Thanksgiving Preparations and Candy Canes

Tis the night before Thanksgiving and we are all stirring--literally!

Some with a spoon and some with a candy cane.

I heard Ina Garten makes many dishes the night before

and then heats them up on Thanksgiving and things are stress free. Imagine!

I am afraid the meat would be a bit dry if I did and the things

that are to be crispy would turn soggy. 

But Ina published a book called Make it Ahead and she knows her stuff.

We are thankful for our family that will gather around the table tomorrow.

For those farther away, we will think of them too. 

Back to the pie crust.

Happy Thanksgiving

Memories

If you've not lost a parent yet,

you don't know what it's like.

You can only imagine.

Last month I lost my Dad.

In a way you feel like a part of yourself died.

Living close and helping take care of him has given me a

 library of memories of his sense of humor and thoughtfulness.

Memories to cherish. 

Buttontop Girls and Squirrels Illustration

Tis the season for comfort and joy...and tea. It's all sunny and warm inside while frost is forming on everything not moving outside. It's also the season when car batteries seem to go ker-plunk, but who wants to talk about that. We want to talk about cookies and pies, preserves and all those things we enjoy cooking on the stove or going in the oven. Warms us all around.

The corn has been harvested here and the fields look so bare. Not much different in color as the cornstalks were wheat color and the chopped off stalks are still the same color, but now the deer are much more visible. There's lots of dropped kernels here and there for birds and wild animals.   

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are approaching. I'm trying to add new paintings daily to my etsy store. Etsy is such a vibrant community of artists. If you've not visited it do so soon and browse many handcrafted items and works of art. Link here to Etsy

Original Aceo paintings

At the drawing board and loving it. When we create it makes me feel weight free...until I stand up! Gardening with all it's wonders and helping others has kept me busy before.

The titled of this illustration is Gentleman's Agreement. It's a small 3.5 inch by 2.5 inch painting.  Such a darling size. This boy made an agreement that he would search high and low for the largest flower. He succeeded. You think of all of the men and women who searched the globe and brought plants and seeds back to their countries and today we are enjoying them in our own gardens. Thank you all!

We have had a lovely summer with lots of rain. The plants and garden loved it. Love this new cool fall weather though! Yes!

Westie Rescue Garden Roots

Westie to the Rescue

Painting

We have been away from computers for a bit.

My dad went into the hospital for a few days, we thought,

and ended up staying two weeks.

He is home now and very happy to be there.

One nice thing is that on Thanksgiving Day the hospital

cafeteria gave us a full on Thanksgiving Day Meal for free.

Sweet potatoes, squash and apples, turkey, mashed potatoes...

you get the picture. We thought that was very nice of them.
Then later we had a lovely Thanksgiving Day dinner
that my daughter cooked. I ended up not doing very much
in the kitchen this year.

I did get a few paintings done today.  One of my westie boy

who probably thinks we have been off on vacation every day

the last few weeks. Not.  Outside he usually is at a running pace

everywhere he goes. And I tend to be slower with wellies on.

So our westie boy is the scout.

More about paintings here.

Westie Dogs Dancing Illustration

I hear the wind howling because Spring is coming. (We still have remnants of a kite high up in a tree.) Yesterday and today it sounds as if we live near a huge noisy refrigerator. It's the wind. There's some dancing going on inside though that warms hearts. Paper dancing. My westie boy jumps and darts, swings and bows going round and round. Did you know westies make good dancing companions?

Linking to Pink Saturday.

Woodland Bears Love Berries

The berries are coming on now and the bears (in the woods far away) are loving them too. I know in Montana when our family picks berries they make lots of noise so they don't walk around a bush into a black bear. Aacck! Huckleberries are a favorite there. I love them all and they are rich in antioxidants. Bears know a thing or two about eating organic foods.

I'm offering a print of the illustration of a lightning bug fairy (yes, seen in the woods) giving some of her lightning fire to the wee bear's sticks so they can warm their midnight snack of berry soup.
Hope you've had your share of colorful yummy berries today!

Siamese Cat Nap and Roses

Today I think Spring arrived. I passed a sign today at a nursery that said, "Spring is coming," and I had to smile thinking ..."It's already here." Yay. I painted this watercolor titled Spring Songs and listed it on ebay. It has some of my favorite things in it. Topiaries, roses, gardens, siamese kitties, birds, white table top, paintings...well it has the side of a painting and last but not least the soft lime green color!

Edwardian Westie Boy Dog Clothes

Edmund, the westie, and his friend Lester share a croquet game on the lawn. Lester is trying to line up his shot with the stars, I think.

Original aceo painting for sale on ebay. I am smitten with watercolors and india ink. These little characters are pulling on my heart strings.

Victorian Cats Lester and Eleanor Watercolor

Lester and his sister Eleanor have a pet squirrel who retrieves nuts for Lester. Yes, the squirrel can hold up to three nuts in his mouth at a time. He is used to chasing them when they roll from the trees and it's not much different when Lester tosses them.

