Jo Castillo Art Blog - Pastels and More

Sketching and Art Show

noreply@blogger.com (Jo Castillo) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:46:00 +0000

I'm in a posting frenzy it seems so scroll down if you are on my Home page or click on home if you are on the regular post page to see my other posts today.

** Remember today is the ASH Insights Art Show and Sale. Hope to see you there.

**Forgot to say to go to the Texas Music Awards and vote for our friends, Kathy Street and Tommy Byrd, Byrd and Street, if you have a minute! I don't have time to tell you what great performers they are and generous and giving people. You have seen them on my blog before. They are visual artists, too. Super musical folks!

I sketched some for Scavenger Hunt 254. I did the first one on my iPhone and the second in the same old sketchbook with a Prismacolor Premier 08.

Number 1, metal - a bronze horse that survived the fire. I haven't figured out this sketch program, it is different than the one I use on Gene's phone. Bear with me. This was the first time I tried this program and took about 15 minutes to get this simple sketch down. I couldn't figure out how to "undo" so had to erase instead, so left some rough edges.

Number 2, wood - the corner of the electric fireplace and you can see my pen on the side. No erasing or undo here. : )

Buy Art and Be Happy

noreply@blogger.com (Jo Castillo) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:25:00 +0000

I saw this article today on FASO, it made me smile. I think this is great advice for buying art and liking what you buy. It has always worked in our house. I haven't tried the "moving around" part, but since I don't have many paintings at the moment they will be moved around when I change out art in the galleries here in Bastrop and should work fine!

Happiness and Art on Your Walls

by Ginger Whellock

Let me warn you, purchasing art becomes addictive as you crave the happiness and joy each new painting, brought into your home, brings to you and your visitors. [...]

Read the rest of this article at:
http://fineartviews.com/blog/39414/happiness-and-art-on-your-walls

----------------------------------------------
This excerpt appears courtesy of FineArtViews Art Marketing Newsletter by FASO,
a free email newsletter about art, marketing, inspiration and fine living for artists,
collectors and galleries (and anyone else who loves art).

For a complimentary subscription, visit: http://www.fineartviews.com

-----------------------------------------------

Bluebonnet Pastel Painting - Finally!

noreply@blogger.com (Jo Castillo) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:42:00 +0000

I painted a small bluebonnet painting. I had a piece of Pastelbord that I started a painting on in Angel Fire this summer. I decided to wipe it off and start a new painting. I wiped it with a paper towel, turned it upside down and started in with the bluebonnet painting. Usually I would have washed it off, but the blue sky was there for the bluebonnets and what had been horizon and mountains could now be the trees behind the bluebonnets. I used a variety of pastels. I start and blend a little with the hard pastels. Most of my harder pastels are Nupastel. I have quite a few Rembrandt for medium hardness and then Ludwig, Unison and Sennelier for the softies. I still have some Daler-Rowney soft pastels that I really like, too. There are a few other brands scattered among my pastels as well.

True Blues

Pastel on Pastelbord, 8 x 10 inches

Gene will put museum glass over this and I will look for a frame.

If you are interested in purchasing this painting, the finished price with museum glass will be $165.00. Check my Jo's Notions to buy now or my website as well.

5 inches of Rain!!

noreply@blogger.com (Jo Castillo) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:16:00 +0000

We had 5 inches of rain here at our house this morning. Amazing. Our little lakes look a little better. The one that is more to the east had very little water. I hadn't even posted a photo as it was so dry. In fact some kids were riding their four wheelers in it one day.

This is also the smaller of the two lakes.

The other lake that you have seen photos of is here:

It is interesting, as an artist, to see the very saturated colors after a rain. I do like to paint the brighter colors!

Maybe you can see how much lower the water was when I was taking a photo of our resident buck. We see him every couple of days or so - always alone.

Late Sketches for Hunt 253

noreply@blogger.com (Jo Castillo) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 05:36:00 +0000

Yesterday was the end of Scavenger Hunt 253. I did not get my sketches posted even though I finished them on January 20. I will check out the new list tonight.

It has been so difficult to get my mind around things. Hopefully it was stress and now that we are mostly settled my mind will clear. We had a pretty normal day. Sort of back to our old schedule. We washed sheets and towels and could hang the sheets out on the clothesline. I love that, the smell just can't be duplicated with softener. Then lunch and worked on balancing the checkbook, etc.

