Poinsettias and Pines ATC

The Family Tree Nursery is a magical place to paint!  There are paintings at every turn - and the poinsettias were irresistible!  So many varieties and so little time to paint!  The format is very small at 2.5x3.5, and I am really enjoying working so tiny!  The days are full of family and fun, and so many Christmas activities!  This little ATC is heading to Mexico, where the days are warm and balmy!  Painting number 1800 in 1800 days!

Poinsettias for Sale

Oh this day went totally off the rails!  Out of bed early to get a jump start on the staircase (which we are completely redoing in oak), I find the freezer side of our refrigerate dripping.  NEVER a good sign.  Our day of progress on the stairs turned into running all over town in search of the prefect fridge.  AND THE CLEANING involved with switching units!!  It's enough to make a grown woman cry.  Toss in replacing the garbage disposal, too, and you have a sneak peak into my own little nightmare before Christmas!  Most things are back in place as I drop into bed, while visions of thawing meat dance in my head.  It makes me shudder even now.  Painting number 1793 in 1793 days.  This one has been a doozy.

Poinsettias and Pines

I was overwhelmed by all of the gorgeous things to paint on location at the Family Tree Nursery!  Here for our monthly gathering of the Urban Sketchers KC, it was my first time to walk through the doors. Wow!  I have a new favorite nursery and walked out with a box of fancy poinsettias, and perfect herb plants for my kitchen!  What a productive day - and that was only the beginning!  Painting number 1788 in 1788 days.

Little Church in the Pines - miniature

Little Church in the Pines
Acrylic on canvas, 2.5 x 3.5 inches
sold

Merry Christmas!!  I have had a house full of family all day long!  After the late night rituals of Christmas Eve, I was thankful the kids at least waited for the sun to arise!  They can get up as early as they want and get into their stockings, but gift opening must wait until everyone is ready - in this case, my mom, dad, Mike and I.  One son arrived around 11:00, oldest daughter arriving with her family around 12:30, and oldest son and his wife arrived around 2:00.  I love having so much family here.  I am especially thankful that my dad is still here to spend Christmas with me, and that Alan is okay after a big scare.  Once again I am reminded that life is short and fragile, we must make the most of every day.  A miniature painting for today - painting number 353 in 353 days.

Stream through the Snow

Stream through the Snow
acrylic on canvas, 2.5 x 2.5 inches with easel
sold

It is a little strange to write a post where the image on the screen is so much larger than the original!  This painting is only 2.5 x 2.5 inches square - which is very small!  When displayed on my screen, the large size makes me see areas I really should work on - but alas, I don't feel that way when looking at the real deal!  I used photo reference taken while in Colorado to paint this scene.  It was somewhere along Wolf Creek Pass, where the landscapes were endless and the beauty extreme.  So many landscapes....how will I ever get them all painted?  Painting number 346 in 346 days.  There is another "30 day challenge" coming in January just like the one that got me started on the 346........this whole daily painting habit is old hat now :)

Church on a Winter's Night - miniature

Church on a Winter's Night
acrylic on panel, 2.5 x 2.5 inch
sold

This day has been so full it is bursting at the seams!  Our Tri-County Art League Christmas lunch was today, and I had our annual class party tonight at my house - full of good food, good wine and so many gifts for all!  After SO much celebrating today - I am ready to hit the sack!  This is one of the miniatures I have been painting lately - only this one is in a square format.  I have taken lots of reference photos , and it takes a little digging to find just what I want.  We have so many charming old churches in rural Missouri - I decided to choose this for my subject matter today.  Painting number 345 in 345 days.  Now, I am ready for a long winter's nap!

Stream through the Snow - miniature

Stream through the Snow
Acrylic on canvas, 2.5 x 3.5 inches
sold

The holidays are such a wonderful time for telling all those around you just how much they mean.  I spend hours writing out Christmas cards to loved ones, sharing special memories, and telling each one exactly how special they are to me.  The very act calls up so many memories of good times long past, some of those special people no longer on this earth.  Among my very favorites is my Grandma Frank - my mother's mom.  Of all my extended family members, I always felt closest to her.  We have like personalities - she was always so positive about everything.  She was never without a warm smile on her face, radiating love wherever she went.  For 20 years after her passing, her name would come up, and sometimes complete strangers would tell me what a wonderful woman she was.  That is quite a testimony of a life well lived.  I can only hope to touch so many lives in such a positive way.  With much love to all of my family and friends, this is painting number 354 in as many days :)

Cardinal in the Pine

Cardinal in the Pines
Acrylic on canvas - gallery wrapped, 4x4
GOT Art Gallery Holiday Trunk Show

