Merry Christmas!

Wishing everyone a wonderful Holiday!

Thanks for stopping by to visit me throughout the year 

and for those who comment:

a special thanks for your kind words and encouragement.

2013 a year of paintings

my year of paintings

The most paintings I have done in a year so far.
Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas!

I'm linking to Mary's Mosaic Monday.

new bowls print & working on my cards

My cards came back from the printer

and I spent a snowy afternoon getting them done.

Look at pretty lemon cypress I found in Wegman's!
Hope I can keep it alive as a houseplant.  The scent is
so lemony and light when the needles are rubbed.

new tulips print

11" x 14"

on Etsy

The original sold, so I have made a print for the shop.

Just finished a commission for a very nice client.  

This is on a full sheet of watercolor paper 22" x 30".

I haven't painted that large for quite awhile, a nice change.  

I just loved painting this, planning all the patterns!  I only used cobalt and ultramarine 

so it was a fun challenge.  The client saw my small print of a single stack of 

bowls and was inspired for her dining room.  The bowl on the bottom right is

a reference to her late husband who loved tulips.

Today is so cloudy that I can't get a good photo. 

 I'll have to try again tomorrow 

 Think this would make a nice print in 11" x 14".

Now I'm finishing a lovely little French chair for

one of my favorite collectors.  She's planning a wall

of my little chairs.  I hope she sends me a picture!

Then, back to large paper again for a bouquet of white tulips.

Such joy!

Busy

I'm finishing some commissions and

 hope to have them ready to show you very soon.

Busy, busy and now onto Thanksgiving preparations!

In case I'm not back on the blog before then,

Happy Thanksgiving!

Etsy shop is 4!

Our Etsy shop is four years old this week! 

To celebrate, we're offering free shipping on today through Sunday 11/24/13.
Use code BIRTHDAY. No international sales for this code please.

pussy willow print

8 x 10

available here

Just reached my 400th sale on Etsy!

Happy Birthday

to me!

I had a wonderful celebration with my family.

Now I'm getting ready for a two day workshop on pastels & watercolor.

stargazers finished

stargazer lilies

8" x 10"
sold

print available here

just saw Gravity

Fantastic!

weekend in Cape May

We spent a lovely (very warm) weekend in Cape May.

My daughter and I try to go every year,

we love Cape May!

From the largest Victorians

to the grand houses,

the gingerbread cottages

to the little cottages,

and right down to the bird cottages,

we love to visit here.

I painted this one and always like to stroll by.

We also visited the bird sanctuary,

so many swans and beautiful egrets.

Back to my stargazer lily this week.

starting a new painting : stargazers

The steps of the beginning of a painting:

Gathering reference photos, planning the composition,

working out the color palette,

d  r  a  w  i  n  g (takes a while),

masking the flowers, stems and leaves

and then finally starting to paint.

The background, though it looks black, isn't.

It's a mix of alizarin crimson, ultramarine blue and viridian.

Up close, the alizarin crimson is more prominent in some areas

and glows through.

My petal colors will be permanent rose & quinacrodone rose.

red parrot tulips finished

sold

all done & in the shop!

These tulips were a joy to paint!  I usually follow my reference  photos

pretty closely, but not this time.  I just had fun painting frilly petals.

I listen to audiobooks while I paint.  This time it was Maeve Binchy's A Week in Winter.

Very enjoyable!

parrot tulips continued

I'm really enjoying painting these parrot tulips!

Two tulips done and one to go.

This will hopefully be my Christmas card this year.

The original painting will be in my Etsy shop after completion.

I was side-lined just a bit with a broken toe & a dying computer. 

Replaced the computer (hooked it up myself and got the tower & all the cords off the floor).

The little toe will mend in a few more weeks.... oh, the hazards of barefoot woodwork painting.

Thanks for stopping by!  I have a lot of blogs to catch up on!

progress

My progress so far.  I painted yesterday morning for a few hours

and will work on it again this afternoon.  I'm very happy with the reds:

alizarin crimson, carmine & ruby red. 
I've added a bit of ultramarine for depth and shadow.

We've just had our best month ever on Etsy!  Who-hoo!

beginning a new one

I'm beginning a new painting of parrot tulips

that will hopefully be my Christmas card this year.

Last year, I was right up to the wire getting my painting finished

and off to the printer in time.  I painted the swan in a two day panic!

I was very happy with the painting, but not the stress!

I promised myself this year that I would start in August

and so I have.

navy blue butterfly and garden visitors

5" x 7" 

on Etsy

Tree frogs have decided that my patio umbrella is a great tree!

Yesterday, I left this pile of fun (painting my stained woodwork white)

and ran off to a day of real fun with a friend.

We visited the beautiful new Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia.

The Barnes houses the incredible collection of Dr. Albert C. Barnes, and
includes works by Renoir, Picasso, Cezanne, Monet, Manet, Matisse, Van Gogh,

Seurat, Sisley, Soutine (not one of our favorites), Glackins,
Rousseau, Gauguin, Modigliani, Degas and more.

Some of my favorites:

 

Today, back to woodwork.

#7 in my French chair series

waterlily settee

8" x 10"

sold

so busy

Oh, soooo busy!  

I did take time to stroll through my garden today.  Finally, a sunny day to do that.

This is the first year for my star gazers.  Aren't they just begging to be painted?

....soon.....

I have been painting my bathroom walls and vanity & I need to move on to more woodwork painting.  

I'm changing all my woodwork to white, so that means sand, caulk, prime, paint.

It's so time consuming, but I love the results!

Before I tackle that, I'm going to watercolor.

Another French chair is in the works.

Have a good rest of the weekend.  Newsroom is on tonight!

Happy 4th!

mugs

Cath Kidston Inspired Mugs

      watercolor      

8" x 10"

When we were in London in May, we stopped in Selfridge's.

I watched "Mr. Selfridge" on PBS this year and wanted to see the landmark

 store in person.  It was a quick stop, we were on our way to dinner.

 

But, oh my, I was just captivated by this display of 

Cath Kidston mugs!

The designs are so wonderfully vintage and colorful.

Of course, I didn't have my camera, so my daughter took these

quickly with her phone.

I thought about those mugs for the rest of the evening.

I don't need another mug in my kitchen so I didn't buy any.

How could I possibly have chosen anyway?

must see

           What a museum did to attract visitors

The Rijksmuseum in Holland had an idea:

Let's bring the art to the people and then, hopefully, they will come to see more - at the museum.

 

They took one painting of Rembrandt's from 1642, Guards of the Night, and brought to life the characters in it, placed them in a busy mall and the rest you can see for yourself!

http://www.youtube.com/embed/a6W2ZMpsxhg?feature=player_embedded 

A friend sent this to me.  I love it!

nasturtiums

8" x 10" on Etsy

I love nasturtiums!  Every summer I plant a big pot that overflows

with yellows and oranges.  I've taken dozens of photos to paint

and, finally, got around to it!  I painted this last week while I was away.

reading now

Beautifully written: the characters, the landscape, the era

new butterfly prints

new butterfly prints in the shop

Off to a 4 day workshop at the shore!