watchdog

Dog, watch over us and protect us.

Happy New Year!

reclipse

I'm as much of a heathen as anyone,

so I regret not staying up to see

the totality of the eclipse on the solstice.

But I did see the moon rise that night.

O my Dog.

before the fall

I like these photos.

They were the last ones I took a couple of weeks ago

before crashing on the cattle guard.

Long tall Sally.

Yup.

This crutch supporting the mountain is actually

a raptor platform for nesting golden eagles.

In hindsight, I should've used it.

More's the pity.

christmas tree

The maple tree's Christmas lights

Every color we've got.

copasetic cosmos

Wishing you all a happy, healthy and fortunate

Solstice, Full Moon & Lunar Eclipse!

Credit: Jim Fakatselis, NASA

deck the halls

face plant

Last weekend, the weather at the ranch was beautiful,

cold and clear.

The dog and I took a walk up the mountain.

How blithe.

As part of my continuing education, called Life, on our way back down the ranch road, my shoelace lassoed a spike on the cattle guard, and I crashed and burned. Did a total face plant down onto the metal bars. Somehow, my Kryptonite sunglasses protected my face. Mostly. I sat for a bit, resumed breathing and took inventory; there was enough blood for good drama, but that was all.

When I got back down to the house, I put my feet up and iced my face. To pass the time, I got out my iPhone and went into the Pollock Zone. That app is a remarkable anesthetic; does wonders for pain and plane rides. I did this wry self-portrait. It's the only image you'll ever see. Take my word for it, it's a fair rendition of the wreckage.

Considering I should be dead, my fat lip was a miracle.

sundance

Nobody naps like a dog.

Sundance

This is dedicated to this proud old guy,

who at age 12 wasn't too old to go out on a toot today

in dogged pursuit of a girl.

Then we "rescued" him and called his mother.

I bet he's sleeping well tonight,

and I bet he's pissed at us.

some cats are okay

We're mostly not cat people,

but sometimes you gotta admire talent.

yo mama

I like the background, but the women are much too graphic.

Even so, I can't help liking them.

Even if they're, whoops, both missing digits.

cherry pie

I've painted a lot of black women.

There were no models, so I depended on my imagination.

As these women appeared, I grew to love them like sistahs.

They were very good company.

There are several more of them, but

Cherry Pie here pushed to the front of the line.

hard to imagine

The sun was this hot.

The shade was this cool.

Remember?

It was called summer.

praise be to Arby's

A flash mob of angels...

thanks be to dog

I'm thankful me and the dog did NOT go for a walk yesterday morning because there was a stoned mountain lion staggering up the alley where we walk. The po-leese and the DOW screwed up another bait n switch and had to dart him twice.

As always, I'm thankful I get to go get poked by my acuprincess and that she lets my dog come with me. I'm thankful for the GP/OB/GYN she recommended to me. Dr. OneSwellFoop.

I'm very thankful they both have a decent sense of humor.

pink things

On October 28th 2010, these pink things

appeared in the eastern sky at sunset.

If one were conspiracy-prone,

one might have had a little moment.

Naturally, I went straight to that

Great and All-Knowing Oracle,

Google.

Gadzooks!

Conspiracies R Us!

Lucky for you, I waded through the all the dreck;

I chose The Straight Dope.

Enjoy.

in the meantime

For the last few weeks, I've been re-acquainting myself with my acrylics. Pastels were beginning to make my mouth go dry; I longed for something more liquid. That good dog, Howl, welcomed me back with a fun and almost effortless painting. There actually is no such thing, is there... but it did seem to flow like a river. So to speak. I've been dipping my toes in the water ever since.

I forgot how maddening acrylics can be. Moan. I won't go into detail here. Suffice it to say, no medium is without its drawbacks. Complaining about them is nothing but bitchy when what is called for is more effort. So I've been busy climbing my learning curve. Whew! It's a real fourteener.

In the meantime, in order to maintain any semblance of arty satisfaction, I've been indulging in that addictive iPhone Pollock app. Brilliant color with no muss, no fuss. Best of all, just shake to erase.

Here are some of my recent faves:

I'm having entirely too damn much fun!

Just so you know,

I'm sweating bullets over a couple of actual canvases.

Coming soon...

one place or the other

Sometimes the choice is easy.

rock and scroll

Just to keep you fickle readers tuned in,

I'm posting a picture of some artful litter I came across.

I in no way altered it; this is exactly how I found it.

It was only after I saw the photo that it occurred to me that

someone had probably intended to make this rock and scroll.

Uh, duh...

It reminds me of myself, chasing my own tail.

Dogs do that with a vengeance,

but come to think of it, it mostly makes them dizzy.

I can relate.

My latest dither involves

sketching two complete drawings onto canvases

I forgot to underpaint first.

O, save me from myself.

artifacts

Good word, artifacts. Arty factoids.

Anyway, here are some arty Dia de los Meurtos 'oids.

Necklaces made of skulls and bones.

Love em!

My hibiscus went copasetic for the holiday.

If you come out of the salon with hair this yaller,

call your lawyer.

Mine is an artifact of wildfire smoke

filtering the sunlight.

Swear.

Wish I had made this frame.

SANITY!

If you happen to visit this blog today, don't miss this opportunity to attend...

THE RALLY FOR SANITY

Unfortunately, the picture isn't a live feed; it just looks that way, but...

LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THAT CROWD!

However, this link gives you the live feed to the rally in DC, as well as other sane spots around the country. It's enough to give sane people hope!

here we go again

First, in a move which rivals Scarlett O'Hara's "I'll think about it tomorrow...", I'm reposting my painting of Howl (the joyous beagle) so he can maintain his fame...

In the meantime, another wildfire is burning west of Boulder. Unlike the last fire 10 miles west of town, this one is burning on the edge of the city. Slurry bombers (my heros!) are dropping retardant to knock the fire down, and backfires have been set which may cause power outages for the rest of the day, so most downtown businesses are closing. I assume we'll be cut off soon, so I'm posting this while I can.

What do I think? Like Old Man Truman of Mt. St. Helens, I ain't leavin'! For now...

A slurry bomber drops a load of fire retardant on the Dome Fire in Boulder on Friday afternoon.

Read more:Firefighting efforts may cause massive power outages in Boulder - Boulder Daily Camerahttp://www.dailycamera.com/boulderdomefire/ci_16463901#ixzz13mIHUZV8
DailyCamera.com

howl

I loved painting this.

Loved working in acrylic with a juicy brush again.

Dogs are us.

push pull

I diddle with the Pollock app on my iPhone a lot.

It quickly shifts me to my right brain,

where I lose track of time and space.

Early one morning, I found myself playing push pull.

Breakfast with Hans Hofman and Jackson Pollock.

Pretty heady company.

spook you!

Halloween is big here in Boulder.

When the downtown MallCrawl got too rowdy in 1989,

the city outlawed it.

Bummer.

So we took it home.

I took these next photos a week ago when people

had just begun to decorate.

I'm happy to say that it's getting out of hand...

Do NOT try this at home!

I stole this picture of Jazz from Jala.

I am amoral.

los muertos

Today, we started the holiday right by going to:

Sometimes, a cliche' fits... this exhibit was awesome.

It made us laugh; it made us cry.

Very beautiful and touching.