YEP - LOVE 'EM ..........

Well I have to say I really love these pencils - so far they have done everything I wanted from them.

I am still to try a landscape, a seascape and a nude but based on the results I am getting and what I am learning as I go I think they are a winner.  I've sketched out a landscape to work on and looking through photos for a seascape; maybe one that Jules sent.

A complete opposite to my experiences with soft pastels and, to a lesser degree, oil pastels.

I have been pushing them to just see how far I could go and each time they come up trumps.  The only thing they 'fall' down on is when you want to do a white highlight like the whiskers on this Snow Leopard; but I just put them in with white gouache.

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Tropical Cyclone Cherono

Tropical Cyclone Cherono and saw some heavy rain still existing in the storm as it dissipates.

The TRMM satellite passed directly above the remnants of tropical cyclone Cherono in the South Indian Ocean on March 22, 2011 at 0225 UTC (March 21 at 10:25 p.m. EDT). TRMM's Microwave Imager (TMI) and Precipitation Radar (PR) showed that Cherono, although weakened, still had some life and was producing very heavy rainfall of over 50 mm/hr (~2 inches) south-southeast of Reunion Island.

The image of Cherono's rainfall was created by Hal Pierce of the TRMM team at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Rain rates in the center of the image swath are from the TRMM PR, the only spaceborne radar of its kind, while those in the outer portion are from the TMI. The rain rates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS).

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View this : 8 Week Body Makeover

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♫ ♪ I GOT THEM, I GOT THEM ........

Yipee!  My pencils arrived!

So excited that they have finally arrived - mind you it only took a week ... lol.

Anyway, I ripped open the package then lovingly rubbed and tickled them then got down to the nitty gritty of sharpening 120 pencils.

They looked so rich and vibrant and they felt wonderful, soft and creamy to use.

So of course I had to take them on a test drive.  Decided to draw 3 pelicans and then an aboriginal face to just see what I could do with them and I was relatively pleased with the results.

The only downfall was that I couldn't do dark over light very well and I wanted the face to have a beard full of light grey hair.  Did consider painting the hairs on after with some white/grey gouache but in the end I left it.

Will think about whether to run with the gouache after I leave it for a week and look again with fresh eyes.

Apart from that I was really really REALLY happy with them.

Now I will so some serious learning to see just what I can achieve with them.  I don;t think they will ever replace my first love of watercolour but they certainly work better for me than my recent experiments with soft pastels (a total failure) and oil pastels (reasonable success).

So you want to see my efforts?   Rotfl.......

"The Three Musketeers"

"Elder"

Feeling better too - Abi is much better; my worry and stress from health scare gone; talked with W; my kids are okay - so trying to put all the sh*t from the last few months aside then I can start to see the glass half full again ... lol.

No sunshine - boy did we get some rain in the last two days - 44mls over weekend it's been so dry so was very welcome but did it have to be so hard?  Luckier than some places - Wollongong has had over 228 mm (over 9") since 9am morning, including 63 mm in the hour to 1 - and there is a severe thunderstorm warning out for them this afternoon!

Been reading up about HAARP and similar installations and I have to admit that it scares me.  Discovered some official sites that admit they are experimenting with weather modification and hinted that they could create seismic events (!).

Nicolas Tesla claimed he could split the earth with his experiments in resonance and this same technology that he invented is used today to locate underground resources like oil and natural gas and help in archaeology.  This is the technology that HAARP and similar installations are based on.

Don't think that this is just in the USA - there are installations all over the world, on every continent including here in Australia.

Given the increase in seismic activity recently and the crazy weather all over the world you really have to wonder if the experiments in weather modification have anything to so with them.

This documentary made in 97 is very interesting - and take into account that is was made 14 years ago and the technology has been modified since then.

Of course there are conspiracy theories by the thousands out there about this technology but along with that there are facts the are proven and substantiate like the fact there is weather modification experiments happening.

Anyway, it has certainly given me cause for concern.

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System 98S (Southern Indian Ocean)

System 98S has been battered with wind shear over the last couple of days and is still holding together as a tropical depression. Infrared satellite imagery from NASA's Aqua satellite revealed an area of strong convection and thunderstorms around the low pressure area's center yesterday, indicating that the low is maintaining strength even in adverse conditions.

On March 16, System 98S was located about 615 nautical miles southeast of Diego Garcia, near 14.2 South latitude and 80.3 East longitude in the Southern Indian Ocean. The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument on NASA's Aqua satellite has been capturing imagery of the low pressure area and today showed that the low level circulation center east of the main area of convection is partially exposed to outside winds.

AIRS infrared imagery also showed that convection had begun flaring or increasing on the western side of the circulation center during the morning hours, indicating strengthening. Flaring convection means the creation of more towering thunderstorms. Thunderstorms power a tropical cyclone. There was also an indication in microwave satellite imagery that thunderstorms were wrapping around the low level center.

Feeling Blah ......

Am feeling very flat at the moment - guess we all go through that - feel like I am a turning point in my life and I am not sure which road to take.

DIL very busy so no chance of us seeing Riverdance in the coming week it is on; problems with elder son - nothing major but ....; granddaughter ill - off to look after her today as well as my usual babysitting on Thurs; a health scare with me (really scary few weeks but am ok now); readjustment of relationship with W (all my fault) ...... I just guess with it all coming at once it takes a big toll and kinda overwhelms.

