Tag Archives: blog

Moving Day!

See this oil painting of a house in Savannah come alive in just over 1 minute (time lapse)

This looks nothing like the house we’re closing on, but our house IS in Savannah. I had no idea when I painted this several years ago that I’d be living nearby. This painting seems almost prophetic or foreshadowing now.

I’m looking forward to setting up my new art space and digging my paintbrushes back out. Until then, I’ll try to keep up with my daily blog talks with you, but I don’t know how soon our Internet connection will be up and running. I may be able to hotspot with my phone. If you don’t hear from me for a few days, assume I’m not set up yet.

Today will be a very busy day of moving and closing. I’m nervous, and excited! We are going HOME! After more than a decade of temporary living, we’ll finally be home!!

  • I’m HOME!
    All moved in and my Internet is up. Did you miss me? I missed you! I’ll catch up when I can. Just wanted to post a short note for now.
  • Moving Day!
    This looks nothing like the house we’re closing on, but our house IS in Savannah. I had no idea when I painted this several years ago that I’d be living nearby. This painting seems almost prophetic or foreshadowing now. I’m looking forward to setting up my new art space and digging my paintbrushes back out.Continue reading “Moving Day!”
  • MOVING TOMORROW!
    WHEW! The issues are finally resolved and our delayed close on the house will happen TOMORROW! Tomorrow is moving day! I shall fly like this butterfly!
  • S T R E S S E D
    Today was a highly stressful day. We still haven’t closed on the house and we are now running out of time for the moving pods, truck, cleaning service (required to close out lease), and all of the other parts of this process. I’ve worked on cleaning and loading the pod all day and am exhausted.Continue reading “S T R E S S E D”
  • BAD DAY
    Well, there must have been a bad moon a’rising because today was a horrible day. The close on our house was cancelled, and then thankfully rescheduled, but it has caused a big mess- the moving pods and truck had to be rescheduled, the clothes and kitchen stuff that was packed needed to be unpacked, andContinue reading “BAD DAY”
  • Super Laundry!
    My son is college age now, not a little boy like in this art for children’s book “Grandpa Smiles” (about my dad, who died before my son was born, watching over him his whole life in spirit), but he still reminds me of this funny kid. Today he was getting his laundry done because we’reContinue reading “Super Laundry!”
  • Happy Day!
    Today we had the opportunity to bring the kids to the house we’ll be closing on. Until now, they’d only seen the pictures and video. I was nervous that they wouldn’t like the house as much as we do, but they fell in love with it as soon as they saw it. They are nowContinue reading “Happy Day!”
  • Bandits!
    These birds have been coming around and stealing our strawberries! What a disappointment! I was enjoying a fresh berry with Cool Whip as a snack after dinner, but now my berries are gone. I’ll have to use netting in the future. Maybe when we move my strawberry plant (in a grow bag) to our newContinue reading “Bandits!”
  • Easy Going
    This painting was a “free paint” project, in which there is no reference, plan, or agenda other than to let the paints flow. I start with a general idea- such as a bird in a forest- and let the art develop as I listen to music and relax. This type of exercise can help artistsContinue reading “Easy Going”

Sneak Peek

Watch “Painting Colors” come alive in 1 minute (time lapse)

I’m still enjoying the holiday weekend, but this morning I was by myself while the family slept in, so I had time to dabble with something I’ve been working on: a video channel for binge watching all of my painting videos. It will mean hours and hours of peaceful videos, so you’ll need to refill your coffee or other favorite beverages many times. The new page is set up with a few playlists started. This project will take several days to finish, as there are over 200 videos to upload. If you want a sneak peek before the video channel is officially linked and released to the public, here you go! Video Channel (in progress).

As usual, I’ll post my paintings here on the blog, rotating my older ones and chatting with you about things on my mind. When I have a new painting finished, I’ll put “New Painting” in the title so you know it’s fresh off the canvas, never before seen. But, if you’d like to see a whole series of videos without clicking back and forth, the new video channel will be a good place to be. You can easily spend all night there when all the videos are uploaded!

