Gaeyle Gerrie-Boss

I’ve been attending something similar to a Doodlewash dinner. Recently, my teacher and mentor, Kathy D Allegri, moved to another state. All of her students felt they would stop painting if they didn’t have a set time for it, so we looked into renting the studio space once a month, and all getting together to paint. One of us volunteers to come up with a theme and to share something of interest – anything from a watercolor technique to just showing a painting that excites us. But everyone has the choice of doing whatever they wish. We’ve only been doing it since the first of the year, and I’m hoping it continues to go so well.

Your approach to doing is the best approach. It brings the most enjoyment. The “Dagus” srarement is proof to that. The puppy and kitten are both so cute and tells such a sweet story.

Life’s too short to do things we don’t enjoy! I must admit, there are some days I don’t want to sketch your prompts (Charlie gasps!), so I don’t and I skip to another. Amazingly enough, I will visit it again, do it and be happy I did! I wish we had Doodlewash dinners here! I go to DL each year(sometimes twice) to spend 5 days sketching and painting with a group of gals. That’s a dream vaca!

I forgot, your little pets are darling. Look like mischief makers! ;p

One thing I miss most about being a teen is the hours and hours spent with my best friend talking about the big questions. The meaning of life. It didn’t even take drugs to get the conversation going. We wanted to explore everything, and try everything and escape what seemed like such a mundane existence. All these years later we did some of that, but we also found there is a lot of comfort in the mundane existence. I am happy that I tried so many things in my life and being the best was not nearly as important as just doing something for fun. When I was big into biking I went on organised rides a bunch of times. I don’t think I ever did a century tour. 50 miles was enough. But it strikes me as funny that I can’t remember for sure. What I remember is the fun, and the t-shirts, and the wind blowing in my sweaty face as I roared down big hills. And around and around we go.

That puppy is adorable and looks as though he’s discovering the kitten as well as the flowers. Like you, I’ve worked at lots of things. I went to graduate school and then worked for 7 years as a school psychologist. At 31, I started law school full time, practiced law for 4 years, then quit to be a full-time mom for 15 years. During that time I wrote and sold personal essays (rather like your daily musings) and articles. I then returned to law for 5 years, before retiring and taking art classes. People are of two opinions about me: Either I have poor focus or I’m incredibly lucky to have done all those things. Actually neither is true – I just had lots of interests and was willing to take risks many would not. I’m happy I did the things I did and am willing to live with the consequences (mostly less money) of my actions.

Thanks so much, Kerfe! 😃💕 Glad you liked this. And yeah, it’s a great quote isn’t it? So much truth there!

Thanks so much, Sarah! 😃💕 I don’t think I could change if I tried! hehe And glad you liked my little doodlewash today!

Your instructional art book! It sounds absolutely marvelous, and I know it will be full of creative spark. I’m out and abouting the next couple of days but I’ve got your sketching stuff podcast on my list and can’t wait for that moment where I sit down and listen to it.

There was a park in my hometown that had an apparatus where a bunch of kids would each grab a bar and run in circles as fast as we could then jump on for the ride. Centrifugal force gave the feeling you were going to fly off. When you got off you staggered around until the dizzy wore off, then you did it again. I loved that thing. If course it’s gone now. Too dangerous for today’s kids I’m guessing. The same park had really tall swings so you could pump hard until you hit the high point where the chains would go momentarily slack and you were flying. Those are gone now too. Pity.

I’m sure your book will be great. There are so many ways to get to art, why would we all want to do it the same way.

beautiful drawing and love the way the colors swirl and add motion

Beautiful slide! I never remember seeing one quite like it, as a kid, or as a parent. Instructional art book sounds wonderful – definitely looking forward to it.

The world would be a pretty boring place without “what if” and I imagine your inner child is right about your book. Looking forward to the book!

I had to laugh at this post. It is so me(except for the tornado slide part). I teach art journaling classes in my own way. A lot of times there is no rhyme or reason to my processes, but they get me to the end result. The biggest reward?? My students keep returning, fighting for seats. Lol! We aren’t all wired the same way, you are full aware of that. (I believe you and I are very close however.) I am excited to see your book. I hope to share it with my students!

Now as an adult we are giants to these playgrounds questioning if it will hold our weight. As a kid I don’t remember much fear. And now it seems it is a farther way down if we fall.

I would definitely want to go down that slide. It is so colorful and would be inviting to all the kids I know. Your book is a must read. Can’t wait.

Thanks so much, Sarah! 😃💕You’re a gem and always make me feel good about what I’m DOing… The thing about never quite following the “rules” is that you literally have no idea if what you’re doing will be well received. I’m happy to know you like what I show up with!

