smb

And the finished product. (To see the painting at various different stages during it's making, click on the image above, which links to the "Have a go!" album, which is one of my Members albums at the Forums > Gallery. There is a thumbnail 'filmstrip' underneath the intermediate images...)

Great recipe. I normally only use A-B products but this looked so good I had to try it. I really enjoyed making it if I remember right. JACK DANIELS CHRISTMAS COOKIES Ingredients: 2 cups of flour 1 cup of water 1 cup lemon juice 1 tsp baking soda 4 large eggs 1 cup of sugar 1 cup nuts 1 tsp salt 2 cups of dried fruit 1 cup of brown sugar 1 bottle Jack Daniel's Whiskey Sample the Jack Daniel's to check quality. Take a large bowl, check the Jack Daniel's again to be sure it is of the highest quality, pour one level cup and drink. Turn on the electric mixer. Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl. Add one teaspoon of sugar. Beat again. At this point it's best to make sure the Jack Daniel's is still OK so try another cup, just in case. Turn off the mixerer thingy. Break 2 leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit. Pick the frigging fruit off floor. Mix on the turner. If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers just pry it loose with a drewscriver. Sample the Jack to check for tonsisticity. Next, sift two cups of salt, or something. Who gives a sheet. Check the Jack Daniel's. Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts. Add one table. Add a spoon of sugar, or somefink, whatever you can find. Greash the oven. Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to tip over. Don't forget to beat off the turner. Finally, throw the bowl through the window, finish the Dack Janiel's and make sure to put the stove in the dishwasher. CHERRY MISTMAS.

OK... Here's my current project: I'm not going to describe every step in detail here, as I have already done-so with the descriptions to the images that I have uploaded on my new member's album: Have a go! You can see the first of the recent uploads in that album by clicking on the image above, which has an embedded link in it. The painting is not yet finished, as I write this but I promise to upload the final results - no matter how embarrasing they may turn out!!

Just to prove that I am not a complete old Scrooge, here's some of the Christmas stuff that I got in my e-mails: (Un-known artist - just something that arrived in my e-mail...) I like to share these things around, so this is dedicated to anyone and everyone who has ever visited any part of artfreaks.com: Including the hackers and spammers - Merry Christmas to you all!! Today...I wish you a day of ordinary miracles: A fresh pot of coffee you didn't have to make yourself. An unexpected phone call from an old friend. Green stoplights on your way to work or shop. I wish you a day of little things to rejoice in... The fastest line at the grocery store. A good sing along song on the radio. Your keys right where you look. I wish you a day of happiness and perfection-little bite-size pieces, that give you the funny feeling that the Lord is smiling onyou, holding you so gently because you are someone special and rare. I wish You a day of Peace, Happiness and Joy. And, if you are married - or in a steady relationship... Have a good shag!!! Life is too short to waste it arguing... They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them, but then an entire life to forget them. Send this phrase to the people you'll never forget It's a short message to let them know that you'll never forget them. If you don't send it to anyone, it means you're in too much of a hurry and that you've probably forgotten your friends. Take the time! Wishing you the very best

Yeah! And the other one is when you are shopping in a mall... Every 5 minutes... "Yes Sir?" Yes WHAT???? 80 Did I ask you a question?????????

Or, if you are really lucky... You go to sleep twice or three times each night, knowing that you are the luckiest man in the world!

Having been married twice - both times to Filipinas - I am inclined to agree! If I am not mistaken, that was originally posted on bobongpinoy.com (now defunct - but more than adequately succeded by http://www.bobongbooks.com ) I first came across a copy of the above post in the so-called "Yellow Book," AKA "Bakit Baliktad Bumasa ng Tagalog ang Mga Pilpino" (...or "Why do Filipinos read Tagalog back-to-front!") by Bob Ong. Bob Ong (the original owner of bobongpinoy.com) posts his whacky, thought provoking and highly humorus comments from time to time on the bobongbooks.com Forums under, (among other various user names,) the pseudonim of "Magdangal"

^^^ By the way! Merry Christmas and a happy Diwali - whenever that is...!!!

smb is alive and kicking! If you really want to know his whereabouts at the moment... He's freezing his ass off on your old ship, yhe Wave Venture, in Victoria, B.C. Canada

OK! Here is my first contribution on the subject! Watch this space for some uploads of the various stages of my next art projects. 'Tell you what... Even if they come out as rejects, I'll bung them in anyway - just to prove that I am not shy!!! Painting is really easy - especially with pastels. It's probably a good idea to at least get some confidence in drawing before you try to start painting. The great news is that, as proved by 'Yours Truly', anyone can draw!! I didn't actually realise this until I read The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards. If you can get hold of a copy and work through the book, I can virtually guarantee that it will give you the confidence to get you started - and you'll be amazed at your own results!

I was recently asked by a friend on the bobongbooks.com forums for some help in getting started with painting. This request reminded me that it is high-time I got some more stuff for beginners on artfreaks.com... So I decided to start a new thread here to help budding artists overcome their shyness and inhibitions - and give it a go! I am very much a beginner myself, so my aim with this new thread is really to share some of my experiences and, hopefully, give one or two other people some tips and encouragement to help get them started in their own art-making. First, I'll share some of my thoughts and some of my own experiences in getting started with painting in pastels. Then my plan is to do a upload a few of my own artworks at various stages of their development - just to give you some idea of how I develop my work from initial drawing to final completion. If any members have any similar contributions to add to this forum, that would be really great! You can upload your images in the artfreaks.com Forums - Gallery, then use the "Insert Image" button to insert your images into your post on the forums. Feel free to add your replies to this thread or, if you prefer, by all means start a new topic!

The Santa letter thing sounds like a great idea! I had a look at the website. It looks good to me! I won't be buying any pressies this year as I live alone and I'm off to Cananda in a couple of days to start my next commission; working on board a ship which is stationed out there. By the way, members are very welcome to use these forums for posting their adverts and links with embedded referral code: (with the exception, of course, of links that lead to "adult" websites. These should go either in the comment boxes on the Anything Goes! gallery - or anywhere on the artfreaks.com Top Shelf - which is more or less hidden but easy enough to find if that is what you are after!)