Willowing Arts: A Year of Light (January)

It's good to be a lifelong learner!

 

I'll Always Be Behind You...

"Once upon a time there was a young girl who adored her little sister...
She loved her as a baby and as a little girl. 
She took care of her, played with her, and told her,
"I'll always be behind you..."

This image makes me swoon.

I love the story it tells.

Maybe because I was (am) a little sister with a big sister a decade older...

It's just so very sweet. 

I love doing commissioned paintings.  

I love hearing the stories of what makes their image special.  

I love the extra stress and pressure of knowing I have to get it right. (I know, that one's weird.) I love the honor of putting their story on canvas.

It starts with a text...

"You don't know me, but I've seen your work... I'm wondering if you could paint something for me."

Then it moves on to how she found me and asking to what she's hoping for. 

"I don't have the original photo, but I have a picture of it in my phone...  The photo is 50 years old and kind of blurry...  Some of it is cut off." 

Oh, no... what have I gotten myself into? It wouldn't be the first time I've heartily agreed to paint something then wondered how in the world I would manage to pull it off...

Then the image appeared on my phone screen.

Oh... it's precious. Tell me more...

Next there are the logistics... What size? How soon do you need it? Are the specific clothes important? How about the background? 

Here we go!

Click the little video and watch the process with me! (It's about 30 seconds long.)

I was captivated by the scene.

It didn't take long to complete the oil painting.

However, I wasn't finished with the image.

I did it again in a fanciful, magical way.

And, I still wasn't finished.

I wanted one more in a soft, dreamy way

Sigh... I only got to enjoy seeing them for a short time. I already gave them to the "big sister" to give to the "little sister." I hope she is surprised and pleased.

Do you have a favorite?

Original Oil Painting on 10"x 20" Wrapped Canvas

Original Acrylic Painting on 9"x 12" Art Paper

Original Mixed Media on 9"x 12" Art Paper

[SOLD]

Word Weaver Art Blurb Book 2024

 It came today!
Yay!

Another year... another collection of paintings... another little Blurb book.

When I took those first lessons back in 2007, I wouldn't have dreamed that I might still be painting  in 2024.  

When I wrote my first blog posts back in 2009, I couldn't have imagined that I'd keep it up, that I'd love it, that I'd "meet" so many friends.

I have a Blurb book for every year since I began. I am a huge fan of Blurb and would recommend them any time.

My little collection of Word Weaver Art books grew today.

If you'd like a peek inside, click HERE.  Once it opens, click PREVIEW.  Then you can click the pages to flip through the book. If you read my blog, you've basically already read it, but it's fun to see it all put together in a book format.

Do you know my favorite color combination... go ahead... take a guess. 😊

Mosaic Daisies

I know I've tried a lot of different art mediums in the last couple of years, but his was a first. 

My WordSpark group was challenged with the word "Mosaic." 

I thought this one would be easy.  I've made a lot of stepping stones with concrete and bits of color. I'll just whip this one out in a no time.

Yeah... that's what I thought...

No... that's not how it worked out...

I decided that I'd like to give doing a "real" mosaic a try. So, where does one go to learn something brand new? YouTube, of course.

I have more art supplies than... well... I have anything I could ever need for any craft... except for...

... mosaic adhesive... and grout... and colored glass shards... and glass cutters...

It looked so simple.

It was not.

But, I did try again and gave new life to an old frame.

I will eventually do another... I do have the supplies after all...

The top one is done on a wooden plaque. (It was a plaque that the Harley place had given Ron when he bought his motorcycle. I just "upcycled" it.) 

the second one was done on art paper and made from scraps of paper I'd painted on.

I Like... (1/25)

Thank you to Leeanne of Not Afraid of Color for reminding me to notice things I like. 

I like having my word-of-the-year words
where I can open a door and be reminded.

I like giving my delivery guys a treat when it's time
for all the Christmas packages to be delivered.

I like looking out the window and seeing
a pink unicorn... grandkid helping Pop-E with the yard work.

I like sewing little bags.

I like to watch them come running when I shake the sunflower seed container.

I like my kitty. He keeps a close eye on me.

I like playing Wordle, Connections, and a game of Double Free Cell every morning.

I like getting stockings ready for our little ones... and our big ones.

A Year of Light Taster Sessions - 21-32

I was determined to finish all of the Taster Sessions from A Year of Light with Willowing Arts by the end of the year.

Whew!

I made it!

I know I repeat myself, but I have to say again how much I've enjoyed and learned from all these teachers from around the world.  Each lesson challenges me with some medium or technique or subject that is far from "normal" for me.

It feels good to simply be creative. Sometimes I'm amazed that I'm able to produce something I'm quite pleased with. Other times... well... I complete the lesson.

Big Apples

Just a few apples... simple...

I find that there's an elegance in simplicity that I love.

