Studio on Tuesday

Made a few changes, but still have ALOT to do. Admittedly I wasnt in the mood to paint. The day was quite windy, rainy and cold -- the kind better spent sitting in front of a fire in the fireplace. The studio space is on the second floor, up a narrow set of stairs. So climbing the stairs with a tote full of supplies and carrying an umbrella, trying not to get soaked was a bit of a challenge.

Cleaned my brush out on the back ground to cover some of the dark brown. I couldnt see alot of colors in the white background, partly due to the dark day and no sunshine through the windows. I held my breath and tried to hyperventilate --- something I admittedly did to "annoy" the instructor. :-) --- the idea being that changing the oxygen levels in my blood might help me to see the colors better. Maybe next week I will bring along a paper bag to breathe into -- or wear my sunglasses which seems to enhance colors. Or hopefully, the sun will be shining.

Fuzzy tailed rat & week two painting

We havent seen many of these guys since moving here nearly 3 years ago. And I was quite surprised to see him so close to the house.



Week two progress. I did adjust in photoshop as the photo was washed out again. I should have wiped out the chalk before starting today. Was getting "lost" in the glass grapes and unsure of what grape I was actually painting as I didnt sketch things exactly as the still life had been set up. Next week will wipe out chalk and reestablish my position.

October Moon

Caught this view of the moon late this afternoon.

End of October painting

Started new painting today. I made sure to snap a photo of the still life set up for comparison.

Ghostly Goodies

The other day I posted about the coconut macaroons at Moesters in Manahawkin NJ.


Was at the grocery store and discovered that TastyKake has brought back their coconut kandykakes as Ghostly Goodies for Halloween. I had discovered them this spring when they were named something else and packaged for Easter.

While they do not taste exactly like a Mounds bar, they are lower in calories and sugars.


They do not appear to be available online in their shop, nor have I found them available for order elsewhere. So I am thinking I had best go to the store and stock up as they dont sell them year round.

Stair rail and painting

Dont think I showed a photo of the stair rail that we built. The angle is off a few degrees, tho the photo was not shot straight on, but it is solid. Was quite a production holding top and bottom sections in a jig to drill holes for the spindles.


Here is the finished painting from today's studio class. I did have to do some adjusting in photoshop as it was washed out from the flash. Pretty happy with it. Next week I will start another. I am considering a monochromatic one to better understand the lights and darks. But that is what I am thinking right now. Who knows how I will feel next week.

Eating crabapples

There is a huge crabapple tree in the backyard. The deer have been coming up throughout the daytime hours to eat the fallen apples lately. Used to be they would just come up in the morning or early evening.

She will want to spend a night with you, buddy.

Some Innocent Spam for a Sunday evening.

NJ trip

Spent a day in NJ looking at houses. Think we will end up in the Barnegat/Manahawkin area. There is a large shopping area in Manahawkin which would address alot of one's day to day needs and Barnegat offers a quaint downtown. Barnegat offers access to the bay and Manahawkin to Long Beach Island. The realtor said that the old victorian houses in Barnegat were built by pirates. So I am sure I will have to paint a few.

Stopped at Moester's Bakery in Manahawkin before heading back to Pennsylvania. I got a linzer torte cookie, a plain macaroon, a dirty one (with chocolate) and something I thought might have been a small cinamon roll, but was like a pound cake muffin with fresh raspberries and a chocolate/hazelnut drizzle.

Big mistake. I ate everything --- tho I didnt have anything else for breakfast or lunch. The macaroons especially are to die for! I am sure when my husband reads this, he will ask me why I didnt share anything. But of course I had to test them first to see if they would be okay for him. They would have sent his blood sugar sky high I am sure.

No doubt I will be stopping there again. I think the dirty macaroon will be the hardest to resist. So much better than a Mounds bar. And oh, by the way, coconut is suppose to be good for your thyroid. Dark chocolate is full of anti-oxidants. So actually it sounds like a dirty macaroon would be a very healthy food choice. I'm sold.