Original watercolor illustration painting up for sale on ebay now here.

Edwardian Cat Named Lester

Lester loves being outdoors even when he is dressed for indoors. Every button buttoned and bowtie tied, but Lester hid his shoes in the bushes so they will stay clean. His feet are feeling the outdoor bliss and if I know Lester he is about to race off and his toy rabbit will be para sailing behind him. He comes here to admire the birds who are not as flighty as the birds at home. The topiary birds move ever so slightly in the breeze just enough to make them seem a bit real.

This is an original watercolor painting on 140 lb. cold press watercolor paper and has been finished with a light acrylic varnish. For sale here.

Watercolor Aceo and Mermaids

On Board

Smaller and smaller my paintings become. I am bending over farther and farther to paint and am glad I can stretch back out. Truthfully the smaller the paintings are the harder they become because you have to edit your ideas. But ironically I seem to be putting more elements into the smaller ones. Go figure. I think the dreaminess and purity of watercolors is what draws me to this medium.

I had mentioned earlier about some exciting news. Some art shows and groups allow members once a year on a blind juried basis. There is one coming up that I would love to be a part of. To do this you need a large number of new artistic endeavors to show plus a larger number of past works. Then they decide whether you can be a member and be associated with this elite (read hard to get into) group. Quite a few apply. Many are declined and only a few are choosen. I am aiming for the moon and entering. Aim high. Work hard. (play hard.) Work some more!

Mixed Media Valentine Frog Girl Mushroom Art

Caps come in all sizes, shapes and colors, but these two wear the cutest caps of all. Mr. Frog has an acorn cap. You have to love the rich burnished color of acorns and they are so little, yet a mighty tree is tucked away inside. Which is exactly like Mr. Frog, small but has a mighty jump. The girl has a mushroom cap hat to shade her lovely face. She will be wise in her old age, but never weathered because of her hat. You see that is where her and myself will part camps. I will go to the weathered one and she will stay in the cute one because I love to be outside gardening.

These two share a love for caps but today they are going to share their love for chocolates, that is what best friends do, with a valentine box! This original mixed media/altered art painting is for sale on etsy today. More information here.

I've got some exciting/nerve racking news. It's rather like falling in love. You're excited and yet the butterflies are fluttering in your stomach making you feel sick. Flat on your back one minute and jumping for joy the next, saying, "How can I do this?" More soon.

Frida Kahlo Diego Rivera ICE CREAM CONES folk art

Never paint on an empty stomach or your imagination takes over...Tonight was one of those creative surges. Frida has two red cherries in her hair and Diego put a green olive on top of his head for a hat.

I love the color of brown paper bags. They have a vintage look even though they are brand new. I took the colors from there. Did I say I also like coffee ice cream?! For sale on ebay.

Alice in Wonderland Original Folk Art Character Paintings

Alice in Wonderland has a timeless appeal because it is full of imagination! We need lots of that. Besides we all love animals that think they are human, I have a few of those, and sit for tea together at the table. At present the new movie is still on the top of the charts. We understand!

Above are two of the paintings for sale here. Prints can be purchased here. I will post the other pictures soon. I've learned to wait for the best possible lighting (meaning a sunny day) for photographs and the colors are lively and fun and I want that to be seen and felt in the pictures.

I left out most of my heavy black outlines that I normally use and I'm thinking I like that much better especially in children story lines. Which do you like better?

ACEO Frida Kahlo Rabbit Mexican folk Art Painting

Aceo originals give alot of splash for a smaller amount of money than a larger original painting! They can be just as cute as 5 x 7's and 8 x10's! Who would want to hide these small treasures
away in an album? I think one of the best ways to display them is to attach an aceo to a mat board and then slip it into a frame. Stunning.




I like the pumpkin spice color of this mat. It may not be everyone's choice, but it is a nice contrast to the pink and gold colors. The gray kitty and white bunnies go with all colors!~

Aceo stands for Art Cards Editions and Originals all measuring 2.5 by 3.5-inches.

Frida's Bunnies aceo for sale now on ebay now.

Daily Painting Hats Mrs. Rabbit and Mrs. Snowman Altered Folk Art

Hats off to 2010! Happy New Year! What do alot of people do on New Year's Day...go shopping. We did. All art supplies and some food treats. We had to walk off the sweet holiday food from the last two weeks. I think we'll be walking for along time yet.

This is Mrs. Rabbit and Mrs. Snowman in the painting above. If you've ever wondered what Mrs. Snowman's wife looked like here she is. What do they do when the weather warms a bit? They leave, too, and go shopping...for hats. We had a spiff of snow yesterday and I got the background colors from outside. The coats are soft and muted colors so that their faces shine out above them. For sale now on ebay.

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. : )

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.