Private Party

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These little tulips were sitting just outside the door of my local market. It was a wet, rainy day, but they were so cheery that I had to have them. I've been working to get more color into my paintings and it seemed they would be perfect models. Little did I know that they would be as wiggly as children. They are blowsy and bright. I hope I can paint fast enough to get a second painting with their petals open. Silly girls!

Waiting For Santa

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Christmas Eve is magical. I still feel twinges of childhood anticipation waiting for Santa. On Christmas morning it was thrilling to see that Santa had visited our house in the night. In my heart, Santa still visits on Christmas Eve.

This little mouse has been patiently waiting for Santa, but finally fell asleep just before Santa came down the mouse chimney.

This  painting will be ready for shipping at the first of the New Year.

Azalea with Satsumas

A colorful way to spend a gloomy day.

Satsuma

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It's dark and stormy this afternoon, and lights are glittering in the windows of neighborhood homes. These little orange satsumas seem to shine with their own special glow.

Things We Love

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Roses make me think of my mom. She loves roses, and when I was growing up there were always roses in our yard. When my mom was a tiny little girl, her grandmother wrote a poem about her. It's my favorite poem and the only one I've memorized. When I think of roses and my mom, I think of this poem:

To Lola

It is autumn in my garden 

And the leaves are falling fast.

Little lights that gleam and glisten

Are but hoar frost on the grass

All the springtime bloom has withered;

Summer roses are all gone.

Mists are in the air, and sunshine 

Faint and shifting in the dawn.

But within a sheltered corner,

Place I love and call my own,

To recall my spring and summer

Grows a tiny rose - half blown.

It is you my brown-eyed Lola,

With your hair a golden sheen

That has brought me back my June time

In the fragrance of a dream.

You, the rosebud that has brought me

In this Indian Summer glow,

Love and joy of long lost springtime

Just before the winter's snow.

Azalea with Violets

I love playing with color on dark afternoons - these colorful flowers were so much fun to paint. I've been experimenting with some techniques that are new to me - using a wash of transparent color at the beginning of the painting process and then using a boatload of paint on the canvas. My friend, Patti McNutt, recommends using enough paint to "paint like a millionaire." I think that advice is finally beginning to sink in. This was painted with a loaded brush.