:) Sisters...

Can all the facets "sisters" be defined in words?


Probably not...  These lovely ladies are my sisters, sisters-in-law, and me. 
In our family we are collectively known as "The Aunts."  


How blessed I am to be a part of this group!


I'm showing my sisters today because of a poem by Margaret Bednar.  She took a painting that I had submitted to a challenge for In the Moment and wrote the loveliest poem about sisters.  I love this poem on so many levels.  Enjoy!

Hand in Hand

Fingers clasped, palms together
Made of the same sweet design
We can face all kinds of weather

Special gift to one another
You are dear, sister of mine
Fingers clasped, palms together

Some call you "little mother"
My eyes simply see "divine"
We can face all kinds of weather

You encourage constant blather
And offer a safe lead line
Fingers clasped, palms together

I can be quite a bother
From your lips never a whine
We can face all kinds of weather

Protector like no other
Our hearts will always intertwine
Fingers clasped, palms together
We can face all kinds of weather

by Margaret Bednar


This is the painting, "Hand in Hand," that made Margaret want to write her poem.
It can be purchased in several forms.
12" x 12" giclee
8" x 8" giclee
8" x 8" print

Love & Kisses

How many ways are there to say I love you?

Happy Valentine's Day!

Love and Kisses!

XOXO

These little hearts and silver wrapped chocolates say it all without any words at all!

Oritinal Oil Painting

[SOLD]

Central Park

What can a couple from Arkansas learn during a free afternoon in New York City?


** There is a Metropolitan Art Museum store near Times Square.  The guy there is happy to explain how to get the the museum.
** Apparently having exact change is imperative if you want to be allowed on a bus.
**Giving change for a dollar is not something the guy in the coffee shop is quick to do. (Eventually he will give in, but only for one of your dollars.)
**It's a really long ride with lots of stops before you get there.
**And, the Metropolitan Museum of Art is not open on Mondays... sigh...
**There are no places to beg change for a dollar near there.
*****Finally, it's a lovely, peaceful (long) walk back - but, you get to experience Central Park from one end to the other.
**And, it's possible to have a very inexpensive day in New York City - even if it's not on purpose.


Enjoy an Etsy treasury (collection of art pieces and vintage items) featuring Romantic Vacation Destinations where "Central Park" was chosen as one of those special places.  Click and enjoy a moment in each.


This painting was done for the December challenge from A Day Not Wasted.  I find it intriguing to see the diversity of  paintings done by a dozen different artists who all used the same image as they painted  Have a look!

Bride

How do you describe a bride?


Beautiful... lovely... glowing... radiant...


The January challenge given for the In the Moment was to show an image that portrayed the word "unsullied" - immaculate, pristine, pure, elegant...


I can't think of any more perfect image to portray those words than that of a bride.

Farmhouse

What special meal do you remember from your childhood?

         My grandma's was the perfect “grandma’s house”...the kind that all children should have the opportunity to visit...the kind that all adults should have tucked into their memories.  Every ingredient was there:  a cold creek for swimming, a hot hay loft for daring, a huge garden for picking, a few chicken eggs for gathering, and a treasure-filled attic for pretending.  Of course, there were also cousins, always cousins.  Then... we shared the chores, games, secrets, and mischief.  Now... we share fond memories...memories that come back clearly whenever I see a silver Christmas tree, feel a crocheted afghan, hear the word spectacles, smell marigolds, or taste noodle dumplins.

          Grandma always made noodle dumplins for the grandkids whenever we were visiting without parents, aunts, or uncles.  When I lost Grandma at 14, I also lost that special flavor.

          After I had children of my own, I made many unsuccessful attempts to find the right combination of ingredients to share the taste with them.  I asked my mother, and she mentioned P.E.T. milk as part of the recipe.  That was the secret!  I knew it was right from the first spoonful.

Noodle Dumplins 

2-3 lbs. chicken

7-8 c. water

1-2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1-2     chicken bullion cube (optional)

1/3     small onion

8 oz.   egg noodle dumplings

12 oz. evaporated milk

          Remove skin from chicken.  Boil chicken, salt, pepper, onion, and bullion in the water.  Take chicken out of broth to remove bones.  Cut into small pieces and return.  Add noodles.  Cook 5-10 minutes.  Add evaporated milk.  Bring to a boil.  Broth will thicken as it cooks.

*Tastes best if served in tiny, pink china bowls.

Red Barn in Winter

What makes a big old barn such an intriguing building?


E.B. White was a master of using descriptive language. I remember a part in Charlotte's Web when he described the barn using only the sense of smell. I know I'll butcher the beautiful flow of his sentences, but it went something like this....

