June, June, June, Just Because it's June

The 9th - to be exact - and zipping by like a comet.  It always does. I always think I'll get So Much Done now that it's summertime but then I wake up one morning and it's September and what do you know - the spare bedroom is still a wreck.

Thank goodness I have girlfriends coming the end of this month. I may not have totally organized that space but I sure will have made a dent in it before they get here. It might be a good idea to apply this sort of carrot and stick motivation to some of my other procrastination projects.

Like organizing/scanning the family photos & letters.

I'm always thinking I need to do a better job of this sort of thing. 

Okay - enough TheQueen bashing. I have been productive and busy and even fulfilling my June Resolutions. The itty bitty bites thing has earned me $23 towards the new camera. It's still something I have to remind myself to do - but it's getting easier. And more fun! Yesterday I took my time with a delicious salad lunch, on the back porch, with birds singing and summery breezes wafting across my skin, with white dogs at my feet, snoring. With peaceful conversations.  It was a wonderful experience, tasting everything in the bowl just one tiny bite at a time. 

So - I will continue to practice till it becomes the new normal.

As for the drawing - ah well. Yes. That is coming along too. I spent a good part of the weekend drawing another face out of the hair-do magazine. This is one of the most fun very hard things I've ever done. And it's sheer delight to watch a face slowly appear on the paper. 

The hardest part is the accurate line drawing. This is what you have to start with and to make it accurate is nigh on to the biggest challenge I've ever faced. (ha ha. punny me)  I use a clear plastic grid to lay on the original and then draw a light pencil grid on the paper and try to recreate the image, one square at a time. So far - I have had only middling success. I'll erase and draw and erase and draw till frustration sets in ... usually after about 2 days ... and then stop fiddling and finish the face I've drawn.

The shading is like putting on makeup - and is deliciously fun, but takes a long time. So here is what I've done so far, this month:

I know - her mouth is too short and her eyes aren't quite right but after a while you just have to move forward. Eventually I will get good at this... at least I'll get more accurate - and when I am perfectly satisfied that I can make copies using the grid system - I'm going to pop the big bucks for this:

So that's how it is - today - at Tara.