Sketch journal no. 6

Sketch journal no. 5

the last one

This weekend marks my final outdoor art event of the year: the Lincoln Art & Balloon Festival.  Lincoln, IL is where I was born and raised, which means this particular show will be more fun and comfortable for me in so many ways, not the least of which will be all the familiar faces.  I'll have quite a bit more work this time around than last including this painting of my dream home- a cabin in a pine forest.  Can you even imagine how amazing it would smell in your home all year round to, not only live among the aromatic pines, but to have a pine wood fire blazing inside?  I could also imagine some sheep and a few horses outside my window, grazing in the tall grass.  And maybe some chickens out back for fresh eggs every morning...

Come and see this painting- in its entirety- at the show if you can!  I'd love to see you.

Another peek...

Here's just a few more shots from our just-for-fun New Years photoshoot.

We might not have had the best camera or the cleanest horse, but the outfits Corrie put together were warm and perfect for the cold and windy weather.  I have a lot to show you in regards to the painting/scribbling/drawing mess that seems to be filling up my mind and sketchbook since our outing.  There's just something about our landscape around here that I'm beginning to love...so perfectly and simply even across the horizon and so often overcast and foggy.  I can't always put it into words, but the shades of dark green and grey this winter have been standing out to me everywhere.

I suppose words aren't always necessary if I can show you with pictures and paintings.

Much more to come.

My last Art Festival of the season

Back to Galena we went!

This time it was an Art Festival in the vineyards.

My last one!  Phew, I'm glad to be done for the season...these shows are a lot of work. 

Hopefully from now on you'll be seeing new paintings as well as pictures of my adventures.

Here's a few from the weekend with a video at the bottom...

 

Corrie is the best assistant!  I'm lucky to have a friend like her.

Where did this dog come from?  We think he lives among the grapes...

Yes to the bagpipes.  Maybe not so much to the skirts...

I chugged that entire bottle of wine.  CHUGGED it.  Easy.

Cutesy pose. ;)

The show was complete with a grapestomp and a horse-drawn hayrack ride around the vineyard.  How cute is that?

July giveaway...

I have several things on the agenda today:

1. a new painting

2. an announcement

3. a giveaway!

1.  A new painting:  I have this picture of Seth that I took a few years ago sitting on my desk at home.  It's one of my very favorites, probably because it brings back such fond memories of one of our first riding trips together.  This particular day was especially beautiful with brilliant greens all around us, a cool breeze, and complete seclusion as not many people were on the trails that day. 

"Tag" is Seth's beautiful dapple gray Quarter horse.

And it got me to thinking about all the beautiful images I have locked away in my memory of horses and forests and farmland. Along my drive home from work, for example, I love seeing the sun set over the hills of horse farms and grazing pastures, ditches full of wild flowers, and farm land all grown up. I really have enjoyed our horse rides over the years...my favorite part of the trails are always when we enter a densely wooded area in a valley: the air cools around us and the noise seems to completely disappear.

So, in thinking about these experiences, I decided to paint a lovely scene of a young boy gently leading a girl on her horse through an enchanted forest...



Enchanted Forest 8x8 in Watercolor on paper

Click to purchase.

2. An announcement:  As you know, I've been dropping major hints lately concerning an exciting development in my Etsy shop.  I'm so pleased to be able to finally announce a completely new series of PRINTS that feature many of my newest paintings including Luna Moth, Her Trusted Trainer, The Striped Eggs, and many others.  As soon as I receive them in the mail, I'll be packaging them up and listing them for $25 in the shop!  Most of them are around 8 x 8 inches, frame ready, and come in limited editions of 100.  How exciting to finally be able to offer my artwork at a more affordable price and in such great quantity! 

3. A giveaway: My July giveaway has finally come!

Do you remember this painting?

Her Fancy Ride

The top picture is the original, and you'll be eligable

to win the print of Her Fancy Ride (as seen below)...

This is my very first print in my new series and measures 8 x 8 inches.  It's printed on beautiful Epson Premium Semi-Matte Photo Paper, which gives you just a bit of gloss without too much glare.

It's a high resolution digital print with amazing color and richness.

I think giving away my first print in the series (1/100) is a perfect way to celebrate these prints coming to my shop!

Here's how to enter:

Simply "like" my Etsy shop.

That's it! 

Then post the link to your Facebook page in the comments section of this blog post.

***

(To "like" my shop all you need to do is click the Facebook "like" box on my shop page in the lower left-hand corner.  You'll need to make sure you are logged into your Facebook account.  Then copy the link to your Facebook page on the top of your browser and paste it into the comment box at the bottom of this post.  Voila!  You are done!)

If you don't have Facebook, enter the contest the same way by using Twitter.  If you don't have a Twitter account, simply post a comment with a link from my Etsy shop of your favorite painting (and tell me why it's your favorite). 

***

The contest begins now and ends on Wednesday, August 3rd.

The winner will be randomly selected using Random.org and announced on August 4th.

Good luck!