The End of the 100 days 2023!

I cannot express the feelings I'm having now! I have finished the hundred days in actually less than 100 days. It has been a journey this year with wonderful people pushing me along. Thank you so much! On to finishing the show!

Another day?

As you can see, these are unfinished pieces.

Still needing their erasing, varnishing, framing, and hanger.

But I am 5 days closer to completion.

I was supposed to complete the 100 paintings today.

This brings me to numbers 92-96.

4 more to go!

One painted last night, then the other 4 during a hard day's work.

I enjoy these small works, as they are an affordable alternative to the large pieces I create.

I painted, because I stayed home today instead of staying with my dad in the hospital.

He told me yesterday to go to the show, and how much he appreciated how much time I spent with him.

But again, God's plan....

Dad did have his surgery today.

I was told by his nurse that he did well, and cardiologist said they got to do what they needed.

His cardiologist has yet to call me to tell me how it went.

I only know because I was proactive in chasing down information.

I painted rather than wasting the day doing nothing.

Plus, it helped keep my mind from racing thoughts about my dad, the weather, and the show.

About the show....

Yesterday afternoon I had been reading about large amounts of rain and wind coming in today.

I prayed the people in charge would move the show out one day, 

rather than have us set up in the nasty weather.

I was also calculating in my head how many hours it would take for us to set up the tents.

My plan was Thursday morning early (about 5 or 6am) for the opening at 10 am.

Little did I know my husband was having the same thought process about setting up Thursday!

On the way home I received an email telling us the show 

was being postponed until opening at 2pm Thursday.

No set up in 4 inches of predicted rain, and 40 mph winds!

At least set up was optional today.

If you wanted to set up today, you could.

We may head down to our campsite tonight after the system has passed through.

That way, we could get up at 5am instead of 4am for a 6 o'clock morning set up.

There were some people that took a chance though today.

I have seen too many destroyed tents and inventory to put mine at risk at this point.

Some of the ones that took a chance today did not fair very well.

My girlfriend headed down, and told me there are several flattened tents already, mangled frames, missing roofs, with inventory out in the weather.

There will be several scrambling to find tents tonight or tomorrow.

I don't have an extra one, or I would put it out there.

We sold one of my heavy tents after a storm system hit Arts and Crafts here in March of 2022.

Maybe the husband will agree to go down tonight!

Such is the Artists life, at the whim of the weather.

Proverbs 16:33 We throw the dice, but God determines where they land.

Every time we enter a show, we are throwing the dice.

God determines if it is favorable for the most part!

Favorable for my dad today, favorable for me because I got to paint!

Another day? Acrylic on wood panels, approx. 5 x 15 inches

Days 92-96 of the 100 days~100 paintings 2023

 

Do you know how to make God laugh?

I love rollercoasters!

However, the one I'm on currently is a little too much for me!

Do you know the answer to the title question above?

Do you know how to make God laugh?

Got it?

Read on for the answer to this query.

We should all remember God's plan is perfect.

 We don't always understand it.

We don't always like it. 

But HIS plan is perfect!

Case in point.....

When you last read the blog, I was on target to finish the 100 paintings in the 100 days 2023.

I was rapidly completing the sewing drawers and they will help reach the finish line.

I was caught up and confident I would complete the task.

Those were MY plans.

Then God stepped in and said here ya go!

My dad is quite elderly, and his health is not the best.

He does alright but insists on living alone.

He doesn't get enough exercise and his diet is well, not so great.

My brother and I were calling the house, and he did not pick up.

I live an hour away, so my brother drove over to check on him.

He found him in a sorry state, unable to stand or walk.

He had a similar health scare in March and April.

He told all of us to never call an ambulance again.

We said okay back then.

Then Sunday happened and it took two hours to convince him to call 911.

He did, and we got him to the hospital.

He was dehydrated, very weak, and upset at the time things were taking.

CT scan of head clear.

Chest Xray clear.

Blood work not so much.

Infection somewhere, bilirubin elevated.

Abdominal ultrasound clear.

Brought back to ER room.

He then had a seizure, apparently caused by his pacemaker kicking in because of tachycardia.

Nonresponsive for a few minutes.

Now he's admitted to hospital to figure this out! 

Cardiologists are now involved again.

Scary!

Needless to say, I have spent the last few days at the hospital with him.

He is now getting better, but still needs some surgery for his heart as he has not one, but two blockages!

Hopefully tomorrow will take care of his problem while in surgery.

More pelicans!

Dolphins!

Humpback whales!

Meanwhile, I'm trying to pack for the Shrimp Festival starting on Thursday.

So, as you can see, I am close to completion of the 100 days.

We were supposed to set up on Wednesday.

Bad weather moving in with high winds and heavy rain.

God's plan, Let's do Thursday instead.

So, show is delayed.

I can go to my dad's surgery.

