This painting was inspired from a photo taken years ago in the ravenshoe forest...
I still remember the exact moment Storm turned to show me a mushroom he found, I believe we were looking for morel, we were laughing.. dogs exploring.  The sunshine was perfect.  It was a wonderful day & lovely memory.  Painting the photo was re-living our many foray adventures, they were always such great days, meeting fellow mycology lovers, I was there for exercise, terrific company & the  beauty of the mushrooms and would never consider myself an expert.  I love my son.    :)  

If you don't know what a mushroom IS - Do NOT eat it - that's the best advice I may offer.

I do know several edibles but I still check, with a text to Storm, he suggests I look it up, either way, encouraging me to learn.   We are anticipating many forest finds with our truffle sniffing dogs!  Hahaha  I wish.    
I will teach  the girls to find morel, if you can teach dogs to find drugs - why not? 

Painting, remembering and intentionally wishing good things for Storm & everyone he is surrounded by is how I enjoy spending time. Not stress.  There is enough to stress about - if you choose.  I choose to paint.   Things I enjoy, some times it's humans.  hee hee

Do what you love & love what you do.
Storm is doing what he loves and I can see & hear it when he talks/texts about work.
He is growing all the time,  all day every day.   'We' are.
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That background was FUN!   ...more on the way.

Rise up through the mud & dirt & bloom where you are planted.
On to the next creation of love!
with THC & TLC 

Happy SPRING! 

Goats are notorious for getting into trouble! 
Ours opens the door to the chicken coop & turns off  & on the light switch, & helps him tot he chicken food after he opens the garbage can.  I am very amused with our goats but  ‘this goat’,  was inspired by another. 
This goat tries to break into a cannabis farm & it makes me laugh every time I hear it, it's really soemthing that has made me smile this past year. Grateful for goats, creatures in general.  The look of defiance on his face in photos I have seen make me laugh out loud.  Goats like company and are very playful & will win in a stare down contest, most times.

Thank God for creatures who are funny, entertaining, inspiring & loving. 
Grateful for the inspiration - clearly I enjoyed the ‘Notorious Big’ special on Netflix.  Notorious big did what he needed to do & made no bones about it  & believed in himself… & Jesus.  With faith in yourself & all that is possible.  We rise up, by helping raise others up. Biggy was Proof.  He had many who believed in him & more now.  The Lord works in mysterious ways I ponder,  as we boogie to Biggy @ 8a.m… glueing goat gems.
Hee hee hee

Our Goat behaves like an ass!  Indica  gets up on his hind legs and dances treats out of your hand, and will push you over  & doesn't let the ladies have any treats - he head buts them when they try.  he would be the glutton of the petting zoo. Everyone is excited for spring - we see  it as they spring around the  pen, excited for the day.
Goats teach us to enjoy the moment. 

The last step of this painting was to add the gems this morning, much more difficult than I anticipated. 
I walked out to our deck and looked at the new coffee table top Norm created, it was covered with dancing diamonds  of frost in the sunshine - Gods gems! A gift for me to see  in the sunshine before the heat melts them. Heat.. 3 above freezing.  Inspired I raced into the studio - Oh my.. next thing I knew, I had Norm helping ‘peel off’ the tiny gems as I glued - TEAM work is the DREAM work! 
BAG the necklace took almost as long as the painting. I'll source out new gems for furture Spring Bling!  

We “high fived"… my five higher than his, grateful for Gods medicine helping me get past the fact, I can’t pick ff these tiny Gems. This lesson makes me aware & appreciate these tiny gems called hands, I’ve often taken for granted.  

I hope ‘Notorious Goat made you smile on this glorious first day of Spring 2021
We are created to create Joy.    

Basking in sunlight, Jesus stops to bless a bear.

I can't begin to express  the joy I was IN,  Inspired...  IN - spirit painting this.   I love sunlight and moonlight!  Did you see that moon Friday night?  Kowabunga! Shining through the trees.   
Spring will be here before we know it & I can hardly wait! 

It’s Sunday  - the Sabbath.. I am resting & relaxing as the bible insists - lol.  Really though - the number of times it’s mentioned about doing ‘no work on the sabbath’, including the goats..  I understand the importance in this crazy covid condition of doing nothing but resting.

It is important to our mind & body & to actually have a day to ponder, be grateful & aware for all we have is also a blessing, at times I’ve been so stressed in my own life - my last thought would be to stop and give thanks  and give myself rest…   Ah, if only we knew then what we know now.

Many right now, are scrambling, hustling.. not resting or thinking about God, Jesus or the sabbath.  I get it.   It’s a slippery slope and if we can’t take one day to rest our minds let alone our bodies… the results will be brutal. The results ARE brutal with increased mental health issues, domestic abuse, child abuse, mental stress & depressing increasing.   I wish I could say I’ve not been effected by covid but yes, even here in the forest the signs of stress are apparent on my body in particular. Tell me not to worry about Storm, family & friends…  it’s impossible not to. 

