She Rules the Roost

Every flock has one... The one who rules the roost... The one at the top of the pecking order...

Mine is named Eleanor. 

She not mean... she's just the boss. And, she always has an expression of annoyance. If she could talk, I think she'd say, "What? I gave you a lovely light tan egg. What else do you want? I have pecking to do. Why do you insist on hanging around?"

We always have to have at least one white chicken.  When they're in the woods scratching around or resting, we can always find them because the white one never blends in.

Original Palette Knife Oil Painting on 7"x 9" Wrapped Canvas.

Click She Rules the Roost if you'd like to purchase this little painting.

A Donkey Named Turquoise

I keep looking at this colorful little painting and asking, "Did I do that?"

It's not my style... or is it?... or could it be?... maybe?

I've always admired artists who could just throw in unexpected colors and make it seem like they belonged there.

I found a YouTube artist, Lauren Elizabeth, who made it seem easy.

Just for the record, it wasn't easy... for me anyway. For one thing using acrylics is so different from oils! For another thing I was putting colors where they didn't belong... on purpose!  

What a challenge! What fun!

First attempt following along
the YouTube Lesson.

Second try in my art journal using
my dad's donkey, LeRoy, as a model.

It's not LeRoy's first time on canvas!
(2018)

My weekly-ish painting challenge was "Unexpected Turquoise."

I was not planning to paint a donkey.

I was not planning to paint in a whole new style.

But... *Serendipity* 

When I wasn't even looking for it, I happened across a video that sparked an idea!

Original Acrylic Painting on 8"x 10" Canvas Board

[SOLD]

Pretty Goat, Esther

Sometimes I have an idea then search for an image, but sometimes an image appears then gives me the idea.

My friend Healey likes to post pictures and videos of her goats.  They're always cute and funny.  Then one day I saw this pretty little goat looking right at me.  I found myself going back for another look then another.  Finally I messaged and asked permission to paint her.  Healey told me that her name was Esther and that I could paint her as long as didn't change her name.  

So... meet my lovely blue-eyed goat friend, Esther!

On another note... I've been having fun with this site  to discover the color theme of my paintings.

8"x 8" Original Oil on Wrapped Canvas

[SOLD]

Little Gray Donkey (a.k.a. Lee Roy)

My parents moved to Northwest Arkansas when they were in their 80s.  Although they no longer had 160 acres of land, my dad managed turn their new 5 acres into a complete little farm.  It had almost everything a farm could need.

• There was a big workshop for tools and equipment.
• We all enjoyed their huge garden with tomatoes, corn, and row of sunflowers.
• He planted an entire orchard of fruit trees and pecan trees.
• He started with a four-wheeler but traded that in for a golf cart that he and Mom used to take rides around the place every day.

Even with all that, something was still missing... until Lee Roy showed up.  Lee Roy was the funniest little donkey who brayed and hee-hawed and insisted on being heard.  He didn't really have a farm purpose, but Dad loved scratching him and feeding him.  He was well trained to run to the fence whenever anyone came outside because he knew he'd get a treat or at least a scratch on the head.  

Eventually, Dad got him a friend, Margarite.  She was never quite as much of a pet as Lee Roy. But, on the morning of my mom's 85th birthday, she walked outside to find a wide-eyed surprise baby donkey standing in the field beside Margarite. 

I've painted Lee Roy a few times. As a matter of fact, the only one of my paintings that my dad kept to hang on the wall in his apartment was a painting of Ole' Lee Roy.  

I wish I'd taken more photos of him, but as soon as I'd walk anywhere near the fence with a camera, he'd be right there begging for a treat and refusing to pose for a picture.

A friend asked me if I'd paint a donkey to donate for a fundraiser.  I did; however, when I finished, I liked it so much that I decided to paint another one to enjoy on my own wall for a while. Maybe one should be Lee Roy and the other one Margarite.

Original Oil Paintings on 6"x 12" Wrapped Canvas

[SOLD] & [SOLD]

Little Gray Donkey (a.k.a. Hee Haw)

How about that funny little fuzzy face!
His/her winter coat made him/her look pretty scruffy.

One day when my daughter was about three years old, we were coloring, and she said, "Mom, I know how to tell if it's a girl or a boy."  
I'm sure my heart raced and my eyes widened. I wondered what had she learned at preschool and asked, "Oh, how's that?" 
" Well, you just look at their eyelashes."
Ha ha ha ha...
Well, this one sure does have pretty eyelashes!

The day after Christmas, we went for a drive into the country.  I had my camera ready, and we were on the lookout for old barns, curious cows hanging out near their fences, or anything that I might turn into a painting.  But... that didn't work out. About the time we got onto rural roads, the fog came down.  We saw white... a lot of white... for a long time... 

Ron wanted to take me to a little breakfast cafe he discovered on his last motorcycle trip.

