BRRRR....

Well...it is still cold here and I am getting pretty tired of it. Where is spring?? At least the recent snowfall melted which is a relief. All that slush was not fun to be out in with 3 little kids.

Of course you would think that all this cold would have driven me into my studio more frequently but it hasn't. The little "Gabzilla" has gone into 2 year old mode a little earlier than my boys did and getting anything finished with her around has become difficult to say the least. Not to mention that I am really trying to spend the time with her since she is my last baby and is growing up so fast. But...here are some photos I took of the lastest pictures that I painted. I love to work large but then I find that the photographing process is more difficult. This is a very long, skinny canvas that suited my sketch very well. This seems to be the direction my style is moving lately. I would love to figure out a way to combine the mixed media work I have loved for so long with this new funky "circus freak" style that is flowing out right now. So we will see where it goes. Other than that...nothing else new around here. School is going well for the boys. I was drafted to take Shakespeare the snake in for show and tell to Austin's class the other day which was a big hit. I was thankful that he remained calm and didn't bite anyone (the snake...not Austin). It is Sunday and all of my auctions on Ebay are ending today so I am off to see how that is going. Hope everyone has a good...and warmer...week!!

Almost forgot...

I also wanted to mention that my Ebay store is up and running again. I finally got the last of the kid stuff listed and some older art as well. I am really trying to clean out the studio. Within the next few weeks I should have some new pieces listed both there and in my Etsy store. Check it out!!

I'm Back!

Yes...I am still alive and kickin over here. Not to worry. It has just been a busy last few months. Yes...that's right...months. The time just seems to get away from me lately. My Dad used to say that the older you got the faster time moved...like it was some cruel joke played on the elderly but now I am definitely beginning to get the idea.

But, the good news is that we are all finally healthy around here and I have been working. Yeah! We finally kicked the myriad of bugs and virus' that plagued our house since Christmas. I guess that is the price you pay for having 2 kids in school. In addition to that, we have had Easter and Shawn's birthday to celebrate both on the same day. We made it into a bit of a birthday weekend actually since he had to share. We went out to the traditional "birthday boy chooses" restaurant on Friday and he chose the Red Robin of course. I think I liked it better when I could influence him a bit on that. Now they definitely have their own ideas about things. Then on Saturday we had a small "family" party with a nice pre Easter dinner and cake. He was pleased with his presents and actually he thought it was cool to share his birthday with Easter. Now I need to get busy planning his real kid party which we are putting off until May in light of the nice weather we have been having. In case you don't live near us...here we are in the middle of April and we have about an inch of snow on the ground. Leave it to Chicago!!

Shawn has decided on a medievil birthday party this year complete with knight and princess costumes, a king and queen and dragon who makes off with the goody bags. Should be fun but definitely need to be outside so we are hopeful that this weather will clear up soon.

In the midst of all of this, I am painting again. I was sketching one night while watching a show with my husband and filled quite a few pages in my sketchbook. When I get my scanner going again I will scan a few. I love the whimsical nature of the new drawings and am attempting to translate them to canvas. I finished one and have a few more to go. I ended up not doing the two gallery shows that I was aiming for as I just couldn't pull enough work together that quickly with my little "helper" running around destroying things every time I sat down. How soon we forget what a 14 month old is capable of...

In the meantime, I have made a pact with myself to get on here at least briefly a few times a week and send those updates. And I will get some pics of the new art up and running in a few days. Hope everyone had a great Holiday!! Think warm thoughts.