.... The barn smelled of hay and of manure, of rubber boots, and the perspiration of tired horses.  It smelled of axle grease, new rope and of the sweet breath of patient cows. And whenever the cat was given a fish head to eat, it would smell of fish. But there was always the smell of hay. Hay being pitched down from the loft...


I'm sure there was more, and I'm sure it was worded much more elegantly, but the spirit of his words is there. Somehow we just want to be there enjoying that. And, how can cow breath and fish heads be pleasant... I don't know, but somehow I believe that this red barn holds similar delightful smells.

Storytime

What was your favorite storybook?


Mine was Go Dogs Go! by P.D. Eastman.  Oh, how I loved that book!  "Big dog. Little dog.  Black dog.  White dog."... "Dogs in the shade under the house" while one was on top in the sun... My favorite page - one dog was wide awake in the bed while all the others slept... Then "To the tree!  To the tree!  To the top of the tree!" for the dog party!  And, of course, "Do you like my hat?"  
My mother took me to the county library every Thursday before grocery shopping.  I was allowed to check out 9 books each week.  She would only let me check out Go Dogs Go! every other week because "other boys and girls need a turn."  Hmmm... I wonder if that was the reason, or if she just needed a break from same book...


I could name dozens of books that I love and that I think every child needs to read - to own, but I always put silly Go Dogs Go! at the top of the list.  So, it's become a tradition it's part of the gift I give to every new baby born into my family.


Guess what... this Pepaw was once a teenager who let me crawl into his lap when I was not much bigger than this little one.  I just bet he read Go Dogs Go! to me a time or two.


So, what's your favorite storybook?

Monkeys

What's more fun than a barrel of monkeys?


Is there even an answer to that question?  And, are they really that much fun anyway?


I never saw myself as a painter of monkeys, but I guess you just never know.  I learned a lot painting these three little guys.  For one thing, all the lessons and strategies that I'd worked to perfect with human anatomy just plain don't work with monkeys!  Fingers, ears, noses, lips... You know how at the zoo, you say, "Wow, they're so human-like..."  Well, no, they aren't!  Oh...ha ha ha... It was a fun task to undertake.


Remember that little plastic barrel that had the monkeys in it?  I'm searching back in my childhood memories... Was it a game?  Was it really supposed to be fun to try to pick them up?  Hmmm.... I'd like to give it another try.


Have a look at this Etsy site I found called Common Object Jewelry.  The artist has taken all sorts of everyday items and turned them into sterling silver jewelry - macaroni, goldfish crackers, gummy bears, and yes... a barrel of monkeys monkey!  How fun!  

Santa Nutcracker

Merry Christmas!

I don't believe this little guy has every actually cracked a nut, but he stands guard - ready to do so should the need arise!

He is one of the few nutcrackers in my collection that I actually purchased myself.  I love his simplicity.


Original oil painting on 6"x 12" Wrapped Canvas
[SOLD]

Traditions

What objects best represent Christmas?


My family has many traditions around the Christmas holiday season that are so important. This painting shows a group of objects that have special meaning to us. 


During December our house is filled with things that make us happy.
***There are nutcrackers of every size and color on nearly every shelf, table, nook, and cranny. 
***Candles add a sense of peacefulness (although I admit that I never burn the prettiest ones).
***I don't think I've ever bought a poinsettia, but we usually have one that has been given to me by one of my students. 
***The red beads have been getting my children (now grown) in trouble for years. They always wanted to play with them much more than have them just hang and look pretty. After years of fighting this, I finally gave up. Now, there's a whole bowl of red beads whose purpose is just to be played with.
*** And the Bible is central to Christmas morning when one of us reads from the second chapter in Luke.


Visit Nutcrackers  to enjoy an Etsy treasury (collection of vintage items, jewelry, and art pieces) which includes this painting as well as other items celebrating nutcrackers.


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

"Traditions" can be purchased in several forms.
Contact me if you'd like to purchase this image as a giclee, a print, or note cards.

Lemon Slice

What does Christmas smell like?

I think it's a citrus-y, cinnamon-y, clove-y smell.  
This is a great little gift.  It's pretty to look at until you're ready to make the whole house smell like Christmas. Just dump it in a pot and let it simmer.   The ingredients I used are:

Lemon

Lime

Tangerine

Orange

Grapefruit
Cranberries

Whole Cloves

Cinnamon Sticks

Cinnamon Oil

Water


A while back I was on a roll of painting citrus fruit.  It began with a challenge from the Rookie Painter site.   Sometimes painting makes me really "see" ordinary things for the first time.  I guess I never realized that lemons have a certain number of little sections.  Hmm... 
Becoming more observant is one the things I've enjoyed most about becoming a painter.


