🙂 Something fun for a Monday.
It’s an oldie, but goody.
And, a nice reminder that you get what you pay for.
Pink bird series and a rant about Windows 10
I downloaded Windows 10 a few days ago when it came out, and all I’ve dealt with are viruses and malware ever since. I had a link in the favorites bar on all 3 browsers that said “sexy pictures” right after the install. !!! Thanks, Microsoft!! I’ve wasted so much time trying to fix it, and just when I think it’s fixed, bam..more crazy stuff happens – hijacked browser with popups and web pages opening all on their own. My computer was fine before the upgrade.
It only took me 3 days, and lots of other downloads to get rid of the viruses and malware. Of course, Windows Defender never picked anything up. No surprise there.
I know now more than ever, I AM BUYING A MAC, and then I will never have to deal with Windoze again. Ever since Windows 7, the company has really gone down hill. Vista, XP, Windows 8. I’ve dealt with all of them. Heck, I was even around for Windows 2.0, which was a reallllly long time ago. I have finally come to my senses. Wasting time and money on junk is not my thing anymore. I know Apple is far from perfect (I’m a geek, I spend a lot of time reading about tech), but..given the alternative, it’s looking pretty good to me.
Windows 10 is a step above 8.1, for sure. But, c’mon..Windows 8 was an absolute joke. Anything is better than that horrid mess.
Hey, if you don’t mind being spied on, Win 10 is darn near perfect. Don’t get me started on the privacy policies. There’s already enough being written about it here, here, here. There’s a lot more if you Google it. I highly suggest you learn how to protect yourself. All that glitters isn’t gold, and Cortana looks like a fun new toy (I was excited about it for about 3 seconds), but I immediately shut it off. It’s nothing but glorified spyware. Here’s how I turned it off. This is my favorite step –
Go to Settings – Privacy and turn off everything that looks dodgy
Here’s the thing..EVERYTHING looked dodgy to me, and it’s all turned off now. However, I just checked my settings again, and found many things turned back on. Don’t tell me you have to change the settings every time you restart the computer. If that’s the case, I’m going to the nearest Apple store TODAY. Forget ordering it online.
I think it absolutely stinks to have a lot of apps installed that I can’t uninstall, too..like Xbox. I’m a grown ass woman. I don’t play Xbox. I will NEVER play Xbox, but I can’t uninstall the app from MY computer. The computer I bought with MY own money. “The things you own end up owning you.” Famous line from Fight Club, one of my favorite movies. So true. It owns me alright.
So, good luck! I think we’re all going to need it. It’s only going to get worse from here on out. Once you have Windows 10, your computer will update automatically (once a year from what I read), whether you want it upgraded or not. You have no choice in the matter. Ahh, choices. I remember having those once upon a time. Those were the good ole days now gone forever.
On the easel
My husband bought me some large canvas for my birthday, and I’ve spent about a week working on this one so far. I think it’s 30×40..something like that. I have a hard time remembering numbers off the top of my head.
It’s almost finished. I’m going to fill in the top right a little bit, and probably call it done. This one won’t be for sale. I’m keeping it for myself, since the canvas was a gift, and I hardly ever paint just for me. I’ll probably offer prints of it at some point.
I meant to take photos throughout the making of this painting, but once I get going, it’s hard to remember to stop. My plan was a complete fail. So, all I have to show of the process is this one photo. Lame, I know. Maybe next time?
I’m so glad July is over with. Was it just me or did it seem to drag on forever?
New portrait painting video
My art journals are mostly used for a little warmup painting before working on canvas. I practice this most every day because if I go to the canvas cold, I usually make a lot of mistakes right away. Sometimes, I turn the camera on while I’m painting these pages, and I share them here with you.
Yup, I knew her mouth was off centered. It should have been more to her right. I debated whether to erase my lines, and start over again. I quickly decided to leave it alone because the purpose of my journal isn’t to be perfect. It’s just to get paint moving around, and frankly, I don’t care what the outcome is. I’ve gone waaaay past all that, and now I’m free.
Pink and yellow roses
Girl and Her Bunny Altered Book
Mr. Bunny
Prints available here
I know it’s art journal Wednesday for me, and this book wasn’t technically my journal, but I’m posting it anyway. It’s actually an altered book, so close enough, right? Do artists even make altered books anymore? hm..I remember when I first started getting involved with art online back in 90s, the big thing was altered books. It seems to have switched to art journals now. I hardly ever read of anyone doing an altered book these days. Maybe I’m not in the loop anymore, so let me know if I’m wrong.
