Where have I been for five years?

Wow... it has been almost five years since I posted. I don't even know if anyone reads anymore... I just want to post an update because it always bothered me when people disappeared without an explanation. So much has changed. I barely know where to begin... 

Let's just get the bad things out of the way first. I don't really want to relive them, but they are a large reason for my absence. The epidemic was one of my worst nightmares. I know a lot of people were ridiculed for their fear, but it truly was like a horror movie come to life for me. I honestly didn't leave my house except to go to work for years. It took a huge toll on my mental health, which I can get into more later. 

The year 2021 especially... was very hard. I lost both of my grandparents, one to Covid and one to lung cancer. They were my next door neighbors for twenty four years. I also lost Jackal in November 2021 at almost fourteen years old. I can't get into a ton of detail because even now, almost four years later, it makes me cry. He had cancer, had major surgery which revealed it had spread to all of his organs and spent a year on basically hospice care. And then I lost Jack, my gray squirrel, in 2024 after seven amazing years. The house feels very empty without them. 

My grandparents left their house to me and my husband. We spent two years and way too much money remodeling it (cigarette smoke and mold are hard to get rid of). I am very grateful because I have so much more space (went from a 1000 square foot house to 2600 square feet) and I am right next door to my parents and brother. Other big changes are that I now work from home for the same company I have worked for since 2016 and my husband got a new job that he is much happier with.

There are a bunch of other changes and additions to the farm, but I'll save those for different posts since this is already too long and rambling. Keep an out for those though because they will be a lot more fun. Also check out my other blog for an update on Chrome and Zep. 

I have continued to post on Instagram, both the farm one and my art account, so if you don't follow me over there, you might want to (@chromechevalier and @farmerlifeart). They are much easier to update. I also realized I never finished posting the photos from the epic road trip. I've had two computers die since then, so I'll have to see if I can find them on my storage drives and get them posted eventually. That truly was the road trip of a lifetime and I'm so happy I got to have it right before the world fell apart. 

Probably the biggest news to share is that my husband and I stopped breeding goats two years ago. Don't worry though, we still have them. You can see them on IG and I will post some pictures of them here soon too. The reason we decided to stop breeding is because I have been working on getting us out of debt (the house remodel was a lot of debt). I have made HUGE progress and only have a couple more years before we are debt free (minus student loans). We may go back to breeding goats someday, but for right now it has been nice not having to be outside in the winter at all hours of the night birthing out kids. 

Anyway, I'll stop rambling for now. I don't know for sure how much I'll post because I am very busy most of the time, but I will try to catch you all up on what has happened in the last five years (in more detail than this post and with pictures) and post the big updates. I miss having a kind of photo journal with this blog, even if no one ever reads it again. Blogs might be kind of out of style now. I haven't visited any in so many years that I'm not really sure. 

I hope you all are doing well and if you want to chat or share updates, please leave a comment. I miss hearing from everyone. 

Here is Emerald's sweet face to end the post. 

40 Before 40 - #22 Complete!

 I'm writing this on a cell phone so please forgive any mistakes. I can't believe I haven't posted in a year!! If anyone is still here I'm so sorry for the unexplained absence. I guess it's probably understandable. This year has been nuts. I don't want to dwell on the stressful stuff so let's get right to it.

I have wanted to draw humans for a long time, but was always intimidated by it. Many of you have probably seen my first attempt.

It turned out pretty good for a first try, although there are issues with proportions. Eventually I got brave and went for a second try.

I drew Billie Eilish and was really happy with the result. This was my first time drawing long hair. There are obviously mistakes and room for a lot of improvement, but art is always a process. That's the fun of it. This drawing really motivated me to keep going.

Sorry these are blurry. I don't have access to my computer so I took screenshots from my Instagram. Next was Keanu Reeves from The Matrix. This was difficult, but fun! The reference image was lower quality with less details, so I went for a more blocky shading style. I really like how it turned out.

The next one I took requests on Instagram and drew Cara Delevingne. I love how I was able to capture the shine on her skin. This was a great learning experience, although not my favorite drawing.

The next one was a special project that I did for my Dad. I spent days (weeks?) on this. It was insane and this is officially my favorite drawing I've ever done.

I'm so proud of this one. The legendary John Wayne. Dad said he's going to frame it, but first I have to get the guts up to spray fixative on it. I'm going to get some better photos in better lighting first. Anyway, I kind of burned myself out on this one and took a break from drawing humans, but there are some more random ones below.

