Double frames

I was happy to find these double picture frames at Goodwill the other day, and for only $1.00.  And guess what I had in mind for them?  

Yes, Otis and Riley.  These are prints that I made of my original paintings.  

My two very special boys.  And even though Riley is no longer with us, I look at his sweet little face and am reminded of all the good times we shared.   It's hard to think about one without the other ~ that's why I was happy to find a double frame like this.   

 

Hello my friends

I hope everyone had a nice weekend.  I am slowly getting back into the swing of things today, laundry, cleaning, the usual, and it's too hot to work in the garden, oh yes, the weeds, always weeding to be done, so  

~ I opted to paint.     

A rooster painting I just finished, 

and another yellow and white polka dot plant hanger for the garden.  The one below just sold in our shop so I painted another one just like it.  The new one will have a glass crystal ornament hanging from the bottom.  It will catch the sunlight and sparkle!  These are nice to fill with herbs or flowers.  

'till next time, 

The mourning dove returns

Yes, she did!  She returned to the ivy hanging plant on the back porch outside the kitchen window.  She's been building her nest the past few days.    

Now we can watch her everyday until the baby dove arrive.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today I am repainting an old bird house that has been outside and is in need of some repair.  A few coats of paint should improve it, and I've decided to paint it all white.   

Have a good day!  

A hare and a butterfly

Two little blank canvases inspired me yesterday when I sat down at my art table.  One canvas, one wood.  What can I paint?  

After doodling around a bit I painted a brown hare on the wood.  The wood is an easel and stands by itself.  Galen makes these in his shop for me.  The hare will eventually be listed in my esty shop (just in time for Easter, maybe).

I am still working on the butterfly and will probably finish that today.  You will find that in my shop, also.  

Have a good day, everyone!  

An artist is someone who produces things that people don't need to have but that he - for some reason - thinks it would be a good idea to give them.  ~Andy Warhol 

Is anyone else tired of this crazy winter weather?

Looking out the window right now, the snow is coming down fast and furious.  We've had warnings to stay inside and off the roads because of icy conditions today.  This is North Carolina.  Crazy, crazy weather.  Yes, I know it's crazy everywhere, all over the US.  

So, what do we do while being confined to the house?  

How about sitting by a nice warm fire, reading to your hearts delight.  That's what I've been doing.  Catching up on some old Belva Plain books.  

And drawing in my sketch book.  
These birds will eventually end up on note cards in my etsy shop.  Next comes the paint.    

I hope you're enjoying whatever it is you're doing today!  

And I am wishing and wishing for warmer weather to hurry up and come soon!

Antiques and junk and my finished painting

One of my favorite things to do is shop at antique shops, flea markets, junk stores, and consignment shops.  Not far from our house is a small country town that is filled with all of these kinds of shops.  Talk about a fun day....!

This is an old Homer Laughlin china plate I found for $6.00.  The color is a creamy, almost sepia tone color, which I love.  I am planning on hanging plates like this above the buffet mirror in the dining room.     

 As you can see I don't have any hanging yet.  

I also found a galvanized watering can.  You can always use one of these in the garden, right?  Only $12.00.  

It amazes me how much stuff you can find and how many ideas you can get from exploring shops like this.  

On the way home Galen and I saw a rainbow!  We were heading straight for it.  Can you see it?  What a beautiful sight.  

  

Oh, and I finished my garden potting table painting, finally.  It's already hanging on the wall.

Enjoy your day!

Picking up where I left off....

I took this photo of my garden potting table a few years ago.  The lighting, I thought, was beautiful and I wanted to paint it.  I started the painting shortly after I took the photo, a few years ago, but never finished it.  

Today I got the painting out.  I hope to jump start my right brain again and maybe I'll be able to complete the painting this time.  I do love it.  I'll let you know when it's finished! 

Drapes in the study/art room/computer room

....or maybe I should call it the multipurpose room, but we really do call it the study, and now it has some new drapes.  

I got these fabulous drapes from my sister.  A deep burgandy velvet with a beautiful fringe trim.  

They make the room feel cozy and warm (and you're thinking cozy and warm when it's 100 degrees outside, I must be crazy), but it's a nice room to retreat to in the cool air conditioning to paint, or read a book, or work on the computer.  

It's fun to change out window dressings, and the nice thing about these, they didn't cost me anything!

Painting

"Glossy Colonial Red" is now the color of my old gray blue wicker table that stands beside my art table.  It needed an uplift and what better color than cheery red (quick and easy with spray paint).  I think this is actually a sewing table but I use it for my art supplies.  Works great.  

And on my art table is a 36 x 24 canvas that I am painting for my sister and brother-in-law.  They want something for their new home in Arizona which will hang in their guest house.  A western scene.

 These past few weeks have been crazy.  We had two commissioned wooden toy marble rollers, one purple "Carnival", and the other a blue "Sea Shell" which had deadlines and are now packed and shipped.  The marble rollers are fun to paint because I can use bright happy colors for kids.

One more paint project is a hanging plant holder for herbs or flowers.  A "barn red" color with a little purple flower on each side.  We just had a request for a black one, so that will be next.  You can find these in our shop, or if we are sold out just let us know what color you would like and we will be happy to make one for you.

  Lots of painting, lots of colors and lots of different projects.  I am thankful I have these to work on during the long cold gray days we've been having lately.  It seems winter has returned.  Time goes faster when you're busy, right?  And I can hardly wait for spring!
 

Roosters in the kitchen...

Do you have roosters in your kitchen?  Not the real ones, of course, but decorative ones.  I think it's the perfect place for them, and we have a few here at Mourning Dove Cottage.
If you have one of those glass chicken in a baskets you can display it some place where the light will hit it, maybe on a kitchen windowsill.  The colored glass is beautiful!   

I'm framing one of my rooster paintings to hang in the kitchen.

A rooster basket (if you can see it) is hanging with the copper pots (below).

This is where I decided to hang the rooster painting.  Right above the kitchen door leading into the dining room.  I think it's the perfect spot.  

Enjoy your day!