 Good morning people. The hair is still wet, of course it is, because you know I don't bother to put makeup on or dry my hair before I turn the camera on anymore. Anyway, we didn't do anything. Good morning everybody. Sorry, sorry shaky camera. It is Sunday morning 11 14 a.m. I don't know what time of day. What's the date? The camera is right in front of the calendar. June 20th. I think tomorrow is the longest day of the year. This is summer solstice I think. Anyway, I forgot to close the vlog last week so I just did that just now. I've tried three times to get the printer to print some new color palettes. I've been doing some custom color palettes for a class I taught with Bea Grob and a bunch of other really great artists. If you haven't signed up for the class yet, you still can. The link is in the video description here, so check it out. My portion of the class is working with color and challenging yourself to come up with and or work with different palettes of color and trying to take art with really limiting your color choices. Anyway, I'm in the process of creating some custom color palettes out of some of the pictures I take at Nauseum every day. I may sell a PDF download of all of said color palettes in my Etsy shop at some point for those who are interested. If you are interested in such a thing, let me know. And yeah, that's what I'm working on today. Today is Father's Day, so we'll be celebrating later with a barbecue for my husband. I do have a couple of places I need to go drop some donations off to, so I'm not sure if we're going to do that today or not. The week is going to be very, very busy. More contractor stuff coming up. I've got a mammogram appointment on Tuesday, which of course I'm like a nervous wreck about because I am every year. And you know, we're on pins and needles about my mom. So the phone call, we expect at any time. And aiding my dad through all the changes he needs to make and the planning that he needs to do. And even if it's just supporting him emotionally, it's like a lot. So it's going to be another crazy, busy, strange week. That'll bring you with me, maybe? Okay, so it's almost nine o'clock on Sunday, Father's Day. February, oh, February, holy cow. June 20th. We're out for an evening walk. Post-dinner at the kid's house. They fixed Bob a very nice Father's Day dinner. Grilled hamburgers and potatoes, cake and all the things were stuffed again. So we're out for a walk trying to burn off some calories. It's finally only like 86 degrees or something outside. 82, sorry, 82 degrees. So it's not too hot, so we're going to go get some steps in. I, of course, suck at wildlife photography and try to get a picture of the ducks, but I scared them all away. Because, you know, normal for me. All right, I'll be back. Hey guys, so it is Monday, 1.32 p.m. Monday, June 21st. Anyway, my computer just finished uploading this week's vlog and I use it to lose it for May and June. And, yeah, the contractor came by today and he found some floor tile that's a very, very close match to the existing floor tile to fill in the hole between where the old door was and the new door is. So yay. So it won't be super crazy obvious. I am working on a couple more pages from the pen and ink book. I have one here that I'm going to be working on, more masking fluid, and I just finished that one. I'll put a picture here, like a better picture. Anyway, I like this first section by this first artist because they work a lot with the pen and ink, but also watercolor, which is, which is fun. I really enjoy that. And then there's someone's coming up with collage. And then the next one is stippling, which is where you do pictures and it's just literally just dots of ink. Lots of dots. And I've tried that before. And to be honest, it's kind of not my thing. So I might, I'm going to read that chapter, but I don't know if I'm going to do any lessons from there because. Okay, I really enjoyed the introduction by Ion Thomas Miller, where he talks about tools and techniques. I found it very informative. I am personally really enjoying the watercolor washes section with Desiree Lee. That's right up my alley. There is a section on stippling with M. Ramos. If that's your bag, you're going to really find it interesting. It's not my deal, but it's interesting. I'm going to read it nonetheless. Then we have ballpoint realism with Samuel Silva. And then the last, I think the last one is mixed media with Louis Jover. I hope I'm getting that right, but I have this feeling it's wrong. And to be honest, I was going to say I have to be honest. I haven't looked at the last section by Louis Jover, but taking a quick look at it. It's a mixed media section, pen and ink in mixed media work. And that I think I'm going to find interesting. And I may do a little bit of that in this journal too. I do find that interesting. But again, really, really loving the section on watercolor washes with pen and ink by Desiree and Desiree Lee. And as soon as I'm done with the lessons I want to do out of this book, I'm going to be working with Felix's book, Felix Scheinberger Urban Watercolor Sketching and working on filling up this little journal with watercolor wash sketches, because I think it's going to be, it's an interesting thing. And I'm working with masking fluid, which I said for the other lesson in the vlog. It's not my favorite thing, which is why I didn't have any, but I am rediscovering why we watercolor artists have it to begin with. It's not my favorite thing because it requires patience and drying time. And like we all know and that it boasts those things. Anyway, I'm going to let this dry because full of masking fluid. Yep, there we go. And go have a snack, watch my soap opera and relax a little bit. I've got to do laundry and dishes, so it's always something. I'll be back. So this is kind of a first for us. It's almost nine o'clock at night and we're going for a walk. But as you can see, it's still daylight outside. It's the longest day of the year today, isn't it? Tomorrow. Today or tomorrow, one of the days. Anyway, it's yeah. Finally cool enough. It's