'New and Improved' summer ACEOs ~ I worked some more on the summer ones and now I think they look a whole lot better! Babs, thank you for the tips and Pamie I hope that you are feeling better!

I haven't been visiting my friends blogs as much lately because my 8 year old computer has gotten slower than molasses in the winter! It takes forever for most web pages to even load now but Santa is bringing me a new computer this year, so hopefully things will be much faster soon.

I hope everyone has a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Puddin' and the Christmas Octopus ~ This is my cat Puddin and her Christmas buddy who plays 'Jingle Bells' through what sounds like blowing bubbles, when you press the red spot on his tentacle! She was all snuggled up with him tonight on the back of the couch and I had to grab the camera. She didn't look too thrilled with the camera flash in that one picture LOL, if looks could kill! She always gives me 'the look' when I get near her with a camera though! :) I hope everyone is having fun and getting in the holiday spirit because Christmas is almost here, woohoo!

ACEO SETS for Pamie ~ Three of Each Season and I still have the spring trees to go to complete the set! Thank You Pamie! EEK only 2 more weeks till Christmas!! I've baked a couple batches of Christmas cookies but it looks like I'm going to have to make some more next week. I gave my daughter and her boyfriend one batch and my husband and I have about finished off the second batch. My friend Babs http://wilsonart-babs.blogspot.com/ gave me a great recipe that I'm going to have to try that has pecans, oatmeal and raisins, yum!!!

TWO MORE ACEO TREES ~ I'm doing another series of the four seasons in my ACEO size trees for a wonderfully nice person and I have her spring and summer trees in progress. 'Capture the Light' is her winter one and the one above right is her fall tree.

We set a new record for warm temperatures today...it got 79 degrees and the air conditioner is running! Ahh, makes me want to head further north or west, it's just not right for it to be this warm in December!

CAPTURE THE LIGHT ~ This is another small ACEO size painting, and I'm also trying to work on one similar in a larger size on a stretched canvas. I am so used to painting small ones that it's hard to do the same style in larger sizes sometimes! No sparkly glitter in this one, although I was very tempted hehe!

Has anyone seen the movie 'Polar Express'? I absolutely love that movie!! The Family Channel has been running it every night and I had it on for the 4th time this evening. My daughter and her boyfriend watched it with us last night. What a wonderful movie with spectacular animation and sound effects!! I think watching that movie will be a yearly holiday tradition for me. Another tradition is making the homemade decorated Christmas cookies with confectioner's sugar colored icing. I have to make a couple batches this week!!

Snowy Mountain Christmas ~ I just finished this one today and it's 5 x 7 inches acrylics and crystal glitter on 140 lb. watercolor paper and...heellp, I'm going to have to go to glitter anonymous because I can't stop putting this sparkly stuff in my paintings!! It's so pretty though. I took out the Halloween painting and put this one in the frame to hang behind the Christmas tree, which I decorated tonight.

MORE SNOWY ACEOS ~ and this time I added sparkly moons too! I've been having fun painting these little snow scenes in acrylics and then adding sparkle to them with gloss medium and crystal glitter. I used to love painting those little intricate plaster Chistmas ornaments and now I'm enjoying doing these little paintings! It's hard to believe that December is already here and I'm feeling the holiday spirit (or trying to anyways!) :)

Fantasy ACEO trees in the 4 seasons and 2 snow fantasy ACEOs ~ 'Summer Treat', 'Fall Festival', Winter Sparkle', and 'Spring Alive'. Someone from Australia contacted me in Etsy and asked me if I could paint a tree for each of the seasons. These are acrylics on Canson canva-paper and the winter one has crystal glitter imbedded in the snow. The other 2 ACEO's are also in acrylics and crystal glitter and available on E-bay. They're titled 'Land of Ice' 1 & 2.

'Christmas Tree Ridge' ~ ACEO in acrylics and crystal glitter

'Bird of Prey' ~ 6x6 inches acrylics on stretched canvas

This is two paintings that I finished this week. We've had 2 new birds visit our backyard recently and I combined them in 'Bird of Prey'. Lots of different birds visit the 3 feeders out there, but the hawk and red-winged blackbird are new ones. The hawk has been eyeing the brush pile out in the backyard almost every evening. We suspect that a rabbit had made her nest in there because she would run across the yard when my husband would mow the yard in late summer. I went out on the deck to chase the hawk away since I don't want him making a meal out of the bunnies but he is pretty big so I don't plan on getting too close to him! Run, bunnies, run when you leave the nest!!

COLOR ME FALL 1,2, and 3 ~ I just finished these three ACEO size paintings today and they are acrylics on 140 lb. watercolor paper. I was driving to town the other morning, and I noticed all the wonderful colors in the trees which gave me the inspiration to do these. I'm not usually a morning person, but I did enjoy the misty blue of the morning and and the scarlet and gold in the trees! I sold 'Christmas Through the Window' on E-bay tonight, woohoo! I was leery of trying E-bay again, but I used to have lots of fun selling my trees in there. Auctions are pretty exciting to watch too! I'm listing these 3 ACEO's also. They almost look like they came off an assembly line and I did line them up and paint them all at the same time. Each one is a little different though.

