Time for the annual art show

Thunderbird Art Gallery

1309 E. 16th Street - Greeley, CO 80631
(One Mile East of First Avenue)
Phone: (970) 352-4397
http://www.thunderbirdartgallery.com/


HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE

Sat., Dec. 12, 2009 - 10 am - 5 pm
Sun., Dec. 13, 2009 - 12 noon - 5 pm

Featuring the following Artists in person:

Donald DeNoncourt, Julie Kramer Cole,
Judith Angell Meyer, Becky Johnson &
Donald Vann

Would love to see you all. The Thunderbird gallery is a wonderful place to display art.

Coming out party for an older painting

This painting is one that I did a long time ago. Title: "Spirit Woman" Size: 11 1/2" X 14 1/2". It is a self portrait.

Spirit Woman is sort of the Indian name I acquired over the years. For many years we enjoyed belonging to mountain man reenactment groups. A couple of portraits I painted for the guys were complimented by saying I had caught/captured their spirit. Of course this wasn't a good thing in the 1800's. At first Indians were very Leary of the photograph, and were afraid that their spirit had been captured.

This self-portrait is my interpretation of a more positive view. The view in the painting is of me laying on my back and looking up through the lodge poles. In the back of the lodge there are some drawings depicting part of my life. The fire is going, and the smoke is swirling upward through the smoke flaps and curling itself around the moon. The smoke vaguely resembles the shape of a woman spreading her wings as her spirit takes flight.

Enjoy. I'd like to hear what you think of this one too. ~J~

All art, poetry and writings are copyright & cannot be reproduced in any form without written permission from Judith Angell Meyer

It's about time, but I'm back ... sort of ...

Hello hello!!

I finally am in a much better place now than I have been since the surgery. The lumbar fusion went very well. Up and walking the same day as the surgery. The pain in my leg from the pinched nerve was gone. I came home on the 4th day. My brother-in-law was a god-send. It didn't seem like he was doing all that much, and yet I couldn't have gotten through that first week without him. Thank you again {{{{{Tom,}}}}} very, very much!

At about 2/3 weeks the pinched nerve pain came back. The Dr. fixed what was causing that and I began to worry that I had done something to damage the fix. Turns out, it would take walking out in front of a Mack truck to hurt the fusion. Since I hadn't done that ... Turns out that when I get that pain it means that I have been over-doing it. In response, the wound would swell up which put pressure on the nerves. Sure was incentive not to over-do!

After 3 days in a row with almost no pain or noticeable weakness, I started backing off the pain medication. Which is working out just fine. Now I just have to get through the next month of limiting my actions, and at that point I should be able to get a lot more active. I have already been given the script for rehab, so will be starting that for 2/3 times a week soon. Nothing like getting through the worst of the pain, and then go back (willingly - sort of), to push the pain back to the top. For the bone to show a good start at fusion will take about 6 months.

I want to thank you all for your help along the way and your notes, cards and prayers. I needed and used up every ounce of love you sent my way. Thank you, thank you!!

~J~

Just a quick note ....

I just wrote a nice note, and lost it. I'm too tired to remember what I said. Lets see. Everything is on schedule for surgery at noon today. Thursday 22nd. I'm expecting to be home by Monday 26th. Then the real adventure begins.

Can you imagine me doing nothing and at the mercy of my children to help? I'm grateful that my brother-in-law volunteered to come. Maybe he can keep them under control! :-) However, they have all been a big help so far. I'm a lucky mom.

Going to miss my Gizmo for the few days. Sigh ...

See you in a few days, or a week or two ...

~J~

Surgery update ...

Since I wrote the quote below ...

"Hey, I got the call back from the Dr's office. Looks like only one to two days stay at the hospital, and at home I'll be expected to be up and around, walking a little, just no heavy or strenuous lifting, bending or twisting. Sounds like I'll be able to handle it all with no trouble. (This is optimism speaking ... don't tell me any different!)"

I have been on quite an emotional ride! I downloaded the informational material from the Front Range Center for Brain and Spine Surgery, P.C. web site, the site my Doctor is affiliated with, and promptly started visualizing myself in the post surgery requirements. OMG! So I scheduled an appointment with my Doctor, and had a very specific heart to heart.

