Hummers & Hostas

This sweet little painting brings two of my favorite things together.  

First, hummingbirds... well, of course, who doesn't love seeing a hummingbird?

We had so many visiting our feeders this year. It's always a treat to be sitting in my spot on the back porch, hearing that familiar little bzzz, then spying the tiny little green thing flitting around. Sometimes one will land for a sip and stay until the bossy one comes to shoo them back into their tree. I don't know why they can't just relax and share.  There's always plenty of their red juice to go around. 

Second, hostas...

My front flower beds are so shaded that nothing I'd tried really thrived. When my dad moved from his home into a senior living place, we dug up a few of the hostas from his flower bed and gave them a try around our porch.  They not only survived, they did thrive!!

And they kept on thriving! Growing bigger and thicker!

And they kept on thriving!  Filling the bed and flowering at the end of summers.

This year was the first time I'd seen hummingbirds stopping by the hosta flowers for a drink.  

I tried to snap a photo.  Ha! How does anyone ever catch a photo of a hummingbird?!  They're so fast! Bzzz... Zip... Zip... Sip... Zip... Gone!

Original Oil Painting on 6"x 6"x 2" Canvas.

And If you'd like this painting for yourself, click Hummers & Hostas.  It's on a chunky little thick canvas. The sides are painted, so it could be displayed just sitting on a shelf.

Willowing Arts: A Year of Light (September)

Every Sunday night a couple of new art lessons pop into my inbox.

I've been learning and experimenting and working with mixed media for three years now. I've done close to 350 pieces. I'm better at using the different mediums now, and I'm so much more confident in starting each project. But, I still feel like I'm at the beginning of this learning journey.

Anyway...

Here's to another month of learning from the teachers of Willowing Arts.

I Like... (9/25)

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 playing Wordle every morning, but this was a surprise!

I like having a colorful yard full of hens.

I like glancing out the upstairs window and seeing deer.

I like having friends come over to paint and enjoy an evening together.

I like painting on really big canvases.

I like marigolds, but they have gotten out of control this year!
They were supposed to be Thumbelina 6"-8" tall... Nope!
They took over! 

I like my outdoor office...
and my office mates.

A hawk's cry had them all running to sit beside & under my chair.

I like playing with my food!
The garden has slowed down, but it's not finished yet! 

LeeAnne's  conversation starter topics this month:

Do you have a good gingerbread type recipe to share?  What is your favorite gingerbread style food to eat? Although I do think gingerbread men are cute, I am not a fan of gingerbread cookies.  Instead I'll share a different cookie recipe.  It's my favorite.

As the weather starts to cool, do you have cozy clothes to start wearing? I absolutely do! I have an old blue plaid flannel shirt that's my go to anytime there's a chill.

What dish would you take to a fall gathering? My usual offering to a fall gathering would be deviled eggs. Since I have hens, I have the eggs so...    Which dish at a fall gathering would you reach for first?  I'd fill a plate the usual... Chex mix, chicken nuggets, chips & queso...

Do you still rake fallen leaves or just use a blower to clear them?   Ha!! Have you seen the trees around my house??  It would take hundreds and hundreds of bags! A leaf blower, yeah, for the porch then Ron mows them with the lawn mower!

Will you hand out candy this year? What kind? Will you wear a costume or something funny like cat ears or tiara or face mask? This year will be a little different.  I'll tell about that in next month's "I Like...s" 

Echo Valley

"The story is that  [we were on] an early morning walk while on vacation.  It was a sweet memory as we walked to the cabin.  We thought a painting would be a great way to capture the moment"

They told me this was the view from their campsite and that the ever-under-construction Chief Crazy Horse Monument  could be seen just behind the hillside.

It looks like a beautiful place to spend a morning hiking.

It was a pleasure to put it on canvas... one stroke at a time.

Take one minute to watch this painting go from blank white canvas to peaceful landscape.

Original Oil Painting on 18"x 36" Wrapped Canvas
[SOLD] 

Ice Cream Cone

Favorite Ice Cream Treats:

Cold Stone - Cake Batter with Almonds & Heath Bar

Braums - Chocolate Almond in a Flat-Bottom Cone
Shakes - Concrete with Snickers or Heath Bar
Dairy Queen - Blizzard with Snickers or Heath Bar

Home - French Vanilla with Peaches or Raspberries

So many choices...

Cherries candied? or fresh?

Peaches chopped on top? or blended in?

Strawberries fresh? or syrup-y?

Chocolate ice cream? or poured on top?

Pecans? or Almonds?

Candy sprinkles? or cookie crumbles?