One last thing before I go to sleep. I know that I still have a lot to learn. I want to study anatomy and learn to draw figures from imagination, but these drawings from reference were a good starting point for me to conquer my fear.  I hope you all are well. I miss you guys!! Enjoy the rest of the random human/humanoid drawings below.

Fan art of a Gundam Wing character. Loved that show when I was a kid.

Practicing with markers with a fun Spiderman.

My Christmas drawing from last year. In pen!!!!! I had never drawn anything like this in ink before. I'll probably do a post with all of my ink drawings too eventually. It's scary not being able to erase.

A fun zombie I did a long time ago.

A simple drawing I did to relax one night.

Getting back into my art + new art Instagram account!

I drew this kangaroo today.  I'm not thrilled with how it turned out because I'm a beginner at drawing fur, but it's a huge step in the right direction.  Practice makes perfect!  I feel like I need to just wipe over the whole thing with a cloth because the contrast is too much.  It looks too busy or something.  Oh well, I'm still learning.

I'm planning on doing a modified Inktober challenge where I follow the prompts, but at my own pace and not in October.  I've always wanted to join in the real challenge, but I don't have time to draw every day in October and I've never done anything in ink so learning at the same time would be too stressful.  I've always wanted to learn inking though, so I'm doing this as a way to learn at my own speed to hopefully keep from getting overwhelmed.  Mediums that can't be erased or reworked (ink, watercolor, etc.) have always stressed me out because I'm a perfectionist.  I want to work on that.

To keep from cluttering up Chrome's Instagram with art photos I made a new account.  You can follow me at @farmerlifeart.  I've been posting all of my older stuff and the account is already way more popular than I thought it would be, which is exciting and encouraging.  I'm hoping it will motivate me to stick to the Inktober thing.  Maybe in 2020 I'll be ready to do the actual challenge.

For the Inktober challenge I am working in a gray toned sketchbook (it looks tan in the pictures because of indoor lighting ick).  I've never used a toned sketchbook, but I'm really excited to learn to use it.  The first prompt of 2016 was fast, so I drew a cheetah.  It was the first thing that came to mind.

I'm keeping them fairly small so I don't feel so overwhelmed.  It's about the size of an index card (where the kangaroo above is an 8" by 10" page), so I can fit four to a page.  I still need to learn more about crosshatching.  I hated the cheetah at first, but after walking away and coming back to it I love it now.  I think it's just because I'm not used to ink which feels so minimalist.  If you want to follow along with me on the rest of the prompts please considering following my new IG page @farmerlifeart.  I'll be posting all of them there.  I may post them here once I've finished the 2016 prompts.  It could be a while though.

After drawing the cheetah I wanted to practice with a brush pen because I've never used them (except on a Winnie the Pooh drawing you can see on IG).  Brush pens are SO difficult!! My hand is not at all steady I've realized.  After practicing drawing lines and some calligraphy I decided to do a Zentangle with nothing but the brush pen.  I love Zentangle and normally find it very relaxing.  It helps a lot with my anxiety.  The drawing below with a brush pen though.... was SO tedious!!!!!!

My first mistake was drawing this on a full size page in my sketchbook!  I normally keep Zentangle small because there is so much detail and it can be very time consuming.  This turtle took me HOURS!  Even though the perfectionist in me hates the inconsistency in the lines I love how this turned out.  With a little more practice I can see it being fun again.  All of those teeny tiny circles were an absolute nightmare with a brush pen!  I was missing my micron fineliners lol.  I'm definitely going to have to do more Zentangle though.  For right now though I'm going to take a break from the tedious fur on that kangaroo, then I will get started on the second prompt.... NOISY!  Anybody have a guess on what I chose to draw for that prompt??

Wordless (not!) Wednesday - Grand Canyon Ground Squirrel

This is my favorite photo from our entire epic road trip.  A ground squirrel was kind enough to pose for me in front of the Grand Canyon!

2019 Epic Road Trip - Part I - 40 Before 40 Item 10

My husband and I went on an epic road trip a month ago and one of our stops was the Painted Desert!  I have wanted to visit this place since the first time I saw photos of it.  I've been dreaming of taking photos of it for years.  I can finally mark it off my bucket list (and my 40 Before 40 list - it wasn't on the original list, but when I realized I can't donate blood because I'm on thyroid medicine I replaced it with this).  It was smaller than I expected, but still absolutely incredible!! 

