Ambiance

The warmth of a wonderful restaurant

at the holidays is always pleasing. If the

food is also great, then all the better.

I like taking shots of such scenes and

then see if I can conjure up a painting

that captures what attracted me to it in

the first place. I am also attracted to

the pristine look of glassware and utensils

before anyone has begun their meal...

There is a sort of expectation about the

whole thing. Good title: "Expectation".

Stay tuned.

Abundance of wishes for you

This is my Christmas table, all set for

a lovely dinner. I was pleased that it

turned out so well with the available

light! I wish you all the best of times

in this season of family and friends.

What else?

This is the best I could do! I was on

a winter lights tour and there was this

bear all lit up in the dark painting! So

I took the photo out my car window,

trying to hold as still as possible to get

it as clear as possible! Hoping you are

having a grand holiday!

Merry Christmas Mantlepiece

Here is my mantlepiece, a sort of long-line still

life ! I did the painting for myself over several

years, adding the sledders last year. The dolls

are from my collection and my Mom's. As a child,

my sister and I would help our parents put away

all the things that were on shelves and the piano

top (a baby grand) and then the wonderful doll

collection would be lovingly unwrapped and set up

all over the room on all possible surfaces. It was

magical and I have tried to re-create some of that

feeling here in my own home.

Do click on the photograph because you can

really see the things up close!

Merry Christmas!

Out my studio window behind my easel

OK, so first here is the scene I look at that is

behind me as I paint. I offer it to you in the

spirit of this lovely season. This was last week

however, and now we've only got rain, but hey,

it put me in the spirit for sure!

Secondly,

I've been noting my artist friends who have
been 'tagged'. Then I got tagged and

didn't do anything about it. So here goes with

5 little-known things about me:
1. I have a poster of Marilyn Monroe (the one
smelling Chanel #5) on the wall of my garage
next to the American flag that once flew from
the back of my Dad's boat, the one he had when
I was a child.
2. I get my collection of phaleonopsis orchids to
rebloom for me (mostly) and my prize one is now
four feet tall and blooming. Two years ago I counted
40 flowers and buds on it!
3. I really don't care about chocolate.
4. When I was a teen, I was at a church retreat
in New England and skated on black ice. You could
see all the way to the bottom, scary and amazing!
5. Art was my first boyfriend. (Make what you like
of this one.)

Tagged

I've been noting my artist friends who have
been 'tagged'. How neat is this?! So I got
tagged and then didn't do anything about it.
But for some reason, I am having deja vu about
this...did I already post this? Hmmmmm.
Well here goes with 5 little-known things about
me:

1. I have a poster of Marilyn Monroe (the one
smelling Chanel #5) on the wall of my garage
next to the American flag that once flew from
the back of my Dad's boat, the one he had when
I was a child.

2. I get my collection of phaleonopsis orchids to
rebloom for me (mostly) and my prize one is now
four feet tall and blooming. Two years ago I counted
40 flowers and buds on it!

3. I really don't care about chocolate.

4. When I was a teen, I was at a church retreat
in New England and skated on black ice. You could
see all the way to the bottom, scary and amazing!

5. Art was my first boyfriend. (Make what you like
of this one.)

Waiting for Santa

Here she is at the window, but now in my

painting. I hope you like it and I wish

everyone of you the happiest of holiday

seasons.

He Just Keeps Growing!

I just returned this painting

(having varnished it) to the owners

who commissioned it last year. This

young fellow sits proudly in front of

his image, but he is so much bigger now!

His mom commented on how much

brighter the colors look with the varnish

applied (Gamvar - the same varnish

used by the National Gallery of Art

in Washington, D.C.)

I got to hear this young man, not quite

six years old, play the piano very nicely.

Wow, I was impressed. Then he told me

about work he'd seen at the National

Gallery on a field trip, artist's names and

all. Very impressive.

Sorry about the flash marring one's view

of the portrait...it was really a 'grab shot'

as my photographer Dad used to say.

"Magic Time" in progress

So I've begun this challenging piece. The

softness of the photo makes it very much so.

The whiteness of her fur will be glazed once

it is dry...a golden colored glaze to capture

the glow from the candle. I am seeking to

capture the mystery of the season, of waiting

at the window for Santa? For friends?

For another cat?

Magic Time

It snowed here today. All kinds of

beautiful! I was on the front porch

in the dark trying to make photos of

the house with Christmas lights across

the street. Then I saw my Lucy

watching me and THAT was the

photo to take. Maybe it will also

become a painting...

My Beauteous Moon painting for the 3rd time

Well I just didn't like how brown the

tree mass appeared between the sky and the

lake. So here it is, posted for the third

time! It still looks rather brown in that

portion, but better.

I do love how the painting turned

out. It is on a panel and is 11x 14 inches.

Enjoy!

Another kind of art

My prize orchid has begun blooming yet another

year. I am delighted that I figured out how to get

these gorgeous additions to my life to flower each

year. I have about a dozen of them. This is my

oldest one and it is so big this year I can hardly

believe it. There are 12 bud on the main stem and

if you look closely, you'll see two other flower stems

coming off of this one. Then I have noticed yet

another flower shoot coming out of among the flat

leaves below. Wow. One year I counted 37 buds,

let's see how this year's crop is - for just this guy!

Maybe I should name him. Her?