Listening to the Voices in My Head

My ribs hurt, starting just under my shoulder blade, going around to the front, almost to the sternum. But only on the right side of my body.

Pulled some weeds yesterday, using long rake to get the ones with long roots up and out when needed. Didn't think it was that strenuous. *wince* Guess I was wrong.

And that solitary Lorikeet was back again today. Same spot. I chatted with it for a while. I really miss Archimedes, but this guy makes it hurt a little less for a while.

Alan says he is surprised at how much he misses Archimedes. Just got through putting groceries away, and we used to have Archimedes as a cheering section. Squawking and bouncing on his perch as we worked. It's just so quiet.

Odd thing happened this morning, though. A wild Lorikeet landed in the yard... it started calling, then waiting. and called again. Flew off after a few minutes. I'm wondering if it was Archimedes 'chat buddy'.

People who don't have pets, or don't like them, don't understand that it's not "just an animal". They become part of your life, and you do love and care for them. And when they are gone, especially because of a stupid accident, it hurts a lot. As childish as this reads, I want him back. Logically, I know that isn't possible.

We spotted him in his cage dead. It looks like he tried to squeeze his way out through too small a gap in the cage, got his head stuck, panicked and broke his neck, died instantly.

Alan and I have buried him in the back yard.

G'bye you crazy, stupid bird. I'll miss you challenging goshawks, cats and other large things that would prefer to eat you, and chattering at me when I am in the back yard. :(

There are several reasons I prefer using the pen tablet for doing drawings, paintings, abstracts etc.

No nose bleeds from paint fumes and cleaners, no headaches for same reason. No more throwing away "Omigod that's TERRIBLE" attempts, so paper waste. No worry about frisky feline knocking something over, or headbutting your elbow at just the wrong time. And storage. When you save/store your digital work, there is no worry about fading, insects, humidity etc etc. It's as bright and vivid as the day you created it (unless you want to run it through an aging filter)

And anyone who does work with digital painting programs, not image generating programs, but painting programs know the end results are just as breath taking and dynamic as the 'real' methods.

(looks at the stylus) Nib is almost worn down. Luckily, it came with three replacements.

New Project: Archimedes, my rainbow lorikeet



As you can see, I.ve sketched the outline of the body. Getting the blended shades of blue, lavender, violet to look like his head was a lot of trial and error with different brushes, and 'substances' (as in acrylic or oil or chalk etc). I love working with layers. Each one keeps any mistakes easily correctable. The fun part is going to be making the feathers on the body, and avoid 'cartooning' or sloppy edges.

Below are two pictures of Archimedes. The large one is 700k, so it will take time to load. His colors are amazing. And he is such a camera slut. :D

Archimedes, small image 479x 571

Archimedes, Full sized image 1916x2284