We've eaten a lot of apples lately. Why? Well, I wanted to do an apple painting... so I needed an apple reference photo... so I needed some apples... so I went to the store ... but I wasn't sure which kind would look best... so I bought some of each... so we have lots of apples at our house... so... we've eaten a lot of apples lately.

This painting might not be what you'd expect.

Take another look. 

It's a big one!

Let me explain where I got the idea for this painting. 

Not long ago I discovered a blog that I really enjoyed. It's called Mafamilias Writes.   I liked the style of the person writing it so much that I decided to go back to the beginning of it and read it through. It's kind of a magical time-traveling experience to do that.  I'm reading something written in the present, but when I'm reading it, it's in the past. (Let that sink in a minute... Hmmm... It's a little bizarre to be reading the excitement about a new grandbaby being born and realizing that baby is probably driving a car now!)  Strange, but I love it.

Anyway....

I came to a post with a picture of the writer, a knitter, modeling one of her scarves... wait, or maybe it was a sweater... Anyway, I saw part of a painting in the background that showed some great big apples.  I couldn't stop thinking about that part of a painting.  Maybe I needed a painting of some great big apples on my wall!

Now, that's what I have!

The best part of this painting is that I did it with a palette knife.  I can hardly wait until it's dry so that I can run my fingertips across the texture of the smeared paint on the canvas. Mmmm.... 

Original Oil Painting on 18"x 18" Wrapped Canvas

I'm sure going to enjoy this one on my own wall while it waits for its forever home.  If you want that to be your home, just click Three Big Apples.  

Christmas Tree Surprise

This was my example for the class of seniors I taught.

Just look at how beautiful all of theirs turned out!

Such a lovely bunch of ladies!!!

I find that students in their 70s and 80s just aren't that different from the 9 and10 year old kids I taught for a few decades. Both are kind of nervous with something new. They both want the teacher's approval and praise. They need to see an example.  And, they both just want the teacher to stop talking so that they can dive in to the project!

What fun!

Original Acrylic Painting on 16"x 20" Wrapped Canvas
Click Christmas Tree Surprise if you'd like to purchase it for yourself. Only mine is for sale.  Sorry, theirs are all just too priceless!

I Like... (12/24)

 Thank you to Leeanne of Not Afraid of Color for reminding me to notice things I like. 

I like City Park in New Orleans. 
I think it's the prettiest park I've ever walked through.

I also like the tree across from my mailbox.
Yes, I know I've taken and posted photos of it before.
But, it's fabulous too.

I like a warm fire on a cold day.

I also like hot soup on a cold day.

I like that our ornaments don't match and
that our little ones keep adding more and more strings of beads.

LeeAnne's  get-to-know-you writing topics this month:

What dish would you take to a family dinner this month? Most likely deviled eggs.  I've got the chickens, so I've got the eggs. And, there are never any left when I take them, so deviled eggs is my go-to pot luck dish.

Hot chocolate or hot toddy? I'll go with hot chocolate. Honestly, I'm not even sure what a hot toddy is.

Are you the first person at a party or the last to leave? I don't want to be first, but I do try to be right on time. Then we're probably closer to the first to leave. Mornings start early at our house, so we're not much for late nights.

Real Christmas Tree or Artificial Christmas Tree? Artificial and pre-lit, thank you very much!

If you could eat only one type of cookie this holiday season, which cookie would you be eating a lot of? 

What would be the ideal way for you to spend Christmas Eve?  There would be a fire in the fireplace. I'd be preparing for tomorrow's meal. We'd have a relaxing day then go to Christmas Eve services in the evening.

How was Christmas done in your childhood home/family? The first ones up  banged pots and pans to wake up the rest of the family. First we emptied our stockings. They would have and orange, some nuts, and candy. Next we'd settle down and listen to my dad read the Christmas Story from Luke 2 in the Bible. Next we'd pass our and open our gifts.

Did you ever receive a gift as a child/teen that you really wanted and were totally excited to receive? The best gift I remember was when I was in 8th grade.  I got a brand new Stradivarius Bach trumpet. It was unexpected because I knew it was far beyond the normal budget for gifts in my family.  I loved it played it about every day for the next 5 years.

Caw! Caw!

I've been playing with the palette knife again. 

I finished the first one then just wasn't quite finished with this guy and painted him again.

I can't decide which one I like more.

I love the attitude of the first guy. I love that the second one and his background interact.

I was watching a crow outside my studio window yesterday. Is it an age thing? I never used to pay a bit of attention to birds. Before I know it, I'll probably have a field guide and binoculars! Surely not!

My Weekly-ish Challenge was "Crow." So... no tricks here, just a simple crow... or two.

Original Oil Painting on 8"x 8" Wrapped Canvas

Original Palette Knife Oil Painting on 8"x 8" Canvas Board

Click HERE if you'd like to purchase the first one.

Click HERE if you'd like to purchase the second one.