I decided today might be a good day to post some of my paintings. I know some of these look totally amateurish and childish. They are that way for a reason. My great grandchildren. Many of these will be Christmas gifts for the littles this year. They'll get plenty of toys, clothes and other gifts too, but I have been really enjoying painting for my family this year. I don't know how many years I'll be able to paint and write with my vision so impaired. I'm praying my cataract surgeries will go well and I'll get some of my vision back, but I'm not waiting around for the results.

So I'll post these now and try to post a comment under them to explain them when needed. I hope you enjoy them.

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This sailboat is one of my favorites. It's done in acrylics on a 12 x 16 canvas. I love how this looks in a wooden frame. I haven't decided whether to sell it or save it.

My goldfish in acrylics. Not sure of the size, but it's 12 x 16 or less.

I need to work on this one a little more. It's supposed to be a cute happy little mouse. Acrylics, 12 x 16.

This is one I painted at the workshop I just had in August with the Clifton Art Buffs. I thought about offering it as our logo. What do you think?

This is in colored pencil on black poster board. I think it needs more contrast, but my critics say it's perfect, like it's misty and haunted. So I'll leave it alone for now. I need to do another painting for display at the bank in October. Guess I'd better get busy!

I did this one in oils many years ago and it is still one of my favorites. 16x20.

This one is fairly recently done. 8x10 acrylics. It's one of  Dennis' favorites.

That's enough for this post. Stay tuned for more in the future.

Where Am I?

Another week has passed and I still feel a little lost. I'm not sure what to do with my time and talents. I keep making my art and I'm not really sure if I"m really doing it for God's Glory or for my own. I love to paint nature: animals and scenic landscapes, and I'm thinking about trying to do a portrait or two. I haven't quite summoned the courage for that yet.

I started a painting on Monday, 18 x 24 of a huge daisy that fills most of the canvas, with pastel colored acrylics in the background. I don't really have any purpose for it yet, it's just something that sprang from a Pinterest post. I'm hoping I don't overdo it and muddy the colors.

I listened in on a zoom call workshop on writing yesterday. I thought it would be about 30 minutes long. Four hours later, I finally disconnected when I realized the ultimate goal of the workshop was to sell some very pricey software. Over $3500!  I was very disappointed. I did pick up some pointers on the publishing process and also the writing schedule involved in writing a book. I truly loved the sound of the software's attributes. And the leader, Ty Cohen, as been an author for over 2 decades. But on a limited income and no options for financing that would work for me, I had to take a hard pass. I almost cried.

I have always been interested in AI, just as an interesting topic, but never really considered using it in my writing or my art. I've used it in an app on my phone, CapCut, and even then, only to take photos of family and make them do comical dance sequences or say silly things. Nothing serious, and nothing I wanted to share beyond our family's inboxes. This new software would use AI to help write and publish books from the idea phase to the final marketing phase, including title and book cover and marketing scheduling, formatting to fit Kindle, Kobo, Amazon, and other markets. 

Darn, I wanted that software. I even thought about contacting my brother, who manages our farm properties, to see if I could get the money from there but didn't want to jeopardize my financial backups in case we needed some medical money. I did write down the website, however, just in case I find some easy money somewhere. Ha!

Today I'm working on laundry, dishes, and other housework. There is another session of the workshop today, but I haven't decided if I want to bother with it. Sometimes temptation gets the better of me.

Out of Order

You may notice my post timelines are rather scrambled. I found some posts that were not posted in order. Some were drafts that were posted at a later date.

So please forgive me if you find repeated posts, or errors. My mind is fuzzy these days. Early Alzheimer's? 

I want my granddaughters to read my story and receive some honest feedback. They are busy. Very busy, but they have shown interest in my stories and my art, so plunge on ahead.

Editing is hard work!

I have family and friends anxious to read my book, and I'm still struggling with edits and rewrites. I printed out my current version today, all 150 pages, and as it printed, I noticed many errors that still are not resolved. 

One chapter is printed twice, so I'll have to go in and delete that, which will screw up my chapter count, and several are in a different font. I'm still finding weak verbs, which are a constant issue in my writing. 

Before this book is truly complete, I'll probably have 20 versions. Grrr!

I'm sure other artists suffer the same frustrations, but this is the first time I've had to edit so much. It makes me wonder if the whole project is worth all the work and effort. 

But quitting is not an option for me. This book is part of my legacy for my children and grandchildren, and I want to finish my other novel before I die, and I have already started writing my second story that will be a sequel to Hero in Cowboy Boots. It's the story of my male protagonist's friend, Jarred. I haven't even outlined this one yet.

But I definitely plan to write an outline. It's just too darned hard to write by the seat of my pants, which are way too big anyway!

Anyway, back to work on HICB. I'll get this story done if it kills me, or something else does. If anyone is reading this, pray for perseverance. I'm going to need it!