Brian

Finally got a picture of Brian's portrait to post--

Brian is the cutest kid. He has loads of personality and charm. He would always stop me in the hall for a "high 5" or to bump fists with me, as a greeting. I wish we could "clone" him !!!

Changes

My daughter ,Tracey, just found a new place to live in San Francisco, in the "Presidio" and will be within a 15 minute walk to the Golden Gate Bridge, and can hear the ocean from her window, and see the water through the cypress trees. All wonderful, you may think!, but , she won't be able to see her niece, going through the changes that all 4,5,6,7,8 month old babies go through. Therefore, I will have to take ample pictures to send along, so she can feel she is "keeping up" with
Gracie's progress.

Well, here is the first "installment" of that journey ! You can come along for the ride ! tee hee

Friends-

These are my friends, that make me see what is so very IMPORTANT to ME !

I've tried to "remove" these pictures, and have a nice, clean, cleared refrigerator, but I'm always "LOST" without them, and have to put them back ! I constantly look at my loved ones, a throw back from my beloved Aunt Anita, who used to do the same !!
This coffee-stained, wrinkled, and worn quote is one I try to remember, but always need in front of me, too. I've had it there for 15 or 20 years I guess...

wise words-

I've decided that I need to return to some of the basic ideas of my past, and revisit the ordinary wonderful things in life, that seem to go unnoticed. Some of the best things of life are the simply ones, including the everyday experiences and sights that are taken for granted, by me, anyway.... I've decided to try harder to "see" and "hear" the important messages around me, and share them here with you.`

Gabby

Gabby is finally done!

The highlights, as you can see, helped a lot to liven it up!!

Gabby and Brian

Almost there!

Gabby / Brian coming along

Been working on Gabby, and a little on Brian. Will post them after I get back from lunch.

Grace is getting big

We had fun with Ted, Diane and Grace tonight (we missed not getting to see Uncle Jim, though)

We played, and laughed, and ate our toes !! (actually only Grace was able to do that !) tee hee

Jane and Becky

I've been busy moving my studio, and haven't had much time to paint, and I'm trying to get ready for a garage sale with my sister, as well.

I wanted to post the finished version of Jane, and the "almost" finished version of Becky.

Becky just needs a few hight lights to "bring her to life" and she should be finished this week.

What do you think ??

These need a little explanation......

Studios, TWO of THEM..

First 2 pictures are the Basement studio, where I paint portraits.

Second 2 pictures are the rooms upstairs that I am arranging, so that I will be able to work up there to paint some larger pieces.... Now, GET BUSY !!!!

new studio space

Studio Stuff !!!!! So much of it, it seems to "give birth" somehow.

I've been moving my upstairs studio from a small room off of the kitchen, to the larger bedroom in the front of the house, with 3 windows on the east, west, and northern exposures.

I should have enough room here to do some larger works on canvas, and hopefully I will be so inclined....... I'm eliminating some furniture, and making a practical space that will be very handy and filled with light.

I still have the basement studio, where I have been doing the portraits, and it works well for that use. I have store there all the materials for the assemblages that I put together from time to time. (They require and incredible amount of space)

Now it's time to finish up the mechanics of it and, GET TO WORK !

Thanks to my brother-in-law for all his help in moving the huge bookcase units from one room all the way through the house to their NEW home ! You're a gem!

Buffer

Tracey left for California today. It was so fun getting to have her here for these
5 months. It's a joy that most mom's don't get to have. We really got to spend
lots of quality time doing some very fun stuff together. Besides the trip to
Mexico, we went to art shows, and concerts, and ballgames, and out for brunch,
lunch, dinner, and just for coffee. We sewed together, and cooked, and even
painted, and just hung out. Buff, I love you so, and the house seems so quiet
tonight..... I miss you, and will cherish this time we had together.