Then back to art!! Yay. I did some paperwork. I got some calendars ready to mail to a couple of collectors and friends. It took some time as I included notes, a certificate of authenticity in one, etc. Then I wiped off a Pastelbord I had started in Angel Fire and worked on an 8 x 10 bluebonnet painting. It is about done, but too late for a good photo. It may rain tomorrow (another yay!) so may not get a photo for a few days.

I sketched in the Utrecht sketchbook with a Prismacolor Premier 01 marker/pen, freehand (as usual).

For Scavenger Hunt 253, #10 - soft and cuddly. This is a little sock monkey, Beanie Baby, that Santa brought. He doesn't look very soft in the sketch and his head should be bigger. He really is cute!

#11, something from the bathroom - handsoap and #12, outside activity - bird watching. Not particularly my outside activity, but could be.

#13, hobby - I like to do crossword puzzles and #14, from the office - a stapler.

By setting aside some studio time today I am hoping to get back to spending regular time there. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

For my artist link, check Regina Burchett's blog. She is on a sketching frenzy .. well, project. I love her graphite drawings. She is so multi-talented. You will see a link to her book, Friends of Orion, there, too. You will enjoy it as a good read.

Regina and I are going to have a painting get together on Wednesday. We will take in Will Klemm's exhibit at the Wally Workman Gallery and try to get some pastel painting time in, too. And that calls for still another Yay! Regina and I took a class in painting skies with pastel from Will a few years ago. Maybe I will work on a sky on Wednesday. Hmmmmm.

A couple of photos .. non art follow.

Just had to show more packing silliness. These two "non breakable" cushions were in the box they are sitting on and then in the bigger box with the brown paper protecting them. We recycle cardboard and paper, but yikes! Companies are giving free shipping and the wasting so much packing stuff. Wow.

And a peek in our new bedroom. You can see a couple of Regina's paintings on the wall. They look like they were painted and framed to go in our room. I just love them.

Sketches for #253

noreply@blogger.com (Jo Castillo) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:31:00 +0000

Sketches for Scavenger Hunt 253 done in the same old brown paper sketchbook with a Prismacolor Premier 01 pen/marker.

Number 1 - from outside the house, Number 2 - from inside the house.

Number 3, something from the entry or hall.

Number 4, something from the living or family room and Number 5, someone you live with.

Number 6, from the kitchen and Number 7, something with legs.

Number 8, gift - a new glass thermal cup, gift from Joanna, thank you! Number 9, sweet treat - some pineapple chunks.

I have painted a couple of paintings and will post about that soon! I expect that to be a bit more interesting. Off to work on insurance stuff, yuck!

Catching Up Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Jo Castillo) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:16:00 +0000

When I don't post for ages, I never know where to start. I have sketched, painted and taken photos that I think you might be interested in, so.... I will start with the photos.

You can see the side of the house now!

This star was on the side of the old house. Jeff Snyder made it. We haven't cleaned the ashes off or decided where to put it. Hmm.

Sunrise a few days ago

The back side of the sunrise

The lake, midday.

Moon over the house.

Garage door openers in and we can put both cars in the garage.

Gene got the clotheslines up.

And the bird feeder, too.

The clotheslines and bird feeder poles are from the other house. Gene's brother made the clothesline poles years ago. The bird feeder poles were on a play set attached to a playhouse when we bought the other house. Never used in our time by kids as the swings were missing. Ha. The birds and squirrels have enjoyed them.

Picnic tables at the golf course, guess discarded by the park service?

Gene fishing for balls. So good that we finally walked nine holes yesterday!

Just updating our life a bit. Now I will go post some sketches.

Kelly's Gymnast

noreply@blogger.com (Jo Castillo) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 05:53:00 +0000

My artist/sculpture friend, Kelly Borsheim is off in Italy again, working hard on her art. She can use those carving tools and paint brushes with style. Have a look at her "Gymnast" and read how it was created and carved. You can see it in person in Dripping Springs, Texas. Not too far from Austin. Check out her website and blog. You may remember her from previous posts when she was painting on the sidewalks in Italy. Probably more of that on the way, don't you think?