Raided the cupboard, searched the fridge and in the end had to go to the shops and buy chocolate - my usual stress binge - probably put on more kilos than what I have managed to loose since the last binge ..... lol.

If anyone has a tried and true way of stopping binge eating when stressed pleased let me know .... rotfl.

I am hoping my pencils turn up this week - at least they will give me a distraction from problems and I might even turn out a reasonable art work at the same time.

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Excitement ....

Okay, I know it doesn't take an awful lot to excite me but I am excited .....again (be more if I saw Riverdance....lol).

I just managed to score myself some Prismacolour Premier coloured pencils; 120 of them to be exact!

Now I can hear you all saying "but she already has coloured pencils" and shaking your heads - but these are Prismacolours ....lol.

I have 72 Derwents and 72 Derwent Inktense plus some watercolour pencils that live on my window sill in my little studio (actually my 4th bedroom ... lol).   I have been searching out some really great coloured pencils.  I have tried a few different ones and decided that the Prismacolour were the ones for me; they go on so smoothly and have great coverage when burnishing; much better than all the others I tried.

Then I discovered their price out here - over $250!  I can hear you again "$250 for coloured pencils!  You must be joking; you can buy a packet of pencils for $3.50 in Kmart".  Guess what they aren't the most expensive.

Caran d'Ache Luminance coloured pencils are around $500 AUD for 72 pencils (add at least another $100 if you want them in a wooden box instead of a tin); and their Pablo range aren't much cheaper but they are both the best.  They are the cream of the crop as far as coloured pencils go .....  even in the cheapest places I haven't found them under $300; luminance sell for $3.70 US a pencil and Pablo a mere $1.88 US at Blick's which is the cheapest place to buy artsupplies online.  Then if you want to go all out you can buy the Limited Edition set for a mere $1400!!!

So they will remain on my wish list - you know that one you have of things that you know you will never get but you like to have ... along with things like a MGB or a mansion on a desert island......lol.

So back to looking but not having; then I hit on watching Ebay and voila!

I snatched myself a set for $100 AUD including postage .... I am a very happy camper.  Just have to wait for them to arrive from the US; hopefully they will only take 7-10 days then I can play!

In the meantime I got myself a Prismacolor blender pencil and blender marker plus a great gadget - a pencil extender!  Perfect for when you have sharpened a pencil to within an inch of it's life and find it hard to hold onto.

This is a pencil extender in case you can't see it properly

So here is a colour chart I found online of my new pencils - I am very excited as you can tell.  I would like to try a nude in coloured pencil plus maybe some animals and birds.
 

I just finished a watercolour of some horses, done in Lavender.  Stepped out of my comfort zone a little as I am terrified of horse .... only two things I am frightened of - the dentist and horse!

Was pleased with how it turned out (you can see it on my arty blog if your interested) was definitely different from the nude I did previously ...lol.

Now if I could only get some tickets to Riverdance ....... rotfl.  Mmmm might see if DIL will go with me that's if there are any tickets left.

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Just Meandering ........

At last the weather is starting to cool down and sleeping at night is so much easier than when we suffered through 30 degree plus nights.

I am one of those people who loved the cooler weather so I say "roll on winter!"

Haven't been out much lately as we had what I hope was a final flourish of very hot days; now that it is cooling down I will have to plan some more outings for myself.

When I went out the other week I was sitting on the banks of a river and there were lots of magpie families around; babies almost the same size as the parents all clamouring for food.

I tried to sketch them quickly but they would come up to my feet the dart away so fast; it was hard to get much on paper.  I did manage a few little sketches that I can use a reference; I forgot to pack my little digital camera; reminder to self - always put camera in bag...lol.

I have a large digital Canon SLR camera that I take when I am going to an area scouting for painting ideas and I have a small digital one that can fit into my handbag but, of course, I forget it more often than not.

Been 'prowling' around again and had a coffee with a new 'victim' last week - what a giggle .....  the guy said he was 6'0" and average built .... ha!  He was not much taller than me so he was about 5'10" and at least 125kg - sorry but that is not average, that's way larger - man boobs, big stomach ..... average my foot!

Why bother lying about things like that?  It is really hard to hide the truth ... rotfl.  Anyway, apart from the fact I'm not attracted to big guys he was totally boring and spent more time telling me how he likes to hunt and fish - both of which I hate; and what was wrong with his ex wife.

When we finished coffee I said goodbye; I said that we had no common interests and no chemistry.  His reply was that there was lots of chemistry on his side ... er sorry but it has to be on both sides to work.

Just discovered that Riverdance is back in Sydney for a very short final season - 18 March till 27 March - now that is a very very short season .... lol.  I love that show and I love the music!

There are a few musical theatre productions I love - Riverdance, Rocky Horror, Phantom, Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar - I remember seeing the original production of Hair and all the controversy that surrounded it.  Australia had the 'nude' scene ..... very daring for those times; love it so much went back and saw it a few more times .... lol.

And of course who doesn't love Rocky Horror?  Have you ever been to an audience participation of the movie?  Now that is fun!

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