Bats in Costa Rica

We spotted these bats inside a rotted tree at Cabo Blanco nature preserve. This was a hike we took on our last full day in Montezuma. And it was completely grueling. But upon consulting my diary, this is what we saw...bats, coati, deer, little guys (geckos) howler monkeys, many species of butterflies (like the big blue one) some kind of green spinner dragonfly, a black headed trogan, long tailed manakin, bare throated tiger hevar (whatever that is) a toucan and some unidentified ground birds. Whew! It was fun to see and hear all these jungle creatures. But what wasn't so fun was the actual hike. In fact we didn't even make it to the end. Which was (supposeably) a beautiful beach. But we did make it to dinner and some well deserved tropical drinks!

P.S. You could all do me a big favor by going to http://blog.psprint.com/ by October 30. Then click on the Holiday card contest/ Humor category, then view and vote/humor category, finally vote for sharonrwagner. That's my, "Have a Meow Meow Christmas" Thanks blogging friends!

Bats and Cats

I haven't run out of Halloween stuff yet. These 3 kitties were painted during my art fair days. And the bats are painted on the matt, so that the kitties are looking up at them. I feel like if I'm not careful I will only be identified as a cat artist. But Halloween and cats go hand in hand. I sold 2 paintings just like these to a guy at Edina's Fall into the Arts Festival. He said his wife would love them and would want both. Of course I was thrilled. It's always fun to make a sale. But unfortunately most of the time you're sitting around not selling. The good old days!

Pop Out Of The Sink Kitty!

The first photo just cracks me up. Acua's new favorite place to chill is the kitchen sink. He just sits in there waiting for the drip...drip...drip of the faucet. Hours and hours of fun. (maybe we need a plumber) Sometimes I catch him licking up, on and around where the water comes out. Would anyone like to come over to my house for a glass of sparkling clean water? I know I should try to keep him out of the sink, but some battles are not worth fighting for. The next photo was taken right before a trip to the Vet. The cats didn't quite understand the concept of the pet carrier. Instead of hanging out, we needed a pop "in" And in the next photo Princess Hana decided she no longer wants to walk around the house. She would prefer to be carried around on this tray. The napkin holder used to be a favorite place to perch. Butt down no less. Beware of the top napkin! One time I put out a clean sauce pan on the stove. Luckily I hadn't turned on the burner yet because I turned around and there was Hana sitting in the pan! In fact I think the recipe stated that in case your cat protein jumps out of the pan, subsitute ground beef. And what do you serve as a tasty beverage with such a meal? As shown in the last photo...chilled Acua!

Pop Out Kitty and Pumpkin Pup

What the heck am I going to post next October if I post all Halloween related material this year? But if you got it, post it right? Unlike the craftsy pumpkins of last week, I'm friends with these two all year. They hang in my stairway along side Neon Giraffe, Pink Kitty and Big Eyed Dog. All five beloved characters can now be found on another website. http://www.childrensillustrators.com/ to see my work there hit portfolio directory, then W, then hit my giraffe icon. I was also profiled last week on another blog. http://www.readingminnesota.blogspot.com/ Thankyou very much to Beth Solheim for that honor. And I popped over to the studio of my mentor Carrie Hartman http://www.carriehartman.blogspot.com/ for my first lesson. She is a master at the art of the critique. I learned alot about the use of color. Like how I need to mellow out my background colors so that... well...my forground really pops!

Marriage...or Jail

What an attention grabbing headline. Marriage...or Jail. Is there a connection to these photos you ask? Well, we were celebrating our anniversary at the Creamery in Downsville, Wisconsin this Spring. And I snapped these pictures of an old jail and post office. The weathered paint and old boards are the connection to my Arts and Crafts post. But my painting in no way compares to the nirvana of age shown here. Something old is my favorite kind of photographic journey. I posted the weathered boards on my header earlier this Summer. It was a personal favorite. I guess the dried Sunflowers currently headlining my blog could also be considered old. I took that photo near Eau Claire, Wisconsin this fall. Oh, and in case you're wondering I definately don't think of marriage as jail. But my husband does get mad at me when I leave the keys to the house lodged in the door. Go figure.

Arts and Crafts

Halloween is the only time of year that I drag out, dare I say it...crafts. Of course I did these paintings. But I also painted all my little craftsy pumpkin buddies. We're only friends during Halloween. When I was doing juried art fairs, crafts were kind of a thorn in my side. I remember one instance in particular. I refer to it as, "the mushroom lady" show. Her booth was across from mine. And her clay mushrooms were selling as fast as her hairy, sleeveless husband could rake in the money. O.K. I might have been a little jealous. And deep down I might have thought one of the mushrooms would look cute in my garden. Darn it, I do like my mushrooms. But I refused to buy one. Then later that Summer I did another show. One for real artists, The Stockholm Art Fair. I wouldn't have to worry about crafts showing up at that one. But wait for it...is that?... the mushroom lady! #@$#! And the worst part of all is that I still wanted to buy one of those darn mushrooms.

Here Comes The Sun!

After my Moon post, it's really a no brainer as to what I would post for photos. The first 3 photos were taken at Amor de Mar in Montezuma, Costa Rica. Sunrise was around 6 am. No wonder I could barely stay awake by 8 pm! But what great memories these pictures hold for me. It was a beautiful time of day there. The smell of bread baking in the oven was really seductive. But breakfast didn't begin until 7:30 am. Sunrise pictures were finished shortly after 6 am and we had to wait a whole hour and 1/2 to eat! By 7:30 that big old Sun was so hot you could barely stand to sit in it. But that's just the way I like it. But not all the pictures are at sunrise, the last two are at sunset. They were taken at Playa Hermosa in Costa Rica. The last photo is actually the very first photo I posted on my blog. That was on 1/22/09. So I haven't made it to my 1 year anniversary. Hopefully by then I'll be taking more sunrise photos someplace warm and exotic. And I'll be singing, "Here comes the Sun"!

October Moon

I'm kicking off the month of October with a Moon post. The full Moon was painted for an illustration called Beloved Moon. Beloved Moon was painted for a gallery show on the grounds of Minnesota's Owatonna Orphanage Museum. The theme was, "A Child's Hope" My illustration depicts an Orphaned teen hugging a portrait of her Mother and glancing at the Moon. And then there is my magenta cow. The cow's gigantic ears enable her to fly over the Moon. I painted her for a responce card included in one of my promotional mailings. Just for fun I've included two cards that were mailed back to me. One publisher circled maybe. And one said...Never! But added that they hoped that didn't sound mean. Funny! Maybe the theme of my next illustration should be, "An Artist's Hope" It would depict me sitting at my desk holding a paintbrush to my chest. I would be staring out the window with a tear sliding down my cheek. I've probably just received another "mean" rejection. But I will never give up Hope!