Meteora Monasteries

Let's get a little scale to show how big this painting really is.

Here it is across three easels.

Now, do I count a triptych as one painting or three paintings? Hmmm...

Maybe a dystopian landscape of science fiction?

Nope.

Although I used my artistic license...  

Of  course, I have an artistic license...
 Doesn't everybody?

Although I used my artistic license with some of the composition, this was painted from photos I took, a place we saw, buildings we visited in Greece a few months ago.

There were originally 24 of these buildings in the sky.
Now only six continue to be occupied by monks or nuns.

Yes, the rainbow was really that perfect.

Zoom in on this one.
You can see the box on a cable bringing supplies across.

The building just seemed to grow right out of the rock.

We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the one we visited,
but every square inch of the walls inside was covered with art,
religious icon paintings.

Cats everywhere... Ev.. ery... where...
Also, the scarf around my waist...
Women aren't allowed to show their knees inside, even if wearing pants.

That's what was on the other side of that low wall the cat & I were sitting on.

The view from the nunnery courtyard.

My Weekly-ish Challenge was "Old Building."  I think the intent was an old farmhouse or barn, but honestly... how much older can a building be than these! And, this painting is probably more about the landscape than the buildings, but I think it works.

Original Oil Triptych Painting on Wrapped Canvases 12"x 16", 20"x 16", 12"x 16"

[NFS]

Willowing Arts: A Year of Magic & Fairy Tales (January)

When I taught school, one of the older kids (a 4th grader) would come on the intercom at 8:05.  He or she would lead the whole school in the Pledge of Allegiance. That would be followed by the school creed and motto:

At Holcomb School, 

we are a diverse community 

of respectful, responsible, and creative 

life-long learners. 

Aim High!

I haven't said that sentence daily for a nearly a decade, but I think I'm holding true to being a life-long learner! 

Acrylics & paint pen

Masking fluid, watercolor, paint pen

Watercolor, paint pens, colored pencils

Watercolor, paint pens, colored pencils

Pen & ink drawing, collage, stencil, acrylic inks

Acrylics, paint pens

Art Journal Cover, gesso, acrylics, paint pen

Watercolor & salt, pencil & blending stump, splatter, gel pen

Layers of collage papers, craft paint mark making, paint pens 

My Girl

I love my job.

Ok... so it's not really a job.

I love being asked and being able to put someone's treasured image onto canvas.  I asked Dayna if she wanted to give the painting a title and write something about it.  I don't know this kitty, but I love her through Dayna's words.

15 years ago this January, I walked into the Windsor Humane Society looking to adopt a cat. Cliché as it sounds, I remember it just like yesterday. I think within minutes of meeting Harper, affectionately nicknamed ‘Lovebug’, she instantly started purring and I instantly started crying. Something just clicked in that very moment, a bond that my husband years later would refer to as my ‘outer organ’. Often, people refer to their pets as their fur babies or children and I have always thought of Harper as mine. But reflecting on our last 15 years together, I now realize that she’s truly mothered me over every one of those years instead. She was my only friend when I found my new footing in a completely new life across the country from anyone I knew. It was her that would give me all the kisses and head butts after a hard day at university or an awful day at work. She’s laid motionless by my side when I would have migraines that would take me out for days, been my ‘something to hold on for’ for years of depression and mental health challenges and still harasses me when I spend too much time in my office or away from her when I must travel. She’s my shadow, my moufette, the pookster, the Harpster…she’s my girl. 

This is not this kitty's first time to appear on my canvas. if you look really closely... back there in the trees... zoom in... at the base of the third tree from the left... Ah ha!!! There she is!

Original Oil Painting on 9"x 12" Wrapped Canvas
[SOLD]

Pretty Pink Daisies

 

The cards have spoken...

Bloom... Magenta... Add More Texture

✓... ✓... ✓...

This was  good time to try out my new "stuff."

Here's where I'd like to say how much I loved using it and how it made the paint thick and able to hold rich textures with swipes of the palette knife.  I'd like to say how it was so fun to use and I can't wait to use it again.

But...

It didn't really seem to do much of anything. Hmmm... I'll give it another try soon. 

These pink daisies (coneflowers?) grew in the back yard of my parents home.

Original Oil Painting on 6"x 8" Wrapped Canvas

Click Pretty Pink Daisies if you'd like to purchase this little painting.

Willowing Arts: A Year of Magic Taster Sessions (11-20)

More lessons... more fun... more surprises...

