for the enlightenment of my several readers, including my mother

current projects:
1) on the louisa harding dress, marie, i am knitting the back. i have finished the 64 row lace repeat at the bottom. it'll probably be a breeze from here on up! then i need to do the front and the sleeves.

2) the violin is all sanded and cleaned and ready to go. now i need to settle down and work on it. sometime when i am not just wanting to go out and enjoy the sun instead...

3) june is almost over and i have not finished my may beaded house -- the last of the 12. i really need to do that.

4) as always i have a list of things i want to draw and/or paint. i just do what i can. though this time of year i just want to lie around and read in the sun. don't worry, ma, i have sunblock, sunglasses, and a hat.

greenwood car show

greenwood car show
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

today i went to the greenwood car show, in support of my mad-scientist friend audin, pictured here with his 1980 citicar. which is a tiny little electric car. audin completely dismantled and rebuilt it. he just got it together-enough for the car show yesterday, with it's snazzy new paint job.

then i walked home, er.. the yarn store you know, it actually WAS on my way. i mean i had to walk right past it. according to mapquest my walk home was only 3.4 miles, but my little ankles think it was farther. i was wearing moccasins. they are so comfy, but i guess the indians did not walk on pavement. mother earth is kinder. and i have these willowy little, frankly insufficient, ankles.

anyhow. lots of cars. i am not a car person, but it's hard not to appreciate some of the beautiful and interesting cars i saw today, so browse my flickr stream if you are into that sort of thing.

another rhino!

828art19
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

another rhino! don't say you don't love them, because i know you do! trundling along like over-adorned tanks. only, you know, without the guns and all.

"Adorned Rhino"
5.5 x 7.5"

violin painting stage 1

violin painting stage 1
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

i sat out on my balcony this evening and spent an hour listening to violin music and sanding....

this is a 3/4 violin made in germany between 1891 and WWII. it is, i think, boxwood with a maple back and rosewood fingerboard. it is not worth saving as a violin -- don't worry, i discussed this with a professional -- so i am preparing it as the base for a painting. i think i have at least another hour of sanding to go.

a fondness for rhinos...

two new little 4x4" paintings on etsy...

i have always had a certain fondness for rhinos, with their lumbering majesty.

fremont solstice festival 2008

fremont solstice festival 2008
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

the fremont solstice festival is absolutely the craziest event in seattle. most of my pictures are of the parade. i went with my friend max, then later we met up with more friends, for lunch, coffee, and games. including a rousing game of apples to apples.

happy summer!

061407art1
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

happy summer, everyone! i am off to the fremont solstice festival in a bit. it's a little hazy out, but it looks like it might shape up to be a nice day -- here's hoping anyway! i will probably have some festival pictures to share later!

Ravenwood

Ravenwood
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

i finished another large watercolor -- much larger than i usually work! Ravenwood is 16x20"

sketch journal

sketch journal
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

something else i worked on earlier this week. it is done in pitt pens, size S.
goodness, have been so tired the last couple days. i need to rouse myself to do something...

roses and rolling hills

061208ac1
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

if you are one of those people in places where it is really really hot, you might want to plan a trip to seattle. seattle, where i have recently been wearing gloves. and turtlenecks. and wool in all its many forms. yes, seattle. the land that summer forgot and the decades cannot improve. if it's freezing cool breezes you seek, you can't go wrong.

and anyhow, in case you were wondering, i am still using the same color scheme these days. this is another new little painting which is also in my etsy shop.

dreaming in ink.

061208j1
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

i am behind on email -- sorry ! i will catch up. i tell you, this week, doing 4 people's jobs at work, it is draining. so all i have been doing in the evenings is drawing, doodling, in my sketch book. these are pitt pens, size S.

this weekend was the sort of weekend when art just does not want to happen, so i had decided to take a week or so off from it, when suddenly, it DID happen. perhaps there is something to be said for giving up, or maybe i just mean letting go.. so, anyway, here are two watercolor paintings which i have listed in my etsy shop.

painter's vest

painter's vest
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

i need to enlist some help to get a better picture of this, but this is what i came up with in a few minutes using the timer on my camera. this is the finished Painter's Vest. The pattern is by Jane Thornley of www.janethornley.com.

bison and mice!

these are 2 little paintings i have completed recently. they are on etsy:

majestic bison, watercolor and ink, 4x4":

mouse knight, watercolor and ink, 4x4":


i just love bison. well, and mice too, though i think the mouse fondness is a better known fact about me. i can't really imagine an animal more noble than a bison. they are so enormous and stately. if i saw one close up, i would want to run up to it and throw my arms around it, like lucy and susan do to aslan in the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe. though i suppose the bison would probably attempt to gore me if i did that. but really they look so .. cuddly, and fierce, at the same time. i think this place, america, must have been a much finer place when they were great herds of bison roaming around.

may beaded house

may beaded house
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

this really counts as my may beaded house because i started it on may 31st! this is the last of the series, which i began a year ago.

seed beads, brass charms, ceramic button, and watch gears.