Sara Beth and Merrideth

These two ladies have been in the works for some time, this painting of a Queen Anne Doll "Sara Beth" based on 19th century Colonial Folk Art and "Merrideth" in a gown of gold. This enchanting little lady is dressed in a copy of an original gown of the 19th century she has a pretty rose printed calico panniered skirt and a vintage crocheted lace trim on her gown. Her hair is of ebony black with little sausage curls on the side and she is wearing her favorite ruby pendant necklace. In the theme of Valentines Sara holds a pretty handmade heart for her secret love. The background is painted a pretty Dove Grey that shows well with "Sara Beth". I painted this doll in the early portrait style so that it will go nicely with primitive, country and romantic decor. She is the first doll in a series of Dove Grey Early Dolls that I am working on. Thank you for stopping by.

Valentines is less then a month away now so I have a small range of Valentine pieces to tempt you with on my Etsy shop. Tell me what you think....

Historical Painting

When the temp drops and drops...ah...-25c and you are knee deep in snow, but what else can you do but paint...since I do not like to cook! Over the past few weeks I have tried to keep my mind occupied on drawing and I am glad my daughter likes drawing and painting as well. I have tried to encourage her to take dance lessons but no she does not like it at all!
I have listed a few new pieces in my etsy shop this weekend , my original Silhouette on Wood which is completely hand drawn and painted using various layers to age the piece nicely. I have 2 other new works as well one just for Valentines in a painted wood frame and a Girl in Bonnet print in a aged brown wood frame, these look so nice sitting on my mantel I will enjoy them until they are sold then hope to make replacements for myself! I have a few new pieces in the works which are painted and aged Wood Silouhettes and 19th century Period standing paper dolls from my original watercolor artwork, Sarabeth and Prudence will be introduced to you this month.

In Memory of Patches

While taking a break from my work with paper arts, I have been doing a bit of painting and drawing over the past while. I like working on small works like little silhouettes done in pencil first then aged with different layers of paint, whatever it is I have to be able to do it near a warm spot in the evening near the wood stove, in our house we have a waiting line of animals to get near the heat vents and the stoves! The dog usually wins but if the cat sneaks up quietly and very slowly curls up beside her then the dog won't move, I guess being a siamese their fur is very short good for warm climates. On the topic of animals we sadly had to say goodbye to my eldest cat Patches, he was my favorite of cats with a personality and knowing look in his yellow green gaze second to no other cat I have met. He would walk with us on walks around the block just like a dog, even on Halloween he would follow us on our trick or treat walk. One day about 10 years ago in a pitiful state he crawled up my front step staving and almost frozen, and the rest was history. It is a decision all pet owners face, if and when to decide your animals fate, not to let them suffer. If only we could have our faithful friends live human years instead of cat and dog years. Well maybe one day a white cat with grey patches may wander up my step.

In Memory of Patches 1999-2009 aka Cotton Puffy