Bzz!
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Bzzz, bzzz, bzzz.
Bzzz!
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Bzzz! Bzzz!!
BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!
BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!
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Bzzz!
Bzzz..la..bzzz..la..bzzzz.
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Bzzz?
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©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog.com, 2014
Bzz Bzz
animal
First hummingbird!
There he is!
I’m serious there is a hummingbird in that apple tree.
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Can’t see it? That’s okay.
Sometimes things are hiding in plain sight.
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Can you see it?
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Come a little closer…
Too close!! Too close!!
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Phew. There he is.
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Mmmm, that apple tree smelled delicious.
This painting was for a friend. It’s 11 x 14 inches, acrylic on canvas.
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And this acrylic, 4×4 inches is of a friend’s dog.
He made this face right after he nipped at my husband.
He’s working on not nipping and this face made me laugh!
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Have a good one!
I’ll be back soon…I’m writing poetry again.
Mwah ha ha ha!! (that’s my evil laugh!)
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©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog.com, 2014
It’s May?
Hmm, somehow I missed April.
I think what happened is that the spring came and I lost my mind.
But I did take some photos.
This is the Lock and Dam No 15, on the Mississippi River.
It is the largest existing roller dam in the world. It’s nickname is the “Washing Machine of Death”.
dum dum da dummmm
Nothing like a nickname that sounds like some cheap knockoff wrestling name.
“And in this corner, ladies and gentleman…the Washing Machineeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee of Death!!!!!!!!!!”
And the crowd goes wild!
It’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places as “Lock and Dam No. 15 Historic District, #04000175 covering 3,590 acres (1,450 ha), 2 buildings, 9 structures, and 1 object.” I know where the two buildings and nine structures are but what the heck is the one object?
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This is a water pumping station. (I think)
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This was taken inside the car wash.
Because that’s how I roll.
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And I made my own planet.
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I saw a dinosaur.
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I painted a few tiny geese, with watercolor.
(I’ve painted these before but not with watercolor)
These are all ATC/ACEO size. (2.5 x 3.5 inches, the size of a playing card)
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And this is a sunset.
I’d like to claim that I meant to do that, but actually I was in a moving car.
And the camera was on the wrong setting.
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Much like the setting I used to take a photo of the “Blood Moon” which incidentally is a much better nickname then the “Washing Machinnnnnnnnnne of Death!!!!”
The blue is the star Spica.
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That’s alright, you win some, you lose some.
I also wrote a poem about squirrels which I lost.
I think the squirrels may have stolen it.
Oh don’t me give me that cute face..
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Ah well, have a good one!
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©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog.com, 2014
All Rights Reserved
How to take a selfie.
Zeus tells me that selfies are all the rage.
As he is so obsessed, I decided to give him a few guidelines.
Sit! Stay! Read!
1) Know your good side. Everyone has a certain angle that makes them look great.
But watch your expression, a little whale eye goes a long way.
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2) The eyes are the window to the soul so work those babies.
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3) Highlight your best feature. Zeus is unusually fond of his nose.
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4) Use the cropping tool to make a dramatic yet strangely coy statement.
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6) Add a filter. Resist the urge to overuse filters though. I know some people who use so many filters, that even though I’ve seen dozens of photos of them, I don’t actually know what they look like.
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Well I hope those are helpful.
A final word to the wise, letting your furry pal borrow your phone for a few selfies is one thing but for the love of dog don’t let him download apps especially if they, like Zeus, are a bird dog and they find out about those games with the extremely vexed birds throwing themselves at thieving porcines.
Trust me, you will never get your phone back.
Sigh.
Have a good one.
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©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog.com, 2014
All Rights Reserved
Happy Valentine’s Day!
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Deer kiss. Or dear kiss.
They both work.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
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©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog.com, 2014
All Rights Reserved
Baby, it’s cold outside..
Things to do when it’s cold.
You can watch the sunrise.
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Then run amok and do handstands.
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You could play Charades!!
(Here Sampson is acting out a scene from the movie “Tremors”.
He’s a huge Kevin Bacon fan.
Mostly because his name is Bacon.)
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Or dance the Tarantella.
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Do a little miming.
(See he’s walking in the wind…)
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Or challenge a friend to a staring contest.
(But trust me, you’re going to lose this one.)
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Sing!
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Or meditate
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Or catch that red dot!
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Invite some friends over for dinner.
Share a drink.
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And watch the moon rise.
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©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog.com, 2014
All Rights Reserved
The Eagles are back!
There was a mother eagle
Who was trying to get some rest.
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But oh no! Look behind her!
It’s a teenage raptor pest!
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So she cuffed the juvenile in the head!
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And left for parts unknown.
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The kid, he was proud to have his own roost.
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Until he realized that he was all alone..
Mom?
Mother??
Mommy?!?
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©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog, 2014
All Rights Reserved.
Mudzilla!