I’ve been quite ill the past 3 weeks, added stress had me literally vomiting & my TN escalating on both sides - that’s all I needed to SHUT down and REST.  A good SHOCK to the brain. Hello?  Are you paying attention? If not - I shall remind you. ZAP. 
Believe it or not - I am grateful for the new awareness, as fucking painful as it has been.

Rest, Relax, enjoy all that you do have - life.. breath in our lungs. 
It’s Sabbath Sunday - If it’s good enough for the goats & livestock - it’s good enough for me.  

For ALL those essential workers who must work today
 - THANK YOU!  God appreciates you!  Me too ;)​

This painting has a special GOLD paint  for Halos you can only see when standing in a certain light.  I love it, I forget & it catches me off guard sometmes. Always enlightening. 

It's so beautiful out right NOW - it's easy to imagine spring..  there's still a lot of snow
all around but when the sun shines you can sit outside in a T-shirt. 
I understood something painting this '4 seasons' which took about a week:

                   I spend more time with God at my easel than I ever did in any pew.  

How about you?  

It was paiting with TLC & THC - lots.
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All paintings start with great intentions - or why even start.
Soon some are not going thedirection I first imagined and I start to wonder if I should even continue... yes!  My intentions were good and I just need to remind myself, not let myself talk myself, out of it.  It's easy to do - the difficult task wl be to work through each painting and see it to the end, not give up or walk away.
Isn't that most of us,  full of good intentions?  Are you?  Or are your intentions bad?

My intentions  to have a winter sky that you would want to be drawn to - these vibrant pink cool skies are breathtaking and breath awareness as you see what you say in a cloud of frozen mist.  It also reminds me of how covid can travel.   Soon the bear appeared  but it was going in a direction, I didn't for see.

A friend received his vaccine in the USA, I am happy for him as he is also a teacher & it's important if you are in particular forced to work during the pandemic (which won't be going anywhere soon)  amongst groups in particular, if it eases his mind, I am thrilled for him.  
Something still missing in the panting.. what would thrill this bear?  What thrills me out in the woods in the spring  - we never know what will pop up from under this blanket of snow.

Soon!  As the world turns.. it will be spring and morel season with more fresh air and less confusion surrounding covid (here's hoping).  So even though this painting took a few directions on it's own   it ended well because it started with GOOD intentions.   ;)
What are your intentions, what, who - do you  think about all day & are your intentions good?

​Don't you know...  you reap what you sew.

I'm off with more good intentions, wishes, miracles to meditate on & more.
More bears... the next bear is called the Discovery, sneak peek below.  
Look what a beautiful morning God provided  ALL OF US to start this day with good intentions!

My newest portrait - is of a local’  (a friends girlfriend)  I’m taking a break from the post office, the line ups are long, the mood sombre so I’ll pass for now, I’m sure I can find enough locally to paint.  I could use a GRID when painting & these portraits would be much more accurate but I like how they look - free hand.  It’s also a very enjoyable process , NOT trying to be too realistic,  I know in the past I’ve tried to make something look ‘perfect’ - it’s stressful…  painting for me is about joy - It’s always a joyful experience or I walk away.  
I enjoyed this painting  - what a relaxing way to pass a grey day.

Lockdown has commenced, again.  Stay home - just do it.
We have no plans to venture out, hopefully we’ve enough groceries for a couple f weeks, the critters have food - time to enjoy the slitter and focus on our passions & goals.  On a  side note- I have been pigging out, not eating healthy - not junk but still way too much fried for example - it’s a slippery slope when you have no where to go, so for my health, I’m knocking it off.   Give me fruit!   I’d miss fruit, if we did not have any.. I’m excited for berries this summer.  

It’s a new day! A new opportunity to become closer to God & yourself…  
I’ve got an Oar on my desk, a canvas started on the easel & a new tiki idea  fluttering in my mind.  You can still shop LOCALLY,  curb side pick up - please continue to support local business.   Today I’m also starting anew project with Norms assistance & turning my closet into a desk ares- I have cloths I will never wear  like skirts - due to my psoriasis being as visible as it is- I doubt I’ll wear the sort of dresses that show my legs - all being donated this week… making room for more creativity.

Have a terrific day! 
Impeaching Trump - twice that’s a good start.​

These two, Ginger & Arrow - Love Hate.. relationship.
They are an endless source of entertainment, they love to bug each other and make no bones about it.  I love my dogs.   Isolation doesn't seem so isolating with them around me all day.  Nap times is especially fun, I have trained my dogs to nap when I nap - I go and get all snuggled in and it doesnt take 5 minutes before they all arive & snuggle in too - I thank God for them everytime.

Constant love, un conditional.  They are quick to forgive and so am I - with them.
Arrow will absolutly train me to paint black dogs better.

The USA & TRUMP - what can I say?  Not my monkies not my circus... I do agree with the opinion, had it been blacks or muslims who stormed the capital - bullets would have been used on them - instead of a glorified  bunch of redneck photo shoots.  When will it end? 
Imagine - the president of the Untited States of America-  has been blocked from Facebook & twitter - for being an asshole. It's an editorial cartoonist dream - or nightmare. 