That’s actually where I started, but I plussed it up a bit. So, my book is like a coloring book on steroids I guess. Or just weird… only time will tell really! 😉 💕

Wow… that’s an amazing, and a bit scary story actually, Kerfe! 😃💕 Love that you formed a best friend in that. Life has the most perfect ways of bringing the right people together.

Loved reading this,Sandra! So much to learn from you!

Thank you, Victoria! And I’ll second those thanks to Doodlewash (Charlie) for hosting my write-up!

This is the third I’ve done in an accordion book, but I’ve been doing storybooks for a long, long time. I don’t really know how many.

Thank you so much! I hope given you some practical ideas that get you started!

What a delightful story, Sandra! I had a smile on my face all the way through. Wonderful story illustrations, too.

Thank you! That’s a fabulous comment!

What a wonderful book and thanks for sharing your method. i’m going to forward your story to a friend who is thinking about doing a book for her grandsons; I’m sure it will be an inspiration!

That’s so cute, Sandra! What a wonderful idea, & your illustrations are always so beautiful. Hope it gets published!

what a wonderful, fun story. and it doesn’t need words. your drawings of Diggory tell the complete story. Love this one, Sandra, and looking forward to Book #2!

so thankful for your sharing – this is over the top adorable!

Aaaah, such a lovely story! And the pictures are just as good. What a great present this is!

I love your storybook Sandra and I hope you continue writing them. You know I think you should publish, get that beautiful artwork and whimsical storyline out for children of all ages to love and enjoy. I know you’d be a smashing success in children’s literature. Hey, I want a book and love your work and I’m almost fifty, no kids. lol. Diggory is awesome, your husband is blessed.

Lol! Thank you! I know I’ve succeeded in my goal if I WOMBAT it!

Thank you! I’m glad to hear that it’s great for beginners. It isn’t always easy to find that balance between too complex and too simple.

I love, love, love your book, Sandra!
Thank you for sharing tips — with the visual examples to go alongside them — for making attempts at this kind of project more joyful and less intimidating.
Your illustrations are adorable and reading about your creative process, from determining story elements and illustration topics, to the practice and amount of time that is practically involved, was so helpful and generous — because you’re right, we all do tend to compare… despite our best efforts to break the habit! 😂
Have a wonderful week.

Thank you, Fatima! That’s a wonderful compliment!

And yes, that was my voice in the video.

Fantastic post, Sandra! Thanks for sharing all this information as well as your lovely book.

Thank you so much, Jill!

My pleasure, Shaieen!

Oh Sandra! This is the cutest little book. Your work of course is wonderful. I love the colors you chose. That story is darling and makes me want to know how his day on the roller coaster went. You need to have this published! Then once you have this one published, you can do a series. 🙂 Thank you for breaking this process down. It has sparked a bit of inspiration in me.

Thank you so much, Sharon! I know you’ll love writing your books and your grandchildren will too. Who knows? You might inspire them to write their own, too!

Thank you so much, Claire!

Thank you so much, Ruth!

Wow, lots of great information. Thank you for sharing Sandra. You are one talented lady!

Thank you for sharing your writing journey. 🙂 I wondered about your cute lil wombat. Love the story so much!!!! I always wanted to write children’s books but my art journey took me in other directions but i took a children’s picture book course last year and am building my skills to do it. thanks for inspiring. 🙂

Thank you, Prior! I’m sorry I didn’t see this earlier.

Happy Bird-Day Charlie! Thank you for DoodleWash!

Birds can be difficult to fit on a page! I love the way you’ve posed your flamingo. It takes a lot of courage to continue posting when no one responds and I’m so glad you persevered. The world would be a duller place without Doodlewash!

Thanks for reminding me about the bird day…nice flamingo doodlewash….

Even though many of us draw a bird on the 8th of every month, today is the actual “holiday.” Gosh, Charlie, it seems like forever ago that we all were connected by WordPress only, but look what has blossomed over the years. I know you say “we” made it happen, but you led us with your innovative ways and we happily followed. Thanks for the awesome art community you’ve created through Doodlewash!

Really appreciating the birds day.liked u r post, but making new friends means not to forget old one. I am proudly can say i am with u since those days. thanks so much lie.

I spent a lot of time outside today clipping raspberry canes and raking out dead leaves and stalks from some of my lillies. I got the tiniest bit of a sunburn. I also got to listen to the birds. I’m happy to report that the chipping sparrows are back, and a lovely male cardinal was sitting on the tip top of my birch tree telling the world that he is looking for a Mrs.

Only connect the prose and the passion, and both will be exalted, and human love will be seen at its height. Live in fragments no longer.’ EM Forster

I love the pose of your flamingo. Happy Bird Day!

Wonderful flamingo! These silly guys always make me smile. Have never seen one in the wild but could spend hours watching their antics and interactions with the human population at a local park. They’re wonderful!! Thanks for persevering Charlie! You’ve created a wonderful world for all of us!!

