I did not fall off the planet

Just in case you were wondering...

Time is crazy, isn't it? Like Houdini, it is a master of escape. And escape, it has.

Let's see, what have I been doing? Not blogging that is for sure. I am ready to settle back in if you're willing to join me again. I am just about ready to make the big switch to Wordpress. I will make a tutorial for those who are unsure if they can still follow from Blogger (you can).

I have been to Florida, one of my family's most favorite places. Talk about time escaping, jeesh. We did cram in a lot though, the short week we were there. I'll share more on that later. I will say, I've not ever been so inspired as I have been than on this trip. I feel the want, the need to paint, paint, paint!! I've got a million ideas in my brain waiting to fill my canvases with their imagery. Tune in to find out what has got me so fired up and inspired.

Temperatures are dropping and that also means time to dust off and clean out the greenhouse to get it ready for my plants again. Soon too. The temps are supposed to drop to 41 degrees F Tuesday night. How can this be?

I did paint a couple things right before Florida that I shared on Facebook, but not here. So I'll post it again here. I've been painting in oil again and these have been drying while I was away and are ready for more work...

I hope everyone is fairing well since I've been MIA. I promise to be visiting your blog soon... Till then...  See ya!

Finished Oil Painting of Magnolias and sugar bowl

Hi everyone! I'm joining in PPF again :) Glad you could make it here. Today I'm sharing my first oil painting that I think is finished. I think. I fixed it from the first time I posted it - at least as best as I can now. (See the first jacked up one here) I'm loving the oils so far.

Have you tried oils? Or do you work in them often? I'd love any tips and/or advice you can offer :) Make sure to visit all the Party Goers at Paint Party Friday. Woo Hoo!

Stay safe today all my peeps who are in the large area that is expecting strong storms today with tornadoes (which includes me - YIKES!) Unfortunately, some of my near by areas was hit by the Leap Day tornadoes where people's lives were lost. My prayers are with the people suffering through devastation right now. They are in the storms path again. Harrisburg, Illinois is just 54 miles from me and they were hit hard with a F4 tornado and Newburgh, Indiana which is about 37 miles away got hit with an F1. Thankfully no lives were lost there. I have many friends living there. Keep an eye on the sky.

Have a great weekend.

First attempt at oil painting

This past Saturday night, my friend Amelia and I took an oil painting class. It was an absolute beginners and neither one of us had a clue as what to expect.


We had a really nice teacher and this was her first time to teach to adults. She is an art teacher for either middle school or high school, I can't remember. There were about 8 of us in this tiny space and sitting at card tables, 4 to a table. It was tight. So tight in fact that I was afraid to scoot my chair back for fear of knocking over things behind me.


So she taught us just a few very basics, handed out canvases, pencils and directed us towards a still life she had set up. It was so close no one really could see it and there was no room to get up and get closer to draw it. Luckily, she handed out pictures she had taken of it. Unfortunately, they were taken from a still life that she had practiced setting up in her home... haha it was kinda dark. But it worked.


This is what I was able to accomplish in the short 2 hours that it lasted. I sat so close to my canvas and held up my picture so close to it that I was unable to even see what I was drawing at the bottom of the canvas. My foreshortening is all wrong. Had I been able to stand up and away from my drawing I think it would have turned out better.


Oh well, I'm pretty happy with it. It was great fun and took the mystery out of oils for me. Who knew how easy it was?! Not me. I've been scared of them for ever. Not any more! I plan to paint more on this and hopefully I can correct the little sugar bowl and its wonky distortion. I'm up for any critques or advice =)


I am just about sick to death of Roses for the Dead. I haven't even really worked on it for a while, but now I'm all fired up for the oils but need to finish this to get it out of the way So it hopefully will be finished very soon if I can make myself do do it. I'm sure I can, I get into it once I get started. I'm anxious for it to be done. It's one of the largest pieces I've done. I'm ready to start going big!