EDM 271 - Free Choice

Drawn from memory, which isn't a good enough excuse for messing up the stripes on the lower left. Sorry, Betsy! This is done with water-based markers with a little help from some gesso, when I lost the whites and had to paint them back in.

EDM 271 - Free Choice; 3x3" markers on mixed media paper

EDM 270 - Something Preservable

Use it or lose it.

EDM 270 - Something Preservable; 3x3" watercolor

EDM 269 - Something Annoying

An increasingly noisy society, even nice music playing in EVERY business, store, and restaurant, is a little annoying to me. Trying to find absolute silence is almost impossible. I guess I am officially old.

EDM 269 - Something Annoying; 3x3" watercolor & marker

EDM 268 - Something I Need

Ask any artist, "How many more colors do you need," and the predictable answer will always be, "Just one more." I need to remember how hard it was to finish this piece the next time I'm tempted to start another completely uninspired piece. This took parts of four days to finish. And, waiting for the Glossy Accents to dry was excruciating. I'm a very impatient waiter.

EDM 268 - Something I Need; watercolor & Glossy Accents

EDM 267 - Something Flexible

I could have been a ballerina, if I had been lean, long-necked, graceful, coordinated, and flexible. But I wasn't. I can spell "prima." I'm settling for that.

EDM 267 - Something Flexible; 3x3" marker on mixed media paper

EDM 266 - Something Cherished

Above all things, cherish family.

This little piece is just so me! Can you tell that Mary Engelbreit is one of my inspirations? I think she invented the black and white checkerboard effect in design!

EDM 266 - Something Cherished; 3x3" markers

EDM 265 - Your Neighbor

My neighbor is a master gardener. I am no kind of gardener. When I start to think about going and buying a bunch of bulbs or perennials from the home store, I interrupt myself and remind myself that I can sit on my porch and look at the most amazing gardens on our street. Why would I plant my own? :) This technique has worked famously so far! I have a few low-maintenance, non-blooming bushes and a couple of really comfy chairs on the porch. Please, don't tell my neighbor I've been borrowing her garden. She might start charging me admission fees!

EDM 265 - My Neighbor; 3x3" watercolor

EDM 264 - My Floor

My floor? Okay, more specifically, my chair mat, which I made on the cheap with vinyl tile and plywood. So, my parquetry is fakery.

This was done 100% with markers, and I'm not 100% sure it really worked. But, it's a sketch, so we say "fine" and move on.

EDM 264 - My Floor; 3x3" markers

EDM 263 - A Favorite Cleaning Supply

I shouldn't give cleaning advice, but here goes: use water to clean. I know. Groundbreaking, right? I wonder if I should bottle it (or can it) and sell it as Clean Fluid. These days, if you put it in a Mason jar, it will sell!

EDM 263 - Favorite Cleaning Supply; 3x3" watercolor

EDM 262 - A Bathtub

It's fun to see how much contour and texture you can achieve with one paint color and a small brush.

EDM 262 - A Bathtub; 3x3" watercolor

EDM 261 - A Winter Olympic Sport

Curling. You can't make this stuff up.

EDM 261 - A Winter Olympic Sport; 3x3" watercolor & marker

EDM 260 - A Suitcase

I bought these small suitcases a couple decades ago, and I've never regretted the purchase. They're decorative...mostly, even though I do use them occasionally. I like small things that normally come in a larger size.

This painting was hard! I pushed through and ended up with a little piece that I really like. How'd that happen?!

EDM 260 - A Suitcase; 3x3" watercolor

EDM 259 - A Pet's Perspective

We don't have a pet right now, so I borrowed a favorite pet from a movie. "Brinkley is my dog...." ~Joe Fox. F-O-X.

EDM 259 - A Pet's Perspective; 3x3" marker

EDM 258 - The Inside of My Closet

Oops! I thought the prompt said "the closet of my dreams." Phew! I almost let everyone see my actual closet! Dodged THAT bullet! My dream closet would have more closet and fewer clothes. You know, like being able to see the back wall?

EDM 258 - Closet Of My Dreams; 3x3" watercolor

EDM 257 - A House Plant

This is my violet, and it is alive and blooming. Both of these facts are a pretty big deal. Violet! I love the color, the name, the plant. And in blooming, I think my violet might be loving me back. That might be one sentiment too far. :)

EDM 257 - A House Plant; 3x3" watercolor & marker

EDM 256 - Something Bubbly

I don't know why Andy Warhol painted soup labels. How do you put your artist's heart into rendering food labels? I don't get it...and it isn't that I haven't tried. :)

I do like this seltzer, though. It's what I drink when I'm trying to NOT drink Diet Coke!

EDM 256 - Something Bubbly; 3x3" watercolor

EDM 255 - A Person Near You on a Train

This looks a lot like some of my journal entries (which don't make it online). I'm not sure it qualifies as art, but it is the way I chose to respond to the prompt. So, there ya go.

It just so happens that we took the train to Chicago to visit our daughter and son-in-law just after Christmas. I love the train so much! You get to know people a little...if you're willing!

EDM 255 - A Person Near You on a Train; 3x3" journaling with watercolor

EDM 254 - Something that Represents Joy

After a long, cold winter, the return of embarrassingly sweet, fresh fruit led by strawberries is a joyful event.

This was a challenging little painting, since I tend to be a purist about the use of white in watercolor. I try, as much as possible, to let the paper shine through for white. That means, of course, that I had to fussy paint all around the little seeds. It was worth it, though. I love the shine on the berry! My other favorite part about this little piece is the shadow. It's pretty perfect...if I do say so myself...and if a shadow can be perfect.

EDM 254 - Something Representing Joy; 3x3" watercolor

EDM 253 - Your Socks

My free time is divided between painting and knitting, and my knitting is divided between scarves and socks. It's a great time to be a sock knitter. The yarns are scrumptious (Yes, I said scrumptious. Deal with it :))! Don't look for this yarn in stores, though. I made it up. The label is a little hard to read. It says, "My favorite socks require some assembly."

This piece shows how vibrant markers can be. The watercolor markers on the market these days make drawing really fun!

EDM 253 - Your Socks; marker

EDM 252 - A Fir Tree

I do NOT like to paint nature stuff, which is probably obvious every time I try to do it. I painted a pine tree from memory, and since I'm no nature girl, it was pretty awful. I kept painting until it got so awful that I decided to start over. I scrubbed the paint off with water and a toothbrush. Amazingly, my 90-lb. paper survived. And, I went back to what I know, which is design. So, this is my I-really-don't-do-trees fir tree. Only I know how much better it is than my first attempt. Trust me. This is so much better!

EDM 252 - A Fir Tree; watercolor & marker