Sunflower Prints

Sunflower Originals by Joan Marie in Mixed Media and Digital

So here they are! I actually finished 12 although I only needed 9 for the swap. Only original ATC's would be accepted for the swap. I had so much fun working on these that I created three with some added images from Dover Publications.

Those would be the two with the lizard(s) and the Land of Enchantment. The background in Land of Enchantment is from an original watercolor painting I did several years ago and the image with one lizard has my hand-drawn mandala sunflower.

The remaining 9 were hand drawn then painted in watercolor and/or acrylic or digitally colorized in photoshop cs.

As I mentioned in the previous post, these might be the last images I will be able to post for a while. Please know that even if I appear to be absent, I will still be checking in to see how the rest of you are doing and will be viewing all the lovely images from your blogs. : )

I'm slowing down for now

On Wednesday morning I got one of those calls that we all dread. While my father was in an oxygen chamber at a wound clinic, the technician on duty noticed something wrong and immediately removed him from the chamber. My father was having a stroke and thankfully because of response time and immediate action, they got him to the hospital in time to save his life. Four hours later, a new drug was delivered through his IV which again saved his life and stopped the paralysis from being permanent on his left side. Twenty minutes later, he was able to move his hand. From what I was told, it appeared there was a miracle taking place. Forty minutes later, he was being transported to a hospital with a stroke ward. By the next morning he was talking and I could understand every word even with the missing dentures. By that evening, the decision was made to move him from the ICU into a "regular" room. Each day he has shown more improvement then one would think possible. Today, he is able to eat, sit in a chair, play with his new therapy toys, and seems cooperative and happy. Although he is certainly not out of the woods yet, we are all feeling very hopeful and thankful. You know the cliche we are following...Just take one day at a time.
I can't thank everyone enough who send their thoughts and prayers to him and my family! I truly believe in the power of that.
So, as you can imagine, because of what is currently taking place in our lives, this blog will be slowing down for now.
I had just finished my Sunflower ATC's for a swap - unfortunately they won't be able to make it in time - but I will post those in the next blog entry for your viewing.
In the meantime...I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and the week ahead will be fantastic.
Hugs, hugs, hugs to everyone!

Theme Thursday Challenge - Purple

Although this is not one of my newest creations, I still love how it turned out and it's Purple! I haven't worked with purple recently so I will try to create another image for this challenge - if I can find the time.
Please check out other purple creations at: http://themethursday.wordpress.com/

We Love Digital Art Challenge - Friendship

I'm a simple person who likes clean lines with a refined look so I prefer the above version - however it is good to go out of one's comfort zone from time to time so I added a printed background for those who like a slightly busier look. Either way, I had a delightful time creating these for the We Love Digital Art Group - Homepage Challenge.

The center image was provided by Dover Publications. The background is from a scrap of fabric. All the enhancements were completed in Photoshop CS.

In Loving Memory

Doodles entered this world with a club foot, bent tip of the tail, bent ear, and no meow and we instantly fell in love with him. Add his masked-look face to the adorability factor and you have one very special cat. His hind feet were the size of rabbit feet which made him clumsy at first though he grew into those quickly. He was always the "protector" from the time he opened his eyes and we could all sense that he had an old soul. Doodles had three brothers and two sisters - Halsten, Kibbles, Minky, Cali, and Minnie. Here they are with their Mother, Cerra - you'll find Doodles in the middle of the pack.

From left to right: Minnie, Minky, Doodles, Halsten, Kibbles, and Cami

That was all of 17 years ago. How time flies. Over the years, Doodles was loved by all who came in contact with him. He was just that kind of cat. We were so blessed to have him in our life - a part of our family.

There was a time several years ago where we thought we had lost him forever. He rarely stayed out all night so when he didn't show up for a few nights, we started to assume the worst. Ten days later, I received a call from my neighbor who wanted to know if we were missing a cat. When I replied "YES!" she informed me that she thought she knew where he was. Apparently, on one of his neighborly visits, he decided to enter their trailer. The neighbors had no idea he was in their trailer when they shut the door, moved it to the race track camping area, and left. Little to say, after 10 days with little water and food, he was very happy to be rescued and he never strolled into their trailer again.
You know, they say a cat has nine lives. I wonder... if they don't use up nine lives in their current life... do they get to come back and have extra do-overs.? If they get to come back, I sure hope he finds his way back to us. We would cherish another 17 years with him!

Sigh... a person can dream!

On August 4th, Doodles was laid to rest at 3:45PM. He will be missed by all ... Especially missed by us.

Artarazzi Challenge #34 - Flickr Collage Images (by Takeabreak)

"Autumn's Pride"

Wow! What a great bird image to work with. I love birds and could watch them for hours. Yes, I even love seagulls and bluejays! (Not sure if I like the crows and vultures although they are great for use in Halloween cards!) Our summer heat wave was really getting to me this past week so I really enjoyed working with Autumn colors today! Thanks Bev for giving us such a great image to work with in this week's challenge! Your creation is fabulous for sure! : )

You can view others images at: http://www.artarazzi.blogspot.com/