We don't have to set up in the wind and rain.

God's plan, is PERFECT!

The answer to the question:

Do you know how to make God laugh?

"Tell Him your plans...."

Kinda funny, right?

Multiple days, Acrylic on Wood panel, each about 5 x15 inches

Days 80-91 of the 100 days~100 paintings 2023

 

Wild ride today!

 

These days are running by so fast now!

I am just hanging on for the wild ride to the end of the 100 days by the

 beginning of the National Shrimp Festival next week.

I am very excited to be able to paint these miniatures framed by the 

drawers from vintage sewing machines.

The first set of 28 was because of a neighbor who wanted my husband Chris 

to take her machine base and make a table.

I asked her what she wanted to do with the drawers, and she just said get rid of them.

I didn't want to just throw them away.

Chris figured out how to cut them in thirds and they make perfect little shadowboxes.

The backings are thin wood panel from a recycled skateboard ramp.

Our son uses the machines to make steampunk lamps as well. 

They are recycled, fun to paint, and affordable too!

I also must apologize because the photos are not edited.

My phone is acting the fool these days, and my husband dropping it a few minutes ago doesn't help.

Anyway, tonight is 10 paintings total.

Not all painted in one day, but I can paint several in a day!

I love painting miniatures.

Enjoy the menagerie!

Here's looking at you!

Sandpipers central!

Octopus escaping!

Pelican Piling.

You can see my messy easel and some collected art too.

Seahorse with coral.

Notice this one has the lock mechanism still in the drawer.

They just are lovely to look at, and so fun to paint!

Wild Ride today! Acrylic on recycled wood, each about 5 x 15 inches

Days 70-79 of the 100 days~100 paintings 2023

 

Pelican parley

I love painting these guys.

They are so incredibly interesting to create.

So much to do, so little time left before the big show starts next week.

The 50th National Shrimp Festival in Gulf shores, Alabama.

I have all the paintings done to fill the double booth and am now working ahead.

I am really excited to see how the booth looks with it going from sepia to full color in one space.

Tonight was Artwalk in Fairhope.

I was painting live while it was going on from 5:30-8:00 pm.

I actually worked on two miniature paintings for the sewing machine drawers.

They make a really great presentation for the paintings, giving them the shadowbox effect.

Two whales done, lots of people chatting about my works.

Hopefully conversations lead to sales.

I also spent time setting up the rest of the sewing drawer paintings.

So, I know what to paint.

I have the patterns ready to transfer and then just create!

Our pelicans here are an incredible work of God.

To see such a gawky bird fly so gracefully is beautiful.

They dive so hard, going after fish.

It's a wonder they don't die with how hard they hit the water.

You always know when the fish are in the bay, because there will be pelicans sitting on the water.

They're sitting because they can't fly because they're so full of fish!

Pelican Parley, Acrylic on Shadowbox canvas, 12 x 24

Day 69 of the 100 days~100 paintings 2023

 

Curly cephalopod

I don't know if I'll ever tire of painting octopus.

They are a never-ending source of differences.

Beautiful, smart, and great escape artists.

They have to have special tanks to hold them in while in captivity.

There are also octopus that will crawl on land to get to a tidal pool.

That would really be a sight to see!

Nothing makes me happier than to encourage a child in their art journey.

My son asked if I had an easel to give for a birthday present.

I showed him the little easels we use for Chris's wood bowls.

He just giggled.

They are tiny.

But above that, on another shelf was French box easel someone gifted to me.

Never used, and a great gift to set her on her way.

I advised him with some paint purchased.

We then rounded it out with some extra canvas I had, an apron, a palette knife, and a water dish.

I can only imagine the surprise and joy from this precious child of God.

Happy Birthday!

I'm also toying with completing the 100 days before shrimp Festival starts next week.

How in the world?

God has placed in my mind to really concentrate on smaller works that are more affordable.

My starting price is $295.00 for my works.

Not much, some of us would say.

These smaller works will retail for $95.00 and are still unique, beautiful, and affordable.

I can make them less in price because I can complete several in a day.

They are totally unique because they are vintage sewing drawers, 

cut down to make miniature shadowboxes.

I've done them before, and they are super popular.

The vintage aspect, affordability, and recycled as the wood used is a former skateboard ramp.

The end of the 100 days is going to be fun!

Giddy up!

This is about to become a wild ride!

Curly Cephalopod, Acrylic on canvas, 12 x 24 inches

Day 68 of the 100 days~100 paintings 2023

 

Flying high, but how low can you go?

The paintings are so much fun to create and see the final product.

I am really getting excited to see the booth in place at the National Shrimp Festival.

One week from today we'll be down in Gulf Shores!

These pelicans are such characters.

Their diving, eating until they are so full, they can't fly!

Trying to swallow things that are too big to eat.

Gawky when they walk, graceful when they fly.

I love painting them!

