More On The Garden Goddess

Silly me for thinking I would be able to finish this up today. There's a lot more work to be done. This afternoon I added a few more leaves and the background. Note that the light blue is just a primer and I intend for the finished product to have a deep, dark background. More leaves are to be added. The leaves will be outlined in black and then hi-lited with gold. Still pondering over what to do about the "wart" on the nose and where to go from there.

Garden Goddess In Progress

It's Canadian Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada. Where I live (in Southern Ontario) the weather has been unbelievably mild for October. Too nice to spend any time anywhere other than outdoors. And so I was out in my yard all day.

I thought it was about time to continue working on the Garden Goddess I started in the spring. All I did back then was cut the plywood outline with a scroll saw and even then, it wasn't me who did the cutting. It was hubby, although I "helped" by holding the plywood steady and making sure he followed the line.

The Garden Goddess is 4 feet tall. I had planned to nail her to a tall post in my garden. It just didn't happen this year. Now I'm determined to finish her tomorrow as the weatherman has promised to deliver another gorgeous day.

As much as I have things worked out in my head, I always run into snags. The plywood has knots in it and wouldn't you know that one landed smack dab in the middle of her nose. I guess the only solution is to try and cover it with a lot more paint. I have already added layers of paint but the knot keeps busting through. I just don't want her to have a wart on her nose.

The other problem is that I am not a skilled painter. I am working with acrylic paints. I like them because they dry quickly. I hate them because they dry quickly.
Anyway, tomorrow I will add more leaves and paint the background a dark colour. I also have to do some more work on the face besides dealing with the "wart".

All in all, it was a fun day. :)

Fostering

My "cotton picker" creative life has been interrupted somewhat with my preoccupation with dogs. Six months ago, we adopted two rescues, a beagle/coonhound mix and a terrier mix. In addition to our own dogs, we started fostering as well. Since hubby and I were inexperienced dog owners, we thought by fostering, we could not only help deserving dogs find homes, but by having contact with many dogs, we would learn more about canines.

This summer we had the privilege of fostering three dogs and fortunately we were able to assist in placing them in forever homes. I was so happy to know that the Australian shepherd, Cosmo, and the beagle, Tinkerbell, ended up in good loving homes. We know because we have had follow up contact with the owners.

Below is a picture of Tinkerbell in her new "daddy's" arms. For privacy reason, I had to crop out "daddy" but trust me, he has a look of extreme pride in his face.

The most difficult part was the fostering of a black chihuahua named Frankie. I fell so in love that I desparately wanted to keep him. As much as I tried to plant the idea in hubby's head and even had some of my friends drop hints at him too, he would not go along with a third permanent dog in our house. Although a number of times he agreed that Frankie was special little guy, it was not to be. I never took a picture of Frankie because it was too painful to be reminded of the dog I couldn't have.

Come next spring and throughout the summer, I expect to have another parade of dogs in our care.