Waving Glory, original painting, acrylic, sterling silver gilt, canvas board, K Miracle
I always get a little thrill when I hear a band playing and see the marchers, whether musicians or military. Something about the big booms of the drums. But particularly the waving of the stars and stripes.
Stars and Stripes, original painting, acrylic, silver gilt, stretched canvas. K Miracle
With several patriotic holidays coming up – Memorial Day, Flag Day and July 4th – I felt impelled to create a few small flag paintings. Just some stars and stripes, waving, as you might see anywhere this time of year. The unique thing with these paintings is that I’ve added some real sterling silver gilt to them. Yes, really! Let me tell you another time how challenging it is to work with the sheets of gold and silver.
Flay Day, 5 x 7, acrylic, silver gilt, K Miracle
Anyway, all the paintings have been coated with clear acrylic so the silver won’t tarnish over time.
I couldn’t add the neat videos for these paintings to my blog but you can check out my shop to see the videos of the flags on a turntable which really shows off the shine of the silver. Just because I wanted to, you might say.
We had quite a bit of rain last week but temps are creeping up and I think the rain is over for awhile.
Five varieties of tomatoes and two eggplants.
The raised bed frames that I posted last month in April are doing well for the most part. As I expected, we had a late freeze and lost some tomatoes that we planted too early. I knew that we were taking a chance but, oh, well, it’s fun to experiment.
The first set of tomatoes that we had planted were two cherry tomatoes and four Park Whoppers. They had time to get established so when the freeze hit, they were still viable below the ground cloth. I cut off the dead tops of the cherry tomatoes and pulled out the Park Whoppers although they probably could have made it, too. The cherry tomatoes came back and have made up for lost growth. We’ve added some more tomato varieties – Pink Brandywine, Celebrity, Fat Mama (a roma variety) and a couple more Park Whoppers. And two eggplants in that raised bed.
The second raised bed with peppers, peas,
and a variety of vegetables.Fresh, tender spinach.Two varieties of lettuce, so crisp and tender. The netting keeps out bugs…and the cat. And provides some shade.
The second raised bed has more variety. I planted spinach and two kinds of lettuce. I put some netting over it to keep the cat out of there and that is actually helping keep bugs out and provides some shade. Those greens taste as tender as butter. Then several varieties of peppers, cilantro, basil, and some climbing pea pod vines.
Row of beans and two hills of squash. The cardboard is to keep down weeds and to keep in moisture. And the wood is to keep the cardboard from blowing away until it gets really moist.
Then I had some space between the second raised bed and the asparagus patch. So it’s bush beans and two kinds of squash. I’ve added cardboard between the rows to keep down the weeds.
I’ve filled flowerpots and weeded. But there is always more to be done. Trimming bushes. Trimming back the lane. Trimming trees. It’s a never ending project but it sure racks up the mileage on my FitBit. I guess that’s a good thing.
Leo napping, original painting, acrylic on canvas 16 x 16 with gold leaf on sides.
As an artist, I’ve often been asked over the years, where do you get your ideas? This is a tough question because you can’t just go to the store and pick some ideas up. Well, maybe depending upon which direction you feel like moving.
For me, ideas can come from a variety of sources. Something I see, read about, even from dreams. Sometimes I think I want to explore a certain idea but end up going in an entirely new direction. That is what happened to me recently.
I was contemplating a series of local scenes. Landscapes, cityscapes. Just a variety of ideas have been strolling through my brain. Then I found myself noodling around with some sketches of my cat, in fact, various cats that I’ve owned throughout the years. (Not forgetting all the dogs, birds, lizards, and a variety of other pets we’ve had over the years.) No, I am not a crazy cat lady. I like cats and it seems as if I’ve had one around nearly all my life.
Tom. Original painting on canvas with gold leaf on front and sides. 8 x 8 x 2.5Princess, original painting on canvas with gold leaf on sides and front. 8 x 8 x 2.5
So I started with some sketches of my little buddy Leo the cat. He seems to manage to find so many different ways to sleep that he’s almost acrobatic. One particular pose leads to another. Then I removed his ratty old blanket and put him on an Oriental carpet. And this lead me to think, Why not really jazz it up with some gold?!