I have 9 screeching 'BLUEjay bird houses' - on my kitchen table waiting for paint & then delivered to Tom in Minden by Monday- heads up for any that are interested. These custom team work bird houses have proven to be a hit & have helped raise money for the comunity- lots to sqwak about.   On the easel- a portrait- female.  On the desk- my next patio FUNGI  door lock/bar...

So much to paint - so few hours in a day. 
I love it when I wake up and my desk invites me to GET  CREATING
 In my tiny studio - big things happen!  

Happy Saturday!

    Yesterday was Norms birthday!  He worked on his shop - best birthday gift EVER .. lol
He’s 60 & he’s in great shape - it’s from all this hard farm work!  Birthing goats & chasing chickens has kept him fit as a fiddle… lol - more like building coops, barns. a shop, chopping down trees- yeah!  Norm won’t ever look at wood the same again. We were going to celebrate later in the evening with movie & I was making dinner but then… I had some sense knocked into me.   Literally.

I am forever telling Norm & HAVE even blogged about it - one reason many people fall in their homes is…. their dogs.  I have 5 who love me and follow me  everywhere, as you know.  I was painting in my studio, standing.. music - deep in deer snow- and I turned to get paint - turned back and Arrow was at my feet and down I went.   I protect my hands because I know they’ll break so I did not use them, instead I used my head to stop my fall - it bounced off the metal track - between my studio & house.  
I could not google  'concussion symptoms'...   it hurt that bad.
Serious dog training happening - RED tape lines they CANNOT cross - like the kitchen.
I’ll also add my girls freaked out,  they knew I was not joking and were all trying to help me up… Norm arrived a few moments later. 

Not much else happened last night, quiet, bed and today OUCH.  No concussion symptoms, Thank God. Yes, I think I actually  needed to have sense knocked into me - on a few issues- I was hurt enough to wonder if I was gonna die - for a few seconds.  I called Storm to tell him I love him.  Went to bed in pain and did not sleep…  I did talk to Jesus & have had quite a bit of clarification..   a nice calm has consumed me.   ;)  Actually grateful for the fright.

 Although sore to touch, even raise my eyebrows- I am absolutely clearer headed on several issues, humans and STRONGER than I was yesterday. AMEN.
I woke today and thanked God for it & said "o.k.! Let's prove it Jesus!"  lol    Wait & see.

I painted this deer for this stranger  “Ted” I met once  at the feed store in Halliburton (Phil is a great guy & very helpful  if you need seed/feed/animal stuff) I gave Ted my number because he said it was nice to have someone enjoy his photos.   This past year he has shared many beautiful photos of deer, flowers, butterflies, pine weasels, turkeys, amazing chickadees  and always a kind word or take care… thats’ it.  
I realized.. this stranger has absolutely been a positive light in 2020, and I wanted to say Thank you.  I’m pleased how it turned out,  inspired by a photo he sent,  playing with light & snow.

I realized we (me included) rarely ponder some people who are kind & thoughtful yet become ‘thought obsessed’  dwelling on others - who don’t even have the kindness in them to stop & say "hello" or even offer a smile - let alone kind word... 
Worse, we waste our thoughts & precious time on intentionally nasty people - robbing ourselves of  time & joy we could be thinking of the kind people we do have around us. Focus on Love, light Kindness…  I shall.
Let the Universe...    God, focus on the rest.

My head/mind needed the  alignment.
I needed to go & spend time with Jesus in prayer, thought, love.  

Excited to start the next painting!
​G

Bumble has come out of hibernation! Rudolph too...  Norm had to fine tune them to make sure all is working nicely as Bumble & Rudolph are going on a wee adventure where they will be enjoyed by many tiny humans (big too & not just the bears.
It was  neat to see it up. It still makes us smile - Bumble with this black background night sky'-  is even more impressive.  I'm very happy it will be enjoyed tho, as I feel this Holiday won't be the same in too many ways due to covid. 
While he put it up the dogs helped as did I when I filmed him & couldn't stop laughing, due to his positioning at the time, I'll let you know where they are as soon as set up, in case you'd like to drive by and have a peek!

In celebration I've decided to paint a Bumble to give away on Instagram as well as painted a time-lapse bumble in case anyone wants to make one themselves!  This is 6x6 wood panel from the dollar store and acrylic paint: White, Black, Blue (dark - I used Cyan), Red.  & I used what I have, dollar store paint will work great!  I also put on a coat of  'Mod podge'  (available at most stores in the craft isle)  watered down *this step is optional.

I think for any Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer fans - this would be a sweet little gift and it looks cute sitting on a shelf!  It's easy enough for children - step by step simple lines and shapes. When you sketch your bumble press harder with the pencil- so you can see it easier.  I can't stress enough letting it dry - in between steps or you will end up with a messy bumble... if working with children you could take a coco break & talk about feeling left out or being made fun of just like Rudolph.
Don't forget to add on the back :Name & date  

Below is Bumble in steps with simple instructions below each image.
To see the TimelapseVideo of Bumble being painted you'll have to chek my Instagram page Georgia.toons   Have fun