only like 85. It's been almost 100 all day. So we're going to go try to get some steps in. I don't know how far we're going to go, but we'll see. And I forgot to do all of today's art Facebook group writing for the week. I only remembered a couple of minutes ago. And let's just say it's probably not getting done today. I usually write it all on Monday. The Monday stuff gets posted. Everything else gets scheduled. It's all going to be late this week. I'll do it maybe tomorrow afternoon. Anyway, it is what it is, right? Okay, let's go for a walk, get some steps, see what we can see, and we'll be back. Good morning, everybody. Obviously we're in the car. I have an appointment today for my annual mammogram. If you've been watching me for any length of time and or know me in real life, you know that any of these sort of cancer check tests just set my anxiety off to the next level. So that's just an all the time always thing. So one time I was relaxed and okay about it. They found a cyst. So yeah, now I'm just always a mess about it. And so we're going to go get that done this morning. And even if you're like me and you really just don't do well with the thought of having these kind of tests, it's better to catch these things early. So please go get your checks. So we're going to go do that this morning. And then depending on how that goes and how long it takes, I might decide to go to Goodwill or Value Village on the way home. It really depends on the mood that I'm in how long it takes. Okay guys, it was only about an hour since I had the mammogram screening. And by the time I got upstairs, turned the computer on sat down and started doing my writing. I already had my mammogram results and they're normal. Yay. My sister who lives in Utah is currently uninsured. Her husband is still laid off because of COVID. And so she was just telling me she's hoping he gets a job soon so she can get her mammogram done. And I just did a quick Google search and there are some free cancer screening services in the state that she lives in. She lives in Utah. And so I sent her the link and I said, look, I don't know if you qualify or not. The worst they can do is say no, but you know, check it out. So anyway, I'm so relieved. So now I'm good morning. It is Wednesday morning, June 23rd, 1109 a.m. according to the iPad. Waiting on the tile guy, the contractor drop off the tile and the tile guy, the installer is not the same guy, two different guys. He should be here any minute to work on the floor. That's got to dry for a day or two and then they can finish up the door. Yay. Okay, tile guy is here and he is adding tile to the floor in the space between where the new old door was and the new door is. We found some natural stone that's a very close match to the stone on the floor. So anyway, I also talked him out of this. How cool would that be on the jelly plate? So I think he gave me a long piece. I'm going to cut it up and make it into a stamp or texture tool. Got a lot of the tile guy. Good morning people. Hair is still wet, of course it is. Because you know, I don't bother to put makeup on or dry my hair before I turn the camera on anymore. Anyway, went into many things about me that's changed in the last few years, especially since COVID started. Okay, it's not quite 80 degrees yet and Bob has a Masonic Lodge meeting tonight so he won't be home until late. So and it's not going to cool off until after 10 o'clock tonight. So before it gets any hotter, I'm going to go for a walk because we're supposed to hit the high 80s to low 90s today. I've got some water. I've got my bag with my inhaler in it just in case and sunglasses and let's go. I'll be back. Hey guys, it is 1251 p.m. Friday, June 25th, just after lunch. If you're watching this clip, you saw a brief clip. The contractor was back doing some more work on the new back door and he's going to come by Monday probably to do some more sanding and a little bit more spackling and then Tuesday paint and then that job is done. Yay! And then we are going to be starting on some repairs and improvements to the kitchen cabinets. So I spent the day working some more in this book. If you want to try some books to help improve your drawing and your creative style to give you some ideas on playing with pen work. I do recommend both the books I've used lately. I don't know where the other one is. I think it's in the other room then. This is drawing in black and white. I recommend if you're not familiar with drawing, start with this one and then do the other one. But I'm enjoying both very, very much. I filled up the one journal I was working in and now I pulled out another one. So I'm going to keep going. So yeah. I also printed two things from Mission Inspiration Facebook group. The June mission and the June mid month mini mission. Neither of which I've done yet. I'm sorry. I'm a little blind. But this weekend is going to be blasting hot. So if I have a chance I will do both and film both this weekend and try to get those up before the end of the month. Maybe. Anyway. Good morning everybody. It is 855 a.m. Saturday February 26th, I think. Yeah. So anyway, it is going to be a minimum of 106 degrees today. Yeah, 106. It's going to be estimated 115 tomorrow. So we are, we've already put out food for Bambi and water for Bambi and then another water bowl down near the curb for any pets that happen to come by or other animals and eat water today. And watered all the yard plants and all of that stuff. And now we are headed to the grocery store early before it gets too crazy out. And then we're just hunkering down at home. And I doubt we're getting any walking or anything in because it's not even going to cool off until like 3 o'clock in the morning. Maybe we'll get up early tomorrow and go walking. Maybe. We'll see. I don't know. Anyway, I did quite a few more drawings in my next practice drawing journal that I've been working on today. See, hold on. I did this one. There's a reason I'm showing you these. I'll get to it in just a second. And again, the book that these I'm using for inspiration for these drawings and lessons