Heather Eddy Art

A couple of weeks ago, I found a link to a blog where the woman had made pumpkin cards out of leaves.I cannot find that blog now. I thought I'd seen it on One Pretty Thing. Nope. Pinterest? Nope. Google? I tried: "pumpkin cards", "pumpkin leaf cards", "jack o' lantern cards", "halloween pumpkin cards", and I CANNOT FIND IT. (The woman who runs the blog is a freelance TV producer. She has two kids. Help me find it!!!!) Anyway, I made some, too. Here they are. When I find the blog, I will post HER link so I can give her credit. She is the smarty-one. Not me.  

Since I have started doing my watercolors again, I have had such a sublime sense of peace. Several years ago I was diagnosed with OCD. It manifested itself in my not being able to focus on anything for very long, huge bouts of free-floating guilt and in forgetting things because of being distracted easily. I've taken medication since the diagnosis, but in the past few years, have grown more uncomfortable with the idea of being dependent on it. Please understand that when I began taking the medication (10 years ago?) my whole life changed. I GOT my life. It was wonderful to be able to concentrate on one thing at a time. Guilt levels dropped (don't ask me why, but I always felt guilty). I got more stuff done. I progressed. Recently - maybe the past year? - I've noticed a growing sense of return to the "old days" before the medication. I've been scattered and unfocused. I worried a lot. My house has become ... scary. My doctor upped the dosage a while back

When my mother-in-law died, she left behind a lot of really wonderful things, one of which was a leather satchel/suitcase thing. The other day, when I was preparing to go out of town, I found the satchel held my watercolor stuff perfectly. Like it was *made* for it . I showed Brian what I'd put in the case and his face kinda fell. He was jealous that I'd grabbed it first... hahahaha! It has a certain steampunk feel - all leathery and old-fashioned looking. So, I was sitting out on the patio last night, as I am wont to do in the still-sunny evenings, with my new-found portable art studio case and had set up my little painting area when I went inside the house to get something. I came back outside to find this: What is it about things that cats think to themselves -"I fit! I sit!" So sweet Ginny kept me company while I painted.She drinks my paintbrush rinse water, too.

I thought I would show a watercolor in the different stages. This one I'd been working on for a few days and the gray green area above the grass green area just wasn't working out. Too dark. I couldn't do anything to get more contrast. So... what to do about it? I could tear another piece of watercolor paper to cover it and then start over on that part, but it would stick up from the first piece of paper too much. Hmmm... (tap on chin) Aha! Put a piece of book page paper (I love Harry Potter - that's what this one is) over it. I'd planned on watercoloring over it, but liked the contrast of the whiteness against what I'd already done. Other than putting a few more layers of color over the sky and grass areas, I left the book paper pretty much alone. I added some highlights of metallic paint for the stars, the horizon and the windows of the house. I took this picture outside and it's REALLY bright today - the colors aren't quite so garish in real

It's *finally* autumn here - that means the temperatures are below 80 °F - and evenings out on the porch are pleasanter than ever! No more dripping sweat onto my work!  This weekend was spent watching General Conference with the family here on the Internet. Brian has the computer hooked up to the TV screen and the connection was so smooth it was just like watching real live television. Woo hoo! We are instructed to prepare for Conference by praying for answers to questions we have. I had had a lot of questions I was listening for answers for. (I have a master's degree, but it sure ain't in grammar!) Although I heard a lot of wonderful things, there were no obvious answers to my wonderings about some things. Oh well... gives me motivation to meditate, ponder and pray. Speaking of meditation, I've been practicing doing it. The first night after I had practiced stilling my mind both in the morning and in the evening I had the worst nightmare I've had i