Thursday 1 October 2020

An update and my latest painting

Happy October everyone! 

Can you believe we are in the final stretch of 2020?! What a crazy year it has been so far with this pandemic looming over us. 

UPDATE on my brother - Thanks so much for the caring words regarding my brother's horrific ordeal at sea. He has been released from hospital now but will continue to see his doctor for blood tests and such until he is fully recovered. Billy's Creatine Kinase levels are continuing to drop. His leg swelled up quite badly from a large hematoma which they will keep an eye on. He is resting and very glad to be home. Charlie, his wife's brother-in-law, is also out of hospital and checking in with his regular doctor for follow-ups. 

I'm just so very relieved it wasn't worse and that my brother and Charlie are both alive to tell the tale. 

*********************************************

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have another painted piece to show you. Meet Chico. You have probably seen Chico featured on my blog in the past. He was called Phoenix for a while. 

Here is the framed finished piece (sorry for the glass glare - can't be helped)

And some of the progress pics. 
I usually start with the eye

Laying in more feathers

And more feathers, 
I work in layers so more layers will follow

Layering and building up the feathers for more depth

Starting on the head features

And pretty much finished. 
Acrylic Gouache on 360gsm paper for acrylic paints - 5"x7"

Framed together

Next up on my desk easel will be a miniature poodle.

*********************************************
It feels so good to be back blogging again. I thought you might like to see some gorgeous sunrises I've taken over the past few months from the front yard. I'm a sucker for skies!

One morning in June - 6:30am

One morning in July - 6am

One morning in August - 6:30am

One morning in September - 5:30am.
Red sky in the morning, 
A sailor's warning.

We are officially in Spring although our hot, summer-like weather is not far away. Here in Queensland, it's more like two months of reasonably cold mornings and evenings which we call winter, and the rest of the year it goes from hot — to hotter — to downright unbearable! We are now in our 14th year here and finally got around to asking our landlord for air-con. He very kindly obliged so those dreadful hot and humid days will be more bearable now. 

Our lounge-room air-con above the painting. YAY! 

*********************************************

Recently, my soft hyacinth woven laundry basket started breaking away near the base so I bought a new basket. I sat the old one beside the dining table and Kya loves it! She sleeps for ages in it and likes to shred it too. 


I think Kya may well be a frequent model for my blog. She is so photogenic! I will do a follow up post soon on Kya's story to let you know how we ended up with her officially. For now, I wish you a happy week. Stay safe and well. 

10 comments:

  1. Thanks for the update and your painting is beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  2. OMG Kya could be the twin to my long gone kitty Tiny (lived to 21!) - please share more pix of her when you can, she's so pretty! I have those 'Marais' Tolix chairs in the gunmetal finish in my kitchen - love them!

    The last sunrise photo is just like one we had here - so awesome.

    Glad you're painting Serena - such adorable birds. I've been texting with Michael this morning and so miss the weekly art blog - perhaps we can do it again some day.

    The update on your brother Billy and Charlie is great - Bob and I talk of their ordeal a lot and wish them well.

    Enjoy your spring as we slide into autumn here with some perfect weather at long last.
    Mary -

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. WOW! Tiny was obviously loved dearly and well looked after to live to the grand old age of 21. I will share more pics of Kya for sure. Yes, I really like the Tolix style chairs. They are nice and sturdy too.

      I would love it if Michael resumed the weekly art challenge. Miss that. It's sad when those regular challenges stop. Alexandra had the Sunday Sketches challenge for years; Michael's Scribble Picnic challenge was fun too as it got my imagination going.

      Billy's and Charlie's recovery is going well. Billy still can't have any of his regular heart/blood pressure medications at the moment because they put a further toll on the kidney so lots of rest required. Thanks for caring and your well wished are very much appreciated.

      Enjoy your lovely autumn weather. xo

      Delete
  3. So glad they are both out of the hospital and doing okay--whew!
    Absolutely love the paintings!
    Great sunrise pics. I love sky watching and haven't even been taking sky pics for a long time...hummm. I guess I should get back to it before it is too cold to open the screen door--LOL!
    I am so glad you are back to blogging, too. :) :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a relief to have them home. I'm sure with lots of rest and care they will both make a full recovery from their ordeal.

      I know you love skies too. I am totally mesmerised by their awesomeness at times.

      Enjoy your weekend, Rita. xo

      Delete
  4. So glad both Billy and Charlie are on the mend. Also glad Kya is yours officially now... I thought that might have been the case from what you said in your previous post about being glad she's an indoor cat all the time now, but am glad to have it confirmed. Curious about how it came to be the case though. Oh, and I'm glad you finally have air conditioning. I can't tolerate our Summers very well because of a lack of it, and I know it's hotter there than here even in your cooler months as a rule, so I'm incredibly relieved for your sake that you have air conditioning to help you deal with that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the well wishes for Billy and Charlie, Tory.

      There is more to Kya's story which I will post soon.

      I'm looking forward the using air-con. :)

      Have a lovely weekend, Tori. xo

      Delete
  5. It was lovely seeing your painting on IG Serena and now here to be able to see all the process shots is fabulous. You're a very fine artist.
    You must be so pleased to have air conditioning... our Summers are definitely outdoing each other!
    Yes, Kya is so photogenic... her eyes are quite something.
    Beaut to catch up here, cheerio for now xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for dropping by, Sue. I'm glad you enjoyed seeing the progress pics.

      OH yes! We haven't used the air-con yet but I know it will get a work-out soon enough. Looking forward to using it this summer.

      Enjoy the rest of your week.

      Cheers,
      Serena xo

      Delete