My thoughts had become a concern for having the surgery heading into winter. While I can get help with feeding the horses, I might still have to let them out. Then snow and ice and things do come up when you are alone. Now I won't be alone to begin with. But we are talking about a two month period that has to way toned down for healing to progress without incident. And no one likes me that much!! My thoughts are too graphic ... don't remember getting much sleep at all!

By the time the Doctor and I finished, I got Doctor answers and not "generic" post op instruction possibilities. Him knowing me enough to help me understand where I might be during recovery, and not the generic public. I will still have to mind the two months of really slowed down activity, but I haven't been all that active since the lumbar region of my back took over my life.

So ... pre-op consultation with an anesthesia nurse will happen on the 20th of October. And the Surgery will take place on the 22nd of October. I will be in the hospital between two and four days depending on my stubborn gauge, then home. The batteries will be dead on all my vehicles before I get to use them again, but I guess I can live with that.

I'll write after the pre-op consult. It will be the last time for a while that I'll be able to sit at the computer. At least two weeks me thinks. I'll be back and pretty sassy soon enough. Enjoy your vacation from that!!

~J~

Buffalo cows and calf

I cannot believe that I slept in until almost 9 a.m.! It was so dark in the room. The same darkness that comes just before the sun peeks out from the east and blasts the bedroom with its radient Good Morning! Only today there was no sun out blasting or anything else. The sun has come out this afternoon, which I won't complain about, but it is weak, and there is still a dark overcast look in the north. 45 degrees today, which is also better!

Here is the little 4" x 5" watercolor painting that I said I'd post yesterday. Sorry ....

"Sunday in Sage"

All art, poetry and writings are copyright & cannot be reproduced in any form without written permission from Judith Angell Meyer

The Sun Came Out!

Greetings!! I don't think it ever got to 40 degrees here today, but the sun melted most of the snow. Tomorrow the temperature is supposed to hit 45 degrees. Balmy!

For something a little lighter. Here is a small 4"x5" watercolor. I spotted the buffalo on my way to Pinedale, Wyoming for an art show, and had to stop and take pictures. There is a mate to this one with cow buffalo and a calf. You have to wait until tomorrow for that one. Enjoy ...

"Serenity and Sage"

~J~

All art, poetry and writings are copyright & cannot be reproduced in any form without written permission from Judith Angell Meyer

More snow on the Prairie

I got up to 18 degrees and it was snowing. Almost an inch then, and now maybe almost two inches, and it is almost stopped. I was just sitting in the family room bundled up with a hot cup of coffee and watching golf of TV. Beautiful green fairways and greens and ... thought this is so wrong ... So, let me take you back to September 24th.

I woke up and got to my morning things. Fluffing up the bed, dressing, teeth and hair etc., and when I came out to the kitchen to start coffee, I saw two police cars in my back driveway facing the barn. Coffee forgotten, out I went to see what the heck was going on. The police cars were running but there was no one around, so went into the barn, and there was a very large, white GMC - SUV standing will all the doors wide open. Still no police, or anyone else for that matter.

I went out to the camper where my son was staying. Theresa answered the door and she didn't know anything ... said a guy stuck his head in the camper door and said he was going to do some wiring and left. She woke my son up, who, in his sleep, only heard something about wiring. So now the three of us are out back and another police car drove in.

Seems as though the first two police cars were off chasing the two car thieves who put the SUV in my barn. Probably to strip. The police had spotted them early enough to catch at least one of the guys. By now, there were a couple more officers and cars who divided the three of us up so we "couldn't collaborate our stories." Before all was said and done, there were easily 10 police cars in my yard and driveway.


Since they caught the thieves, they called the owners of the stolen vehicle and they came to inspect their car and drive it home. They were more than a little upset that someone would walk into their garage and just drive their car away. About three hours later we were down to just one policeman and car who was wrapping things up.

Just this last week I noticed that the exit port on my camper was open. Actually it looked like the wind had blown it open and broke the hinge edge. I didn't take a serious look right away, but when I did, I discovered that it had been torn open by what had to be one of the thieves looking for a place to hide. He didn't actually get into the camper, but the damage was done. Pictures below show his huge sneaker prints in the dust on the hood of my little Toyota so he could reach up and tear the hatch off.

This is the hatch torn off of its hinges.

This is a CSI thing. That sneaker was slightly over 12" long from toe to heel!

