Moonlit Paintings!

I have had a few people ask for more "girls in the snow in the moonlight" paintings, so here they are! I won't be too sad if I don't sell these because I love the way they look in my antique gold frames. (not included) They will be sold separately, but they look great together.

There is a story behind these paintings. Little Karlee worries so much about the animals out in the cold night that she sneaks out at midnight and lures one or two out of the woods, sometimes using an apple or carrot. She brings them into her room where she cuddles them until they are warm. She brings them back to where she found them just before dawn, leaving them some extra food.

There really is a Karlee and she is my niece who is majoring in Animal Science at the University of Missouri. She has always had a great passion for animals. She must!--this week she had to actually put her hand all the way up a cow's "you know what" for one of her classes! Oh Karlee--you are amazing!

I will be putting these paintings on Ebay tonight. The link is at the top of the page.

Winter Paintings!

We are still experiencing winter here in the Midwest! More snow is expected this week. The only thing I dislike about the extreme weather is when it is too cold to take our pre-schoolers outside to play. They REALLY need to get out and run--and we REALLY need for them to! But it is January, after all.

Here are a few winter themed paintings I finished this week. They are all 8"X10"'s with lots of crackle for a very primitive look. I am still loving to paint owls! They are so magical to me. I never get over seeing or hearing one in my yard. All these paintings are available on Ebay now. The link is at the top of this page.

Special Girl

It has been a rainy, gloomy weekend here in the St. Louis area. Oh well, I don't mind. I finished a few paintings but it got too dark to photograph them tonight~It's dark when I get home from work, so I will try to remember to get my camera out before leaving for work in the morning.

I did finish a special request for a very special little princess named Hannah. I hope her parents like it. I tried to capture her beauty in my folksy style.

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Special Valentines!

I hope everyone is having a nice weekend. I am enjoying having no place to go this whole weekend!! I spent some time finishing up these special Valentine paintings. My daughter , Laura has been painting little canvases too, so it has been fun for us to work together. Visit her blog at Laura Beth. My daughter Tara went back to Mizzou today and I will dearly miss having her around. :( She is almost finished with her B.A. in Psychology. She's not sure what she will do next. Maybe grad school, or she may go back for a teaching degree. I don't think any of the kids right now want to try to find a job out there. Jobs are so hard to come by right now.





I am going to watch the Golden Globes tonight. My daughters really like the new show Glee and I think it is up for a couple awards. We'll see. The show is so corny that it's funny, if that makes sense. Any "Gleeks" out there?

These Valentine paintings are all 8"X10" stretched canvases with lots of crackle and antiquing. They would make fun gifts for someone special. I hope to post them tonight!

New Painting and a Tribute to my Aunt Alice

I couldn't rest until I painted a tribute to my dear, sweet Aunt Alice who recently passed away at the grand age of 87. She always had a wire-haired terrier, usually named Jake, so I put one in her arms. She also had a thing for owls and now I'm sure one rests on her shoulder to keep her company.

I remember her dog jumping wildly about in the kitchen begging for treats. There was a little breezeway off of the kitchen where my sisters, cousins and I would steal away to giggle and eat candy. In the summertime there were honeysuckles growing near her basement door making it kind of scary to go inside because of all the bees. I still remember the smell of the honeysuckle mingled with barbecue and the sound of laughter and the Cardinals game on the transistor radio. Such sweet memories!

My other painting is a little cupid waiting to earn her wings by making someone fall in love! Will it be you? It is available on Ebay now! The link is at the top of this page.

If any of my many cousins are reading this blog and would like a small art print of "Forever In Our Hearts"--my tribute to Aunt Alice, shoot me an email and I will send you one. No charge of course, I would just like to share the memory of an Aunt we all cherished!

Another Favorite Saint

We had a snow day this week so I was able to catch up on some of my painting! I have another saint painting...this one is St. Cecilia--the patron saint of musicians. We have several musicians in our family, so St. Cecilia is important to me!

The second painting is called Fox Moon. It is a little larger than I usually paint (12" X 16") but I wanted the drama of the wide expanse of snow. There is a bit of glitter in the moon's path for a magical look. I love when I see a lonely fox traveling across one of the snow covered fields around here at night. I always wonder what they are up to and why they had to travel so far! Both of these paintings will be on Ebay tonight. As always, the link is at the top of this page~

10 Things I Love!

I just received a "10 Things I Love Award" from a very dear blogger friend, Kolleen of HeartWing Sisters! She has a happy, youthful outlook on life and it shows in her art! I have to tell you, Kolleen, how happy I was to see that you named your son's aides in your list of things you love! I am a teacher's aide who works with special needs kiddos too and it is nice to feel appreciated~~but believe me, I am sure those wonderful ladies you mentioned feel the same way about your son! It is challenging work at times, but the rewards are many! Those children can bring so much to our lives if you are lucky enough to get to know them! Now, on to my 10 Things I Love!

1. My Family--Always XO
2. Old Photos and Candles as shown on my photo!
3. Curling up by the Fireplace with a glass of wine, goodies, and a great Indie flick or
documentary! (I know, kind of nerdy--Love stories aren't my thing)
4. All the rooms in my house clean at once (not sure if it has ever happened yet).
5. Snow Days (I work at school) so I can paint more!
6. My first walk through a gardening center in the spring--the smell of fertilizer excites me!
7. The sound of children laughing.
8. Shopping clearance racks and finding unbelievable deals! Those bird candle holders
pictured above were $1 each because they were with the after Christmas sale stuff!
9. Seeing my three grown kids, (17, 20, and 21) all home together at once and acting like
kids again! They played board games and built puzzles together last weekend!
10. Watching one of the special needs kids I work with meet a major goal of some sort--
and seeing the pride in their face when they know they did!

Although I would like to pass this on to more blogging friends, I am unable to copy and paste the award picture so I can't. Darn Computer! For some reason my "paste" key doesn't work anymore. I love reading all of your blogs and seeing what everyone is up to! Thank you for your friendship!

New Paintings!

I go back to work tomorrow so I spent the weekend painting while I have a chance. I have so many ideas since I took a short break for the holidays! The first one is St. Catherine of Bologna, the patron saint of artists. I am also working on another saint--Cecilia, the patron saint of musicians. Do you like the patron saints on paintings? This one has metallic gold accents and crackle for a primitive look. All of my children had to study up on the saints before they got confirmed into the Catholic Church. Laura had chosen St. Catherine for her confirmation name.




The second painting is Bunny Moon. It has the same colors as Owl Moon and they look really cute sitting on my shelf together. Lots of crackle on this one and metallic pearl white snow. Both of these will be listed on Ebay tonight! Have a great week everyone~

Best Wishes in 2010!

I am wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2010! We spent last night eating snacks and playing games with our kids. I don't really like worrying about driving with all the crazies on New Year's Eve. I was happy that my grown children all opted to stay put here with me! We toasted with champagne at midnight at gazed at the beautiful full moon! Did you all get to see it? It was awesome, and made me even more anxious to finish this painting today.

I have had this painting in my mind for several weeks. Actually I thought about it when I lost my dear sweet Aunt Alice at the age of 87 about 3 weeks ago. She adored all creatures and collected owls. She was so much fun and loved to laugh. She quit high school when my mom and her twin were born to help take care of them. She was the 2nd oldest of 8 children, had red hair and a forever smile! I love and miss you, Aunt Alice.

This painting has lots of crackle and antiquing for a very primitive look. I will be listing it on Ebay tonight. My first painting of 2010!