Duncan Bartlet could never do a card trick like his Uncle Cyrus nor fend off the lions with sheer tenacity like Ungle Gunter, but he could wield a paintbrush like none other.
I see in your eyes and the words that you speak that truth and fiction blend easily.
Are you wearing green? I celebrated all week wearing green, but today I put on grey. Bizarre! But I am off to hit the local deli for a delicious Reuben. I sent out three Irish theme postcards for my postcard project. I decided to do three quick landscape studies and used some Irish landscape photos. I joined the Landscape Reference Photos for Artist Group on Facebook, so I’m giving a shout-out to the photographers I referenced.
These are just little postcards on kraft brown paper, and they’re 3.5 x 5. It’s a fun practice not to be so detailed and share them with friends and family.
Snow is blowing and sputtering about frantically today. I’m content in the studio. This season has a lot of things up in the air over here. One of the things going on, as you’ve noticed I’m spending more time and taking an hour or two a day to be creative. To paint or to draw… It’s what I do. Lately, it’s mostly about writing and marketing in the design studio. I crave the creative side that I’m missing. It’s also good to work with my hands in another motion than on the mouse. 2022 I felt carpal tunnel, saying, hi, I’m here! My body saying do you feel those twinges? I sure did! Breaking up my day with a different movement has diminished all twinges and opened me up to my love of painting, which I haven’t really done since college. It’s a form of mediation for me as well, giving me a block of time where I don’t have to focus on solving a problem, and I’m just in the moment.
This week’s work dried and varnished
The other block of news is my husband’s business is in the midst of tax season, and he’s on his own for the first year. He does around 900+ taxes throughout the year. He’s in meetings and clicking on his computer from 8-6 pm most days, and I’ve been stepping in and playing assistant a few days a week for a couple of hours, covering drop off and pick-ups for him.
The design studio is still working away, but unfortunately, I’m still not taking on new clients. I work for a handful of clients who are continual subscriptions and book me up for all of my time. I’m thankful for this, but I understand it’s disappointing for those wanting me to work on projects. I’ll let you know here on the site and on social if the time opens up.
This also brings up Savor Your Thyme. I have ordered seeds and plan on starting to seed flowers in the greenhouse next week if the temperatures aren’t in the negatives. The catch is I always did this while Bruce was in tax season mode. I’m in there working late nights and Saturday mornings with him. So for that reason, I won’t be offering subscriptions this year. I’m unsure how much time I can focus on this and how many flowers I will have. So when planting time comes, I’ll see what I have planted and maybe offer pickups on a specific day of the week.
Also, in other crazy news like we don’t have enough going on – on February 14th, we bring home Henry Albus – a cream English Golden Retriever Puppy. That’s right, three dogs and one cat. Insanity but full of joy!
Stop by during tax drop-off hours if you like. I’m there Mon/Tues 4-6 pm and Sat 10-noon. I have some paintings for sale in there too.
Alert Rabbit was painted in oil during the Winter of 2022. Our farm is hopping with rabbits; they’re always alert for predators and me sneaking pictures from them. He was sent out as a Thank You card to one of my favorite people. I added prints of him to our shop if you want an alert rabbit hopping about you. I like the pop of green. Well, I like any pop of green or blue.
Prints Available on our Society 6 Shop
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Alert Rabbit Notecards$15.00 -
Alert Rabbit Pillow$35.00 -
Alert Rabbit Print$18.00
Holidays, birthdays and special events pop up, and I always sigh and say I should have made a card as I sift through the cards at the store. This year, I decided to do something about it. I found some kraft paper postcards for oil painting and bought a batch. I pick a photo from my inspiration archive folder every Tuesday morning and paint a postcard. The small card is a perfect quick painting to play with new color combinations or techniques. It’s also an excellent way to force me to share my paintings which I’m a known chicken to do. So yes, if you get a postcard through snail mail, it means I was thinking of you, and it is indeed a tiny oil painting just for you.
Pink Cocktails was the first postcard I sent out on the first of January to wish a Happy New Year. In this one, I played with pink combos, which I don’t usually do. Also, it was my first try at painting glass. Another goal was to work with wood too.
This is a 9″x12″ original oil painting. Painted on wood panel. Frame not included. The frame can be displayed without a frame.
Rosy cheeks buffeted by the blowing snow, Nick walked toward his waiting sleigh. Pulling his heavy jacket close about his face, he prepared for the evening’s journey. Undaunted by the coming weather, he brushed the snow off the cushioned seat and sat, ready saying aloud, “Fly my reindeer into the night. We have gifts to bring to all the world.” Then the sleigh leaped into the starry sky swiftly with purpose it rose until it merged with the twinkly stars.
Why does a girl want a cheese box? I love Cheese boxes! No, I don’t need big rounds of cheese to age. My mom always stuck the most interesting things in the boxes growing up. I could always find an Early American Life Magazine in there. Strange, a ten-year-old reading Early American Life, yes, but still true. In the winter, she would fill them with scented pine cones or oranges with cloves in them. I’ve used them to decorate our Christmas Tree’s bottom or hide away large holiday platters and dishes. This year though, they’re being reused in our back entry to hide away mittens and gloves.
Last November, I was scouring through all the Frewsburg Antique Stores. At VSK Emporium I picked up some antique Cheese Boxes and keeping it local. The boxes were marked Jamestown.
First written Dec 1, 2010
