With all this foul weather encouraging home bound activities I've gotten some more
ACEO (2.5"x 3.5") paintings done for ebay.

The one with the laundry blowing in the wind is a version taken from a mural I had done several years ago on canvas and still have today.

I was testing myself as to whether I could paint it that small and I think it came out pretty good, minus some of the detail.

After spending unnecessary money and missing a lot of work I finally resolved one of my issues with my aging (23yr old) car.......it needed a new battery.  I had it jumped for a second time and drove it directly to Advanced Auto where they tested it and replaced it for me.  Now this Wednesday (knock wood) I will drop her off at a mechanic close to one of my jobs and he will try to find out why she continues to shut off every now and then,  its a problem I REALLY want resolved.  I'm thinking idle control valve, but we'll see.

Did everyone else out there know you can make your own flavored coffee creamer except me? I'm addicted to french vanilla coffee creamer and my local grocer only carries the most popular/expensive brand which I refuse to pay/purchase.  Seemed to me it'd be pretty easy to make so I searched online and sure enough I landed on a site that has the recipes for tons of flavors.......I'm all about getting what I want and saving a few bucks while I'm at it.

I went online to hunt for some picture frames like some that I had bought at a thrift shop, just a simple black plastic frame with glass that pops in and out of the front. I matted and framed an ACEO painting I bought on ebay and really like the way it looked.

I did an image search hoping to spot it quickly and I did!  It took me to a website that just sold frames and I thought that would make the price pretty reasonable, the minimum you could buy was 12 @ $3 a piece. 

 I decided to continue searching to see if there wasn't a better price out there and low and behold.......Walmart wins again!  They sell a dozen of the same type frame for $10!

I'm getting them to create a gallery wall of ACEO's that I've bought from other artists, but I'm also thinking about selling my ACEO's framed.  You can't beat the price and I think it would add more value to my ACEO's, getting me a bit more for them on ebay.

All of these ACEO paintings sold last week, that felt nice :-)

I can't believe we're getting more snow! That means missing another possible two days of work, my car does not drive on snow or ice. I'm hoping to get out early to pick up a few things I need then I'll come home and remove the battery from my car....its suppose to get REALLY cold again during the day tomorrow and I don't want to take any chances on the battery quitting on me again even though I did buy a battery charger. So.....tomorrow will be another day to paint :-)

Another old world style ACEO landscape

The car is back up and running so I made it to work yesterday, started out this morning to a job and had to turn around because the roads were full of ice and not safe for my car to be on......sigh.  Being a poor person taking risks with life and limb and/or wrecking a car is not an option.
Lets see what I can accomplish today instead.

Well, I accomplished a couple of things, I finally got that big pear painting mailed this afternoon once the roads improved and while I was waiting for that to happen I painted a small ACEO landscape.

Oh.....and I made a big pot of chilli :-)

Well, fingers crossed I get to my 'other' job today and get things back to normal.  Three nights of single digit temps have rendered my car powerless.  Unable to get help from (no longer) my mechanic whose shop is just a block and a half away from me and an unsympathetic pickup owner parked right next to me I have someone coming to jump start my car this morning for the least expensive road assistance I could find, $40.  After lining that up I used the remaining balance on a gift card to order this.........

online from Walmart for another $40.00, it had excellent reviews so hopefully I won't find myself reliant on others for help and in this position again......it should be here by the weekend.

I called yesterday to secure a first thing in the morning position with the road service people, 8:15 I was told...........I'm still waiting at 9:45.  Do you ever sometimes feel there is a conspiracy against you?  They just called to say another 20 minutes. Sigh

Two more ACEO paintings this afternoon.

It is soooooo cold outside!  I know now that there are some things I need to do regarding my car and this kind of weather one join AAA, and two get something to keep the battery protected/warm.  I read that I could try bringing the battery indoors to keep it warm but I worry that once at a clients home and being there for hours that I'd go out to the car to find it wouldn't start again.  Luckily I'm content to stay at home and paint, I'm just hoping it'll bring in some money to replace the money I'm losing.....how I envy all you artists in supportive relationships that gives you the freedom to focus on your artwork.......sigh.

3 degrees outside today so another day off from work.....my car refuses to start. This also means a delay on mailing my commissioned 24x36" pear painting.

So it looks like I will get some more painting done today and as the weather will be the same tomorrow I will most likely still be painting.
I've got a bunch up on ebay right now these and a couple of others, they're all ACEO's.

My latest addition is a bit of a departure for me and I'd like to do more like this.....

I was using one of Leonardo da Vinci's paintings as a model, Madonna Litta.

I'm still doing my evening 'indoor' walking workouts trying to lose some of this weight I've put on.  My goal.....to lose at least 20lbs.  And if you think indoor walking workouts aren't effective, I used them last year around this same time and lost more than 25 lbs in about 10 weeks.  Here's one of my favorites right now, its a 3 mile walk and mile 2 really works up a sweat.  I've bought a few of her dvd's but I was glad to find these on Youtube so I can see them before I buy them.....I wasn't happy with a couple of the ones I bought so now I can preview on Youtube and buy the ones I like, who knows how long these will be up for viewing free, you'd think there'd be some copyright issues yes?

I finally got my Affordable Care Blue Cross card and I'm so excited to be able to afford doctor visits. I chose a family practice not too far from me and have my first appointment in early February.

What determines gallery worthiness?  I'm just sayin.
http://youtu.be/p1bA6Sbk24Y
http://youtu.be/T1YFDFa1W5I