photography

Carp(e) diem

~ thepurpledogpaintingblog ~ 15 Comments

Fish fish fish!!

I wish wish wish

for a dish dish dish

and some tartar sauce…

Beg your pardon…I didn’t know you were listening.

There’s Henry and Fred and George and Tyrone and Mary and…

No wonder this little bird went over to the wallaby enclosure for a bath.

The wallaby didn’t care, he was rolling in the leaves.

I hope he’s careful, there’s something lurking in the bushes..

Ahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Say what!?!

Run away! Run away!

Roarrrrr…….

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©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog.com, 2011

Giraffes? Girafffes!

~ thepurpledogpaintingblog ~ 12 Comments

I’ve always liked giraffes. I had been taught that giraffes are one of two living species (the other being the okapi) of the family Giraffidae which had evolved from palaeomerycids during the early part of the Miocene epoch. I was taught that they are even-toed ungulate mammals and were herbivores to boot. I was taught that they definitely did not dance.

Silly me.

Fortunately I found this book Giraffes? Giraffes!  The book review in that link says it all…

“Giraffes? Giraffes! is the first in the series, and puts forth the following novel theories: that giraffes were not part of any evolutionary chain, but came here from Neptune, by way of very long (but convenient and fast) escalators; that giraffes are expert dancers, but they become angry if you ask them about their dancing; that giraffes control over 90 percent of what we see in mirrors; that the Giraffe navy is as strong as ever, contrary to recent claims in the popular press.”

I KNEW IT!

Well I didn’t really know know it but I had suspected as much.

Imagine my delight when we went to the zoo and the baby giraffe was out. She and her mother were kept out of the public eye until a few weeks ago. She is 14 months old, is 6 foot tall, weighs 105 lbs and is already proficient in tap and jazz. She will eventually reach 16 feet and weigh approximately 2500 lbs. She looks tiny compared to the other giraffes.

She’s such a doll. She pretty stayed in the same spot for about 20 minutes, then she went over to the fence and tried to nibble on it. The poor thing learned the hard way that the fence is electrified. She wasn’t hurt but she was very confused. She went right back to her spot and stood there looking at the fence to see what else it would do.

You can see how tiny she looks in this photo.

Here’s Mom. She’s lovely isn’t she.

And here’s Baby!

There was also a young mountain goat out and about. Unlike giraffes, mountain goats do not dance.

They do have lovely singing voices though.

This is a mini ( ATC /ACEO) in acrylic.

It measures 2.5 by 3.5 inches.

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©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog.com, 2011


Welcome to the jungle…

~ thepurpledogpaintingblog ~ 21 Comments

I’ve been brain-dead for a few weeks, not feeling terribly creative, forgot how to paint, the whole moody artist bit.

Blah whine blah.

So I went to the zoo.

(and no I didn’t have any children with me)

We have a pretty decent little zoo here. It’s not big, but the animals are sociable.

The Jaguar who is a big big gal was in a mood. She was huffing and puffing and making some strange noises. I never realized until today that a mad Jaguar sounds like a cow in heat. I swear she was mooing. Right after I took this photo, she shredded that piece of wood she was laying on like it was paper.

copyright belongs to Virginia Spencer

The leopards are so pretty.

Excuse the bars. For some reason they won’t let me in the cages.

©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog.com,2011

©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog.com,2011

The bobcats were frisky, I could have watched them playing all day. They are very small compared to the other cats. They’re not much bigger then Kitten, granted Kitten is a fat ass but still.

©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog.com,2011

©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog.com,2011

And the lion of course was being lazy. I read in the National Geographic that lions are one of the few animals who can sleep as much as they like. Makes sense, who would be silly enough to wake them up.

©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog.com,2011

And just so Kitten doesn’t get jealous of me showing all these cat photos…

Kitten in pencil.

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©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog.com,2011

They like me! They really like me!

~ thepurpledogpaintingblog ~ 8 Comments

I hereby formally acknowledge and accept this lovely Versatile Blogger Award from roseribbonblog.

Thank you, what a lovely thing to do. Dummy is beside himself.

His head is so swollen he looks like a lollipop.

As part of the acceptance of this award I’ve been asked to tell you seven random things about myself. So here goes…

1) I grew up in Canada. Every now and then I get so homesick I have to phone one of my sisters so I can hear the word “about” pronounced properly.

2) I had been dying my hair for so long that I didn’t actually know what color it really was. So I let it grow out. And it was gray.

3) I have an invisible cat (The I-cat). She does exist but nobody ever sees her so maybe she doesn’t. I think she used to belong to some guy named Schrödinger.

4) There are a few things that drive me up the wall about the Midwest. Not having vinegar on their tables in restaurants is one of them. They will put butter on anything that moves. But ask for vinegar and they think you’re strange.

5) I like vinegar on my french fries.

6) Last week, I put a photo of a mole, my husband caught in our yard on Facebook. We let him go because he is so cute that I don’t care if he digs holes in my yard.  I soon noticed that all my friends in the States and Europe commented on what a lovely guy he was while my Canadian friends and my sisters asked me if he bit or fought. So now I’m wondering what the hell is wrong with Canadian moles? Is there some kind of super vicious Canadian attack mole that I don’t know about? Has there been a mole uprising? Do moles even have teeth? Fangs? Will “T’is only a mole” be my last words?

I waste a good deal of time thinking about things like this.

7) I talk to Dummy. He has yet to answer. I like that about him.

