Wind

It is so damn windy and it won't stop! I set my camera up outside on a tripod facing the tree in my front yard. I set the shutter speed to be pretty slow, so it would capture the movement of the branches in the gusts. Since the tree in front of my apartment is violently shaking in the wind, this photo really shows the blurry movement of the branches swaying in the wind.

Lab

Daisy is so fun to photograph...she has so much expression in her eyes. Matt and I went out to have dinner with Mom.

Swing

I had to go down to Fort Collins to re-set the gallery for the month. I got there a little early and had some time before everyone started hanging up their work for the month. I was feeling sleepy on the drive down, so I walked over to a cafe to grab some coffee. As I walked by Old Town, I took some pictures of this statue of a girl swinging. I took a bunch of the overall statue, but there was something I liked more about just her face.

Knives

Knives in our kitchen! I like the depth. I was working on the whole "subject isolation" thing...where you draw something into focus and leave other parts blurry. There is something else I like about the look of the brushed silver.

Fossil

I bought this fish fossil for Matt for Christmas a few years ago. We both like things like nature and interesting things like this.

Gallery

As part of being a member of the Art on Mountain Gallery, I have to work there for two shifts a month. I worked my double shift on Saturday. It was pretty boring and slow, but I brought my laptop and got a lot done. Thank goodness for Hulu.

Happy Jack

Matt and I went over to Laramie for the afternoon and evening! It was nice to spend some time in Laramie. We had a great Thai dinner with his family. The drive home was a little scary and snowy, but the drive over was lovely. We took Happy Jack, which is a little longer but much more scenic. We saw this little herd of deer in a valley.

Scarves

Sometimes when I don't know what to take a picture of, I get the most creative. These are my scarves hanging on the door...I started looking for new perspectives.

Mallard

I like ducks.

Mess

I have had my easel for almost ten years now, and it is starting to show it. It has paint all and the wear and tear of many projects. I still love it though. This is the front drawer...it has two shot glasses that I keep my painting mediums in (mediums are liquids used to thin paint). One has straight linseed oil, and the lovely shot glass Rox got me in Hawaii has a stand oil, linseed oil, and turpentine mixture.

Carmela

Carmela is one tough cookie...dumped and abandoned out in the country, knocked up, and then homeless with a litter of kittens. Fortunately for her, she chose our barn to have them in. We adopted out the kittens, built up her trust and got her fixed. Now, she has been with us for nine years and is the sweetest cat you could hope for.

Photographer

Even though he has camera envy, Matt went to the park with me to take photos. There are so many birds there, it is always fun. Even though the weather was kind of gray, we had fun and got some good shots. I got some great bird photos, but this by far my favorite.

Fishies

Rox and I had a fun day shopping in Fort Collins! We went by D&G Pets on the way back so I could get some more fish. I bought 5 cardinals, 2 Yo-yo loaches, a little pleco, and a dragonfish. It's nice to have lots of fishes again. And really hard to get a decent picture of.

Splash

Every time I start to get tired of taking photos or blogging everyday, something comes along that renews my interest and makes me realize why I love taking pictures. It was still a little chilly and windy today, but warm enough that I could go down to the park and take some photos after work. Animals are by far my favorite thing to photograph, and even though I got photos of geese flying, fighting and swimming along, this photo of a goose dunking its head and having fun in the water was my favorite.

St. Paddy's

For St. Patrick's Day, Rachel made an awesome dinner of corned beef and cabbage, along with the Irish soda bread (pictured). It was fantastic! I love corned beef. Matt and I supplied the Guiness and Bailey's. :-)

Critter

I love this weird little creature. I was home sick (bad upset stomach) and she never left my side all day.

Bottles

When I drink, I pretty much drink wine. I also love wine bottles and their increasingly inventive labels. I have been collecting bottles for the last few years and they ring the top of my kitchen. The bottles are now three rows deep, and I have to throw out a bottle to put up a new one (Which means I'm slowing getting rid of all my repeats...all the Yellowtails were the first to go).

Nutella

I love nutella! Almost as much as I love crepes. And when the two come together, oh man. I made some delicious crepes with nutella for dessert tonight. Yum. Can you tell I am on a bit of a food picture kick?

Light

I have so many candles around but never seem to be home long enough to really burn them. I was home all day cleaning and organizing so I finally burnt one for a few hours.

Chang

I had a lovely day shopping at Centerra with Mom and Rox. I got some cool new clothes. We went to PF Chang's for an early dinner  (I took this picture of a horse statue out front) even though they managed to burn my shrimp two times in a row.

Asparagus

We had some delicious grilled asparagus with our deer steaks tonight. I like food pictures, and trying to get photos from different angles. Yummy.

Baseball gloves

'Nuff said.

Chowder

I made some yummy Manhattan Clam Chowder for dinner! I didn't know how much Matt liked it until he ordered it while we were up in Thermop. I have always preferred red sauces to white, so I made this from a a slow-cooking recipe I found on-line. I prepped all the ingredients the night before and threw them in the crockpot in the morning. It turned out great!

Frost

Everything was all covered in pretty frost this morning. I got some pretty photos of it before it burned off (another benefit of carry ing my camera all the time).  This is from the railing in the front of my apartment. Spring will be here before we know it.

The Eyes Have It

I have been working on a new antelope painting for the last couple days. I think the WSAS inspired me to keep plugging away. My favorite part of painting or drawing wildlife has always been the animal's eyes. It is what gives something life or makes it look flat and fake. I usually save them for last for that reason. Once you do that little white highlight, the eye either has it or it doesn't.

Ring

I have my engagement ring! I picked out a setting (white gold with 3 stones) and Matt bought it along with a wedding band we liked. He took it to a jeweler in Laramie to have his family diamond put in the main spot, and he did it right away. It turned out more beautiful than I could have hoped for. Oh, and the jeweler could tell that the diamond had been cut between 1800 and 1820. Wow.

Western Spirit Art Show

Today was the Western Spirit Art Show! I spent all day at artist seminars (and learned lots of handy tips) before going to the reception with Matt, Rox and my folks. It was a very fun night! I sold both my accepted piece and my miniature (they do an accompanying miniature art show where each accepted artist can put in a tiny piece of art for sale) right off the bat. Pretty cool...I am feeling better about my art all the time. This is the second year in a row I was accepted, and the first that I won't have to go back to pick up any unsold work. :-) This photo is of a bronze in the museum...I took it while I was on break from the seminars.

Painting

I have my big antelope painting fairly wrapped up. It came out pretty differently than when I started. Can't say I would consider it a masterpiece, but it might be fun to put up somewhere for a low price. I like the vivid colors and dark outlines.

Warm

When its cold outside and a fire is roaring in the woodstove, Stash pretty much lives in one spot.

Chief Washakie

This was one of those photos I thought would look better before I pulled it up on my computer. I was at the Capitol for a meeting and snapped this photo of the Chief Washakie statue over the railing on the second floor. I thought it might be cool seeing if from above, but the background looks too cluttered and unevenly lit. Oh well, I might need to try to take some better photos in that building before too long.

Here is the Church...

I took this when I had to drive over to FoCo to re-set the art gallery for March. It was dusk and they just lit up the steeple. I wanted to go over and get  closer pic but was running late for the monthly meeting already.