art. She's a coffee nut and brings us on lovely walks through her photography. This was one of her many contributions to last week's theme of Criss Cross! Please visit her blog! 💗
I'm linking up with these wonderful bloggers today, or at least trying (!!), please visit them for some really interesting posts! And why not join in on the link parties? You can meet some really nice people!! 😊
Click on the links for ideas and inspiration! Remember it's all about creating. You can showcase your paintings, drawings, photography, sculpting, baking, poetry...whatever you like! 🎨
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! All spam and non-related links will be removed! The link gadget expires Friday at midnight (EST).