More hands and feet all over my little Toyota Truck. The camper is in my barn which has a dirt floor. With the horses, and me, in and out, dust is always kicked up. Glad it was there for a change or might not have proven that one of the thieves did the damage to the hatch!

One of the police cars. The one behind it is the second large GMC SUV that the owner of the stolen one came to claim. His and Hers SUV's. While they were scared; after all they were at home and had kids in the house when the SUV was stolen, they were lucky to get their vehicle back as quickly as they did, and with no real damages.

It certainly makes you wonder what will happen next. Thieves are getting so bold. My son had seen the one thief once, and that was all it took for the guy to know about my barn and think he could help himself to my property for his own purposes. The following week, my neighbor across the intersection had a pickup full of guys walk into her barn moving things around and haltering the horses and opening stalls. My grandson had just gone there to care for his horses and caught them. Luckily they ran to the pick up and took off. (They were his horses.)

At first I considered a security camera system, but that is a little more expensive than I can handle right now, so am going to look into a buzzer that will sound in the house when ever a car drives in or out. There was a time I would have never believed these measures would ever be necessary.

Snow on the Colorado Prairie

I promised updates so I guess it is about time I got to it. I'll start with right now. It is about 38 degrees outside and it is snowing. You know, those huge wet flakes that are probably a dozen flakes all holding hands and coming down together. Like those crazy folks who jump out of airplanes and do the same thing. Good grief ~!~ It isn't supposed to do this sort of thing until the kids are all dressed up for Halloween!

Okay, I do have a date for my back surgery. Will be October 22nd. But in Loveland, not at the hospital here. While I have no worries where the Doctor is concerned, I'm not at all thrilled to be away from "home" for the surgery. Going to be more than just a little imposition on friends and family. And I have to go way out there for a pre-surgery consult on the 20th. I have calls in for information so I can make plans. Like how long will I be in the hospital, don't think this will be an out-patient procedure like my knee was, but so far no response. Would like to know what my restrictions will be at home too. Can't plan help if I don't know. However, I have a very good offer from Kansas.

My son moved out and is in an apartment now, but came back yesterday to do his laundry. And he isn't even in college. Of course he has to come here to have the space to work on his vehicles. Put monster tires on his truck the other day. I had to ask if he needed a ladder to get in it, "Not quite," he said.

Hey, I got the call back from the Dr's office. Looks like only one to two days stay at the hospital, and at home I'll be expected to be up and around, walking a little, just no heavy or strenuous lifting, bending or twisting. Sounds like I'll be able to handle it all with no trouble. (This is optimism speaking ... don't tell me any different!)

I'm going to catch you up on the current stories, one post at a time. So that is that for this one.

~J~

Cat Nappin'

This Bobcat, or Lynx, is a small 4" x 6" watercolor painting. He actually doesn't look all that pleased that I have intruded on his space. But he has one ear "watching" me, and the other ear is keeping track of the sounds coming from behind him. The Bobcat has been successfully reintruduced in Colorado, after a slow start. What a beautiful coat of fur.

Good news, my brace is off after knee surgery, and I am improving. Therapy will be starting soon. Can't say I'm looking forward to that.

All art, poetry and writings are copyright & cannot be reproduced in any form without written permission from Judith Angell Meyer

Rascally Racoon

This is a little 3 1/2" x 5" watercolor painting. It was a commission from my sister to give to her daughter. This is a pretty young guy and fun to paint. Fur going every which-a-way, you can tell he scampered up that tree in a hurry. Once safe, he set his evil eye on you not to come any closer. Racoon's are fun to watch, but sure can be a nuisance.

This last spring we had some really nasty winds along with very hard rain falls mixed with hail. I was on the porch watching the storm when out of the "fog" of the dense rain came a racoon running as fast as he could in that odd gait of theirs, with his tail to the storm. He was literally being pushed by the wind. When it was all over, here he came lumbering back in the opposite direction.

Racoon's are fun to paint as they never lack for entertaining expressions.

All art, poetry and writings are copyright & cannot be reproduced in any form without written permission from Judith Angell Meyer

A Great photo of Lynn - Her Creative Side!

This is one of my favorite Lynn Thomas photos. One she sent as we were getting to know each other. I don't have a date, guessing 1955ish, (15) but it clearly shows Lynn's creative side ... and a patient dog ...

