Solitary Path

Solitary Path

12x9

Oil on Canvas Panel

Sold

Today is painting day - promise! I put everything back in my studio. For the past two weeks, it's been Christmas cards, shopping, going to family get-togethers, tree trimming and house decorating. I forget what else. Oh yeah, and managing my eBay. I put some paintings up for 3 day auction for last minute shoppers. If anyone is interested, you might want to click here.

Ideas have been carefully percolating and now I'm itching to paint. Even if I just do underpaintings. Being away from my paints has been a withdrawal type of experience. So instead of just talking about it, I'm headed to the studio. Right now.

Looking for Inspiration

This fiery sky photo was taken last year when my husband and I attended an outdoor wedding in Galena, Illinois. The sky was truly inspiring that evening, as if it was giving a wink and nod to the bride and groom.

I'm in "inspiration gathering" mode myself. I know once I start to get inspired, it's as if the floodgates open and it comes in fast and furious. All I need to do is catch it. I'm also looking through some of my favorite books for inspiration. This is one of my very favorite quotes:

I open the door. The gorgeous guest

from afar sweeps in. In her hands are

her gifts - the gifts of hours and far-seeing

moments, the gift of mornings and evenings,

the gift of spring and summer, the gift

of autumn and winter. She must have searched

the heavens for boons so rare.

- Abbie Graham

Confessions of an Empty Studio

I have a confession to make. It's been five days since Thanksgiving and I still haven't re-assembled my studio. On Thanksgiving Day this small room had two card tables and six chairs in it, complete with brocade tablecloths, china and candles. It was the "second dining area" for my guests, since our main dining area can only hold ten people around it. There were also four more guests in the living room sitting around our huge coffee table.

I plan to put it all back today, but I'm thinking......maybe I needed a break. Time to breathe in new inspiration. So in the meantime, I'll surf around and get inspired by everyone else's paintings and creative works. That's why I'm so thankful to have all my blogger friends!

November Twilight

November Twilight

8x10

Oil on Linen

We're hosting Thanksgiving this year. So I've been busy, busy cleaning, shopping and planning. I'm sure a lot of you are too! Our gathering keeps growing. This year will be a crowd of twenty. We're borrowing another Weber charcoal grill since my husband is making two turkeys instead of just one. He always grills outside and people love to gather around to be outside while waiting for the food to be done. The guys also have a tradition of toasting the turkey with B&B.

I need to take my studio apart to make room for two extra tables in our little sunroom. I'll put it right back after Thanksgiving.

I hope you all have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

T. C. Steele's Home and Studio

I thought I'd show you one of the places we visited last weekend on the outskirts of Brown County Indiana. We visited the home and studio of T. C. Steele (1847-1926). He was the founding member of the Brown County Art Colony and built his home there on 2,000 acres of abandoned farm land. He was an extremely prolific painter during his lifetime and when he died on 1926, his wife Selma lived there for another 17 years. When she died, she donated the entire property to the State of Indiana.
Here is just one of his many paintings. The guide made me turn off the flash, but there is just one example of his work. This was taken in the parlor or his home.
And here is his wonderful studio. He painted by natural light in those days, hence the huge windows. This was his dream studio and one can see why.

My brother and I took a workshop and painted on this property about four years ago. The views are amazing because of all the hills and valleys.
And this is a view of his home. If you ever get to Nashville, Indiana, make sure you go to this spot and take the guided tours. It was truly inspiring!

Harmony

Harmony

8x10

Oil on Linen

click to bid

I'm dashing off this post today. I need to pack for a four day trip with my husband. We're going to Brown County, Indiana for a rustic, art-filled weekend. When we first met, we took a trip to this area with some friends. This is where I believe we fell in love.

I've been there since on a workshop with my brother. We went four years ago and painted our hearts out everyday from morning til night. Nashville, Indiana was an artist's mecca in the 1920's, 30's and 40's. Today one can go into the art galleries and guilds and view some of these great works of art from the region. If you're interested, you can check out some of these artists here.

Hope to take some great scenery shots!

Sunset Glow and Being Car-less

Sunset Glow

8x10

Oil on Linen

click to bid

I'm showing my latest small painting. It's one of three that I worked on in rotation for the past week. It's best to work on several at once since the drying of layers is essential before adding successive glazes and scumbles.

As many of you know, I set up an eBay shop. The primary reason I decided to do this is because my daughter is going to graduate school and has a boyfriend in the city. So MY car is gone the majority of the time. Sometimes I catch my husband calling it HER car. What? But it's okay really. It's only for about another nine months. (Ha) So in the meantime, I set up my little shop.

I actually sold a painting this past week on eBay. You can check it out here. It turns out that someone had seen this painting at my solo library show in September and went on my website and then went to eBay.

Okay, instead of hawking my wares on this blog, I'm thinking of setting up a separate sales blog. After all, this blog is calling Musings, right?