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Cute Ginger! Great action.

Look at the action. Wonderful work.

Cute illo!

Adorable!

Adorable and funny!Welcome to the new tablet,me too I was thinking to have a new one:)

P.S. Congratulations on your new book!!

Love it! Congratulations on your new art tablet as well!!

Hi Ginger- Nice to see you here on IF.
What a wonderful illustration! Nicely done! :D

OHHHHHHHH lucky you a new tablet and a 4 at that lol, there nice, but i'll have wait til my 3 wears out then they'll probably be up to 8 by then.
good luck with your new book. I seem to remember having been in a similar position once but no chickens.

whoops! ha! ha!

Cute Ginger....Boys and mud!!

Can I borrow your Intuos4? Hee Hee! I wish you many happy hours of digital bliss!!

Ah Roberta, you can just sit right here next to me and enjoy the adventure. It really is such a big improvement over the "3" that I wish I had invested sooner.

Great energy and design!

Great work Ginger. So much movement and action! Love it! Hey congrats on the new toy. I know you'll have so much fun, uyou won't want to do anything else. :o)
Thanks for the advice on the Bible blog for kids. I started one last week called Mr. Biblehead and it is getting some good responses. You're a blessing!

Ginger dearest! How are you? I hope you're having fun... So glad to be back here again. (^_^) xx

I had no idea! What great information to go with your lovely water lilies.

What sort of paper did you use here? I was sure at first this was fabric not paper. Wow.

you're amazing my friend

Lo-your art makes lurking such a joy! Still hiding here in the mud for awhile, but today's piece makes me believe there may be a flower at the end of it.

What mim said...

Every thing you touch has such a certain elegance and magic about it... I love those lily pads!!! :)

I like reading some of the thought that goes before the painting. Quite good.

Just so beautiful Lolo!!!

This is lovely. Another good IF.. :)

I love lotus and I am working on one right now. Lotus is our national flower and almost all goddess' have lotus in their hand for the very same reason u mentioned and it also refers to purity and spiritual power. Though rooted in the mud but completely uncontaminated by it the lotus represents spiritual perfection and also authority.

I am too glad to see it done so beautifully:)

Happy Weekend!

I love the title...Muddy Start. And yet, the beauty that comes from the mud is unparallelled in my book. Your painting is amazing...truly. And thanks for the info about the water lilies!

How very creative, Lolo - very effective with the patterned background! Love this one.

Wow Wow Wow!!!!
Everything about it is so beautiful!
Just love it!
But I guess I always say that, but it is always true!

Have a nice Sunday!
♥♥♥
>M<

I was wondering what you would do and this is simply stunning the way you combined these different mediums, it is lush and beautiful! These happen to be subjects and ideas i love and you have captured a beautiful moment in time ;) may i ask how you acheived this unique pattern?

I love how you combine paint with textured paper - you are so creative! I still haven't tried any collage type things - I think I'm chicken.

i love the textured look here too. i like the analogy mmm that's me.

Love the patterned leaves and your lovely rich colours, the touch of pink is just right.

well captured - beautiful illustration

Wonderful illo!

Lovely. there used to be a large pond of water lilies I think at Heritage Plantation and also the Holly reservation on Cape cod. both.

damn i'm enjoying this. reminds me of a richly woven tapestry. just wonder what size is it.

excellent entry, laurel!

I love this "muddy" plate and the expression on the dog's face is one who knows what fun can be had in mud.

Years ago we had a part of our backyard under the large trees that moved from grass to good old dirt. I was quite pleased with it. My husband ordered a delivery of river rock-sized rocks and poured over the whole thing. I hate it and have been "moving" them into the garbage can little by little. Yes, the dogs' paws pick up more debris when they go out there but wow I am beginning to see some dirt again (and even some grass that has decided to return).

Your mother is so lovely in this picture. I hope her illness is only a memory soon and you see this gorgeous smile on her face soon. Bless bless.