If you’ve already subscribed to me, thank you. It helps knowing that you are there, waiting for me to post something new. It applies pressure to me to keep working toward my lifetime goal of 1,000 finished oil paintings. If you’ve not yet subscribed, please do so. There’s no such thing as too many friends! 🙂

Holiday Break

Watch “Pumpkin Latte” come alive in 1 minute (time lapse)

Our house is already changing from pumpkin spices to gingerbread. Today we decorated the Christmas tree and made cookies. Yesterday for Thanksgiving we had a glorious feast! I was proud to use fresh garden rosemary, parsley, and basil to stuff and season the turkey. I went outside early in the morning while it was not quite light out, but I could see my breath in the chilly November air. I was like Santa choosing only the best reindeer for the mission- only the greenest and prettiest herbs made the cut for our Thanksgiving turkey.

Aren’t those fresh greens pretty? Their shapes are perfect!
Before roasting: turkey stuffed with an apple, orange, lemon, onion, parsley, rosemary, and basil. I also made herb butter with garlic and greens to spread under the skin and over the skin of the turkey. This is what makes it moist, tender, and in no need of basting.
It turned out VERY moist and tender, didn’t need a knife. It pulled apart with just large forks and tongs and the family could cut it easily with a fork! This is good because my husband has banned me from ever using an electric knife again after a certain incident from a few years ago… (The knife fell from the counter and I instinctively reached out and grabbed it to catch it from falling. I was very, very lucky that I caught it by the handle and not by the blade! Whew, that was close to a nasty accident. It was my painting hand too, so it could have possibly been quite tragic for me.)
My dinner plate, crammed full of food! I didn’t want the yams or cranberry sauce.
And here’s the cake I made last weekend. I took a chocolate cake recipe of my mom’s and made a few creative substitutions. Instead of milk I used eggnog, whiskey and espresso! Other than that, it was just chocolate cake! 🙂 The frosting was AMAZING. I modified a buttercream recipe.
The house even has a chimney on it. This bundt cake mold is made in the USA by Nordic Ware. The unfortunate crack you see is because I ran out of batter and had to quickly make more, so it’s two different cakes (one had the whiskey and espresso in it, the other had eggnog; both were chocolate cakes other than those substitutions for the milk). Anyway, I will make a double batch of batter before I begin next time. I’m going to make three of these tomorrow for my kids to decorate. The wreath is fondant and the snow is frosting. The trees are painted with a green food coloring pen. I didn’t add any other decorations, but my kids want to do more with theirs.

I have more stories to share, but this blog post is getting rather long! So, I’ll just leave this at the food highlights for now. I hope all of you have been enjoying your Thanksgiving break, and if you don’t celebrate this holiday, may you have a joyful weekend anyway!

Happy Anyway

Watch this oil painting of a dolphin come alive in 2 minutes (time lapse)

I struggled to think of what to say for today’s blog post. World events paint a bleak, angry, and fearful picture. What popped into my head was this dolphin. It’s nearly impossible not to feel happy when we see a dolphin playing in the ocean. Even when humanity thinks the sky is falling, dolphins are happy anyway. Perhaps it will lift your spirits to see a picture of a dolphin, as a break from focusing on the picture that the news is painting.

The holiday season is fast upon us. Don’t let anything steal your happiness. We have but one life, and each day that is wasted in worry or despair is one day less to live our purpose, love our families, and experience what we are meant to know.

God bless and keep you. May His face shine upon you, and give you peace.

I forgot to tell you!

Watch oil painting “Cardinal at the Cabin” come to life

in about 2 minutes (time lapse)

In my blog post “New Painting- Peaceful Landscape” that I shared with you in June, I said, “I’ll talk about what this painting means to me in a future blog post. For now, I just want to share it and let you let it speak to you.” But I forgot to follow up! I never did tell you what I was thinking when I painted this.

This was a landscape from my own imagination, in which I didn’t look at anything while painting, nor did I plan it out. I intentionally let the art tell the story and evolve, as I listened to music and let myself feel whatever came to my heart. I meant to paint a scene that is warm and inviting, and would appeal to me as a retreat, but that’s not quite what happened.

