All in good fun...

How was your weekend?  Did you work?  Do anything fun?  Take care of your soul?  All three?  Gold star for you!  I guess I get a gold star, too...

On Friday, I did a little more work on the (apparently) never-ending mural at Unity of the Valley:

Baby bear looks to see what mama's watching

From way over in the forest, they're observing the race between the tortoise and the hare.  (Scroll through older posts, if you want to see more of this ongoing mural project)



A mural full of playful animals wouldn't be complete without otters!



These two hang out with a pair of playful dolphins.  I think a squid is next.

On Saturday, I went to a mini spiritual retreat.  It was held at a private home about a half an hour from here, and most of our day was spent within a few feet of this gorgeous pool:

Walking out to the pool, I looked to the right, to see this beautifully designed waterfall, which levels out for a few feet before the pool, creating a birdbath easily viewed from the screen porch.

My inner three year old went straight for the big rocks, placed at the perfect distance for hopping across the pool.  To my surprise, I realized there were stairs down into the water to my left!  This could only mean...

It's a swimming pool!!!  This view is from the bottom end looking back toward the steps, and the waterfall, which is partly obscured by the screen porch.  Yes, the maintenance is a bit more involved than a regular pool, and yes, there are other things my darling home needs first, and no, I don't have a sloped property for siting a waterfall, but I WANT THIS!!!

On Sunday, I meant to work on the cover art for 365 Being, but I had new colored pencils to test, and oil pastels to try, neither of which I have used since high school, so mostly I ignored both work and housekeeping, and just had fun:

I never liked working with colored pencils in school.  When a friend brought Prisma Colors to an open studio gathering, and I saw how rich the colors were, I knew I had to try them.  This may be my new favorite medium!  These are the soft ones.  They may make several varieties, but the selections at my nearest supplier were soft, hard and water soluble.  If all you ever tried were hard, and you didn't like them, try the soft ones! 

I'm not sure I've ever really drawn anything with oil pastels.  I did buy a very inexpensive set (the whole array cost less than three Prisma Color pencils), so I probably haven't given them a fair shake.  I don't dislike them, but I don't know if Ill use them much, mostly because they tend to smudge and smear, and I'm not really good at keeping things tidy when I'm playing.  Still, for less than five bucks, they were waaay more fun than my childhood crayons!  If you like to color, you might want to try these!

So that was my weekend: some work, some play, some spirit time.  The best part?  You might have noticed...they're all pretty much the same.  Do I know how amazingly fortunate I am?  You betcha!  Do I wish this kind of contentment for every one of you?  To the bottom of my bottomless heart, I do!

If you have questions or comments, you can leave them below by clicking on the word "comment", or feel free to email me at dawnmariedelara@gmail.com.

If you would like to see what other styles of murals I paint, and what other decorating services I offer, pop on over to the website, at theartofthehome.com.