You just never know where you'll find a place worth driving back to.  

If you ever find yourself hungry in the middle of nowhere Northwest Arkansas,  maybe you'll come to the Oark General Store and Cafe.  


Delicious!
Fabulous country breakfast of bacon, eggs, biscuits, and gravy!

Oh, and on the way home, we did find this little gray donkey that didn't mind letting me take a few pictures of him/her.



Original Oil Painting on 11"x 14" Canvas
[SOLD]

A Little Gray Donkey (a.k.a. Clip Clop)

Doesn't he just look ornery! I bet the farmer who feeds him is either aggravated or laughing at him all the time.
His name is Clip Clop.

When my daughter was about three, her little choir at church sang a song about the donkey that Joseph led as he and Mary made their way to Bethlehem.  Each little one had a pair of rhythm sticks to tap together as they sang.
     
     Little gray donkey,
     Clip clop, clip clop,
     On the way to Bethlehem. 

     Little gray donkey,
     Clip clop, clip clop,
     On the way to Bethlehem. 

     Little gray donkey,
     Clip clop, clip clop,
     On the way to Bethlehem. 

Maybe there were more words, but I think they just sang those three lines over and over until they finished.  It was so cute.  
I think this little donkey is pretty cute, so I've named him Clip Clop in honor of the song.

Original Oil Painting on 16"x 12" Wrapped Canvas
[SOLD]

The Minstrel (a.k.a. Oo-de-lally)

I wonder what my five little hens would think if this guy came over to strut around the yard!

Wait!  

I know!

They'd say, "OOOooooooo-de-lally!!!"

Sorry...

Now that song will be stuck in your head all day long.

Ha ha!  Oh, well, it's a pretty happy thing to have stuck in your head.

"Laughin' back and forth at what the other'ne has to say
Reminiscin', This-'n'-thattin' havin' such a good time
Oo-de-lally, oo-de-lally, golly, what a day!"

Thanks Roger Miller for 

writing such a fun song.

These words fit pretty well for how my painting partners and I felt while we were painting roosters.

By the way, did you know that Robin Hood rooster had a name?  
It was Allan-a-dale.  
Hm... who knew!

Original Oil Painting on 12"x 16" Wrapped Canavas
[SOLD]

Hen on the Hay

In my class we've recently finished our unit of poetry.  We read poetry. We talked about poetry. We thought about poetry.  We wrote poetry. 

Humor poems... classic poems... poems with rhyme and rhythm... free verse poems... narrative poems... odd poems... poems that made us wonder why they were poems...

This was one of the first poems that we read that made the kids go... huh?

The Red Wheelbarrow

so much depends

upon

a red wheel

barrow

glazed with rain

water

beside the white

chickens.

          - William Carlos Williams

But, then I introduced a strategy for close reading called I Wonder statements.  Once the kids started, they never stopped!

I wonder why he wrote that poem.

I wonder why he left it out in the rain.

I wonder what was in the wheel barrow.

I wonder how many chickens there were.

I wonder why he didn't capitalize his first word.

I wonder why the chickens stay beside the wheel barrow.

I wonder what depends on the wheel barrow.

I wonder if it will rust.

I wonder ...

Of all the odd poems for them (both classes) to fixate on!  When we began writing innovations or poems inspired by famous poems, they often came back to this one with their own versions.

so much depends

upon

a warm

donut

glazed with brown

chocolate

beside the white

milk

--

so much depends

upon

a blonde Barbie

doll

dressed in a ball

gown

beside the white

teddy bear

--

so much depends 

upon

the red tractor

covered with 

mud

beside the pink

pigs. 

If I read 5 of these, I read 50 of them!

So, here's one from me.

-

The Straw Hay Bale

(Inspired by William Carlos Williams)

so much depends

upon

a straw hay

bale

glistening in sun

light

beneath the red

chicken

Thanks to Jackie from Welcome Home Retreat.  This is her gorgeous hen!

Original Oil Painting on 14"x 18" Wrapped Canvas

[SOLD]

Little Brown Donkey

On the last day of school last year, Ron picked me up as soon as I said goodbye to the kids, and we took a road trip.

What a great idea!  We drove to Custer State Park in South Dakota.  Let me just say, that going to a major tourist destination during the days before Memorial Day is the best.  We practically had the whole place to ourselves.

The weather was perfect.  We had no agenda, no real time table.   This little tourist trap sold peanuts to feed the prairie dogs.   There were hundreds of them, and they were pretty fat and pretty demanding.  But so cute!

Next stop... The Badlands!  What an amazing place.  We took the kids to The Badlands when they were about 9 and 12.  I remember telling the kids, "It's going to be kind of like a zoo... only for rocks instead of animals."  As you can imagine, that did not get them excited.  We've laughed about that description for years.  15 years later, it's still beautiful.

Bea... u... ti... ful!!!  

And we basically had The Needles Highway to ourselves.  

