Wishing I was there...

I took this photograph last summer when I visited California. My brother, his soon-to-be wife and myself took a drive up Highway 1 from LA and ended up in Monterrey and back again. The scenic drive was just gorgeous, there were many beautiful pictures to be had. My one disappointment is that the MOST beautiful scenes were located in places where there was not a spot to turn off to capture the beauty. We also stopped along the way and took a hike at Big Sur. It was a very hot day, there were forest fires nearby, but it was very nice, even though if you heard us during the hike, you might have a thought differently.

Anyways, this year there is no vacation in sight for me, so I am flipping through my memories on my computer and I thought I would share. The 4th of July is coming upon us and the weather here is supposed to be spectacular. I have a 4 day weekend, which I am thrilled about. I hope to have some fun, but I don't really have anything planned at the moment.

Do you have any vacation plans for this year? Or are you like me and just daydreaming about one?

Perfect day...

Today really was a perfect day weather-wise. The bright sun woke me up at 6 AM and has been shining ever since. The temperature went up to 81 degrees and at almost 8 PM is is still 77 degrees. There was also a nice breeze today that just created a relaxing, calming effect. I wish we could have so many more of these kinds of days. This past week was really hot and humid, requiring the AC, but I prefer to have the windows all open.

I did some weeding in my gardens, as they really needed it, and have been working on my homework for most of the day. I am on lesson 7, so I have 3 more to go before the final exam. About 1 month left and I can't wait to have it all finished so that I can enjoy the summer. All my time has been put into this class, as it is very time consuming.

I plan on starting up my drawing again at the beginning of August. There is a contest that I would like to enter in September and that will give me time to complete whatever it is that I decide to draw. It will need to be a mixed media, which I really haven't done before, so it will be interesting.

Time, where does it go?...

I have been very busy the past few months. I am on my way to completing my Bachelor's Degree and currently am enrolled in an Environmental Conservation course. The course is very interesting, especially now with the whole world talking "green", but it is also eating up ALL my extra time. The assignments consist of 10 questions each requiring a 1-3 page answer, so the total assignment is a minimum of 10 pages, usually more. I have 4 more assignments to go, a research paper and the final exam. I plan to be completed with this course at the end of July. At that point, I am going to be able to get back into creating art, but for now, I have to concentrate on school.

Free artwork?!...

The NY York Times posted an article, Use Their Artwork for Free? Some Artists Say No to Google, about Google contacting illustrators and artists requesting they create artwork for no pay. The pay would be the millions of viewers it would reach. Read the article to see the artists reactions.

Updated blog...

I just updated my blog. I didn't realize that my old email was being used for moderating the comments, so that is fixed and I decided to let the comments post without moderating. Also, my profile had disappeared, so I created a new profile and I gave my blog a new "look". I am really liking it.

Graffiti article...

Another interesting NY Times article "Graffiti Gains New Respect". Check it out!

Interesting story...

This is an interesting story from the NY Times about how the recession is impacting art.

Check it out: "Getting Creative in a Downturn"

Oliver...

"Oliver"
11 x 14 Framed
Copyright Lisa Ullrich 2009

Oliver is finished and framed. I don't usually work in colored pencil, so this was a challenge. I was also told that I was brave for using black paper...I didn't realize that black paper makes colored pencil paintings that much more difficult. It is better when you don't realize things like that because then you don't have that thought going through your head while you are drawing. Luckily, I was told after I was almost finished with the piece.