Illinois

Return of the eagles.

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The eagles are back!

I live in an area where bald eagles flock to breed. They come back every year in the hundreds.

I haven’t been taking too many photos as my camera’s shutter seems to be wearing out but I did take these while I was walking Sampson. This one seemed very interested in Sampson.

This one did too. His claws are in such sharp focus.

I was playing with some white ink on black paper. The paper seemed a bit soft, it wanted to absorb and absorb which ended up working in my favor, I was able to put many layers. Now in my first eagle here which is about 5×7, I went a little too crazy with my top layer and lost some of the shading.

This one is better. I would have continued down the shoulders but it ended up in a card frame for a friend who likes eagles. The one thing I love about ink, is that it tends to look complicated but it’s all just little dots and lines. Pretty relaxing to do.

I used a dip pen with a G nib on it. I buy the ones that are marketed towards anime online. They flow well and you can make thick or thin lines depending on how much pressure you use.

Since I mentioned Sampson, here’s a quick one of him in white ink on card stock.

I also did a squirrel in the white and grey ink who looks a bit of a know it all.

I did a polar bear too but had to weigh down the paper afterwards as it buckled. He looks like he’s fretting, given that the icecaps are melting fast, I can’t say I blame him.

If you have questions, please ask in the comments.

©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog.com, 2020

But otherwise, Mrs Lincoln…

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We recently went to the Lincoln Museum in Springfield, Illinois.

As I love embroidery, I was very much interested in the dresses of Mrs. Lincoln. I would never want to wear one but the workmanship on them is incredible!

Mrs. Lincoln, looks a bit stout in her photos but she was surprisingly tiny.

The bodice though of course they would have used real flowers.

A close up of the embroidery.

The following are dresses that belonged to Mrs. Lincoln’s contemporaries. 

This one is my favorite, how heavy it must have been!

In contrast to such finery and displays of wealth is this display showing the separation of a family at a slave auction, a scene Lincoln witnessed and was haunted by.

On a lighter note, this display showed Lincoln seemingly amused by his sons’ shenanigans.  They said, the other people in the law offices did not like the boys coming to the office as they reigned terror over all while their father ignored the chaos they created.

The outside of the museum.

This mural was a block or so over from the museum.

And yes he is staring at you.

©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog.com, 2018

 

The Super Blue Blood Moon

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There should be dramatic music played every time someone says that.

And it should be said as if a wrestling announcer is saying it..

Laaaaaaaaadies and Gentleman….

(and the crowd roars)

Here in the night sky, hanging around that planet we call home, waxing and waning and dragging and pulling the water in and out and in and out and in and out..

It’s not just great..

It’s not just blue..

It’s not just bloody..

It’s the…

Supppppperrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Bluuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuue

Blooddddddddddddddddddd

Moon!!

Dum Dum Dum Dahhhhhhh….

Then all the Goths cheer! (do Goths cheer?)

This is not the greatest photo, a little fuzzy but I took it at 4am when I was also a little fuzzy so it’s all good.

Anyway Happy Super Blue Blood Moon Day. Congratulations on making it through the first month of the year. Woo hoo.

©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog.com, 2018

 

 

 

 

 

 

Merry Christmas!

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I was involved in a Christmas card trade on WetCanvas with a few other artists. It was so much fun and I received some beautiful cards from all the world. 

These were the ones I made. They’re ink and metallic watercolor. The metallic are so much fun to work with but they are hard to photograph!

christmas art painting watercolor ink

I also did a Science Fiction ~ Fantasy Christmas trade. I made this dragon for a wonderful friend of mine,  who is a guide on the Science Fiction & Fantasy forum on WetCanvas. She does monthly challenges there that are so much fun and very clever. If you like scifi or fantasy, check it out!

This is watercolor, ink and a whole lot of glitter. 

I hope you have a happy holiday whichever one you celebrate!

Much love and good wishes to all!

 

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©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog.com, 2017

 

Happy Summer!

~ thepurpledogpaintingblog ~ 2 Comments

It is sweltering and hot and muggy and it’s summer!!

Yayyyy! Let’s go outside

And hang with the hummingbirds.

blog hummingbirds fly dance.