The photo above is my favorite out of the group.  It shows the different colors so well.  The others are decent, but uploading them messes with the quality of the photos.  They look better on my computer.  Oh well, hopefully they are still good enough to be enjoyable for you guys.

 

 We weren't able to go at sunset when the colors would have been at their most brilliant, but there was still some great colors.

The one above was looking in the other direction.  It's not a Painted Desert picture, but I had to snap it and share it because of the huge dust devil.  So cool!

 This is another one of my favorites.  The purple color is so neat!

Luckily we were able to drive around to the other side where there were more shadows for more dramatic visuals.

 Hubby taking pictures of the Painted Desert.

 My Rogue made the trip so enjoyable!  I couldn't resist snapping a picture of it in the desert.  It is blue... it just looks black because of the lighting.

 We saw so many ravens out west!  They are the coolest birds!

 This was the path leading down into the desert.... we decided not to hike down there.

 There were some tracks, but they were so far away I couldn't tell what made them.

 I'll post more pictures as soon as I can!  Make sure to check out my other blog (LINK) to see pictures of my mule ride at the Grand Canyon!  Another dream come true!

Introducing.....

 I love his half blue eye and his one ear up, one ear down. So cute!

Introducing Hank the Goatdog!!!  I've posted about Hank on Instagram, but I haven't officially introduced him here yet.  I wasn't looking for another dog, but you may remember my parents rescued a four week old puppy Buddy this year and they were having trouble containing his energy.  He couldn't play with Jackal because he's too rambunctious and Jackal is old and easy to hurt and/or knock down.  My best friend had a dog she rescued that she wasn't able to keep and she asked me if I wanted him.  At first I said no because I just wasn't looking for a second dog, but eventually I changed my mind.  I'm glad I did!!

Hank is about a year old.  We're guessing he's part German Shepherd (I'm positive about that) and Australian Shepherd (maybe?) or Catahoula (maybe?).  Something that comes in blue merle.  He's been hit by a car before because his back leg healed crooked, he's missing teeth and a toenail, but he's FAST!  It doesn't slow him down at all.  He is the perfect playmate for Buddy, but also gentle enough to share a home with Jackal. 

I've been wanting to get some nice pictures of him, but it's difficult because he's camera shy.  I finally got out my new (old) camera and managed to snap a few that I love.  He does not like the flash, but he tolerated it.  I have no idea why the flash kept going off since it was broad daylight outside.... ahh what a learning curve a DSLR is! 

Hank is a shy, nervous dog, but with time and consistency he has really come out of his shell.  Everyone here has fallen in love with him.  Enjoy the pictures!!

No pictures please!  He has slouchy, submissive posture most of the time.

I think he was abused at one time.

"Please stop taking my picture!"

Playing hide and seek with hubby.  So cute!!

Notice the big dog in the right? That's Buddy!!

Can you believe this tiny little four week old puppy has turned into this big dog??

Isn't he adorable!!

He is definitely half Pit Bull and half something else, maybe Australian Shepherd?  It's weird we ended up with two stray mutts from two different counties that appear to have Australian Shepherd in them.  It is a popular breed in our area, so maybe not that odd.  Enjoy the rest of the pictures of Hank and Buddy!

"OMG what is that??"

 Buddy doesn't know how to pose like Jackal does, but he accidentally poses really cute.

 His straight up ear and tail kill me.  So funny.

 He reminds me SO much of Jackal many years ago.

Aww I haven't looked at old pictures of Jackal in SO long!  They are the same tan with the same white toes and chest.  The biggest differences are the ears and patterns.

 Sorry, back to pictures of Hank.

 "Watch your tail Jackal..."

 Whack! "You so did that on purpose!"

 Jackal is still my most handsome boy!!  Love him!

 "I don't want to look at the camera..."

Sorry for the demon red eyes.  Don't know why the flash was going off in broad daylight...

Hank is such a unique and handsome dog!  I'm glad we gave him a chance and made him a part of the family.  I hope you all will love him too.

P.S.  I totally forgot to mention Hank is named after one of my favorite book series from when I was a kid, Hank the Cowdoy!

I LOVE this series, even now.  It is so funny!  If you know anyone with kids who love to read this is a definite MUST read.