"Miss Josephine"

"Miss Josephine"

3 x 2 mini pencil drawing, framed $25

Josephine, in all her glory, with plumed hat and puffed sleeves! Who is she? Your guess is as good as mine! This is a quick drawing with colored pencils and framed in a cute little gold frame. Perhaps milady would like this on her dressing table?

Umbrella in the Park

"Umbrella in the Park"

3 x 3 acrylic mini on easel $25

SOLD

Christmas is over and maybe I will have a few more hours to paint now! I still have company and we are sight seeing Florida and trying to not complain over the COLD WEATHER here! I had time to do this mini, only 3 inches by 3 inches with a park bench and umbrella and tropical foliage. The sun is out, though, and today promises to be warmer. I hope you are staying warm in your part of the world!

12 Days of Christmas--Favorite Painting Count Down

"Favorite House"

18 x 24 acrylic, framed $400

This is the final favorite in my painting count down. It is an old house that evokes memories of the past. Even though it is in Spring, it still looks like a wonderful place to celebrate Christmas, doesn' it?

I want to thank everyone for looking at my blog, which I started last March. I have tried to post a new painting daily or one I am working on. At Christmas, I have found it hard to get a lot of painting time, but will resume after the first of the year, painting with a new energy! I think all artists make a new year's resolution to paint more and better! It keeps us focused!

I am taking a few days, now, to spend with my family and company and to celebrate Christmas and New Years, so I will resume posting shortly. I want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, filled with good health. May your wishes come true, your dreams be fulfilled. Egretta

12 Days of Christmas--Favorite Painting Count Down

"Granny's Treasures"
19 1/2 x 24 1/2 watercolor SOLD

This painting is one of my very favorites, probably because of the challenges in it, as well as the subject matter. The items are from my family, which I do treasure. The challenge was to paint the cathedral quilt beneath the glass wash board, making the white pitcher reflect the different colors , and other reflections and shadows. It looks a little less vibrant here than in real life.

I hope it stirs memories in you, too. This painting is number two and tomorrow will be the last one in my count down. It is looking a lot like Christmas, isn't it? Hope you are having fun!

12 Days of Christmas--Favorite Paintings Count Down

"The Shepherd"

16 x 20 acrylic on canvas, framed $450

I like the details of the sheep and the shepherd, the pleasantness of the shepherd's expression; a man who clearly loves his flock. It reminds me, especially at this time of year, of the birth of Jesus in the lowly manger and the fact that He is our Shepherd and we are His flock and that He cares for us!

I hope you have much happiness during this Christmas season. This painting is number 3 in the count down!

12 Days of Christmas--Favorite Paintings Count Down

"Textures of Nature"

16 1/2 by 22 1/2 watercolor, matted and framed $500 SOLD

What makes this one of my favorites is the contrast between the delicate flowers and the bark of the tree. It was so much fun painting the textures. I did a lot of dry brush work in this, as you can see if you click on it for a closer view.

This is painting number 4 in my count down to Christmas!

12 days of Christmas - Favorite Paintings Count Down

"The Grapefruit Eater"

egg tempera on panel, SOLD (from private collection)

My favorite today is this egg tempera which is rich in detail and color. Click on it to see it better.

This is number five in the count down!

12 Days of Christmas Favorite Painting Count Down

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"Regal Swan"

8 x 10 acrylic on canvas SOLD

This painting was done also from a beautiful photograph by a fellow blogger. You can visit his blog at http://marksvegplot.blogspot.com/

I took some liberties in the colors of the water, playing up the regal aspect of the colors. I love the shadow of the bird's neck on her body. This painting reminds me at Christmas of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker and Dance of the Swans.

This is number 6 in my Count Down! Keep Looking!

12 Days of Christmas--My Favorite Paintings count down

"Majestic Mallard"

8 x 10 acrylic on stretched canvas SOLD

I painted this recently using a fellow bloggers great photograph. I loved the colors in the water, the swirls and reflections. Check out his blog to see lots of very nice photography and interesting garden and cooking comments. It is http://marksvegplot.blogspot.com/

This is number 7 in my count down! Keep looking!