Good bye my friend Lynn Thomas

My dear friend and mentor Lynn Thomas passed away early this morning, August 25, 2009.
I will miss her.
Her husband Joe and her many friends will miss her.
Sparky and Raven will miss her.

Below is a letter I wrote to Lynn, which her daughters were gracious enough to read to her.

"A Matter of Days"

I opened your blog today and all I saw was "A Matter of Days." As I stared at the words, slowly, my tears joined Judi's and memories came out of the blur.
A matter of days __ We've only known, (had contact), each other for a matter of days. My first WAOAW show in Scottsdale many, many years ago. Then a WAOAW show at PaJo's. I was drawn over and over to your painting of a frontier woman hanging out her wash. I was in awe of its beauty and the emotion welling up in me as I folded myself into it. In awe of you, I hung back to listen as you talked, too bashful to approach.

Then I came to visit you at your house on the muddy. It was like we had visited together regularly all our lives. You toured me around your beautiful end of the world. I left as in awe of you as before __ only different. We really were friends, admiring and enjoying each other. There is no one else I am this close to. Because of you, my art is better. My poetry is better. The way I see the world around me is more colorful and more intense. What a love and friendship that developed in only "a matter of days."

I can only imagine how deep the love you share with all the Angels who now hover around you. Angels with whom you have lived and touched over many years.
Thank you my Dear Sweet Lynn for allowing me into your big heart.

Judy (~J~)

The portrait is finished ...

Finally on Thursday, July 16th I got this portrait on its way to Texas. It was supposed to be there on Saturday before 3 p.m., and it did, but the folks at the address were expecting a package from FedEx, so the post office left a notice and took it back. I finally knew that it had arrived safely on Monday. And, he liked it! I am pleased. This portrait was done with graphite in a .55mm mechanical pencil for fine detail. The leads I used ranged from HB, to 2H, and a 3B, but mostly it was done with the HB lead.

Since, I have been slow doing anything else. I guess I was pretty wound up pressuring myself. The customer was not pressuring me at all. I believe he has the patience of Jobe. But sometimes that makes it even worse. Know what I mean?

Now I am working at getting an entry into the next "Small Works - Big Impressions" show at the Wildlife Experience in Parker, Colorado. The deadline for that is August 5th. I think.

I'll sign off for now to get back to work, but I promise to be back sooner than a MONTH! Eeek!

All art, poetry and writings are copyright & cannot be reproduced in any form without written permission from Judith Angell Meyer

Panther Kitty

Hello all .... this entry is just for the sake of trying something to see if it works. Many of my photos will not enlarge for your viewing pleasure. Some do, however, and I had never figured out what the difference was. So ... I am trying a system suggested to me by a blogger friend to see if I can control what works and what doesn't.

This is one of the wild black cats that are around the neighborhood. It is in the fir bushes right outside the living room window. It looked like a panther lurking in the bushes, and it wasn't so pleased that I saw him/her. So I made it even less pleased and took a picture. Several in fact. Hopefully this photo will allow you to click and enlarge it.

Gorgeous day today. Sunshine and about 80 degrees. I'm sure we will have the same afternoon/evening thunder storms. Could sure do without the mosquitos the moisture has produced, but it is really green!!

The Gala

Sorry I didn't get back to you yesterday, but I was just plain pooped! I mean dead on my poor little feet. We were on our feet most of 3 1/2 hours, and on a cement floor. I'm really glad I wore comfortable shoes. I'm not sure I even woke up yesterday!

By the way, the picture is of a sculpture that was purchased by the 2008 Purchase Committee for the Stampede Art Show. Title, "Battle of Wills" by Jeff Gottfried. A wonderful piece of art work. This year the Committee Purchase went to Cathy Sheeter, for her "Robing Horse." It is a magnificent scratch board piece.

Beginning to sense that I didn't sell either of my pieces? Well, you are right on. No sales. But lots of appreciation.

At 6 p.m. the invited guests and buyers start arriving, and if they have a painting they want to buy they put "Intent to buy" slips in a numbered bag located by each painting. Should that one painting collect several Intent to buy slips, then the opportunity to buy that piece is chosen by a drawing between the slips. Kind of a neat and fun system. There were no slips in my bag, darn the luck. But this was the first year for me at the Stampede Art Show, so if I am invited back again next year, I'll know better what to expect.

