Tag Archives: pumpkins

New Painting – “Thanksgiving Turkey & Pumpkins”

Watch this Thanksgiving scene come alive in less than 1 minute 30 seconds (time lapse video, above).

It’s been a couple of months since I’ve last posted, when prior to our recent move to Savannah, Georgia I’d been a daily blogger and prolific painter, working feverishly toward my lifetime goal of 1,000 finished oil paintings. Even though this move should have been easier, because we didn’t move out the country this time, or even from out of state (we were renting in a temporary location about 40 minutes’ drive from here), it was an unexpected move (we planned to go house hunting next year but the landlord wanted to sell the house we were living in and we had only two month’s notice to get out). I’ve told most of that story on here before, but my reason for bringing it up again is that it has taken me much longer than I thought to settle into our new life, and I wanted to explain my absence.

Several events happened to disrupt the process and make the transition much more stressful and life-altering than our previous moves. And, since we plan to make this our “forever” home, to the extent that such a thing is in our control and possible, this move means much more to us. I want to invest my time and energy into building a community for myself and my family. That’s different from the temporary approach and mindset we had in the years leading up to now. Connecting with people in person, face-to-face, heart to heart, in a much bigger way- out from behind the camera or the computer- was outside of my comfort zone. I’d been so reclusive that I’d lost a bit of myself along the way.

Besides this dramatic change in lifestyle, I had to face some giants that I’d been avoiding for years. Facing up to unpleasant, confrontational, or unwanted situations is never going to feel good, but hiding from these things only makes them loom larger in the shadows. If we were sitting together in person, I’d put the kettle on and I’d speak honestly about all of this. It’s been quite a physical, emotional, and spiritual journey.

It’s even been an intellectual ride, as I’ve also learned new things about a variety of subjects: landscaping, home improvement, how to get rid of rodents, how to successfully remove a hoard that was buried in the yard to deceive/hide from prospective buyers of a home, and more delightful topics such as how to become a better singer, how to take good care of vocal chords when singing regularly, in-depth religious discussions that lead to life changing perspectives to heal and build a new life, financial habits to weather storms and enjoy blessings, and much more. Most of these things I can’t talk about without putting myself into a position of too much personal disclosure online, as now I’d be talking about people, places, events, and organizations that someone may see themselves in. So, out of respect for my and their privacy, and inadvertently sticking my foot in my mouth, I can only generalize. To borrow from a famous line, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”.

I hope that my return to painting, blogging, and sharing with you is taking shape now. I will do my best to stay on track. I can feel my spirit calming down and the possibility of a steady life close at hand. Instead of scrambling to react to each new twist and turn (personal instability as well as shared world-wide chaos that all of you have been experiencing on various levels), I see the road widening and the skies clearing. I feel hope and optimism rising, regardless of the grief, fear and despair that weighs heavily upon humanity.

God bless you, and Happy Thanksgiving- for my fellow Americans who celebrate this special day- and for all others who celebrate in spirit. This is a time of year for reflection and gratitude, as many of us have extra time with our families and there’s a pause in our schedules. More than any other year I’m decorating big for Christmas. My heart is full and my emotions are a rollercoaster ride. Truly, all that really matters is God, family, and community. And my joy in all of that will shine brightly this year! As I will soon be singing in the Christmas choir program, “Ring, ring the bells!” Enjoy dinner with your loved ones and set out your best shiniest sparkliest decorations.

Oil painting “Thanksgiving Turkey and Pumpkins” by artist Natalie Buske Thomas, part of the 2022 collection Seasons.

October!

Watch this oil painting “Pumpkins and Mums” come alive in 2 minutes (time lapse)

This is a good one to start October with. Imagine that we’re sitting at that cafe table enjoying warm conversation, a hot mug of tea, coffee, cocoa, or cider, and enjoying the fresh autumn air. What would we talk about?

Perhaps you’d tell me about your day, and I’d tell you about mine. The theme of my day seemed to be about leaving things unfinished. I worked a painting session, but it’s too dark in the house now to finish it or get a good photo of it. It will have to keep until tomorrow. Also keeping until tomorrow is my assembly project: putting my new garden cart together that was delivered today (garden supplies are on sale, by the way, since it’s the end of the summer growing season).

My new cart is a raised planting container on wheels that I plan to grow romaine lettuce in. I got it ready to put together, but it looks a bit beyond my abilities so I’ve left the smaller pieces in an organized pile on the patio for now. Wouldn’t you know, it looks like it might storm tonight and the cardboard box containing the two heavy main pieces will likely get soaked. Oh well, it won’t matter much. I can remove the soggy cardboard later.

