Hand Painted signs of December 2013

Have you all thought that I had forsaken you?
Never fear, I am still here.  Just buried in work at the resort.
Despite our pitiful amount of snow, skiers, snowboarders and plain ol’ snow lovers have flocked to the mountain to enjoy what minuscule amounts of the white stuff we do have.
The weather has been exceptionally fine and enjoyable to work in, at least to me,  50 degrees at the 7000 foot elevation this time of year is unheard of but I do like that I have not had to snowmobile into the houses to access them.

Before resort work had ramped up I had quite a busy month in the studio. 
Special orders for gifts came pouring in and I endeavored to meet the deadlines.

With the freezing cold of the first week or so of December, I ended up with a broken pipe. 
Of course, it is the pipe that runs to my studio. 
You don’t realize how convenient something is until you no longer have it.

Despite having to haul jugs of water out to my studio daily, I managed to get quite all of the painting done.   

I do enjoy special orders, even if they challenge me. 

Or maybe I enjoy them because they challenge me.
 
When they are a challenge, it is when they are finished that I receive the joy.
During is definitely frustrating and tedious work and corrections, but it pays off in new skills learned.

Some customers wanted bright and colorful.
Others merely words of special meaning to them.

I waited until after Christmas to share most of these with you.   
Being they were gifts I did not want to inadvertently spoil a surprise if any of the recipients just happened to be part of my readers.

Painting lettering is always a challenge for me, my hand is not that steady and getting the words to look neat and tidy is difficult.

So that is some of what kept my nose to the grindstone the first part of December. 
The projected weather for N. California continues to look dry.
As soon as work on the mountain wanes I will be sure to start working on my painting videos, and I have a couple of recipes to share.

Enjoy your last couple of days of December!