Why is it? A little Blogger rant and a good pastel tip...

Why is it that some things work better in Firefox and some better in Safari? Other apps, too, on my iMac. Firefox works much better for posting on my blog and most of my on-line purchasing, surfing, commenting, etc. However, the newer bloggers seem to be using the drop down comments on Blogger and that format is annoying.

The drop down/embedded comment box doesn't work with my iMac and Firefox browser. I have to go to Safari browser, open the blog and go to comment, then I get the window and write my comment. It says to select profile, so I select "Google Account" (the same as Blogger, right?). I click on "post comment" and get a message that says "Your request could not be processed. Please try again." and I click on post comment again and I get the Google Account window to sign in. (even if I am already signed in for my blog). So I sign in. If I am lucky and type correctly I am taken back to the comment window of the blog I was trying to comment on. I get another window with a word verification spot. I enter that and sometimes get a message that it failed and to try again. I submit again and then it publishes .. finally.

I will tell you that I only go through all that effort on blogs where I really like the artist. I wonder how many comments they loose because people give up. I urge you to change your comments in your settings to "full page" or "Pop up window". The "embedded below post" does not work well for some of us. Surely there are more folks out there with this problem. I know Joanna has the same problem and she knows computers!

I have tried to address this problem to Blogger, to no avail. How can that be that I am a Blogger member and cannot comment easily. Everything else on Blogger is soooo easy. Sigh.........

On a happier note, for my artist blogger today, I will point to Karen Margulis. She has made leaps and bounds in her pastel painting world and also dabbled in oils, acrylics and more. She does a painting a day, teaches and blogs and is an inspiration. She has started a pastel hint a day and this one made me stop and read. I hope you find it interesting, too. You are right, I have found yet another blog to follow!

Sketches for 160

Scavenger Hunt 160 is well underway. I managed a few more yesterday. These were done in the regular 7 x 10 inch sketchbook with a Micron 05 pen.

Number 4, file - the menu file on my iMac. Number 5, window - the kitchen window. Number 6, switch - the switch by the window. Number 7, berries - substitute grapes.


Number 8, handle - on the saucepan. Number 9, old fashioned - one of my Dad's Dutch ovens. Number 10, crunchy - nuts in a jar. And, I notice Number 11, cover - the lid for the pan. I will add the number to my sketch. Fun to find another item when on a Scavenger Hunt.

I sketched this today at the dentist's office. Not my favorite spot.

Cowboy Artist

Santa brought me a new calendar for 2010 in my stocking. This year it has paintings by a wonderful cowboy artist, Tim Cox. He was born in Arizona and now lives in New Mexico. I like his work very much. He has a great eye for enough detail without making his work photo realistic. He has a knowledge of ranching and equipment that make his paintings ring true. His skill at drawing horses and people is excellent. Have a look, I think you will agree. A New Mexico cowboy friend, Roland, brought his art to my attention. Thanks, Roland.

Art House Project Schedule

This is the current schedule for the Art House Sketchbook Project exhibits:

January 29th-30th, 2010
Art House Gallery
309 Peters St
Atlanta, GA 30313

February 19 - 21, 2010
303Grand
303 Grand St.
Brooklyn, NY 11211

February 26, 2010
Brooklyn Art Library (Grand Opening Party!)
201 Richards Street #16
Brooklyn, NY 11231

April 8 - 11, 2010
Art and Shelter Gallery at The Salvation Army Alegria
2737 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90039

April 16 - 18, 2010
Soulard Art Market
2028 S. 12th St
Saint Louis, MO 63104

May 7 - 9, 2010
Home Gallery
1407 E. 54th Place
Chicago, IL 60615

(*Art House says: We hope they won't, but the dates are always subject to change)

TGIF (Thank goodness its finished!) Sketches Slide Show

I finished the Art House Sketchbook and Gene mailed it off for me.

It was an interesting project to work on. I have never been able to keep a diary or journal. This blog is as close as I have ever come to a daily record. I post over 300 posts in 2009 which was great for me. This sketch project was a commitment that I wasn't sure I could do either, but I finished. Whew! They moved the original deadline from December to January. The extension only spurred on my procrastination. I just slowed down my sketches and still had to rush at the end.

Here is a slide show of the cover and sketches for the project. I still have to upload the photos to the Project site. I wish it was as easy as Picassa so I could load them all at once instead of one at a time. Ah well.It is fun to see them all in one spot.

You can click on the slideshow and go to my Picassa page where you can see them all together or one at a time in larger format.

Happy New Year Sketches

Happy New Year!

I saw a cute sketch on Scavenger Hunt 160 by Julie. You can see it here on Julie's blog. Julie sketches in many different media. So interesting to see her sketches and unique ideas. These Buddhas made me smile and encouraged me to sketch. I got out the old 7 x 10 inch sketchbook and a Micron 05 pen and went to work.

So for the first sketch of the New Year and Hunt 160, Number 1, twisted - a piece of phone cord that we use sometimes to wrap around other cords to keep them together. Number 2, ticket, a ticket for the Revel concert. There are more concerts in the future. Number 3, glasses - my sunglasses.

I finished the Art House sketchbook and will mail it tomorrow or Monday. The sketches fit in Scavenger Hunt 159 so I had better get them posted, too. I didn't post them on the Hunt either. :( These were done with a Micron 05, too, in the Art House sketchbook.

Number 16, nature - out in our back yard (from the window, it is cold out!)

Number 17, cozy - the snuggie that Jennie got me for Christmas in burnt orange with Texas designs on it. Very cozy. Thanks, Jennie!

Number 18, family - the keys on the key hanger behind the door.

For the Art House project, I need to upload many of the sketches to their site and then I want to make a slide show for my page and blog to store them. I painted today on a pastel painting. I need to get at least two finished by January 10 for the Austin Pastel Society Annual Jurried Show. As a procrastinator, I say I work well under pressure, but in real life, I don't think that is true. Ah, me.......