Two New Books

Usually, when I introduce a new book, I color all the leading pages and show them.

This time, I took a page out of the first book to color it, and will do the lead ins the next time I reintroduce it with more art from it.  The first book is Rainforest Escape by Jade Gedeon.  It's a very well done book on lovely, thick, one sided water color paper.  The entries also have perforated edges for easy removal either before or after coloring/painting them.  There are several large pictures too, that have fold out pages so that you don't have to try and piece them together after coloring or painting them separately.

I decided I'd try a new method to color the entry I'm providing from this book.  Since it is made for water colors, I thought I'd try a layering method with markers first, since the paper is designed to help soak up excess moisture.  I then layered some colored pencils on top of the marker, and finished it off with some glitter gel pens for a little additional depth.  I took several pictures of it, so that I can hopefully share the way the layering shows different colors, along with a little glitter.  I also, decided that I'd try to create the blurred effect of some flowering plant in the background, and then filled in around that with some colors to have a sky effect.  I'm not the best artist out there, so I'm pretty sure that other people could have done a far better job than I, but there is no wrong way to color.  It's about enjoying your project, allowing it to affect and lower stress, anxiety etc.  It's also a great way to get both sides of your brain working in cooperation with one another for some great and creative problem solving outcomes.

The second book I think is aimed more at the male population that may enjoy coloring as a method of stress relief, creativity etc.  It's called Illustrations by T It's Just a Flirt.  It has varying girls inside with flirtatious expressions.  I'm sure that anyone would enjoy this book, but given the subjects of the art, I think it was aimed at giving men some acceptable outlets for their creativity as well.  The paper is medium quality, one sided, but not perforated, so I'd use care when tearing away a picture if you wanted to remove it before or after coloring.  I left the bottom of the picture intact since it indicates the artist that originally drew the picture.

As always I'm still working on other entries to share, the next of which, I think will deal with some of the issues I have with recurring dreams with regards to PTSD, and sleep issues.  Until next time, enjoy and share your art and stories with me too!

Mindless Moron ? My Views on a Political Pariah

I think it would be incorrect to label her as a mindless moron.

I have a distinct impression of Ocasio-Cortez, which has been building through the media attention she's been collecting along her current path.  Unfortunately, the view is somewhat dim, as I listen to quotes from her regarding this and that.  It seems to me that she was intelligent enough to pick out intelligent conversations during her time as a bar tender, and to hear bits of this and that, however, she never thought to research or learn about what it was she chooses to attempt to quote or speak about.  It's a simple parroting technique to attempt to sound intelligent, but without the full insight to form an actual, or original opinion on any specific subject.  In other words, her intellect is minimal at best.

Being able to pick up or listen to conversations from others that hold a true depth of thought is one thing, but listening to an argument in whole, or finding out for yourself the truth of this or that argument would take it further, and allow you to find out if you truly think that this or that view is worth your time.  In order to completely come to that type of conclusion, it would be infinitely useful to understand and know both sides of any argument or viewpoint, so that you could effectively counter any opposition from the other side of any view.  This is not something she's done.  When confronted with a difference of opinion, she shouts, yells and cries like a petulant child wanting everyone to think she's intelligent or right.

This tendency only marks her ineptitude for the position she's been voted to fill, and marks her as extremely young, and juvenile in both thought and speech.  I recall when I was young and wanted so desperately for others to know and understand who I was, and I recall so many others who have taken the same path.  It's a typical path everyone takes.  We want those around us to know and understand us, but we should still understand our own limits while pursuing such a path.  This is what has eluded her, and many others like her.  I, for one, am extremely happy that she's on the other side of the spectrum of my views and opinions, as her "arguments" of her views only strengthen my views because of her ineptitude for expressing or understanding her own viewpoints.  I feel very sorry for those she represents, as well as those who share her party, as she's effectively destroying any positive feelings for them, as well as her supposed views.

It would behoove her party mates to find a way to silence her, educate her, or get rid of her.  The most I can say about her in a positive light, is that at the very least, her antics, while tiring, and irritating, also give me quite a few chuckles.  Unfortunately, laughing at someones ignorance isn't something I relish.  I can't tolerate stupidity, personally.  I'd much prefer to laugh at an intelligent joke, with depth, than the buffoonery of some poor soul who doesn't even realize what an idiotic mess she is.

A Few New Books

I was going to wait and post 4 new books all at once.

I changed my mind because I'm also working on a family photo album for FB and my family and friends to chuckle at and enjoy.  I'm sure my sister will have to correct me on some of the dates and places, because she's much better at remembering those things.  I'd love for her, mom, Bruce, Dave, Ryan and everyone to be able to contribute if they have some to share, but not everyone has time to go and photograph every picture they have and then try and sharpen them etc so they're viewable on the interwebs LOL.  I've got my work cut out for me there.  Some of the pictures are so wonderful, but when you photograph them they become a little blurred looking.  I'm hoping that I can correct that so everyone can get the fullest enjoyment from them possible.

I wish I had more from my time in school, but not being one to go to parties or on dates kind of limited the ones I have for that time, but I'd welcome entries from others, and love looking at pages from others that remind me of this or that time.  My time was primarily taken up with babysitting, working at the YMCA child development center, doing homework, and studying.  I know, I was a very exciting and unforgettable girl.....rofl.  Perhaps others will be prompted to add to, or share so we can all enjoy running through all those wonderful memories of times when life was just a little easier, and problems were something our parents dealt with on our behalves.

At any rate, I do have two new books to share while I'm doing work on that album, and also working on some entries from another two books before continuing with the Christmas card book.  The first book is one from an artist that goes by Whitestag, and their books are numbered rather than a formal title.  The book I have to share is number 6 in the series.  It's a rather Halloweeny type book, and is a bit fun to color.  I think all the books bear the title Misfits along with the series numbers.  The pages are a medium thickness and are one sided so I think any type of medium would work with them, but I would advise either removing pages or putting paper/wax paper between the pages if you're using ones with more wetness to protect from bleed through effects.  I always do this just because I'm on the anal side, and like to make sure that I'm protecting my past work, as well as preserving the integrity of future works.  Unless I'm coloring with my niece, or someone requests a specific picture from a book, I tend to go front to back.  Sometimes it's not easy to be such a creature of habit, especially if there's a particular picture you're really looking forward to getting to color.

The second book is Dragons and Other Mythical Creatures by Chris Tomlin.  I'm including some of the art in the book meant to lead into it as well, because it was so much fun to look at when I was getting ready to color the first picture myself.  The pages are of a very good thickness, and definitely any medium would be excellent.  I'll have fun exploring the possibilities once I can get back to that book.  The paper is of a very smooth composition, so I would be careful with some mediums as they might tend to take longer than normal to dry, or they might not absorb into the paper as readily as others, so I'd definitely take my time working on any picture with mediums such as water colors, gel pens, markers etc, that could be ruined if you don't account for the time it may take to dry as you're working.  I had a lot of fun with the first picture which was a partial drawing of a dragon, and decided to use primary colors for the majority of the picture, with a splash of secondary colors thrown in here and there just because I could.

As usual, I hope you enjoy the pictures I share as much as I enjoy coloring them and sharing them with you.  I look forward to seeing other's works as well, whenever they share with me!  Until next time, don't be afraid to try out other types of mediums, because there's absolutely no right or wrong way to be artistic!