Merry Christmas

My Christmas card is finished and mailed to everyone on my list, the tree is up, and this year I have colored lights both on the tree and outside on the lamp post. Boxes of ornaments have been taken out of storage, as old friends lovingly wrapped in tissue paper reappear for another holiday season. Handmade ornaments from a craft show, a round frosted ball from a favorite Aunt. Precious memories of family, friends and pets long gone. And each year a few new ornaments find their way onto the tree. A reminder that life goes on, new friends are found, new challenges are met, and we move forward as we enjoy life today.

I will spend this next week or so enjoying my twinkling tree, my early morning coffee and the evening news. In a way it recharges my batteries for whatever lies ahead. Merry Christmas everyone and Happy New Year!

A Home For The Holiday's

The cat that was patiently working his plan with my parents has moved in. He has a favorite chair, mouse toys to play with and he will proudly show you his food dishes. Of course sleeping on the bed is his favorite activity. He looks good, his fur is soft and shiny and he has put on weight! From what they tell me he patrols the yard keeping an eye on everything. I like a happy ending.

My final is next Thursday and than I have a few weeks off till next semester, I did not mean to disappear from my blog but it has been getting harder and this last class just took it out of me. I will be back!!

One Missing Puppy

Just a quick snapshot of what I’ve done so far. The colors are off because the white balance on the camera was not very accurate. Lots of little Corgi faces & one puppy hasn’t found it’s way home yet, so it’s slow and steady progress on this card, which seems like it’s taking forever, because right now I have so little time to paint! But I expect that will change soon.

When we got our now Corgi ‘Lily’ as a puppy I would describe our early relationship as pretty contentious. Grover, my first Corgi was two when I got him and Maggie our next one, was over 6 months old. I quickly found out that little tiny puppies are cute, fuzzy and adorable for a good reason. They have to be so you’ll forgive them AGAIN and AGAIN because they can also be mischievous and headstrong. After they’ve just torn open your new vinyl kitchen floor, they look up at you with those big puppy dog eyes that melt your heart, and they learn quickly that you’ll forgive them every time (sucker!)

My husband used to call her ‘Atila The LIL’ which he borrowed from Atila The Hun, she was that headstrong, and if she’d been born a human she’d definitely be leader of the free world by now, and Obama would be carrying her doggie bags.

So OK, now it was my job to train her, to be firm and consistent in reinforcing the rules. That took a bit of training for me - a puppy 'newbie' - as I had to learn that it was my actions that would in the end get the results I wanted. There is a hole in our kitchen floor, currently covered by a rug, that reminds me daily of my beginning failures. However, somehow we got thru it, she & I, and now Lily is my loving & best friend. Go figure!

Summer's Last Bouquet

We have quite a few of these small glass vases, mostly in shades of blue and orange. There is one on the kitchen table all Summer and Fall filled with whatever flowers (or flowering weed) is available from the yard. They are small and it does not take a lot of blossoms to fill them. But each small sweet bouquet adds a little warm touch to my home. I love the color and the way the light shines thru. Maybe they’re old fashioned, but that’s OK with me.

Now that the weather has cooled off the Pansies are coming back in full force. I am so pleased these little guys made it and I will have to see how far into late Fall they hang on. They’re right at the bottom of my back steps, mixed in with a patch of Chives that I massacred the other day by cutting them to the ground, chopping up what I had cut, and freezing 7 boxes so I can have Chives all winter. We add them to our scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes and egg salad. Most amazing of all is that the Chives in the ground are now a foot tall again after only about a week. I still can’t believe how vigorous they are. I have had them hang on into December in a protected spot, so we’ll have to see how they do - but a most amazing & delightful herb to be sure, and the flowers aren’t bad either.

Special Delivery

It’s getting to be that time of year - kids are back in school, Halloween decorations are out in the stores and I am working on my Corgi Christmas card for this year. Here is the sketch which has already been transferred to a board and the background painted. And here is a little tidbit from life.

I stopped over my parents last night, just as it was getting dark. The porch light was on and there by the kitchen door was a box with a towel placed inside and two dishes neatly arranged in front of it with a very contented looking cat nestled in. My parents have said "no more pets" and held fast to this for several years now. After raising four kids and their assorted cats, dogs and horses they wanted freedom from all the stress and headaches and a chance to travel.

But there he was watching the world from his nest. I went inside and dropped off what I had to leave, than came out to sit on the porch with him. We sat together in the dark, listening to the crickets, the air cool and dry, sounds of a back door slamming and someone calling the dog. The air has a nutty smell this time of year and life gets back to routine after the summer, everyone has their meetings or school. I looked over at him and we both knew that by the time the snow comes he will have moved in with his box by the fireplace.

I had to get going. Backing the truck down the driveway I glanced back for a minute. So Norman Rockwell - a doorway decorated with a Fall wreath, porch light on, and a cat working his plan and soon a new home.

Sparkle & Velvet

Because of our cool weather I have been able to have Pansies in my garden all summer. I love the dark purple in the center of these flowers. So, I have been working on this painting for a bit. Trying to show the contrast between the smooth glass surface, as opposed to the soft velvet petals. What I like is the rich sparkle of the yellow glass pitcher, letting the light thru. There are some very rich reds in there that I am trying hard to capture. And it amazes me when you start to look closely just how many different colors you really find. My hope is to finish this by the end of the upcoming weekend - lets see if I do.

One Lonely Blossom

I cannot believe that summer is starting to wind down. There are back to school ads on TV (sorry kids) and this weekend is our first heat wave of the season, in mid August, and that kind of tells you what kind of summer we have had here - if you live in the US - enjoyable!!

I finally started some pastels again, and in order to get back up to speed I am working on a few studies. This sketch is done using some blue paper as the background which seems to make the oranges, peaches and aqua pop out at you. Pastels force color on me and my palette tends to be more subdued when using this medium. Colors I would never have considered start to work their way in which is one of the reasons I like pastels. My main concern was to have the vase show its reflective quality, not in a tight realistic approach but a more painterly style that allows the color to speak. Sometimes this can be a fight until I have been working with pastels for a while and learn to loosen up and let go.