Anyway, Leo was the first victim, er uh, volunteer. Then came Tom, my dad’s cat. Then Princess who is just too too glam. Adding backgrounds of oriental carpets and some real 23K gold or silver leaf. I have never done anything with gold leaf before but, hey, it’s always good to try new things.
Ki, original painting on canvas, 8 x 8 x 2.5. Unfinished.
Then I realized that I was running out of cat subjects. Even photos of my old cats.
So with the help of a friend who volunteers, I went to the local humane society. BINGO! Back in business. They have lots of cats. Every time the volunteer was telling me that this cat was shy or standoffish, it would come and climb all over me, waiting for its ears to be scratched or belly rubbed. Such a beautiful variety. These people do such good work, especially with the help of many volunteers.
Who doesn’t love cute kittens?!
But what really broke my heart was seeing the older cats who appeared in good shape but had been turned into the humane society because their owners died or who were no longer able to take care of them. How confused they must be. They looked so sweet and loving.
Anyway, I’ll be making more trips back there in the coming months. If you have a humane society near you, check it out next time you need a new pet, or just another pet. They definitely get high marks on my list.
Meanwhile, check out my Etsy shop KitMiracleArt to keep track of the new golden cats.
In the photography class that I’m taking, we were asked this week to convey a sense of smell that means something to us. Some people composed photos of favorite lotions or perfumes, others of special cleaning products. (Lemon Pledge still brings back memories of my mother.) It was actually a more difficult assignment than you would guess.
Iris, a la Georgia O’KeeffeeIrisesIngredients for pizzaFresh baked pizza and buns
I chose a rather eclectic group of images. Sun-ripened tomatoes on the windowsill. The scent of old books will take me back to every library I’ve ever been in. Irises to every house I’ve ever lived in. Homemade bread and pizza. Dusty old barns and outbuildings.
I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to call this post Reflections or Shiny Stuff. As you can see, my campy sense of humor won out.
I’m taking a photography class this spring. Not so much to learn about composition but more to learn how to make better use of my equipment. I’m using my cell phone and my Nikon. Neither is one of the most remarkable of their class, but they still have plenty of options, bells and whistles that I don’t utilize as much as they should be.
Ooooo, shiny pretty stuff. And who doesn’t like rainbows and unicorns?Sparkly, sequins, stars and rainbows
This week’s assignment was to take photos of reflections and do some shallow focus assignments. Well, after trying to figure out how to make use of windows and mirrors, I nixed that idea. So what next?
The chef spoons in the camping departmentAbstract in frozen food department
Grocery shopping at the neighborhood big box store. They should have plenty of shiny stuff. Actually I was looking for those big round mirrors that they have mounted at the tops of columns and aisles. Guess what? They’re not there anymore. They probably rely solely on cameras these days.
MeMeMe
As I walked around the store, I was tuned into shiny stuff. This is what caught my eye. I whipped out my phone and took pictures here and there. I think security was watching me but this isn’t the first time I’ve taken photos in the store. The fruit and vegetable aisle is striking with all the colors. And one time I even set up my plein air easel in the flower department outside during Mother’s Day weekend. People kept thinking that I worked there.
The abstract patterns dazzle the eyesJuice for grownups
The remainder of my photos were from a couple of walks in the woods. Capturing the reflections in the creek, seeing through the surface, focusing on leaves and branches.
Reflections in and through still watersMore sky reflectionsSky reflections
If you’ve wondered where artists get our ideas, this is the convoluted path we take. One thing leads to the next and then to the next. I’m not using any of these photos as inspiration for future paintings…at least not right now. Maybe I’ll come back to them in a month or a year or several years. I guess the whole inspiration thing just means to be prepared, keep your eyes open and your camera handy. Today might be the day of the BIG IDEA!
We’ve had an absolutely gorgeous week this spring. Clear, sunny days, temps in the mid 70s. All the dogwoods, redbuds, and other spring flowers and bushes have been putting on a display. And the birds are making nests in every nook and cranny. I have been very busy outside preparing the garden.