12 Days of Christmas---Favorite Painting count down

"Springtime Mallards"

11 x 14 acrylic, framed $300.

This is the 8th painting in my favorite painting count down til Christmas. Last spring, I painted it after watching these three ducks in the canal. Always together, the males seem to guard the female. I love the rippling water and how their feet can be seen through the water---I always love to do reflections, too.

I am counting down my favorite paintings I have done this year, up to Christmas Eve, so keep watching! Thanks for checking out my blog and I hope your Christmas preparation is going great and you are having fun!

12 Days of Christmas--Favorite Paintings Count Down

"Sandhill Cranes"

22 x 34 watercolor, framed $500.

Sandhill Cranes are such regal, interesting birds that I see here in South Florida all the time. Usually there is a youngster with a pair, who mate for life! The baby bird in this painting is very young and will later change in color as he grows. I like the watery background and focused all the detail on the birds. This is the 9th painting in my Painting Count Down!

Merry Christmas to all!

12 Days of Christmas---Favorite Paintings Count Down

"Days End"

18 x 24 egg tempera, SOLD

Counting down my favorites--this is number 10. It is an egg tempera, which is so interesting to do, layering the paint in thin layers. It is dusk and the farmer is deep in thought, perhaps about his cattle or his garden. The old basket beside him holds potatoes he has dug. This is a painting that calls for you to look at it a long time, studying the shapes, colors, light, etc. but also the subject matter. I hope you like it, too!

Our count down of favorites continues tomorrow!

12 Days of Christmas--Favorite paintings--Count Down

"Quilter and Pin Cushion"
18 x 24 egg tempera on masonite, framed $600

She's a woman who has seen many years and many things. Her face is etched with wrinkles and her eyes show wisdom. Painted from a photo of a quilter at a quilt show in Appalachia, this is one of my favorite paintings I have done. I love working with egg tempera, layering, using a sponge at times and then using a thin brush for details. The pin cushion and post on the right balance the figure on the left. I like the composition and the colors. Click on it to see the details. What a nice gift this would make for Christmas! There is still time, but only if you hurry. Keep warm! Eleven Days til Christmas!

Twelve Days of Christmas--my favorite 12 paintings

"Carolina Wrens Building a Nest" $500

16 x 20 acrylic on stretched canvas, framed

This painting has won an exhibition prize.

For the next 12 days, until Christmas, I will be posting each day one of my favorite paintings. I'm starting with this one, which tells a story of a busy little couple trying to build their nest in my father's old garden boots! This story is sort of true, as the pair of wrens build their nest each year somewhere on my back porch. I placed Dad's old work boots out there to entice them, but no! they chose a flower pot. My imagination could just see the male trying to get the leather shoe lace into the nest, while his mate waits patiently with her twig! I love these old boots, as the memory of my Dad is there---I can just see the way he stood in the placement of these boots and in their form. Click on the photo to see details.

My photography skills were not so good, as I took this photo inside my studio and there are so many windows that the flash reflects the light too much in spots.

This painting is my pick # 12.

"Fluff, the Christmas Cat"

"Fluff, the Christmas Cat"

6 x 6 acrylic on gesso board $40 SOLD

Watch out, Christmas tree! Here is Fluff with all the reflections of the Christmas lights in his big blue eyes and he is ready to check out the ornaments and climb the tree! Like a child, he is ready to investigate this new thing of fascination.

I am sure some of you "cat mommies" have had this happen! Click on this painting to see the hair details and an interesting backgroud done with paper towels!

Decorative Tole Painting

Watering Can and Porch Tray

Acrylic on metal decorative tole painting $50 each piece

Occassionally I paint on metal in a decorative way, so these are matching pieces painted especially to decorate someone's outdoor space or for a sunroom. I once did many art shows with decorative pieces, but I really prefer fine art painting, so I don't do many of these anymore. I painted these to resemble vintage fabric patterns. The colors are soft and the background is cream. Not too late for a Christmas gift!

Page from Sketch Book

This is a couple of pages from my sketch book, a drawing with a watercolor wash. I am so busy with Christmas shopping, wrapping, decorating and baking that very little painting is getting done right now. I do try to do something every day, either a sketch or work on some things I have started. A friend owns this old car, and it is such fun to ride in it!

