Category: Workshop Art and Craft

Friday, January 23, 2026 Poor Little Owl

~ Foodiness ~ 4 Comments

Sometimes I like to challenge myself to paint from a photo of a real thing, rather than copying other people’s paintings. With that in mind, I made a list of things I’d like to paint this year and owls topped the list. Why? Who knows?

I found a nice photo and got started. You probably don’t want to know what happens in my head while I’m painting, but it’s something like, “Oh, that didn’t work like I thought it would,” and quickly escalates to something like, “Why, oh why did I puff myself up with the idea that I could actually paint something?!” I worked on this poor little owl for a while and finally got to where I couldn’t stand it. I was beginning to hate the very sight of it, so far was it from what I was trying to do. I set it aside and walked away.

A few hours later I walked back in to take another look and thought, “Gee, this isn’t as bad as I remembered it. I don’t hate it anymore.” I wonder sometimes if anyone else’s creative process is that twisted.

And now you know why each blog ends with something like “I’ll probably delete this in the morning.”

Wednesday, January 21, 2026 Commonplace Tiny Art

~ Foodiness ~ 2 Comments

One minute I was thinking, “I’ll put some commonplace book quotes on my blog” and the next minute it was the next day. So today will be a combo Tuesday/Wednesday blog post in which you will read interesting things and look at my usual display of mediocre art.

However much you deny the truth,
the truth goes on existing.
George Orwell

That’ll preach.

Age appears to be best in four things:
old wood is best to burn
old wine to drink
old friends to trust, and
old authors to read.
Francis Bacon

I can’t believe that FB forgot to mention cheese in that list.

Earth’s crammed with heaven,
and every common bush afire with God,
but only he who sees takes off his shoes;
the rest sit round and pluck blackberries.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Earth’s crammed with heaven…I’m savoring that one.

The more I study science,
the more I believe in God.
Albert Einstein

That’ll preach, too.

The ultimate aim is not to escape anxiety,
but to allow it to usher us into
the healing presence of Jesus Christ.
CH Spurgeon

That’s a good one to think of in the night seasons when anxieties do their best haunting.

And now, the Return of Tiny Art!

Ha ha – I just realized it looks like I wrote “The LADYBUG fakes a NAP…” which is quite droll. Let’s pretend that I meant to write it that way.

What does your cup runneth over with?

I’ll probably runneth this post over in the morning.

Thursday, January 15, 2026 The Woodlands

~ Foodiness ~ Leave a comment

I got another new set of paints entitled “Woodlands.”

Even the name “Woodlands” felt poetical, so naturally, poetry ensued. The first one isn’t so much a poem as it is a bunch of phrases using the names of the paints in the palette (in bold). The second one had me reaching further for the images I wanted.

Woodlands I
I walk the sand ridge
Till I see a cavern in the mist,
And a bear in its shadows.
Looking for daylight,
I cross the stream,
Stepping on gray stones.
Suddenly, I’m in the thick of redwoods
And deep moss
And foxberry bushes.
At last I see the blue-green glitter
Of sunlight on the pond.

I was a bit perplexed by the color “foxberry,” but decided that if there is a foxberry, there must be a foxberry bush.

Woodlands II
The woodlands call –
Pine-scented voice,
Checkered sunlight,
Scattered bird song,
Skittering critters,
Whispering leaves,
Glitter-green pond,
Fallen acorns,
And the deep
dense
presence
Of the LORD God Almighty.

I might write out the second one in the blue space at the top of the painting. Thoughts? Opinions? Critiques?

I sense that a squirrel will gnaw on this post with its strong jaws and teeth in the morning.

Wednesday, January 14, 2026 The Workshop: Sketchy Stuff

~ Foodiness ~ Leave a comment

I’ve been watching a show called “Portrait Artist of the Year,” in which 21 artists compete during each episode to win and go on to the next level. They get four hours to paint the subject (various people of note). It’s fascinating to watch how differently these artists tackle their paintings. There are three judges and two other people whose only purpose seems to be to chat up these poor artists who are working so hard to get done on time. I’ve quite enjoyed it. It takes place in the UK, which means you also get to listen to a wide variety of charming accents in the mix.

But as I’ve said before, doing a portrait of any kind is difficult. Watching so many extremely talented people start with a blank canvas and end up with recognizable people on it after four hours is a marvel, even with all the variety in styles.

On that note, here’s a sketch I attempted of my brother.

If I were really brave, I’d show you the photo that’s based on. But I’m not. Also, I can’t imagine spending four hours (or more) on a single painting, so you can tell I’m not very disciplined.

I reverted back to animals after that. Specifically some owls.

When they do a show based on bad sketches done in very little time, I might have a shot.

The sooner this gets deleted, the better.

