Day Lilly

8 x 6 Oil on Masonite Not For Sale – to be given away later

The day lilies, loving the heat, are in full bloom and we’re packing up to leave and head North next Tuesday.

Our journey will take us 6 weeks, and I am taking my painting supplies. I will try to post as we traqvel (both art and accounts of our adventure – we plan to take a helicopter ride over Glacier Nat’l Park!), but it will be difficult to mail them until we return, so if you make a purchase in the next 6 weeks, you will need to be patient!

Before we leave, I will be spending part of this weekend with my Mom. She has tickets to Antiques Roadshow in Dallas, and we are taking 4 items. Actually she is taking a part of her doll collection and a really ugly vase, and I am taking a spice basket that has been in Mike’s family for centuries. She’s got some great furniture, too, but the size of the item is restricted, unless pre-approved, so we are sticking to small things.

When we get back I will be posting a number of small paintings on eBay with ridiculous starting prices. AND I will be hosting a FREE PAINTING GIVEAWAY and maybe even a BUY ONE GET ONE FREE promotion. The studio is filling up again – I have painted over 235 paintings since last September 13 and I have sold over half of them, and some of them I have gessoed over and painted new ones! All this will be happening in time for the holidays, so stay tuned!

Happy news – favorite son-in-law, Garrett, passed his nursing license exam and now he is officially an RN. WOO HOO! We are celebrating tonight with shrimp and steak – his favorite meal. They will be house sitting for us (and cow and horse and fish and kitty sitting) and they will be closing on their own new house right before we get back from Montana – we won’t be here to help them move, and somehow I think that is a good thing!

ONE LAST THING: Our amazing webmaster over at the DailyPainters site figured out how each of us could post a video of our paintings on You Tube and mine is here.

· 2 Peter 3:9

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

Studio Update

I have done very little painting this week - but I have sold 2 large ones!!!! And both were to repeat buyers. It takes a lot of trust to buy a painting sight unseen from someone you have never met - or seen their paintings in person, and I am amazed at the people who do. But once they have seen how much BETTER paintings look in reality, they gain confidence repeat purchasing. That is happening to me more and more So to you wonderful people out there who have not only bought one painting but come back again to buy more, I say thanks and God bless you!

The studio has the north side of the roof up and decked. My little blind Pomeranian, Kibble, likes to follow me out there and lay in the sun while I sweep up nails and sawdust. I am encouraging her to "go to the studio" and get her accustomed to the new room and the way to get there. She understands "step" and walks carefully when I instruct her, so she is learning the route and the steps she must go up and down. Kibble lost her sight suddenly about a year ago (SARDS) and went through a terrible depression, but we still take her camping - on a leash, of course - and we are trying to keep her stimulated in as many ways as possible. She is only 8, so I expect to have her around for many more years. She is very attached to me also, which makes it difficult to leave her with anyone other than a close family member.

We are in Lent right now, and I , like so many others, am using this season to improve my health by counting calories and increasing my activity. Like another Daily Painter, I have been walking and counting my steps - with a goal of 10,000 per day - which translates roughly into about 4 1/2 miles. My church is 2 miles from home, so I walked home today after the service, and as long as the weather cooperates, I will continue to do that. It's a wonderful opportunity to continue my communication with God and plan the week, something I used to do during my 40 minute daily commute to work. AND I get nearly half my steps in!

3 John 1:2 Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.

Studio Update

We have rafters - the beginning of the roof. I didn't get much painting done yesterday - had to go to the gallery and trade some paintings. The grand opening is coming up and I needed to be sure the mailing list was correct. I also have several paintings listed on eBay and will be posting more soon:

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ25QQfsooZ1QQfsopZ2QQsassZjaebar

I haven't posted on eBay recently, but I need to get some pieces moved and I find this is a good way to let you pick up something from me at an excellent price.

Prickly Pear by the Rio Grande

16 X 20 Oil on Canvas SOLD

A recent trip to Del Rio resulted in many, many photos of prickly pear cactus. In my opinion the plant is quite attractive in a sculptural sort of way. I really like the twists and turns the "leaves" take in an effort to get the most from sunlight. I know several ladies in my community who make jelly from the fruit, too, but it takes more effort than I care to muster. And the thorns are the devil to deal with!


Matthew 13:39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels..

Studio is progressing nicely. By the end of yesterday, most of the lower framing had been completed. Two ceiling beams are required because the span is quite long (38 feet) and a decision was made regarding their placement. How the bathroom and closet tie in to the ceiling was another decision. AND what to do with the vent in the brick wall. It looks like we'll need another 500 bricks, too. I need to start thinking about cabintry and countertops and fixtures. As soon as the windows are installed and off the front porch, I'll probably hit Home Depot or Lowes.
The addition's roof line is the same in front as the existing house, but we are going to bite the bullet and reroof the entire house with metal - so we don't have to be concerned with matching the existing composition shingles. The house is nearly 12 years old - this ought to be the last roof for us.

My Studio

The Daily Painters decided that they wanted to view each other's studio and decided that this was the day we'd do it. My studio is my married daughter's old bedroom. It measures 16 X 14, and I added the white built-in storage to the right and the wood floors nearly 2 years ago. I paint mostly standing before a small easel on a huge old drafting table I acquired back in my desktop publishing years. Larger canvases are on a floor easel on the other side of the room with a rolling taboret. My lap-top computer is on all the time next to me. I use it for reference photos I have taken and to respond to e-mails quickly. At any given time, I probably have 3 to 5 paintings in various stages of completion.
I have no room for packaging and shipping stuff, large framed paintings, blank canvases, large frames, drying canvases or a printer. In addition, the ventilation and light in here is dreadful (windows face North West and South West). So we are adding yet another room on to the house (starting this week, hopefully) that will be twice the size of this room, have good North light and should be able to contain all my artistic related stuff. We hope. I am really looking forward to a larger, flat screen monitor and a printer, too. There will also be a large bathroom, a work counter with a utility sink, high ceiling to provide lots of room to hang paintings and an outside entrance. My current studio will revert to a guest room and also have an entry into the new studio.
I know some of the DP's manage to put out incredible work under much more trying conditions than this, and it amazes me! I know the studio does not define the artist, but it sure is easier to think of yourself as a professional if your space looks that way.

Matthew 1:18[ The Birth of Jesus Christ ] This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.