Quote o' the Day

“Technical skill is mastery of complexity
while creativity is mastery of simplicity.”

-- Erik Christopher Zeeman

( British mathematician known for his work in 

    geometric topology and singularity theory)

Collage Card #24

Here's another one of my collaged blank cards.  
Greens and browns with a touch of gold...

XOXO,
Lucky Dog
♥

Sunday Scripture

Philippians 4 verse 6  

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer
and supplication, with thanksgiving,
let your requests be made known to God

Or you may prefer this version:

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. 

Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done.

A Bit of Whimsy

Well, I had such fun in the studio today, I just had to come and share my little piecelet with you that I created today.

But I guess I have to make somewhat of a confession while I’m here.  While I love all sorts of styles of art, the booths and the pieces that I have started gravitating to lately are those belonging to the *whimsical* variety.

The older I get, the more I love CoLoRfuL pieces that make me smile.  I don’t know why -- I just know to go with it.

And while I practice very serious historical calligraphy, and also make pieces with my own handprinting…  And as much as I LOVE-with-a-capital-L painting my new nebula series… I have found myself yearning to make some whimsical pieces, too.  

Whimsical = playful, fanciful, light-hearted, cheerful, amusing, fun

And after surfing on the Internet and reading all sorts of blogs and drooling over tons of great art out there, I went into the studio prepared to play. 

Soon I was doodling with my Micron pens and watercolor pencils and having a wonderful time! 

Although, truth be told, my watercolor squares looked a bit insipid, so I added a layer of Panpastel color to each.  It not only strengthened them, but imparted the nicest velvety quality.  ♥

And at the very end, I decided that a grey shadow line inside and outside the frame (made with a Tria marker) was just the ticket.  Isn’t it nice with these things all come together?  :)

“Become who you are”.  And I am trying. 

It’s hard to release all the “shoulds”, but I’m trying.

Thanks for coming along for the ride!

XOXO,

Lucky Dog
♥

Thankful Thursdays

This week I accidentally cut my finger.

I was pulling really hard on my 40” t-square, trying to pull it out from under some stuff, and I didn’t realize that my exact-o knife was open and underneath it.  Ouch.

And because I was pulling so hard, the cut was pretty deep.  It took a lot of direct pressure and a lot of time to get it to stop bleeding.    ♫ Scary ♫

Anyway, it’s fine now, and today I am thankful for that.

I’m also thankful that it’s just my ring finger that is hurt, not the all-important index finger, for example.

And, I’m thankful that this is the worst thing that’s happened to me lately.

Note to self:  From now on, always close the knife after using. 

Duh and aarrgghh!  :)

XOXO,

Lucky Dog 
♥

Harvest Moon

Today is the Autumnal Equinox.  That means day and night are roughly equal, and it is officially the first day of Fall.

Fall is one of my favorite seasons.  I just love the distinct crisp feeling of Fall, don’t you? 

Doesn’t it just conjure up images of colorful foliage, piles of raked leaves, roasting marshmallows, and hayrides…?

In my neck of the woods, Fall means that pumpkins and mums will begin to appear on porches and lawns all over town.  And the fancier the neighborhood, the more pumpkins per house.  (!) 

It also means it’s time to pull up the spent summer annuals and replace them with pansies.  That’s definitely on my To Do List.

But sadly, it also means dark evenings.  Gone are the long, light-filled hours of Summer evenings.  Sunset not only comes sooner, it happens quicker.  They’ll be no more long drives at dusk…  :(

But on the up side, chillier temperatures generally mean better and deeper sleeping!  And I do love that. 

And after such a hot summer, a little nip in the air sounds very refreshing.

That’s the nice thing about living somewhere with 4 seasons... 

It’s always changing.

Happy Fall, everybody!

XOXO,

Lucky Dog 
♥

p.s.  For more information regarding the harvest full moon, check out http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/harvest-moon-2

Eye Candy

Now, how am I supposed to resist all this delicious *texture*???

Sunday Scripture

Psalm 119 verse 89

Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven.

Nebulous Nebula

This is one of my newest pieces, incorporating all of my latest things: pastels, star-gazing, and glitter hairspray. (!)

It was painted on black charcoal paper and measures about
6 inches square.

I’ve always wondered if nebulae are God’s own abstract art…

XOXO,
Lucky Dog
♥

Quote o' the Day

“It does not matter how great the pressure is.
What matters is where the pressure lies --

whether it comes between you and God,
or whether it presses you nearer His heart.”

-- Hudson Taylor

It's a Colorful Life

My name is Lucky Dog, and I love nail polish. I am a lover and a collector. To me, they are the ultimate Paint, mixed to such sophisticated and delicious colors that I cannot generally resist. And the cRaZieR, the better.

