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'.

NEW UPDATED PHOTO ~ I've been meaning to get a better/clearer/more up-to-date photo of myself to put in my profile and I finally got one last night after about 15 tries LOL! I set the self timer then went over and waited for it to flash...(gee I felt really ridiculous) but anyways I finally picked one that turned out OK even though my neck looks hunched down like a turtle! Here are two of the rejects :D I hope everyone has a BLESSED AND HAPPY EASTER!!!

PAINTINGS THIS WEEKEND ~ I did three little ones last night and listed them in E-bay today. They are in acrylics on Canson canva-paper (I love that stuff!) and ACEO size which is 2/1/2 x 3 1/2 inches. Their titles are Dancing to Spring, Purple Sparkle Wave, and Edge of the World.

PUDDIN' TOES ~ I just finished this one yesterday and I started out by drawing it in with a fine sharpee magic marker, then painting it in with watered acrylics. It's ACEO size 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches on 140 lb. watercolor paper. One night I was sitting at the computer desk and looked over to see my cat Puddin' laying all stretched out on an afgan on top of the dryer. She had her feet all stretched out and I got a pic of her like that. Now that I look at my little painting though, I see I got some of her toes 'off' in shape and proportion but I thought it just made it look funnier. I had done a larger acrylic painting of this same picture but I laid it aside and still haven't finished it yet.

ANOTHER TRIO OF TREES ~ Here's some more of the little trees I've painted recently in aceo size (2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches). They are all in acrylics on 140 lb. watercolor paper and I've listed all three of these on E-bay.

'Thoughts of Liberty' ~ The second painting in my second to last post doesn't exist anymore. I was going to add just a little more to it but got carried away! Eventually I saw what looked like the Statue of Liberty appearing in there so I went with it...where did that come from?! Have you ever done a painting and something appear that you had not planned or even thought about till it just appeared in your painting? This one is currently listed for auction on E-bay.

BLUE EDGE OF THE UNIVERSE ~ is the title of this one. I worked on this painting today but I've only got the background done so far. OK, I need to get off this computer and finish this one, which I'm going to do in just a few minutes. The weekend is slipping away! This is acrylics on an 8 x 10 inch stretched canvas. I really love doing larger paintings on a stretched canvas and I need to go buy some more. I've been thinking of trying the thicker edge gallery wrap canvas but not sure where to buy them unless I order some on-line. Hope everyone is having a fun weekend! I hear the spring frogs singing tonight and I love that sound! OK it's time to make a moon, tree and spiderweb come alive in this one!

Peach and Brown ~ are one of my favorite color combinations and I already had some of this mixed up from the last aceo I painted, so I did 2 more paintings with the leftover acrylics I had mixed. The larger one is 8 x 10 inches 'Peachy Sunrise' and the aceo one is titled 'Fish Net Fantasy'.

I see the little mystery person is still haunting my flickr badge! Maybe they are just giving me a visit but I wonder if someone else's flickr badge has my photos appearing. I also spotted another mystery photo in my badge and it looks like an upside-down landscape LOL!

Weekend ACEO paintings ~ I did these this weekend and listed them in e-bay. They are both acrylics on watercolor paper and the titles are Beach Sparkle Sunset and Spring Green Fling. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

EEEK my flickr badge over the right of my blog is haunted! I keep seeing a picture appear in there which isn't mine and I've never seen it before. It is of a face with something green (a leaf or scarf) over it. It looks pretty neat but it's nothing I put in my flickr photos and I've been neglecting my flickr for a while now. I guess I need to go in there and see what is going on!??? Who is that little person with the green thing over their face and why are they in my flickr badge???