Illustration Friday: Cars

Ever had one of those dreams where you're in a moving vehicle and no one's driving? I usually wake up while I'm trying to climb into the front seat and grab the steering wheel.

Illustration Friday: Citrus

Lemon Song by Led Zepplin

A quick pastel sketch in my sketch book taken from a photo on Robert Plant's web site. I wasn't in the mood for drawing. I may redo it later. Not happy with the lemon juice.

Another lizard and me

You're probably thinking I have way too much free time. Not so. I'm just not doing what I'm supposed to be doing.

Look Who's Come To Visit

I keep my camera set up on my desk, looking out my window, waiting for visitors, while on my computer.

As a gardener, I should be mad about this little visitor to my garden, but he's so cute.

Psychedelic Lizards

tribute to the Lizard King :]

they needed more color

Photo Friday: Amber 2

A couple of months ago I helped my sister move back here to Texas from New Jersey. I took this photo while driving along the way. My sister took the camera away from me saying it was too dangerous to do that while driving, and then proceeded to text message her boyfriend when it was her turn to drive. Not bad for shooting through a car windshield on a road trip.

Photo Friday: Amber

amber raindrops

Photo Friday: Smoke

I finally got my camera back! Yea!!! Hopefully this will end the 2 month funk I've been in. Here's a new photo of my favorite incense burner. I call him Puff. Yes, I have names for all my Dragons. My idea was to use a flashlight when I photographed this, but I was unable to locate any. Too many roommates over the years, I guess. However, I did find an elastic head band with a small spot light on it that was given to me by Gary and Ellen for gardening in the dark. Don't ask. It worked perfectly, and I like how it turned the smoke blue. No Gary, I was not wearing it on my head when I took the photo. :]

Illustration Friday: Remember 2

I've not been happy with anything I've done lately. If anybody has any critiques or suggestions, I would appreciate them.

Updated: 6-5-07 Thanks Mary for the suggestion. I moved everything over and added some shadows.

Illustration Friday: Remember

My mom, who is suffering from Alzheimer's, asked me once, "Why live an entire lifetime only to loose the memories in the end?" It makes you think about how important the ability to remember really is to the purpose of life. You stop growing and stop living when you stop remembering. In her more lucid moments, she's just biding her time.

Technically she hasn't really lost all her memories, though I'm sure it must feel that way to her sometimes. They have just been confused, distorted, and jumbled like this picture. Some of the memories never even happened, which I think demonstrates how powerful the human spirit's will to live is.

Illustration Friday: Fortune

It's two weeks too late. This is so frustrating. I have so many ideas and no time to work on them. I had some ideas for Illustration Friday's Polar also, but probably won't get around to them. Below is my first idea for this topic. It's so corny that I should explain myself...


It was Sunday, April 15th. I had just finished giving the IRS my life savings. A local pizza joint arranged for a free copy of our local newspaper to be delivered to my door, which always brightens a melancholy day for me because I like reading the comics. [If any of my clients are reading this, I can't imagine how the local pizza joint got my home address on their list, wink, wink.]

I came across an article about the Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie. For those who have never heard of it, it's an animated series on Adult Swim on the Cartoon Network, and the main characters are a shake, order of fries, and a meat wad. The article called the movie "an order of absurdity - supersized". I love all these off-the-wall, ridiculous, so stupid it's funny cartoons, so I forced myself to read something besides comics and actually read the article. It quoted the maker of the cartoon as saying, "the film's real message, however, is that movies are easy to make and anyone can do them in their basements...".

"Ok," I say to myself, " I'm in the wrong line of work!" Especially when you consider my love for pizza. That's the inspiration for this post. Don't worry. I won't be quitting my job any time soon.

Photo Friday: Relaxation

Relaxing on vacation in Mexico. I don't think you'll find any photos of me actually relaxing, though. I'm usually in the water or running around taking photos, or both, but to me that's relaxing. So, here are some photos of my sister and friends relaxing.

Photo Friday: The Country

A drive out to the country on I-10 in the Texas Hillcountry at sunrise.