My brushes are a very important tool in my work, as you well imagine. I spend lots of time, maybe an
hour sometimes, cleaning them thoroughly after a painting session. This is why I was so excited to
discover this new type of brush this week.. I wanted to share it with you.
It's made by a company called Escoda, and I found mine at a local store called Art Mart, but maybe
you could find them on the web too, I haven't checked yet. What is so nice is the shape, which is
similar to a filbert, but comes to a point in the middle. They are soft sable hair, I guess, and they reshape
nicely after being cleaned. They are wonderful to work with. If you see this brand, you might want
to pick one up and try it. I found one, accidentally, and went back this morning, and got 3 more. (It always
seems that if I find something I particularly love, they discontinue it by the time I go back to get it
again) ha ha..... The brushes are made in Spain and have the number 1461 on them, which I guess
is the series number. I got three different sizes, which work well for my portraits. #8, #10, and #12....

More portraits.

Annie, Jane, Mina and Becky "in the works"

More Mexico- Merida

In the city of Merida, named after it's Spanish counterpart, the city center is the hub of the community. There can be seen activities of all types both day and night. Especially on the weekends the people enjoy their zocalo, when the streets are closed to traffic, and music is Everywhere !

Annie-

I've been working on the Annie, and Mina's portraits for the last few days. Annie is "almost there" she just needs one day to rest, and then the finishing touches will bring her out, I hope !

Annie is such a darling girl. She was in my drawing class, and is a fabulous artist herself. Although I didn't have her in class again last year, she would come visit her best friend, Kara, who was in my ANP class. They would work on their math homework together all the time. What delightful girls, both of them !

Annie is part Mexican, and has the same last name as my mother, who was of Cuban, or Spanish heritage....

SICKO-the movie WOW- Worth Seeing !

Tell Assurant Health they are on the radar
Treat This Like it's a Murder Case

Just returned from seeing the new Michael Moore film, Sicko- It's a fantastic EYE OPENER into the health care system, OR rather the LACK of health care in America- due to people being Denied Coverage, High expenses for medical care and Medicines, and the way we have fallen to #25 on the list of countries with good health care (Just in front of some little island nation that I can't even remember the name of ) How did this occur ? What can we do about it ? Who is seeing to it that Government aided health care will never be available to us, the wealthiest country in the history of the world? Health Care Companies are some of the biggest businesses that actually RUN this country..... It was a well made film-See it at a theatre near you...

-----JULY 4th-----

Our sweet little grandbaby has acid-reflex and it causes her such pain when she eats.... We are hoping to solve the problem very soon, with the help of some other mommies who have had similar issues....... Her mom is going to try a new formula, hopefully it's easier to digest.

It's hard on both baby and mom and dad, too. She is such s precious little girl !!! We all hate to see her in pain and with her body tightening up. She tries so hard to be happy ! We love you GRACIE !!!

Getting Underway- Mayan Ruins @ Chichen Itza

I really had NO idea what I was doing when this picture was taken.

Going off like this, to an entirely NEW ADVENTURE, for me !! ha !!

The second set of picture are from our visit to CHICHEN ITZA, an ancient Mayan ruin west of Cancun about 4 hours. The pyramid-like structure is called the Castillo, and during the equinox in summer and winter gives the illusion of a serpent climbing up and down the stone steps on each side...... The ruins are very vast, and represent the ancient city of what they figured to be about 250,000 people. The Ring, mounted high on the wall of the ball court, was part of the ballgame they played, with the losing team being sacrificed by being beheaded ! yuck !

We are standing in front of their ancient Observatory, which is one of the few structures you can still climb on. The woman selling hankerchiefs took the towel off that was draped over her head for protection from the sun, so we could take her picture, (although, lots of the native Mayans did NOT care to have their pictures taken, because they believe it can steal your soul)

We were not aware that the Mayan culture is STILL intact, and going strong til this day. They continue to use a completely seperate language from the Spanish spoken everywhere else...... I was fasinated by their images, and hope to incorporate some of them into some of my paintings and artwork in the future....

It went FAST !!!!!

What a time we had !!!

Here are some of the pictures ( I ended up with about 600) !!!!

Merida is the town we liked the most ! Boy do those Mexicans love their music, and so did WE !!!! On Sunday in Merida, they close off the streets, and have bands playing, food, and dance everywhere !! What an awesome delightful weekly celebration ! I wish we did that HERE !!