Eastern Red Cedar

 

It is so very peaceful to sketch among these beautiful cedars!  My grandparents used to cut a small one from the woods each year for Christmas, and I remember the smell and prickly edges of the branches.  I love them.  When we first bought this place from my Grandma, there were no cedars in the main pastures.  Even though we have two mature ones by the house, and they were hard to come by even on the woods.  Once every few years i would find a tiny one, and move it to the front, in a hedge row or protected area.  Over the years they began to spread on their own, and now we have some beauties that dot the landscape and naturalize the views.  I still move baby cedars to the fence rows, and perhaps I'll be painting them one day, too.  Painting number 5084 in 5084 days. 

Winter Cedar Deer

 I love these quiet days of January, where I can step outside to paint my daily visitors.  I'm so still as I work, I am hardly noticed by the wildlife, especially the deer.  It is lovely to spend time immersed in nature, painting the winter wonderland that surrounds me.  I am thankful for the remaining blanket of snow adding to the beauty of this day.  Painting number 5076 in 5076 days. 

Cosmic Glow

 

What a gorgeous snow for a little pen and ink!  Cosmic Glow is another beauty from the Diamine Inkvent Calendar!  I think I'll need to do this one in oils, as well!  This ink is such a vibrant blue - there are so many uses for this ink!  I'm looking forward to exploring more of them! Painting number 5064 in 5064 days. 

January Cedar

 

To add watercolor, or not, it's my afternoon quandary.  My inclination was to leave it at pen and ink, but there is a little voice nudging me to add the color.  I'm beginning a brand new sketchbook and taking advantage of the warmest day in the foreseeable future (after helping Micheal touch up a few spots in the apartment he's moving out of and finishing a few errands). A big snow, 8 to 12 inches, is expected Sunday!  The leather journal accepts the ink well on it's butter soft paper, and I'm beginning with a few thoughts and wants for the new year.  With this sketch I'm ticking off a couple of boxes - spend more time in the woods and journal more.  I'm looking forward to watching these new pages emerge through the coming months!  Painting number 5056 in 5056 days. 

Cedar in the Snow

What a treat to get accumulating snow earlier than expected!  After shipping a painting and picking up work at Powell Gardens, I still had daylight to get this painted before dinner!  With such a beautiful snowfall, it was hard to come inside - I just wanted to paint more paintings!  Tomorrow will be a sad a busy day - our youngest is moving out.  Though I'm happy that he's so excited, I am going to miss his smiling face each morning before he heads to work.  Perhaps I'll find some solace painting in the snow.  I hope it stays for days, I'm going to need a LOT of solace. Painting number 4015 in 4015 days. 

Olive Swirl Cedar

When I first opened the little door and saw this ink, I must admit I had reservations.  Olive ink?  Well, this is no ordinary green!  It shifts from a cool, almost cad green to warm olive with shimmering gold.  Then, little sparkles in that cool green emerge as the ink dries - truly inspired!  I am painting my rural Missouri landscape with chic, glamorous inks - and I'm loving the exploration of it all!  I must find a fountain pen for this one, because I am adding it to my arsenal!  What lovely color play it will create in my ink work!  Day 18 in Diamine's Inkvent Calendar 2022, and painting number 3650 in 3650 days.  Ten years of daily painting today!  I did have to correct my number - I got off track somewhere along the way, haha! 

Solar Storm Cedar

Solar Storm is the Day 3 ink in the Diamine Inkvent Calendar 2022, and it is a beauty!  It's rich, dark bluish violet color is a perfect night sky hue!  Pooling the ink allows it to get very dark, and the application of water shows it's true chroma.  The pale, almost peachy light tree trunk color is the result of a little bleach brushed in - just to see what it would do.  I think it might be pretty cool to flick some into that night sky - leaving the impression of falling snow.  I'll try that with the next really dark ink in this calendar.  Painting number 4119 in 4119 days. 

Spruce

I LOVE this luscious green!  Chromatic and shimmery, it pushes towards turquoise with a little bleach and water!  This is the Day 4 ink of the Diamine Inkvent Calendar 2022, and a standout green.  With all my recent holiday painting, I haven't posted the others yet.  Perhaps I'll have to do several at a time to catch up!  I'm working on watercolor paper - 140lb cold pressed which is never use for watercolor, but it works well for me methods with fountain pen ink.  The glass dip pen is a must for these daily inks, because I don't want to fill a fountain pen for an untried ink.  Once I know I love it - well that's another story!  Painting number 4115 in 4115 days. 

