Do It Yourself Girl Illustration Garden and Farm

How was your Christmas holiday? We had a white one here and it's still white out.
It really is beautiful but if you are not bundled up properly it feels like the North Pole. We run around outside looking fluffy but that means warm and the wind bypasses us.

I've started some new artwork and have a few listed in my etsy store  Dictionaryreader. How many out
there are do it yourself-ers? I know there are many. So here is a little grouping of art
I did for all of us.

Happy New Year is soon! No dieting til then. ;-)

Seeds catalogs are my good friends!

Christmas Westie Dog in Cool Holiday Colors

Christmas colors in cool tones. While I was weeding amongst august moon (lime green) hostas and african hibiscus (red/plum) the other day I marveled at the colors. It was Christmas colors in warm tones and 98 degree weather. I came in and used those colors in this painting but in totally cool tones. You don't see any yellows in westie, just cool shadows. Red colors can either be warm reds or cool reds. We gardeners work with colors all of the time. Sometimes to amazing achievements and other times a few disappointments, but we learn from each combination we try. Too much fertilizer can almost change a flower color from warm to cool or vice versa. Amazing. (Really gardening is the hardest art of all.)

Westie's other eye is hid from view because of the lush hair and head turned just so. Plus all westies love to roll around and fluff up their facial hair to the max!

We love to dress westies in red for the holidays. The great part about red is it's for both boys and girl westies dogs. And it stands for L_O_V_E.

For sale on ebay titled, HAPPY IN RED.

French Rose: Marie Folk Art Painting

History is full of interesting people. Fictional books are written about their lives interwoven with some true facts and that makes the person even more fascinating. Take Princess Marie Antoinette who had an arranged marriage, missed home, loved flowers and ate cakes. (We do share those last two loves.) She also made powdered grey hair very popular. The more the merrier and we thought it was the 60's that gave us that look of teased hair and ringlits cascading down.

I painted this folk art portrait of Princess Marie because she loved roses and wee animals. It's titled "FRENCH ROSE: MARIE" and you can read more about it here.

Vintage Roses ACEO Oil Painting

Roses are very calming. There is something so beautiful about the old fashioned cupped roses that we are at a loss for words when we see them. Only quiet smiles come forth from our mouths and ohhh's and ahhhh's which say more than any one word can. They are always the center of attention in every handpicked bouquet, that is if roses are in it.

I painted this 2.5 by 3.5 canvas with roses and other sweet companions in the softest, sweetest colors, and it is for sale on ebay

Damask, gallica, portland, or bourbon roses I love them all.

Collect White China with Roses

Sugar bowls are the most inexpensive items to collect. I'm going to share a secret.






First this little pink dianthus. I love how it looks like someone used pinking scissors on them, but that is how God made them. So perfect and a wonderful spicy clove fragrance to go with them.







I've also loved roses forever. A wonderful way to collect them is on castaway vintage sugar bowls and china plates at thrift stores. The best part is that I use them for small vases on the table pictured here outdoors. You could even put in a name card in each bouquet if you have one for each guest. The secret is they are beautiful and all very inexpensive vases, but all the things we ohhh and ahhhh over. The one above was 1.50







Another beautiful white china plate with rose wreaths on it. 1.50 The back of the plate is stamped FRANCE Depose.






I love these roses too. 1.50 This one is stamped WINSFORD, England, W.H.Grindley and Co. on the back. All ready to serve little tea sandwiches or tiny confections. They really set the country white mood with their blush of pink roses. Now for tea.


Do visit other funWhite Wednesday and Outdoor Wednesday posts.

Rabbit Sculpture Gardening and Folk Art Painting

Gardening with rabbits can be fun when you mix the real ones with the topiary bunnies. What fun! Here is Frida Kahlo with her green thumb and her pet bunnies. The sky is the limit in topiary gardening. Your imagination and clippers decide how cute it will be. It helps to start with healthy plants and keep them well fed. Repot once a year and trim back the roots. They like to eat good like the rest of us. I am trying to keep my gardening impulses under control. We gardeners tend to get itchy by the end of January.

For the colors of this painting I went old world with rich yet muted orange, pink, and browns. Basically I just looked at some of my clay pots and used the colors I saw on them.

This original painting is up for sale on ebay.