:) Good bye Red Beetle & Self Portraits

I've never painted a real self portrait, but I've done a couple of pseudo-self portraits that I've loved.

One is what I use for my little Word Weaver Icon.

You can read about how this one came about in a post from a post in  July of 2013 called "Sisters."

This happy little drawing pretty much still sums me up.  I'm wearing my favorite color, green.  I've got a smile.  My hair is an ever silvering brown, which I think is just fine... thank you very much!  And, I'm wearing my dangly, squigly power earrings.  (You can read about those earrings in a post called "We'll Just have Salad.")

This is me with my sisters... The five of us went on a sister cruise,
and we each had a canvas beach bag with this painted on them.

Ha ha ha... It just occurred to me that maybe I've done a third.  When I painted "Welcome Home Retreat," I mentioned that each cow had the personality of one of us sisters.

The other pseudo-self portrait was a fuzzed out version of me in my beloved red bug.  

I loved that little bug!  It was a part of me... who I was... the girl with the red bug.  I got it after both of my kids had cars of their own.  So, I never had to share it.  (Actually, when my son was 18, he once described it this way. "Whenever you come out of a store, just look for the most embarrassing car in the parking lot.  That's my mom's car.) I tootled around in that little car for 9 years, and it was still basically in perfect condition.

... I have to sigh a little bit... 

So many changes in my life these days... (one of which is that huge change of retirement in... 85 more school days... 😜😜😜...)                                                                                                             It's just silly how choked up I got at watching my little red bug with the daisies in the vase drive away.

But... ah ha... there's a shiny new GREEN bug in the driveway now!

Daffodils in a Vase

I'm going to call this my Snow Day project. 

Yeah, we had a snow day. I know my friends in the North make fun of us for letting school out when there's an inch of white (almost) covering the ground.  I do know that I wouldn't want to drive a bus filled with kids on icy roads, but come to think of it... I wouldn't want to drive a school bus... period...

I wonder how I'll feel next year when the schools have a snow day and it won't affect me... Hmmm... 

Thanks to Lela at Paint and Draw Together for choosing such a lovely image for her Challenge #65 - Narcissus in a Vase.  I love seeing all the pieces done by different artists.  All exactly the same, yet each completely different.

As soon as I saw this one, I knew I wanted to paint it. I love daffodils, and spring is such a loooooooong time away!  

Because I'm never sure, I Googled the difference between narcissus and daffodil and jonquil. They seem kind of interchangeable so I'm not sure it's worth remembering, but here's what I learned.  Both of them fit in the genus of narcissus.  The jonquils have tube-like leaves, while the daffodils have flat leaves.  Also, jonquils have several in a bunch rather than one on a stem.

Original Oil Painting - 11"x 14
[GIFT}

Ch-ch-ch-ch Changes... 2017

Happy New Year!

Welcome... 2017!

I'm one of those lyric-challenged people who can never remember the words to songs, so it may be completely inappropriate... but I keep hearing one line from David Bowie in my head... 

"Ch-ch-ch-ch Changes! Ch-ch Changes!"

My life has been pretty consistent for... well... forever... but 2017 is going to bring some ch-ch-ch-ch changes.

This scruffy little thing was a 4th grader back in 1974.

She said, "I'm going to be a teacher when I grow up."

And, she never changed her mind.

Under her senior yearbook picture back in 1982, her aspiration was printed - Elementary Teacher.

Just after turning 21, she got her first class.  Wow... That was in 1985 so those kids would be 40 years old now... I hope they all became productive citizens!

Then a few months ago, that girl welcomed kids into their new class home for the 32nd time...
Where did the time go...
How many kids...
How many lesson plans...
How many papers to grade...
How many books read...
How many....


Well... Let me take a minute to wipe my eyes... allergies I guess... 😉
... and say that I made the right choice back in 4th grade... It's been a great ride...

But... Ch-ch-ch-ch changes...
...31.5 years down... half a year to go...
...63 semesters down... 1 to go...
...5,601 days down... 95 to go...

What will I be?
What will define who I am?
What will fill my time?
What will occupy my thoughts?

I look forward to discovering those answers...

Mozart the Chihuahua

Meet Mozart. How cute is this little guy!

He belongs to my intern... my intern whom I love and who is going to be a fabulous teacher next year. :)

I asked her if there was anything she wanted to tell me about Mozart.

