Shelf Mushrooms

I cherish my walks in the woods. 
I am so taken with the beautiful shelf mushrooms and 

lichen that grow on the withering trees. They are so fascinating.

The patterns of concentric circles. The texture and touch of suede.

The lacy, scalloped edges are so flower like.

Nature is endlessly inspiring.

Poised to Eat

My topic was picked for Illustration Friday! 
Hooray! Yippee! Wahoo! The word of the week: poise. 

I think I.F. is a great exercise if you are feeling stuck or just want to stretch your imagination.

This stout caterpillar is oh so hungry and is poised to eat a very very big meal.

Ironically, when a great big, juicy green leaf is at hand, 

caterpillars hardly have any composure or poise at all.

When it comes to food, these leaf miners will stop at nothing.

He's going to be one fat butterfly!

Spring Rain

This is my latest rain cloud.

It's a dreamy little spring rain shower.

Sun streaming through the clouds.

Warm, light droplets greening up the earth.

I just love the spring season.

Subtract Light

I have always been intrigued by celestial events. 

A solar eclipse is on the top of my list of favorite happenings.

 Light is drawn away by the total eclipse of the sun. 

The cratered moon hangs in the shadows.

A halo of sunlight is all we can see.

Beautiful moon glow.

Curious Picnic

It's hard to believe that spring is here.
Spring heralds the steeplechase season in our area.

With the spring races come the requisite tailgate picnics.

The tailgate picnic is the most curious mix of food,

flowers, feathers and taxidermy that you will ever find. 

I thought this fox centerpiece an excellent 

example of this unique style 

of table setting!

Joyous World

Seldom are the days of pure bliss, sunshine and happiness.

Embrace them when they come along.

Stop thinking brave new world and 

start thinking joyous world.

I just received a rainbow of new calligraphy inks.

Art supplies make me giddy. To celebrate, 

I painted a little rainbow around the world. 

It reads: Joy, love, friendship, kindness, happiness, peace.

I love all of these fun colors!

Grey Skies

It's a grey day today. This kind of weather suits me.

Sometimes the sun is simply too bright. Too cup half full.

I must sheepishly admit that I love the Jimmy Dean sausage 

commercials, which brilliantly capture the personalities of the weather.

The commercials "star" the sun, who is so hopeful and full of light.

It's all in a days work for the sun as he cheerfully tries to fix the moon, 

bring color back to the rainbow, and calmly talk to the storm.

I love the steadfast energy and eternal optimism of the sun.

However, I'm sort of with the storm clouds and grey skies.

Drippy, cold and wet.

Legendary

Almost famous. Practically famous.
It's simply not the same as actually b e i n g famous.

It's what I call a vivid imagination.

Her pursed lips said it all;

she was legendary in her own mind.

Clearly remarkable enough to be famous.

Woodland

I had the opportunity to create a series of
watercolor paintings for Irving Mill in New York City.

Deep red and orange woodland paintings of logs, birch trees, 

seed pods, and corn are dotted throughout the restaurant.

It is such a beautiful dining room and the food is scrumptious.

I highly recommend the salt and pepper pork ribs!

Monsoon

I recently traveled to Sedona, Arizona.

One cannot ignore the landscape there. It is so striking.

The colors of the desert, the cactus, the quail,

the deep dry creeks and gullies, 

the giant red rocks, all seeped into my painting.

Ironically, not a cloud was in the sky,

yet I am sill painting rain clouds.

Supposedly there is a monsoon season,

when it rains and rains and floods.

Attachments

A growing attachment.

I just love the simplicity of this painting.

We are joined together in a way.

Tangled, tethered, hitched.

Giveaway | Intricate

Givaway!

Spring is almost here! 

The willows are starting to open!

The spider wove an intricate web to catch his dinner. 
I've decided to have a little "drawing" to give away this painting! 

In order to be considered, simply sign in and leave a meaningful 

message for me about the painting between now and next Thursday.

I must be able to link to your contact/email information, 

either through your blog, shop or website.

I will pick one name out of a hat at random.

Come back to this same post on Friday by noon EST,

I will announce the lucky winner!

Congratulations Katy!

Fox Hunt

Yesterday I heard the Huntsman's horn.

I thought they must be fox hunting on a neighboring farm.

Suddenly, the horn seemed louder and I could hear the hounds.

I looked outside and they were coming up the drive next to my house!

They were in the village and scampering up the road!

It was such a sight to be seen!

Only on the prairie.

Pulp

I have been making handmade paper for twenty years. 
I love mixing the palette of paper pulp; it's one part science, 

one part cooking! Last week I had the opportunity to work at an incredible 

private papermaking studio in Sedona. We prepared cotton and abaca 

fiber for paper casting and pulp painting. The paper is cast in a large 

vacuum table that is filled with water to suspend the pulp. An artist can cast 

thick, dimensional paper pieces that are very sculptural. Using squeeze 

bottles filled with pigmented, overbeaten pulp fiber, an artist can pulp 

paint and draw images and designs with paper! It is so much 

fun and the possibilities are endless! To get started visit 

Twinrocker and Carriage House.

Ireland Forever

I'm getting in touch with my Irish heritage.

The Storque, the official Etsy blog,

has selected my Jar of Luck No. 2

for the Saint Patrick's Day Product Poll.

Do sign in and VOTE for me!

Voting ends on March 9th.

Erin go bragh!

Mister & Missus

Meet my curious couple: Mister and Missus in silhouette.

Rather than the classic opaque black silhouette, 

I've been experimenting with watercolor paint to create these portraits.

The watercolor washes add a layer of color and texture.