I’m taking this lifestyle change of growing my own food very seriously. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for years. It pushes me to be outside more, which always lifts my spirits (well, except when I have an encounter with fire ants or some other incident happens). At this point, I expect that our autumn visit at the pumpkin patch has evolved into me telling you my stories of comedic misadventure, and we’ve shared some great full-belly laughs. Maybe you’ve chimed in with something that’s made me laugh until I cried. I hope so!

Imaginary visits with people we’ve never met, but would like to think of as friends who “see” each other every day by dropping by our blog, video, or art space on the Internet, are pleasant to think about. When I paint inviting spaces with empty chairs, I feel wistful to be inside the painting, but not alone. I imagine being with a friend, maybe someone like you!

“Pumpkins and Mums”

Watch Natalie paint this art, and all 50 oil paintings in this collection (menu below)

“Is it hard to find fall pumpkins in Savannah? Not at all! There are tent sales, grocery displays, and even pumpkin patches nearby. Madrac Farms in Rincon, Georgia, which is not far from the commuting town I live in, grows Orange Bulldog Pumpkins, developed by the University of Georgia to grow in the South Georgia climate.

Madrac Farms is only about fifteen minutes’ drive for me, and forty minutes from Savannah. If someone was looking for fall beauty right in Savannah, Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens offers Autumn Gardenfest. There are also family pumpkin patches with corn mazes, duck races, pick-your-own pumpkin off the vine, and other autumn fun, thirty minutes to two hours’ drive. Some offer farm events like steer roping, cow milking, pony rides, and a mini zoo with donkeys and llamas.

When my kids were little, we took them to the pumpkin patch every year. I didn’t realize that families down South were doing the same thing. Of course it was often quite cold and wet when we’d bundle our kids up to freeze while hunting for the perfect pumpkin, but here it may be too hot, depending on the day. There are cool days during a Georgian October, and when those days pop up, it’s an ideal time to visit the pumpkin patches.”

Pumpkins and Mums oil painting by Natalie Buske Thomas

List of Oil Paintings in this Collection, linking to their pages here on the site, and also citing physical pages in the hardcover book:

  1. City of Savannah
    1.1 “City of Savannah” page 6-7
    1.2 “Natalie at the Fountain” page 8-11
    1.3 “House in Savannah” page 12-13
    1.4 “Guardian Lion” page 14-15
    1.5 “Autumn Angel” page 16-17
    1.6 “Steamship Savannah” page 18-19
    1.7 “Boiled Peanuts for Sale” page 20-21
    1.8 “Bulldog” page 22-23
    1.9 “Serenity Piano” page 24-25
    1.10 “Painting Colors” page 26-27
  2. Tybee Island
    2.1 “I Love Life” page 30-31
    2.2 “Living Sand Dollar” page 32-33
    2.3 “Matthew the Sea Turtle” page 34-35
    2.4 “Fungie the Dolphin” page36-37
    2.5 “Angel Releasing Dove” page 38-39
    2.6 “Flag on Tybee Island” page 40-41
    2.7 “My Kids at the Beach” page 42-43
    2.8 “Lighthouse near Tybee Island” page 44-45
  3. Birds, Reptiles and Amphibians
    3.1 “Gator and Snake” page 48-49
    3.2 “Tree Frog” page 50-51
    3.3 “Lizard” page 52-53
    3.4 “Blue Heron” page 54-55
    3.5 “Hummingbird” page 56-57
    3.6 “Painted Bunting” page 58-59
  4. Flowers and Trees
    4.1 “Pink Flower” page 62-63
    4.2 “Porch Flowers” page 64-65
    4.3 “Clover” page 66-67
    4.4 “Butterfly Tree Flowers” page 68-69
    4.5 “Savannah Tree” page 70-71
    4.6 “Dancer in a Floral Forest” page 72-73
    4.7 “Come to the Garden” page 74-77
    4.8 “Cherokee Rose” page 78-79
  5. Faith and Food
    5.1 “Floral Cross” page 82-83
    5.2 “Lenten Flower” page 84-85
    5.3 “Celtic Cross” page 86-87
    5.4 “Mary of God’s Favor” page 88-89
    5.5 “Lion and the Lamb” page 90-91
    5.6 “Breakfast with Friends” page 92-93
    5.7 “Peaches in a Bowl” page 94-95
    5.8 “Peach Cookies” page 96-97
    5.9 “Peach Pie” page 98-99
  6. Seasons and Weather
    6.1 “Pumpkins and Mums” page 102-103
    6.2 “Autumn Cottage” page 104-105
    6.3 “Spring Lambs” page 106-107
    6.4 “Peach Tree Hurricane” page 108-109
    6.5 “Eye of the Storm” page 110-111
    6.6 “God’s Promise” page 112-113
    6.7 “We Gather Together” page 114-115
    6.8 “Savannah Snow” page 116-117
    6.9 “I Believe in Santa” page 118-119