I wanted to show some of the detail on a frame I made up not too long ago. This was one of the unfinished pieces I bought at the craft store. I was a little afraid of just what to do with it, but once I got into the whole texture thang, it started to take on a life of it's own. Once I got to painting it, I had the idea of driving over to the ocean front and layin' out for the afternoon. However, good sense took front and center stage...in other words, I don't think the locals were ready to see a beached whale on the sand quite this early in the season.

I've also got some new paints that haven't been put to use on any projects, so they may get some thing to work with. I had this whole Tropical Island thang goin' after painting the frame above. And REALLY wanted to go on vacation somewhere ELSE...just not maybe down the road. I've always wanted to see some of the islands south of Florida. But, now that the summer is creeping closer and the heat & humidity is creeping upwards too, well, I think a Tropical Vacation may wait till next fall. I'll stick to the Feeling of the Tropics with the paint colors I've got floating around in the studio. The Husband said that when he went down to the islands south of Florida in the USN, that the color of the water was the one thing that stood out in his memory the most. Just an incredible color of turquioise he'd ever seen. And the clarity of the sea water was beyond words. He said that there were so many of the men on board who'd never been in the southern part of the U.S., who were amazed at how HOT it was the further south they got. I can't really go into too many details of just where they went, but suffice to say that it was wonderful once they got done with all their military things, and got the chance to go and play in the water. I've got a big shell that The Husband brought home for me after one cruise. It's not been broken after nearly 20 years, so I don't know if that tells me how strong the shell is, or how scary it looked to all of my kids when they were growing up....

I'm taking a break from the work in the bathroom. All I have to do is a little finishing up on one wall. I'm glad the big stuff in the bathroom is finished. I was very nervous once I got the paint on the walls. Oh, I mean, the color is very soothing and mellow, butI wasn't sure that the youngest would like the color once it was finished. Yahhooo and yippiee, he walked into the hallway and took a look at the walls and actually said, "Nice!" How one little word can make a day is really somethin'. I was thinking he'd mumble like he did the first time I textured and painted the walls. But this time I completely changed the whole thang, and it is a vast difference from what I did before. And The Husband was glad the color was somethin' he had in mind when I told him what I'd envisioned for the walls. Sort of like the old adobe walls in houses of friends I grew up with in Southern California. And some of the places I'd seen and been in out in the desert - Palm Desert WAY back in the day...like early 60's late 50's -- most of those old old buildings have been torn down by now, I'm sure. But they were so cool and wonderful to me when I'd walk into them. Old walls and wood porches that rattled with every step across them. Lots of old pottery jugs across the front of the buildings with flowers planted in them. Oh, I just loved them. And once I started on this house, I knew that what I wanted in here was the look of those old places. I've got a collection of old 1900's photos that were made into calendars some years ago -- some of those I've framed, and some others I'm getting ready to find frames for. I've also got some mandelas and sponged painted walls that mimic the old walls of those adobe buildings. So, naturally the bathroom was the next place to get similar work done. The kitchen is next...GONE will be the very 80's wallpaper...and somewhere along the line I'm going to check out those weekend workshops at the large hardware stores, and see about taking a class on laying out tiles. Don't know if I'll do as large a space as my kitchen floor, butI'll start out with something!!

Lady of The Tulips ~~ who now has realized that it's after noon, and there is still no work done on a sheet of drawing paper that was going to be started on 2 hours ago....too many distractions...