JAN 31st Toon Tuesday On Fire!

Hello there Journal & Friends,

The pain pills have kicked in, and hubby made it through the night without me murdering him in his sleep. Yeah, I was a tad bit grumpy yesterday. :-D

So on to the fun stuff! Last week I posted a free download of a WordBubble doodle (here, if you missed it) 

and today I'm showing my finished doodle. If you'd like to share yours, I invite you to leave a link in the comments to where we can see it.

Here's how mine looked, nekkid of color:

My first pass with the blue family:

Almost done:

Finished, before final varnish (it's hard to photograph with the glare of varnish):

I hope you enjoyed playing around with yours... I liked what Mamajulianna called it... a stress buster. :-D

When I get my new video camera, I plan to do another one. That was fun!

As I discover who played along, I'll add them here, so it'll be easier to visit them and see all the variations:

• Mamajulianna at Abide and Endeavor
• Mary Pax at Wistful Nebulae
• Yellow Rose Jasmine at Yellow Rose of Texas

For you artsy fartsy types, if you'd like more details on materials and method and all that, I invite you to visit my art blog by clicking on link under the pic below. I'll be posting all the deets there later tonight.

My art blog

                               

From Dr Phil's book: "You can create an internal dialogue that is healthy, constructive, and joyful."

My verse for today: "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power."

My quote for today: "If I create from the heart, nearly everything works; if from the head, almost nothing." --Marc Chagall

Enjoy the Journey,

Loretta

=^..^=

DAY 897

JAN 24th Toon Tuesday, A Freebie & Playing With Fire

Hi there Journal & Friends,

With the shiny new year of 2012, I am shifting some of my emphasis to what I want: my art, and to live my life to the fullest, becoming who I was meant to be, living with passion and purpose. 

That's why I'm working, afterall, to lose weight and regain health. That's my WHY. I want to focus on that, on what I WANT, not focus on what I do NOT want. To look forward, not backward. 

I was reminded recently that our brain can't tell the difference between a negative or a positive. For instance, think of a pink elephant.

Now... do NOT think of the pink elephant. I don't know about you, but every time I close my eyes and say "do NOT think of a pink elephant"... I DO! This silly example helps to remind me not to focus on "I don't want to be fat"...but rather... "I want to be healthy, strong and lighter". 

So... on to focus on what I DO want. :-D

For my birthday, my sister Karen sent me a birthday card with this quote: 

"In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit." --Albert Schweitzer

Today for Toon Tuesday, I want to offer a VLOG showing--in speed drawing mode--my doodle of Word Bubble #1. It will be blank in the middle, and I offer the finished doodle below as a free download to anyone who would like to play along. You get to pick your own inspiring word to add to the center. 

By the way, I kinda sorta goofed, and didn't leave a very large word bubble in the middle. Sorry 'bout dat. Next time I'll make the blank space bigger. :-}

Here's the finished blank for you to download. Be sure to click and enlarge, so you download the large file, not the thumbnail.

 I'm going to dink around this coming week and color mine. You are welcome to do whatever you want to yours... color it, change it, glitter it, alter it, collage it, whatever. And next Tuesday it would so fun if you came back and gave a link to your blog to share your results, if you're comfortable doing so. 

Only one rule: Have fun! Remember when we were kids and not worried about "being good"? So give yourself permission to just goof around and play, okay?  :-D

Remember the above quote from my sister Karen? The inspiring word I added to my word bubble is FIRE!

This is a first for me, drawing with a camera watching. In INK! No pencil, no eraser. No plan, other than to leave a word bubble in the middle. New year... new adventures!

Speed Doodling - Word Bubble #1 by Retta

(For an easier to see larger version, just

go to my YouTube Page HERE)

For you busybees who don't have 6 min to watch (or maybe you're at work) that's okay, just swipe a copy of the doodle and play along anyway. :-)

Enjoy the Journey,

Loretta

=^..^=

DAY 890

MAR 29th A Different Kind of Toon Tuesday

Hi Journal & Friends,

First, thank you, everyone, for such kind and supportive comments yesterday. It was very very nice. Even though grief is something we must do ourselves... it's comforting to know people understand.

