Here are three portraits I've done in the past month or so. Freehand. (The girl with the purple shirt, which I call Girl With a Secret, I traced her main features lightly to get them right, but otherwise it's all freehand.)

I'm excited to say that my art teacher said the other day that we are going to "fast track" my portrait drawing because my dream is to draw people, and I am interested in taking in commissions as I improve my techniques and style. I've been working hard, several hours a day sometimes, so as to improve and hopefully at some point bring in a little $$ so John doesn't have to work so hard. Yes, I know MOST people work several hours a day! ha! But drawing and painting is different, at least in the eyes of my chiropractor--she does NOT approve of all the neck strain as I pore over my drawing board! ha! But I think it'll get a bit easier when it's not so new...

Sorry to not be as faithful with my blog as I used to be. I just don't get online nearly as often as I used to. It's almost impossible to do much with our dial-up at home, and so it's been difficult to maintain any sort of regular blogging. At some point, I may just switch to a website or something, as I build my art portfolio over the next weeks/months/years. I imagine I'll keep this for friends and family though, at least that's the plan!

I can't believe it's almost November! September and October were a blur of many, many volleyball games and practices for the girlie!

Here are some shots of her at work and play!

All for now,

Tricia

Well, our girlie is officially a 7th grader. I was glad yesterday (orientation, getting set up with lockers, etc.) went really well. And this morning one of the girls (classmate) she kind of knows came up and gave her a hug. I saw the relief and happiness in her eyes and I must say, I felt the same way. She got a big hug from another girl yesterday, too. 

The teachers all seem nice. She's all set up with backpack and athletic bag for P.E. Binders. Pencils. Paper. Folders. I still need to go get her a calculator later today, they were all sold out at Wal-Mart. 

She had a hard time going to sleep last night, so we had a nice long worship. SHE read to me. In the back of her Bible, there are pages that say, "What to do when..." and then say "if you're afraid," or "if you need comfort," etc., and have verses you can look up. She looked them ALL up! ha! It was a lovely time and I'm so glad He is the one she turns to when she's afraid or nervous. 

I asked her what specifically she was nervous about and she said not knowing what her schedule is. So I found the "parents packet" they gave us and gave her a copy of the schedule. She felt lots better after that. See, they only get 3 minutes between classes! But the building is small, so I think she'll be fine. 

I will be thinking of her all day! I guess that's what it means to be a mama--your child is always in your heart. No matter where SHE is, or no matter where I am, I'm always thinking of her and praying for her.

Sorry for not writing on here lately. I don't know where the summer went! Our move to Keene went well and now we are settling in as much as possible. I have some art to share, but since we have no Internet at home, and may not for a while, it's difficult to get my photos up on here.

All for now,

Tricia

Moving and Athletic awards

I thought I'd post some photos of Hannah at her athletic awards ceremony. She is pictured here with her coach, George Todd, who must be the best coach ever! He was very encouraging and always let the girls know what they did right and what they did wrong in such a great manner. I will always be grateful to him for helping Hannah grow so much, not only in softball but as a person as well. Like her mama (unfortunately), she can be a little perfectionist, but he was really good about "giving permission" to fail--because that's how you learn. He was totally inspiring! Maybe that's why our girlie got the Most Improved Player award! He said that she was the most dependable outfielder he had by the end of the season (said to us in private after the ceremony). They only gave out two awards, hers and Most Valuable Player. Way to go, Hannah!

In other news, we are moving about 40 miles south to Keene/Cleburne area. There have been several things that we said would need to happen for us to even want to move, and they've ALL happened. So... on our 14th wedding anniversary, August 1, we will spend that most romantic of days lugging our possessions from one venue to another! ha! But hey, at least we'll be together!

We have some leads on some places to live and I'm going down Friday to look at a 3-bedroom apartment. Ohhhh, I can't tell you how wonderful it would be to have a place to keep our home office and my art supplies! We are so crowded here! But, I will try to be content if we can only find a 2-bedroom place. Really. I will. ;)

I'm looking forward to being closer to family, both my parents, as well as John's cousins in Cleburne. We hardly ever get to see them with us being so busy...

