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!!!

Tree of Everlasting Life ~ It's funny how our artwork reflects our emotions and the way we are feeling when we create them. I'm still trying to decide if I want to leave this one just the way it is or make it look more cheerful. It looks pretty stark and minimal for my usual tree paintings, but for some reason this one feels done or almost done to me. It's acrylics on 140 lb. watercolor paper and 9 x 14 inches.

FALL FEELING I and II ~ Missing in action: My muse who has deserted me the last month. I did paint these 2 little ACEO size paintings a couple of weeks ago. They are both acrylics on watercolor paper (2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches) and the originals are available at my Artbyus. I do have something planned in the near future though, which is very exciting! The garage we own is 2 stories but the upstairs has never been finished. The floor is missing on both edges of the room plus the stairs going up there are very steep. I'm going to finish the floors and walls up there, have new steps put in with some kind of portable oil heater and a window AC. Sooo I will have a new studio and room for all my art stuff. There are even two bubble skylights up there. I am going to give paintings in oils a try too. I can always open the windows so the smell won't be a problem. Ahh, I can't wait!!! I've been itching to try oil painting!

YELLOW ROSE ~ I just did this one last night and it's an abstract done in acrylics on a 6 x 6 inch stretched canvas. Cyn, I know you're on vacation but I'm going through those canvases I bought from you and I really love this size! I painted this one really fast and I'm thinking of doing another tonight.

NATURHYTHYMS ~ This is the one I finished last weekend and it's acutally the same painting in my second to last post, even though it doesn't look anything like it! It's acrylics and 9 x 12 inches on Canson canva-paper. I'm trying to paint some larger ones in the same style as the ACEO's I've been doing and I was happy with the way this one turned out!

I want to thank everyone for the heartfelt words about my Mom, they are such a real comfort to me. It is even a little easier today than yesterday and I know that time is the healer. Yesterday I went through her things that my 2 sisters and I divided up, all the time remembering the things she used to do and say. I polished her wood potato bin (with apples painted on the side) and washed the pretty glasses and old coffee cup that my dad drank so many cups of coffee from that the design is fading off. I am glad that she is free now and in a much better place. Another thing that I'm grateful for... my two sisters and I bonded again in a close and loving way while going through the things that she left behind. We all three live in different states so it's hard to keep in touch sometimes.

Feeling a deep, deep sadness too deep for words~

my Mom just passed away at about 1:25 am this morning.

IN LOVING MEMORY OF FAYE SIMS Sept. 17, 1926-July 17, 2007

TIE DOWN THE SUN ~ I painted these 4 ACEO size paintings in acrylics on Canson watercolor paper last weekend. I was happy with how a story seemed to flow out of these and decided to make prints of them and try selling as a set. The prints turned out wonderful and I am going to offer them on Artbyus and Ebay. I am still trying to decide if I want to sell the originals or just prints. It seems like I've sold almost all my original paintings over the last few years so I'm trying to keep some originals now.

A very talented artist and good friend Babs http://wilsonart-babs.blogspot.com/ was telling me about a sacred place in the mountains of Peru and the legend of the hitching post of the sun. http://sacredsites.com/americas/peru/machu_picchu.html

The legend and scenery are so magical and breathtaking and I would love to go there someday! I think we're going to take a ride down there in the balloon, if anyone would like to go with us, hop in! :D

MOOOORE ART (and a doggie) ~ Here's some things I've done over the last couple weeks but haven't posted them yet. The first is a drawing in black inkpen on the back of a paper that came from a box of air conditoner filters. I'm thinking of printing this and maybe adding some color to it. I had done this when I was out at my Mom's house for a couple of weeks. I should have listened to my sister Betsy and brought my art things when I stayed out there! Also more fantasy tree ACEO's and last, a larger work in progress on watercolor paper that is 9 x 12 inches. I hope everyone is having a creative and fun weekend! I just had to add that little pic of my doggie Toby right after his bath. He has the prettiest silky light reflecting hair (when it's clean that is!) He has to get baths often too!

INTO THE SUNRISE ~ Yes it's another little painting 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches and acrylics on watercolor paper. I promise that I am currently painting something larger though but it's not done enough to post a picture yet. I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

'MARSHMALLOW SPARKLE' and 'CELESTIAL WINDOW' ~ I painted these two little ones this weekend and for some reason that marshmallow is starting to look more like a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of a huge strawberry...dessert anyone!? I guess I was in a scarlet/purple mood when I painted these. They are both acrylics on 140 lb. watercolor paper and they are ACEO size 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches and available on Ebay.