Hunting for Number 252

noreply@blogger.com (Jo Castillo) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 05:29:00 +0000

I have sketched a little for Scavenger Hunt #252. I used the Prismacolor Chisel Point marker and the Prismacolor Premier 08. The chisel has a flat tip so you can make wide and narrow marks. Fun for a change in pace. The 08 is one of the fine tip marker/pen that I like as well. I sketched in the Utrecht sketchbook with the recycled brown paper. I have that sketchbook about half full. Will I ever fill it up?? We shall see.

Number 1, basket with the challenge of making a blind contour version. A blind contour drawing is to sketch something by looking only at the object and not at your paper. It is not an easy task. It sometime helps not to lift your pen or pencil from the paper, but on the basket, I didn't try that.

Number 2, Bottle with label. Number 3, smells good - popcorn and Number 4, round - an orange.

Number 5, with rind - a grapefruit from South Texas. (thanks Esther!)

Number 6, feather, Number 7, water - the lake, and Number 8, sky.

It was interesting. One day last week when I was hosting the last Hunt, Gene and I were in the garage on our way to get in the car and I found a feather on the floor. I picked it up and told Gene, "I'm going to save this. Someone puts feathers on the list once in a while for the Scavenger Hunts." I put it on the newspaper recycling pile and told him to remind me to take it in when we got back. Then when I opened the list for this Hunt, there was "feather". Thanks to Joan. :) I saved the feather for next time, too.

I did paint with pastels a bit and have two paintings going. A landscape of the view out our dining window, early morning, is almost finished. It probably is finished but is sitting there to be studied and find out if it is ready.

I visited Enid Wood's pastel class ( she is a wonderful pastel artist) on Monday and started another painting there of a blue door in Taos. I painted on it a little yesterday and today. Maybe another four hours or so and it will be good to go, too.

There are two shows with the Austin Pastel Society soon, so need some new work. The first one is in Georgetown at the library and I can hang three that I have done. The other, the juried show, is in March but the deadline is Sunday for entries. Hopefully I will like the landscape I did to enter in that show. At least it doesn't have to be framed soon.

I need new paintings to change out at the Bastrop Fine Arts Guild and White Morpha. I used to paint fast but now ......

We are going to Austin tomorrow afternoon, so not much time for painting. We shall see how it goes.

ASH Insights Art Show

noreply@blogger.com (Jo Castillo) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 17:43:00 +0000

I want to remind you of the fundraiser for the Austin State Hospital. I have donated a painting along with friends from the Austin Pastel Society requested by Mike Etie. I hope you can go or make a donation. You can see the art and more info on their site: www.ashinsights.org I posted about my donation on this post.

Hunt 251 Sketches

noreply@blogger.com (Jo Castillo) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 15:16:00 +0000

I'm catching up on posting my sketches for Scavenger Hunt 251 where I have been the host. You still have a couple of days to join in. Maybe you are sketching but not posting. That is OK, too. We all need the practice.

Sketching for the Hunts has kept me going. As I have said many times, sketching for me is like homework. I try to sketch freehand with a goal of placing lines just once. You can tell when I am not paying attention or very interested in the item. Usually if it is more difficult, I concentrate more. Not always, though!

I sketched day before yesterday, yesterday and today. Only three more items to go, do you think I will finish? I only remember finishing all the items once before.

Number 20, bush or shrub. These potted shrubs are in the neighbor's yard and you can see some in the distance, too. I sketched with a Prismacolor Chisel Tip Marker. You can see the different lines it makes.

Number 21, skyline. I haven't been to town to get a "city" skyline so this is a substitute.

Number 22, rug. The yellow part is actually beige, should have used the paper color, duh. I used the Prismacolor markers and a Tombow Dual Brush pen. They have a brush on one end and a point on the other. Number 23, in a drawer - with a Prismacolor 005 pen/marker. The lines are very fine so it doesn't show as much.

For the artist today, Margie Crisp from Elgin, Texas (just down the road) has created a book about the Colorado River in Texas. It will be published in April. You can contact Margie through her website for more information. You can read about it on the Texas A & M University Press page.

Sketches for the Hunt 251

noreply@blogger.com (Jo Castillo) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 05:04:00 +0000

I better get some sketches posted. We will be out most of the day tomorrow. I sketched in the same sketchbook, first one yesterday and the other one this morning.