for the drawings is currently this one. I do recommend the book. It is a very good book by Deborah Velasquez. I am finding, I keep mentioning in the vlog that I have all these pit pens over here. Can we focus? There we go. What I am discovering is I am pulling out the neutral colored ones that go along with my black, sepia or gray. There is a few white pens in here that I am using for the drawings. And I'm loving that. And those I'm able to use in certain colors. Those I really love. Whether or not I can incorporate the other ones, I have no idea. Now some of her work in here is not just in drawing. It's in drawing, but on a base of gouache or on a base of collage. Instead of painting on these and doing a base of gouache first, I'm choosing to use the pit pens, which I find very interesting and a lot of fun and different than what I normally do. So, okay, I do have some more sticker paper that I made. This is actually tea leaves. Some of these are ink and paint and they actually didn't react well to each other. You see that? Or they're very textured. And some of these bits are interesting and I don't necessarily want them to come off. So I'm going to coat these with some deco page gloss. I happen to have a jar and kind of seal all the lumpy texture in and let it dry before I do anything with it. So I'm going to do that and then I'm going to go downstairs. Because it's getting warm up here. All right, I'll be back. Yeah, some of those sticker papers came out very textured or the inks didn't mix with whatever paint or whatever else I put it on there. And so they kind of separated and bubbled up, but the texture and colors and patterns they make was interesting. So I kind of want to seal all the chips and bits in. So I gave them all a very healthy coating of deco page and we're going to just let them dry for a couple of days. And see what happens. Hey guys, sorry about the questionable lighting, but it is hot. Anyway, I forgot to close the vlog out last night again. I've just lost track how many times lately I've forgotten to do that. But anyway, we ended the day at 106 degrees. It didn't cool off until like three o'clock in the morning, Sunday morning. And so it's the second day in a row. I didn't get any steps in, but although I like walking and all, even I'm not crazy enough to do it in that kind of temperature. So there's that. Anyway, I am sitting here in the dark Sunday morning early ish. I don't know what time it is. Hold on, let me check. Okay, maybe not that early. It's just before 11 o'clock on Sunday, June 27th. Anyway, the house is locked up in dark because yet again, we're having a triple digit day and instead of 106 we're supposed to reach somewhere between 113 and 115 degrees, which is highly unusual for the state of Oregon. So yeah, anyway, we're not leaving the house and at some point I may be in my pajamas or I should say underwear because it's just really hot. Anyway, we've got the lights turned off, the windows closed to try to keep the house as cool as possible and not overwork the air conditioner. So anyway, I am going to be working on a little bit of reorganizing on my desk to make way for what my newest obsession is, which is pen and ink drawing, which I have been really enjoying this week. If you've been following me on social media, you've seen some of these and the books I am taking inspiration and or a lesson from the current one is drawing in black and white. I've mentioned this book, really enjoying it a lot. So at some point I'll try to create a book list. I do have a lot of art how-to books that I haven't gotten through and when we have times or days like this where I can't leave the house, it's a good time to go through them. So anyway, I'll be working some more on that plus also catching up on mission inspiration and mid-month mini mission, which I have not done yet. It's on my agenda anyway. I hope you've all had a great week. If it's hot where you are, I hope you're staying cool. I hope you're doing what you need to to stay safe in the heat and take it easy. And yeah, all of those things we can all always catch up on our steps later and right now it's just a matter of staying cool and staying safe and healthy. My situation with my mom is not great and at any point I expect to announce the fact that she's passed. Yes, it's that critical. So she's in hospice and it's just a matter of time anyway. Yeah, so there's that. All right, that's it for the minute. Please stay safe, stay healthy, stay creative. Support the free content here on YouTube and in the Facebook art groups if you can. I have a Patreon. I will put the link in my link tree list of links, which is down below. You can also join the YouTube community here on YouTube. Go to my channel's homepage and then hit the community button and you'll find ways to do that. There might also be something in the video description, so check it out down below. I am teaching a class with Bea Grob and other teachers. I believe you can still sign up for that class. The link is in the video description. And I will be probably running a sale on the Etsy shop and further reducing and or eliminating actual physical merchandise. I have in stock here in the art room and transitioning the store to digital merchandise and or on-demand merchandise only, which means that when you order something, it's either drop shipped for manufacturing or it's created by me as you order it. COVID's killed the Etsy shop. COVID's really to be very blunt. So I may come out with some coupon codes and things like that. And if you want those codes, you need to be in the community or you need to be in Patreon because they're going to get the codes first. And they may be the only ones that get the codes. But anyway, there are some really affordable bundles of stamps and stencils and stuff like that in the store right now, so check it out. All right, I think that's it. I can't think of anything else. I hope you've had a great week. I'll see you next week. Don't forget to go out and do something nice for yourself because you deserve it. Stay safe everybody and I'll see you later. Bye guys.