Merry Christmas from Downunder

OK I have been away from doing my art as much as I should and want to. I lost both of my old dogs since I last posted - that hit me hard. I have one little dog now - her name is JoJo - and surprise surprise.....she is a dachshund. She is a funny little thing - was quite nervy when she came to live with me [seems it is an inherited thing which is why she is with me and my sister elected not to breed with her]. She is a lot better now - mostly. I have had to finish work due to my continuing back issues and that I think added to my time away from doing the things I usually love - a little depressed - I can admit that now.

I am pulling out all stops to ensure that I plan my days to have time for computer stuff, artt and dog [not in that order of course] but if I plan for a certain time for things then I will force myself until they again become joyful parts of my life that I don't recriminate myself for not doing. Yep been on that cycle - don't do something ....berate myself for it ....feel guilty .........avoid it due to guilt .....ooops! downward spiral. ENOUGH! I can seem happy to the people that I chat with and crawl into my hidey hole and do nothing that is my joy. Well this is my wake-up notice to myself - I must post here at least once a week and by declaring what I will do I have nowhere to hide.

I have also started Brenda Swenson's 75 day ink sketching challenge, so I will be posting some of those pics too. Here is the start of a new me - I always reckon that that there is a lot of pressure with New Years resolutions so I am making mine now! Wish me luck.....

No pics today. I have had a health problem [temporary] that affected my eyes and no art or much else done. Its so annoying when you are limited in what you can do - not much time on the computer or watching TV.

Bored? Not really I had a friend at work tell me how she listens to "talking books" while she does other things and I thought I would try it while drawing and I had my first one from the library and couldn't draw or anything! So nice to listen to an English who-dunnit like a radio play [it was the one guy reading it though, but he put on the different voices] - it was great. So much so that I have another ready for me to pick up from the library.

I am working on a professional peer presentation for work and so I thought I would get a little something for myself to complete the new computer equipment.......I am now cordless! I have a wireless mouse and keyboard and its great - I can have the keyboard on my other desk, my lap almost anywhere! And it is so much easier to use the keys than on that the really old board that I had - sort of like going from an old manual typewriter to an electric [those old enough to remember will know what I mean].

Well that is about all for now except the old dogs are bugging me because they think on the days that I am home that dinner should be served when they want, not at the usual time! LOL!

I forgot one of the puddy - tats that I did and she is such a gorgeous creature - hope I captured some of that in this pic.

Well I Can't believe that its been 12 months - that I have been so slack! I have let a lot of things slide and that needs to be rectified! I have had various issues but I am going to make sure that I post once a week. I did make this as a New Year's resolution but then I had computer issues. I have a new one now and lost all my old files in the process. I have now bought an external harddrive to save everything on - live and learn.

The floods here in Queensland delayed the computer repairs a bit .....and I was a just slack through February after I got the computer back - well as a Luddite I was trying to figure out Windows 7 which was loaded on the new one....easier! Not! Well at least not for this little black duck. All those people in t he ads who say they designed it and its so much better must all have grown up with computers and can operate them in their sleep. Makes me feel less stupid if I think that way. I have the hang of most of it now but there are times when I just have to walk away.

Maybe I have the wrong kind of brain - I wonder if Mac is easier...............

Anyway I have been delayed in a Wet Canvas swap because all the pics that I needed of perple's pets were loaded on my computer and the ref pics were online. So after having to wait nearly a month and a half before I could get the pics loaded again I have started in earnest and hope to finish soon.

Here are a few of the pics that I have done since the computer has been back up.

Its been a while.......

I have been remiss.......

I started a new job this year and the learning curve has been a bit steep. Its different to my usual nursing, although I am using my nursing skills to assess people I am writing reports and have to use Government speak. So I am learning what I used to call "weasel words" where you use 10 words to say what I would previously have written in 3 .....ha ha ha.
I have still been drawing and painting, but not as prolifically as I was, and instead of being one of the first to get my ATC's in the post I am becoming last. But I am getting them done. And unfortunately my scanner had an untimely death and it took a little while for me to get another.

So here are some cards that I did for the 'MacDonald's Farm' swap on Drawspace

The Little Brown Hen

Black Sheep

Yummy Honey

The Ever Vigilant Hound Dog

Gobble Gobble

ATC Swap - dogs [dachshunds]

I've been practising my ink work on ATC's for a Drawspace Swap on the topic of dogs. I decided to do .......what else.........all dachshunds. Most are Standard Smooths, but I also did a few longs and minis. Here are a few of the cards I've done so far.

I have been enjoing trying to get the expressions right and keeping the dots small enough. Until I am in the middle of playing with the images and the ink I forget how much I really do enjoy the process of making these ink images.