Happy Birthday to me! I got the coolest birthday card from my friend Cynde in Ohio! And my friend Donna is taking me out to lunch. Then hubby and daughter are making my favorite dinner, and taking me to the beach to feed the seagulls. All in all, I'd say I'm a very blessed woman. God is good!
Growing up on the farm in Pennsylvania, there were always huge flocks of Canadian geese in our pastures at this time of year. It was always amazing to watch them fly in a "V".
An art student at Coastal Carolina University chose this painting as the topic of a paper/critique. I felt very honored!
This painting was recently featured on the cover of a church program of a multicultural church in Hawaii. What a blessing!
Happiness consists in giving and serving others. ~Henry Drummond
This is the first Sunday in Advent, a time for preparing our hearts for the season of love and miracles, especially the miracle of the birth in Bethlehem so long ago.
My heart is indeed joyful this Thanskgiving, as we are blessed to have 9 for dinner today, and we have love and peace in our home. I have a Christmas CD that has a song on it entitled "The Gift of Gratitude." Gratitude is truly a gift we can choose. In addition to good food, may you have in your home the food that feeds the heart: love, peace, and thankfulness.
The text on this piece reads: "The colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky, are also on the faces of people passing by. I see friends shaking hands, saying "How do you do?" They're really saying, "I love you." It's taken from that wonderful Louis Armstrong song, Wonderful World.
Just wanted to share the good news with all of you - I received a grant from Horry County Arts and Cultural Advancement to write and illustrate a children's book. I will begin work on it in January. I'm thrilled, and looking forward to getting my writing juices flowing once again. It should be a blast! God Bless all of you that wished me well and prayed for me!
Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises.
~Demosthenes
Painted this on location with my friend Ann Marie, who visits every year from Maine. We were out on Highway 90. Something about live oak trees makes me think of the sheltering arm or wing of the Lord.
I'm was glad to have wine collector buddies as I was working on this piece. More and more, I'm painting with no sketch at all, just letting it flow. A good time was had by all, even the flowers :)
I always enjoy painting on windows. The natural frame makes for an awesome finished product. Years ago, I became enarmored of a a song called "The Caterpillar's Song" by the Mississippi Children's Choir. Some of the lyrics are "Once I was a caterpillar - now I'm a butterfly. I've been transformed, been reborn, and Jesus is the reason why." I've always cherished children's choirs. Have a great day, friends.
I have a small collection of Bluebirds of Happiness, so I thought I'd paint another. Sometimes as I work in my barn, I hear the birds chomping away on their seed in the feeder. It's a happy sound.
I had a wonderful lunch with friends today, and feel rejuvinated from the past two weekends of hard work and fun. Community and fellowship are so important.
I've been busy working on commissions from last weekend's show. Three folks are coming today to pick up the work. I love painting pears because pears are the sexiest fruit, and no one ever painted a bad pear. Life is good.
The mother/daughter bond is one of the strongest in the world. It can bring so much joy. The other day I told my daughter (Dixie, 16 years old) that she was sent to me to teach me certain lessons. She thought that was kind of funny....
My shows went well last weekend, and I'm looking forward to this weekend. The beautiful weather is inspiring me to paint a few landscapes. We'll see what happens in the next few days.
The beautiful Fall weather has me grateful and refelecting on the goodness of God. Take time to enjoy it.
I met the neatest horse yesterday - his name is Tipperary and he's a gorgeous 17.5 hand gelding, half Thoroughbred and half Shire. I'm looking forward to getting to know him!
Today is my 8th wedding anniversary, and hubby and I are going to spend the day together to celebrate! He bought me a drill and an incredible set of attachements for the drill. It is an awesome, needed and thoughtful gift, and I'm a lucky girl. I hope you have someone in your life that appreciates you, too. It is such a blessing.
I had a blast playing with my neice this weekend, so I feel rejuvinated and ready to hit the easel hard for my fall shows. I've got four coming up. It promises to be fabulously fun!
My neice, Sarah, had been here, so I've been playing with Legos and sidewalk chalk. It's good to be a kid sometimes.
This piece makes me want to go to Brookgreen Gardens one last time before the end of the season. Their ponds full of lilies are so gorgeous, and usually accompanied by a myriad of dragonflies. It's magical...
Living with an open attitude and a loving heart is something to which I aspire.
We had no air conditioning for 3 days, so it has taken me awhile to "catch up" in the house. And, the 12 week class I teach through Coastal started on Monday, so I've been happily busy. I did this little fish yesterday. It felt good to be back in the studio. One thing I've realized lately is that no one, no matter how mean, can rob you of your joy if you consciously choose it every day. The reason is this: there is a huge difference between happiness and joy. Happiness depends on what's happening. Joy comes from a deeper place - knowing and walking with God every day - and no one can take it away from you.
"Pennies From Heaven" is one of my all time favorite songs. I like the way Louis Armstrong sings it, and I like the way Billie Holiday sings it. It reminds me look for the positive side to every bad thing that happens.
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