Or dally in the daisies

goose daisies bird.

Or bounce with the bunny..

bunny furry cute.

Or go to the lake!

Acrylic, 12×9, with a palette knife.

the lake knife painting.

Whatever you are doing, enjoy the day!

Happy Summer!

Woohoo!

🙂

©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog.com, 2016

 

Seeing Red

~ thepurpledogpaintingblog ~ 6 Comments

Last week while we were still in the deep freeze I heard a knock at my window.

As I was on the second floor, I was a bit startled.

I looked around and there on the ground was a very woozy cardinal.

cardinal_red_tree (3).

Now I know, it’s not a good idea to mess with nature even if you mean well and normally a bird after hitting a window will be okay after a rest but it was so cold the cardinal was starting to stick to the ground so I had to intervene. (Now there’s a good example of a run on sentence. I haven’t written one in awhile, I’m so glad I haven’t lost my touch!)

He really didn’t seem to mind the open box with a hot water bottle in it.

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cardinal_red_tree (4).

He stayed there for quite a while, I was starting to get worried.

Fortunately, he was just really comfy.

cardinal_red_tree (5).

After a couple hours, all was well!

cardinal_red_tree (1).

He’s still hanging around. I think he’s waiting for me to put the hot water bottle back out again. Maybe I should add a little bird spa to the front porch. I could call it “Chic Chicks” or “Pique Your Beak” or “Fly and Dry”. On the other had we already have many “Seed and Feed” franchises around the yard. No body ever pays but we like the company.

Here’s an ink drawing of a church in the woods. (thank you to the person who put the reference photo into WetCanvas, Reference Image Library). This is 3×5.

ink_church_pen_drawing.

These are all ATC”s (artist trading cards). They are 2.5 by 3.5 inches, the size of a playing card.

A blue heron in acrylic.

blueheronatc.

A ibis in ink.

whiteibisatc.

A helmeted guinea fowl in ink and colored marker.

helmetedguineafowlatc.

A Somalian wild ass in acrylic.

(This is a terrible scan, it looks way better in real life)

donkeyatc.

And a laughing zebra in acrylic.

zebrasmileatc.

I hope you enjoyed your Friday the 13th and today’s Pi Day.

Have a happy Ides of March tomorrow!

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©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog.com, 2015

Please follow this link for available prints.

Thank you!

Ode to a Turkey

~ thepurpledogpaintingblog ~ 12 Comments

There is a turkey in my yard
I don’t know what he wants

tom_wild_turkey.
He struts to and fro
And yells oh such nasty taunts

turkeyface

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He waggles his wattles
And snoozles his snood

young_male_turkey
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And he blocked the driveway
Cause he’s in a fowl mood

turkeysitting.
But I will not let him
Get to me

Large_male_dominant_turkey.

For instead I have painted
A watercolor tree.

watercolor tree blog art.

The End

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©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog.com, 2015

 

And the sign said..

~ thepurpledogpaintingblog ~ 3 Comments

Hats!!!

Oh I do like a nice looking sign.

tophat_hat_store_sign.

I don’t like roast beef sandwiches but I had to admire this old school Arby’s sign.

sign_restaurant_Arby's.

I think it’s much nicer than a pig hawking his family’s wares while standing in a pit of fire.

Although he is kind of cute..

For a masochistic cannibal pig chef that is.

sign_pig_ribs_restaurant.

Now this is a delicious sign.

Yeah, I made that.

sign_cupcakes_birthday

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And this is a happy sign.

We’ve had some construction troubles with our bridges, so..

Yippee!

sign_gas_station

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I fell in love this sign.

And yes it does rock.

Graffiti on a highway sign..

And of course there are always useful warning signs.

sign_mascot_museum.

Mascots creep me out.

Especially the ones with really big furry heads.

Magical things happen..my ass.

This is the perfect sign to start a horror movie with..

Deep in the shadows, the foul stench of a thousand locker rooms emanated from a lumbering monstrosity. As it lifted its gargantuan head, its puppet mouth stretched in a voiceless scream.

They would know! They all would soon know..

The Horror,!

The Pain!