Melting Into Lace ~ I just finished this one last night and I'm getting ready to put a clear gloss finish on it. This is acrylics and 8 x 10 inches on a stretched canvas. I hope everyone is having a great weekend and TGIF!!!

I got up my nerve to try listing some prints on e-bay but I've been holding on to most of my original paintings lately so I don't know how the prints will sell. I had one framed in the living room and switched it with the original and my husband couldn't tell the difference so I guess they are turning out OK. Keeping my fingers crossed because I've been reading lots of people saying that all the changes in e-bay is hurting their art business!

...and 'Christmas Lights' finished but I renamed it 'Through the Christmas Window'... eek come to think of it, I'm not too crazy about that title either. Ugh, sometimes it's hard to think of names for paintings and other times it just pops in your head easy as pie!

Do any of you use white gesso to make your canvases smooth before painting on them? The grainy weave of the canvas was bothering me so I tried putting two coats of gesso on, letting each coat dry first, then sanding with fine sandpaper. Woohoo, it works, I now have a very fine and smooth surface to try my next painting on!

Christmas Lights ~ Well I'm jumping straight from Halloween to Christmas, well my paintings are anyways. This is 5 x 7 inches on watercolor paper.

This is so hilarious! ~ I was browsing in one of my favorite websites, http://www.i-am-bored.com/ and came across this: http://www3.webng.com/redtophank/cit.html . I don't know if it works on all web pages but it turned the photos on my blog page into a cyclone! Don't forget to hit 'enter' after copying and pasting the code into your browser. TOO FUNNY!

Rainbow Bluff ~ I guess I was inspired by the piece of rainbow I saw the other day but couldn't think of a good title for this one. This is 9 x 12 inches and acrylics on Canson canva-paper.

A Piece of Rainbow ~ I know I post lots of rainbow pictures but every time I see one I have to run outside with my little digital camera. We have had an awful drought the last couple of months here in Virginia but today we actually had some rain clouds and a tiny bit of rain this morning and evening. When we got home from going out to eat, I was coming in the back door and saw this amazing sky with clouds in front of the rainbow! The only part I could see what what is in this picture. It was sunset time and my camera must have automatically set to the sunset setting because I don't remember the clouds looking this bright orange or yellow. I just had to share these!

For my Youngest (baby) Sister Betsy ~ She is 6 1/2 years younger than me and is a dedicated, very smart and hard working pediatric nurse and she now trains new nurses. She was the one who was the primary caregiver for my Mom when she was so ill and went through so much. She liked this painting and recently celebrated her birthday so I told her this painting is her birthday gift! I can't wait to travel to Kentucky (soon) to see her and give her her birthday present! It is finally feeling like fall here in Virginia, as you can see by the flowers and decorations on the deck, I love this time of year!

Tree of Gold and Earth Meets Sky ~ Hi, I'm finally getting around to posting the pictures of the two acrylics paintings that I finished last weekend. The first one is 5 x 7 inches on 140 lb. watercolor paper and the bottom one is larger at 11 x 14 inches on Canson Canva-paper. I thought I had lost the second painting when it fell behind the dryer the other night! I like to set paintings in progress up on the shelf over the washer and dryer. There is good light up there and I can study them while I'm on the computer and change something if I need to. Anyways, after it fell behind there, I tried everything and couldn't get it out but my husband rescued it the next day and it was OK! I was afraid he would fall behind the dryer too LOL. Well another week is gone and TGIF!!!

SPIRALING INTO COLOR ~ These are some paintings I've been working on this week and I was playing around with spiral shapes and color. These are all painted in acrylics, the top 2 are on watercolor paper, the 2nd is a 6 x 6 inch stretched canvas, and the last one is an 8 x 10 inch canvas board. I hope everyone is having a great weekend and TGIF!!

WHERE DID ALL THE RAINBOWS GO? ~ This is actually a photo I took a couple years ago in the front yard. It was a double rainbow, very beautiful, and I manipped it in photoshop here. I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Old Tobacco Barn and My New Etsy Store! ~ I took this old picture of a tobacco barn in Kentucky many years ago and just finished this new painting from that old photo. It's funny that my painting looks entirely different than the photo but I'm happy with the way it turned out. It's acrylics on 140 lb. watercolor paper and 8 x 10 inches.

Well, I finally did it, I opened up my new etsy store! I've been hearing some great things about them and I'm thinking it will be a lot of fun. I hardly have anything in there yet but plan to add more and see how it goes. I'd be so grateful if some people 'heart' my store (hint, hint). I'm going to do that myself although I'm still learning the ropes. I'm not sure what to do next except add some items in my store and get to know some of the artists in there. It's a really huge site with so many members!

