Friendly Westie Painting Snow White

..........................4x4-inch original oil ...............

You do remember our westie doggy boy, Sir Salty, who has been a foot warming pal lately? Usually he runs ahead of us when we are outside, but when we had 1 1/2 feet of soft snow he walked behind us for a change. Every step we would take he would bump into us...body language for "go faster pal."

When we are inside he is right at our feet. In other words if we jump up and move we bump into him. Do you think he learned the bumping into someone trait from us? I had never thought of that possibility before today.

Our white westie looked like rich cream compared to the pristine blue-white snow. Now that the snow has melted he looks pristine white again outside. In fact, snow white. Thus the title of this new painting. The moss green is permanently in my subconscious. We have this LARGE, beautiful flower clay urn always on the table. Right now it has white pointsettas in it. It is permanent by the flowers and foliage plants rotate from large leaved hostas, anthiriums, shrubs (yes, it's a great place to display them before I plant them) and other living plants.

The design theory for small rooms is use large objects to make it cozy and seem larger. (Irony in design; don't you think? But it works!) Our urn is not quite the size of the table, but it is, yes, large.

You can see the oil paints came out to play. I believe my head, sinus and ear woes are gone so it's safe to use oils. For sale now on ebay.

Altered Art Mermaid Princess Mixed Media Painting

It's funny how our daily life works it's way into our paintings sometimes obvious and other times it's more subtle. We have had trouble with our water. No running water. The pump died...Now you would know the pump is underground. We carried buckets of water for the sheep which we used to do simply with a hose. We carried water for indoors. It's was an adventure the first day but very quickly lost it's fun-ness.

Yesterday the plumbers came and undid the well cap and pulled out a stainless steel cylinder (the pump) and also feet and feet of yellow electric cords. Like 280 feet of cords...our well is a deep one...but no good if we can't get the water out. Two hours later the plumbers triumphed and we had fresh running water again!

I have never seen such beautiful water! Woohoo. It was like music to our ears and eyes and everything else. We tend to forget how convenient everything is until we don't have it. We were giddy! And that, my friend, is how this daily painting came about today!

It is for sale on ebay.

Daily Painting OWLS Girls Mixed Media Artist Candylei

Mixed media paintings are a bit like arranging flowers. Sometimes I have a very clear idea of what I want and other times it changes from the sketch to actual finished work. Art is an ongoing process and if something better pops into our mind as we are layering the pieces we take that route.

These two girls wear bright colors and carry lanterns so the owls can see they are friendly. The blonde is no other than Alice in Wonderland. Do you think she will find a flamingo instead. Who? A flamingo. Oh, I see you are already calling the owls. Up for sale on ebay now.

Check back tomorrow for another cutie. I haven't started it yet, but the idea is in me head. Along with other ideas pushing at the parameters of my mind.

ACEO Folk Art Mexican Chihuahua Dog

Aceo's are a wonderful size to play with designs, doodles and the serious stuff. They are small little treasures that like company. Aceo's can be put on a mat board and then framed by itself or in groups. They are usually less expensive than larger paintings. Usually...is the key word here. I have seen some go for over $100. on ebay auctions.

This terracotta color really appeals to me lately. Old Mexico colors. Frida's spanish coloring looks great against it. How can you paint Frida without some of her animal or bird friends in it? In fact two chihuahua's. This is my very first Frida ACEO up for sale!

The artist cards are very heavy and linen textured...the best. Can you see some of the texture in the photograph...just like a canvas painting. Yay!

Mixed Media collage Folk Art

Second day of daily painting assignment. Nearing midnight on this Christmas Day but I did not want to fail and here is my painting. I do love collages and cutting up papers and recycling into ART. The cutest kids are in this one. Write about love...and the boy makes a hat out of his paper while the girls hold theirs proudly in front like banners...(or are they shielding their hearts?) This I did with valentine's day in mind. I used the colors of the heart candies that kids give away in elementary school. Green, pink, orange, and white.

We had a wonderful Christmas Day and I hope yours was enjoyed as well. We are full, warm, happy, and now tired. Merry Christmas.

Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Green Living Portrait Painting

Frida and Diego in top topiary form in my new painting. Topiary sculpture is an art because your medium keeps changing and growing every which way.

There is lots of symbolism in this one, too. First do you see the heart shape that is between Frida and Diego? Do you see how they share an arm? That they are growing into each other and are a part of each other? I left Diego's legs bare so that it would be obvious that this was a plant and that his legs were the stalks. The background color is terracotta meaning we are all growing and learning on this planet like we are all in this big planter together.

Frida has put a flower in her Topiary Frida hair. The kitties keep the birds from stealing the flower. Birds like pretty things in their nests, too.

There is a group called the daily painters. To be a part of their group you have to put up a painting every day on your blog and tell about it...say something intelligent why, how or where the painting arrived. I have decided to accept the challenge (that might not be intelligent during the rush of the holidays) and here goes day one. So, if all goes as planned you should be able to stop by my blog everyday to see a new painting...maybe something intelligent, too.

