Watch me paint this “Autumn Leaves” oil painting in 2 minutes (time lapse)
No matter what is happening in the world or in our personal lives, seasons change. The beauty of nature reminds us that “this too shall pass”. May we feel the peace and tranquility of fall, the quiet hush before the darkness of winter. If you live in a part of the world where the seasons are different from ours here in America, I hope you don’t mind being pulled into autumn tonight.
- “If I Could Turn Back Time”
The author shares their journey of learning guitar, focusing on the song “If I Could Turn Back Time” by Cher, which introduces the challenging Bm chord. They practice chords in small increments and emphasize mastering them for long-term retention. Additionally, they plan to start painting a ukulele, showcasing creativity outside guitar playing. - Mystery solved – SKINK! An update to my Easter show
The author updates followers about discovering a skink eating strawberries from their garden after expressing excitement about their patch. To protect the strawberries, the author plans to cage the area. They also announce a new YouTube playlist titled “Sharing Life,” featuring videos that reflect personal experiences and artistic inspirations. - EASTER SHOW 2026! Painting, Music, Garden Tour
The show features a personal presentation, including a painting inspired by MercyMe’s song “I Can Only Imagine,” along with guitar performances. The artist shares her gardening journey of transforming a neglected property over four years. The message emphasizes joy in art, music, and nature, and includes wishes for a blessed Easter. - Dust in the Wind, Guitar and Lent
As Holy Week progresses, Lent concludes, leading to Easter celebrations. This period emphasizes reflection and acceptance of life’s changes. The author’s guitar practice with “Dust in the Wind” serves as a metaphor for introspection. Amidst spring’s beauty in Savannah, new art inspired by song lyrics is being created for Easter. - Here I Go Again on my Own
The author shares updates on their guitar oil painting and learning journey, expressing gratitude for family and friends during challenging times. They are tackling more complex guitar songs, including “Here I Go Again” by Whitesnake. The author also looks forward to spring and plans to share garden updates soon. - Chords and Paint
The author shares progress on both an oil painting of her guitar and her guitar-playing journey, shown in a video. Initially limited to four chords, she’s now added four more, though struggling with transitioning. She reflects on a song that reminds her of her grandpa and is adjusting to playing while standing. She invites readers to subscribe. - One Day at a Time and Lenten Roses
The writer reflects on a stressful week, including jury duty and personal challenges, while finding solace in the song “One Day at a Time, Sweet Jesus.” She shares a video of her singing that song and playing it on guitar, a continuation of her journey to learn how to play. She also shares her own design inspired by Lenten roses from their garden, symbolizing hope and beauty amid life’s hardships. Lent signifies reflection and renewal. - Guitar and painting journey continues with “How Great thou Art”
The author shares their journey of learning guitar and creating a unique cover of a meaningful song, “How Great Thou Art.” A touching experience at a nursing home highlights music’s power, inspiring the author. They also discuss their oil painting progress and interactions with neighborhood birds while singing, emphasizing nature’s beauty. - Guitar and Painting Journey Continues!
If it seems my guitar is a bit out of tune, it probably is. After last week’s unfortunate incident with the broken string, I decided not to try to tune it just before filming for the blog! You might remember that last week I had to play ukulele instead. Today I’m back with new strings and I’m playing the same 4 chords I’ve been doing, a song recommended to beginners “You Raise me Up”. BUT – I’ve been working on other chords and hopefully I’ll share a song with 5 or 6 chords next time! I’m practicing an easier version of the dreaded F chord. I have small hands and might not ever be able to do the advanced F chord. That’s OK, I’m playing for fun. So, I’m making progress, both on learning guitar and on working through a difficult time I’m going through right now. By the way, you might have noticed that my guitar oil painting is coming along, as it is visible in the background of my guitar video. Here’s a current photo of it (still unfinished, planning to do more to it): I’m also getting ready to paint on my first instrument, a ukulele (I’ll try a guitar in the near future, but I want to start on the smaller surface of a less expensive uke first). I’ve decided to look at one of my own bluebird paintings (this is a copy of it printed on a very small canvas compared to the original oil painting, to the right of the ukulele), as reference inspiration for the uke painting, which will also feature bluebirds, similar to these but probably not exactly. Here’s the ukulele project laid out, all ready to paint on: Please don’t forget to subscribe if you haven’t already – you’ll get updates in your e-mail. - Ukulele too!
In this blog post, the author shares updates on their journey learning guitar and ukulele alongside painting a guitar. They discuss their approach to chord learning, using color-coded notes and online resources. Despite challenges like breaking a guitar string, they remain determined. The post concludes with a teaser for future updates on their artistic endeavors. - Guitar and painting – New blog series!
