Day 98 and a Chameleon

Well two more days and I will have finished a painting a day for 100 days. I still can hardly believe how fast the time went by. I am overjoyed really that I have accomplished so much. Today's painting is day ninety eight and this is a chameleon.

When we lived in Africa the children would often come by our house and try to sell us things. From cactus fruit to gum to chameleons. I always thought they were fascinating and they would always bring some different color fabrics so you could see how the chameleon would change to fit the fabric colors. It was amazing how they would blend in. We would always beg our mom to buy us one but she never did. We did occasionally buy some cactus fruit but no live animals of any kind. Except for our one dog Monster. When the children would come by to sell wares' they would sing .. Americana Fay Fay .. I spelled it the way that it sounded to my ear. We would always run to see what they had to sell .. children from two very different worlds. We loved parts of theirs and they loved parts of ours.

If you love this painting which took me many hours today while I enjoyed talking with my two boys today on the phone almost the entire time I painted. It was well more than an hour, infact it was about four .. email me at iwilldream4ever@aol.com. See you tomorrow and the next day. ")

Day 97 and Jacques

Today is day 97 and while this isn't exactly Jacques it is painted in his memory. For a long time as we were growing up we always loved going to my grandma and grandpa's house. They were my mom's parents. We always had fun there and they were always loving on us. There was always good food and fun. There was also a little budgie named Jacques. And a gorgeous dog named Cookie. We loved both of them. If we were good my grandpa would let us go over to Jacques cage and open the door and put our finger out and he would hop right onto it. It was always fun to put him on our heads. He always seemed to like that and sometimes he would pull your hair. I think I remember he even would give kisses. He was never mean and always sweet. I don't know when he passed on and I don't know how old he was when he died but I always remember him being on my head and sitting on my finger. I'm glad to have thought of him and to paint this image of a bird just like him. It's good to finally get a painting done earlier than usual. Just three day's to go. :) If you would love to own this beautiful painting of this budgie, email me at iwilldream4ever@aol.com. See you tomorrow.

Day 96 and Hedgehogs

Today is Day 96 and this is a Hedgehog. I think these are the cutest little creatures. When I lived in Africa I went to school at a military school. We were fortunate to be a part of a wonderful community of people. A group of American's living in Africa. I was eleven when we left so all of my experiences there were up to that age. I know I was at least ten when I would ride my bicycle to school and sometimes I would ride the bus. If I rode the bus sometimes I would walk to my best friends house. One day on my way home we went by another friends house. We went up to her house because when we walked by she was outside on her front porch. As we got closer we saw that she was sitting in front of a box and we went over and looked inside and this is what we saw. There were two or three in there. They were so cute they looked like miniature porcupines. We got to hold them and they were so sweet. We didn't hold them for very long before we put them back. I had forgotten about them until yesterday when I saw a photo of one somewhere.. This little guy reminded me of how adorable they were. Not sure they make good pets or not but they are cute.

If you would like to own this cute painting of a hedgehog email me at iwilldream4ever@aol.com. Four day's left and so I'll be back tomorrow. :)

Day 95 and Frog faces

Well today is day 95 and there are now only 5 left to go. It's been amazing really. I really just find myself enjoying the painting and I spend a good bit of time on each of these paintings and even though I try to limit that I enjoy it so much that I put more and more into each one. Somehow the maps just seem to make a great background for the creatures that I have been painting on them. These guys have such personality with their big big eyes. and what appears to be a big smile. This is a tree frog but I've come across many toads in my life. One my dog got to messing with and I rescued it from her grip.. the toad just sort of sat there as if it were dead and then much later it was gone. I hoped that it was just resting and playing possom and that is what I hope and believe. And i've imagined it hopping away when the coast was clear enough to leave.

If you would love to own this cute frog face just email me at iwilldream4ever@aol.com. And have a great day. See you tomorrow!