For Scavenger Hunt 251,
13. Square - the red casserole dish, 14. oval - the white casserole dish, 15. magnet - sunflower magnet from one of my paintings. 16. From fridge - pumpkin cheesecake cupcake (thanks, Joanna) 17. Canned food - peas

This did not photograph well. I sketched the sink on the right too lightly. It is here for the record, anyway. 18. Draped cloth - Gene's sweatshirt and 19. Under the sink

I will be delivering the painting to the ASH Insights Show. Check it out and go if you can. It is January 26. In the morning I will be trying to order some blinds at Lowe's.

Oh, I went to use my new easel and it is all wobbly. Rats. I will put photos and post about that. Grumble, grumble. The good thing is that I painted a bit. More later.......

Sketches for 251 and More Photos of "Home"

noreply@blogger.com (Jo Castillo) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 03:17:00 +0000

I sketched at the dining table this morning for Hunt 251. I used the same brown paper sketchbook and the Prismacolor Premier 5, fine line marker/pen.

Number 10, egg carton and Number 11, snack - several have sketched Clementines. They are popular at Christmas. These are the ones called "Cuties".

Number 12, drain rack. The item with the Z is a coozy, koozy to hold a beer or soda. Canned food is on the list, I should have put a can of food there. Or lie and say it was a can. Ha.

Here is another update on the house. They cleaned on the yard today, so you can almost see the front of the house. It has been hidden by bushes and youpon. Starting to look so much better. Hopefully they will finish tomorrow and we will get some photos. They were pushing over the youpon and got two small oak trees. I was so sad, but Joanna suggested we plant a pecan tree there. Sounds like a good idea.

Larry took this of the house from the lake side. From left to right it is the front porch, living, dining, laundry and master. The laundry and master have doors to that porch.

Larry took this egret down at the lake. You can see how low the lake is.

This is looking out from the second bedroom toward the street as a "before photo". I will take the same photo soon after the clearing and cleaning is done.

For my artist link, I like this article on emptyeasel.com "It's Never Too Late to Discover Your Creativity", by Dan Johnson.

Hunt 251 Sketches

noreply@blogger.com (Jo Castillo) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 21:59:00 +0000

Happy New Year! I hope you all have a wonderful new year. We are planning to have a better year this time. I saw some of the folks on TV saying that they thought even numbered years were better than odd numbers, so I'm hoping that will be true for us. The weather has been beautiful the last couple of days. We sat on the porch last night until after 9:30 p.m. watching fireworks and having some wine. Larry had come to help us and visit, so he was there, too. Lovely New Year's Eve.

I did sketch on Friday in my chair with ottoman! Good place to put up the feet and relax. I sketched in the brown paper sketchbook with the Prismacolor Premier 5, fine line marker.

Number 5, shoe and number 6, corner of the room by the tree.

Number 7, comfy - couch and Number 8, pillow. Number 9, from the closet - some towels.

Number 10, store front.

We went to Lowe's to get an electric fireplace. Gene went in for a minute and I remembered to sketch the front of Lowe's, but it was quick. I just did it on the order paper for some blinds from our previous trip. One of the challenges on the Hunt was to sketch something and the opposite. I thought I could do the back of the store as an opposite. We picked up the fireplace in the front instead of the back. I will have to find another opposite.

A couple of photos of the new place.

The lake today.

A peek at the living and dining with the glider on the porch showing.

Hosting Scavenger Hunt 251 & Frost Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Jo Castillo) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 00:19:00 +0000

This is my 9 days to host Scavenger Hunt 251. Come on over to wetcanvas.com and sketch a little. It is a friendly group of artists from around the world so it is fun to see the common every day things from the other side of the world. There are so many forums on wetcanvas that if you are not into sketching you can find a niche that you will like. Categories like landscape, oils, critiquing, business, photography, digital, how to articles and WIPs (Works in Progress) to learn from and contribute to.

I sketched today for "my" Hunt with the Prismacolor Premier 5, fine line marker that acts like a pen for me. I sketched in the brown paper sketchbook, freehand.

Number 1, view out a window - I chose one in the dining room. Number 2, texture - this is a carved wooden piece of corn from Equador. My friend, Vera, gave me a wooden bowl with fruit to make me feel at home here with some South American goodies. Thanks, Vera.

Number 3, smooth - a wooden apple from the bowl. It has a leather loop for a stem. Number 4, lamp shade.

There was frost yesterday morning and again today. It looked so cold out the window until the sun started to peek through.

Then the mist was rising from the small lake, too. Brrr...