I did something for Toon Tuesday that is more symbolic to me, than anything else. This is a photo of me and Dad, from 1954. I was 3 years old, and Dad was 32.

Design: a complicated design, for a complicated relationship. 

After my parents divorce when I was 10, my relationship with Daddy got complicated. Also, the busy design was like Dad... energetic and always busy living a full life. 

Sunrise: symbols our renewed relationship, when I turned 25. I met Jesus for myself, and learned about love, forgiveness, understanding, and appreciating Dad for who he WAS. As an adult myself with my own flaws, I could finally understand and accept that my Dad was human, and did the best he knew how, and loved us.

Flowers: for the high points, the good memories

Hearts: obviously for the Love

Spiral design and woven lines: Daddy is forever woven into the fabric of my life; never ending

Sharp points: the rough times in our relationship; yet there are dots over those points; love and forgiveness softening the sharp points, protecting

Sepia tone colors: the original photo was black and white, here:

With time and love, our memories are softened, choosing the good times to treasure; the harshness of black and white softens into a sepia glow.

Stars: Dad was a great example of one of my favorite quotes: "Shoot for the moon, and even if you miss at least you'll land among the stars." It took him until his seventies, but he finally made it to his "moon"... and was appointed a Judge.

Loretta

Daughter of Frank Ray Brown

1921 - 2011

DAY 592

FEB 22 Circling Toon Tuesday

Hi Journal & Friends,

 

It was funny... lately I've been intrigued with circles. Concentric circles. Something about the completeness of a circle, the wholeness. And circles within circles... like our lives, with many layers and complexities.

Here is the first one I played with.

Then... I got to thinking about all of us here in Bloggyland. Some of you are more gentle and pastel...

Some of you might be more intense and dramatic...

Some are flamboyant and colorful!

Some are more blue...

Some remind me of camouflage colors, hiding, peeking...

Some are like the fantasy color purple, with active imaginations...

Some remind me of royal blue, strong and loyal and dependable...

Some are unique and unusual, definitely not run of the mill...

And some are just colorful characters, and too complex to pin down!

I'm real curious to see if anyone identifies with any of these... or do you see yourself differently??

Ha ha ha... I think I've finally got circles out of my system!

From Dr Phil's book: "The solutions lie within you."

My verse for today: "Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him."

My quote for today: "We don't know all the answers. If we knew all the answers we'd be bored, wouldn't we? We keep looking, searching, trying to get more knowledge." --Jack LaLanne

Enjoy the Journey,

Loretta

=^..^=

DAY 557

JAN 25 Thanks, Jack

Hi there Journal & Friends,

Been watching Jack Lalanne videos, and have gotten my behind properly kicked! Time to grab my attitude by the scruff of the neck and give it a good shake, Jack style!

I may not yet have all the answers I'm looking for, but until I do, there is no excuse to at least not ACT like I do. 

By that, I mean I am still responsible for my actions, for my choices. I have DIRECT control over MY choices. Sure, there are things that indirectly influence my life, and other things over which I have NO control. But since they are outside my circle of control... why not just focus on the stuff I CAN change?! 

Uh... that would mean my attitude, excuses, and poor choices. More to come on that oh-so-exciting topic. ;-)

For today, this quote from Fara Gray grabbed my attention:

PS: just so ya'll know... anytime I post a graphic, feel free to use it as you like, if it will help you. Download it, post it on your blog, print it and throw darts at it. My intention is to help. So, other than my original paintings (the Art by Retta stuff), feel free to use the graphics/illustrations/posters/quotes any way that will help you. We're all in this together!

From Dr Phil's book: "Express your goals in terms of specific behaviors and feeling."

My verse for today: "In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears."

My quote for today: "Exercise is King. Nutrition is Queen. Put them together and you've got a Kingdom!" --Jack Lalanne

Enjoy the Journey,

Loretta

=^..^=

DAY 529