Under the Cold Cold Earth

Just a tiny painting to hold me over as I paint away on a larger piece. Under the Cold Cold Earth will soon be available as a mini print in my shop- 3″ by 5″, I think. I love silvery birch trees, especially in the winter. This piece is painted on my favorite sheet of rich, patterned paper mounted to a chunky 3″ by 5″ canvas, so the birch trees wrap around the sides. I think I’ll cover my sketchbook in the remaining scraps of paper.

Autumn’s warm golden days

…have now turned grey and rainy. Speaking of grey I have to mention that am so inspired by the palette of Andrew Wyeth. His rural subject matter has always been an inspiration to me, but those grays and golds and browns! This little white house painting is a definite favorite. I clipped it out and affixed it to my journal so I wouldn’t forget about it again, along with a new little concept sketch underneath. I have an idea to paint scenes of tiny capped people, strange animals and grouped farmhouses from the 1800’s, all in a tiny scale and very detailed. These tiny girls are watering their gardens but they very well could be tending to strange animals in a faraway place.

I was going through a pile of old books and ephemera and uncovered this print of a painting in a funny little book, isn’t is so lovely?

It’s from a worn blue book called My Miniature Art Collection, Grade 4 and contains some of the sweetest prints in muted palettes. The book was a treasure stacked amongst old paperbacks at the back of a junk shop. I must share some more of this book very soon!

Little things are so delightful! I recently found this little porcelain box with a pearl charm inside and it made my day.

Here’s a pile of inspiring things- glass domes, white pumpkins, old hankies, rusty iron birds, tea cups and blackbird feathers.

I am thinking about setting them up in a shrine sort of way. I haven’t had an inspiration table in quite awhile and its time has been delayed too long!

Those who are here up north, enjoy the rain, it may be with us for quite awhile! Pitter-pat.

New print and a print set

One Misty Evening

is available in my shop

There is a print set available of these two forlorn sisters, One Misty Evening and One Misty Morning

also in the shop

The Curious Fox

Now, what would a little foxling want with a lone cardinal? The fox is stalking it, tormenting the cardinal so!

Here is The Curious Fox painting on handmade petal-filled paper

Inspired by an older milky fox sketch in my dear sketchbook from last December. Gosh, that seemed just like yesterday!

Print is available in my shop
As you can see, the taste of chill in the air that I experienced the other night ’round the campfire has me wishing for cold…brrr!

Life, whimsy, painting…September!

The last few days have been spent in such relaxation…taking long walks stepping in the crunchy leaves (while closing my eyes and imagining its Autumn), reading, scouring thrift shops, painting and sketching a bit. The other night we had a camp fire with toasted marshmallows in the country. For the first time in a long time I saw the sky scattered with stars. And it was COLD…a light wool sweater type of cold! I love September. So, from now to the end of October, its all Autumn here! It comes and goes to quickly, I am going to savor every second of it, and I’m sure you will want to too!

A few things as of recent…

My desk, newly cleaned and cleared-off. I have a new project in the works, the pile of paper covered masonite in the top left corner is a hint of it’s preparation. The sketchbook on the lower left side is brand new, and probably the best sketch book I have ever had for many reasons. It has a soft, flexible leather cover that I’m thinking will accommodate the bulge of papers pasted on its pages. It feels so good in my hands! I just can’t wait to fill it with doodles.

Some vintage clothing I am ecstatic about! My very cluttered shelf to the right. Good clutter though.

Thrifted things from last Friday. Oh, except the old medicine bottle.

Martha Labels, Kiki Smith, Embroidered bee, a odd couple I snipped from an old book, tree card from Whole Foods, and another Kiki.

A peak at the first painting in the new project I was writing about above. She is painted on beautiful handmade paper with little petals captured in the pulp, which is giving her a very soft feel. She will be in the shop very soon, along with the others.

One Misty Morning Print

I am ever-so-excited about this painting, my first oval! A rather forlorn looking gal reads in the shipyard on a cold, cold misty morning. The rest of the story is for you to construct. I imagine her hat to be sewn from a very thick piece of felted wool, hence her being able to concentrate on her book and not shiver to death. How I wish I had a hat like that! Thats the fun thing about painting…dressing the characters in imaginary clothing that becomes oh-so-real. The original piece is painted in acrylics and papers on a cotton oval canvas.

A print is available in my shop

The Very Reluctant Farewell print

The painting to compliment Ships in Bluebird Cages is complete and I am ever-so-happy with it! Still quite large (for me) it measures 16″ by 20″ and is painted in acrylics on canvas with a flowery paper collage background. A girl in a pastorial setting says goodbye to the cardinals as they sail away one-by-one in tiny ships down the stream. The birds fly out of a vacant birdcage high above in the branches. As you can see, the cage isn’t full of the winged creatures…they simply appear at its hinged door and leave. This time there is only one bird cage, and I do think that the girl and the cage are one in the same.

Prints are available in my shop.

Now my head is swimming with new painting ideas, I am off to sketch!

A new painting

Lets see, what I have been spending my time on…
I just finished my painting Ships in Bluebird Cages

I am so completely happy with it. It is much larger for me (16″ by 20″) and I am working at a slower pace. I have been longing to paint more detailed scenes as of late and this will be the first of many. Just look at these little keys dangling from the bird cages!

The painting is going to be part of a series called Something is Quite Not Right, an idea that was completely subconscious when I began. To me it deals with the innocence, simplicity and whimsy of childhood (little toy boats) and the complexities of our enviroment. Should the bewildered girl remove the ships from the cages and put the birds back in? Things still would not be right if the bluebirds were in the cages hanging from the trees. It’s sort of a catch 22 situation. I say she set the ships free AND leave the birds out of the cages! But how will she get out of her little boat thats sailing so rapidly down the stream? Her saving grace is the bluebird she holds. It really is the little things in life that bring the most happiness.

some details below…

I used snippets of antiqued art papers shaped as soft flowering hills in the forground. The final painting turned out to be far less cluttered than the initial sketch but I am still using elements from that in the next painting, which I am off to work on right now!

A print is available in my shop