There were 37 artists this year, and they all showed between two and six pieces of art. Some really wonderful stuff, with a wide range of prices.

After the first round of buying, the Stampede Committee served a wonderful meal. Swift and Company donated the meat, and the prime rib was to die for! There was also pork, and all the accessories you could think of, right down to the strawberries dipped in chocolate. The evening wound down at about 8:30 p.m., and I got home at about 9:00.

My gallery is The Thunderbird Gallery and of the three of us from the gallery showing, there were five or six sales. The other two artists are Becky Johnson, and Julie Kramer-Cole. Julie also won the Artist's Choice Award. So in all, we did good.

I'll see you next time, God willin' and the creek don't rise. (A real possibility around here!)

Mister cutie face

It didn't take very long for me to get to the bottom of Lynn's list, so best add something for today. The Meet and Greet for the Stampede Art show was wonderful. Our hosts have the single most wonderful art collection I have ever seen in one place. I saw originals that I never thought I would ever see in person. Tonight is the Gala for the show, so I'll be sure to get back here tomorrow and tell you all about it! I'm nervous and excited. In other words, I'm already bouncing off the walls.

Till then, here is a new picture of my little guardian dog Gizmo. He'll keep you entertained until I get back.

.

Orchids

The kids have always been smart enough not to give me live plants. When they did it was lilac bushes, and they and their father did the planting. Other times it was a bouquet or a corsage. (Or dandelions)They are going to die anyway. I just don't have a green thumb. And after all these years of training, my son and his girl bring me an orchid. A plant. An orchid plant. The prettiest thing I have seen in forever, except for my daffies. So I read the care instructions and they certainly sounded simple enough. I'm to put 3 ice cubes on the soil once a week. (My new Saturday chore.) It likes a bright room, but not direct sun. Okay, I can do that. And then the house should never go above 85 degrees, nor below 40 degrees, and I can do that! My house is pretty chilly in the winter, but seldom lower than 50/55, and thought that would be way too cold for an orchid. And so this orchid became a member of my household on Mother's day, and it is still as beautiful as the day they brought it. Prettier, because the two buds that were on it opened up and now it is full of blooms. Isn't it just gorgeous?!!

I am so tickled to have such a pretty thing that seems to like me.

(Picture a paragraph here) Well, I guess I won't be here long tonight. New pills for my knee are making me dizzy and sleepy. That will not do for daytime. And not only that, blogger won't let me use my <> key. When I press it, the cursor just goes away. I always have some problem with blogger. I'm wondering if I changed the template things might be better. We'll see.

(Paragraph here) Tomorrow I have to go shopping. Sounds like a good thing doesn't it. Well, I can't tell you the last time I bought clothing for myself. I have what I need, and over half of it isn't even washed out yet for pete sakes. But the 23rd and 24th are the opening night Gala's for the Stampede Art Show, and I just have to have something nice. Two somethings nice. With my knee hurting, it is going to be even more torturous to shop than usual. Sigh ... The price of fame! HA!

(Paragra .... wait a minute ....) Let me see if it will let me edit the html ... It worked! Aren't I a smartie! .... Going to say G'nite now, and with a little luck, I'll have something to say again tomorrow night. ~J~

Cat WIP (Rikki - short for rick-o-shay)

Okay Vicki here we go. This is a work in progress of a watercolor painting. with the object of showing you how I paint fur. I'm using D'Arches 190 pound cold press rough paper. The rough texture really is a help when you are painting fur. It is, however, also my main paper choice. The branding painting was done on this paper, (300 lb) and the plaid in the shirts came out just as well. It is a matter of just the right amount of water in the brush to flow smoothly.

This is the original photograph I worked from, and this is Rikki. Doesn't she look pleased?




1.) As you can see, I have sketched in all the important parts. I have laid in black washes. The black areas fade to grey where there will be detail. Between her eyes are strokes of black, and I am leaving white paper there because there are some highlights. As a transparent watercolorist, I do not use white paint, but leave the paper clean for those places that need to be white. (Of course if the painting is nearly done and I Ooopst, I'll fix it with opaque paint when necessary. I'm an anal purist, but I am not altogether stupid!)


2.) As I move out from center, I am leaving more and more light spaces. Especially the whiskers. There is a very light wash on the right side of her face. I hope you can see that now there are more strokes than washes. I do try to get the eyes right early on so completed them. Later they were brightened and yellowed up some.



