It Was Hard
Detail
"It was very hard to be a woman painter."
~ Frida Kahlo
Acrylic on Wooden Ply
Size: 8 X 10 in
20 X 25 cm
Once again, I found my inspiration in the many self portraits Frida left us.
Your painting arrives signed and ready to hang.
The sides are painted black so no framing is needed.
Her Wish
I haven't been very good lately about posting my work in progress. Mostly because I've been working on minis rather than large pieces. These things seem to go in cycles...but I've got a canvas almost finished so thought I'd share it tonight. It's based on a Frida portrait...I seem to be on a Frida streak these days.
A Secret Place
"I don't talk much to anyone but
You're a special case..."
~
Joni Mitchell, "My Secret Place”
Roses In December
"God gave us memory
so that we might have roses in December."
~ James M. Barrie
For some reason, it was a Frida Kahlo day today...I had planned on starting a large canvas, but I kept looking at these little wooden blocks that were all sanded and gessoed and well, I had to paint them! Both of these little paintings are:
Acrylic on Wooden Block
Size: 4 X 6 in
10 X 15 cm
Take The One Less Travelled
"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."
~ Robert Frost
Be Wise In Deed
Mini Painting Times 2! Both these little paintings are:
Acrylic on Wooden Block
Size: 4 X 6 in
10 X 15 cm
It was grey and gloomy today so I spent the whole day at my paints. I think it's time to start on another large canvas...just not sure what I feel like painting...
A couple of weeks ago, we adopted Misha, a little stray kitty.
It hasn’t taken this little character long to find her way into our hearts.
This shot was taken a couple of days ago during one of her many safaris through our living room.
And today's painting is another angel ...
Fill Yourself With Love
“He who is filled with love is filled with God himself..”
~ Saint Augustine
Size: 4 X 6 in
10 X 15 cm
I've painted many, many angels...but I never get tired of them, so here's another one!
The sides of the little painting are painted black, so there is no need to frame.
Your painting arrives ready to hang.
The Masterpiece
“The family is one of nature's masterpieces.”
~ George Santayana
Acrylic on Wooden Block
Size: 4 X 6 in
10 X 15 cm
I painted this little family with their glowing eyes in their bright saris this afternoon. I've got a couple of large canvases on the go and will hopefully have them ready before the weekend is over. So far so good with my self-imposed "Painting A Day" challenge.
On Tuesday, sled dog owners Wayne Alexander and Sherri-Lynn Krock were killed in a car accident near their home southwest of Edmonton Alberta. They not only leave behind family and friends, but 65 beloved sled dogs. In the aftermath of this tragedy, these orphaned dogs will need loving homes. For more information on how you can help, please visit the Alaskan Malamute Help League.
This is Jenna; she found her "forever" home with us through the help of the AMHL.
And today's painting...
Innocence And Beauty
"The true honor of Mary is the honor of God, the praise of God's grace . . ."
~ Martin Luther
Size: 12 X 16 in
30 X 40 cm
I'm listening to CBC news as I get my life organized for the day, no surprise here. The Canadian art buzz is all about the $934,000 price tag on Tom Thomson's Burnt Area with Ragged Rocks sold yesterday at Sotheby's auction in Toronto. If you’ve never seen an original Thomson, it's all true. His work is haunting and honest speaks of the untamed forests of Northern Ontario. He died mysteriously sometime between July 8, 1917 and July 17, presumed drowned in his beloved wilderness. He was only 39. I spent an afternoon at a Group of Seven exhibit a couple of years ago and it’s Thomson’s work that remains in my mind.
Well, I'm no Tom Thomson but I'm still painting!
Innocence And Beauty
"The innocent and the beautiful Have no enemy but time”
~ William Butler Yeats
Acrylic on Wooden Block
Size: 4 X 6 in
I painted this sweet little flower child with her arms full of roses yesterday afternoon. For some reason, I seem to be thinking more about spring than snow!
Beauty And Truth
" In thought, faith
In word, wisdom
In deed, courage
In life, service."
~ Anonymous
Size: 15 X 33 in
38 X 76 cm
Courageous Faith
"Faith is courage; it is creative while despair is always destructive."
~ David S. Muzzey
Size: 30 X 40 in
76 X 102 cm
I've actually had this painting finished for a day or two. But I've been waiting for a day without rain to take a shot of it outside. At least today it stopped raining, but it was still pretty grey. Even standing over the painting on a chair I had a hard time getting a bang on shot...gotta learn to use this new camera...
It’s actually before noon and I’m posting in this modest little blog before
I'm bleary eyed with fatigue and it’s long past my bedtime.
It feels like it’s been raining here for days, which it has. I seem to have an irresistible urge to hibernate or perhaps to use a term from the last century, I need to “cocoon.” I find myself thinking about how good it’s going to be to climb into bed and just shut it all off for the night. But not before I read myself to sleep. Books are a place to go when I’m tired of thinking about where I am.
I’ve finally realized that although my long hours at the easel are perhaps making me a better painter, those same hours have kept me away from my old friend, the novel. How I’ve missed all those characters with their complicated yet common lives. I crave words, words on paper. I realize that since I’ve working with words less, my vocabulary, that I was once just a little bit proud of has become embarrassingly limited. Stumbling through my first few blog entries was all the proof I needed.