John, Hannah and I toured Hannah's new school, Keene Adventist Elementary School, last week. We met some very nice girls and were able to visit with them and sit in on a couple of classes. It was sweet, several of the girls crowded around Hannah when we visited and started asking her questions, and even fought over her to sit at their different tables. Balm to her soul, I can tell you!


AND, Miss Hannah is already set to attend a 3-day volleyball camp this July so she can learn more about it for next year. The volleyball coach, who is 8th grade homeroom teacher and Hannah's math teacher, is really energetic and her excitement for sports is contagious! We figure Hannah can get to know more girls during that time too.
 
Well, there's probably lots more, but I guess I'll close. Sorry I've not written much. My computer, poor thing, is getting older and therefore it takes lots of time for me to get on here, to add photos and such.

All for now,
Tricia

Hot Red Boots Girl

Here's a fun collage painting I just created. I used acrylic paints for the skirt. I used the method of blowing through a straw to get the thinned acrylic paints to spread out in "inkblot" fashion. The boots are created with watercolor paper I painted. I created the foliage by using the "netting" that my oranges came in. And lastly, I used a paper punch to create the border. There is some pen & ink work on the boots as well as the fence.

Hope you enjoy!

All for now,
Tricia

Softball and... Egypt?

What do softball and Egypt have in common?

This past month, Hannah had her first softball game at Burton. Her team, Burton Angels, lost their first game, February 28, but WON their second (away) game, 8-7! So they are doing great! It was very exciting to watch my girlie go up to bat. Was I, uh, nervous for her? I'll say! I got some great pix of her. Oh, and she stole second and third bases, so that was pretty cool! And apparently she stole several more bases on her away game that I didn't attend.

I was shocked beyond measure when Hannah came home and said she wanted to play softball. It seemed to come from nowhere, but I'm SO glad she did! For years, she was this little girlie that turned her nose (politely) at sports. But this year has been a year of changes all the way around: she's been willing to try new things on, and I'd say she "wears adventure well!" Singing in public, joining an athletic team, and more.

Where does Egypt come into play? Last week, Burton had Spirit Week, where each day of the week has a certain theme (cowboy, international, etc.). She dressed up as an Egyptian with full headdress, thanks to her Aunt Pam who actually bought the costume at the base of the pyramids in Egypt! She has always loved the gift, but there aren't that many opportunities in life to wear that sort of thing, so Hannah was thrilled.

She was also happy to have won THIRD PLACE in the junior high costume contest. Many of her 6th grade classmates believe she should have won first place, since the voting members of junior high SA are mostly made up of 7th graders (a 7th grader won first place). But nepotism aside, she was happy. Besides, I know in life, it's better to win third place on occasion--if you win first too often, you're rarely satisfied with second or third.

John and I made a trip to Granbury, TX, Tuesday of this week. The drive over was simply lovely, and we saw the first bluebonnets of the season! We rarely have the time, energy, money, all at the same time, to go anywhere together either as a family or as a couple, so that was special. It was also special because Granbury was a town we used to visit as a couple years ago, pre-Hannah.

The best of all was that John took me up on my "request" that he go play golf on Monday. Poor guy, NEVAH gets to have any fun. If he has the money, he doesn't have energy. If he has money and energy, it rains... well, you get the idea! So when Monday morning shone bright and beautiful, I pleaded with him to go, and after hemming and hawing around for two hours, he went! yay! (Sorry, no pix of golfing.) John said he didn't know who was happier about him being on the fairway--me or him! ha!

All for now,
Tricia

Tiptoe through the tulips

This one turned out fun. After I painted it, I created some more details with pen & ink. The bottom flower is a little wonky looking, but the top tulips looks pretty good! I'll take what I can get! Mostly, I just hope I am improving! I know I won't paint "masterpieces" for quite some time, I'm sure. But as long as I continue to learn and grow, I'm happy!

All for now,
Tricia

Baby Beach Bum

This little guy is having a terrific time digging in the sand. He has no intention of taking a nap at all!

Oil painting
February 2012