"Lemon Slice" is the little painting I submitted to the Rookie Painter challenge.  


It was featured in an Etsy treasury (collection of art pieces and vintage items) celebrating "Real and Imaginary."  I'm not sure whether the curator  selected it because it looked like a realistic piece of fruit (for the real) or because it looked like a gigantic piece of fruit coming over the world's horizon (for the imaginary)!!!  Either way, it's an honor to be a part of the collection.  Click to enjoy it yourself.

:) Away in a Manger

What's your most cherished Christmas item?  


We have plenty of ornaments, decorations, and trimmings that we enjoy putting out each year.  But, if I have to choose only one, I don't have to consider very long.  It's this Nativity Scene (There are actually two-back to back) created by my own little ones when they were in the 4-year old Sunday School class many years ago.

Joy!

I've got the 
joy, 
  joy,
    joy, 
      joy
down in my heart.
  Down in my heart!
     Down in my heart!!
I've got the
joy,
  joy,
    joy,
      joy,
down in my heart.
Down in my heart
    to stay!!


Wet Paint in My Mind's Eye includes "Joy!" as well as 11 other paintings depicting joyous dancers! This painting was also included in Etsy treasuries (collections of vintage items and art pieces) celebrating Smiles and Happy Smiles.  Click to have a look.  It will put a smile on your face! Then click Smiles & Sunshine,  Joy, or another J O Y enjoy treasuries that will make you smile on the inside.  Then enjoy the beautiful color combinations in Joy or in  Hot, Hot, Hot Summer Days.  Finally, visit the beautiful art represented in Artsy Etsy.


Click "Joy" to go to the Etsy site where this painting can be purchased.


I submitted this painting to an In the Moment challenge.  The challenge was to show and artistic interpretation of the word triumph.  And, doesn't she look triumphant!!  Visit this unique site to see how other artists have portrayed the word.

Hot Chocolate

What does winter taste like?


Mmmmmmmmm.....


Warm, milky, chocolaty... perfect...


Enjoy Etsy treasuries (collections of art pieces and handmade or vintage items) called Winter Warm Up or Warm and Toasty. They both celebrate all sorts of things that keep us warm when it's cold outside.  And visit Hot Cocoa or  Snuggle Up  for treasuries that focus on the lovely color of cocoa. Then there's Whipped Cream - Enjoy the Colors for a celebration of the stuff on top!

Christmas Past

Which Christmas traditions are unique to your family?


My family shares many traditions with the rest of the country - stockings on the fireplace, turkey and dressing, visiting grandparents, watching old family videos...
But we also have some others...
****Santa always brings socks (along with the fun stuff).
****Some sneaky person rearranges the N.O.E.L. stocking hangers to spell L.E.O.N. (I didn't realize this was a tradition until the year I just put them on the mantle like I knew they'd end up; the kids had a fit!)
****There's a sulky teenager on the couch while we decorate the tree. (We didn't realize this was a tradition until the kids outgrew it - so my husband volunteered to play the role!)
**** We relive each memory/vacation/event that goes with the Christmas ball purchased for each year (since 1985).
****There's a big bowl of Chex mix.
****The house is filled with a much bigger collection of nutcrackers than I ever meant to have. (One of the joys of being an elementary school teacher is getting presents - and lots of them have been nutcrackers!)
****All the silliness and fun stops after stockings are opened while someone reads the Christmas story from Luke 2.  What a special 5-10 minutes we share before the craziness of opening presents begins.


This chimney sits along the road that goes between my two brothers' houses  I've always loved imagining the families that sat in front of fires built there. What a surprise when stockings appeared on it before Christmas!!!


What an honor that this chimney has been  featured in an Etsy treasury (collections or art pieces and vintage items). Click
Twas the Night Before Christmas to enjoy the treasury.   

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

"Christmas Past" can be purchased in several forms.
Contact me if you'd like to purchase this image as a giclee, a print, or note cards.

Pitcher & Vegetables

What one food makes Thanksgiving Thanksgving?


I'll be spending the day up to my elbows in mashed potatoes, grandma corn, pink fluff, deviled eggs, giblet gravy, and Chex mix.  And, all of those are vital to our family traditions on Thanksgiving, but...


In my family it's all about the dressing (pronounced dressin' ) - if you aren't from the South, you may call it stuffing.  Don't be fooled - it isn't the same thing. (The year my son was in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, we had turkey and stuffing in a lovely New York City hotel - definitely not the same thing.)  So, I thought I'd share:

Cornbread Dressing

1 pan crumbled cornbread  Every time I make it to go with soups, I crumble the leftover and freeze it.  By Thanksgiving, I have a big bag of it.  I know it's way more than 1 pan.

