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[wyld_dandelyon]

Spent a bunch of the day with my sister and her daughter. We went to a music store to get a new string for my niece's guitar. I got to play a Seagull guitar--they're very nice. Then my sister and I went to the grocery store, letting the niece go into the Halloween costume store next door.

The store, Fresh Farms on Touhy in Niles, IL, was fantastic. Buckets of live crabs and lots of other very fresh-smelling and -looking seafood. Very nice fresh produce, including some things I have no clue what they taste like or how you prepare them. And ethnic foods for just about every ethnic you could think of. The prices on the seafood were much, much better than anywhere in Milwaukee. The cute little live (and lively) crabs were $0.99 a pound! I think I'll stop by there and buy some crabs right before returning to Milwaukee; I've got a cooler in the car since I brought in a bounty of fresh tomatoes from my garden. (I found more than I thought when I went through them very thoroughly right before I left).  The largest tomatoes here are from the Little Tomato Plant That Could.

Anyway, we bought a few things, including rolls for dinner as requested by my Aunt, and then headed over to the Halloween store. My niece had found a dress, wings, staff, wig, and gloves, and I took a few pictures. Then she tried to convince her mother to buy all of it, with very partial success--she now has a new wig and spiderweb gloves. Then back to my sister's place to put away her groceries, and to my Aunt's place to cook dinner. Which was good, especially since my brother and eldest niece stopped by.

After dinner and dishes, we indulged my Aunt and played cards--well, the grownups did. Then, my sister having been asked to once again participate in the parish art show this year, and she wanted something new; she borrowed my paints to put eyes on Jesus (a painting in progress, showing Jesus reading the Torah).

I was in-between things, and not sure what to do. I opened one of the sketchbooks to a page where I'd started a sky with some extra blue and white paint, from when I had squeezed too much out of the tubes. I showed my aunt one of the pictures of the niece, and decided to use that photograph, at least loosely, as a model. It's not done yet, but here's some photos of the painting as I worked.


I puzzled for a while over what would be behind this dark angel; the niece had said she wanted a staff with a cool skull, and I'm thinking I probably want something flow-y up at the top, though I'm not sure what yet, so I started with a rough skull carved into the stone behind her.  But stone skulls don't just float in mid-air, so I decided there should be a gargoyle carved under the skull.  The niece likes cats, so the gargoyle has some feline features in its face.

Gee, that gargoyle looks awfully lively.now I wonder if it's the pedastol for the skull, or maybe just crouching there in front of whatever is there.

Since I very rarely do sketches before I start painting, for me, paintings can be a lot like writing--the characters aren't always interested in doing and being what I first envision.

In other news, I did work on the idea for at least how to start a pirate story for Talk Like A Pirate Day, in my mind.  Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to work on it on the computer.  Ah, well, maybe tomorrow.

And I'm still tweeting poetry.  I usually try to participate in #haikuchallenge and #poetwist, both of which groups have a word every day to use in a poem. 

As to the art in progress, comments are, as always, welcome.

Comments

[red-trillium.livejournal.com]

That Fresh Farms store sounds great. Yummm. And your tomatoes! The picture is inspiring. I'm looking at the little sprouts that have come up in my old tomato soil (which I'd shifted into 2 bigger pots instead of 6 smaller pots). I'm going to have a ton of tomatoe plants! I'll need to cull them but I hate killing anything :( I can see if a couple people at work might want some unknown heirloom tom plants. My guess is either the tiger toms I got from a coworker last month or the Black Krims. I'd also bought 2 packets of heritage seeds and planted 2 of each because I hadn't seen the toms sprout at that point.

Wow, I must be exhausted going on about my tom sprouts. :S

I like the dark angel/gargoyle that you've painted. Have you had a chance to work on it or will it wait for more inspiration?

[wyld-dandelyon.livejournal.com]

I'm glad the tomatoes inspire you.

Not sure when I'll get back to the painting, I don't need more inspiration so much as time at a table, and feeling healthy and not falling behind on my self-imposed writing deadlines. Right now I'm still exiled on the second floor of my Aunt's house due to gastrointestinal illness, trying not to give it to anyone else. Here's hoping I'm feeling much better tomorrow!

Tom sprouts - is that like tom cats? Nah--why shouldn't you talk about your gardening? I do! (Well, I talk about mine, anyway.)

If you're very very gentle, you can transfer tiny seedlings without killing them. Or I can, anyway. I know what you mean about not wanting to kill them, tho. I'd offer to do the transplanting if we lived nearby!

[red-trillium.livejournal.com]

*hugs* Feel better soon. I'm sorry the tummy bug is still sitting with you. :(

LOL, tom sprouts and tom cats, almost the same...kinda :)

I've transfered tomato seedlings but that involves finding homes for them, which can be hard sometimes. I'm going to ask a few people once more of them come up and I'm ready to transplant them to space them out better in the pot. But if I can't find takers (or can't find enough takers) then I'm stuck.

Or am I??

Hmmm....

Just had a thought.....

I know where there is a community garden. I've done stream planting by it. I bet I could find people willing to take unknown heritage tomatoes there!!!

[wyld-dandelyon.livejournal.com]

I bet you could!