Patience

Patience .... I stood at the window and snapped MANY photos trying to catch a

drop from the melting icycle and perserverance paid off.... I love the way each of the 3 icycles look different. Very similar to the color of mercury, so silver.. I am so glad that the background mottled.

Earthly Treasures Art Spirit

I just finished my first assemblage piece. It was slow as I had absolutely NO idea what I was doing...but she is done and I already

have ideas for additional pieces. The sides of the spirit and the back are decopaged pieces of a colored vintage map which extends slightly onto the front. I sanded and antiqued these areas but once she is hung you don't see much of that but I love a finished "all sided" piece.

I love buttons, and lace so I had to adorn her with these, incorporated some faux paintng, and she is done........I love her. All I have left to do is age a large tag and write her story.....

Canvas Art Bag

It seems that as my art interests "grow" so does the need for a bigger and bigger bag to carry my books, supplies, etc. in.

This canvas bag was a "free gift" item from a catalog that I order from and I sure was pleased when it arrived and was such a nice looking, canvas bag with heavy duty handles, corners and a nice zip. The "set" also included 2 smaller zip bags which work for pencils, pens, erasers and all of those little things that we need that seem to float around and become hard to find.

It didn't take me long to grab my paints and get it painted up for use... I love it and free is GOOD.

Larry found a place near by where he can get barnwood so he is back on the bandwagon again making what is referred to as Early Farmhouse Decor. It gives him something to do when he is "project-less" and provides him some extra money for his "weaknesses"...

which is restoring his antique vehicles.....namely right now is a Farmall Harvester Tractor....

Winter Tea Please

Warm drinks in our neck of the woods is a must...hot cider, espresso, coffee, hot chocolate and one of the many varieties of tea which prompted this winter scene on a teapot I had.

Winter is my favorite seasonal landscape to paint and when I am working on a design my practice piece is always a surface I have in my stash.......

Cup of tea anyone?

CATS..........

As much as I love a beautiful cat I am horribly allergic to them. The full 9 yards with itching eyes, runny nose, and just totally miserable for days after coming in contact with one, even if I don't touch it......My daughter has 4 beautiful cats that I would just love to cuddle and touch....

One of her cats is a true to life bobcat that is caged in her back yard. She is the 2nd domesticated owner of Edward and he is a beauty. He has been "fixed" and is licensed. His buddy is called "Itty Bitty" (normal cat) and he lives inside the cage with Edward and is his little baby....they have been a team for about 3 years. They are a "trip" to watch.

I have taken several great shots of Edward so my "end of the year" big project is to paint this gorgeous animal on canvas. I have some new brushes that I think are going to work just perfectly and I recently purchased a tape on painting fur and feathers and goodness has it ever helped me to understand how to create the realistic look that I am looking for and not just "lines of color".

Seems as if I have a lot on "my plate" right now but that is a good thing.

Mushrooms

Yesterday we took our friends to Sahalie and Koosah Falls right outside of Sisters, OR.

I was EXCITED to go as I have not been this late in the year. I knew that the area is well known for the numerous variety of mushrooms which can be seen here so I had my batteries charged and a 4GB card in my camera.

This is just one of the better shots..... I took nearly 300 pictures but already know that many of the shots will be blurry and discarded as I pull them up to view and crop if needed. The area is very damp, musty, etc and creates havoc with my camera. I am always excited and delighted with each of the good shots that I get.

These little jewels were growing off a tree limb in different ways/directions. They were pure white and much more translucent that the other mushrooms. They were delicate and beautiful. The number of species that I saw and photographed along with lichen was unbelievable...and many just looked as if they had been strategically placed; the setting being so beautiful. I had soooooooooooooo much fun. This is my most favorite spot in Oregon and I go here as much as I possibly can.

Now I will have to get my mushroom identification book out and determine each specie if possible.

ENJOY...........

Today was one of those first day of winter days....cold, overcast, with some freezing fog rolling in.

We have some dear friends visiting us from California so I decided that today would be a good day for a short jaunt to Smith Rock. This is one of my favorite "sites" of Oregon so it is one I like sharing with others. I have many photos of different angles and seasons that I have taken here.

In this one you can almost feel the cold of the day.

The Juniper Trees had "berried" which was something I had not encountered before, (a very soft, pale, gorgeous shade of blue) and the trees are just loaded. Then right before we left the fog began rolling in at the tops of the higher rocks and with the temperature dropping freezing fog was beginning to form, which in itself is a wonder of nature here in Oregon.

This particular angle and area is one I have never taken photos of not ever being in this exact area to do so. I was able to roam a bit more free today with my camera which was nice.

Eventually, and when I feel I have enough photos to compare the color of the rocks in different seasons, times of day, etc. I want to see if I can even begin to capture the beauty of this area on canvas.

Enjoy.

White on White Mixed Media Bookmark

This is my 2nd white on white bookmark for the exchange. Different papers in white, vintage buttons that are an off white, pieces of lace from an old collar, white round zipper pulls, shiny white snowflakes and some Swarowski crystal flat backs for just a touch of "glam". AND... just as I thought,,,, a different design that what I had intended; but using what I wanted to use.

I didn't want a flat piece. Because of the theme white on white I felt I needed to use different textures to bring out the white colors, and since I love vintage white the buttons were going to
work as the top element and bring just a touch of warm to the cool.

I have to experiment some more with using string, glue and encaustic waxes for a "cleaner" more precise finished product but think I have "mentally" solved the problem while "waiting for sleep"...... This was the one element that I REALLY wanted to use but it just "didn't work". I
will redo a monochromatic scheme and incorporate the string into the design for another bookmark or maybe a framed wall design.

I love the look of white on white. It is so clean, fresh and crisp...and mixing vintage with it made me happy too.

White on White Thong Beaded Bookmark

I really enjoy making the beaded thong bookmarks.
They work up quickly and make beautiful, useable gifts, and can be as elaborate or as simple as wanted or needed.

This one was made for a bookmark swap exchange with the theme of White on White. I love monochromatic art pieces so this was fun to do working up with handmade lampwork, crackle glass beads, delicas in different shades of white, seed beads, clear glass beads, hand pulled furnace glass and some white on white flat shell type beads with Tierra Glass Bead caps. The dangles are layered on to a headpin and then a circular loop is wirewrapped to slide on to a jump ring.

I have one more to make as our requirement is two bookmarks so the next one will be done using different types of white paint on canvas (I think). Sometimes ideas seem to go by the wayside when one starts and the creative side takes over and says THIS WAY.....

It is never too soon to begin your Christmas painting. I have a box of some gorgeous xmas ornaments that are matte finished in gold, aqua blue, green, purple, and a navy blue so my first project is to get these painted up in sets of 3 and put them on either Etsy or Artfire for sale.

Many artists are switching from Etsy due to the listing fees and % of sales after Artfire offered their rate for a limited time at a $5.95 per month. No listing, no %. Just too good to pass up.

So get your brushes out and get started on your ornaments today.