2-3 cups bread crumbs Just use 5-6 pieces of bread, heels, crusts and all.  Tear it up.
10-12 crumbled crackers Use whatever's left in the last sleeve of crackers.  Saltines are fine, or whatever you have on the shelf.
2 onions chopped Coarsely or finely chopped -your preference.  Use less if you don't care for as much onion flavor. You might want to saute them in butter first.
1/2 cup butter More is always better when it comes to butter.
4 cups chicken broth Have more ready just in case.  Your dressing must be runny when you put it in the oven
3 raw eggs, beaten Makes it fluffy!  I've even been known to put in a few sliced boiled eggs just for a different texture.
1 can pet milk This is the secret!  This is what we southerners don't tell people from other parts of the country.
1 cup chicken Chop it up and put it in.  You'll have it anyway since you're boiling it to make your own broth, right? (Just kidding - don't feel badly if you use canned broth.  You just won't have chicken bits to add.)
sage Use as much as you want.  This is the aroma that makes Thanksgiving special.
salt  Whatever amount seems right. Teaspoon, tablespoon...
pepper Whatever amount seems right. Teaspoon-ish,
Bake at 350-375 for 30-40 minutes. Cover with foil for the first part of cooking.

Enjoy!

Have a little potato fun with this Etsy treasury (collection of vintage items and art pieces) celebrating the potato!  Click You Say Potato... I Say Potato... Then click Vegetables Are Good for You for a colorful, healthy, yummy treasury. And finally a celebration of all things Potato.

Kiss on the Path

Where do you suppose that this path leads?

I loved this image from the first time I saw it.  I love the story it tells... kind of metaphorical, I suppose... A young couple in love and at the very beginning of their life together. They can see just a little way down the path, but the rest is... down the road...

[Sold]

Li'l Punkin'

Where do you look first, last, and the longest?

It's the eyes, right?  Why is that?  My husband and I have the privilege of taking care of the infants and toddlers in our church for an hour each week.   And I've noticed that even a baby of a few weeks old knows that it's all about the eyes!  They instinctively stare directly into their caregiver's eyes.

As I was scrutinizing each square inch of this painting, I realized I kept going back to the eyes.  Not fair that one square inch should demand so much attention!  I worked really hard those pumpkins and that hay and those stripes on his shirt! 

Once I decided that I'd done the best I could on my own, I took it to my painting mentor.  She admired it, complimented this and that, praised things that I'd done well... Then politely furrowed her brow and pursed her lips... I knew that I was about to learn what tiny (or huge) revision I needed to make if I wanted this painting to be "right."  Somehow, I knew it wouldn't have anything to do with the pumpkins, the hay, the little clothes... "Let's see if we can scoot that eye over a little bit."   Oh, how I love her for seeing what I miss and gently guiding me to get it right!  (But, that love arrives after a second or two of an internal scream of "Nooooooo!" that only comes out as a small sigh followed by, "Yeah, I see it now.  You're right."

And, in the end... look at those sweet little eyes.  Those are his momma's eyes.  Oh, how I loved those big brown eyes when I held, loved, and played with my first little neice!  I'm glad this "Li'l Punkin'" got his momma's eyes.

Here's Looking at You

Why would anyone paint this?

Well, I'll tell you how it happened.  I had the opportunity to enter two paintings in a 5x5 showing and auction at Art Center of the Ozarks.  I was sitting at Sonic (yum!) with my teenaged son talking about what I should paint.  I said I wanted to do something different than a flower or piece of fruit like most people would do.  I said, "I don't want to shrink something down, I want to paint something small but make it bigger.  But, I want to paint something that's really beautiful and colorful.  What could that be?"  He flipped down the visor, looked in the mirror, and said, "My eyes.  They're small and beautiful and colorful."  That was it!

I suppose I shouldn't ruin it by telling how he whined and fussed at me having to take at least a dozen pictures to get a good one of each eye.....

I entered one of these little eye paintings in a challenge that encouraged artists to think about "Color" and what colors represent in different contexts.  Visit "In the Moment" to see the other "color" pieces.

Pumpkin Time

What colors are supposed to be calming and relaxing?

I'm pretty sure, they're blues, greens, purples - the cool colors.  I thought the warm colors were supposed to do just the opposite.  Right?  Reds, oranges, and yellows are supposed to stimulate or cause excitement.
Hmmm...
So why do I want to go into this scene and simply relax, be still, let the time pass without accomplishing any tasks?

This imaginary place was just too wonderful not to visit twice.  (You'll see another version of this scene if you scroll down just a few entries.)