Today is day 92 and the Baltimore Oriole

Today is day 92 !!!  Almost there and today my life feels a little more normal and I am painting again in the MORNING!!! yes I have discovered the time of painting joy yet again!!! I decided to paint this bird because everyone .. lots of people love the birds. I love nature and I love birds too. This is painting is on a map that I have sewn to an old photo folder the ones where they open and have a paper mat for a  photograph. This one probably had a family portrait in it at one time but more then likely was put into an album and my mom decided to keep the folder. The map is of Virginia and Maryland and Washington D.C. Two states that I lived in. Virginia was a little town near Haymarket where I went to school and the other in Maryland where I graduated from High School. SO the Orioles are Maryland's state bird. They have such beautiful orangish yellow feathers .. so lovely. This is a young bird. I like the background of the map and I loved living in both states. We were close enough to visit the wonderful museums in Washington D.C. I spent many trips going to all the art museums there when I lived in both states. Maryland is where I lived my art.. I entered my portfolio into scholastic art awards and got my portfolio picked for judging out of many that were entered. It was the first time that anyone entered portfolio's at our school and three students entered and all three of us were accepted for review. Two of us won something we were told. We would find out at the awards ceremony. One was for a full four year scholarship to an art college of our choice. I couldn't sleep for a week. Sadly I didn't win. I think it would have changed my life and the course that it took over the next 30 or so years. I do still wish I had won but I am who I am because of all that happened. When I paint .. i try to paint my heart and soul right there, no matter who or what I'm painting. I'm really very grateful to be painting every day for the last 92 days and there were some bumps in the road but I've kept true to my commitment. I am amazed when I see all the work there in front of me that I haven't sold yet. I have eight more paintings to do .. and I'm just going to have fun with it..

If you would like to own this painting today of a Baltimore Oriole bird face please email me at iwilldream4ever@aol.com. See you tomorrow .. !!!

Day 90 and 91 Abu and Coconut

Today is day 91 and yesterday I got home late after finishing pricing everything in my mom's house. I went and bought some groceries and came home completely spent. Even writing this here I had to think if it was last night that I actually went to the grocery store because at this moment it feels like it was days ago. That's really how my brain feels. Yesterday seemed to be more difficult with just hearing the ladies talk about my mom's things. It has been a great learning experience and I'm even getting paid to help ha ! But if I do this again for another sale I'm glad it won't be with my own family's stuff. So last night when I got home I managed to fix some dinner and sit down to do the daily portrait. I actually got started on this painting here and was so exhausted I fell asleep .. I had no chance of doing it in the morning because I was gone early .. So i made a decision to finish it up today and so I did paint each face on each day. I don't know where or why I decided to do this portrait but I'm guessing that it's because tomorrow I am talking to a friend and my life coach Theresa Pizzuto who is part owner of IOP and her own coaching business. I don't ever really talk about this but I have been working with her for a while now. I really don't want to explain it but feel free to contact her if you would like to know more about it. I guess the best thing I could say about her work is that she helps me be me .. and the best me I can be. This is a good thing. She lost her cat Abu who is the gray cat in this painting. It was a tragic sort of loss for her. I am doing some other artwork for her but I wanted to give this to her just because I'm grateful for all she's done for me. The other cat in the photo is Coconut and they did seem to love each other very much. Abu looks a lot like my own cat that died a long time ago .. 34 years ago. I miss that cat. So here's to Theresa and all her fabulous work as a coach and a diversity consultant doing good work to spread love and a listening ear to all who are in her life! I'll mail this off to you in the next day or so.
oh and this was painted on a piece of scrap wood from my dad's house. :)
See you tomorrow!

Day 89 and Kitten

Well today is day 89 and I missed it all tonight .. too tired after pricing stuff at my parent's house for the estate sale. I ate dinner and fell asleep and then painted this kitten. Not my fav painting but it's cute. Reminds me of the time I got a kitten for Christmas.. i named him Christmas Kitty. I loved him .. he was definitely my cat. That's all i want to say about him. Makes me sad though.

If you love this and want to purchase .. email me at iwilldream4ever@aol.com

I'm going back to sleep now.

See you tomorrow.

: )

Day 84 Muffy

Today is day 84 and i don't seem to be able to do them on time .. so maybe I am lagging. Just doing the best I can .. i keep falling asleep before I get them done.

Today was moving heavy stuff at my dads so .. I'm sore and still tired .. ha .. i am looking forward to not being tired.

Today's portrait is of a maltese dog and she is Muffy. Her official full name is Muffin Michelle. She was a sweet sweet girl that my mom originally bought from a breeder in Virginia when we first moved stateside. Her close friend wanted two of them and so she bought them and we had to take care of them for a while before they could be shipped overseas. I think something else happened too but I don't remember what it was. But what I am quite sure of is the fact that we had two maltese puppies and they were so adorable and so much fun to have that my mother was not going to do anything but keep them for us. We loved them .. Muffy lived for about 12 or 13 years. She was tiny .. about four or five pounds but she was fearless and she never was afraid of any animal no matter what the size. Most times other animals would run from the tiny fluff of white fur and barking this high pitched bark at them. I think that Muffy and Beau slept with my mom and dad most of the time but sometimes Muffy got to stay with me and my sister. I hadn't thought of it before but I have now .. i wonder if they are in heaven with my mom. I'm sure she would love to be with them and pet them and love them. Makes me think there should be a song called all the pets I've loved. Or maybe i'll just write a book .. All The Pets I've Loved. I love Muffin Michelle and Beau Brummel Bianco. Sweet dogs ..

