Dexter

Meet Dexter. 
He's a cutie.  

Does anyone else have a pet who gets needy when you're working.  Sometimes my little pup, Olivia, whines and begs to sit in my lap while I paint.  Once she settles, she's pretty still, so I don't mind.  







Original Oil Painting on 12"x 12" Wrapped Canvas.
[SOLD}

My Love & Ksses

Looks like I've flipped ahead on my calendar by a couple of months!  
Is it ever too early for love & kisses though?

I have a reason for painting ahead of the season, and it goes along with some exciting news.

You know those times one event ties in to a completely unrelated event relates to another unrelated event then ties into yet another and so on and so on until the story becomes a saga... but then... then... it all ties together and comes full circle in the best way? 
Well...
I had one of those a couple of weeks ago.
My exciting news is the end result of that full circle story.

My doctor asked me to hang my art on his exam room walls.  I know it's not a gallery in a museum, but oh my goodness, I am so excited!  

There's that lag time after the nurse takes your blood pressure and gets your list of complaints that you're left alone in the room to sit and wait.... and now... to look to your left and see some paintings! 
He gets a pretty wall.
I sell a painting every now and then.
Yeah! Win-win!

I had to gather up all the paintings I had around the house to see if I could find some that would go nicely together.  I had enough for a farm or country room and a winter or Christmas room.  (I also put the big hollyhock painting in the hall between them, but I forgot to take a photo of that one.)

So, now do you see why I'm painting a valentine?  In a month I'll need to trade out the Christmas-y ones.  (Although a more positive outlook would be that the Christmas paintings would have sold out and need to be replaced!)

Original Oil Painting on 6"x 8" Wrapped Canvas
[SOLD]

Indoor Kite Creations

I want you to see some of my daughter's beautiful needlework.  She has always had some sort of craft to work on, and now she's opened an Etsy shop. Click Indoor Kites Creations and have a look. 

The detail of this storybook one is amazing. 
Wouldn't that be a gorgeous quilt top or wall hanging!

I love the Old McDonald's scene.
A whole farm made of tiny stitches!

Cute, sweet, gorgeous!Love the toy box one.
I wonder how many tiny x stitches make the picture.

She does crochet work too.
Beautiful bright granny square!

Sweet little bunnies!
Funny, I decorated her nursery with bunnies almost 30 years ago!

I love the details of each animal square.
So cute!

Click any of the links and have a look!  

Lunch Date

Her name might be Millie or Macy or Maggie or Madi.
She might call him Grandpa or Papa or Granddad or Pop.

Maybe it's the school's grandparent day or her birthday or just a random Tuesday.
He may have had to rearrange his schedule or cancelled a meeting or put on a suit just for her.

Perhaps she'll share the lunch from her box or show him how to get a cafeteria tray.

She might say, "This is my friend. She sits at my table."
He might ask, "What have you been learning about today?"

She feels special.
He's glad he came.

Original Oil Painting on 12"x 12" Wrapped Canvas.
[GIFT]

Ruby Throated Hummingbird IV

What a pleasure when someone asks, "I love this one. Can you paint another one for me?"  I love it especially if I get to paint with my favorite color combination, purple and green.
I hope that the person who receives this as a Christmas present loves it.

Original Oil Painting on 6"x 8" Wrapped Canvas.
[SOLD]

Hollyhocks

When I think of my grandma's house, I can almost smell marigolds; she always had them growing beside the front porch.  If I imagine myself sitting on that porch, I can look across the yard and see a row of hollyhocks beside the fence.  

I've been reading a blog called Ramblings from a Desert Garden lately.  No, I don't live in the desert, and no I'm not very good at growing beautiful plants.  But I enjoy her writing, pictures, and blog style.  When I came to this post about hollyhocks, it triggered a happy memory.

My mother once showed me how she and her sisters used to use the hollyhocks in their yard to make dolls.  She turned a big flower upside down to become the doll's dress.  The green part that holds the flower together (which I'm certain the AZ Plant Lady from the blog would know the name of) became the doll's body or shirt.  Then she picked a bud to become the doll's head and used a straight pin to hold it on.   My favorite combination... simple elegance.   

I kept thinking about that memory and Googled hollyhock dolls to see if anyone else had ever done such a creative thing.  Sure enough I found this precious little photo on a blog called Botanical Interests. It's much fancier than my mom's was with the little blossom for a hat and even a toothpick for arms. But I love thinking about how my mother and aunts would have played with these lovely ladies in pink, red, and white dresses.