The “Guitar and Painting” blog series starts today, featuring the author’s journey in learning guitar and creating artwork inspired by it. After switching to a left-handed guitar, she is enjoying the process, despite only mastering four chords. The series will document both her musical and artistic growth while sharing personal experiences. - NEW Angels and Church Painting “Christmas at Southside”
I finished my new 2025 Christmas painting LIVE in Savannah, Georgia on December 14. Below are photos of the event and a 4 minute video of how the painting “Christmas at Southside” came together before the show, followed by live footage of the parts I finished during the program. I’ll also explain in this blog what the painting means (from my perspective, as the artist. To you, it may mean something else; feel free to interpret it in a way that is special and unique to you personally). The parts I finished live are these: light in the sky, light in the angel’s candle, light in the church window, and finally- during the last notes of the song- light in the cross on the church steeple (spire). The entire painting was done in only black and white, except for those final additions of light at the end which was a mix of white and yellow. The light in the sky (above image) was added live, as was the light in the candle, window, and cross in the image below. ABOUT THIS PAINTING “Christmas at Southside” oil painting was inspired by a photograph that Pastor Kevin Barron took of our church during a rare January snowstorm in the deep south of Savannah, Georgia, and by my experience of what it feels like to worship with my church family (represented by angels). In my painting, you see angels in various roles and forms of worship. The deep emotions we feel are both individual and collective, as we gather together as the church of Christ. According to the Bible, angels didn’t really have wings, but because most people know that a being is meant to be an angel if they have wings, I painted them with wings. The wings are white not only because of tradition, but to remind us of doves (peace, messengers of God, and most importantly the Holy Spirit). The painting story: God’s Light (represented by the light added to the dark sky) is sent down to earth through his Son (represented by the cross on top of the church), and through the Holy Spirit (the dove-like winged angel bringing the candle lit by the Holy Spirit). The angel on mission is carrying a light to the church (Christians everywhere in the world), while other angels are in acts of worship: singing, praying, yearning for God (the angel to the right of the one delivering the candle stretches a hand, longing to see God). I hope that all who view my painting can see themselves and their special people in the body language and expressions of the angels. Worship is so personal and unique, and yet, when we worship together, we feel the love, peace, and joy in such a powerful and overwhelming way. I painted the figure on the top right to loosely resemble myself and how I feel when I sing in the choir, while the angel below with outstretched hands reminds me of my dear friend who sings next to me. But, personally, my favorite is the one I call the “yearning angel”. I deliberately left her and the messenger angel in an unfinished state, to be more unworldly and less human. To learn more about my art and view over 200 oil paintings online, with videos to watch me paint (free), please continue exploring my site here at NatalieBuskeThomas.com. Most of my paintings are done at home, then I finish them live if I have an event. Also, please share my art with others. I am grateful to paint for you. MERRY CHRISTMAS! Love and blessings, Natalie Note: the Christmas program was wonderful (see two photo highlights below), with an orchestra and choir (I sing high soprano, except for during the song that I was painting to). I didn’t include the live audio feed for copyright reasons. The music I used in my video instead are instrumental compositions from Megiss “Epic Angel Story” and JuliusH “Enchanting Christmas Carol with Shepherd Flute and Humming Angel Choir” from Pixabay. Thank you for your delightful work! Never miss a new painting, subscribe in the box above (no ads, just automatically sends you notifications when I post something new, unsubscribe anytime). Also, explore my past blog posts. - Exclusive Sneak Peek: 2025 Christmas Oil Painting Event
Coming soon! December 14th I’ll finish my 2025 Christmas painting live during a special music program! If you live near Savannah, Georgia (or willing to travel), and want more information on the time/location of this event, please contact me. See below for a sneak peek of two small sections of the 4 feet by 5 feet oil painting. Half of the painting will be hidden from view until the rise of the song “Heaven’s Greatest Gift” (appears midway through the program), when I’ll remove the panel and reveal what’s underneath, and add the finishing touches to that part also. This event will be livestreamed. With an orchestra and many exciting on-stage happenings, it may be difficult to get footage of the whole thing. Try to attend in person if you can! And please find me after the show, I’d love to chat with you! Wishing all of you a beautiful Advent season. God bless and keep you, and your family. Above photos are of two sections of my 2025 Christmas painting. “Yearning Angel” (left) and “Male Praying Angel” (right) are part of a large 4 feet by 5 feet oil painting. - New Painting – “Cassie Reading”
Oil painting of my daughter Cassie – she loves books and reading, and would like to work as a librarian one day. See the short 2 minute time lapse video below to watch me paint this art. This painting will be added to “People and Places” vol 2, part of my ongoing series of painting books. Enter your email address in the box above if you’d like to be notified of new paintings. We do not sell your address or interact with you, this is an automated service that you can cancel at any time (you’ll get an email when Natalie posts something new to her blog on this site). - New Painting “Bluebirds”
Watch me paint this in the short minute & a half time-lapse video below. The video begins with the first layer already done (I call it “blocking” when I paint all of the elements of the painting and then later build upon it with texture and details). This painting was a 2 session painting and took me about 2 hours to paint in real time, painted on two separate days. We get a lot of bluebirds in our yard ever since we added the food they like (called “bluebird nuggets”). And then, after we added a birdhouse they had many babies- about three or four each nesting session, which has been about three times a year. I’m not sure if these juvenile birds are all from the same bluebird couple or not, but with their frequent nesting it means about ten bluebird babies a year, so far! I painted this bluebird pair from a photograph I took of them in our tree. They are so interactive with us and ever-present that we think of them as our birdie friends. I will include this project in my Birds and Animals book series, but I really just wanted to paint it for myself because I love these colorful and sweet birds.