If you would love to own this portrait please email me at iwilldream4ever@aol.com. This is about 8 x 10, sewn cards.  See you tomorrow.

Day 71

“I hope you will go out and let stories, that is life, happen to you, and that you will work with these stories... water them with your blood and tears and your laughter till they bloom, till you yourself burst into bloom.” 
― Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Women Who Run With the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype

This is my offering .. it is where I am today .. I think of this amazing woman when I see a wolf. I dreamed once of three white wolves. I waited all day to paint today.. to much going on .. this one turned out to my satisfaction and I thoroughly enjoyed painting. 

Now i am tired .. 

If you would love to own this beautiful wolf email me at iwilldream4ever@aol.com. I even machine sewed a spiral into the paper.. first time I have done that .. 

See you tomorrow and have a wonderful rest of the day.. :) 

Day 69 and King

Today is day sixty nine I am nearly thirty days away from being done. Last night I popped over to the ladies stitching social that I go to from time to time and was talking to one of the young ladies that attends. I was the youngest and now she is the youngest. She showed me a photo of her dog, a white German Sheppard and instantly it provoked a memory for me. Lately after writing over sixty stories I sometimes am at a loss for a story.. maybe you can tell .. hopefully not. I am rememoring my life so I am going to try to tell this from the angle of something that blessed my life.. even if it wasn't all pleasant, it was impactful for sure. I also want to say that because I am now in contact with Josephine of ChildUK.org I am telling this story to the children there that are so brave and beautiful and have been through some great trials in their young lives. 

The dog .. I drew this dog whose name was King because I remember last night how big this dog was seeing my new friends photo of her dog. Even though he is a German Sheppard, he's huge. To a child he may feel something like a giant. When I lived in Africa there was a class full of children that were my age and a few of them became close friends to me. One girl was Jackie .. she was friendly and animated just like me and I can only remember having a lot of fun with her. I went to her house many times. Her dog's name was King and he was a giant to me and white .. I always tried not to be afraid of him when I went to her house. But I'm sure you can imagine that a dog is excited when someone new comes around. I never thought of him as a German Sheppard because he was white so this part is new information. The dog loved Jackie .. This story isnt really about King he is just the poke that helped me remember her. I think we got to be close friends when I was in the 4th grade. I didn't know that she was sick from something. I never knew what was wrong. I could never tell by looking at her that she was having problems. But one day she told me that she was going to have to go to the hospital in Germany to have surgery. We played chinese jump rope that day. We laughed and played like we always did. I was sure that I would be able to play with her again when she came home. A few days later I rode my bike to school and was the first one in class and my teacher was there. She didn't say hello really .. she seemed upset but I didn't know why. I think in fourth grade I was about nine or ten. Then suddenly she blurted out, Jackies full name and announced that she was dead. Just like that .. no careful letting me know .. no letting me in on this news in an easy way.. just matter of factly. I said .. Oh NO I just played with her she's fine. Then the teacher explained that she died on the operating table. I was in shock of course. All I could manage to do was tell every child that came into the room the same thing. I never cried .. I just could not believe that this happened. There was no funeral, there was no crying, there was no chance to process any of this grief .. So i cry now .. I cry for Jackie .. for the loss of my friend, for the strange way that I was given this sad news. I never got to tell Jackies family that I loved their daughter and that I loved the dog King and how much she loved her dog. I never got to say sorry for their loss. It's ok that I cry about this now because I can just have this and it's ok to have my feelings. But I can also be grateful that I had a friend that was like me that liked me and that I liked and that for some reason had to leave here sooner than I would have liked. I missed her a lot. I do still think of her but not in the same way. Today when a child dies schools bring in counselors and help the children. We didn't have that then. Maybe you don't have that for yourself .. its ok to cry. And then it's ok to get on with living. To live fully I think is to pay respect for those that left too soon. those are just my thoughts .. I am sure that I will see Jackie again and that is my own belief. I think this experience so young has made me more tender hearted towards the hurting and maybe caused me some fear in living. I am grateful that I am not too old to learn more about life and myself . I'm grateful that I can tell you about Jackie ..  I am going to practice living with less fear and with my joy, i want to have joy every day .. even when life makes me sad.. painting gives me joy. This daily practice of painting has changed my perspective .. i would highly recommend you try some daily practice that you love and see where it takes you. 