I love your shy flamingo, Charlie! And it always makes me smile that you work to confuse the social media algorithms. You have truly created a fun secret club here, except the secret is known to everyone and they just have to join in. Truly a flock of wonderfully colored watercolor birds!

Love your flamingo. Love your authenticity. Love YOU Charlie O! <3

hehe! And to you as well my friend! 😃💕 Hope it was an amazing one!

haha! That’s awesome! Yeah, he totally lost his contact lens! I love him even more now! Thanks, Kerfe! 😃💕 And yes, our WordPress community has been rather magical. I adore it!

Thanks so much! 😃💕 hehe… yeah, I’ve always been a bit rogue when it comes to blogging. I want to tell stories, yet that’s not what the robots want these days. So, my solution is simply to tell more stories. I’ve never thought of myself as a rebel, but in this day and age, I kind of am! lol

Thanks so much, Myriam! 😃💕hehe… and I’m totally blushing. So thrilled you liked the new glasses! I love them! They’re a family heirloom as well, so they mean quite a lot to me!

Such a cute flamingo. Looks like he is checking out the length of his toenails!?! 🤣 it really is adorable. Your message to all of us is so humble. Thank you for creating such a wonerful place for us. It is truly amazing.

Thanks so much, Jill! 😃💕 Back at you my friend! Those early days were kind of awesome really… I guess that’s the case in any early days of a social platform. But SO thrilled we became friends. Your weird birds have inspired and gotten me through my mid-week slump many, many times! Thank you for that!! ❤️

Thanks so much, Sharon! 😃💕 hehe… yeah, it’s a fun color to paint, but getting that serpentine thing right was a bit of challenge. Glad you liked it!

That’s so awesome!! Your granddaughter is a very lucky girl! 😃

Yay for the Conga line. I admit, I still love my fried food – especially the dessert ones, which compound the insult with loads of sugar. We have a large Hispanic population here and churros and similar crispies have become one of the addictions I have to avoid. Pink Martini sounds interesting. I’ll have to give them a listen!

As always I love your stories! Coincidentally enough… Today we went to the art store and I picked out a few things. Then we went stopped next door at a deli because my husband hadn’t eaten anything. Totally out of character for me I ordered just French fries. Sometimes you just have to. They were awesome.

If I could only grow three things ever again in my veggie garden it would be tomatoes, green beans, and peas. It is almost time to plant peas. They like cool weather. And, I would miss the chicken dance if it went away!😁
When I was a kid, living on the farmette, my parents would go off to work in the summer and leave us kids home. We would each be assigned a row of the garden to weed before they got home. That was pretty much our only responsibility except not to kill each other. We hated weeding so much that about 10 minutes before they were supposed to be home, we kids would rush out to try and pick a respectable amount of weeds. Never happened. Lol! These days I consider weeding a form of meditation and enjoy it very much. Funny how that works. Of course, these days I love to eat most vegetables. In those halcyon days of youth, I pretty much stuck to just sweet corn and tomatoes. A seed and a fruit. Lol!

Like Philippe, I grew up eating what the adults ate. As Italian-Americans, we had all kinds of vegetables, including my favorites, artichokes and asparagus. I never had a meal like the one you painted because my mom cooked from scratch, grocery shopped nearly every day, and served only the freshest produce. She had total disdain for what she called “American food”. As an adult, I realized how lucky I was.

And guess where Pink Martini are from? Right here in Portland Oregon. But a true fan would know that. 🙂 I will admit, I’ve never gone to see them. Your lunch plate is spot on. I don’t ever recall being forced to eat vegetables when growing up. Lol

Love the fries. Sometimes you just have to have some. It’s the American way! Sounds like the concert was really nice. Glad you took the time to go and enjoy yourselves.

Love that little cup of red ketchup! Can you imagine a time without fast food restaurants everywhere? We didn’t “eat out” when I was a kid…it wasn’t until I was older that I got into the fast food thing. Took a long time to shake that bad habit and I still can’t resist a french fry if it comes my way…though i do try to be good…usually. :-).

hehe! Yes! 😃💕Those were indeed the days!

haha! That’s an awesome idea! 😃💕 Thank you, Laura! I totally wish I would have thought of that now. 😊

haha! Love it, JP! 😃💕 Yeah, I’m not sad at all that I ended up marrying a French chef. I do love fries, but wow… there’s a world of wonderful food to be discovered!

Thanks, Kerfe! 😃💕 Yeah, for me as well… darn it! I loved this plate as a kid!

Thanks so much, Sarah! 😃💕Yeah, I’m so crazy shy that conga lines at first seem impossible to me… but then I like the impossible, so I’m lured each and every time! It’s fun to let ourselves be in the moment without worrying about anything at all!