I hope you are enjoying this season of the year, too!

" Victorian Bouquet"

"Victorian Bouquet"

3 x 3 acrylic on stretched canvas, with easel $30

This tiny painting would be special on a dresser in Madame's bedroom! It is just a bouquet, painted loosely in nice soft colors, and looks very old-fashioned. The vase sits on some crochet lace, so it is a feminine little painting. It comes with its own little easel, which is natural wood, but could be spray painted white or a pale color of your choice.

"Dracena "

"Dracena"

6 x 6 acrylic on canvas panel $40

There are two beautiful dracenas or Ti Plants in my front garden and I trimmed off some leaves and just thought how beautiful they were with so many different greens and reds. So of course, I brought some leaves into the studio and just had to paint them!

I have talked so much about the beautiful warm Florida weather, but guess what! We are to get some freezing temperatures, so I may be out in the garden covering up some plants tonight!

"My Kentucky Home"

"My Kentucky Home"

18 x 24 acrylic on canvas, collection of the artist

This week, I am working on Christmas decorations and reminiscing about growing up in Loyall, Kentucky. This is a painting I did for my parents a while back and in the Spring when all the dogwood trees and azaleas were in bloom. The town is small, surrounded by mountains as you can see in the painting. This house was remodeled in the late 1950's. We moved in it when I was 2 years old, about 1942 and I believe it was a Sears Roebuck house. If you aren't familiar with that, a Sears Roebuck house was one that was mail ordered, arrived to your town on a train in a box car, and it was like a kit with everything you needed to build a certain model house. It looked like a craftsmen house in the 40's and was not new when we obtained it, so I am not certain when it was built. Anyway, it looked completely different then than it does after the remodel. The little gray building is the coal house, later the garden house. I know it is winter now and some of you are having snow, but you can enjoy a little Spring by looking at my Mom's garden.She took such pride in her plantings and in the Spring many people stopped by to take photos of her azaleas and dogwood trees. Sweet memories!!

"The Duke"

"The Duke"

Pastel Sold

Yes, this is The Duke, and well he knew it, too. A pastel of a very smart little Boston Terrier. Many people want pet portraits for Christmas---but I have finished doing commissions and prefer now, in my older age, to do just what I want to do!It is lots more fun!

"The Corner Store"

"The Corner Store"

8 x 10 print from acrylic painting $30

My brother called me the other day and we began reminiscing about our growing up years in Loyall, Kentucky, which is in the famous or infamous Harlan County Kentucky. The corner shown here is a print I did from an old photo taken about 1958 or maybe even earlier. I added the car, which I think is a'58 Chevy. I graduated from Loyall High School in 1958, and one of my classmate's husband asked me to paint The Corner Store for his wife for Christmas a few years ago. When he met her, he had a car like the one I put in the painting. If you click on this painting you can see two girls standing by the side of the drug store and one of them became his wife.

The Corner Store was the meeting place of all the kids in town and we ate many a chili bun there, sundaes, and cokes! Mrs. Stanaford, the proprietor of the drug store made the best chili I have ever tasted and I tried for years to get her recipe, to no avail! She is still living and looks exactly the same as she did in 1958! ! Next to the Corner Store was the Loyall theater where you could see a double feature plus cartoons and a serial for only 15 cents if you were under 14 and 40 cents if you were over that. What a bargain! Chili buns were 15 cents, cokes a nickle. Is this aging me??? Well, I digress.

I had prints made, with permission from the owner of the painting, and I have a few if you happen to want one. This would make a very inexpensive Christmas gift if you happen to be from the area of Harlan County Kentucky! Or even if you, too, experienced a small town with a drug store meeting place!

Now! DRUM ROLL, PLEASE. It is time to announce the winner of my painting give away!

The names of all followers were put in a hat and one was drawn out by an disinterested party and the winner is KAREN. Thank each of you for being a follower and I wish all could have won, but I will be having another give away in future, so please keep looking. I appreciate all of you.

Karen will receive her painting "The Yearling" soon and also a book by that same name. Thanks again to all who look at my blog.