Patio Paint

The lower level of our deck received a face-lift last year when we slightly expanded it and re-stained. Since then it has still sat idly by even though its just a few short steps away from our basement bar.  So we (I) decided we needed some welcoming decor. I bought some colorful paper lantern lights from Target and wanted to build upon that with a tiki/tropical theme. Enter Patio Paint.

In addition to the paint, I bought some relatively cheap ($2-3) pieces of wood from the home improvement store, primed, then transformed into some simple outdoor art (to the tune of some country music).

Slightly more involved, was this creation:

The writing was done using a wood burner.... and I'm not sure if it was worth the effort. Maybe because it was my first time, or maybe because I bought the cheap wood burner, but writing this short phrase took way too long. Next time I'll stick to the paint.

Garden Update

The garden is a few weeks in now... and things are growing! The tomatoes really took off once the weather got warm. And the basil and cilantro are in full bloom. The peppers and onions are even starting to look like they might survive. The one bare spot is the rosemary patch. I've seen some sprouts, but I'm not sure what its deal is.

And then there's the rampant wildlife in our backyard... 

I think I managed to successfully chase the bunny out of the yard today and barricade its entryway.

Evolution of a Birthday Gift

Mike's birthday was actually a few months ago, but I forgot I had taken these pictures. He works in the power industry, hence the man working on power lines.

My Obama figurine used to reference the size of this painting: a petite 3"x3".

Dave Matthews

Completed in 2003
16"x22"

Oil

I was a big Dave Matthews fan. Can you tell? Not to brag, but this might be some of the best arm hair I've ever painted.

The original picture is from a Rolling Stone magazine. It's kind of funny putting the two pictures side by side. The more I look at them, the more different they look. Maybe I should just call my picture "Man in a Top Hat".

Courtesy of Rolling Stone

Photoshop Fun

Although I use Photoshop quite a bit, I'm not very skilled at it. Luckily, there are some pretty informative tutorials out there. Like this one, that shows you how to delete people.... a handy skill!

I took my niece this weekend to get her ballerina pictures taken. Although I really liked the way this picture turned out, I didn't really like the other little girl that infiltrated the scene. So with some minor effort... ta-da! She's gone. The paint job is a little rough around the edges, but hey, it'll do. I'm learning...