We are sure enjoying the views around here. We went for a short walk today, too. It was beautiful out.

Are you having a bad day?

noreply@blogger.com (Jo Castillo) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 17:42:00 +0000

I was checking my e-mail and received this in my mail from FineArtViews Art Marketing Newsletter by FASO. Such good advice. I'm not sure we can avoid all bad days, but this change in attitude will help.

No More Bad Days

by Jack White

I find when new artists exhibit too much enthusiasm in the beginning they tend hit a flat-line as they move forward. When they run into the doldrums, the area in the ocean where there is no wind to fill their sails, they sit down and declare defeat. They start with intense energy, then when things don’t go as easily as hoped these newbies begin to wilt like an unwatered sunflower in the hot, Texas summer sun. [...]

Read the rest of this article at:
http://fineartviews.com/blog/37687/no-more-bad-days

----------------------------------------------
This excerpt appears courtesy of FineArtViews Art Marketing Newsletter by FASO,
a free email newsletter about art, marketing, inspiration and fine living for artists,
collectors and galleries (and anyone else who loves art).

For a complimentary subscription, visit: http://www.fineartviews.com

-----------------------------------------------

Sketches for Hunt #250

noreply@blogger.com (Jo Castillo) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 17:07:00 +0000

I did a little bit of sketching on Christmas Day. These are for Scavenger Hunt number 250 on wetcanvas.com I have to sneak them in as tomorrow is the last day of this Hunt and I will host 250 starting tomorrow as well. (I will post the new link) If you have been following my blog for a while, you know that artists from around the world take part in the Hunts and we take turns hosting which means that we come up with a list of 26 items and have 9 days to sketch as many or as few as you care to do. We add a challenge or two as well. Some of us are chatty like me so we comment on the sketches, but that is not required. No critiquing either, the Hunts are just to keep us sketching and practicing. You might like to join in. One of my friends does the list but never posts her sketches. Up to you!!

In the meantime here are the sketches I did for this Hunt.

Number 1, red - one of the stockings on the ottoman. Number 3, Christmas ornament - a red ball and some of the beads that shine.

Number 2, symbol of family fun, challenge to draw a family activity. We were all scattered around doing different activities, but that is the family. Joanna was pleased that they were all equally awful so no one could recognize us from these sketches. The one of Romeo in the bottom center is the only one that looks a little like any of us. Ha.

We had a great time for the weekend. We had to get used to the new "stuff" for cooking, sitting, bathing, sleeping. Everyone trying to pick out their "spot". The grand-dogs were worn out from all the festivities. They had on their sweaters. One says, "Silent Night, Howlie Night", and the other says, "Santa's Little Helper." Gene is trying his new bluetooth headset for his bike riding in the background.

It was a fantastic Christmas with family, good food and good times. Almost like home. :-)

Sketches and Sunset

noreply@blogger.com (Jo Castillo) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:19:00 +0000

I managed a few sketches for Scavenger Hunt 249 over the week. All in the regular brown paper sketchbook with a Prismacolor Premier 5 marker/pen. It is nice to get a little sketching time in.

Number 4, something you love - well, somebody I love. Number 5, cup - a new start for a maybe cup collection.

Number 6, door handle and number 7, light switch.

Number 8, socks with the challenge of drawing them more than once in different "poses".

The sunset last night was spectacular. Here are a few photos, the first from my iPhone and the last few from my Casio camera. In the first photo I caught a bit of the roof. The last two are the clouds behind me. It was so neat. I called Joanna, but she couldn't see it from her office. You can click to see them larger.

Memories of Mom Frances

noreply@blogger.com (Jo Castillo) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 18:48:00 +0000

Today would be Mom Frances' birthday. She was Gene's mom. Thinking of her and how she always supported and loved me brings fond memories to mind. You can read about her in this post from her birthday in 2009. You can put "Frances" in the search box, top left, and read more about her. She was beautiful and amazing.

She was an artist and always kept the statues in the Mary Magdalene church up to snuff. She painted with acrylics for some time and I had a few of her paintings in my studio. No photos of course. Rats. She had one framed and I guess one of the daughters has it. I will try to get a photo sometime. We did tole painting together. She used to make replacements for pieces of jigsaw puzzles that were missing. She would cut the piece from cardboard, paint the image it needed, varnish it and there it was. When a puzzle was completed we could not tell which was the repaired or new piece. Clever lady!

