You Can't Be Serious...

This is the unobtainable, couldn't possibly happen to me this year, what was I thinking writing it down 2013 wishlist. It's things I want, desire to do, hope will happen, determined to try. At this point, most are not possible because of money. But I'm stubbornly determined and God is bigger!

1. Go on a cruise for 25th Anniversary with hubby.
2. Sell 40 paintings or larger art pieces.
3. Redo the kitchen into a kitschy kuteness (floors, cabinets, walls and all.)
4. Figure out what I'm good at artistically that I can market
5. Replace the kitchen appliances.
6. Write up 4 magazine article proposals
7. Buy new mattresses for all beds.
8. Send off 6 art submissions
9. Train all dogs (3) to do all the things I have wanted them to do (ie: alert me to bathroom time, big one not to chew little ones up, sleep through the night, not chew up house, not run off when off a lease, big one catch a frisbee.)
10. Write an online class. 
11. Lose 80 lbs.
12. Make bedroom curtains
13. Visit the beach with hubby and my girls.
14. Take 2 art classes.
15. Replace the roof.
16. Finish my afghan made of 100's of granny squares
17. Fix the sagging house corner (mud jacking?!)
18. Learn Screen printing
19. Clear out the basement and garage to 90% empty.
20. Learn Encaustic Wax painting
21. Fit into my wedding ring again.
22. Journal/Draw in journal 200 times.
23. Read 50 books.
24. Sell off or give away 1/2 my art supplies I'm not using.

To some, many of these are easy peasy. For me, with no money and sometimes a little doubt in my abilities, they're hard!  I will share any progress that occurs. Crossing fingers and forging ahead in 2013. What's on your IMPOSSIBLE list?

With a Positive Attitude...

This year has GOT to be better than last year. I can't even begin to name all the terrible things that transpired last year and frankly I don't want to relive them. Yet no one died or anything and we made it thru. There's a plus.

Moving on to 2013.

I've chosen my word for the year. (If you don't know of this concept, google 'Ali Edwards' and 'one word'. Lots of info.) Mine is LESS. Less weight, less spending, less time wasting and procrastination, less time on my whims and more on what God has in store for me. Much better than resolutions.

Have you embraced a word?

It's late but I'm working on one of those canvas flowers like I showed in a December post. Have an order from a friend and this cold has been tying me down so I'm behind. Be back soon to show it off. Brace yourself, I'm using purple (my dreaded nemesis!!)

Poppy Paintings

My parents went to France, England, Germany and I think Belgium this past spring. The pictures they took were stunning but the poppy pictures were my favorite. I have a pic my mom took, saved as the background on our desktop. The colors called to me and I had to paint it!

This is a watercolor I worked on from the original picture you see there on the desktop. It's more muted but I liked it. Not real good at the rock underneath...

Then I decided to try an acrylic painting. I picked out the flowers I like the best from the original painting, plus a few shaped ones from the internet. This is the beginning.

 

A bit of background layering on the flowers...

 

Here's a closeup of some of the flowers. I think the orange/red ones are my favs to do.

 

 

The flowers are finished how I like them. I need to add a sentiment to the top somewhere. Leaning towards the verse were it says even the flowers of the field are taken care of by God, I'm paraphrasing but something like that would be good...