Spring is finally really here

In this oddest of years, I think Spring has finally settled in for good hereabouts. Green shoots everywhere around the homestead.  I am still holding off from a garden center visit. It's only been groceries and post office outings since March 9.

Squirrels, chipmunks racing about, birds singing an absolute symphony in the morning.All the shades of green---I will never run out of ways to mix painted greens, but somehow I never get them quite right. I'm in a mellow mood today, at absolute peace with this life at home. My energy took a detour in a new creative direction, more about that later. Listening to Joni Mitchell singing Little Green because after all it's Green month over at RSC2020. Yes, I am old. Too young to have been at Woodstock, but old enough to remember all the music.

So...I think I did post on Sunday about my Scrap Snap progress, which is a field of green with floral colors, but here it is again.

Maybe I will work a bit more on it today.

However, before I created a green and floral scrapsplosion, I had a quilt to sandwich and finish. I actually finished it today!  This is for the Sunshine Online Quilt guild, in honor of one of the founding members.  T for Terry.  I think I should have done the photo in indirect lighting with flash but so it goes. Scrappy to the max, it has crumbs AND strings and even a pieced bias binding. I flubbed the math but made it all work out in the end. This will go to Wrap a Smile.

This is my sixth quilt finish for 2020 already. One for me (Frolic) and the rest are to be donated.

I also prowled about with my camera on a nice morning walk, and poking around my garden. It's tough, but I am keeping up with the sketchaday prompts. Sometimes I can dig through my portfolio drawer, but other times I have to do something fresh.

For illuminate, I did an illuminated manuscript type monogram for myself. It was like doing adult coloring.

 For wander, I did a weary traveller staggering into a snowed in old town.

For hoop, I spent 2 minutes on this embroidery hoop.

 For snap, I did ginger snaps with coffee.

 For identify, I did a bird that is easy to identify, the redwing blackbird.

 For bloom, I tried to paint roses. The leaves came out too brown in the photo.

I did the third gouache tutorial, but I flubbed it at the last minute. Those flowers at the center bottom ruin the whole thing.

But I learned a lot, and I am resolved to start painting from either photos, from life, or out of my own imagination. I am tired of being a copyist.

To keep the old brain fresh and resist the urge to start playing online games on my phone, I started learning to use some new software for art purposes: Gimp, and Autodesk Sketchbook, and Inkscape.  Also some android apps that allow my to manipulate images. And I am putting all that artwork up for sale on Redbubble. I have a feed from Redbubble on the Artsy Stuff for You tab on this blog. They are like cafepress, --they imprint everything from large reprinted artwork to phone cases and notecards and totebags and stickers.

I am learning what to do with image sizes and resolutions.

A lot of my paintings and sketches look better after a digital filter is applied, I must admit.

I manipulated a rather drab image, and ended up with a bright fresh print that can even be made into a nonmedical mask. These are lightweight, with no filter pocket, and I think these meet the spirit of any masking law you might have to deal with in a nonmedical setting. Also, Redbubble is donating $1 to Heart to Heart  which helps medically underserved communities, for every mask sold.

Our beaches are opening on Memorial Day at 50% capacity, and they say you must wear a mask to go near the rest room, or to chat with other people at close range. I imagine these lightweight masks would serve to meet the spirit of that regulation.

I am tired of making masks at this point, so I will just be directing any additional requests for masks to redbubble.

My other exciting thing is I bought this Ninja Foodi pressure crisp. No affiliate. I did not have either an air fryer or instant pot before. I have made some great recipes so far;; Lentil/barley pilaf, sweet potato fries, the fastest one pot mac and cheese imaginable, a small lasagne with no boil noodles, One pot chicken teriyaki, rice and roasted broccoli. If you are looking for a new kitchen toy, this thing is fun!  We have only had takeout once since locking down.

Well that's an update on EVERYTHING going on here this week. Hard to imagine quarantine could be this exciting.