Copper Nutcracker Santa

What fun it is to work metal for the holidays!  These absolutely shine on a Christmas tree - and I'm hoping to get several done in the next few days. I'm using one of our Santa Nutcrackers for inspiration, and work from the front and back until the form emerges.  These days are filled with family dinners and games nights - so I'm happy to get this squeezed in before midnight!  Artwork number 3998 in 3998 days. 

Nutcracker Shopper

purchase here

Finally back in Missouri, and we've been shopping like crazy for mom's new house - before and after the movers arrived.  It has inspired me to paint this little shopping nutcracker to commemorate the day!  With so much on my plate - this is a quick post indeed!  Painting number 2520 in 2520 days. 

Christmas Tree ATC

Christmas day is always full of family, food and fun - and a whirlwind of activity beginning to end.  It is so nice to settle down at day's end with my pen, ink, watercolor, and visiting with my parents.  There is something so relaxing in the glow of the Christmas tree, a little peace and serenity in a holiday full of rush and bustle. Perhaps we could get a little more snow now that I'll have more time to paint it!  Painting number 1801 in 1801 days.

Sweets for my Sweet

It is always fun to paint something special on Valentine's Day!   Keeping with today's theme, I am painting the still life before me - which just happens to be in my favorite color, and with my favorite candy, too!  I start off the block in with a brush, and switched things up between two different palette knives, one metal and the other plastic.  I would have preferred my Princeton Catalyst, but both are in two different easels in the trunk of my car, and I simply didn't want to take the time to go out and get them.   Looks like I need to buy another one!  You know how I like to get all my easels supplied and ready to go at the drop off a hat!   This painting is the 1497th in 1497 days!   Happy Valentine's Day to you all!!

Christmas Tree in Ink

After a family night of Rogue One and board games, I am doing a little sketching in my treasured watercolor journal.  Once the pen and ink is down, I then decide to add some watercolor.  I have a tiny kit that fits in a pocket, and that's what I pull out for this.  I am getting used to the very opaque pigment of these pan watercolors, even though my preference has always been for the transparent hues.  Painting in low light, the color is a little stronger than I intended!  Painting number 1442 in 1442 days :)

Birthday Bliss

Birthday Bliss
Oil on canvas, 6x6
purchase here

Today is my birthday!  I love birthdays, all of the good wishes, family fun, good food - what's not to love?  Now with facebook, there are a zillion birthday greetings to brighten my special day!  To add to the celebration this year, I am painting brightly colored gifts with brush and palette knife!  I am using some of my favorite bold colors for extra pop!  In fact, I had the whole painting so vibrant, I found I had to tone down a few areas just to give the eye a place to rest!  We had our family celebration yesterday, and we just returned home from going out to dinner.  Tomorrow is my oldest son's birthday, and Friday is our middle son's birthday.  This week in April - all we do is celebrate! This is painting number 828 in 828 days :)

Nostalgic Tree - miniature

Nostalgic Tree - miniature
Acrylic on canvas, 2x3"
GOT Art Gallery Holiday Trunk Show

At Christmas time, I have a tree in every room, even tiny lit ones in the bathrooms.  The season is now upon me, and I am slowly getting the house decorated.  We almost always do this on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, but this year we had a family celebration at my Aunt Diana's house, so decorating was delayed a bit.  I have never painted a Christmas tree, and thought the dark of night would let the lights glow.  Today, I am painting miniatures - only 2 inches by 3 inches!  I haven't used acrylic paint for completing a painting in over a year, and when I picked them back up tonight, I had to work at them!  I wanted to lay them on thick, they did not comply.  I wanted to blend one into another, and they only did that when the first layer was still wet.  Since I need them dry by tomorrow, I had to use what would dry in a day.  My large brushes simply would not do when working in this size, so I had to dig around until I found a couple of tiny ones (which was easy, as I am a brush hoarder and will never run out of them).  Painting number 331 in as many days.