Day 187. Big Head Mushrooms

As my hound dog sniffs the world, I gaze at it instead.  Bird soaring, lawnmower running, live band playing in the distance. And then my eyes fall to the ground, and I spot mushrooms...warty looking things burbling up whitish-gray from lawns--they're everywhere right now.

But what's this?  Two chocolatey-topped creatures, their silvery stems bent over by their weighty heads.  Delicate bells amongst the bulbous fungi masses.

Day 186. Lost in Thought (No Longer Available)

Lost in thought.

Day 185. A Ballerina and Her Stone Fruit Kiss

Jeffrey never intended to be at a ballet, but one of his clients had given him a ticket at the last moment.  With nothing else to do, he accepted this unasked for bestowal and settled into his seat.

On some level, he knew he remained in this rooted position, yet it felt as if his whole being was levitating upright when he first viewed the beautiful Russian creature dancing across the stage.  Just as the performance was about the intertwining of death and love within life itself, he simultaneously felt euphoric and green with sickness as he was thunderstruck by her beauty.  How could she contort herself into such complex positions?  Her partner disappeared from view, as if he did not even exist.  Jeffrey imagined sending her expensive gifts which she would accept with gratefulness and growing affection.

Even Fate, that most reticent participant in changing life's inevitable ebb and flow, took pity on the delusional chap.  He knew this gorgeous ballerina was completely out of Jeffrey's league.  Fate tried to blow cooling breezes onto the tangled, amorous emotions of the poor fellow, but alas, it was too late.  What Jeffrey thought was a gift from the universe, brought to him on the wings of a bird of happiness, was in truth, a torment that he would barely escape from with his life.

All that grief waited in front of him, however.  For now, he was completely naive to its unfolding.  Instead, he recalled when he had secretly watched every episode of "Sex and the City," and he specifically remembered the episode when Carrie Bradshaw went out with her Russian, Aleksandr Petrovsky* (Mikhail Baryshnikov).  Aleksandr told her of his country's tradition of sweetening tea with black cherries.  Later that night when their lips first met, Carrie said their kiss tasted like them...would his Russian's sweet lips also taste like purple stone fruit?  He couldn't wait to find out.

*Season 6, Episode 12, September 14, 2003 "ONE"  Nothing available of this fantastic episode on YouTube.  you'll have to watch the one and only Mikhail Baryshnikov by buying on amazon.com if you don't already have it.

Day 184. Getting the Monkey Off Your Back (SOLD)

Getting the monkey off your back

or in other words, 

Be Free.

Watercolor and Ink

Day 183. SIX MONTHS!

Well, I've been doing this drawing and painting a day for 6 months.  It's hard to believe.  Now I just have 6 months to go.  I guess I'm on the downward slide instead of the upward slide, but people, I'm tellin' ya', I can't look that far ahead.  If I do, my brain will freak out like a Medusa head.  So I will continue, one day at a time, one day at a time until one day I collapse into a blubbering mass, fingers trembling from their effort, and I'll say, "I did it!  I'm done."

Until then, onward ho!

 

Here was my first attempt (on the opposite side of above), but there wasn't enough room to continue.

 

Day 182. Mother Nature Is Always Watching (SOLD)

Mother nature is always watching.

This painting is a bit of a dreamy one.  It makes me feel suspended in a slow motion half sleep, somehow.

Day 181. It's Monday. (SOLD)

It's Monday.  Lordy.

Day 180. Sniff

SNIFF

 How it started.  See the outline of paint residue on my desk?  That was my inspiration.

Day 179. Becoming One with His Limeade

Sweat pouring off of him after a particularly strenuous grass cutting in the melting summer heat, Fred unscrewed the top of his bottle of limeade.  With each gulp, he could feel the refreshing zestiness swirling within him and cooling him down. 

Not even the sweat bees circling his head could interrupt his becoming one with his limeade.

Day 178. Garlic Breath

To my friend L:  No, I did not smell your garlic breath, but thanks for sparking an idea! (-;

The palette:

Day 177. Whisperings from La Mère Poule (the Mother Hen) (SOLD)

Just as the vitamin-enriched egg yolk nourished him as a chick, Lester felt the whisperings of his mother's advice was guiding him towards a richer life.

Day 176. His Tube of Lipstick Taunted Him

As Salvatore gazed into his mirror, his tube of lipstick levitated next to his cheek and gently taunted him.

"Do you really think you can become a real estate agent like your father?"

He already knew the answer.  He wanted to be a makeup artist and have his own makeup line like Kevin Aucoin, may he rest in peace.

That was it; he had his answer.  He would follow the path of beauty.

(Acrylic, charcoal, paper)

Day 175. What the World Is Like When You Eat a Jelly Doughnut (SOLD)

Let's say you are craving a jelly doughnut.