The Abomination that is matted faux fur…

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Whew. I need to quiet down.

Oh good there’s a sign for that too.

Though I must admit, I’ve never seen a corn head that wasn’t calm.

So this is conclusively catatonic corn. Yummy.

sign_vegetable_corn_yoga.

This sign is a standard directive.

Eat!!

Okay. That’s a good bossy sign.

diner_sign_eat

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Hmm.

Bossy and a little disturbing

To the funeral home..

No! Just no!! Stop it.

sign_funeral_home

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This sign seems to be confused..

Is it Ed’s

Or Art’s

Or is it Ed’s & Art’s

Or Art’s & Ed’s.

Or is it Arts as in The Arts.

Can I go in there and buy some liquor and some canvases and then paint like Pollock?

I think I need a drink.

Ahh, I see what you did there.

Thank you very much.

sign_liquor_store.

This sign is just pretty.

Store sign in Galena, Illinois

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Most of these signs are in or around Galena, Illinois which is where this Inn is.

This is a pen and ink, a little smaller than 3×5.

I did finish it in watercolor but for some reason forgot to photograph it before mailing it off.

inn_galena_ink

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If you want to see it in color, simply print it off and go to town with some crayons. Enjoy.

These are some calm colorful corn heads in acrylic. 3×5 on canvas.

painting_acrylic_corn

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And an autumn scene, in acrylic for a WetCanvas Mini challenge. 3×4 inches.

This is a real quickie. Took about fifteen minutes because sometimes it’s simply fun to throw paint around willy nilly.

And it also gives me the chance to use the word “willynilly”.

I don’t use willy nilly enough.

Or amok.

So run amok and paint willy nilly.

acrylic_landscape_painting

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Have a good one.

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©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog.com, 2014

Gardening and car crashes..

~ thepurpledogpaintingblog ~ 19 Comments

Hello! The heat has finally broken a bit and we are having some great gardening weather. People all over North America are in a frenzy to figure out what to do with the twenty million tomatoes they didn’t think would actually grow. I wouldn’t have planted any but Dummy insisted.

He’s has been listening to the news and bearing in mind that heat stroke is a terrible thing, he is being smart and is wearing a hat and sunscreen with a high SPF factor of course.

Checking the tomatoes…He’s so busy that he didn’t notice that his butt is on backwards..I would tell him but his feelings get hurt awfully easily. He’ll notice when he tries to sit down.

Tomato plant, dummy

And look how nicely the corn has come in…and yup, his butt is on right..

As for me I’ve been hanging out in the AC. I painted this little 3 x 5 inch acrylic of the downtown area in Rock Island, Illinois. I just noticed that the first building has a bit of a lean, someone should fix that.  It’s a tragedy waiting to happen. And the windows in the shop look like they’re ready to burst..Oh no! There’s a pedestrian in front of them….. Run! Lady! Run! ….It’s too late!… The white car tried to save her but has run into a stop sign which some fool put in the middle of the road…oh the agony…

acrylic 3 x 5 inches

Good thing I caught it all on canvas. I better go send this off to CNN  for their I-Witness newscast.

Summertime…

~ thepurpledogpaintingblog ~ 13 Comments

And the living is easy…

Sorry I have that song stuck in my head.

 I just came in from sneaking around watering my garden. Why? you may ask.. Well, it’s not because we have restrictions on, in fact I live near the Mississippi and after the record amount of snow melt and rain this year, my well is overflowing. No, like the coward that I am, I was sneaking around avoiding my neighbor. He’s a nice elderly man who claims that I gave his yard Creeping Charlie.  I don’t have any in my yard but nevertheless he says it is so. He also has a thing about people watering.  I have an overflowing well and rain barrels but he’s not the logical sort.  99% of the time I find him amusing, the other 1%, well let’s just say it’s a good thing my mother made me learn my manners or I would be asking people to raise bail money for me.

It’s been a muggy hot summer so far. I haven’t done much painting wise, though in my head I’ve created masterpieces! This is a small 3×5 canvas of the backside and roofs of Rock Island , Illinois. It’s acrylic.

Well I should go find Dummy, he’s off gallivanting around. I think he may be trying to escape.