This one is up for you on ebay.

Folk Artist Frida Kahlo and Chihuahua Dog Sweater Painting

I love indoor gardening second to outdoor gardening. The amaryllis is the king of the showy indoor bulbs. Amazing that this large set of flowers can come from a rather small package!

This new sweet painting is up for sale on ebay now. (Frida is wondering if she should put the flowers in her hair or not.) You have to go to the auction to see why they are wearing red and white. It ends the day after Christmas. So, if you get Christmas money... I did buy some dog clothes patterns and I hope to be able to get them made before it turns warm again.

Big Snow on the East Coast

It looks like we will have a white Christmas this year. If we make enough snowmen and women we will still have snow if the weather turns warmer. They stand brave, tall and unmoving.

Lots of weeds that had went to seed were left in the vegetable garden and the birds are all over them. This is probably the only time I am glad I didn't have time to get them all pulled out earlier. We have 18 inches here of fluff and the birds just dance along on top of it. Whereas when we step in it ...it tends to drop down into our boots. It is perfect for snowboarding.

We were away in North Carolina and drove all night home at the beginning of the storm. It took 12 hours when normally it takes 5 hours. When we got back to pick up Sir Salty from the vet's where he was in their indoor kennel...it had closed early due to heavy snow. He spent the whole weekend there with other doggie friends. He is quite pleased with the snow, but more pleased to see us and home. Of course we were very pleased to see home too since we were driving all night watching cars spin off the road around us like a vidoe game. Sheriff's, tractor trailers, cars, trucks all in the ditches.

Now if all the folks at the Reagan International Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport could just get to their homes or at least go outside and play in the snow for a bit I think they would feel better.

My Westie Dog Santa Claus Outfit

Today Santa Claus was out and about! Look at him. He also looks like the scrooge, too, with that sad face. (Santa doesn't need to look for deer because they are all over our fields.)

He is actually smiling a bit here. Even though it's sunny out, it's 32 now, the wind bites you! The more I jumped up and down with the camera and told Sir Salty how handsome he was, the sourer he looked. What he wanted to do was run around and sitting and posing seemed like such a dull thing to do on this sunny day.

This little outfit was only a few dollars and he doesn't mind it except for the hat. (Would he have felt better if I had spent more?) He put one paw up to his head and took off the red, cute, fuzzy thing, and shook it around. He feels totally humiliated with it on. He was not going to show me his sweet face in this shot even though I was saying all kinds of favorable things to him. (But then again I am used to being around boys and men!)

But all ends well because when we came inside and got treats he decided he loves me again and is at my feet being sweet. We will have more photo shoots soon as we're expecting to get up to 10-inches of snow.

Frida Kahlo and Hummingbirds Nest Painting

This is a painting I finished of Frida holding a hummingbird on a nest and it's up for sale on ebay. It could be yours. It's titled "Look Up" because you don't want to get all tangled up in your own troubles. Look up for help...look up for opportunities they are all around you. Look up for the beauty that sings a song of thankfulness.

I've had a bit of a go this past week and a half. My ear, head, sinus...earlier I lost most of the hearing in one ear just suddenly. It hurts from pressure and I was feeling a bit down til my son brought home from school something about Helen Keller. I have no excuse to mope. Thus you can see how the title of this painting came about.

Hummingbirds are the busiest little birds. They love sweet nectar from flowers and also tiny little insects like gnats. Those little tiny gnats that we detest during the summer because they buzz around your face and are bothersome because you tend to inhale them. I read that they find a feast in a spider's web. They eat the little bugs caught in it and then the spider and then they steal the spider web and use it as nesting material. Imagine a spider's web thread to hold your nest together? The shimmer from the sun and the moonlight....and then when the dew leaves it's pearls strung on it...it must be beautiful.

Primitive Fairy Folk Art Painting

My fairy paintings usually depict a girl in a hat. If you are going to serve tea proper you must dress proper, and that of course, is with a hat. (If you have a coat you must have a hat.) Just like a tea cup is lost without a saucer. Or the marriage of salt and pepper. Sun and Moon. I have this liking for damasks so they are also being featured in the fabrics.

This is listed now on ebay.

Young Frida Kahlo Having Tea Painting

The joys of having tea with friends! And what are the rules again? The no-no's are do not curl your pinkie finger up and out. It curls back to your palm along with your ring finger. Pointer and middle finger hold the handle and thumb on top of handle.

Look at Mr. Crow he is an expert on these matters. I think he's been to a few tea parties already. Young Frida is going to help dolly Frida hold the handle.

Other no no's are do not let your spoon hit the sides of your cup at any time when swirling the sugar or cream. And do not sip your spoon at any time. Most teas are served at a table but teas can also be a standing affair just like Frida's party here.