I now have over 30 paintings showing at Got Art Gallery on 3rd St. in Lee's Summit, MO.  After setting these up today for a speical holiday "trunk sale", and a wonderful Christmas party for our Summit Art group, I am finally home to post what I had painted very early this morning.  This is one of the many cardinals that visit my feeders, flying from branch to branch.  The feeders are right outside my kitchen window, which is a wide bay - giving me the perfect spot to paint the great outdoors from the comfort of my home!  I am working in acrylics for the second day in a row, because this was one to be delivered today!  It was much easier to move into the groove of this medium today than it was yesterday.  It was even fun - I always loved a challenge!  Painting number 332 in as many days - come see me tomorrow night at the gallery 5:00-9:00 :)

Winter Train - Engine 1632

Winter Train - Engine 1632
Oil on panel, 14x11
Frisco 1632 - Belton, MO - Depot
GOT Art Gallery Holiday Trunk Show

With a larger painting window today, I really should have painted 2 small paintings.  But, alas, I wanted to paint this train today, which called for a larger panel.  Dated to 1918, this Engine 1632 now resides in Belton, Missouri with assorted others near our old depot. My father and both grandsons love trains, and my maternal grandfather worked most of his life at the Roundhouse for the railroad in Kansas City, Missouri.  Many years ago, I drew one in graphite, perhaps another in pastel, and decided it was time to put a few down in oil.  Putting this one on the tracks in a winter landscape suited my inspiration for today.  Painting number 321 in 321 days.

Winter River through the Pines

Winter River through the Pines
Oil on panel, 6x6
Colorado
GOT Art Gallery Holiday Trunk Show

Almost always, while I am painting, I have this little voice that says, "Stop painting, you're done." Not so with this one.  I'm not sure if I am finished, in fact it is quite likely I'll return to it tomorrow after looking at it with fresh eyes.  I will also take a daylight photo, for this one shows more yellow than it actually is.  This is another painting I am doing before the 6x6 show deadline, and to add to my upcoming Holiday Show at GOT Art Gallery on 3rd St, in Lee's Summit.  As well as working on new Christmas card paintings, I will have a selection of small paintings just right for the holidays - as many as I can get painted between now and then!  Painting number 314 in 314 days :)

Snow on the San Juan River

Snow on the San Juan River
Oil on panel, 6x6
Wolf Creek Pass, Colorado
GOT Art Gallery Holiday Trunk Show

As we left Pagosa Springs, we were in a bit of a hurry.  The word was out that snow was expected, and the pass would soon be closed.  On the south side, the sun was out and illuminating the San Juan National Forest as we started through the pass.  About a third the way through, all became very overcast and the skies were spitting snow.  The farther we drove, the snow was accumulating on the roads, making them quite slick.  It also started blanketing the forest floor and one side of the trees, making a winter wonderland on the green grasses and foliage.  Snapping all the way, I was able to get some great reference to work from.  So, my Christmas painting begins with the 313th painting in as many days, and a lot of palette knife work :)

Calm Water

Calm Water
Oil over acrylic on canvas, 8x10

With the kids now in school, my schedule has changed a bit.  Up at 5:00, kids on the bus at 6:20, morning housework normally takes at least an hour, and then I have jumped into painting a quick one.  For the next few days, if I don't paint first thing, I may not get another chance!  We are hosting upwards of 50 soldiers and horses on our land for a reenactment.  Add to that another 50-100 people coming by at various times during the event - and I am going to be extremely busy! With calm and soothing thoughts, I have painted a quiet Colorado landscape for today.  Trying to channel tranquility for all that is about to come!  I have painted on canvas today - mainly because I am running out of surfaces.  I don't really care for the tooth of canvas or linen, I much prefer a wood panel.  But every so often, I give canvas another try.  This is painting number 225 in as many days.  Now, it is time to get back to work!

Colorado Path

Colorado Path
Oil on panel, 8x6
Pagosa Springs, Colorado

I painted this today from photos I took while recently in Pagosa Springs, Colorado.  This was a day full of complications.  While watching the grandsons, first one of them threw up, then the next only two hours later.  Nursing was my role today, until the second - who was suddenly so much better - decided to jump on his older brother repeatedly.  I then became bodyguard.  With all the other things involved with running a household, I was VERY distracted today.  With a little time between the little darlings leaving and my youngest son's baseball game, I have managed to paint this landscape.  Nothing short of a miracle-193rd painting in193 days.

Colorado Reflections

Colorado Reflections
Oil on panel, 14x11
sold

I keep a stack of paintings set aside that I have started, but have not finished.  Most are plein air pieces where I simply ran out of time, and a few are paintings I just did not return to.  I think I started this one years ago in a Phil Starke workshop, awaiting my return with the reference photo I had used.  It has been so long, I don't remember what mountain range this is!  I know it is Colorado, and I wish I had written on the back of it.  I seldom paint mountains, so this was fun to get the colors and shapes accurate.  I loved putting down such strong pigment for the sky and water - they truly are that blue!  Painting 82 in 82 days - now I have about a million panels to prime to prepare for next month!