'White Rocking Chair and a Rainbow' ~ One of the projects I finally tackled was putting on the 3rd coat of white paint to my 'outside' rocking chair. Wow, that sucker almost glows now! :D I've been lugging the heavy thing inside every time that rain was expected. Well, I love sitting out there in the evening and I'm hoping those 3 coats of paint will protect it. I'm still going to have to lug it back inside for the winter though. It's been cloudy and misting rain most of the day but right before dusk this evening, the sun was trying to appear out in the west which produced this beauty of a rainbow!

In Loving Memory of my Mother, Faye Sims (September 17, 1926-July 17, 2007) on her Birthday. She would have been 81 today ~ Momma, I Love you and miss you very much!

Special thanks and hugs to some friends...Babs (Wilson Art) for sending me this wonderful poem (below, author unknown) and for painting 'Sunrise for Faye' and sending to me. I'll treasure it forever! Here is her wonderful painting on top of my Mom's potato bin next to Mom's plant sprinkler.

I also want to thank my friend Cheri (Digis by Cheri) who send me a most wonderful book, 'The New Creative Artist' by Nita Leland. She sent it to me when I was out in Kentucky with Mom when she was very ill. I treasure that book and have read and reread it and it sure helped me get through some tough times. Thanks and hugs to you too Cheri! also, pssst: Happy Birthday to you this coming Friday!



To Those I Love And Those Who Love Me

When I am gone, release me, let me go
I have so many things to see and do.
You musn't tie yourself to me with tears,
Be thankful for our beautiful years.

I gave to you my love. You can only guess
How much you gave to me in happiness.
I thank you for the love you each have shown,
But now it's time I traveled on alone.

So grieve a while for me, if grieve you must,
Then let your grief be comforted by trust.
It's only for a time that we must part
So bless the memories within your heart.

I won't be far away, for life goes on
So if you need me, call and I will come.
Though you can't see or touch me, I'll be near
And if you listen with your heart, you'll hear
All my love around you soft and clear.

And then, when you must come this way alone,
I'll greet you with a smile, and say - "Welcome home!"

FEELING THE SUN ~ This is another little 6 x 6 inch painting I did pretty quickly and it's acrylics on stretched canvas. I'm also getting ready to repaint the walls in the house soon so I'll be in lots of painting projects soon but I love it! I think I'm going to hang some of my little 6 x 6 abstracts in the hallway after it's done. Cyn I've gone through almost all of those little canvases I bought from ya and I really love that size!

'Red Frenzy' and 'Color Dunes' ~ I finished these 2 paintings today and they are both acrylics on 6 x 6 inch stretched canvas. I am almost out of art supplies and I see a shopping trip coming up soon! I'm still trying to decide if I would be better off buying paints and canvas on-line or at the local Michaels store though...decisions, decisions! I really am almost out of canvas and paints though, yikes time to stock up again! :( This time I am going to buy some white gesso and I haven't used it since college days. I want to coat and sand the canvas so I can get a nice smooth surface and see how that works. I've also thought about trying the stretched linen.

CRAYOLA DIGI-DOODLE ~ Check out Janet's blog http://aplanetnamedjanet.blogspot.com/ and her "So draw something" link. I did and had a lot of fun doodling this today! :D I even have it on my desktop and it looks really colorful!

BIRTHDAY PRESENT ~ for a dear friend and very talented artist. This is 6 x 6 inches acrylics on stretched canvas. I was thinking of naming it 'Heart of a Cowboy' or either 'Heart of the West'. My husband told me my tree is bow-legged (LOL rolling eyes) but that's the way I wanted to paint it. I hope everyone is having a great weekend and TGIF!!!

'SONGS FROM THE SWAMP' 1 & 2' ~ ...frustration and trying to paint when you just can't seem to get in the mood ~ arrrgh well I think for me the mood has to be right and I probably painted about 5 or 6 layers over these 2 little paintings before I felt like they were starting to work! After I got aggravated and smeared some of the paint down I saw a swamp setting and then said to myself, "aha" now I'm starting to see where they are going! Anyways these are both ACEO size (acrylics on 140 lb. watercolor paper'. I hope everyone is doing well and having fun with art tonight!

Seashells, Sandcastles and the 'Lunamoth Spaceman'~ These are three little acrylic paintings I recently finished and they are ACEO size, each being 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches. Sometimes I wonder where I get my weird imagination from that seems to come bursting out when I'm painting or drawing something! These are now available for auction on ebay. I've been getting the urge to start doing some more of my trees and soon I'll have more time because tomorrow is my last day at my part-time job. I am going to start focusing on my art more and see what happens, wish me luck! We are still making plans for finishing up the floor upstairs in the garage for a studio and soon as some progress is made, I'll start taking some photos. I'm really excited about it!

I've been wanting to change the template of my blog to have a light background because I realize that some have trouble reading the type against a black background. I'm just worried about the fact that I've 'colored' all the type in my posts. Will the type color change also if I change my template...just wondering. I'm still planning on giving it a try after copying/pasting my blog template and saving it to my hard drive...just in case I completely mess up my blog and have to go back to the black background. That's on my 'to do' list next week! Tomorrow is TGIF, woohoo!!!