"Flying high", Acrylic on shadowbox canvas 24 x 24inches

Octopus are peculiar creatures indeed.

They can regenerate an arm.

They have nine brains, one in their head and one in each arm!

They can change color on a whim.

They have a beak like a parrot!

They can fit through a hole with their entire body, if their beak goes through.

They can unscrew a lid from a jar if the jar has food.

Slippery, intelligent, sometimes creepy, always peculiar.

Most of all, fun to paint!

"How low can you go?", Acrylic on shadowbox canvas, 16 x 16

Days 66 and 67 of the 100 days~100 paintings 2023

 

Octopus my octopus

Another day, another shadowbox.

I've really been working hard in the studio, bringing pieces to completion.

I still have shadowboxes to paint, so there will be more to come.

I need lionfish, so they'll most likely be soon gracing the easel.

Anyone who knows me, also knows I was a professional seamstress.

February of 1993 my family and I were rear ended by a drunk driver.

I was left with basically permanent damage to my neck and shoulder.

Two herniated discs and nerve damage to my shoulder.

My seam stressing career was pretty much over.

But God stepped in and opened a door.

A door that was a childhood hobby.

Painting became my passion as a way to work through the pain and damage.

Eventually, painting became a business as well as a passion.

But, the sewing still calls my name.

I now sew only special costumes for incredible organizations and individuals.

So much fun, and such creativity.

This type of sewing is allowing my artistic side to be showcased in incredible ways.

My machine doesn't get near the use it did, but there are still times the 

1500 stitches a minute are put to full use.

This particular machine, a Pfaff 260 is a German made machine that was made for industrial use.

My machine was then sold for home use and found it's way to me in about 1984.

We paid an astronomical $400 back then!

Many years of hard use and it's still going very strong.

Problem is, it's in a big 2ft x 4ft table.

It takes up an incredible amount of room.

Good thing my studio is large, because this machine will never leave.....

My husband was looking for a straw hat at Goodwill.

He is familiar with the Pfaff brand and found one yesterday at Goodwill.

He came sheepishly to me and said, "I found something".

I could not believe my eyes as I looked at an almost perfect, pristine, performing, Pfaff 260!

I don't NEED another machine.....

But the seamstress in me was dancing with joy, looking at this barely used, wood cabinet full of 

the book, bobbins, needles, feet for different uses, and even has the wheel you use to make the decorative stitches work.

It was taped shut.

I told my husband I just wanted to see one thing inside.

We carefully removed the tape and found the chain drives intact.

This machine is not as fast as mine, the motor is only 7200 rpms.

(My baby has a 1/3 horsepower motor, hence 1500 stitches a minute.)

No third hand, hmmmm.

We plugged it in, and it actually ran like a champ.

Zigzag was frozen, but otherwise looked brand new.

Research proved by the serial number it was manufactured from 1961-1962.

The same as my machine, except a smaller cabinet, smaller motor, and almost a barn fresh find.

Needless to say, I bought it....

Getting it home, we sprayed it with wrench release, oiled the ever living daylights out of it.

The poor machine sucked up oil as we put it in the oil ports.

It runs, and we actually got the zigzag to work partially.

Historically, the machines were shipped from Germany with a combination of Vaseline and kerosine to keep them from rusting on the long trip here.

Problem is, this combination caused almost a varnish to form when the machine was in use, that gummed things up a bit.

Really stiff, but found paperwork where it was worked on in Mobile by Geo Givens and son in 1988.

Then a receipt showing it had a cleaning done in 2011.

I don't know why it ended up at Goodwill.....

I took the head to the shop in town today for a cleaning, adjusting, and repair of the zigzag.

Needless to say, I am ecstatic to have another of my favorite machine ever under my roof.

I am eternally grateful to the family that donated it to Goodwill.

It will stay downstairs until I can rearrange my studio make room for the "new" machine.

Octopus my octopus, Acrylic on shadowbox canvas, 16 x16

Day 65 of the 100 days~100 paintings 2023 

 

Turtle flight

Turtles really do look like they're flying when they swim so gracefully.

I love to watch them when I get to go to the Marathon Turtle Hospital or Loggerhead Marine Center.

Both are wonderful areas to see live rescued sea turtles.

Always a joy for me, especially when they can be released back to the sea!

Speaking of joy, we are one day closer to the 50th Annual National Shrimp Festival!

10 Days until set up day!

Equipment is getting ready for two tents.

Artworks are getting packed, wired, varnished, and finished.

The Motorhome is getting cleaned and ready for us to spend several days in it.

Also getting food lists ready, as we like to eat, drink,  and snack while on the road and at shows.

This prevents us from spending so much money at festivals on food that doesn't agree with us too well.

Turtle Flight, Acrylic on shadowbox canvas, 16 x 16 inches

Day 64 of the 100 days~100 paintings 2023