Nightmare

The picture I have for Illustration Friday's Fortune this week is too stupid to post, so I'm posting this instead. I may post it yet. I'm not sure. It's just that after stressing for the last couple of weeks over taxes, I'm not feeling very fortunate. In fact, I'm feeling a bit like the frog in this picture.

I have this re-occurring nightmare where I'm being attacked by poisonous snakes. I'm completely surrounded by them. There's no escape. No hope of getting help. I'm dying. As they keep biting me, I become enraged. Grabbing them with bare hands, I smash their heads against the ground, and stomp on them with bare feet. I'm determined to slaughter as many of them with as I can in a violent rampage before dying. I always wake up in the middle of this rampage.

I thought the background photo of this post was fitting for this dream. Only two of the snakes in it are poisonous. They're cottonmouths/water moccasins. The other three are just garden snakes [including the one with the frog]. Because I have nothing but woods behind my house, I find snakes in my yard all the time. I nearly stepped on the cottonmouth that's shown here on the ground. Fortunately, he was in the process of moulting, and didn't move. I ran back for my camera, and didn't notice the one in the trees until I nearly ran into it photographing the other. He didn't move, either. He had just finished moulting, and was too weak to strike. I got lucky that day.

Photo Friday: The Blues

Illustration Friday: Green 2

Another attempt at illustrating "green with envy". Thanks Digital Scott for the suggestion!

Illustration Friday: Green

Pablo and Ricardo were green with envy over Felipe's brilliant color.

Illustration Friday: Snap 2

I loathed my post for Illustration Friday: Snap so much that I felt compelled to redo it. I'm not sure I like this one any better.

Spring Time

Oh well, mabe next year I'll have some new stuff for spring.

More Trees

Photo Friday: Growth 2

Cozumel Mexico

I saw a few posts of trees for this weeks challenge. I love trees. It's amazing to me how they manage to grow, twisting, turning, and reaching for survival.

Baobab Tree Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Daintree Rainforest, Australia

The last two photos are old photos that I scanned. The color was starting to fade. I tried to touch them up in photoshop, but that's the best I could do. I'm still resorting to old photos because it will be six weeks before my camera's fixed. Ughhh! I'm going to miss spring completely. I'm so jealous of everybody's posts of their spring flowers.

Illustration Friday: Snap

He's in over his head and about to snap.

Photo Friday: Growth

rock moss at Enchanted Rock, Texas Hill Country

Illustration Friday: I Spy

there's a stranger in my home

Photo Friday: Sentimental

A tribute to my late husband

His mother gave him this guitar for his 12th birthday, which makes it almost as old as me.

Illustration Friday: Total

total confusion

Photo Friday: Heat

couldn't decide again

escape from the heat

I wanted to do something with candles, but my camera still isn't fixed :[

Illustration Friday: Wired

Didn't get my illustration for Wired done in time, so instead I'm posting an old photo that seems to fit the theme. Had to use an old photo because I still can't take any new ones. Can't wait to get my camera fixed.

Photo Friday: Addiction

My latest addiction, scuba diving and under water photography.
Wish I could afford it!



These photos were taken with a cheap, one-step-up-from-disposable 35mm. I have my eye on a SeaLife DC600 with strobe. ***Sigh*** mabe someday.

Illustration Friday: Hide

Didn't get this one in time last week. It took too long because I'm still trying to figure out layers in photo shop. That and I had to draw everything by hand with a mouse [not used to that].

No photos were used in this one. My camera broke last weekend on a drive through the Smokey Mountains. It broke the same day as the lunar eclipse, so I didn't get any photos. I was so devastated, and I'm so lost without it. I have an idea for this week's theme "Wired", but I'm not sure I want to put the time and effort into like I had to for this one. I wish I had my camera. It would be so much easier. *** Whine***

I was talking with my sister, and I'm beginning to think I should offer more explanation for some of my posts than I have been. I don't think that the concepts I'm trying to portray are as obvious to everyone else as they are to me. So I've gone back to some previous posts [like Illustration Friday's Crash, Gravity, and Communication] and given a brief explanation. This post is about hiding my feelings.