Commissions.....

I have worked this week on commissions for Christmas and upcoming birthdays. There is an added pressure to doing commissions. It will be a relief to get back to painting works where I have to only please myself. I have three more to do. But here are the ones I worked on this week...

"Seven Little Shrimps"..........8x10.......oil on canvas.......SOLD

This first one is am image I did for a nice lady I met at the Shrimp Festival. She was down there with her grown children's families...which included SEVEN grandchildren under the age of FOUR!!!! So the seven little shrimps in the painting are to commemorate her "seven little shrimps" attending their first shrimp festival.

"Susie".........12x12...............Oil on canvas............SOLD

This is Susie. She was commissioned by a wife for her husband's birthday. It is such a sweet story, he misses Susie very much, and his wife is doing this for him. I sure hope he likes it.

"Plum-Pickin with my Pa-Paw".........20x24................Oil on canvas..........SOLD

This is for my dear sister-in-law. She is giving it to her father for Christmas. The image is her grandson and her father. So it's a great-grandson and his Pa-Paw. The photo just would not come out right, but it definitely looks like little Mr. Seth. She took a great photo. I wish they were all this great to work with.

One more piece of news....I was notified that my art is to be used by "CORK, A Red River Revel Wine Event". Cork is in April and is a wine tasting/dinner/wine festival event. It is actually a fundraiser for the Red River Revel Art Festival in Shreveport, LA in October. The October Festival sounds like an awesome event for the community. Every fourth-grader from two parishes is bused in and gets to do a bunch of hands-on art activities and get exposed to a lot of great art and meet the artists.

The really neat thing is that I met two of the board members in my booth in Covington. They purchased two of my prints. They said that they would be meeting in Dec. to decide about the featured artwork. Imagine my surprise when they called and said they want both images! They will use the bowl of corks in their promotional materials...postcards, web site, etc. Then the glasses toasting will be auctioned at the wine dinner, I believe, and they will also do a couple of giclees of it. I get to attend and have a set-up at the festival. I am pretty excited!

Baby Nursery Paintings...

This Thanksgiving was an unusual one for our family...of our six core family members, we were spread out in three different places. Plus the other usual suspects that are with us...well, my bro and SIL were at home in Tampa (I missed seing them for sure) their kids were in various places including my niece the Air traffic controller stationed in London, and my Mom and Bob were in Pensacola.

But we were all thankful for many things and gave thanks in many ways. I, myself, was in Lexington with the mommy and daddy-to-be. We spent Thursday with some of their wonderful friends and had a great dinner! Then the rest of the holiday weekend was spent getting ready for the babies. We were at Babies R Us at 5 am on Friday and managed to score one of the door- buster glider rockers. We shopped till we dropped and managed to fill in the gaps of all the stuff you need to bring 2 little girls into the world.

We also worked on creating beautiful surroundings for them to come home to. Michael and Heather, with the help of their, and my, fabulous friends had done a great job getting the nursery ready. So Mama D (that's me) came onto the scene to put on the finishing touches with a little artwork here and there.

Heather had chosen some adorably cute bedding by Bananafish called "Bubblegum" and I did the canvases on the wall to coordinate with it.

This first shot features McKinley's bed with her initial art above it. To the right is the corner where the rocking chair will go. Above that are the 12x12 squares that I did to match the bedding. You may not be able to see in the photos, but the stripes are featured on the dust ruffle and on the backs of the comforters. The circles are on the valance.

This next shot is of Kayleigh's bed with her initial and a great shot of the super cute lamp they received from my folks in Colorado.

This is a shot of the Pea Pod I did for them. The frame on the chest says "two peas in a pod", and that is what the artwork is about...two little peas in their pod. You probably can't see it, but the peas have little eyes and smiles. Let's hope our little peas stay in their pod long enough to develop strong lungs and all the other stuff they need to be healthy and happy.

This year I am so thankful for my wonderful, expanding family. I feel like we have actually four new family members on the verge of becoming official. In addition to the two "peas" we have Shaun and AnnaRae who are dating my daughter and son.

I also am thankful for my awesome friends that gave and attended the shower we had for M & H and the girls. I left Lexington knowing that between the efforts of Papa D, our friends, and our family; we are about as ready as we can be and when those little ones do come they are set. They will be safe, warm, well-dressed, and have everything else they need to get a good start in this life. (Plus a few things that their mom and I thought they might like.) ; )

Thanks to all who have helped and supported me in this past year. My thankful list includes too many things to mention all of them, but believe me, on that list are those of you who have supported my art adventure either by buying art, critiquing it, following my blog, jurying me into art shows .....all of those things help to make me a better artist.

Thank you Lord and bless all who take the time to read this. May there be a place in heaven for those kind souls. : )

I have been painting...

Below are some paintings I have done to get ready for my show in Covington, La. next weekend. I am really looking forward to this one...I love Louisiana...the people, the music, the food.

Fluer de lis...18x24......Oil on canvas......$300

This is a fun one I did because the Fleur-de-lis is so popular down there.

