LITDigitalart Christmas Pet Portraits

I’ve been painting pet portraits for over eight years using my iPad as the canvas and the stylus as my brush. It’s so much neater than watercolors, pastels and charcoal. The Christmas season always tends to be the busiest time of year. Luckily my studio travels with me, but this year was the first time we didn’t drive home for my birthday or Christmas. So I was able to spend more than the usual time getting the requests completed for the holiday deadlines. I really have to thank my repeat customers for remembering me. Many of the commissions came from folks I have done paintings for several years ago. That probably means more to me than any new customer, and the feedback on my Etsy site is so positive. With every portrait I always send the in process, ideas for digitalart options, and a PNG image that can be used if a background is not needed - like for a T-shirt. I never post the final portraits on social media until the holiday passes in the event someone might see it unexpectedly. Once the holiday is over I start to upload the portraits to Fine Art America/Pixels, Zazzle, Redbubble and Amazon Merch to sell the digitalart art images on products; Etsy to showcase my latest work; and all the other social media outlets like Twitter, Facebook Business page, Instagram, and Tumblr. Today I got an email informing me that someone in Suffolk, UK purchased a ten greeting card pack of my Cairn Terrier portrait. What a lovely way to end the year. The profits are tiny, but the idea that someone from across the ocean noticed and purchased my painting out of all the millions of images out there is thrilling. So, thank you so much for trusting my work. I really appreciate it! 

Almost Got Killed in the Crosswalk

As we do every morning we headed out to the park for a morning walk. As we do every time we walk to the park we have to cross a very busy street - Dolley Madison Parkway. We changed our crosswalk many months ago to another one that was further away from the very busy intersection. Usually we have to wait a while for the cars to pass by. Oftentimes there are actually polite drivers who stop so we can cross safely. Today, not only did we wait for the traffic to pass, we entered the street knowing there was a car in the distance, only to see it actually speed up and coming much too close to us. Then the driver pulled down the window, and started cursing and yelling at us. Both my husband and I pointed at the yellow pedestrian warning sign. The idea is to slow down when you see pedestrians in the street - not speed up. He drove off in a huff and I was a bit shaken by his behavior. I should have taken a photo of his license plate. Anyway, it inspired me to look up the meaning of the sign - to be sure we were in the right. And of course we were. In DC these signs were everywhere and drivers seemed to abide by them. Here, on a very busy street, some people didn’t get the message. I don’t think that person learned a lesson and there’s nothing we can do about it. But my understanding is northern Virginia drivers are the worst. That point was proven today. 

Taking Down Christmas Decorations

They have been up since the day after Thanksgiving. The greens we bought at American Plant were distributed among the large vase on the plant console table, the wall vase, and the balcony window boxes. Sprinkled in them were pine cones, berries, and sticks that I picked up in the street. And of course, a string of lights was added to make it more festive. We usually don’t put a lot of Christmas decorations up because we travel to central Virginia for the holiday. But for most people this year, plans changed. Once Christmas is over I am also over looking at the decorations. The greens were all dried out and we are always ready to move on. So yesterday I got out the box that all of the stuff is stored in and started the process of undoing what was done. The Christopher Radko ornaments that were hung on the large dining room mirror were the first to be placed back in their original box. It took a lot longer than I thought it would. Luckily we didn’t have a tree to deal with but we haven’t had one for ages. So another year has passed and it was very different than any year before it. The house looks more like itself and I kinda like it that way. 

A Walk in the Park - Ice and Mud

It’s been a while since we walked in the neighborhood park. It’s been too rainy and ugly. Whenever it’s really bad, we walk in the car garage of the condo building, or the neighborhood sidewalks if it’s cold but not raining. Last time the park was quite icy from the leftover snowstorm before Christmas. Now, the snow and ice starting to melt and the dirt paths turned to mud on one of the main stretches. Well, we ran in to both - we slid our way across the ice last week and this morning walked through the mud. We should just avoid that area because there are enough paved paths to reach our two mile goal. Walking to and from the park adds to the steps. I’m always on the lookout for birds and other creatures. The cardinals just don’t sit still long enough. The crows were cawing and we could see why - the falcon or hawk was stirring nearby. There were some interesting fungus or mushrooms or whatever you call them all about. They looked like steps on the side of the tree. We used to walk in the mall on bad weather days. It really is much more interesting outside. Sometime this week we will take a ride in to DC for our old time walks. Talk about a change in scenery!

Balducci’s Christmas Dinner

As with a lot of people, this year was not the usual for us. We always visit our son and his family for Christmas in central Virginia. It’s a four hour drive, we stay for two days, and come home. So they told us not to get anything for Christmas dinner this year; rather, they would be sending it to us via Balducci’s. The large box arrived on our doorstep on December 23. There was a huge turkey breast, bacon wrapped meatball appetizers, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, green beans, cranberry, rolls, and a whole apple pie - probably enough to serve 6 people. So we went ahead and cooked the turkey that afternoon, and sorted the other items for our first crack at the several days of meals in front of us. It was really good! The refrigerator was stuffed with the food and the leftovers. I cut the turkey down to small pieces and froze a bit of it for soup later on. So we had the same meal for two more evenings - except I prefer cold turkey sandwiches after the first dinner. Last night we had turkey soup, and there is still plenty left for another batch in the future. The next time we’ll use noodles instead of potatoes. So it was the gift that kept on giving. And it was delicious! But I think we would have preferred the annual fete - like everyone else. We thought of our family with every bite. 

52Frames - The Year 2020

I’m not a photographer, but I love taking photos. My only camera is my iPhone and I use it every day for this blog and to capture whatever happens to come my way. A friend told me about 52Frames, and I’ve been participating for six weeks. The idea is to read about the week’s challenge, take a photo that week, upload it, and comment about other people’s work. It’s a great diversion. This week’s challenge is the year 2020. My husband is a great advisor and insisted a picture of the National Mall made the most sense. I didn’t agree but usually end up posting whatever he prefers. I told him it looked more like a snapshot than a serious photographer’s effort. I thought my foggy glasses said it all - “I can’t see clearly now” being the title. The empty Supreme Court - essential workers only - and the empty Capitol building - never here anyway, were other ideas. Then there was the usual hand sanitizer and more foggy glasses. The four walls of our living room and my husband and my reflection - indicating it was good to have a partner more than ever this year - were two other ideas. I still think the foggy glasses tells the whole story. But an even longer story was told using the Washington monument with a bit of light - with a title “the grass has never been greener - no one is here.” You can think of a million reasons why it works from isolation, storm clouds, light at the end of the tunnel, etc. It requires too much explanation. My husband loved it. I didn’t. What do you think?! Oops - forgot my husband’s home haircuts!