Thursday, February 12, 2009

The Fires in Australia

I'm sure everybody has seen this in the news, but I wanted to post it on my blog too. I know the fires are devastating to people and it's horrible and very sad. Whenever I hear about a big fire though, I immediately think of all the animals - especially the wild ones - who get caught in the smoke, confused and trapped, with no chance of surviving. These two little ones were so lucky and I'm thankful for that. I hope they find the jerk that set these fires and give him the toughest penalty their laws allow.

On a differnt note, I struggled with my painting today. I knew in my head what I wanted to paint, but I need to have an actual photo to go by; I'm not very good at getting the image from my own mind onto a surface. So, I started digging through my old painting magazines and being the spaz that I am, spent hours going through each and every one, ripping out the pages that I liked and stacking the rest for the recycle bin. I had just read a very funny post on The Quintessential Magpie about magazine addiction yesterday and couldn't help but think of it and chuckle while I was doing my own sorting. I used to do a lot of painting and these magazines were from 1999-2001. Lately, I've really been evaluating what I actually need and am happy to pare down some of my "stuff". I'll work on my painting again tomorrow and hope it turns out like I want it to. Here's all I've got so far; I've got a long way to go yet.

8 comments:

Four Paws and Co said...

Your painting is going to be amazing! I can definitely sympathize with you. I subscribed to several craft & painting magazines in the late 90's & held onto everything, of course. I began to work on sorting them awhile ago. It's so hard to let go, but I know I'm not going to use them & I'm tired of storing useless things...

It's heartbreaking whenever a fire rages and the animals are caught. They have a suspect. I hope he doesn't get off lightly.

zoeysews said...

I wasn't aware of fires, haven't seen news all week. Poor little babies, they are so cute. I am like you - the first thing that pops in my mind is what about all the poor animals! It makes me so sad when I think about how scared they must be and how they don't have anywhere to go.

On a happier note - that painting is going to be beautiful! You will find inspiration, you always do because your work is always fantastic.

I dumped (well donated) a ton of magazines when I prepared to move a year and half ago. I've since found myself searching for several I wish I still had but the internet usually saves me and takes up much less storage space. :)

Love,
Your Sister

Betty said...

Since I'm not 'crafty', the only magazines to which I have subscriptions are dog-related. I keep some of my favorites and pass the rest on to friends who also enjoy them. You're right, it's easy to get caught up in saving them for some future use.

Your painting is already delightful! I can hardly wait to see the final result!

crow productions said...

It's always the innocent that suffers. Your household sounds like mine. Dogs, cats, birds, grandkids. Life can be good. Have fun painting! love, Joan.

Anonymous said...

Phyllis, I know what you mean about magazine addiction. I've gotten to the point where I cut out pictures and scotch tape them in scrapbooks. I have about 20 put together for reference material as opposed to about 3,000 magazine! Well, exaggerating...but you get the point! It's easier to surf through my scrapbooks than to find old issues and thumb through them fruitlessly. The only ones I don't cut up are the Somersets and others like that.

It's good painting weather! Great cabin fever medicine!

We've had a huge power failure - 22 hours. Not as bad as the people in Kentucky, but I was suffering blog withdrawal. So glad to be back online.
Hugs, Diane

Unknown said...

Great painting so far. Thanks for commenting on my blog. We have all had jerks, huh? mishelle

Anonymous said...

Phyllis, guess what! You're one of the winners of my print giveaway! I'm glad you are one of them! You've been so sweet. I have your address so it will be out in the mail to you soon!
Hugs and Happy Valentine's Day!
Diane

Charlene said...

Thank you for your recent visit. I too was so afraid for the animals. My heart goes out to all who have lost their home in this terrible waste (both humans & animals) Sometimes we all forget how lucky we are with our homes & treasures & that it could be taken from us in the blink of an eye.