I finished assembling the second raised bed kit. Then we prepared the ground for the beds. This is in the location of the former spring garden so the ground has been worked before. After tilling it to loosen the soil, we added peat, manure, and some topsoil. Beneath each mound, I added a layer of cardboard as I’ve heard that this keeps down the weeds. Then I shoveled on the dirt, added the raised bed frames, and leveled everything.
I couldn’t resist buying a few plants although it’s really too early here. We can expect to get a late frost as far as May 10th. And have some years. But I went ahead and added some ground cloth and planted through them.
One raised bed will be dedicated to tomatoes and peppers. The second will have more variety with sugar peas, lettuces, spinach. Later beans, squash and whatever. I only bought a few tomatoes and herbs so far. I won’t fib and say this was easy. It was actually a lot of crawling around but now that it’s done, it looks pretty neat.
Although the tomatoes are a little closer than I would normally plant them, we’ll see if this system works better. It should be easier to maintain. I will buy some more tomatoes later this week. Still too early for peppers. And we set up the solar-powered motion detector lights which we’ve used in the past. This helps to keep some of the critters out of the vegetable patch.
Last year our garden was miserable due to a drought and other issues. But the year before we had produce in abundance. I was trying to remember which were our favorite tomatoes and remembered a posting that I made in August of 2021 where I made comparisons of the variety of tomatoes. If you’re just getting ready to plant, you may wish to check it out at this link.
Anyway, I’ve got a head start on this part of the garden but there’s plenty more to do. I don’t think a farmer’s work is ever done.
Posted onApril 9, 2023|Comments Off on New beginnings
Raised Bed – Electricity – Baby Chainsaw
Our spring weather has been all over the place. Several weeks ago, we had exceedingly warm weather. Then some cold, frost, rain and storms. Finally, the beautiful weather rolled in and I could tackle some tasks that were waiting.
One thing was to assemble a raised bed kit. I received two for Christmas but haven’t had time to put them together. We decided to cut back on our huge garden this year so we’ll see how this goes. I’m usually pretty good at following directions so it wasn’t really difficult to assemble. The hardest part was bending, stooping and squatting to put all the nuts and bolts in. My knees paid for it the next day. And I have one more to assemble. I’ll file progress reports on how it works.
First raised bed assembled. Steel, 8′ x 4′ x 1′. Of course, it will need to be set in place and filled with mulch and dirt.
Then, I had a lamp switch go out a couple of weeks ago. This is my main reading lamp. Frankly, I’m a little skeptical about working on electricity but thought I’d give it a go. After watching four videos online, I thought, How hard can it be? It actually wasn’t. I decided to repair another lamp while I was at it and had both done in about twenty minutes. And they work!
Two lamps that I rewired.
Finally, I took the plunge with another Christmas gift. This is a mini-chainsaw! Yes, really! If you’ve followed this blog for awhile, then you know that we process a good bit of firewood here on the homestead so we’re not strangers to some big, noisy equipment. But I have never operated a chainsaw and didn’t want to learn. (They’re big, noisy, and pretty dangerous.) Anyway, I got tired of asking for someone to cut some brush and small branches for me. So I requested my own mini-chainsaw.
Of course, I read every word of the instruction book. Purchased some safety equipment. And gave it a try yesterday. My husband glanced at it (without laughing) and said, you do this and this and this and you’re good to go. Please repeat that, thank you very much.
Safety equipment and baby chainsaw
But I had my first foray into trimming some brush and fruit trees. It worked great but my muscles were sure sore today. However, this ought to help when I trim the drive later this spring.
So, these were my adventures in new beginnings this week. There is so much to do around here in the spring that I’m sure I’ll have plenty more challenges. Don’t forget those helpful videos online if you want to try something new.
Let’s face it. There are few people who are not inspired when they walk into a museum or cathedral and face a giant painting depicting a well-known scene. I have been brought to tears when I’ve been overwhelmed with some exhibits.