3.) Stroke stroke stroke. Building up from whites and greys to blacks. You cannot really see it here, but I am also adding a bit of Ultramarine Blue and Alizarin Crimson here and there. They are both cool colors. (She's a cool cat remember!) Actually the Alizarin Crimson will mostly be around her eyes and in the black fur between and above her eyes. I'll use the Blue in the highlights. I'm doing gray strokes over and over to build up the depth of color to the right value. Each stroke is different because I pick up a bit of other color. It is subtle, but you know it is there because it gives the shape depth and not a flat black look. Important to note, I use a fairly dry brush. I don't want puddles but even strokes. Getting some roughness in the stroke from the paper helps achieve a realistic furry look. Also I use a fairly fine brush. I want the body of the brush to hold a fair amount of pigment so it flows out a very fine point. Doing so many strokes, I don't want to have to reload my brush after every one!



4.) Okay ... I think you can see more of the strokes in this one. Always follow the shape of the animal. Each stroke has to be put down just like you were tracing the brush on a the real animal in front of you. One stroke going the wrong direction, will show up. You might not know what the matter is, but that stroke would be it. Even when you can lay down a small wash, let the paint flow in the direction of the fur. In this one, you can see the Alizarin on her left side under her eye and along the side of her nose. There is a hint of Blue on the other side along her white spot.







5.) Notice here the left side of her face, your right, that the layers of fur moving out from her eye look like they are "moving." The illusion is created by first stroking the fur away from her eyes, the next layer is curled over and in and the last layer is curled out. Creating sort of a wave flowing from her eye out to the side of her head. This eludes to motion and shape. And on that side as you go down toward her chest, you can see the layers and layers of brush strokes.

Now I have to admit here that this is a very time consuming process. I have tried many short cuts but have never been satisfied with the results. I watch the photo carefully to be sure I am moving in the same order and direction as the animal presents itself.

6.) Ears, she has ears! And too much Alizarin over her eye which will be toned down later.

7.) I love blending the white into the black and visa versa. The same stroke technique still applies for the white area. With softer grays, and more bits of color build up the defining areas of tufts with more strokes than in the lighter areas. Actually these photos, especially the finished one at the end, don't pick up the tufts of white fur, like you can see them in the original photo. But I assure you, they are there. Oh, and if I mess up a whisker, I'll take an exacto knife and scratch it clean.

8.) More and more details as she takes form. Pretty soon I have to start on the carpet barrel she is in and I am afraid of that. It couldn't be done first, so now I have to risk the whole project on a mistake in the area that looks the simplest. HA! But I pulled it off. The hardest part is laying the fur over the carpet bits. As you can see in the final picture below, I cheated and lighted out the background enough to where all you can see is the shape of the barrel, and the fur can flow freeley without having to intersect with carpet.
9.) FINISHED!

The customer was satisfied and pleased. That is always reward enough. Almost! :-D

Please ask any questions you might have. I'm sure I either forgot something important, or didn't say "it" clear enough to be understood. Happy to help if I can.

All art, poetry and writings are copyright & cannot be reproduced in any form without written permission from Judith Angell Meyer

Miller Moths

This year the Miller Moths have been fierce. You are going to laugh ... but I have been herding the moths. My bathroom is completely moth free now. The family room has a greatly reduced population. The moths head for the screen door in the family room. So when I go to bed, I turn on a light near that door, and turn off all the rest of the lights in the house. (Except the Xmas tree room.) (This would be my computer room with all its many electronic lights of many colors.)

In the morning they have all gravitated to that room, so I turn off the light and open the door. Many, many fly out, and the ones that don't, I get the broom and "guide" them out the door. In the bathroom I shut the door and took the screen off the window. I shooshed them and fluffed the curtains driving them out from their hiding places. I haven't even seen one in there since.

So there you have it. The Meyer Miller Moth Round Up!

Branding

Boy, is it really ever time to update my blog. I have been working feverishly over the last several weeks to complete a painting that I started quite a while ago. Have the perfect venue at the Stampede Art Show over the 4th of July holiday. It was taken from a photo I took while at the McKee ranch in Wyoming. I got the title from the old John Wayne movie "Cowboys" where he said during a branding scene, "I've been doing this for 40 years, and I never got used to that smell."