Mister and Mrs
Prints available here
The difference between an art journal and an altered book is basically this: altered books are more structured, and have a theme. Art journals are usually anything goes, each page can be very different. It’s up to the artist. Art journals tend to be more personal than altered books, and are usually based on the mood of the artist. Although, I use mine more for practice and warming up before I begin painting on canvas each day. It’s kinda like doing morning pages, but with paint instead of pen and paper.
Altered books are made out of recycled books. Art journals usually aren’t, but several of mine are because I wanted an art journal, not a theme book at the time. Themes are hard to carry through sometimes. It’s not bad if you only have a short book to work with, but anything larger than say 10 pages tends to drag on after a while, even if you’re really into your theme at first. I remember doing the Sketchbook Project several years ago, and my theme was “A Million Little…”, which was pretty open ended. It’s better to have a theme like that, imo. Btw, my sketchbook is at the Brooklyn Art Library, if anyone is in the area. It’s number 13233. Project: SBP 2010 Catalogued — 051.3-1
Prom Date
Prints available here
If you haven’t guessed, my theme for this book was bunny rabbits. Aw!! I titled it “Girl and Her Bunny”, and it was made out of a toddler’s hardcover book. You know the ones with 8 or so pages? They make great little books, so if you see any at a tag sale, grab it up!!
I started this book back in 2008. Then I changed studios twice, maybe three times, so it got shoved on a shelf somewhere. I just found it again, and decided to finish it up. The pages I love will be offered as prints. I’m only posting three of them today. Eventually, once I get all the photos edited, you can see the entire book under the Art Journals tab. For now, I’m just going to keep art journals and altered books together. If I start doing a lot of altered books, I’ll separate them. I must say, this one was fun, and I’m thinking up a theme to do another one. Got any ideas?
Hot off the easel
New! Just painted last week!
My sister-in-law gave me (thank you, Donna!!) a huge stack of Arches 90lb watercolor paper a couple weeks ago, so I put some of it to good use.
My camera didn’t pick up the amount of paint on these, but I painted impasto style with palette knives. The paint is pretty thick, in places.
There will be more coming. I’m back to painting florals after taking a little break. I painted so many (179) in a short period of time that I got a little burnt out, but my energy is back. Don’t you love how that happens? I don’t know if it’s possible to get truly sick of painting a subject, and leave it forever. There’s always this little nudge, and then a tug to continue where I left off.
Things I do to survive a long hot summer
It’s coming, guys. Fall is just around the corner. I’m sticking to my promise not to complain about the heat, but am I ever looking forward to cooler weather, and falling leaves. I CANNOT WAIT!!!
And, after Fall..WINTER!!! I love everything about winter. It took me many years to get to this point, but once I saw the quiet beauty in it, I quickly changed from being a summer girl. And, seriously? Who could blame me with the heat index being between 105F and 110F here almost every day? It is absolutely nasty out there for months at a time.
I try to keep winter alive during the hot summer to fool my brain into thinking it’s a different season. I do things like use plugin air fresheners that smell like apples and cinnamon. Whenever I smell apples and cinnamon, I think of fall, and falling leaves, and cool crisp air. I also drink hot tea, and keep my black curtains drawn in my office. Too much light and the hot sun gives me migraines.
I stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning to get more darkness, less light into my “day”. Sleeping later in the summer means less hours of sun to deal with. I really miss it getting dark outside early. It’s light here until 9 something every night. That’s too much light for me. Even though I do these things to protect myself, I’ve still had a headache every day for a week now. :/
I also watch a lot of wintry shows on Netflix. One favorite that I’ve watched 3 times in just the past couple weeks is Antarctica: A Year on the Ice. It’s absolutely fascinating, and has convinced me that I want to spend a winter down there, which means I could skip summer here altogether.
Flannel
Acrylic abstract painting on canvas
Available for purchase here
Other things that help..having snow scenes as my background image on my computer, ipad, phone. Listening to Christmas music. I have found some amazingly long videos on Youtube, here, here, here, and I pop my wireless headphones on, and listen all day. It makes me forget how miserable it is outside.
Another thing that helps is painting wintry scenes, like this flannel shirt abstract painting. The top resembles snow to me, and the bottom is the color of my favorite flannel shirt. I’m going to be wearing it again soon.
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