Homemade? or store bought?

Sherbets? or frozen custard?

Soft served? or hand dipped?

My Weekly-ish Challenge was "Pink & Red," so voila!

Sadly, I developed an allergic reaction to strawberries a few years ago, so I can't choose strawberry ice cream to eat, it was perfect to paint. And, with all that palette knife work, I can't wait until it's dry enough to run my fingers across... Zoom in! Those paint smears look good enough to lick... but don't!

Original Palette Knife Oil Painting on 12"x 12" Wrapped Canvas

Click Ice Cream Cone if you want to have this one on your own wall (so you can touch it)!

Magnolia Blossom

If you only saw the painting, you might think, "Oh, it's a big white flower done in an artsy way."

But... 

... if you saw me holding it...

... Then you might think, "Oh my!  It's a really really big white flower done in an artsy way!"

Next you might wonder, "Does she set her camera to the 15-second delay on the porch banister then run back and forth until she gets herself and the painting in the frame?"

Finally you might ask, "Why?"  

Well...

Yes, It certainly is.

Yes. That's exactly what I do.

And, well, why not?  Many months (years?) ago, I when I needed a big 24"x 24" canvas, I placed the order and saw the discount if I ordered 5. Needless to say, the other 4 have been in the way... waiting patiently for a long time.

My Weekly-ish Challenge was "A Single White Flower."  

First I started a sweet little painting of a hummingbird that I'd watch flit around my hostas, the hosta plants I'd dug from my Dad's house as little plants that have now become big and beautiful and blooming to entice hummingbirds.  The bird sipped from one of those single white flowers.  Yes, I will eventually finish that sweet little painting, but I decided that I would simply be playing it safe if that was to be the painting I submitted. 

I'd watched a tutorial by an artist named Nicol Wikman who encouraged "going big" and "painting loosely" by "holding the brush as if it was a magic wand."  I loved it.  I tried it. I love it.

Yes, I'm going to put it in my Etsy shop and of course I will be excited when it does sell, but honestly... until that day comes... I think this one is going on my bedroom wall where I can enjoy it myself.

Original Oil Painting on 24"x 24" Wrapped Canvas

Visit Magnolia Blossom if you want to take this off my wall and put it on yours.

Art Soul Gathering 2025

I participated in an on-line event called Art Soul Gathering. I didn't purchase the longer course, but I very much enjoyed doing a few of the free sample lessons offered last week. Each teacher had a different style and different skills and techniques to teach.   It's always good practice for me to draw and paint a face even if the styles and materials are very different.... and even if I don't get it quite right... still good practice.

Using just 2 colors

Using the side of a junk-mail credit card

Covering collaged papers

Embellishing with embroidery...
only I cheated and just drew the lines.

Using only four colors + some pink at the end
and torn collage paper.

A Girl & Her Cat

Why did I decide to paint Buff & me in our usual spot?

Here's the story...

My friend Cheri and I have been doing a Weekly-ish Challenge for 5 years. We started early on in the Pandemic. The rules are very strict... HA! are more like a gentle guide. We take turns choosing a word, phrase, or topic. We each use that as inspiration to do a painting then "meet" back for a good long phone call to chat and reveal our works via text photos.

After our hundredth challenge we changed the rules for the hundredth time just a bit.

This little box of cards entered the game.

The first time, we drew these cards, and I did this...

The next time, we drew these, and I did this...

This time we drew these three...
followed the directions for the last card and
turned over the first one to the opposite side.

Was there any question as to what I would paint?

So, I was to do a girl and cat with those colors in "my style."

The question was whether I even knew what my style was any more.

First I did a mixed media piece.  It was fun, a style I've been playing in. 

I could be done.  

But, my heart is with oils;  I should do it in "my style" not a borrowed style.

Ha ha... you can tell by my different glasses

styles that these photos are taken over the years.

Painting a portrait doesn't come easily or naturally to me.  I guess I'm more mathematical minded than artistic minded. Once I get it "finished." I do some tricks to make me revise and edit. One is to look at the painting in the mirror.  It's amazing how the mistakes jump out.  Another is to take a photo and look at the painting on the phone or computer screen.  More mistakes make themselves known.  Finally, I resort to geometry.

That's when I see that... oh, my nose is way bigger than I thought... oh, my mouth is way thinner than I thought... oh, my hair needs to be growing out of my head not just glued on around the forehead... oh, my neck is way wider... let's just leave that... artistic license/artist's vanity...

And... sometimes if I'm not available...

Original Oil Painting on 7"x 9" Canvas Board

NFS