Zinnias

My artist friend Kim was telling me that she took a picture of her zinnias with her barn in the background. I think it's funny how artist's minds kind of work alike... maybe I should say scary! This is a picture I had taken of my zinnias with my barn in the background.

Below is Kim's barn photo. Her blog is

 http://kimwendlandt.blogspot.com/.

Gone Fishing

Gone Fishing - Watercolor
Original - 18"x 24"

This is a painting of my son, Anthony and his friend, Ben when they were about 4 or 5 years old.

Beach Chairs - Watercolor

Rain

My fuchsias love the rain!

The Smell of Coffee is in the Air

Today the breeze was perfect to carry the smell of fresh-cut hay through our windows. I had to stop what I was doing and breath in the fresh scent. Hmmm, I love that smell! As a kid I knew it always meant hot, hard work. In spite of that, I enjoyed that aroma and still do. Then, last night we had rain - another pleasant scent. Now this evening, my husband is mowing the lawn - still another great scent. It seems that all I need to do is bake bread. Oh yea that’s right, my daughter baked banana bread yesterday. Hmmm, for some reason I think I’d like some coffee.

Life

“Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass….it’s about learning how to dance in the rain."

Koi Fish

Watercolor - 9"x12"

I did this painting as a demonstration for a watercolor painting class. I have taught private drawing, painting and ceramic art classes for the past 15 years. I love teaching – especially kids – they are so creative and I think they’ve taught me more over the years than I’ve taught them.

David's Pet Goat

Watercolor
My husband, David (an only child), had a number of pet goats. His mom, (I could write a book!), thought he was allergic to just about everything in the world, including cow’s milk. She had Albert, his dad, buy goats and milk them so David could get his calcium. David says his goats were great pets. They would climb up on the fence and watch for him every day when he walked home from school. So, I painted this goat for David in memory of all his pet goats. Oh yea, he’s not allergic to cows milk either!

Our Delicious Rooster

Watercolor - Original Sold

I love having chickens and roosters around. Love to hear them crow and cluck outside my windows. Love farm fresh eggs. Many people have told stories of at least one ‘mean’ rooster from their growing up years. We also had a mean one that we called the ‘Left Winged Rooster’. He reminded me of an out-law starring in an old western movie. He sure was a mean old cuss! As kids, we were terrified of him. None of us ever wanted to be around when my mom would need us to fetch a vegetable or two out of the garden, or milk from the barn. We would spy out the windows and door to see if he was anywhere in sight. Then make a mad dash, hoping not to get trapped out there with him between us and the house. If we did get trapped, he would stare us down, put his left wing to the ground and charge. I do remember how revenge smelled sweet and tasted sweeter as the aroma of barbaque chicken wafted through the air while he was being grilled for supper one evening!

Visits to the St. Louis Zoo

Pencil Drawing - Original Not for Sale

 

Seems like forever ago that we lived in St. Louis. The kids were toddlers. The area we lived in was called Dog Town. Our 'flat', (was actually a second-story apartment with a flat roof and very hot in the summer!) was across the freeway from the St. Louis Zoo. Many times we would stroll the kids across to the zoo, I guess to get out of the hot and into the extremely hot. In spite of the heat, these excursion were always fun. This is my St. Louis Zoo Giraffe.

Penguin Dad

Pencil & ink Colored Pencil Drawing - Original Not for Sale

 

I try to name all the animals that I draw. My family sometimes gets in on some of the naming fun. This penguin was one of those animals where I just wasn't sure what name I should give to him. My family all thought he was pretty funny with his standing-up hair and all. Then, my daughter said that he looks just like dad does every morning when he gets out of bed. So he became 'Penguin Dad.' Her dad is always thrilled that one of his main purposes in life seems to be that he can give us a laugh. I guess when you have teenagers in the house it's a given that you just aren't as cool as you once thought you were!

Greener Grass - Our Cow Stub

Pencil Drawing - Original Not for Sale

I grew up on a small dairy farm with two sisters and a brother. All of our cows were named. They were very tame, and they were our pets. My dad would fence off different areas of the farm and pasture the cows out in them. Many times we would be sent out to bring the cows in for evening milking. One beautiful, warm summer afternoon my sister and I talked and played as we walked out to bring them in. Stub (named for her stubbed horn) had just calved. Her baby had gone under the electric fence and wandered into the cornfield. Stub was obviously distressed and trying to find her new baby. She took one look at us and decided that we must have taken him. If you have ever seen an angry bull, you have seen nothing compared to an angry, red-eyed mother cow whose baby is gone. She took off after us full speed, and we thought we were goners. We were under the fragile fence, into the cornfield, and out of there! We were so surprised that our pet would charge us, but . . . I haven't seen many 'moms' who wouldn't do the same for their children!

Ostie

Pencil Drawing - Original Not for Sale

Crossroads

My life is at a crossroad. My son graduated in June and my daughter graduates next June. I told my daughter that the best job I’ve ever had is being a mom. She smile and told me I’d better start looking for a new one.

As I went through Anthony’s old photos, school work and artwork to prepare for his graduation party it took me on a journey down memory lane. What a great journey we’ve had as a family. Not always easy, life never is always easy, but very good. I have been blessed!
o
This blog is mostly about my art, but also about life, my family, my friends, my relationship with God and any number of other events and thoughts I may want to throw in. Much of the telling of my story will be done in artwork and photos. A journal for myself and anyone else interested in following along the path with me.

My Aunt Esther was a great help at graduation. She stayed with us for the week. I can’t imagine how I could have done it without her!!! Love You Aunt Esther!