Here's what the world looks and feels like when...

you crave a jelly doughnut;
you let yourself have a jelly doughnut;
you eat the jelly doughnut with utter, hedonistic joy devoid of all guilt.

Beautiful--the world--isn't it?

Day 174. Lady Waiting in Doctor's Office

Here's a drawing I did in ink and watercolor of a lady waiting to go into the doctor's office. I only did the ink in the office and tried to be discreet, but she might have known I was drawing her.  Anyway, she never gave me the evil eye so I may have gotten away with it. (-;

Day 173. Congratulations, Rachel and Chase - Wedding Day Part 2 (No Longer Available)

O.K., so on the other side of this gift box (see Day 172 if you don't know what I heck I'm talking about) I have a portrait of Rachel and on a third side, a little happy bearer of congratulatory wedding bliss!  Congratulations on your new journey, lovebirds!

I can tell I put the lid back on the box here--there's a little bit of a shadow at the top. I love the cute little diamond wedding band!

Here's the 3rd side (I actually added a few more crystal accents on this side, but my camera battery is recharging right now so I'll give you the first picture I had taken):

 

Here it is from 2 angles at I time.

Day 172. Congratulations Rachel and Chase - Wedding Day Part I (No Longer Available)

My 2nd cousin (my cousin's son) is getting married today.  I had gotten a friend of mine, Kim Herout, to make something for them--I won't post what it is now for fear of ruining the surprise.  Anyway, I needed something to put these delicate somethings into, and they needed a box for their awkward fit.

I'm wandering the aisles of Target, and low and behold, I saw something that would work!  A file folder container on clearance.  Hmm...what could I do with this!  My mind, it be a spinnin'!  My brain started sparking, and well, you can see what I can up with below.

How it started:

Complete with a man's wedding band...

and boutonniere, of course.

Day 171. Trying to Get That Other Boot On

 

Sometimes no shoehorn can help.

 

Day 170. Endurance of a Hockey Player - Stanley Cup 2013

How in the world did the Blackhawk and Bruin players race around in 3 overtimes in the first game of the Stanley Cup 2013 playoffs?  The lung capacity, the endurance--I mean--unbelievable!  Congratulations to both teams--what a phenomenal game that was!  I was tired, and I was just sitting on the couch (well, I guess there was a lot of jumping up and down on my part!) Ha!

Day 169. Watermelon Grass

Maybe it's just me, but after lawns have been mowed and just the right temperature sets in, the freshly trimmed grass smells like watermelon.

I haven't smelled it a lot this year yet.  The first time was in late April, when it was still cool, and everyone was happy to be running their lawnmowers after a long winter and chilly spring.  It smelled like, slightly under-ripe watermelon, but it was still there.  As July and August approaches, the smell is more intense, like when you get a big ol' fat melon and you barely lay your knife against it's green overcoat, and it suddenly just seems to burst open--you can hear the sound of it break apart in juiciness...WHOOSH!  Mmm, can't wait to taste it and smell that intense summertime scent again.

Day 168. Raindrop Right In The Eye - Summer Camp drawings (SOLD)

More events from Summer Camp Music Festival (see my first post on it at Day 153 - This Is One Crazy Party - http://livedrawpaint.blogspot.com/2013/05/day-153-this-is-one-crazy-party.html).
I took a little drawing tablet with me and tried to record some of the images before me...got a raindrop right in the eye when I was looking up, too.

How it started--you can see one of the drawn raindrops smeared by a real raindrop!

Girl with super-short shorts on.  People looked like they were hiking through Mount Kilimanjaro with their rain gear and staffs to get them through the mud.  Someone had what seemed to be a 6 to 8 foot long caterpillar on a stick that they kept stabbing into the air to the beat of the music.

 

 Someone's face.

It was about 50 degrees, cold and rainy, with lots of bare male chests and lots of people toting hula hoops around.  Little guy exhausted in the corner.

Just some characters.  The most common facial hair at the event, and a corgi-husky mix-breed dog.  Somehow I didn't post the pics of that dog on facebook.  I may draw/paint him anyway, and post the photo later.

All the chiquitas were wearing these diaphanous, multi-colored scarves around their bodies with gold coins hanging off of them.

These dudes moved their tent into the super muddy field.  I guess it was the tent that would later sleep in...bad idea, man.  It ended up being covered in mud and kept almost tipping over.  They had to keep holding it both down and up to prevent it from toppling.  Not a good way to watch a concert.  Twirling umbrellas were everywhere.  Here's also a guy who was wearing one of those old paper Burger King looking crowns.

This girl was directing the crowd:  "Oh yeah, oh yeah," she kept saying, to the beat of the Avett Brothers.