But that is not always the case. Most people cannot accommodate a wall-size painting or afford one. But that doesn’t mean that we don’t like real art nonetheless.
A typical variety of colorful flowers, 4.5 x 6.5 to be matted to 8 x 10
Over the years I have created and sold paintings of many sizes. Some pretty large ones but most have been medium size. And I’ve sold a whole lot of small pieces.
There are pros and cons with creating small paintings. On one hand, larger paintings are immensely fun to create, taking that large brush and swishing it across a wall-size canvas. But they are also much more difficult to sell due to the size.
Landscape and harbor scene, 4.5 x 6.5
Small painting have many advantages, too. They are a good way to try out new ideas, materials and techniques. They are very portable. You can just pick them up and move them around your home, or transport them easily. They are also economical to create since they use less materials.
Vertical tulips in various colors, to be matted to 8 x 10.
I’ve used small paintings to make preliminary compositions and try out various mediums. Some of the mediums that I’ve used are drawing, watercolor, pen and ink, acrylic, oil, etching, collage and prints. The most common has been watercolor with pen and ink overlay for the details. These are usually on medium weight (140 pound) imported watercolor paper.
Small paintings were also my bread and butter when I used to travel the country for art show, earning back the booth fees and traveling expenses. At one time, I painted a series of over forty different fruits, vegetables and flowers, each hand-painted and individually matted. These were all 4 x 6, matted to 8 x 10, and either framed or inserted into glassine envelopes. I initially hand-cut the mats but eventually found sources for ready-cut mats, backs and the envelopes. This made the whole process so much more efficient.
Ready-cut mats, backs, and bags from Clear Bags. Also, check out Ready-cut mats.Three 8 x 10 frames which could accommodate the matted paintings.
These days, the primary size of the small paintings are 4.5 x 6.5 plus a border for matting. Very easy to assemble. BUT…I also create 4 x 6 size painted postcards. These are so fun. I cut out a bunch, maybe 100 of that size. I take them with me on my travels, make quick original sketches, and then mail them back to friends. Surprisingly, all of the postcards have arrived safely at their destinations and my friends are so surprised.
Daffodil postcards, 4 x 6, originals
Some of the tiniest paintings that I have created are 2 x 2 and 2 x 3. These are cute and fun but I have to specially cut the mats. Unless I want to order a bunch of ready-mades, I just don’t do that too often anymore.
A variety of teen-tiny, 2 x 2 and 2 x 3.
One thing that I would like to point out is that all of my small paintings are originals, not prints. If you are buying these on the market, make sure what you are getting. Many small paintings are digitally reproduced, either on paper or printed on canvas. The artist may add a swipe of paint in order to call them original but they’re not really. Just pay attention
I still enjoy making larger paintings, mostly for the challenge. But I would certainly recommend that you give small paintings a try. They’re great for experimenting with new ideas and compositions without having to put an excessive amount of time into them. And they can be attractively priced if you’re planning to sell them.
Good luck and let me know how they turn out if you experiment with this option.
I don’t know how the weather is where you are but this past week here in Southern Indiana, it’s been all over the place. A week ago the temperature was up to 82 per the weather app on my phone. In February! Yesterday, Saturday, it was a chilly 30 degrees with frost on the car windows. Friday we had four inches of rain resulting in the creek bursting out of its banks and over the driveway, storms, winds up to 60 mph, and a tornado warning sending us to the basement for a bit.
The creek flooding out of its banks and over the drive.
The reason we moved here 35 years ago (after ten years in Michigan) was that the winters here were relatively mild (jacket weather) and the summers were endurable. But the past couple of years have been hotter or wetter or just plain off schedule. I’ve counted the tree rings in old trees and could see the drought of the 30s (thinner rings). Maybe it’s climate change; maybe this is a normal cycle.
The tallest cedar. Son and grandson for scale.Mystery bumps on a sycamoreTiny bright orange fungi in last year’s leaf litter.
Spring still seems to arrive on her own schedule. Last week we went for a walk in the woods to find the tallest cedar. We did. I also spotted this tiny orange fungi. And some odd-looking bumps on a sycamore tree. I have no idea what that is.
