Easter eggs

The theme for this week at Mixed Media Monday is eggs.  Of course I had to do an Easter piece with Easter only being a week away.  One of my dreams is to have chickens of my own.  Being able to go out to the chicken coop with the kids to get fresh eggs with bright yellow yokes for breakfast, yummy! Store bought eggs don't even come close.  Fischer just realized recently that chickens also lay white eggs, he thought they only came brown.  Unfortunately building a chicken coop isn't at the top of the list for my husband right now.  We're not sure if we are going to stay at the house we are in, or move, so until we decide, no chickens, plus he really doesn't think it will save us any money, which is probably true, we can get pretty cheap organic local eggs around here.  For me though it's not about the money, I just love chickens, how fun for the kids too.  If we did have chickens, I could totally picture Amelia carrying her chicken around just like the girl in my picture. 

Drink your tea

One of our kids favorite things to do when driving in the car is to listen to the CD which has birds of Wisconsin and some of their songs.  Some of the birds  have little phrases that they use to help you remember and identify their song.   Last week when we were outside, Fischer said he heard a bird singing "Drink your tea."  My ears missed it.  I had to listen to the CD to find out which bird it was.  It turns out it was an Eastern Towhee.  I've never seen one before, but they look very similar to a robin.  They return to Wisconsin in the spring.  This was my inspiration for this piece, just perfect for The Three Muses challenge this week.   I love birds and I love tea, what a perfect combo. 

Sweet Sweet Spring!

Yeah! It's the first day of spring today! It's windy and cold here, but the sun is shining and the birds are singing.  Warmer days are soon to come.

Nature's disguise

The challenge this week at The Three Muses is incognito/disguise. My girl was disguised so well that a little bird built her nest right on top of her head!

Party animals

I had decided to take this week off from  Mixed Media Monday, but then yesterday I came up with a last minute idea for the challenge this week which is "party animals."  I'm still having fun with the newspaper theme from last week at The Three Muses and did this collage all from newspaper. 

Black and White

 This week I had to combine the two challenges for Mixed Media Monday,  black and white with a touch of color and The Three Muses, newspaper.  Luckily these two themes are easy to combine.  I didn't find black and white to be very inspiring,  especially with the itch for spring and spring like colors, but I really like the final outcome.
Our neighbors had a house fire early Saturday morning so I haven't had the time or energy until last night to even think about drawing or painting.   The fire started in the attic (electrical) and luckily everyone was able to get out unharmed.   Unfortunately though they had to find a new place to live (they rented the house).  This means Fischer's best buddy had to move.  It's kind of sad because they could pretty much play whenever they wanted, without the play date arrangement and they get along so well.  Now I keep hearing, "who can I play with?"  They still only live 4 blocks away,  but now it will have to be play dates!  Below is Fischer's drawing of the house fire.

backyard birdhouse

my neighbors have a really awesome old birdhouse in their backyard that looks like this.  it's like 5 birdhouses in one. i see it everyday out our bathroom window, i love it.  i don't think birds use it anymore, it's in pretty rough shape.  if i had any woodworking skills, i'd make one for our yard, since i'm lacking in that area, i painted one instead.  just in the last week or so there has been so much happy bird chatter outside, i just love it.  i can't help but think of spring and all the birds returning north from their winter journey.  i have yet to see my first robin though.

the big buck

Oh man, oh man, I'm still stuck on trying to draw men.  I came up with this one today.  My 5 y/o art critic, Fischer, says this drawing is stupid and he doesn't like it!    While trying to brainstorm different things I could draw that men do, I  kept thinking  about hunting. Now that I have it out of my system hopefully I can move on, because of course men do so much more than just go hunting!  Having lived out in Idaho, and now northwest Wisconsin, hunting surrounds me.   Some of my in-laws are avid hunters.   I think they hunt just about anything that moves!  I don't hunt.  My husband does, but not for enjoyment.  He does it to put meat in the freezer, which I am very thankful for.

little pirate

The challenge for the week at The Three Muses is "Oh Man."  Every once in awhile my little boy will ask me why I only draw girls.  I think girls are easier to draw, and more fun.  I probably drew close to 20 different male faces this past week and I didn't really like any.  They didn't spark much inspiration. I need to keep practicing.  My little pirate here looks more like a boy, not quite a man yet.   This was a great challenge and gives me something I need to work on and think about.  Thanks Muses.