First Snow on the Cedar

Today, I'm thankful for an early snow to paint - and I simply love painting our winter wonderland first thing in the morning! In fact, I skipped the gym to paint this alarmed by the dripping from my eves.  This gorgeous blanket of snow was destined to be short lived, with temperatures hovering above freezing, so I HAD to paint it while I could!  It was still snowing and rather dark when I started this painting, and only at the finish did the skies brighten up. I'm so glad I didn't wait to paint - this landscape was completely different just hours later.  Lovely gift to behold as I'm thinking ahead to Christmas cards!  Painting number 4394 in 4394 days 

Snow on Cedar

As I walk through this winter wonderland, beautiful "paintings" surround me.  Everywhere I look, I see magic in the glistening landscape.  The drama of snow on cedar boughs pulls me in for this painting, as so many others still call my name.  Snow doesn't last long around here, so I must make the most of my daylight hours.  Defying my routine, today, I paint first.  I am lucky to have another pristine snow day where wind and sun have not left their mark, so I am at it early.  As I finished I got the call to rush over and meet our newest family addition - baby Layne!  Sooooo happy to hold that sweet baby in my arms, and so like his father he looks!  Painting number 3301 in 3301 days. 

Cedar by the Road

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It is so fun to experiment with new art supplies!!  Love the feel of a new fountain pen in my hand, especially one as smooth as this one!  Trying to match the ink to the pen, I have loaded it with Robert Oster's Thunderstorm ink.  It does magical things  when water is added, bleeding to violet and turquoise.  Considered a blue black, it is the first one of this shade that I have tried.  I really like it.  I am definitely going to take a closer look at the other inks offered by Robert Oster.  They are stunning for artwork.  Painting number 2587 in 2587 days.

Lantern

So many beautiful memories were made by the light of lanterns like this, as they sat among cedar and old photos.  Witnessing the marriage and celebration that followed, they sit quietly now, still glowing.  What a perfect evening for a wedding.  Painting number 2441 in 2441 days.

Snow on the Cedar

Oh, what a glorious snow - and it's still falling!  I've been waiting for a snowfall like this to paint!  It is a winter wonderland out there!  We have many mature cedars dotted all over the property, and they are majestic with a blanket of snow!  While it is still snowing pretty heavy, I choose a scene right out the front door for my first of the new year.  I love all those pockets of darks and the draping branches iced with snow, and the covered front porch offers protection for my panel until I get the oils down.  I could just paint one after another on a day like this, but alas, the Chiefs are playing a big one today!  Painting number 2201 in 2201 days.

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Great Horned Owl

Great Horned Owl
Oil on panel, 6x4
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Today is my 700th painting in 700 days!  Wowza!  It is hard to believe that a simple challenge to me in an email turned into a life changing event!  The way I think about painting is different than it was before "daily painting".  I get up knowing that sometime during that day, I will complete a painting.  I have already looked for my best painting window, and have probably already thought of an idea or two to paint.  Like brushing my teeth and washing my face, it has become automatic.  Sure, there are some days when I don't feel like painting - as with housework, cleaning, etc - but I do it anyway.  And, the simple act is therapeutic.  I have learned to paint through family crisis, often drawing in the hospital while I waited bedside for news - and the motion consoled me as I waited.  Before "daily painting", I was only a happy painter - not wanting near the brushes when life started throwing wrenches my way.  Not anymore, I paint everyday regardless - and have learned so much through the process.  Every day is a lesson - and it is my artistic "fix" that keeps me moving forward.  Now, it is time to start getting the Christmas stuff out of the attic - and hanging the lights on the house!

Cardinal on the Cedar

Cardinal on the Cedar
Oil on panel, 6x4 - sold

Continuing on the bird theme of the last couple of days - I am painting another!  First cats, then birds, what next?  Once again, I am painting to fit my time window - small at 6x4 inches.  This is such a comfortable size to get done quickly.  This little guy was flying from feeder to cedar this afternoon - making him the subject du jour.  Tomorrow will be full - I will be getting the Christmas stuff down from the attic - and then the real fun begins!  I just hope we can get it all done over the weekend!  This cardinal makes painting number 699 in 699 days!

Snow on the Cedar

Snow on the Cedar
Oil on panel, 8x10

The beautiful snow is STILL blanketed over the countryside!  This must be some kind of record for Missouri.  The lane is still too high for me to get out to the road, so I am still snowed in and painting!  This giant cedar is out in the front yard and towers above the house.  To get an idea of how large it is, the "little" tree to the left is a mature Bradford Pear.  My uncle told me this past Christmas that he planted this cedar - and the one behind the house - many years ago.  All of our children have climbed way up into these trees while exploring.  Now, they are covered with snow as I've never seen them, making them the perfect subject for painting!  It is another overcast day, but today, there is a hint of pink at the horizon, and a little violet in the gray.  This painting is the 56th in the row - and another month of paintings completed :)

Big Snow at the Barn

Big Snow at the Barn
Oil on panel, 16x12

This winter wonderland continues! Another day of the kids home from school due to the weather - and we have another snow day tomorrow!  I don't ever remember a snow that continued to cling to the trees after the first day - but this one does!  It all still looks like new fallen snow, drifted and unmelted by the sun.   I am on the south side of the milk barn today, where the snow has drifted halfway up the leaning gate.    The cedars are glorious and heavy with snow, I may just paint them tomorrow!  Today makes 55 paintings in 55 days.  I never thought I'd be here when I took that 30 in 30 painting challenge :)