This sweet painting titled, "Windowsill Three Tea" is up for you on ebay now. Just a click away. Loaded with the deep rich colors!

Love Matters

Today as I walked the aisles of the drug store waiting for an prescription I came upon this book by Delilah. I have heard her voice a few times on the radio and I was curious. I opened it and read one story. That was all I could read because I was so bleary-eyed. How could I find my way back to the check-out counter? It was beautiful and sad at the same time. A young woman after her masectomy met the man of her life. The cancer returned and he stuck with her while she was so sick from chemo. (But she said she always felt good about herself with him.) He told her he loved her more than a thousand angels could... If I read anymore I would have had to go buy tissues. As it was my eyelashes were no match for the rising waters. This is a book that stirs up everything in you.

Frida's Brood- Frida Kahlo Mexican Painting

A new 5 x 7-inch painting of sweet Frida and her newly hatched chicks titled, "Frida's Brood." The hen in the painting is one of our hens. (Isn't she cute?) The feather coloring is terrific on them. (The eggs are nice too.) I hope to offer more Frida's before Christmas. Frida likes company, you know. It's up for sale on ebay now.

The Sheep Are Out

Jolting words woke me this morning, "The sheep are out." In my tired mind I thought well it is winter and there's nothing left for them in the vegetable garden to steal. "Yes, I'll make coffee first," I told myself since I couldn't see them anywhere. (A bad sign right there.) As the coffee was brewing they showed up on my porch as if it were a starbucks drive through, mind you. Did they need coffee to make their way back down to their pasture? Cream? Sugar?

One of the ewe's, Ella, is the ringleader who leads them all up here to a more luxurious standard of living. She is so big with lambs that I believe she might have triplets. Usually you have to bottlefeed one of them and it makes for a wonderful pet. Now Ella herself was bottlefed and she is a wonderful pet, but she is not fond of fences. She wants to come back up near the house where she played with us as we worked outside when she was a wee spring lamb.

I noticed there are some original Tasha Tudor watercolors from one of her books up for sale on ebay for 3,750.00 Amazing. I love how Tasha lived in Vermont. Surrounded by her favorite animals...corgi dogs and cats inside and outside goats. I wonder if she had trouble with them getting out?

I have a new painting to list on ebay and will post a picture here as soon as it is up.

Frida Kahlo Parrots Cats Rabbits, Painting

Aren't baby animals ever so sweet and perfect? Frida loves, loves, loves animals and birds and they adore her back in this painting. One kitten is going to catch the ribbon on Frida's braid while the other is going to jump onto her lap on the next pass!

The title of this painting is "Spring Swing." The colors came from our maple trees that bloom little lime green and acid green flowers profusely in the spring. The orange is from the tulips that makes a wonderful marriage of colors. We can learn so much from nature! The outdoor kind not our own nature. : )

Victorian Houses Frosted

I love old victorian houses. We have some older ones here close and since the snow has frosted them all I took some pictures. Wouldn't you love to sit up in that top window with a book or a painting easel? I would.

Sisters and Owls Playing in the Snow

It's snowing! 31 degrees and no wind....big fat flakes are falling, ever so slow, like magic. Great sledding weather and the trails down the hills are abundant. Little red hands and red toes, too. Free rides and no lines to wait in. How fast you can ride again is how long it takes you to get up the hill.

My new Frida Kahlo painting is up on ebay for sale now with the charming colors of winter. Soft and sweet! Frida and her sister let the snowflakes tickle their noses, cheeks and chins.

Well Westie Dog Vet Check up Today

Our westie boy, Sir Salty had his scheduled yearly check-up today. Doesn't he look sad above? As soon as we pulled into the parking lot he began to get nervous, but at the same time he was very anxious to get out of the car. The combined flight or fight syndrome. Plowed right over me like I was a little bush. Couldn't get out fast enough! What had he missed since the last time he was here in October? Inside on the table he was still anxious but had stopped shaking.

While waiting for the doctor to come into the examining room he's beginning to think this place is not so bad after all and "ha-ha's" a bit for me. Sir Salty feels it is fun to be up on the counter...he never could do this at home! He starts enjoying it and even tries to make out what is in the cabinets behind him on his hind legs. I could read his mind, "Any treats hidden up here?"

The happiest westie dog ever when it's all said and done! Laughing even!

While at the vet's I saw a little rabbit getting prepped for surgery in the operating room under anesthesia. Sir Salty did not see because he isn't tall enough to see through the small glass window on the door.

I saw a small brown/black poodle walk by after getting groomed feeling so frisky and happy! A jump, a few shakes and lots of kisses!

I saw two fat resident cats literally run from person to person rubbing their legs and greeting each newcomer including us when we came and when we left.

I saw two girls on the phones answering callers questions about their pets.

I saw a very happy environment!

See Sir Salty it's not a bad place to be. Woof.