Mozart was a rescue. He was initially owned by an old woman who passed away, and her husband was going to put him down. Hearing this story, a coworker offered him to me; I got him on New Year's Day six years ago. 😊

He isn't a typical Chihuahua. He's very loving to all people, doesn't yip or bite anyone or anything. He's patient, loves playing hide and seek, and loves to lie in warm towels.
He's my very affectionate fur-baby. 😊

Original Oil Painting - 12" x 12"

[SOLD]

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

How about a Throwback Thursday.

          I've done a few Christmas themed paintings over the years...
                     Do you have a favorite?
                              Click the titles to read the story behind each one.
                                         Enjoy. :)

314 Peppermint 12-15
CLICK to purchase.

246 Whimsical Santa 11-13
[SOLD]

290 Whimsical Santa II 1-15
[SOLD]

219 Whimsical Christmas 12-12
[SOLD]

163 First Christmas 8-11

[SOLD]

250 Nutcracker Soldier 12-13
[SOLD]

133 Santa Nutcracker 12-10
[SOLD]

087 Christmas Past 2-10

[SOLD]

034 Traditions 1-08
[SOLD]

A lot of "me" is on this canvas. I love this painting because each part of it represents a special tradition of my family, and I have enjoyed having it on my own wall for a long time. (Look at the date when it was painted!!) 

This one makes me so happy, and I'm also just a little bit sad. You see, it sold today.  It goes in the mail to its forever home tomorrow. That does make me really happy.  I hope the new owners treasure it.

Something else makes this sale special. This sale made my 200th Etsy sale!

200!

I am grateful and honored and humbled and not just a little in disbelief that my work hangs on the walls of people across the country.

Merry Christmas!

The Strut

When I first saw his picture, I thought he was magnificent and asked my friend's permission to him.

Originally I'd imagined a portrait, a beautiful rooster filling the canvas with a kind of blurred out background. 

But, as I got started, I wanted my painting to tell the whole story.  The character, the rooster, really isn't the focus of this story.  It's about the setting... Her post said, "Quick weekend get away to do nothing but enjoy the beauty of Boxley and do nothing for a change."

So... it ALL became important... the trees, the rocks, the porch, the water tub, the peace pole, the fallen leaves, the foggy distance...

Don't you just want to be right there!?

Even with a stack of papers to grade on your lap, can't you just feel contentment and peacefulness of being in this place... and it's even better to know that a cocky rooster would be strutting around showing off for his hens!

Original Oil Painting -12"x 12" 

[SOLD]

Return to Innocence

One of the things I love about painting a commissioned piece is that I'm almost always challenged to do something I wouldn't normally do.
One of the things I hate about painting a commissioned piece is that I'm almost always challenged to do something I wouldn't normally do.

I have this habit of saying, "Sure!  I can do that!" 
Then I begin and wonder, "What was I thinking! How am I going to do that!"

When I was asked to paint something like 'It Is Well...' again only with more teal colors instead of purple and with a few lines instead of a few words... I said, "Sure! I can do that!"
Never mind that I haven't painted with acrylics in a couple of years and that I can't imagine how I'll ever get 31 words neat and straight.

Here are a few of the things that I learned / figured out / discovered while working on this painting.
1. When the painting was "finished" but without words, it looked so cold and harsh.  I deepened the color of the sun from yellow to orange and did an orange wash over almost the whole thing. The transformation to a warm cozy tone was immediate.
2. I took the painting to school, typed the poem on the computer, put the painting on the board, then projected the words from the computer onto the painted canvas.  I used chalk to traced the words onto the painting.  Then  I painted over that. Is that cheating?  Yeah, probably, but it looks pretty good!
3. White doesn't have to be white.  Those letters aren't white... they're light, light orange.

I am thankful when someone trusts me to put their vision onto canvas. 

Original Acrylic Painting - 16"x 20" 
[SOLD]

Red Poppy Triptych

If you ever come for a visit, this will be the first painting you see as you come in the front door.  If you have ever been for a visit, there was another triptych there.  It showed a little boy fishing in a pond with some ducks.  When that one sold, I wanted to replace it with something more bold and in colors I loved.  (Half of that worked out.)

