COLD DAY IN PARK

Several years ago I was sketching the trees in the park. It was a cold day. There were still patches of snow on the ground.  I love to ketch the trees when they are bare of their leaves. As you sketch them you can see exactly how they grow. When I was about to leave the park this girl came walking out from among the trees. It was such a mysterious sight and I knew I had to quickly sketch her. She was dressed all in black. Her coat, boots, gloves and beret were black and her hair blond, quite a contrast against the black.She was walking two dogs I painted this scene in oil and I still am not quite satisfied that it is finished.

The Musical Mousetronauts

"The Musical Mousetronauts" is the third children's book in a series that I illustrated for author  Deneen Kirsch Gambrell. In this book the musical mice  journey through space to the moon.Children will enjoy  reading about the many adventures the mice have when they land on the moon.  The first book in the series is "No Music for Mouseville" and the second book is "The Musical Mice and Their Great Adventure". All 3 book can be purchased at Amazon. com

Angel of Love - 1 Corinthians 13

Merry Christmas to all my friends who visit my blog. Frohliche Weihnachten, God jul, joyeux Noel. Mele kalikimaka, buon Natale. feliz navidad

Rusty plays Santa

Here is Rusty my muse again. This time he is making amends for his anti-social behavior. He is going down the chimney with lots of goodies and toys for all little girls and boys.Two more days and Christmas Day will be here. We will be celebrating the birth of our Savior.

Frohliche Weihnachten

Frohliche Weihnachten  - My little Santa greets you in my foyer wishing you a Merry
Christmas!

Decorating the Christmas tree

Rusty my muse is at it again. Here we are decorating the Christmas tree. It is difficult trying to keep Rusty out of the tree. He would love to climb it but here he gets tangled in the tree lights. Rusty is available in note cards.

Tyler Roses

Several years ago when we first moved to Texas I was in my car and stopped  at a traffic light when I saw this little boy selling roses near the sidewalk. It was a very hot day in Texas perhaps 100 or more degrees. This sight excited me and I thought it would be a good painting. So at home I grabbed a canvas and my son who was about the little boy's age and hurried outdoors. I did not want to lose the enthusiasm and memory of that scene. My son use to me with my art challenges sat under the umbrella and waited patiently for me to get my sketch started. The rest of the painting was from memory and I threw the dog in from my imagination. I thought he completed the picture. My son was a good model. What children will  do for artist Moms.

pointsettias

we are preparing for our Christmas celebration. As I have not been working very much on art projects I am posting 2 sketches from my sketch book. This was done in 2007 with pencil and colored pencils. This is my 4th day at home because we are still feeling the effects of the ice storm that came through our area.

roses

We are having a very cold December. Today was probably 18 degrees and there has been ice outside in our yard, driveway and street. An ice storm went through our area 3 days ago and we are still experiencing the results. This is the time we are preparing for our Christmas celebration so I have not been painting and probably will not until after the New Year. I decided to post an old painting I did last Spring when the roses were blooming.I like to paint flowers as they look on the bush.

Its a Rusty Christmas

Well the last time you saw Rusty he was celebrating Thanksgiving. Now he is getting ready for Christmas, helping to decorate the Christmas tree. Mischievous and arrogant Rusty is my muse and we have ventured together through many celebrations and events. So you will probably be seeing more of Rusty in months to come.It is that time of year when most people are very busy and I am no  exception. I doubt that I will be at my easel until after  the first of January. In the meantime you will be viewing older paintings. Thank you for understanding.

Orchids

I have been working on this painting for several months. I have not been satisfied with its progress.. This is of a sketch I did several years ago. Our friend Fred had 2 green houses of orchids and when he died his mother wanted to publish a book of some of Fred's favorite orchids and receipes  of his favorite foods. Fred's wife helped me as I worked sketching the flowers she chose.The plant was actually  growing in this small pot. I love  the way the stems grow twisting and turning and  the roots growing out of the top of the pot. Fred's mother died before she could gather all the information she needed for the book. I did get some wonderful pencil drawing of Fred's orchids.  

Happy Thanksgiving

    Together with my muse Rusty I wish you a very happy and blessed Thanksgiving Day. I should introduce you to Rusty. As a tiny kitty he was abandoned in a church yard. He was rescued  and lived with my daughter and her husband until he died a few years ago. Rusty was an arrogant and proud kitty and could be down right mean. Occasionally he decided he did not like strangers and would hiss and swipe a paw at them. I noticed all Rusty's antics and decided to do a series of paintings and note cards honoring him. He became my muse and I painted him celebrating special events such as Christmas, New Years, Mardi Gras, Halloween and more. It was a sad day when Rusty died and I have not been able to continue with Rusty's various adventures. Maybe someday he will return and be my inspiration again. In this painting Rusty is thankful for the blessing he received from a good family. And I am thankful too for the blessings of family, friends, art, health, my country and many, many more blessings. .

St. Michael's Tree

                                            Acrylic on Gallery Wrap Canvas
                                                    12" X 12"
This tree is beautiful in all seasons but especially during the Fall season. I drive past this tree  several times a week and always look at it. Last fall I drove into the parking lot of St. Michael's Catholic Church to sketch it. This  year I felt determined to paint it so back into the parking lot for more sketches and to soak up a lot of inspiration.

snowy day

It was said that today we would have an ice storm. Well so far it has not happened. But it is terribly cold. So I thought of this painting I started a few years ago. I was sketching the trees on a cold gray day in our park. Just as I was about to leave this girl dressed all in black came walking through the trees. It was a very mysterious looking scene  and I quickly sketched her with her dogs and was able to include her in the painting.

You will be protected and take your rest in safety. Job 11.18

I haven't been posting recently. For some reason or other there is something always going on. I am a little off focus as my roses were blooming. They are so beautiful. Our summer damaged the buds that would  appear. The heat was too much for them. Now they are blooming and our weather is getting cold. . In the 30's today. And I have  been concentrating  on the fall colors in the trees. They are so beautiful this year. So I am torn between painting the roses or the trees. So I posted a sketch I did some time ago when we were watching t. v. in the evening. I had a very good model. He kept very still.

PANSIES

My pansies painted a few years ago. It is time to  to replace  the petunias with pansies.

from my sketchbook

I neglected to cut a few of my roses this evening. Since the weather got cooler the roses have been blooming beautifully. I have been busy with other art projects  and keep looking outdoors at the roses. I planned to paint a few. Well we are going  to have a change in our weather tonight. The temperatures will be in the 20's. Hopefully when I look  out the door tomorrow morning  my roses will still be as beautiful as they were today.But I have looked into my sketch book and am showing one page of many that I did of sketches several years ago. I love to sketch and paint from life.

Turnips

Oil on Masonite. This was painted in the 70's. I found it today among some old art work and thought, "I like this." even though it was painted so long ago.  I think I will have to paint some more turnips to go with the series of veggies I have been working on. Back to the store hoping they have turnips with greens. I am still working or more or less staring at the 3 unfinished paintings I hope to complete on 1st. Corinthians 13. It is quite a challenge.

Peppers and Onion

                                                        Acrylic on Canvas
                                                             10" X 8"
                                                                 $75.00