This is a fairly recent photo of the three of us, Gene, Mom and I. We miss her.

Gene would have been in Albuquerque today to visit her, instead he is working hard in the garage trying to get it organized and all the boxes and packing material out of there. Like his mom, he likes to stay busy. This stuff is just a small part of our boxes. I ordered ink for the printer and they sent the small box in a box that was about 12 x 16 x 16. Crazy!

Sketching for Hunt 249

noreply@blogger.com (Jo Castillo) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 04:44:00 +0000

I can't believe we are on Scavenger Hunt 249. Wow! We started in the summer of 2006. I started my blog about that time, too. I have been much better doing a blog than I ever did keeping a diary or journal. I always wrote for two weeks or so and then less and less often. It would only take about a month to forget all about writing.

Sketching, as I have said before, is a little like homework. I have been very lax the last few weeks and now I am so out of practice. It is amazing how quickly my skill goes away. I will try now to get back on a regular schedule and keep up with sketching and painting.

I will have a student for painting tomorrow. Maybe that will get me started. I also ordered some shelves for the closet of my studio so that I can get my art supplies up off the floor. It is always easier to start a project if everything is handy and ready to go.

I did manage a few sketches, yesterday and today, in my Utrecht sketchbook with a Prismacolor Premier 5 pen/marker.

Number 1, wooden. This is my studio rocking chair. You can see that I was struggling with every part of the sketch, perspective, lines, shading.

Number 2, natural - the edge of a huge cedar tree full of berries in the yard. Landscapes are easier. "You" haven't seen this tree so I can fudge and you won't know. Heh. Number 3, man made. the pillar and porch rail. I did sketch while sitting on the glider on the porch. How cool is that. My first sketch there.

Yesterday I went to the Bastrop Fine Arts Guild and changed out my work there. I didn't have anything new to put up, but these haven't been there for a while. The aspens is a pastel, the cactus blooms are in acrylic, the restaurant is a pastel, the Rio Grande is an oil and the butterfly and flowers is acrylic. I like the simplicity of the Rio Grande painting. It is calming and reminds me of New Mexico. The restaurant scene has museum glass right against the pastel. It looks like and oil painting.

I have two paintings in Carol Wiginton's Studio, too.

Guacamole Time is acrylic on panel and Pears on Red is pastel.

It was cloudy and drizzling this morning and the colors in this old oak tree were just great. Very saturated color and will make a good painting don't you think? This view is out our bedroom windows or the laundry room door.

For my art link today I will point you to the Daily Painters of Wyoming. I met Mike Beeman and Ron Swearingen on wetcanvas.com. Both are excellent painters and work in pastels, too. Ron has a "how to" on his blog. I like how he uses his pastels. He hasn't been posting too recently as he moved and is remodeling his new house. So he is getting settled and will be painting more again, too.

Sketches and the Saga Continues

noreply@blogger.com (Jo Castillo) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 03:52:00 +0000

I managed some sketching when I took breaks from attempts to get organized. I sketched very quickly in the brown paper sketchbook with the Prismacolor Premier 05 marker/pen. These are for Scavenger Hunt 248 which ends tomorrow. I started on December 6 and am just now posting them.

Number 1, fingernails. Number 2, jacket - my bright blue rain/golf jacket on the door handle.

Number 3, smells good - my coffee in the early morning. Number 4, looks good - the view out the dining area window with the early morning light. I added a bit of colored pencil to these just for fun. I haven't varied my sketching material for a while, eh?

Number 5, moves at varying speeds - my feet, stationary on the ottoman at the moment!

Number 6, depicts the weather - the cloudy sky over the pine trees. No, we didn't get rain! Number 7, seasonal - an edge of the Christmas tree with a little baseball trophy ornament at the bottom that was given to us by Judi and artist friend.

That is the art for the Hunt. I am meeting up this week with an artist to help her with an oil painting so I may actually touch a brush! That should help get me going.

Here is a link to Judi's page for my art link tonight. She lives here in Bastrop.

* * * * * * * * * *

Now on with the saga of the move to a new house after the big fire in Bastrop destroyed our home along with 1600 more.