Sometimes they find their way into my art studio and onto my pieces. Sometimes they wind up on my toenails. And sometimes they just sit out on my vanity looking gorgeous.

But for my fingernails, I usually wear a mauve-y cream nail polish, and only very occasionally paint just a pinkie nail something glittery.

After all, “Excess in Moderation”, right?   :)

But my most recent acquisition tempted me to do the unusual: holographic purple nail polish on all 10 fingernails! I know, I know, I’m not a teenager anymore…

But I just had to. Really. Just this once. Really.

Or maybe not...!  :)

XOXO,
Lucky Dog
♥

Sunday Scripture

Philippians 4 verse 19

And my God shall supply all your needs
according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

In Remembrance

Froggy Doggy

Check out his back feet!

This is how he lies down a lot of the time -- with his feet sticking straight out, like little frog legs!

What a FuNnY dog…!  :)

XOXO,
Lucky Dog
♥

Thankful Thursdays

Today I am thankful for the changing seasons…
Fall is on its way, and the worst of the summer heat is behind us.

And I’m also thankful for the 2” of rain that fell yesterday, and that it wasn’t a big “weather event”, but just rain.

No tornadoes. No floods. Just rain.

In Oklahoma, we’re always grateful for that!

XOXO,
Lucky Dog
♥

Open Sesame

Okay, I was going to make the Sesame Noodles recipe that was on Pioneer Woman’s blog the other day, I really was. But when I read the ingredients, I thought, “oh, it’ll probably be about the same if I just use these.”

“These” were a couple of leftover sauces from our last Pei Wei take-out order. Lettuce Wrap sauce and Sweet Chili sauce.

Oh, yes. Flavor with a capital F.

So, I boiled us up some thin spaghetti, poured a little EVOO and the sauces on, and ♫ yummy! ♫ Poetry on a plate. A big fat plate full of delicious carbs. Hahaha! Life is good.

I have just got to remember to do this again. It’s liable to fall outa my head. And maybe next time, I’ll add a little cooked chicken and some sautéed onions. Ooh, la la.

To gobs of easy deliciousness…

XOXO,
Lucky Dog
♥

Sunday Scripture

Jude 24

Now to Him Who is able to keep you from stumbling,
and to make you stand in the presence of His glory
blameless with great joy,

to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord,
be glory, majesty, dominion and authority,
before all time and now and forever.

Amen.

Crayon Cursive

This past weekend I found another good use for my Crayon Cursive.

What’s that, you say? Crayon Cursive? That’s what I call the cursive hand that I developed a while back. While it can be written beautifully with an Italic/Brushy flavor, I also write it very round and vertical.

Over a year ago, I was trying to copy a jazzy hand I’d seen somewhere, and I was trying out different tools, and somehow I managed to pick up a crayon to try.

I was in *love*!! Good ol’ Kindergarten crayons! How nice they felt in my hand!

I played around with them and even tried my Spencerian with them. What a good way to practice my Ornamental Penmanship and ovals, I thought. No ink worries, no re-dipping, just endless crayon flourishing.  :)

Then I kept playing, day after day, and ended up working out a very voluptuous cursive alphabet. It’s a pressure and release hand that is totally fun!

I began to alternate between using crayons and colored pencils. Both work really well, the crayons yielding a larger size, of course, than the pencils. Even my General’s White Charcoal pencil yielded great results on black paper.

Fast forward to this past weekend. I did a little yard work, pulling some weeds in the front. I didn’t even get done, it was so hot. But better some than none, right?

Well, after that, when I went up to the Studio to practice, my hand was totally shaky. Really. I couldn’t keep my hand from shaking. I guess the arm just isn’t very strong, still. Bummer. Besides, manual labor is always the *pits* for calligraphy, anyway.

So rather than call it a day before I even get started, I thought, “if I am too shaky for pen and ink, maybe I could still do some kind of practice if I get my crayons out.”

Sure enough, they were just the ticket. Then I thought to do my Crayon Cursive, and soon I was having a great time making letters, despite my uncooperative hand.

Try it sometime! It’s outrageously fun, and could even open up some new opportunities for lettering on less-than-ideal surfaces. Art journals, in particular, come to mind.

And talk about an easy hand for a non-calligrapher artist to try. Most people know cursive and crayons are so unintimidating and easy to use.

Besides, feeling like you’re back in Kindergarten again is FuN!

XOXO,
Lucky Dog
♥

Quote o' the Day

"What has passion to do with a work of art? EVERYTHING."

-- Gertrude Stein