It is finally at the gallery being framed for the show. Hope you enjoy!

Now I have two commissioned pieces to complete, then I can start on what I want to do for the fall Society of Animal Artists, "Small Art Big Impressions" show. I'll need the summer to do what I want to do. Maybe when I get that far I can put it up here as a work in progress.

Been a lot of stormy weather here. Hail knocked out my satellite reception for four days until service could come and fix it. It was a five minute fix but it is going to be expensive. Sigh ...

Hope all of you are doing great out there.

All art, poetry and writings are copyright & cannot be reproduced in any form without written permission from Judith Angell Meyer

My Daffies

Ok Sally, here are some pictures of my blooming daffodils. The first picture shows just what I was afraid of. We got a blizzard that didn't stop until we had 11.5" of snow on the ground. Non-stop for two days. In piles here and there, so the wind kept most of the snow off my one blooming daffie. Which of course left it without protection from the freeze. However, this flower actually did finish the blooming process. Nature is a tough ol' broad!!

This is a King Alfred, AKA known as the snow king!

These are the successfully blooming King Alfred's!

This one is a Rip van Winkle. None of these did well. They were at the wrong stage of blooming when the storm hit. They did bloom, but were small and a little sickly. Stubborn though!

This pretty daffie is a Van Sion, and is a very old variety dating back to 1620

This pretty lady is an Irene Copeland. Her variety was also stunted some by the storms.

I have one more to show, but it is still on the camera. It is a Barrii Conspicuus. An older variety too. I'll get the camera downloaded as soon as I can. These are a very proud variety standing very tall and waving their blooms high in the breezes. I have one bulb that has only just started. It was the only smart one of the bunch, waiting until the spring season was well under way before coming up.

Back soon. (Again, no laughing allowed here!)

Daffodils peeking

LOOK!! My Daffodils are peeking out of the ground through the leaves! I can hardly wait to see them bloom. Except I'm terrified that it will freeze and hurt them. I mean it was 7 degrees this morning, but now this afternoon it is 50 degrees. I have never had Daffodils before, and I am a known plant killer and I'm going to be paranoid until they are really here.

I should explain a little bit. These Daffodil bulbs were the most wonderful gift from my dear friend Lynn. They were for my birthday, but didn't come until it was the right time to plant them here in Colorado. My plant skills are so bad, and didn't want any of the purple to transfer from my thumb to the bulbs, that I stood and read the directions while my son did the digging and setting. Then I took on the task of soaking them as per instructions. I really soaked them too. Being in a drought area, and the ground being poofy dry, I set the water hose on trickle and really let the water soak down the 6" where the bulbs were. Apparently I did good with that.

Now, with the ground still so dry, I'm in a dilemma about starting to water them. If it freezes for several days yet, would the water or dampness freeze around and hurt the new stems? So far I'm keeping them covered with leaves and waiting a while before I start watering.

Well, it is starting to cool down again now, and in a few minutes I have to go let the horses out of the barn, so I'll put my Daffodils to bed by covering them up again. The leaves will hold the warmth in the ground from this beautiful day.

For all of you who laughed when I said I'd write again soon. It has been a week, and for me that is soon. So you can just stop your giggles right now.

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day!

Just a few sweets for all my friends out there. Lots of Valentines this year. I think someone likes me. Ya think?!

Busy with web pages at the moment. I am working with the Greeley Art Association members to each have a page of their own on the GAA web site. So far it has been a lot of fun. First off had to figure out a way to photo paintings underglass in my house. Had that all figured out when I was in my studio and knew the process there, but after setting the studio up in the house, well, boy was there a lot of reflections. The process still works, but I just have to wait until after dark. Too many windows and stray lights. But have the process down, so the rest won't take so much time, and some of the members do have their own photos.

Also busy with the PhotoShop class I'm taking on line. The picture above is a direct result of one of my assignments. I'm really enjoying that class. I really didn't know much at all about the software. Mostly just doctored some family photos as needed, and cropped and reduced the size of photos for the web. I can't say I know what I am doing yet, but am learning and having a lot of fun.

Going to run for now. But will be back with more soon. (Stop laughing!) ...

All art, poetry and writings are copyright & cannot be reproduced in any form without written permission from Judith Angell Meyer