Three Owl Feathers

             My children Vincent 11, Layton 9 and Crawford 7 had their first day of school today. Vincent, my oldest started Jr High. Where does the time go? First I should let you know I am not one of those moms who finds joy in the start of the school year. I enjoy the light schedule and easy joyful days of summer. I like having my boys home with me. So after dropping them off  I decided to go for a walk with my husband Paul. This would be a much needed chance to blow off the stress and worry about school. As I was following our dog Asti I looked down. There under the pine trees I saw a feather. It was small but what I thought was a owl feather. I looked up to show Paul my treasure and saw that he was holding another feather a much larger feather about 8" long. Wow it was beautiful and pristine. Finally a third feather was found  while walking on the hill top. How perfect three boys and three owl feathers. To make it even more magical they where all found on a blue moon and the first day of school. This to me is a good sign.

Photo of owl feathers found today August, 21 2013 on a blue moon

Wild Raspberries

     When I was a young child my family had a house in the woods. There was a long gravel drive near. Along that bumpy drive grow many wild raspberry and black berry bushes. In mid to late summer the bushes were heavy with sweet ripe berries. How I loved to pick them for my mother. Of course most got eaten before they could arrive home.

       The image of raspberries on a bush bring back some of my fondest childhood memories. Now my children and I continue the tradition of picking wild berries. This year as been an unusually  good year for picking raspberries and blackberries. Ohio's hot wet summer has been ideal for their growth. We gathered so many that I made my first homemade raspberry pie. Of course as always I took lots of photos. Many of my photos will be turned into paintings. I hope that my paintings will help my boys remember our berry picking. So when they grow old, they will look back fondly and maybe even continue the ritual with their children.

       



My first homemade raspberry pie





Wild Raspberries-oil on canvas-12x16

LolaLiegh

             Tomorrow is the lancaster Festival ArtWalk, and I'm excited (and nervous). The last of my pieces should be in place in the morning and everything looks ready to go. I'd like to thank everyone for the overwhelming support I've been, given, not only this show, but but my work over the years.

Spiecal thanks goes to the women of LolaLeigh. Therese Goeller and her daughter(and great friend) Leigh Dixon have been overly nice to me over the last several years. They let me display my oil stick portraits three years ago during the ArtWalk and their promotion of my Bugs and Blooms series has been nothing short of amazing. Their clothing and accessory lines for children are spectacular and more unique than anyone around. But, to take the Bugs and Blooms theme and adapt their store to coincide with my work shows the versatility and creativity that true art is all about. I'm sure I don't deserve such niceties, let alone all the fanfare and love they have given me on their Facebook page and in the shoppe. Thank you everyone at LolaLeigh. So make sure to come see me, my art and of course the lovely women of LolaLeigh and their

beautiful creations.

LolaLeighhttp://lolaleigh.com/

Bugs and Blooms

      As a small girl I was often fascinated with bugs and insects. Their tiny world seemed almost magical. Summer days chasing butterflies, playing with caterpillars, watching ants and catching fireflies fill my childhood memories. As an adult with busy life I often walk past, over or on these fascinating creatures. Once grown I forgot their wonder, often seeing bugs as unimportant pests. Through these paintings I hope to show these little beautiful bugs as through the eyes of a child. I hope to remind us all that even the smallest creatures have a purpose and true beauty all their own. Combining these creepy crawlies with the classic pleasant appearance of the floral blooms creates an incredible contrast. Both contrast of color, soft pinks and deep reds setting off bright yellows and metallic greens, and contrast of perception. What is true beauty? What makes us say yum and sniff the sweet flower and say yuk to the bee as it buzzes by? I hope you enjoy my visual arrangements and they help you see beauty in a little different way.

Lancaster Festival Art Walk 2013

    On Friday, July Nineteenth, I will be introducing a new series of oil paintings as a part of the Lancaster Festival Art Walk. The city of Lancaster, Ohio puts on an arts and music festival for eleven days each July since nineteen eighty five. The first Friday of this festival is always an Art Walk throughout the downtown area where local businesses team up with artists to show off their work. There is a very rigid selection process as there are only forty or so businesses and hundreds of applicants. A jurored panel  selects which artists get partnered with which businesses. The range of artwork is very eclectic. You will see everything from still life's to sculpture. From oils to photography. From lithographs to glass blowing. An estimated 7,000 people fill the streets each year to view the artwork, listen to music at the bandstand, and enjoy a libation or two. My series, 'Bugs and Blooms', will be showing at Lolaleigh from July 19-27. It's a custom made children's clothier, owned and operated by some good friends of mine. So, if you are looking for good art and a good time, check out the Lancaster Festival Art Walk from 6-10pm on July 19th. If you can't make it that evening, you can take a peak at it the rest of the week during Lolaleigh's regular business hours. You'll get to see my latest work and as a bonus you'll get to see the the art they do with fabric. See you at the show.

 

Lancaster Festival 2013

Flora

    Flowers are beautiful, this is nothing new. To we humans they mean so much more. Men use them to woo women. Women use them to beautify themselves. Children give them to their mothers as a sign of love. Flowers are used in every ceremony and milestone of human life. They are present at birth, death and everything in between. Always a symbol of caring, love and affection. They are coveted not only for their visual splender, but also for their fragrant aroma. Flowers are truly a gift from God for us to enjoy. It is no wonder I (like so many before me) have been drawn to paint them. They may not be a new subject, but a flower never loses its' appeal.

-Orchid-oil on canvas-16x20"-

Featured Artist of the Week

Georgia O'Keeffe

1887-1986

       The natural and obvious choice for this weeks artist. The mere mention of Georgia O'Keeffe and the mind is filled with beautiful images of enormous blooms. Her magnified floral paintings rocked the art world in the 1920s. Their large scale and strong colors gave flowers strength, power, and importance. Attributes we do not commonly attribute with flora. Of course flowers were only one of her monumental subjects, but my favorite.

Poppy 2 by Georgia O'Keeffe

Happy Arbor Day!



images are all photos I took today

 Trees

by Joyce Kilmer

I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the sweet earth's flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me, 

But only God can make a tree.