But thankfully, I don’t make my living through words, and I hope that I’m a better painter than I am a writer. So it’s time to get to my paints.
What Female Error Here?
" If to her share some female errors fall, Look on her face, and you'll forget them all."
~ Alexander Pope
Small Format Art
Size: 4 X 4 in
10 X 10 cm
Modern?
" It is a Modern day, and these times need Modern solutions to Modern problems."
~ ~ Corin Nemec
Size: 4 X 4 in
10 X 10 cm
Today was a busy day at the paints but it's been too long a day to talk about my little pieces. It's time for bed and a good book!
“True religion is real living; living with all one's soul, with all one's goodness and righteousness.”
~ Albert Einstein
Size: 8 X 10 in
20 X 26 cm
Today was grey and chilly, I felt like I needed to warm my bones. While I painted this Celtic inspired Madonna, Remembrance Day kept sneaking up on me...can't seem to get these wars off my mind.
Detail
"I believe that it is better to tell the truth than a lie.
I believe it is better to be free than to be a slave.
And I believe it is better to know than to be ignorant."
~ H. L. Mencken
Size: 12 X 36 in
30 X 91 cm
Without a doubt, I remain inspired by the work of Gustave Klimt.
I've painted the background and clothing in this study of
faith in a range of deeply gleaming metallics with a touch of gold
and silver liquid leaf.
~ Richard von Weizsaecker
Redemption and Remembrance
"Seeking to forget makes exile all the longer; the secret of redemption lies in remembrance."
Size: 8 X 10 inch
20 X 26 cm
November is a month of remembrance. And of course tomorrow is November 11, Remembrance Day. A couple of years ago we traveled to England and France. We had a wonderful trip, London, Paris, Versailles, Rouen.
But the it will always be the afternoon that we spent at Vimy that remains in my mind. Thinking of so many young men fighting for that ridge still haunts me. The sadness and truly awesome beauty of the great sculptures against the sky is incredibly moving. And the poppies really do grow there…
So this is my little Remembrance Day painting…
On the Journey
“The feeling remains that God is on the journey, too.”
~Teresa of Avila
It's much too late tonight to try to write anything, so this is it, one little angel!
A New Ending
“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning,
but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”
~Maria Robinson
Today there were simply too many domestic tasks infringing on my time. First there was that disorganized fridge to clean, then dog hair to vacuum up and groceries to buy. And more shipping of course, that necessary evil of the art business. But at least I spent a bit of time at the easel and finished this little cross. 
I'm didn't have a chance to work on the Celtic Madonna but should have this Klimt inpired piece ready for sale tomorrow...at least that's the plan! I'll have a better shot of it once I figure out my brand new camera. More on that tomorrow I hope.
Yahoo! I received my order of laminated prints today and I've listed them in my eBay store! I painted A Wonderful Fairy Tail earlier this year and figured it would make a pretty little art plaque.
And here is little Misha, our adopted kitten, helping me with a Celtic Madonna I’ve been working on. She’s had a big day following that paint brush around and is right now curled up on my lap sleeping like the baby she is.
Keeper Of Hugs and Cookies
“Grandmas never run out of hugs or cookies.”
~Author Unknown
Size: 8 X 10 inch
I have to admit that I didn't paint this little piece today. Instead I had a lovely visit with a good friend who dropped by unexpectedly with her most beautiful little girl. But tomorrow it's back to the paints for me!
To bid on this little painting, or Buy It Now, check out my eBay Store! 
“Shyness has a strange element of narcissism, a belief that how we look, how we perform, is truly important to other people.”
~Andre Dubus
Mini Painting
Size: 4 X 6 inch
To bid on this little painting, or Buy It Now, check out my eBay Store! 
"To see the Summer Sky
Is Poetry, though never in a Book it lie -
True Poems flee.
~Emily Dickinson
Size: 8 X 10 inch
The Love Of Heaven To bid on this little trio, or Buy It Now, check out my eBay Store! 
"The love of heaven makes one heavenly.”
~ William Shakespeare
Size: 4 X 6 inches
I paint a lot of small paintings, I figure I’ve painted at least a thousand of them since I got back to my paints a couple of years ago. For some time I wasn’t painting much of anything bigger than 6 X 6 inches. But earlier this year, I rediscovered the beauty of the large canvas. But the lure of the mini is strong;I don't think I'll ever stop painting this lovely little size.
All We are Saying To bid on this little trio, or Buy It Now, check out my eBay Store! 
"All we are saying is give peace a chance."
John Lennon
Mini Painting
Size: 4 X 6 inches
It doesn't seem possible that it was so many years ago that John Lennon first spoke these words.
And here we are...we still can't give it a chance.
A Line of Poetry To bid on this little Angel, and see my other work, check out my eBay Store! 
"God is the perfect poet, Who in his person acts his own creations."
Robert Browning
Wooden Ply Ornament
Size: 11 X 8 inches
I've used shades and tones of cobalt blue and silver metallic for this little piece.
We've had a couple of very busy days around here having just added another little stray to our family. Her name is Misha and she's completely melted our hearts already. We found her thanks to Petfinder and just had to give her a "forever home."
Here's a shot of little Misha helping me at the computer tonight. 