(with my apologies to the Blue Oyster Cult)
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Deep from the depths of the backyard, a savage creature awaits, stalking, sniffing
…chasing tennis balls…
The day comes when he pounces…
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With a purposeful grimace and a terrible sound
He’s a mole sniffing muck digging grimy hound
Eastern moles who think he’s a pain
Scream bug-eyed as he looks in on them
He picks up a clod and he throws it back down
As he digs through mole tunnels underground
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Oh no! They says he’s got to go
Go! Go! Mudzilla!
Oh no! There goes the mole’s burrow!
Go! Go! Mudzilla!
History shows again and again how Sammy harasses the moles’ clan.
Mudzilla!!
History shows oh man, how I have to wash the dog again and again!
Mudzilla!
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Meanwhile in between washing the dog and refilling large holes in the yard I painted these little landscapes for a trade. These are all acrylic and 2.5 by 3.5 inches (the size of a playing card).
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Disclaimer: No moles were harmed in the making of this and in fact they are currently digging up the back yard while giggling themselves silly over the foolishness of any one trying to outdig them..
Oops..
I’m just kidding, my husband saved this one from the lawn mower and put him back safely.
(He is sooooo soft!)
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©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog, 2013
Hi!
Hi….
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It’s been awhile…
But this is what I’ve done so far with my summer.
I was sidetracked for a bit by a large monster.
It said ” Rawrrrrrrr, Rawrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, RAWRRR!!!”
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Which is for monsterspeak for
“Help! I’m stuck!!”
And he struggled back and forth..
“Rawwwrrrrr, rawwwrrrrrr! RAWRRRR!!!”
Translation: “Hmmm. Maybe if I lean a bit and put one leg down and rock back and forth…”
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“Rawrr”
Translation: “Okay, I’m out, it’s all good”
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And then he sheepishly crawled away.
Even the hummingbird did a dance for him.
“I’m so HAPPY!!”
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While the grumpy hummingbird rolled his eyes..
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Then I saw a butterfly..
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And “Marine One” flew the President over my house.
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So I painted this in acrylic for a WetCanvas Paint Along.
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And I bought a new Bic pen so I did some quick doodling.
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Other then that, there’s not much going on. Though I did let Zeus and Sampson watch Sharknado and now they’re making their own film called “Dognado”. Zeus, as the art director of the film, thought the garden looked too fruitful so he promptly picked all the tomatoes.
Yes, I have no tomatoes.
Sigh.
I hope everyone is enjoying their summer!
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©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog, 2013
Procrastination, Corruption and Weird Animals..
And no, I’m not talking about Congress.
Alas and alack, my computer is corrupt. Not surprising really, I do live in Illinois after all. Yes, the State that was just charged with securities fraud which I guess makes all the Illini and our puppy dogs too, felons (allegedly).
“Oh I’m a felon, you’re a felon, he’s a felon, she’s felon, wouldn’t you like to live in Illinois too!”
*sigh*
So anyway, I have 2600 plus error messages on my computer. And yet it keeps on going, generating error after error after error. I’d like to say I’ve never worked with people like that but sadly, I have.
At least I’m over my Hitchcock/Poe/Ansel Adams stage..
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Almost.
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Okay I think I’m really done.
(I’m not making any promises mind you.)
I was considering going back to being a bird stalker (allegedly).
But my bird stalking desires were temporarily sated by finally being able to take a photo of the barred owl in my backyard. For almost four years he’s been back there yelling “Who cooks for you!’. I don’t know why he’s so obsessed with what goes on in my kitchen but at least I now have his photo in case he breaks in and rearranges my pots and pans.
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So at a loss at what to do with myself I went over to the local zoo.
Little did I know that they recently acquired a panda. Yes a panda!
It’s on their Endangered Animals Carousel.
This is the rare prancing, fanged panda.
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Then I meet the Tiger who was seems to be designed to make sure your child never ever wants to go back on a carousel.
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And just in case that didn’t scare them..
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Which explains why this one looks so nervous.
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But doesn’t explain the supercilious grin on this one.
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Which is followed by my favorite, the not so rare naughty cat with a fish.
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And all this means is that I spent all day in a zoo and mostly took photos of fake animals.
Yeah, that’s how I roll.
I finally remembered how to paint again, thank goodness, I was getting worried.
This is an acrylic, of a pond near my house with ice on it as the sun was thinking of going down.
As you can see, I also remembered how to write run on sentences.
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This is an acrylic that was done in a paint a long session on Wetcanvas (with thanks to Beth for putting her photo in Wetcanvas’s Reference Image Library).
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And this one is also from a paint a long on Wetcanvas, which I hosted as a lesson in painting on a black background. My thanks to SBJ for the original reference photo.
Note: There’s no time limits on a paint a long, so if you want to join in, go for it!
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My apologies for not being around too much, other then sheer procrastination, I have no excuse.
None at all!
Take care!
I’ll be back.
(Please read that last part in a Schwarzenegger type of voice.)
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©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog, 2013
the purple dog painting blog 