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.
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 