I don't mean to be negative and bore you to tears, but want you to understand a bit of what we are going through after the fire to hopefully get to a "normal" life .. whatever that is. It is very difficult to do artwork. I still have my things in boxes, bins and on the floor. I ordered some shelves for my closet and that should help. The desk/tables I got are great but are covered with all the paperwork we have been trying to plow through. Change of addresses for everything. Trying to get copies of accounts and such.

We are settling in the house but at times it is difficult to get motivated. Sometimes it is overwhelming to think about gathering everything we need to be comfortable again. No curtains, few rugs, few dishes, etc. Gene is especially missing his tools. He had finally gathered most of the things he wanted so that he could easily make or repair something. He had so many gadgets, saws, tables, shelves, etc. We keep thinking that we can use this or that and then remember there is no this or that. Sigh.....

I have been shopping for a TV for the great room area and all the other items we need and just can't actually buy anything. I buy one or two things at Walmart, order one from Amazon.com, etc. It is a slow process.

Tonight I was going to warm over some tortilla soup. It seemed to be too much for a 2 quart pan but would be lost in the bigger pans I have. Note to self, buy a 3 quart pan. Heh. I ended up putting it in a Corning Ware casserole type dish I bought the other day, but then that was not the kind I could use on the stove so had to resort to the microwave.

I did order and have received cookie sheets and rolling pin stocking and cloth so we can make biscochitos for Christmas. The cookies are very thin and the only way to make them is with the stocking. I haven't bought anise yet which is the spice other than cinnamon that we need for the cookies.

Rolling out the biscochitos.

Roll them thin and put them in cinnamon sugar, then on the cookie sheets.

They are about the size of a silver dollar and hopefully about that thick, too. Otherwise they won't melt in your mouth.

This is the bottom of a perfectly done biscochito.

Here is Jennie emptying the sheet. In the lower right you see some piled about 10 or 15 high. We make a bunch and are very tired of them by the time we finish. That must be why they are only made at Christmas in our family!

Jennie will be out on Friday night before Christmas. We will make tamales, biscochitos, posole, beans, tortillas, enchilada casserole, rice, green chile balls, fruit salad, and maybe empanadas if we still feel like cooking by then. Ha. We traditionally eat posole and tamales late Christmas Eve, it used to be after midnight mass. Now we eat pretty late and open presents at 10 or 11 p.m. There were stockings for Christmas morning, oops, have to get new ones.

We have gone to some music venues as I posted recently. I went to the Christmas party for the Austin Pastel Society and the Bastrop Fine Arts Guild. Everyone has been so generous and the camaraderie certainly helps. The Guild members brought Christmas ornaments and decorations for the 11 artists that were displaced by the fire and lost everything. Very thoughtful. The parties were great.

A few visuals for you to share and a chance for me to record our process ......

Regina and Larry came out on Friday and took our home away from home back to Austin. We can't thank them enough for their help.

Charlie was happy to have his corner back so he can look out the windows. He is such a friendly and lovable guy.

We had some fog the other morning. You can't see the water in our lake for the fog.

The front of the house, we still haven't cleaned the yard, hopefully next week! this porch has tile on the floor. Looks nice. My studio windows face that porch.

This is the living and dining porch with the great glider that Regina and Larry gave us. (It has been a bit cool for sitting on it in the evening) The steps are not connected and permanent. Those will get fixed next week, too. There were no steps by this porch gate. Hmm

And the Christmas tree that we bought at the Festival of Trees. We put it on the table that Kelly gave us as the ceiling is so high. This gives it a bit more oomph. The table is destined to be in my studio along with the rocking chair I bought for my corner to contemplate my paintings. Heh.

Ah, the chair shows in this photo. Sort of........

So I have made a few purchases and folks have given us comfortable additions to our "stuff". Oh, Dee gave us a dresser for the guest room so the TV has a spot to sit. Thank you, too. Gene has been putting together our bedroom furniture that we got from Amazon.com. Photos eventually.

Sorry for such a long post if you made it to the end. :) See you soon.

Update on Move and Sketches for 246

noreply@blogger.com (Jo Castillo) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 04:07:00 +0000

It has been so long since I posted that I put in the title and posted. Sigh....

We have been in the house a week. Whew. Here are some teasers until I get more done.

