Sweet Buttery Goodness

Speculaas 

I've been baking all week and wanted to share a few cookies and recipes with you! 

I love a good spice cookie. Not too Sweet. Just right.

The most beautiful springerle cookie molds can be found at House on the Hill.

Pistachio Cranberry Ice Box Cookies

They are little bite size biscotti. Delicious. So easy to make too.

Basic Butter Cookies

Simple, sweet, buttery goodness. Need I say more?

Drizzle with a little chocolate and voila!

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Wishing you all the happiest of holidays!

Merry Christmas!

Giveaway | Fantabulous Four

A few new additions to my Woodland Print Collection!
bee eater, morels, jar of luck, rosemary sprig, blue plumes, bluebird
***
I just want to say thank you to all of my wonderful customers. 

Thank you to those who visit my drawing room.

Thank you to those who continue to write the most encouraging words. 

You have all inspired me to keep going, keep painting and making new work.

I truly appreciate you joining me along the way and I am so very grateful to you all!

In the spirit of giving back I'm having a GIVEAWAY or two or three or four!
In other words, FOUR lucky winners will be picked this time!
It doesn't matter where you live. If you are picked, I will mail to you, so don't be shy. :)
Simply choose a favorite from the entire woodland print collection in my Etsy shop,
Leave a note in the comments here on my blog by Saturday 9 PM.
I will announce the winner right here on Sunday.
Winners will receive the print of his or her choice.

*** 
The fantabulous four:
Dena | birch trees
Sierra | fruit bat
Sadee Schilling | bird nest
Sonia from Cozy Memories | Maidenhair fern
Congratulations!
kindly email me your full name and mailing address!

Baby Birds

Slate throated Redstarts

The little darlings are finally finished!

It is so warm and mild today. The air is wet and foggy.

It's a good day to hunker down and paint, I think.

How is your Monday treating you?

Edible

Black Trumpets

Morels

It has been a busy week and I can't believe it is Thursday already! Tis the season.

I'm so glad to be back here today with something to share.

My Slate Throated Redstarts will make their debut soon. I promise. 

Until then, enjoy these two new prints which are available in my Etsy shop tonight.

I'd love to forage with someone who truly knows mushrooms.

Wouldn't you?

Studio | Redstarts

These are slate-throated redstarts, little fledgling birds, sleeping in their nest.

Sometimes when I look at nests, I wonder how in the world do they all fit?

I had a fleeting thought of tiny birds packed like sardines.

Sometimes it's nice to see the palette beside the painting.

I'm getting back into the grey family. It must be winter.

Hello Monday!

Log No. 73

A new log, a new cross section.

The cracks are more prevalent than the rings.

Splendiferous

splendiferous hummingbird

Four new miniature hummingbirds flitting about my shop tonight!

Take a peek if you have a chance.

Gathering Together

Ant Colony

There's nothing like gathering together and sharing a great meal with family and friends.

Wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving!

The Hollow Stump

  The adventures of Cowboy and Birdie.

Studio | Tiny Hummingbirds

My gouache palette and a collection of tiny hummingbirds.

Sunshine and Rainbows

hummingbirds in the rain

A rainbow of raindrops and fanciful hummingbirds.

Spreading a little goodness and cheer your way:

Enjoy 20% off everything in my Etsy shop from now through November 26th.

Cut and paste this code at checkout: BYGOLLY20 to receive savings.

More shop updates coming soon!

Humming Along

I'm humming along on my latest painting. Here's a sneak peek.

Hummingbirds are such joyous little creatures. I'll miss them over the winter.

They seemed to love the Rose of Sharon, which grows like a weed around our yard.

I will have an update in my shop in a day or two. Stay tuned!

Have a wonderful week!

Rose Colored Glasses

Rosy Clouds

I am choosing to see the world through rose colored glasses.

Not just my paintings, but everything. It's easier, no?

I came across a quote by H. D. Thoreau the other day,

"One must maintain a little bit of summer, even in the middle of winter."

Wishing you a lovely weekend.

Brambles

I'm working on rose brambles, pink clouds and hummingbirds. I feel a bit split in two, though. 

I love these joyful colors and yet my mind is racing toward new ideas 

that would surely prompt a return to a more subtle and somber palette. 

I can't seem to paint fast enough. 

Do you ever feel like if you don't get to an idea right away it will simply vanish?

That's part of the reason I make lists and lists and lists, lest I forget what I was thinking.

Country Tableau

The annual blessing of the hounds.

Upperville is a place that truly takes you back in time.

The traditions and slow life have not changed in a very long time, if at all.

I feel like I'm living in a Jane Austen novel. 

Autumn Stills

Yesterday I set up a naturalist still life for a little inspiration.

It's full of found objects and bits of nature gathered outside the studio.

My neighbors asked if I would teach them drawing.

Last night was our first class. We all had a lot of fun.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend.

A Heist for Halloween

photography via IFCFilms

Have you seen THE ART OF THE STEAL?
The documentary follows the true story of the Barnes Foundation, 

a private collection of art valued at more than 25 billion dollars.

If you haven't seen it, add it to your queue.

Wishing you all a very happy Halloween!

p.s. 

Thank you all for your well wishes.

Our area has a bit of flooding and downed trees.

We are still without electricity but I'm hopeful that it will be restored today.

I hope you are all staying warm and dry.

A Very Happy Friday

rainbow egret and zebra flies

***

a very happy friday to you all!

Looking Up

Ginkgo trees and big blue sky.
***
Good news for all fabric lovers and sewists, 
Spoonflower is having a special deal this week: 
Two "fat quarters" for the price of one. 
October 25th - 31st.

You Might Need Shades

all that flits and flutters

You might need shades for viewing this unabashedly bright gouache painting!

Yes, the colors are crazy, but I'm working on a few more and can't stop now.

I'm enjoying this visual tangent.

Outside In

I think it's essential to bring the outside in and live with plants. 

Especially in the fall and winter seasons when a little bit of greenery is so welcome.

Just a few plants, unless you were blessed with a green thumb, 

in which case, do you have any tips for me?

It's a challenge to keep them alive.  I'm a plant killer, you see.

This year I've brought in my angel vine topiaries, succulents and my bay tree.

Every year I give them a little pep talk:

Just hold on a few months and you can go back outside again.

I promise to water you and find a sunny spot. I really do.

Do you bring the outside in?

Paradise: A Royal Garden

Two new gouache paintings in my shop.

These are a few details...hope you like them!

Our Evening Walk

The sun is setting as we take our evening walk.

Beautiful paths are cut through the grasses in the field behind the churchyard.

It's quiet. The crickets and grasshoppers are bouncing around.

The temperature is just right. A perfect way to end the day.

Watercolor 101 | Be Fearless

It would be easy for me to say,
"Follow steps one through ten and voila! You have a painting!"

Only paint by numbers works like that. I can share the basics but the rest is in your hands.

You have to fearlessly jump in and start somewhere.
I'm doing just that with a series of new paintings.

Actually, these are not watercolors. I'm using gouache and only gouache.
I've never done this before.

The paint is so rich and saturated with pigment. It feels different to me.

I have a brand new palette of  bright, bold colors and I'm just diving in.

Looking through some old painting notes, I had scrawled the words: paradise and parrots.

It was enough to get me started. I still love my soft greys and muted palette,

but I wanted to step away from my go-to colors and try something new.

I have no idea if these paintings will fully develop into something.

I'm not in any rush. I'm just enjoying the journey.

I hope you will too!