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Oh! I knew this was too much for Dummy.

As soon as he heard, he popped the champagne and just had to start bragging to Mr. Service Award.

Mr. Service Award is a stoic sort (eunuchs often are) , he’ll be ok.

Thank you again!  And now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go stop Dummy from swinging on the chandelier…

The tire swing..

~ thepurpledogpaintingblog ~ 18 Comments

All over the roads of South Dakota we saw abandoned buildings. I always wonder when I see those buildings why they lie empty. I tell myself endless stories of these lost buildings.

I based this miniature on one such building. A house, a home at one time in a field. And behind that house was a tree with a tire wing hanging forlornly from it.

A little bit sad I thought.

“The Tire Swing”, Acrylic, 3.5 by 2.5 inches. (ATC, or ACEO size)

I’m not terribly thrilled with the painting. It’s okay but it’s not what I meant to do. I like the tree and the swing but not the rest. Goes to show that art like anything else is not all talent, it takes practice and when you don’t paint for a little bit you get rusty. I think that may be what discourages so many beginners. They think you need a lot of talent when it’s more like you need a good eye (or talent if you prefer) and a lot of practice. So if you’re a beginner, or just haven’t done it in years, take your time and and do many many paintings. Don’t be too hard on yourself, it will come.

In case you’ve been wondering Dummy did go on the trip with us. I’m not sure where he’s gone off to though…

Oh there he is!  Climbing around Custer State Park.

He’s so agile.

Oh dear….

©Virginia Spencer,  thepurpledogpaintingblog.com, 2011

Mount Rushmore…

~ thepurpledogpaintingblog ~ 14 Comments

We set out one day to find Mount Rushmore. We drove on winding roads lined with dark forests on a gloomy overcast day. As we rounded a corner in the road, I caught my first glimpse of a rugged granite face. A ray of sun came out and danced on that noble face of the man who refused to become King.

After all the silliness, kitsch and generally amusing tourist traps, I did not expect much.

I did not expect to be charmed. But I was.

I did not expect to be awed. But I was.

I did not expect to be touched. But I was.

I did not expect to be humbled. But I was.

What an enchanting and beautiful memorial.

©Virginia Spencer,  thepurpledogpaintingblog.com, 2011

The Great American Oddities…

~ thepurpledogpaintingblog ~ 11 Comments

One day, I am going to buy a big piece of land running along the road. Any road will do.

Why you ask?

So I can put up some big silly statues that make no sense along it to keep drivers entertained.

Check these out.

This one isn’t too odd. I have seen variations of the giant man statue. The amusement park that I grew up near had one so I’m fond of them.  They were mostly made in the 1960’s. The first ones held mufflers, then they starting popping up holding all sorts of implements. This one is in excellent shape and holds a mining pick and has a Harley belt buckle in honor of the Sturgis Rally.. Nice.

This miner was on the porch of the Big Thunder Mine in Keystone.I’m not sure if that’s a support or if he’s supposed to have trodden in gum. He’s a pretty gruff looking guy so I didn’t ask. If he needs help that doll with the supercilious grin looks ready to jump in.

These bulls are outside of one of the billion or so gold/jewelery stores in Rapid City. It’s not every day that you get to see flowery bison penned outside a jewelry store. It’s a good thing there is a pen because a stampede of flowery bison would for sure panic the masses.

And of course to go with the flowery bison, way out in the Badlands, at the ranch store (where you can see prairie dogs in a pen “Free!” as opposed to all over the fields) there is a six tonne prairie dog. A pink and yellow six tonne prairie dog at that.

I bet that thing could dig a heck of a hole.

Then there are these wooden statues also in Keystone. Wouldn’t you like to see that in your front yard while going to fetch your paper every morning?

Mini Mount Rushmore? These are sitting in a random field. Not sure what that’s all about but thanks.

This here is the yard of the King of Silly Statues. There’s a 25 tonne bull’s head being guarded by alien skeletons while red robed freaky beings overshadowed by a gigantic hammer look on. There’s also a large flower-pot with metal flowers, some dinosaurs and odd bugs, a few dancing robots and I believe that is a two-headed bison.

I want this yard.

But this is my favorite…absolute genius.

It’s nice to know in a day and age when so many people walk down the street (or drive) with their eyes glued to small screens that are still people in this world who have the balls to be a little different, to be a little silly, to be creative and amusing and entertaining and eccentric and charming.

It makes me happy.

Blog open after maintenance..

~ thepurpledogpaintingblog ~ 15 Comments

House maintenance that is.

I’ve been painting up a storm lately. Well I’ve been painting up after a storm.

It rained and poured for forty days see days see

It rained and poured for forty days see days see

It rained!

And poured!

And stormed like crazy, baby

And it created a hole in my roof

So we ended up with a new ceiling in the garage, which we needed as it was. So that was okay.

I am awfully tired of white paint. It took many many coats of paints, I have blisters.

My husband being a smart man was away on business.  I did have some help though.

Until next time…when Dummy attempts to cross the backyard on an elephant…

Will this brave adventurer survive? Or will he be eaten by wild baby turkeys…

Or mauled by emerging cicadas..

(the ones with Elizabeth Taylor eyes are especially dangerous)

Or outwitted by Fox snakes pretending to be rattlers, those naughty naughty boys…

Stayed tuned for further developments…

 

©Virginia Spencer, thepurpledogpaintingblog.com, 2011

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.