If you would love to have this beautiful dog portrait in your home just email me at iwilldream4ever@aol.com. I will be back tomorrow. Have a wonderful day!!! 

Day 68 and Toodles

Today is day 68 I didn't sleep well last night so I got a late start today and that darned tooth is hurting yet again .. I need to get it checked but that is the way of things.. i will put this off till I have to .. ha .. So this paper says lazy dog on it but I never thought of Toodles as a lazy dog. I met Toodles at my girlfriends house when I went to stay at her home. I don't think either of us ever expected that I would spend so much time with her but I did. It was a rough time in my life and Toodles was there when I was there. She was being cared for by my friend because the owner was out of town. I have to say that I was a very sad and hurting woman at that time. I slept a lot. There was one day that I was laying on the couch .. being lazy!!!! haha .. i was the lazy one.. and i was sad .. and Toodles came crawling up to me and laid right on my solar plexus. I really felt that he knew that I was hurting and he laid where he knew that my pain was... or where he knew that it would do the most good. I didnt' even know Toodles and most of the time he was pretty shy and didn't really get to close to me but as I lay there he comforted me beyond belief. I was truly honored that he would do this .. i felt very loved by this animal and I really really needed it at that time. I'm so grateful that Toodles did this for me that day .. I have and never will forget Toodles and what he did that day. I was going to say I didn't think this portrait was as good as some of the others but you know what it doesn't even matter cause Toodles looks how I remember him. Sweet beautiful soul he was.

So . if you would like to own Toodles just let me know by emailing me at iwilldream4ever@aol.com. I'll be back tomorrow .. have a great day!!

Day 63 and Tiger

Today I decided to paint this tiger . I didnt' do the whole face just mostly the eyes. This was a bit challenging as I did it on a scrap of fabric from my mom's stash of samples that she had .. many of.

I have no objectivity at this point. I'm tired AND hungry .. this always causes me some consternation. So many emotional things going on in my life this past week. Losing my Godmother on Monday, The anniversary of my own mother's death on the 2nd and the anniversary of my mother's birthday yesterday. It's so much and tomorrow I will be attending my Godmother's funeral. So i'm having to really force these portraits the last few days. I think I prefer working on paper. Or at painting on cloth that has less texture. Tomorrow I will be trying to sell some work outside during a Saturday market nearby. Who knows if I will be ready for that and when I will get to posting an animal for that day. I guess I could paint it there... might be fun.

So thanks for the supportive words.. I appreciate them so much. If you would like to own this tiger please email me at iwilldream4ever@aol.com. This tiger is $63. See you tomorrow.

Day 51 and a Baboon

Today I am tired from so much running around. I have so many things I want and need to do but I just don't know if I'll be able to stay awake much longer. I had to forgo putting my day 51 face online this morning so I'm doing it now .. I love how this turned out, and I am excited to put new animal faces online.

This is a baboon. Yes today's story is about several of them. We were on a way to the port of Massawa on the coast of Africa. It was a place where many American's could go, that were living there, to have rest and relaxation. It was a three and a half hour drive and about 300 kilometers. I know it was 300 kilometers because we would count the markers that marked each one. The drive began with a series of switchbacks that lasted about an hour or more... it seemed way too long no matter how many times we'd been down that road. When ever there are children in the car there is bound to be stops that are needed for potty breaks. There was only one place on the way that you could stop and use a restroom facility and I think we were always expected or obligated to purchase the fabulous lemonade that they made fresh. It was exactly half way to the destination. There were many times it wasn't open. Any breaks before or after were a quick stop on the side of the road and out you plopped .. dropped your drawers and hurryup and back inside. One time, well many times it was me that had to do this. This particular time I did my quick squat and as I was pulling my britches up .. I looked up the side of the mountain above me and saw several baboons .. they were in a small group just staring at me. I quickly got in the car and as I sat on the seat by the window I looked again to see a few children sitting up there in a different spot with big smiles .. I think my face was about as red as the bottoms of the baboons. .. I am pretty sure I made a point of looking first after that. Never got too close to the baboons like in this painting but they sure are interesting creatures. This one has particularly beautiful eyes.

Now .. i can relax and settle into a restful evening. If you would like to own this interesting baboon email me at iwilldream4ever@aol.com. It's painted on a file divider, no extra charge for the tab.. it is about 101/2 x 12 if you include the tabs sticking out. It has an airmail posted envelope and a map glued to the front with clear acrylic medium and it is painted in acrylic. See you tomorrow.