Red Chair

What makes me love this painting so much?

I do love a great porch.  I love a pretty door... nice blooming plants... a blue sky...

Hmmm...

This little 8"x 10" painting is the 100th Weekly-ish Challenge painting with my art mentor / dear friend Cheri. 100!!! 

We started during COVID, a time when we needed a way to boost our creativity and an excuse to talk for a hour each week or so. Cheri lives in another state, but that hasn't kept us from being painting partners. We came up with the idea then made some rules.

1. We'd take turns coming up with a challenge word  
* *unless we chose a phrase or concept.
2. We'd do an oil painting in response to the challenge
* *unless we chose to do art is some other way.
3. We'd have one week to complete our art projects
* *unless we needed a few extra days... or weeks.
4. We'd text to let the other know when we finished
* *unless we were already talking for another reason.
5. We'd have fun and laugh...

I'm a loyal fan of using Blurb, so of course we made little books to record our project.

Here are links.  

• Click PREVIEW under the book cover to open the book. 
• Click the two arrows above the book to make it bigger. 
• Click the bottom right corner to turn the pages. 
• Flip through and enjoy!

Weekly-ish Challenges #1-#20

Weekly-ish Challenges #21-40

Weekly-ish Challenges #41-#60

Weekly-ish Challenges #61-#80

Weekly-ish Challenges #81-#100

Thank you, thank you, thank you to my friend Sara Harley who has the most wonderful collection of photos that she's taken over the years.  When I get stuck in a I-have-no-idea-what-to-paint mode, she comes through with the perfect reference photo. 

Original Oil Painting on 8"x 10" Canvas Board in Vintage Frame

Click Red Chair if you'd like to purchase this painting. 

Front Porch

I have happy memories of my grandma and grandpa's house.  I was #20 out of 21 grandkids. Sometimes I got to stay with them by myself or with some of the younger cousins.  Sometimes it was a hive of activity with lots of cousins, aunts, and uncles.

My grandparents passed away before I was a teenager, so my memories are few, but the ones I do have are special and maybe unique. These memories are specific to the porch.

• Marigolds would be planted in front of the porch.  Always marigolds.  (And, I always plant some marigolds in my garden and think of them.)
• The front porch was huge and where lots happened. (Although, I found photos of it, and no... it wasn't huge at all!  It was small!)
• There was a welcome mat in front of the porch.  Every evening, they'd put some scraps and vegetables then wait.  We'd have to be still and patient, but eventually the rabbits would come.
• Later there was a ramp put up beside the porch steps for two cousins who became paralyzed and needed wheelchair access to the house. My #21 cousin and I had so much fun on that ramp.
• Grandpa would sit on the porch and peel his daily apple.  He'd use a pocket knife and go around and around the apple making one long peel.
• Fly swatters hung on a nail.  Whether playing cards, swinging, waiting for rabbits, or having a snack, swatting and shooing flies was just part of life.
• Anytime a car passed by on the dirt road, they'd discuss who it was and where they might be going or where they'd been.

For my companion piece for my Creative Companion group, I thought about memories I had for each of my senses.

• Taste
• Noodle dumplings
• R.C. Cola
• Smell
• Food cooking 
• Marigolds
• Touch
• Bitter cold Meyer Creek
• Cane-bottom, ladder-back chairs
• Hear
• Laughter
• "The Price Is Right!"
• See
• Barn, garden, & smokehouse
• Bookshelf, where I found and read all the Little Women books.

This month's topic for Creative Companions was "A Memory that Resonates Through Time."

Original Oil Painting on 10"x 10" Wrapped Canvas

Morning Glory Banister

My friend asked me if I could paint the morning glories on her porch so that she could still have them even after their blooming season is over.

Ummm... Yes, please!  I do love a good porch! And, I do love any opportunity to paint with purple, green, and turquoise!

Original Oil Painting on 8"x 10" Wrapped Canvas

[SOLD]

 

Aspens in Autumn

What makes autumn so special?

I think that maybe autumn is the season that becomes more loved as we age. I do not remember caring a bit about autumn when I was a kid... yeah, yeah, the leaves changed colors, the fair came to town, football games would be every Friday night...

Oh, but now... How thankful I am that I live in a place where autumn is so beautiful that it makes me slow down and sigh! The air has a crisp feeling. There's a smell of change - smoky, musky freshness. There's a crunching in the background all the time as squirrels and rabbits scamper through leaves - no more sneaking around.

The other night my husband and I sat on our porch rocking back and forth enjoying autumn in our own little mini-forest when something occurred to me... Way back a quarter of a century ago, didn't we dream of sitting on a front porch and leisurely rocking the evenings away? It's a sweet thing to realize when a dream actually comes true.

Original Oil Painting on 24"x 36" Wrapped Canvas
Currently not listed for Sale... I like it on my own wall too much. :)