Another Fireplace

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Kitty by the Fire

 And, may I present, the next year's version of "the fireplace." Not quite as detailed . . . I wonder why? This is one of those leftover-paint cards that came toegther over several weeks of doing other paintings. That's why there's so much blue around the corners--I wouldn't do that again; it makes the picture feel cold and, well, not cozy or Christmas-y. And the plants look like tropical palm trees, not Christmas greenery. But I really like the wreath and hearth garland, and the cat adds some needed interest. You can just imagine he will be jumping down to play with those yarn balls in a minute!

 

PS: By the way, Happy New Years to all!

Christmas Fireplace

Artist's Gallery

Christmas by the Fire

What's better than a chilly evening spent in front of a roaring fire? This is probably the most detailed Christmas card I've done; believe me, I only painted this scene once! It would make lovely prints, if I could get it to print out well . . . Anyway, I love how the yellow light is reflecting on the stone and hearth around the fire. Also that glowing shade of royal blue on the chair cushion underneath the cat. The texture on the grout around the fireplace stone was done with a dry brush technique, and the shadows on the rug are a watery gray/black mixture. I painted this card two years ago for my penfriend in Georgia; now I wish I hadn't sent the original away!

Birthday Duck

Artist's Gallery

Daffy the Duck

Happy birthday to my Little Sister! This year I painted her favorite duck, Daffodil (affectionately known as Dafffy) on her birthday card. Daffy is one of the three ducks we raised from day-old ducklings this spring; however, the other two are brown and much smaller. I don't think Daffy cares! It's so cute waddling around after them. Of course I had to include a tub of water in my painting--Daffy sticks to its pool like, well, a duck takes to water! What strikes me about this painting is how impressionistic it looks. And I didn't even intend that when I painted it with leftover colors on my palette. Just look at that brown tone showing through the blue water surface; the splotches and strokes of green paint on the bushes; even how the blue sky is dabbed in around the leaves . . . it's sad how the nicest things come about by accident!

Shepherd's Pie

Gluten-Free Gourmet

Holiday Main-Stay

Christmas dinner wouldn't be the same without a hearty home-cooked casserole. Here is a wonderful dish, sure to please all your loved ones coming in for the holidays. Our family enjoyed this recipe for Thanksgiving, but it would be excellent for Christmas or New Years too. Here's the best part: you can prepare both the meat and topping up to 3 days ahead; on the holiday morning, just grab them out of the fridge and throw them into the pan!

To start, brown 1/2 c. chopped onion in 3 T. olive oil, in a large pan on medium-high heat. Add 2 pounds of beef (hamburger, chopped chuck roast, or your favorite cut of meat). Continuing to brown, stir in:

3 T. flour           1 T. fresh ginger, minced               2 garlic cloves, chopped

2 t. ground cloves             2 t. chili powder                    1 c. pitted prunes, chopped

Once the meat is about half browned, stir in 1-2 c. of chicken broth (or water), just covering meat, and simmer on very low for 1-2 hours.

Optional: blanch 10 oz. of pearl onions in boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain, peel, and add to the beef stew. NOTE: We did not do this since we could not find pearl onions at our supermarket. It was fine without, though I imagine it'd be even better with!

Meanwhile, peel 2 pounds of red potatoes and 1 pound of carrots; chop in 2-inch pieces. Place in a pan of water with 2 T. salt and boil til tender. Drain and mash. Then stir in a heated mixture of 1 c. whole milk and 1/4 c. butter. Here is the point at which everything could go into the fridge until Christmas morning.

To assemble the casserole, spoon the stew into a 9x13 glass dish. Cover with the vegetable mash, then sprinkle with 1 1/2 c. grated gouda, gruyere, or sharp cheddar cheese. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until bubbling and golden. Dish out and enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

Artist's Gallery

Christmas Peace

"In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

And the light shines in the darkness,

                                         And the darkness did not comprehend it."                             John 1:4-5

                                                                                                                

And now may I wish all my dear readers a blessed Christmas and a wonderful New Year! This painting seems to be a perfect picture of this wonderful verse. You could call this my theme card for the year; I did four assembly-line-style cards to send to our friends and relatives. Each one came out a bit different, but the meaning is still the same! Merry Christmas!!

Winter Bird

Artist's Gallery

Snowy Christmas Card

 This cheerful little bird is also from this year. Painting all that snow was the fun part--I added some blue and red at the top, gradually tapering off to all white at the bottom. The stick, painted once the snow was dry, wasn't too bad either. The worst part was putting the snow on the branches; I found out that it's harder than it looks! The paint was either too wet and clumpy, or too dry and didn't stick (does this sound at all like snow itself, when you're trying to build a snowman??). I actually broke all artists' rules and copied this picture just like I saw it on a Christmas card in a pack we found at the dollar store.

Candlelight Christmas

Artist's Gallery

Candle 2012

And . . . this year's version of the candle. That bowl of blueberries only got away on one card! A simple mug works very nicely. And adding the red curtain really balances the candle. I painted two copies of this card simultaneously, one of them for my art teacher--I'm waiting to hear his critique of the painting! Last year I actually set up an assembly line, doing four cards at the same time. In fact, you can see one of them here; can you spot the differences between it and the one above? I realized, after the cards were in the envelopes, that I forgot to paint in the snow piled on the window frame ledges, and the falling snowflakes! Oh well, I guess the blizzard is already over this year! Which of the two cards do you like better?

Candlelight: Acrylic

Artist's Gallery

Painted Candle

Here is my next candle Christmas card, painted in acrylics this time. I decided the lone candle was too plain, and added a steaming mug of hot chocolate and . . . what is that? . . . a bowl of blueberries! I think I must have had a lot of leftover blue paint or something! I like the greenery woven around on the table, as well as the vine in the upper corner. This card is from two years ago I think. I kept improving the design each year; stay tuned for this year's picture!

Candlelight: Pencil

Artist's Gallery



Early Christmas Card

I apologize to all for missing so many days of posting. Lately I have been kept very busy painting what seems like a zillion Christmas cards! To get into the spirit of Christmas, I'm going to feature a series of cards that I've painted both this year and in previous years. This one is probably the first Christmas card I ever did, and it's actually in colored pencil. Except for the snowflakes outside the window--can you guess what they're made of? Yes, none other than white-out! (It actually works pretty well!) I can't imagine how long it took me to draw in all that wood grain and shade the shutter. I don't think I'd have that much patience now, anyway!