Hope Heart -Paint Party Friday

Here is another of the rocks I've been painting.  This one was hidden in a tree down at the park.  I think about how fun it would be to find something like this.  It's good to spread a little joy into other people's day, don't you think?

Here's yet another of my little rock paintings!  I hear people are painting them and hiding them all over the place.  I LOVE painting rocks!

Happy Paint Party Friday, dear Friends.

Birdhouse in my Garden -Paint Party Friday

I collaborated with my daughter to do this painting, which was for a fund raiser for a school for disabled children.  When you enlarge it, you'll be able to see the detail.  This is a combination of acrylic paint and lineart drawing.

Here's a selection showing the detail of the painting. I have posted this before, but because of my current circumstances, having very recently lost my darling husband, I haven't been able to do much art.  That will change as time goes on.  In the meantime, I am thanking God for His strength as I walk this new pathway in my life.

Thank you so much for dropping by!  Have a lovely weekend, sweet Friends!  Happy Paint Party Friday!

Magic, the Horse -Guest Heart Thursday

Magic the Horse rode away to heaven last Spring.  I met him years ago--he was beloved best friend of my "adopted" daughter.  What a wonderful friend he was to her.  I had been working on the painting off and on since April. I finally finished this portrait of Magic today.  It is quite large, 22x28 inches!  I'm happy to say, my daughter loved the painting and he's on his way home with my girl.

Of course, there is a heart to be found.  In the original picture, I discovered a heart freckle near his nose--so in this painting, he sports the same heart-shaped spot.  

Have a lovely rest of the week!

For more heart art, photography and altogether fabulous heart stuff from around the world, visit Clytie at Random Hearts for Guest Heart Thursday.

Blue Flowers, Gorgeous Sunset

I have been longing for Spring...in our part of the world, the fog has descended and we haven't seen the sun for ten days!  We are used to the rain--but this freezing grey fog has been a little tough to take.

Yesterday was a bright day, as I spent time with my darling niece.  We had a wonderful time painting with watercolors.  This is an ACEO I painted.  I adore this color of blue--the color of forgetmenots.

The painting above is only 2.5x3.5 inches and was painted by my talented niece.  She says it is a sunset.  Pretty amazing work for a five-year old!!!

Autumn Birch Trees

There's an old 1970's song by Mark Heard called Appalachian Melody.  My favorite line is, "How peculiar liking old dead leaves against the sky..."    And then in the chorus, "Funny how I sit and watch these leaves come falling down... but these things are music to to my eyes...

I began painting this watercolor yesterday late evening, finished it when awoke and I couldn't get back to sleep early this morning.

Those words fit this painting so well.

Have a lovely Autumn day, everyone!

Garden Home

This is an acrylic painting of a birdhouse which hangs next to the fence in my garden. This is a joint venture. My youngest daughter first sketched it in pencil, then I painted. If you notice, the detailing was done in pen and ink.

.

One of my favorite things to draw is wood grain. There's something so graceful and beautiful about the grains found in wood and I love to recreate the effect.

.

The original painting was auctioned off in a fund-raiser for a local charter school. I felt honored to be a part of helping the school to become successful.

DADDY UPDATE: Dad's appointment with the neck brace folks was disappointing. The brace they had did not fit. There's another they want to try. If that doesn't work, the VA will make another appointment to fit a custom brace. After that, the only option is a risky surgery. Without surgery the muscles in his neck will continue to weaken which, with the broken bones in his neck, will give no support. Eventually without the brace, his head would flop to one side. This is a very scary time for my family. We would appreciate your prayers for Dad and for our family.

Unicorns and Pink Meadows

I hope you don't mind that some of the stories behind my pictures are filled with real life--and death. This story is painful--but ends with great hope.

I remember the day our beloved Grandmother Jenny flew to heaven. I sat in the upstairs hallway and cried in the dark. She ran into the arms of her Savior after a long hard night of struggle.

I began to paint. First a stormy reddish sky. As I wept, I crunched sodden browns, streaks of yellow and shadows of darkness into the murky horizon.

I sat back to ponder the stories Grammie had told of her life. Sharp peaks of hardship thrust through the years. She'd conquered them, one step at a time. I knifed thick paint from my palette, forming jagged mountains. Then tears as I covered the jutting peaks with cool snows reflecting pink from the angry skies above.

As I remembered her words of wisdom and faith, gentle tree-clad hills swelled beneath the mountains . . . I thought of her laughter, and the twinkle of her blue eyes and a bright meadow blossomed with faint pink flowers.

I smiled through my tears, recalling Grammie's vivid imagination. I retraced her wonderful stories peopled with elves and faeries. Then from my brush, the outline of a unicorn emerged. His white coat danced with pinks from the painful red horizon, reflecting the cheery pink flowers at his feet. His dark red and pink mane swooped joyfully against the mountains, and his face grew kind and winsome . . .

Spreading out from the unicorn's feet, yellow centers appeared in the pink flowers, twinkling vividly in the tender green grasses of the meadow.

I looked at that painting for a long, long time, thinking about how delighted Grammie would have been. Then I signed my name.

Painting has a way of expressing my heart.

In the hours I spent wielding my paintbrush, I worked through my pain, sorrow and feelings of anger and loss--to precious memories of my Grandmother's courageous life, to thoughts of her laughter and whimsey, to arrive in a place of peace.

And I can feel her smiling.

My Paintbrush--Dance of Brush and Page

I love the feel of the worn smoothness of my beloved paintbrush. I balance its span in my fingers--Ah, fits perfectly. I slide one side of feathery brush ends into red acrylic, the other into blue. What picture will be born from my thoughts?

It is a mystery for now.
I begin with small hushed strokes. The paint sweetens my empty canvas with color. Red and blue sweep into soft purple.

Rinse, swirling colors into water. Clean brush snaps into yellow and green. Small motions, growing larger with the painting's message. Then delicate spatters of pink and white spit from my brush onto the canvas.

Swish swirl, then there is brown. Dashes of red ferment the mix. Long thin brush, tiny lines form details and outlines. Harsh fissured faces warm with smiles, emerge from trunks of trees splendid with purple, blue and rose blossoms...

Tis a springtime forest, peopled with trees.