Wednesday, January 7, 2026 The Workshop: Painting People Vs. Animals

~ Foodiness ~ 6 Comments

Aside from minor differences, one animal is pretty much like another of its kind. If you paint one robin, you’ve painted them all. There’s not a lot that distinguishes them from each other, although I’ll grant that treasured pets might have a spark of uniqueness that would give their owners an ability to pick theirs out among others with the same features if they were looking at photos. Maybe. This is why I like painting animals.

Humans have faces that are each completely unique (yes even twins – and I should know!). Each person has been specially crafted by their Maker and they bear His stamp. Unlike beavers or golden retrievers or chickadees, there is no “one-description-fits-all” for human beings. We have, each of us, broken the mold, so to speak. What you recognize in the people you know and love is almost intangible, but it is unmistakable. It is much harder to capture that essence in a painting.

My dear friend Martha sent me a painting for my birthday a couple months ago. Tears came to my eyes when I opened the envelope and took it out. It’s our little granddaughter – it’s HER! (Martha and I share a grandchild, having had the good providence of my son marrying her daughter.) I was just blown away by this beautiful, skillful and extravagant gift.

Of course, Martha is not responsible for the ugly black blot on the bottom. There’s a name underneath it and you don’t get to know it. Not on this blog, anyway.

Thank you again and again, Martha!

Will I delete this? Probably? Maybe? It’s a mystery and you don’t get to know it.

Monday, January 5, 2026 I Firmly Resolve…

~ Foodiness ~ Leave a comment

We’ve taken that big leap into a new calendar year, hopping onto fresh pages that beckon us into the unknown, the “undiscovered country,” as good old Shakespeare said. (Full disclosure: I learned that phrase from the Star Trek movie “Undiscovered Country”, but it still counts as a Shakespeare quote.)

Of course every day is a day that stretches before us as a blank page, full of stories that only the Lord knows ahead of time. As Robert Frost said, “The afternoon knows what the morning never suspected.” But in this new morning of the year 2026, we can still look ahead with hope and make plans for the afternoon. Back in the day, we used to call these plans “New Year’s Resolutions,” but the term has fallen out of favor. Everybody now knows that your firm resolve to exercise daily only lasts a week or two, after which the list of resolutions quietly disappears until the next January 1 comes around.

In our household, we make a list of goals for the coming year, some of them a mere continuance of good habits already established, some of them “one and done” projects, and some of them s-t-r-e-t-c-h goals, meant to move us further along than we’ve been before. I spent the last couple of days working on mine, a process I thoroughly enjoy. I ended up with 91 goals divided among 12 categories. (Full disclosure #2: I am disturbed by the uneven number 91 and feel the specter of Adrian Monk peering over my shoulder begging me to even it up.)

The afternoon knows what the morning never suspected…but in this case, I rather suspect that some of these 91 goals will be going by the wayside, joining a vast number of unmet goals from my past. It matters not. I submit them to God and am confident that He who began a good work in me “will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” The only thing I want to firmly resolve this year is to be like the psalmist David who told the Lord: My soul follows close behind You.” If my soul follows Him so closely that I’m stepping on the train of His robe, that’ll do just fine, 91 goals notwithstanding.

(Full disclosure #3: great was my disappointment after making the above when I realized that I hadn’t remembered the quote correctly before writing it in permanent ink. The specter of Adrian Monk peers over my shoulder about that as well.)

The delete button follows closely behind this post. I think it will catch up to it in the morning.

Wednesday, December 17, 2025 The Workshop: A Not So Tiny Book

~ Foodiness ~ 2 Comments

I received a gift from a dear friend for my birthday, a lovely blank book with thick homemade paper, a book that says “Enter in and create!”

Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is.

Note the fingerprint stain toward the bottom, my first act of creation being to get chocolate on it.

The very wordy book title – you’d expect no less from me if you’ve read my blog at all. “The Book of Small Musings, Random Ideas, Poetic Thoughts, Ink Drawings, and Humble Paintings.” A mouthful for sure. I should be careful about overpromising and underdelivering (probably too late for that).

I also got a new palette of paints for my birthday, Complexions. I tried them out on the first page of this book.

BEHOLD! A new palette of paints,
hues of complexions,
Skin tones of black, brown, red, pink, peach and yellow.
We look like a bouquet of earth colors
When we’re all together.

That’s all folks!

I’ll probably get a random idea or poetic thought about deleting this in the morning.

Wednesday, December 3, 2025 The Workshop: Puffed Up with Puffins

~ Foodiness ~ 4 Comments

I’ve now entered the puffin phase of my artistic endeavors. Or rather, I’ve re-entered, having dabbled in some puffinry back in 2020 (Puffin Post). And then there was a poem I wrote in which a puffin played a significant part (See: The P Birds).