The process was not typical for me because I've never been one of those artists who sees something in her mind and puts it on canvas. I usually just paint the colors and shapes that I see, but this time was different... Instead of a reference photo, I had an idea... (Scary!)

For the background, I decided to use only my two favorite colors, green and purple, with white.  I thought I would mottle those three together and come out with something unique. But... it turned out to be this blue... What? so weird! Not the plan, but good.

I wanted a big flower that would go onto two of the canvases, but I wanted that to balance out with a bud on the other side... It didn't. So, another bud  showed up. And, I wanted them to look like they were dancing.  (Yeah, I know... that sounds pretty artsy...) I think it worked though.

I wanted the flower to pop, so I picked the complementary orange.  For the shadowing I used that same green and purple mixture to limit the palette and keep some harmony. It had a yellow center at for a long time, but it kept demanding all the attention. (Yeah... artsy again.  What's happening to me!) That brown center... It's not brown... it's that same green-purple mixture with some of the orange... again... kind of weird surprise, but good.

In the end I did something brave. (Brave means it worked.  Stupid would have meant it ruined it.)  The background was lovely, and the flowers were lovely.  But, the painting wasn't lovely.  I put some of the orange paint on a big fluffy dry brush and  touched it onto the background.  And just like that... it was lovely.

It occurred to me that my 10-year birthday as a painter is coming up in a few weeks. Wow... 10 years and 338 paintings... How should I celebrate or honor that?  Ideas???

Original Oil Painting on 6x12, 9x16, 6x12

[SOLD]

Relax... Create... Inspire...

 I got to spend this weekend as a guest at Welcome Home Retreat.

Let me give you a tour.
When you first arrive, you'll meet the neighbors.  They are the sweetest and calmest longhorn calves.  They're also quite interested in you.  They look right at you with faces that ask, "What are you doing?" or "Do you need something?" or "Will you be standing there long?"

Next you'll walk into the common area and be greeted by Sandy D. or Jackie.

When you step inside, you'll have to look in the serving area on your left first because Don will probably have just made something that smells delicious.

But then I want you to look to the right.  Look closely... Do you see it?  My "Steer's Looking at You, Kid" is on the mantle! Look closer... those same longhorn calves are right outside that window!  How fun is that!

If you prefer a different view, stroll on through to the other dining area. 

You'll be able to see the courtyard and pool.

 Even better, go on out to the red rocking chairs and sit and sit and sit... 

Once you've gotten the RELAX part underway and are ready to move on the the CREATE. you might need to stop a minute in the Mercantile in case you forgot any supplies. 

There are three craft rooms.  We worked in the Saloon, but the Hen House and the Corral looked fun too.

T

Some of Sheila's favorite artists' work hangs on the walls leading to the bedrooms. Yay!  I recognize those cows! And just look at that gorgeous quilt!  Sandy B. who designed pink one, and Jessica stitched all kinds of special things into the quilting. (She also designed each of the 27 quilts on the beds.) And the one at the back was done by our grandmother.

 You might stay in the Primrose Room.

Or the Yellow Rose of Texas Room.

Or the Bluebonnet Room.

I stayed in the Indian Paintbrush Room, and my door led right out to the courtyard... lovely...

Sorry, that's my unmade bed beside the door. 

I should feel ashamed about that.

There are three goals that Welcome Home Retreat will have for your stay.

1st - Relax.

2nd - Create.

3rd - Inspire someone.     I suppose it's not a rule to inspire someone else, but it just seems to come naturally after you've felt so inspired by the others there.

Sheila, Sandy, Jackie, Don,
Thanks for a wonderful, relaxing, creative, inspiring weekend!  I can't wait to return!
Helen

Visit 

https://www.facebook.com/welcomehomeretreat

Or

http://welcomehomeretreat.com/

Red Cottage in Fall III

Nope. 
It's not a repeat post... 
...just a new version... a rerun of a good one!
The last Red Cottage in Fall was for my school's fall festival silent auction.  My principal said up front that she wanted it and planned to bid to win, but one of my students out bid her. 


It was a pretty stress-free painting, so I did another.   
Surprise!

Usually I get to enjoy my paintings for a time while they wait to be bought. Sadly, I didn't get to hold on to either one of these and I really liked them. Hmmmm... maybe one more?? :)

Original Oil Painting - 8"x 10"
[GIFT]
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