Study the color, shape, texture, and size of random things you encounter throughout your day. Look at the face of the person you're talking to. Notice how light affects the shadows and the shape of their features. Pay special attention to how light looks on certain textures like clothing and skin.  Noticing these things will help you gain a better understanding of how real objects look with different types of light hitting them. As a fun exercise, try to describe objects without using their names to help you visualize and capture shapes. For example, if you’re looking at a tree, you might describe the trunk as a sloping cylinder and the leaves as tiny lemon shapes. When you're looking at something, notice any color variations and how that causes your eyes to want to linger or move to another area. Note the subtle hues within a certain color (like all the different shades of red on an apple). For instance, if you're looking at a brightly colored tulip, note how the hot pink petals contrast with the soft green hue of the stem and how your eyes are drawn to the lighter tips of the petals. Take time to squint your eyes at a particular thing, landscape, or scene. Squinting minimizes your eyes ability to see color and detail and blurs the distinctions between things. This is especially helpful if you want to paint a mass of individual things that are far away like a landscape or a forest full of trees. Squinting will also help you distinguish between shadows and light. When you're looking at a particular object or scene, notice the background space (like a wall, table, or backdrop). Allowing negative space in your paintings will give it a sense of balance or tension depending on the scene and overall esthetic. For example, take note of the colors, shadows, and textures of objects behind the central objects you'd like to paint. For instance, a burnt orange wall with a diagonal shadow can make the candles and flowers in the foreground stand out more. Notice how certain objects are put together to create shapes or lines. The geometry of a particular scene or collection of objects draws the spectator’s in a particular pattern. For example, imagine a still scene of a bookstore. The aisle on the left creates a line that moves the eye vertically, a string twinkle lights between shelves might move the eye across the top, and another shelf encourages the eye to move up or down. The vertical eye movements on each side of the painting might act as a sort of frame for the still-life piece.
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One-sentence summary -- Take time to express curiosity in your surroundings. Identify variations in color so you can accurately recreate them. Squint at objects to see their composition of shape and color. Use negative space to create balance or tension. Study the composition of a particular scene or object.


Macchiato is made with espresso, and each standard double shot will require 0.6 to 0.7 ounces (18 to 21 g) of coffee beans, depending on how strong you want the shot. Measure the beans and transfer them to a coffee grinder. Grind the beans until they're finely ground.  Finely ground coffee beans are about the size of salt grains. This is the ideal grind for espresso. You can also buy pre-ground espresso beans from grocery stores and coffee shops if you don’t have a grinder.
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One-sentence summary -- Grind the beans.


fresh pineapple for long-term storage. You can prolong the life of your pineapple for as much as 12 months by freezing it.  You will need to remove the skin and the core of the pineapple first.  Once the skin and core are removed from the pineapple, store it in an airtight container like Tupperware. Leave a small amount of air in the container with the pineapple. If you happen to have a dehydrator, you can prepare and store your pineapple nearly indefinitely!  Dehydrating removes the moisture from the pineapple and makes it a bit more like pineapple “chips” but with all the same nutritional value.   Use a sharp knife to peel, core and slice your pineapple. Make sure your slices are consistently about 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) thick. Place in your dehydrator according to the manufacturer's recommendation or at 130 degrees Fahrenheit (54 degrees Celsius) until the fruit reaches a leathery state but is not sticky. It may take 12-18 hours to be fully dehydrated. The last possible method to storing your pineapple for an extended period of time is canning.  Canning or jarring your pineapple can prolong its life for a year or more, but it is not recommended to store it for longer than a year to be safe.  Once again, slice and core your pineapple by cutting off the top and skins.  This time, cutting the pineapple into chunks instead of slices may make it easier to can. You will need to boil your pineapple in a “packing” solution to occupy the additional space in the can and keep it moisturized.  You can use apple juice, white grape juice or light to medium “canning syrup” you can buy at some specialty grocery stores.  After boiling the pineapple in the packing solution, fill your jars, leaving an inch or so of open space at the top. Place the lids on the jars finger tight, then place it (or however many you have) in a pot with water approximately 1-2 inches taller than the top of the jar or can. Boil the jars for 25 minutes for a pint jar, 30 minutes for quarts.  After removing them, the air will have been evacuated and the pineapple will be good to store.
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One-sentence summary -- Freeze Use a dehydrator to dry pineapple for storage. Can or jar your pineapple.


When inspecting your cat’s nails, look for any signs of damage, infection, or other problems. Nail health is important to overall hygiene, as an infection of the nail can quickly spread to other parts of your cat’s body.  Look to see if the nails are intact. Observe to see if their claws are jagged, have been torn, or are missing pieces. See if there is any fungus present. This can appear as redness or swelling, or you may spot green, black, or yellow growth around the claws or pads. After inspecting their nails, you may need to systemically clean them. This is especially true if you notice fungus, other growth, or any sort of damage to their nails.  Dip their feet in warm water. Gently dislodge all dirt, fungus, or other debris on the claws. Claw fungus is fairly rare. If your cat seems to have claw fungus, however, you should consult your vet. Your vet may then prescribe a topical antifungal, other cleaning agent, or even an oral antifungal. Trimming your cat’s claws is a key part of maintaining proper hygiene for indoor cats. This is important, as many indoor cats don’t have the ability to wear their claws down as they would outside. Thus, their claws may grow long and may accumulate bacteria. However, when trimming your cat’s claws, make sure to use a proper cat claw trimmer.  Position your trimmer perpendicular to the claw and along the transparent part of it. Make sure to avoid blood vessels – these appear as small pink triangles in the center of the nails (the “quick”). Avoid clipping near this area. Quickly cut the transparent part of the claw. If you’re afraid you’ll hurt your cat, trim just the tip of the claw. After you trim the tip, you can move up higher and take more of the nail off. If your cat does not respond well to nail trimming, you may need to have your vet do it. Clip one or two claws at a time before taking a break. Trying to get a whole foot or even all your cat’s feet might be too much to expect. A cat’s quick is the portion of its claw where there is tissue and blood vessels. If you cut their quick, you’ll cause them pain and may expose them to the dangers of infection. Thus, you need to be very careful not to cut their quick.  Always cut less nail than you need. If you cut the quick, consider using a silver nitrate applicator to stop blood loss. You’ll take the applicator and apply it to the area that is bleeding. Regardless of whether you use silver nitrate or not, the wound should stop bleeding in 5 minutes or so.
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One-sentence summary --
Inspect their nails. Clean their claws. Trim your cat’s nails. Avoid the quick.