(It's for sale in my Etsy shop, but my husband said, "I really do like this one.  I hope no one buys it." 😉We'll just enjoy it on our own wall until someone gives it a forever home.)

Original Oil Painting on 24"x. 12" Wrapped Canvas.
[SOLD]

Flamingo on Blue

This is the second in my "Make Friends with Blue" series. 😁😁

I met this particular guy (or gal) in the flamingo exhibit at the Tulsa Zoo a couple of years ago.  I loved the exhibit, and I thoroughly enjoyed painting him (or her) with bright, bold colors.

You know how sometimes a certain sense will bring up a memory? 
... like... the smell of marigolds = my grandma's front porch...
... or... the taste of Cheese Whiz = my first classroom as a teacher...
... maybe... the sound of pop corn kernels falling into a pot = Sunday evenings when I was a kid.
... or... the sight of a flamingo = summer school  in college and having Christopher Cross on the stereo.

If you're anywhere near my age, you might be able to relate to this one!

"Think of Laura, but laugh don't cry

I know she'd want it that way."

Or...

"It's all right. I think we're gonna make it,

I think it might just work out this time."

Good painting happens when his songs pop up on my Pandora.

You know that each one of those memories is just a snip of a whole story! So share!  What smell, taste, sound, or sight brings up a specific memory for you?

Original Oil Painting on 16"x 16" Wrapped Canvas

Click "Flamingo on Blue" if you'd like to purchase this painting.

Nutcracker King

Want to know why I painted this little guy?
Yes, I love nutcrackers... 
Sure, the Christmas season is near... 
Yeah, I was in one of those between-paintings moods...

But THIS is the real reason!  This my "blue drawer."  Yes... all of these blue paint tubes, yet I rarely use blue.  Go back through my paintings, besides a sky here and there, there's hardly any blue! 
While blue isn't one of my favorites, I don't have anything against it; I just forget about it.  
So, I've decided to go on a blue kick for a while.

I guess that's not a very inspiring reason.  
I do love this little nutcracker so much.  He's one of the favorites in my collection, so I'm glad I got to put him on canvas.

Since I just let you peek into my blue paints drawer to you.  I'll show you the rest of my painting spot.  It's just right for me.


I love seeing people's art spaces.

And, there's Pounce who watches from her throne.






Original Oil Painting on 12"x 6" Wrapped Canvas. 
[SOLD]

Journals & Diaries (part 6)

Yeah, I realize that 5 parts would have been a good round number for the Journals & Diaries series.  And, the whole thing kind of made its way full circle at the end of the fifth one. But... I have a little more to tack on the end if that's okay.  
We'll call it (or them, if I do one more after this) a bonus.

These are my two current journals. Now if you look back at the photo of all the journals I've filled as an adult by clicking HERE, you'll think that the first one fits in nicely... It's green... calming...  But, that's not the one I want to talk about.

What's up with that other one!!!  It's bright... and bold... and glittery or metalic... and peacock-y... and wild...  and... was it an accident or a re-gifted gift? No... actually, it was purchased very purposefully.

Which camp are you in? The People-Don't-Change camp? or the You-Can-Make-Changes camp?  
I believe that while we have our set personalities, we can improve ourselves beyond surface changes if we are purposeful.  (*** Actually, "PURPOSEFUL" was the 2017 word I chose to add to my... well, it doesn't have a name... the inside of my armoire where my printer and office supplies are stored.... I'm sure I could write a blog post series on each thing hanging on that little space.)

A few years back, I wanted to change me... I wanted to be less less Type-A, more Easy-Going... less like a Square, more like a Squiggle... less Take Charge, more of a Support... less Linear, more Haphazard...less Academic, more Creative... less Stick-to-the-Rules, more Outside-the-Box.
So, how did I go about that?  Well, in a very methodical Type-A, Square, In Charge, Linear, Academic kind of way!!! Or Course!!

First I bought this crazy peacock  journal, then I set some specific self-imposed rules for using it.
1st - Every time I chose to write in it, I would let it open to any page.  That's the page I would write on.  (Aaahhh!!! Can you imagine!!)
2nd - I would avoid using complete sentences as often as possible. (Gasp!!!)
3rd - I wouldn't be a slave to the lines and margins. (Try not to hyperventilate!)
4th - I would use color and pictures and numbers and symbols as often as I pleased.

Here are a few pages... in no particular order... HA!

Wagons I tend to fall off of...

A perfect moment...

Turning 50...

Kindred  Spirits...

Vocabulary words I love...

So... The big question... Did it work???
Well... Hmmm... I'm a work in progress, and there are still blank pages to fill...