I hope everyone had a great weekend! I ended up having a fight with my vacuum cleaner Saturday and I think I won since the vacuum makes this horrible loud noise now. It scared the bleep out of me and I was frantically trying to pull the plug out of the wall because it sounded like it was going to blow up LOL! I guess I'll be shopping for a new one now.

MOUNTAINFALLS 1, TREE OF FIRE AND ICE, and MOUNTAINFALLS 2 ~ I just did these little paintings and they are all acrylics on 140 lb. watercolor paper and they are tiny landscapes (2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches ACEO size).

It's so good to be back home! I was away for almost 2 weeks to stay with my Mom out in Kentucky and I want to thank everyone for the kind thoughts and well wishes for her. We had to place her in the rehabilitation part of the nursing home which was really hard to do but hopefully they will help her heal enough to walk with a walker eventually. She is a fighter and pretty spunky at times but I'm afraid that she is just getting really tired.

If any of you have an elderly person at home, it's a good idea to get rid of all the throw rugs. There was only one of those in the house where my Mom was staying and she tripped over it and fell and broke her hip, and they couldn't move it because it was under a heavy piano!

oops, forgot to mention that I'll be listing these for auction on Ebay and I'll see what happens with it.

New Paintings 'Yellow' and 'Snowy Eve' ~ This is two paintings I recently finished and they are both on 6x6 inch stretched canvas (two more on your canvases that I bought Cyn!). I have really been neglecting my blog lately which I am going remedy right now! I have to go out of town next week and won't be back till the following week. My Mother fell and broke her hip last weekend and I am going out there to stay with her in the rehabilitation hospital in Bowling Green, Kentucky. She has been in failng health the last few years and prayers and well wishes would be so much appreciated. I'm taking these two paintings and some others as gifts for my sister and nieces who live there. Ick I dread the plane trip but it is soo much quicker! I will see youall when I get back! Keep on bloggin'! :)

edit: LOL I know someone is going to notice this and I just saw myself that I used the words "yellow" and "snow" in the same line for my titles!! :D

NEW ACEOS ~ Taking a Bow and The Betsy Ross Tree ~ I've been in a kind of slump with my painting but I think I was actually just too busy at my other job lately. I had started these 2 ACEO paintings two weeks ago and just abandoned them till today and finally got them finished, yea! They're acrylics on Canson canva-paper both are 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches.

Uhoh, I have been tagged by someone, my good friend and wonderfully talented artist, Diane Cutter http://theitinerantartist.blogspot.com/ These are the tagging rules that I got from her blog:1. List 7 random facts/habits about yourself.2. Choose another 7 bloggers to tag and list their names in your blog.3. Leave your 7 tagged bloggers comments to notify them of their tagging and to direct them to your blog for tag instructions.So here are random, little known facts about myself:

1. I can write upside down and backwards if I picture what it looks like in my mind first.

2. I love brussel sprouts and black licorice (LOL Diane I read your list!) :)

3. Here are states I've lived in since I was born: Michigan, Tennessee, Kentucky, Florida, Texas, Illinois, Wyoming, Virginia. TX, IL, and WY was when I was in the U.S.AirForce.

4. When I was in the U.S.A.F I had a top secret clearance and had to carry a .38 gun! I was a Missile Systems Analyst Specialist (boy, that sounds pretty neat now but was lots of hard work!)

5. All of my fingers and one of my thumbs is double jointed and I used to enjoy making them look creepy when I would bend down my first knuckles hehe!

6. I took accounting and shorthand in college and HATED it, was the hardest and most boring classes ever! (I ended up dropping out and taking what I love which is art)

7. I love learning about the earth and geology was one of my favorite classes in college.

Hmmmm now to pick 7 artists blogger friends to tag (insert evil laugh!) If ya don't have time or have been picked before, just ignore this LOL...OK here's my picks:

All very talented artists, poets and wonderful people, in the order that I have them in my link list:

1. Mother of Invention ~ http://felinehangout.blogspot.com/

2. Babs ~ http://wilsonart-babs.blogspot.com/

3. Florence ~ http://florenceartur.com/spip/?lang=en

4. Kerri ~ http://www.midnightpaintings.com/index.html

5. Corrine (Jafagirl) ~ http://jafabrit.blogspot.com/

6. Janet ~ http://aplanetnamedjanet.blogspot.com/

7. Cynthia ~ http://cmguajardo.blogspot.com/

PRINTS, PRINTS AND MORE PRINTS ~ I love my little Epson printer that I got last weekend and as you can see by this picture I've been enjoying using it. This is lots of little prints of the things I've painted the last few years, some bigger and on stretched canvas and a few are digital paintings. Most of my file sizes were too small to make prints much larger than this, but a lot of these are the original size anyways (2 1/2 x 3 1/2 ACEO size). Almost all of the original paintings are sold and gone so I was thrilled to be able to make these prints! Anyone for a game of cards, that's what these feel like when they're stacked up. I have them all in little plastic sleeves too! :)

REFLECTIONS AND FOREST RUN ~ I finished these two little ACEO paintings last night and I plan to work on one of my 6 x 6 inch stretched canvases tonight. I'm always glad to see the weekend come so I can paint something! These two ACEOs are both acrylics and I just listed them on E-bay today. I hope everyone is doing great this weekend and I have some blog visiting to catch up on! :)

For Kris and Chris...This is a manipped photo of my daughter Kristie...she moved out almost a year ago and is very happy with TLOHL (the love of her life) but darn I miss her lots sometimes!! They come over at least once a week to visit and I enjoy cooking up something they enjoy for supper between work/school/gym. I'm very happy and proud of you my daughter and LOVE you lots!!!!!

Fancy Tree, Twisty Tree and Firelight Ridge ~ Yep I changed the title of this one and I did some tweaking to it today, including making my sig look better (Thanks Babs!!) I also put a layer of clear gloss gel medium on this, let it dry and then a coat of varnish. I love the glossiness and the way the colors deepen and plan to do this to my paintings on canvas from now on! I worked on the two ACEO's last night and today and good grief, I'm going to have to think of some better titles LOL, but I settled for 'Twisty Tree' and 'Fancy Tree'! I hope everyone is having a great Saturday!! The weather was gorgeous today, sunny and near 80.

CHRISTMAS TREES IN APRIL!?? ~ 'Trees of Eight' Ha, you're probably asking why someone would paint what appears to be Christmas trees in the middle of April...I wish I knew the answer to that, but in any case these really aren't trees decorated for the Holidays. I was just trying to get the effect of eight trees all lit up and sparkling on top of a high ridge. This is acrylics on 6 x 6 stretched canvas and all I have left to do is put on a layer of Liquitex heavy gloss medium and then varnish it. Cynthia this is my first finished painting on the canvases I bought from you. Thank You!

Blooming Apple Tree and Garden of the Sun ACEO~ The top photo is of another ACEO I recently finished and the bottom photos are of the very old knarly apple tree at the back of my yard. It has rings of little holes decorating the trunk from a woodpecker and it probably needs pruning but it blooms wonderfully every spring! I am inspired to do the paintings of trees from the shape of this and other interesting trees I've seen! I guess I'm a Tree Hugger (and painter)!

DIAMONDS IN THE CORNFIELD ~ I just finished this painting the other day (finally!) and it's 8 x 10 inches in acrylics on stretched canvas. I originally had it titled with the word jewels but I like diamonds better. Lots of times when driving to work before daylight I enjoy seeing the moon and how it seems to glow up there. When you really look at it, it seems to be under layers of diffused light and colors and it's not all white. I guess the craters and atmospheric conditions create the shadows you see on it. One of these days I'll get it down perfectly I hope!

I am always inspired by Jafabrit's spuggy birds http://jafabrit.blogspot.com/ and put some on top of the cornstalks to look at the moon!

Yeaaa Cynthia http://cmguajardo.blogspot.com/ I am so thrilled by the 12 little canvases that I bought from you on E-bay, thanks so much for offering them and I already have one painting started on one of them!

New friend in blogland! A very talented artist and WetCanvas buddy of mine, Babs has started a blog, woohoo about time!! Give her a visit and check out her beautiful paintings!! http://wilsonart-babs.blogspot.com/

NEW PAINTINGS ~ I finished up these three paintings last night and still working on a larger one too. The top two are ACEO size in acrylics and the bottom one is 3 x 5 inches and was the last of the 'bubble tree' painting that I had cut into 3 separate paintings. It's always hard to think of titles but these are 'Silver Tree', 'Sunset Tree' and 'Hearts Underground'.