Virtual Paintout: Stavanger, Norway...

...or more precisely, 24 Kongsgata, Stavanger, Rogaland, Norge.
My painting for the Virtual Paintout this month was my third attempt at this same image. I tried colored pencils first and I gave up shortly into it. There was too much detail and it was hard for me to leave it out when using a fine point. The same problem popped up on attempt #2, using my new Bic Mark-Its markers. I love them but have not found the best use for them yet.
On the third attempt I set up my pastel easel and did a very fast and loose picture. This is not a great result but I do kind of like the trees at right. I need practice simplifying scenes so it was a good exercise.

Humor: More Unhappy Hipster funnies

UnhappyHipsters.com had a caption contest for the photo at left.
The caption entered by Alex Bertram-Powell is genius! Go read.


And my favorites from the rest of the site are here, linked in an appropriately spartan style...

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Tips: Cleaning with Curb Alert!

I am somewhat neatness-challenged so when I ran across this blog, 365daysofdecluttering, I welcomed the systematic process to decluttering my house.
ROUND 1: Weeks ago I wandered my house gathering "flea market-worthy" items. Rather than bothering with a garage sale or hauling to Goodwill, I posted a "Curb Alert" under the Free category on craigslist.com. You simply post a list of what you have and where to find it. As soon as the boxes are gone, delete your ad. It doesn't usually take more than 24 hours. (I don't live on a busy street so a "free to good home" sign might not guarantee my boxes would get picked up.)
ROUND 2: Today I tackled two small areas: the kitchen junk drawer and a shelf in my "studio" room that was full of good Curb Alert items. The only areas remaining are...every other horizontal surface in the place! Oh well, slow and steady wins the race!

Artist: Desmond O'Hagan

Desmond O'Hagan is a great oil and pastel artist. I took a workshop with him last year and really liked it. He's a great teacher, very approachable, and amazing to watch work. If you're in the Arkansas area, he has a workshop in May 3-5.  You can read a bit about my experience in the class.

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Desmond O'Hagan leads a comprehensive three day workshop for pastel and oil painters on Monday, May 3, to Wednesday, May 5, 2010, in Gravette, Arkansas. A slide presentation will be held on Sunday May 2. For more information please call 479-787-5098 or e-mail susan@susanedgmon.com 

Belts: Leather, wraps, and ribbons

Back in the day, I had a few favorite belts. In particular, a wide black suede wrap-around that I bought at The Limited, circa 1986. I still own it though I would have to become a marathon runner to shrink and stay small enough to wear it again. These days I avoid any extra bulk around my middle but if I were still belt-able, I would get one of these cool things from etsy...

Fairytale Sweetheart Corset Belt from ContrivedtoCharm

Sugar and Spice Belt by Godswear (made out of an old skirt!)

Black Lace Belt by Chezkevito

Black leather obi by ElizabethKelly

Clay: More scrap before and after

Here's the "before" shot:

And the "after" that I will use for "tapestry" beads:

I named this sheet "Corinthian Leather" -- who of you remembers where that came from and who said it? (Apparently there's some controversy over the actual adjective used with the phrase...I recall it as "rich corinthian leather" but that actually may not be correct. Oh, the things you learn from google!)