The purple crocuses seem to be the most hardy.White and purple crocus.
The crocuses are still pushing up, often in odd places where I know I didn’t plant them. Can they travel? The tulips are still emerging but seem to be on the wane, most likely due to deer and rabbits. Several types of daffodils are blooming despite what Mother Nature is throwing at them. The frost doesn’t seem to affect them at all. Even the pulmonaria is pushing up. The buds are swelling on bushes and trees. We seem to be about three weeks ahead of normal…and I’m not ready for spring yet.
Hardy daffodils. Also in a few types of lilies coming up. Limbs down from recent storm.More hardy daffodils. Pounded by the storm and frost but they’ll revive. Notice the pulmonaria poking up.Bi-color daffodil.
I was outside early yesterday morning to take photos of the golden frosty sunrise. In my robe and boots again. Thankfully we have no near neighbors as I’m sure I was an eyeful.
But I always look forward to spring’s promise no matter how fickle she is. Just no more tornado warnings, please.
Wisteria vine. Fallen wild cherry in back waiting to be turned into campfire wood. Always some benefit in the storm.Another golden sunrise shot.
What do you think of when you hear the word country?
For some, it might refer to a nation but I’m thinking of a place a little closer. For many it means a state of mind, an attitude not a specific place.
For me the term refers to a rural place, a landscape. An escape from or to. Getting back to nature. A walk in the woods. A bench in the park, or even a geranium on the window sill.
Country is a feeling, an attitude, a breath of air. The first daffodil or garden tomato. Watching a tiny spider try to climb a blade of grass. Or the cute tree frog plastered to the window at night, staring back at me with his big eyes.
Geese overhead. Early morning visitors.
I live in the country, or what many people think of when they hear that term. With fields and woods, streams and private places. In a very very old house which still echoes with the laughter of children from long ago and more recently.
The walls are a foot thick and not one of them is exactly perpendicular. And that’s OK; neither am I these days.
The best compliment I’ve ever received was from my great Aunt Catherine who was visiting many years ago. She was sitting in an old wingback chair with some music playing softly in the background. The windows were flung open to catch the breeze and she remarked, This house is just so comfortable. And isn’t that what anybody wants their guests to feel? Comfortable?
Logs used in the front half of the house. Notice the adz marks on these hand-cut beauties.Hobbit door leading to the little attic.Hand-carved back door.
No matter where we live now, most of us are only a generation or two from the country life. Fortunately we can still experience a taste of country with that pot of tomatoes on the deck or the geranium in the window. Take a walk in the park. Feed the birds. Just sit in the shade and tune into nature’s sounds.
Frequent visits to my grandparents as a child planted the seeds of my love for the country life. Collecting still-warm eggs from the chickens. Playing with cousins in the hayloft. Giving that mean old sow a wide berth. Living on that little farm in the county was always a dream of mine.
My husband and I realized this dream thirty-five years ago when we actually bought the farm at auction. That resulted in a lot of work to bring the old place up to date. We were much younger then and had watched way too much of This Old House. Ha ha. Not quite so easy. Add a twenty-five mile commute to work (and the grocery). But it’s been fun through the years with lots of rewards (and some trials).
I love the version of country that I’ve been living for the past couple of decades but I also realize that you may have a different version. Do you decorate with simple hand-made furniture and quilts? Or put your green thumb to work on those patio plants? Maybe you can walk down to the ocean shore or river to check out the wildlife? Or are you a birder, waiting in a swamp for the first rays of dawn in order to photograph those cranes that are passing through?
What does your country look like? Is it comfortable?
Beams in the kitchen. Each plate is a family memory.
I'm a professional artist, retired director of a performing arts center, bona fide book addict, and enjoy the quiet life...most of the time. I'd love to hear from you or get your ideas for future posts. Come back soon!
I'm a professional artist, retired director of a performing arts center, bona fide book addict, and enjoy the quiet life...most of the time. I'd love to hear from you or get your ideas for future posts. Come back soon!
my90acres 