Simplicity in Art

Simplicity.

 This is what draws me to illustration and watercolors.

Less is more.

Recently I read this quote, 

"Any fool can make something complicated.

It takes a genius to make it simple." 

Woodie Guthrie.

I'm excited to have a little time to paint,

hoping to get back to the daily painter status. 

Looking forward to Christmas as well on this 

blustery, first day of December. 

 I will soon be another year wiser. 

Another year getting 'simpler.

As Martha Stewart says,

"This is a good thing."

Purchase a small 3.5 by 2.5  inch print of this illustration here.

Candylei Art photo mark not on print.

Printed on cardstock. Signed and titled on the back by myself.

A sweet deal for $5.  which includes shipping in US and Canada

Paypal accepts most credit cards and echecks.

Enjoy!

Baking Bread and Cinnamon Rolls

Today the aromas that came from the kitchen 

were unbelievable. Unbelievably good.

Making bread is so easy...it just takes about 4 hours

before you can put some butter on it and devour.

The ingredients are probably already in your kitchen.

Milk, egg, butter, flour, salt and yeast.

Then more flour, butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. 

(I ended up making cinnamon rolls.)

Patience is required as they rise and the dough

fills out so that it melts in your mouth like cotton candy.

Full of goodness that you roll around your mouth

and then swallow. Bliss.

Who cares what the weather is outside

when all of this excitement is happening inside?

Recipe here.

I didn't make the Cream Cheese Glaze they were

heavenly without it.  

Country Christmas

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I hope your Christmas Day was pleasant.
Ours has been. Our house has not been as fragrant since the last holidays. The ovens have been fired up and the fragrance and visiting wonderful.

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Wishing you the merriest Christmas.

Staffordshire England peppermint cocoa

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A cup of hot cocoa stirred with a peppermint candy cane is/was delicious tonight.


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It has a sweet country scene on the cup.



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Two children dancing....are they in the flowers? When the fiddle is playing no one notices in the merriment.

On the bottom of the cup it has the mark "Barratts Staffordshire England". I don't know if this was truly manufactured in England or not, but it is beautiful to look at.

Snow Loving Westie

We had a sifting of snow tonight! Enough to put a white sprinkles of confection sugar on everything. Our westie boy was loving it. Running around trying to catch the flakes. It was dark so pictures were like white scratches against a dark background. This getting dark at 5pm is hard to get used to. Then again I try to remember that in Alaska as well as other places it gets dark at 3pm so how lucky we are to have a few more hours of daylight.

Our little westie modeled for this new small watercolor. He's left a present for the squirrels.

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend.

Frida Kahlo Snowman Sculpture Snow Art Painting

Frida Kahlo loved animals and birds like we do. A little girl made a Frida Kahlo Snowman or Snow Girl. She used shiny river rocks for her eyes and sticks for eyebrows and liner, a cranberry mouth (so cute) and she used some cranberry juice for her cheeks and a carrot for her nose. An apple for a red flower and she made Frida as a Tree! (You would remember I had started Frida as Tree series of paintings and I wanted to add some new ones.) The little girl is in my head and
is me as I haven't completely grown up.

Frida Snow Sculpture is also a great bird feeder and the wee girl has put apples on her "branches" for food and places for weary birds to rest. The blue birds love it.

We've only had spits of snow flurries every day. I can't wait for snow to try some snow sculptures!

Painting is 4 by 4-inches and for sale on etsy.

Christmas Santa Woodland Gnome ACEO Art

When you go deep into the woods this is what you see. Gnomes and wee folk with their pets collecting pinecones. (You also see poison ivy but we won't mention that.) This is a santa gnome with his pet squirrel collecting pinecones.

Aceo - Art Cards Editions and Originals which measure 2.5 by 3.5

For Sale on ebay.

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.

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.