Instead, it seems that I painted the deeper feelings; the reason why I wanted a special place to retreat to. Because this place doesn’t look relaxing to me. It’s very remote and a bit lonely looking. Quiet, and pretty, yes, but it looks like someone’s missing from that empty rocking chair, as if suddenly taken from their favorite spot and the tea or coffee cup that never got cleared. There’s probably still a last sip in it.

The cardinal is observing the scene, as if he understands and has empathy. The flowers are still in bloom, the fields reach toward a clear blue sky, and the evergreens are as fresh as ever. But the walkway has no feet upon it. The steps are vacant. The rocking chair is not in motion. The last sip will never be drunk. 

Reflecting on those we’ve lost, and realizing the passage of time, and feeling the weight of the dark world upon our shoulders, sometimes it feels as if we need a retreat from the burden of broken dreams and better days that must wait, or may never come at all. But in imagining a retreat, I instead inadvertently, subconsciously, painted the emotions that were driving me to want a retreat. 

Maybe next time I’ll paint the actual retreat, but by the time I finished painting through the feelings I didn’t even know I had, I felt as if I’d already had my retreat. It was me observing the cardinal in the tree, from my vantage point on the other side of the canvas looking in. Seeing the scene through his eyes was enough to restore my spirit for another day. 

Nature goes on uninterrupted. Seasons change. Flowers bloom. Trees grow. Then all of it repeats. There is something comforting in the sameness, and even more comforting is the pattern of change. This (spiritual) season will change. Meanwhile, we can embrace the quiet, the steady stillness, and the cabin that waits for someone to come back. When we are blessed to be here for another day, may we never leave the last sip to grow cold.

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Serendipity

Watch this oil painting called “Time” come to life in 2 minutes (time lapse)

Two days ago I blogged “One gone, another enters” and I was reminded of the story of when Mom died… one dies, another is born. I meant to talk about this yesterday, but the toad drummer distracted me and I had to blog about him first! I figured we could all use something funny and joyful, so I went with that first.

This other story is somber and mysterious, yet uplifting and I’ve shared it here before. But I never know how many have seen the things I’ve written previously, so it’s good to share them again as new friends join us. Also, there’s a bit of an update. The story is now published as the first chapter of “Beauty of Time” and can be read free as part of the new Kindle Vella program which officially launched recently.

I thought I could copy and paste the story in, but Amazon won’t let me do that… which is a good thing I suppose. A screen capture is a bit of a mess to stitch together, so please visit the story directly. It is FREE to read “Serendipity”, and it’s a very cool template, at least in my opinion. The text feels easy on the eyes to read. Anyway, my story is here, and if you like it, there’s a little thumbs up button at the end… that no one has yet pressed. I’m not sure anyone’s even read my stories. I don’t write the type of things that are popular there. But that’s OK, I write what is true to who I am.

My story "Serendipity"
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BAD DAY

May 3, 2022

Well, there must have been a bad moon a’rising because today was a horrible day. The close on our house was cancelled, and then thankfully

Read More »

Happy Day!

May 1, 2022

Today we had the opportunity to bring the kids to the house we’ll be closing on. Until now, they’d only seen the pictures and video.

Read More »

Bandits!

April 30, 2022

These birds have been coming around and stealing our strawberries! What a disappointment! I was enjoying a fresh berry with Cool Whip as a snack

Read More »

Easy Going

April 29, 2022

This painting was a “free paint” project, in which there is no reference, plan, or agenda other than to let the paints flow. I start

Read More »

WOOT!

April 27, 2022

“Fred” was my dad’s nickname for me. This painting was inspired by a black and white photograph he took to complete an assignment for a

Read More »

Wild Days

April 26, 2022

Ever feel that you live your life with reckless abandon, like these wild horses? What do they care about consequences or the worries of tomorrow?

Read More »

aww

April 25, 2022

My daughter brought me one of the boxes she packed herself for our move, for me to load onto the POD container. She said it

Read More »

Ooh, Pretty!

April 23, 2022

These flowers are probably the closest thing I have right now to what my new “Freedom Rose” looks like, but imagine the buds and open

Read More »

Bearing Up

April 21, 2022

The PODS container was dropped off today. I spent hours packing the first round of our household, mostly by myself. I felt victorious, like this

Read More »

HAPPY NEWS!