Here is part of the storage shed with the Christmas Tree. We went to the Festival of Trees, a fundraiser for the Family Crisis Center as I mentioned. You buy the trees in auction and then they wrap them up and you bring them home or they deliver so you can just open them up and you have your tree all decorated! We bought the "tool" tree sponsored by Frank Rainosek and Sears. It had tools under it for Gene, which he is making good use of already and is mostly red and silver. We put it up but had to redo it. Some of the decorations were too loose and one of the strings of lights quit on it. So it looks great. Photos to follow soon.

This is looking from my studio onto the living room. Now the tree is in that corner! My studio is such a mess with stuff on the floor. We got some tables/desks from Craig's list today. I will be able to put the stuff on the tables and can post some photos soon.

This was frost on the grass the other morning. Very rare in Bastrop. We had a little rain again yesterday. Woo hoo!

And for sketching for Scavenger Hunt 246 (oops, it is #247, I guess I didn't do any for 246 or just skipped it), I sketched in the living room in the new chair with ottoman and then at the RV park while the trailer was being cleaned. So nice. Thanks Danny and Reuben. They were burned out also and are trying to get their business, Honey Bee Maids, going again. Reuben has a tree service, too, so had much hard work clearing the burned trees.

Number 1, seasonal - a poinsettia that I bought to have some color before we brought the furniture over.
Number 2, ornament - some of the Christmas balls and ribbon from the tree.

Number 3, man made - the RVs and Trailers and cars.
Number 4, natural - the trees

Our son, Larry, is here tonight. Our first dinner guest and over night guest! Great that we have a bed and room for guests. I cooked a pot roast and made flour tortillas. Came out OK even with the new gadgets and pans. Just have to think of everything, no automatic reaching for things. Hard to teach old dogs new tricks they say. Sigh...

For my artist today, you can check out Larry's photography. : )

Help the Adoption Coalition of Texas and Have a Great Musical Evening

noreply@blogger.com (Jo Castillo) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:44:00 +0000

Byrd and Street are our all time favorite Austin music duo. They are both artists and great friends. Check them out at byrdandstreet.com (some sample music there) and come to Threadgill's on Wednesday!

Don't miss a fabulous and fun opportunity to support the Adoption Coaliton of Texas
this Wed. December 7 at Threadgill's south 6-10pm...6 bands with some of
Austin's best musicians!

The 2nd Annual
Byrd & Street
Mistletoe Jam Benefit!
Wednesday, December 7

All proceeds go to the Adoption Coalition of Texas a (501C-3 non-profit)
whose work is to find Forever Families for forgotten children in foster care. There are 500-600 kids in central Texas who are hoping for a family that they can call their own someday soon.

6:00pm – 10:00pm
Threadgill’s South
301 West Riverside Drive

Artist donating time and talent include: Terri Hendrix, Lloyd Maines, Byrd & Street,
Karen Abrahams, George Ensle, Bob Livingston, Leeann
Atherton, Richard Bowden, Marvin Dykhuis, Bradley Kopp, Greg Lowry
and other special guests!

Suggested Contributions:
Host: $100 Benefactor: $50 Supporter: $25
$20-$15-$10 Helper

For more information or to RSVP call
Murray Chanow at (512) 450-8608 or email at murraychanow@adopttexas.org
For more information about the Adoption Coalition please go to: http://www.adoptioncoalitiontx.org. Please bring cash or checks made out to the Adoption Coalition of Texas--(which receives no state funding and relies on private and corporate donations.)

If you cannot attend, consider ACT for your annual giving:
2222 Western Trails Ste101, Austin TX 78745

First Friday in Bastrop

noreply@blogger.com (Jo Castillo) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 04:08:00 +0000

By the time you read this it will be December 2, First Friday. The Bastrop Fine Arts Guild will have a group holiday show with featured items under $100. This is a tradition to have a group show in December. I have two paintings there for the show. Summer Aspens and Thistle. I also have my regular exhibit there.

Stop in from 6 to 8 p.m. on December 2, 1009 Main Street in historic downtown Bastrop, Texas. Do some gallery hopping. Refreshments, meet the artists, eat downtown, listen to live music and see the new lights.

Can't go wrong with art, music, food and friends. See you there!

I'll let you guess which one of the paintings this is. :)

Holiday Fundraiser

noreply@blogger.com (Jo Castillo) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:18:00 +0000

There are many events to help the community of Bastrop after the fires. This looks like it will be fun and help some folks. Extreme Makeover Home Edition is working on four houses and are a sponsor it looks like. (click on poster to see larger)