When I see photos of puffins, I think the Lord must have been in a whimsical mood when He created them.

Plus, and hold onto your hat for this one: their babies are called “pufflings.” I did NOT make that up, but almost wish I had. In my fertile imagination, these would be so fun to have around, adorable little pets waddling to you with their adorable orange feet, making their adorable puffin noises with their adorable orange beaks. Sadly, puffins do not inhabit my part of the world, and I’m sure not going to go to theirs, so we shall have to remain strangers. It’s better that way. It’s very unlikely that they would live up to what I’ve imagined them to be like.

Is that a memoir that you’d read? If so, I’ll hunt down Mr. Polite Puffin (who could, I admit, be Mrs. Polite Puffin. It’s hard to tell) and do an interview.

More puffins will be coming. A page of pufflings might be on the way.

I’ll have to huffin and puffin and blow this one down in the morning.

Wednesday, November 19, 2025 The Workshop: Little Mousie

~ Foodiness ~ 3 Comments

I’ve taken a short break from Tiny Art, working on a few other things. Sometimes it’s fun to do a pencil sketch, so here’s one of my latest:

If you think I came up with that in my head, you haven’t been reading my blog very long. The rest of you can quote me by heart, so let’s hear it: “I copied it from something I saw on Pinterest.”

However, I did pen a little poem to go with it and that’s all mine.

Little Mousie
Do not fear
‘Twas the LORD God
Put you here.

All this world
Be bereft
If every Mousie
Up and left.

Fur and whiskers,
Small and gray,
Little Mousie,
Don’t go ‘way

But hear me well
Mousie, dear
Stay out of my
Housie, dear.

Little postie,
You should fear.
You’ll be gone
In the morning, dear.

Wednesday, November 12, 2025 Workshop: The Tiny Art Department

~ Foodiness ~ 2 Comments

It may surprise you to learn that though we were out and about the last two weeks, tiny art happened. Oh, you’re not surprised? Well I sure was. I often bring artsy supplies with me on our trips, packed in the Bag of Good Intentions. They usually come back home again in the Satchel of Shame.

But I have learned a few things. With the exception of the peacock feather, which I painted before we left, the rest of these were drawn on watercolor washes that I made so I wouldn’t have to bring paints, brushes and guilt.

My own tiny art peacock feather book finally made its maiden voyage! And what better subject that a peacock feather?

A feathery eye
Set in iridescent gold,
the Jewel of God.

And two more in the Peacock Feather Book:

Copied this from something on Pinterest – loved the stylized look of the feathers. Trying to do this in a moving car turned out to be a mistake.

If you don’t know this reference, how are we friends? Ha ha – just kidding! We listened to this audiobook on the road, one of the Magnificent Seven books in the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis.

And now, back to the OG tiny art book:

The underwater singing of a fish.

God’s creatures all know how to sing His praise. We just don’t always know how to hear it.

This post will be dropped into the sea in the morning where it will forever hear the underwater singing of fish.

Wednesday, October 15, 2025 The Workshop: Dart into Tiny Art Plus a Wee Bit of Sewing

~ Foodiness ~ 4 Comments

That title is too long, but I wanted each word to be there. Some people spare words, others multiply them. You know which one I am by now.

Another week of Tiny Art! My goal is to do four of these per week. It’s good practice for me and gives me a reason to leave my craft table all full of open paint sets and other vaguely artsy misc. The usual disclaimer applies: I copied things I found on Pinterest and added my own words.

Behind Door #1:

Who remembers the song “Daisy, Daisy?” It might actually have been called “Bicycle Built for Two.” My mom’s PCA was named Daisy and I could not (COULD NOT) resist singing this part of the song to her whenever I saw her. (At least I spared her the next line: “I’m half crazy all for the love of you.”) It was either charming or obnoxious – let’s hope it was the former.

The Little House on a Little Hill. If you think that house looks wonky, you’re not alone. But while I was working on it, a phrase kept running through my head from Psalm 15: LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? It’s funny what words trigger things to run through your mind.

Behind Door #2:

Poof! No other commentary is necessary.

Lime slice,
Fresh and nice.
My advice:
No matter the price,
Let it suffice,
Limes are nice!

Sometimes poems slip in when I’m not looking.

I’ve also made a couple Tiny Art books by myself, having found the one I bought to be a little TOO tiny. The seller ought to have marketed them as “Teeny Tiny Art Books.”

Lastly, my dear and patient readers, I am working on the third crib mobile of this year. The first two went to granddaughters that were born earlier in the year. This one is for the granddaughter who may actually be born today! Which means I better get hopping on finishing the mobile.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow,
Praise Him all creatures here below,
Praise Him above ye heavenly host,
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
AMEN!

Blog post,
More words than most,
With morning’s roast
It will be toast.