April 14, 2022

Thought this joyful hymn was a good choice to celebrate my good news update: WE GOT THE HOUSE! We still have the inspection and the

Read More »

Update to “Downsizing our Dreams”

A bowl of peaches painting in 1 minute (time lapse)

I shared this peaches painting in the blog post “Downsizing our Dreams“, and also showed you photos of my new peach tree. The update: remember that there was only one peach on the tree, and I wasn’t sure if we’d actually be able to eat it? Well, that single peach stayed on the tree and turned from small and green to this gloriously beautiful reddish orange peachy peach! 

It was a bit under-ripe so it had the taste and crunch similar to an apple, but I didn’t want to risk not being able to try it at all (sometimes critters get into our garden before we have a chance to eat the food!). It was still very good, and amazingly fresh. The peach was so big that we all got to try it, plenty to go around. The texture was wonderful! I look forward to future harvests with our peach tree… hoping for more than one peach next year!

If you remember the blog post, the peach tree is also a spiritual metaphor for starting a new chapter in our lives. This felt like a burst of encouragement, this solitary beautiful peach, that one day there will be a bowl full of peaches, just like my painting. When we take one day at a time, the days add up. Seasons change. We then find ourselves in a new place and it will feel like a long time ago that the peach tree was small.

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BAD DAY

May 3, 2022

Well, there must have been a bad moon a’rising because today was a horrible day. The close on our house was cancelled, and then thankfully

Read More »

New Painting Show!

Don’t miss it! New oil painting revealed, variety show acts, surprises, laughter, and a very special shared human experience! Watch this blog tomorrow… or please SUBSCRIBE!

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

BAD DAY

May 3, 2022

Well, there must have been a bad moon a’rising because today was a horrible day. The close on our house was cancelled, and then thankfully

Read More »

Happy Day!

May 1, 2022

Today we had the opportunity to bring the kids to the house we’ll be closing on. Until now, they’d only seen the pictures and video.

Read More »

Bandits!

April 30, 2022

These birds have been coming around and stealing our strawberries! What a disappointment! I was enjoying a fresh berry with Cool Whip as a snack

Read More »

Easy Going

April 29, 2022

This painting was a “free paint” project, in which there is no reference, plan, or agenda other than to let the paints flow. I start

Read More »

WOOT!

April 27, 2022

“Fred” was my dad’s nickname for me. This painting was inspired by a black and white photograph he took to complete an assignment for a

Read More »

Wild Days

April 26, 2022

Ever feel that you live your life with reckless abandon, like these wild horses? What do they care about consequences or the worries of tomorrow?

Read More »

aww

April 25, 2022

My daughter brought me one of the boxes she packed herself for our move, for me to load onto the POD container. She said it

Read More »

Ooh, Pretty!

April 23, 2022

These flowers are probably the closest thing I have right now to what my new “Freedom Rose” looks like, but imagine the buds and open

Read More »

Bearing Up

April 21, 2022

The PODS container was dropped off today. I spent hours packing the first round of our household, mostly by myself. I felt victorious, like this

Read More »

Are you feeling beachy?

Watch me paint “My Kids at the Beach” in 2 minutes (time lapse)

“Beachy”, according to Urban Dictionary, means something that reminds us of the beach, something beach-like. But Dictionary dotcom defines beachy as “covered with pebbles or sand”. And that’s the definition we’ll ponder in today’s blog post.

After a day at the beach, we come home covered with sand. It’s with mixed emotions that we accept this part of the bargain: when we have a seaside outing we’ll get messy. Our bodies literally carry the evidence of how we spent our time. Using this as a metaphor- because I love metaphors!- we can think of carrying sand in a figurative and spiritual sense.

When we’re feeling beachy, we’re ready and willing to accept the mess that a full life creates. It’s spiritually tidier to stick with what’s familiar to us and reign our thoughts and actions in, at a pace that is comfortable for us. But when we push ourselves outside of our comfort zone, where the waves of the sea are unpredictable and wild, and emotions get a bit messy, we experience passion and energy that we’d otherwise miss out on. It is this passion and energy that fuels enlightenment. Without it, we may stagnate. 