 





So relaxed... so weird that 24 hours earlier I was finishing the last day of school. 





One thing I was anxious to see again was the Chief Crazy Horse Monument.  They work on it every day, so I was thinking that there would be a noticeable change since I'd seen it 15 years before.
Hmmm... no...  not much changed.  Still huge... still working... still a long way from finished.  Still the story behind the family who works on it intrigues me.
It rained on us at Mount Rushmore, but that was okay.
We have a funny (well funny now) story about the last time we visited Rushmore.  We purposefully went on July 4 so we could see the fireworks show they do from the Presidents' heads.  Hmmm... Guess that was before Google when we could check schedules... The fireworks are done on July 3... Missed it...

The most memorable afternoon was when we hiked around Sylvan Lake.  There are certain places on earth that are so gorgeous that they don't seem real.  When you get to be in one of those places,  you just stop and appreciate the privilege of being there.  Like I said, we were there the days prior to Memorial day so we didn't have to share the trails or views.  On this particular hike, we met only one other couple.

So... what does all this have to do with the painting?

These funny little red donkeys came to greet us on the road.  I'm pretty sure they were begging for treats.  They were pretty persistent.. a.k.a. annoying.. but awfully cute.

Hee Haw!!!

Original Oil Painting on 11"x 14"

[SOLD]

We'll Just Have Salad III

Is this deja vu?

No, I didn't accidentally post these gals again.  The ladies are back for yet another encore!  There must be something about those patient eyes that make people want to look again and again.  (You can read what I wrote the other times by clicking We'll Just Have Salad and then We'll Just Have Salad II.)

You would think I'd have this down by the third time, but nope... still had challenges to work through, especially with the black cow.  I miss having a teacher who can just say, "Use cerulean blue instead of white," or "Try moving her eye sparkle to the other side," or "Look at the sides of her nose again," or "Maybe a white eyelash with an upward twist."  Sometimes I miss painting with you each week so much, Cheri!

So, anyway...
Look at the difference a few tiny changes makes!
Isn't she friendlier now!

[SOLD]

Black Angus

What are you thinking as you look into my eyes?

One of my earliest memories is being told to "stand in the fence opening and don't let any cows get through" as my parents and brothers were trying to run the cows through the chute beside the barn. I suppose they were giving them medicine, putting in ear tags, or checking them for pink eye.  I have a vivid memory of a cow standing right in front of me and staring me right in the eyes.  She was easily ten times bigger than me so I cried, "It's looking at me!" and Momma came running.  "Well, of course she's staring at you.  She can't help it because you're so pretty.  Now here's a big stick; whack her if she comes back over here." That seems so funny and farmer-like to me now - sweet then practical all in one breath.  I do believe that was when I learned to enjoy looking into a cow's eyes.  Hmmm... she thinks I'm pretty...
And, isn't this a pretty little Angus heifer!  She's got her hair all spiked on top and swirled in the front...long fluttery eyelashes and wispy long ear hairs...

She lives on the farm land where I grew up.  I took a picture of her when I went back for a class reunion.  

[SOLD]

How Now, Brown Cow?

What Next?

According to the Urban Dictionary, that's what How Now Brown Cow means...  Well, it's one of the meanings listed.  It has taken on several meanings:

• getting turned downed down flat by the opposite sex... "You got how now brown cowed by her!"
• a really pretty girl... "Look at that how now brown cow coming!"
• another way to ask what's up... "Hey, how now brown cow, dude!"
• there's no more beer... During Prohibition, the wooden keg was called a brown cow.  When it was empty they asked what they should do next... "How now brown cow?

Those are the silliest things I've ever heard!  I thought it was just a phrase to teach the open ow vowel sound, and of course, the appropriate greeting when meeting a brown cow.

This little brown cow lives on the land that belonged to my family when I was a kid.  When I went home for my 30-year class reunion, we went to have a look at our old house, field, and pond.  This cow was just as interested in me as I was in her;  She even stopped chewing her lunch to stare for a minute.

Enjoy an Etsy treasury (collection of related art pieces and vintage items) called How Now Brown Cow - just click!

[SOLD]

Hey, Hey... Hay! Again?

 Do you like reruns?

There's just something comforting about watching certain movies again, reading special books again, or going to the same favorite spot again.

If we catch When Harry Met Sally, Apollo 13, or It's a Wonderful Life on television, the channel flicking stops.  We just have to stop what we're doing and watch it again.  

One of the best parts of being a teacher is getting to read some fantastic books again and again every year.  Books like Dear Mr. Henshaw, Number the Stars, and Where the Red Fern Grows never get old!

So... What does that have to do with this little painting?  Well, I just love this little heifer!  It makes me smile to see her hanging on my wall, but she keeps selling!  I guess it's my fault for listing her for sale, but she's kind of fun to paint anyway.




[SOLD]