The Back Story

Monday, July 23, 2018

Daily Paintings of Late

My goal is to finish
a painting a day. 

I'm not always successful
with that goal, but I have
been successful in pressing
forward whether I reach it or not. 

This fact is a win for
me on it's own. 

Here are some
of my most recent
accomplishments. 

I'll keep my words
to a minimum in this post.











Thank you for visiting
and touching base.

I hope you have a fabulous week!

Terri

Tuesday, July 17, 2018

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall. . .

One of my neighbors kindly gave me
a big mirror a couple of months ago. 

It's 38" x 32". 

Another neighbor that knows about the mirror
keeps asking me if I've done anything
with it yet. 

Well, it's finally time to call her over
to see the mirror. 

I should say, the frame of the mirror. 

I'll let my husband get the mirror
part securely back in the frame. 

The frame was initially a brown
mottled paint and it was primed
in white to start the process. 


These first few pictures were taken at sunrise.

That's why they're a little dark. 

Next, I drew out my design and made
patterns for wood pieces that my husband
gladly cut out for me on the scroll saw. 


I placed the pieces where I wanted them
just to check my design, before
they were adhered to the frame. 


Voila! The finished piece. 

It's much more bright
and cheerful now. 



Thank you for stopping by.

Hoping you have a wonderfully
creative week! 

Terri




Monday, July 9, 2018

Giving New Life to an Old Guitar

My dear friends and neighbors
will sometimes give me things
they think I may like to paint. 

This old broken down
guitar is an example of one 
of those things. 

It's been sitting in the corner
of my art room for  a couple
of years waiting to be brought
back to life. 


I had a design percolating 
in my mind, now it was a matter
of putting it all together. 

The same friend that gave me the guitar, 
also gave me the cool wooden heart she'd
designed and had her husband cut out for her. 

I designed a pattern for wings and the "Love"
sign, and my husband cut them out for me
on the scroll saw. 



I strung beads where the tuning keys
would've been.

I used my wood carving tools to 
give the "Love" sign a little dimension. 

I also decided to change the plain heart 
into a flaming heart. 


My husband made
sure every piece was secured
properly with a combination of 
liquid nails and nails or screws. 



Here's another view from the front. 


I'm pleased with the way it 
turned out. 

It was so much fun to create. 

I hope you have a wonderful week ahead! 

Thank you for stopping by. 

Terri






Wednesday, July 4, 2018

Camping Dreams Become Reality

Camping is something I've
always loved to do. 

Being out in nature, wandering 
around and exploring new places,
is so much fun for me. 

Rocks, insects, creatures, and plant life
are all things I patiently observe and study
when we camp and hike. 

I decided to paint myself a camper.

Of course, it had to be pink with
lots of flowers. 

I added a little kitty that I'd drawn with
prismacolor pencils and adhered
it to the piece with matte medium. 

I showed it to my husband when I finished
and asked him if he'd travel with
me in my pink camper. 

He said as long as I was with him, 
that was all that mattered. 


Apparently I wasn't the only one 
with the camping bug. 

My husband was itching to go
back to one of our favorite spots
in the Chiricahua National Forest
in Southeastern Arizona. 

I thought I'd share a picture or two
of one of our "go to" camping spots. 

We've been to this one several
times over the past 20 years or so. 

I'm sure you can see why. 


Of course we had to do 
some hiking while we were there. 

The following are a couple
pictures from the trails
around our site.


In 2007 they had a bad forest
fire that really changed the landscape
for many years to come. 

It was still beautiful though. 


We stopped for lunch on our way
home in Safford Arizona and I spotted
this artsy camper in the parking lot
of the restaurant we visited. 

Whenever I see things like this, it makes
me smile. No matter if it's a little cooky,
or masterfully done, it's a slice of Americana. 




Thank you for coming along
with me on my little camping adventure. 

I hope you have a wonderful 
rest of the week! 

Terri