Ever wonder why some people seem older than they really are, while others glow with such energy that they seem much younger? Passion creates energy. Passion + Energy = Fountain of Youth. We are a product of what we produce, and we produce what we are. Passion in, Energy out. Energy in, Passion out.

When I ask myself and YOU if you feel “beachy”, I hope the answer is yes! YES, we choose the spiritual wild sea, the glorious sun- and equally the risk of storms, our reflections on the wet sand, and time spent with those we love. We choose to live a full life that is messy. We feel beachy!

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New Painting – Parrots

Watch me paint “Parrots” in 2 minutes (time lapse)

Some of you may be following my blog to be the first to see my new paintings, if so- today’s your lucky day! No talking, just painting. 😊 🎨

If you haven’t yet subscribed, please do so below. I use my oil paintings to blog about the beauty of life, philosophy and faith (I love metaphors), and this mysterious world we share. At the core of everything I share is a genuine wish for your prosperity and happiness, that the sun shine upon you and you are richly blessed. However, if what you’re looking for is art training or technique, you may find them here (blog series Compare 3) and here (free 12 week art course, take as few or as many classes as you like).

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

BAD DAY

May 3, 2022

Well, there must have been a bad moon a’rising because today was a horrible day. The close on our house was cancelled, and then thankfully

Read More »

Happy Day!

May 1, 2022

Today we had the opportunity to bring the kids to the house we’ll be closing on. Until now, they’d only seen the pictures and video.

Read More »

Bandits!

April 30, 2022

These birds have been coming around and stealing our strawberries! What a disappointment! I was enjoying a fresh berry with Cool Whip as a snack

Read More »

Easy Going

April 29, 2022

This painting was a “free paint” project, in which there is no reference, plan, or agenda other than to let the paints flow. I start

Read More »

WOOT!

April 27, 2022

“Fred” was my dad’s nickname for me. This painting was inspired by a black and white photograph he took to complete an assignment for a

Read More »

Wild Days

April 26, 2022

Ever feel that you live your life with reckless abandon, like these wild horses? What do they care about consequences or the worries of tomorrow?

Read More »

aww

April 25, 2022

My daughter brought me one of the boxes she packed herself for our move, for me to load onto the POD container. She said it

Read More »

Ooh, Pretty!

April 23, 2022

These flowers are probably the closest thing I have right now to what my new “Freedom Rose” looks like, but imagine the buds and open

Read More »

Bearing Up

April 21, 2022

The PODS container was dropped off today. I spent hours packing the first round of our household, mostly by myself. I felt victorious, like this

Read More »

HAPPY NEWS!

April 14, 2022

Thought this joyful hymn was a good choice to celebrate my good news update: WE GOT THE HOUSE! We still have the inspection and the

Read More »

Missed it?

April 12, 2022

If you missed last year’s Easter Show, here it is. It’s quite different from the 2022 show in many ways, but yet the general format

Read More »

Show Update

April 8, 2022

I finished the final taping segment for my Easter show today! When the video is finished I will launch the show, giving you time to

Read More »

Packing Up

April 5, 2022

I spent several hours today packing up my art in preparation for our unexpected move. You can probably recognize ones I’ve shared with you (in

Read More »

Gator Tale

April 4, 2022

Something interesting happened yesterday at the sale. It was the last day of the 2-day event and I was discouraged because we still hadn’t had

Read More »

What a Day!

April 2, 2022

I’m so exhausted, I feel like this jellyfish painting- surreal and floating. Guess what? Day one of the sale (I mentioned this yesterday) already exceeded

Read More »

No Word Yet

April 1, 2022

Our weather here is now beautiful, after being cold or raining for quite a stretch. I’m feeling like my tree landscape oil painting above- clear

Read More »

Whirlwind Day!

March 31, 2022

Mellow music, marshmallows on a stick, and dancing flames – a fire can be welcoming and sentimental – childhood memories, family vacations, and warmth on

Read More »

They’re Back!

March 27, 2022

The hummingbirds are BACK! LOL, I’ll tell you how I encountered their return. I was preparing for our unexpected move, and taking down the garden

Read More »

It’s a No

March 24, 2022

The update to yesterday’s post “Feeling Froggy?” is: no. No, the home owner is not willing to extend our lease by one month so that

Read More »