Your plate is a great tie-in with the "muddy" theme, Valerie. I hadn't even thought of the mud-clay connection. I like your plate and the cute, little dog image on it. Hope that your mom is feeling better soon.

Thanks for the Crystal Clear suggestion. I think I'll give it a try.

Oh dood...this plate is absolutely adorable! And that you made it from the earth from your part of the woods in Topanga is even more special. I can imagine that your mom has a very special place for this and just marvels at all the things that you are able to create. She's has be one proud mama!

Your mom has such a lively and happy spirit in this photo. That's where you get it from!! :O)

Feel better, Babs!

Okay, I admit I'm trolling around to see wtf my friends have come up with for that godforsaken prompt, Muddy!! Honestly, "IF" what gives?

So Val, you've once again pulled something out of your hat that works and once again I'm inspired by you ;)

Babs,sending you healing thoughts and hugs from Val's pal in Rhode Island. XX

Coolio! I'm sure you had lotsa fun with your friends on those Mondays.
I hope your dear mom is feeling better soon!

I agree with Lolo here - what on 'earth' can I do for muddy! Lovely to see your interpretation literally using the mud - clever you! What a beautiful Mom you have - hope she feels better soon. Thank you, by the way, for your latest comment - I do so appreciate your visits! C x

Okay now when I found out what the theme for IF was this week and I thought what am I going to do, but Val this concept is great. Also the picture of your mum is lovely she looks like she is such a warm lady, I'm sure she will be better soon. lots of love.

everything is tenderness in this post

the plate is super lovely

:-)

what a lovely plate and such a lovely mom

what a smile! reminds me of the smile of a deal friend of mine who lives in topanga and effortlessly found a purpose for IF's mud.

i love that i know where you live! every time i visit here i think how lucky i am to know where you are, what your studio looks like, how genuine your laughter is.

i hope your Mom is feeling better and better.

♥

Es una preciosidadddddddddd.......... cuida mucho a tu mamá y espero que pronto esté bien. Un beso para las dos.

I really like the shape.

Your mom's so beautiful in this picture and lovely smile!

Best regards

Hey Val! You are an Illustration Friday genius! You pulled a fantastic twist of the prompt out of some wonderful memories. Good for you. The plate is fantastic! I'm sure your lovely mom treasures it! She is a very lovely woman. Babs will certainly be in my prayers this week for a speedy and full recovery from her illness. Thanks Val for another peek into the wonderful world of Valgal. :o)

fabulous piece - love the style here

Thanks everyone for the good thoughts and prayers! They are working! I love this plate Val made for us(me and Dee Dee). It always reminds me of Yodi who I absolutely loved. Whenever I visited Val I would take Yodi for an early morning walk. Great memories!
Babs

i adore you mom!

hope your mom feels better, the plate you made for her is lovely.

What a thoughtful gift val.... your mom is lovely!
Hope she feels better soon!

Opulently I to but I think the post should have more info then it has.

Hi Valerie, the clay plate looks great. I would like to ask if is it me or the dog is glued on the center of the plate?

Hope to see more decorated plates post in the future.

babs would make a wonderful book character, vallie! she has a really great face!

oh and i love the doggie plate! ")

Perfect! Love the frog and Ginger’s story really adds to the humor of it, hee hee! I also really like that saying. Did you come up with it, or is it a quote? You come up with so many clever witty things, I assume it’s yours. It reminds me of how Californians are about rain. We get very little of it and when it does decide to come down everyone complains… well, except me. It’ raining right now and I’m about to go dance in it! Woooo hoooo!

Amazing!!!

Thanks a bunch ladies…. I love that story Ginger! Hilarious!

Linda…. it’s a paraphrase of a proverb…. but it makes good sense huh!

Wonderfully muddy!! love it Roberta..

Incredible! love this so much! it is raining here today

beautiful, I love it

Wonderful. Love the frog and the coloring of the boots is exceptional. Look forward to seeing more in the future.

Lovely boots!

Fantastic! Absolutely muddy!

Love the contrasting textures of toad and boots. A really Roberta piece!!x