Watercolor & Pen
Gathering (fairy) inspiration from what might be outside in the yard

Acrylics
Using only 4 colors: 2 browns, red, white

Colored Pencils

Craft Paint

Acrylic on paper, then gesso over negative space

Collaged notecards, then ink over negative space.
Story cards, showing what 's personally important.

Watercolor in blobs then inks to find floral possibilities.

Markers, overlapping doodling

Gesso mixed with baby powder
Applied then scratched to remove creating runes

Collage with acrylic, papers, stencils, pictures, doily
Let some images/words escape the border of the picture

I Like... (12/25)

Thank you to Leeanne of Not Afraid of Color for reminding me to notice things I like. 
Click on HER BLOG to see what positive things others like. 

I like having chickens in the backyard.

i like having friends over for a paint night.

I like tomatoes from the garden.  These are the last ones of the season to ripen.
That's it until next summer!

I like watching an amaryllis bloom in winter.

I like making a little Blurb book each year to show all the paintings I've done.
Click HERE if you want to see.  After it opens, click "Preview" then click on
the corner to flip through the pages.  

 I like our new bird feeder.  It shows us birds who've been visiting.  

It also tells what kind of bird and how often they've visited.

  but it didn't recognize this species...

Red Poppies

I wanted to do one more painting before bringing 2025 to a close.  How about some bright red poppies!  I've done similar paintings before and find this style very satisfying to work on and to look at.

Also, I got to visit the Blick Art store in Kansas City and wanted to try out some of my new playthings.  I got a little jar of Gamblin Cold Wax Medium.  It says it's "...made from 100% beeswax... holds the thickest and sharpest marks... for artists interested in creating bold texture...." Now, how could I have left that on the store shelf?!

When I put the tip of my palette knife in to take a bit out, it reminds me of a tiny jar of Crisco shortening.  For this painting, I added a little dollop of it to each of my paint colors.  Yes!  There's so much texture on this one!  I can hardly wait until it's dry enough to run my fingers across it. (Am I the only person who has to remind myself in museums that I mustn't touch because it's highly frowned upon there? I think not.)  I'm going to enjoy this one for as long as it gets to hang on one of my walls. I'm going to enjoy seeing it, and in a week or so I'll enjoy touching it.

Original Oil Painting on 11"x 14" wrapped canvas.

Until then... if you're interested in taking it away from me... purchasing this painting, just click Red Poppies.  It will be available in my Etsy shop.

A Warm Embrace

 Purrrrrrrr-fect!

This girl does love our cat, Buff.

And, it's quite obvious that he fully enjoys the adoration... don't you think? 

Well, his expression might not exactly show it, but he does have the option of running away, hiding, or staying in a different room.  He likes to be in the room where ever the kids are just to keep an eye on things. Being in the same room means that he has to put up with lots of loving. 

She also loves her own kitty, Kevin.

This week my friend and art mentor Cheri did our 120th Weekly-ish Challenge.  It was her turn to come up with the topic.  She gave "Warm ______."  I filled in the blank with "Warm Embrace."

I've painted each of my grands when they were two, and this little one needed to join the wall with her siblings and cousins.

Original Oil Painting on 10"x 10" Wrapped Canvas

[NFS]

Willowing Arts: Year of Magic Taster Sessions (1-10)

These are the first third of the "taster sessions" from the 2026 mixed media lessons from the Willowing Arts online classes.  They're kind of like a sneak peek or preview of what's to come. I don't know if I'll get to all of them before the "real" lessons begin, but I've enjoyed learning from and working on these!

Drawing & painting a mermaid
[watercolor, colored pencils, paint pens]

Drawing whimsy
[watercolor, colored pencil]

Telling a story with images, torn paper, and marks on journal page
[gesso on journal layout, pencil, colored paper,
glue, paint applied with palette knife]

Finding a face on the textured page with only two colors
[collage scraps, gesso, paint
applied with brush, palette knife, & credit card edge]

Drawing & painting the ultimate magic & fairy tale creature.
[watercolor, colored pencils, paint pen]

Inventing a surreal landscape
[acrylic paint, collage papers, paint pens]

Creating cards with my "word-of-the-year" words from past years.
[cardstock, magazine pictures, photos, glue, collage paper]

Folding a tiny booklet
[paper scraps, stamps, glue, markers]

Putting different reference photos (butterfly, cup & saucer, granddaughter)
 together to create a new image
[watercolor, acrylic paint, marker, colored pencil]

Making "blooms" of watercolor to discover shapes
[watercolor, silver marker]