That Empty Feeling....10x20.....Oil on Gallery Wrap......$200

Of course, to go along with the good food, you need a little wine. And we all know how much I like to paint wine bottles.

Hot stuff.....6x12.....Oil on Canvas.....$80

Tabasco is a prevalent ingredient in spicy Cajun food and the popularity of the Tabasco image is unsurpassed by many brand names that I know of.

The Wine Line-up.....18x36.....Oil on Gallery Wrap.......$650

This is another painting derived from my "woman's trip" to South Louisiana. Who knows, I may even see some of the women that helped drink this wine. (I saw one in Gulf Shores during the Shrimp Festival.)

The Stare.......11x14......Oil on Canvas.......$200

I am so happy with how this one turned out. It reminds me of how far I have come since I started painting. When I first began I would have never dreamed of doing something like this. I wouldn't have known where to start. I just know some LSU fan is going to really need this guy!

Courtyard Fountain in New Orleans Oil Painting

Courtyard Fountain.......18x24......oil on canvas.....$450

I can't believe I have not posted this one yet! That's how crazy it has been for me lately! I love the way this one turned out! It got a lot of interest at the last festival.

I remember taking the photo and how the fountain was out in the direct sunlight and there were cool shadows under the balcony. When I look at the painting I think you can get that feeling for sure.

This was one of those lucky little things you stumble upon when out wandering around. This was actually a residential courtyard behind a shop that I had happened into. I could see it behind the shop and asked if I could go take photos. Luckily for me the answer was yes.

I am off to the River Arts Festival in Memphis this weekend. This past weekend my son and DIL that are expecting twins were in town for a shower thrown by my wonderful friend Tracy and attended by even more wonderful friends. I know this sounds sappy, but if you are ever tempted to take your friends for granted you need to step back and look around and realize what an amazing group they are. I am still just blown away by what my friends did for Michael and Heather and (drum roll) McKinley and Kayleigh. That will be my little granddaughters...Mckinley and Kayleigh.

I think M & H did a wonderful job on the names...they sound like twins without being matchy-matchy and they both have different initials, which will make labeling everything much easier. Heather is Heather Leigh, hence the spelling of Kayleigh's name.

Well, today's to-do list is very long and it's not getting done while I am here typing.

Tomatoes, Basil, Garlic Oil painting

Recipe......18x24 Oil on Canvas............$390

This is a really nice painting in person. I don't cook much, so I don't use a lot of fresh basil, but now I can, at least, say I have painted it.

Paintings that have yet to be posted!

I have been so busy with the planning, painting and readying for the Shrimp Festival that I have got a stock pile of paintings that have not been posted for your viewing pleasure. Since I am going to be out of town next week, I am just going to post as many as I can right now so that they will at least be on here.

First up is a series that I really enjoyed doing. All the paintings are 12x12 oil on canvas. They attracted much attention during the four days of the festival. I sold one, but had mucho requests for prints...you know, people that really wanted one but not enough to pay $125 for an oil painting. The plan is to have prints available by my next show. Plus I did get a mailing list of people that wanted them when I had them available.

A funny for my Art Friends!

This was sent to me by a friend and since I am still unpacking and getting my feet back on the ground from our trip (we just got home from the Shrimp Festival last night) I thought I would send it to the artsy folks who follo9w my blog. It's just silly enough to make you smile. And timely, too!

A thief in Paris planned to steal some paintings from the Louvre.

After careful planning, he got past security,stole the paintings, and made it safely to his van.However, he was captured only two blocks away when his van ran out of gas.

When asked how he could mastermind such a crime and then make such an obvious error,he replied, 'Monsieur, that is the reason I stole the paintings.'

I had no Monet ...

to buy Degas...

to make the Van Gogh!'

See if you have De Gaulle... to send this on to someone else.

I sent it to you because I figured I had nothing Toulouse.
When it comes to the price of gas one must maintain his sense of humor these days, even though it is difficult at times.

Hi from the Shrimp Festival!

I am heading over for the last day of the Shrimp Festival. Things have gone very well and the weather has been beautiful. I have met some nice people and if you are tuning in after meeting my down there let me say, meeting all of the nice people and hearing your input has been the highlight of my trip. I will post new things when I return next week.

Until then....if the gentleman who bought four of my paintings the other evening would contact me via my cell phone I would really appreciate it! I forgot to get your expiration date and I cannot process your credit card transaction. What a business woman I am!

Jazz Man Oil Painting

Jazz Man.....10x20.....Oil on Gallery Wrap......$200 (SOLD)

This is from a photo I shot while walking down Bourbon Street when we attended a wedding in New Orleans earlier this summer. It was a blazing hot day, the bar that this man was playing in was dark and cool and then BAM! here was this smoking hot, glowing orange guy belting out a tune. If we weren't on our way to another destination, we would have definitely stopped. As it was I snapped a super cool photo.

Different Strokes From Different Folks Entry...

Beach Cottage.....11x14.......Oil on Canvas........$160

This is my entry for this week's Different Strokes From Different Folks entry...just squeaking in under the wire. We were gone last Wed. when it was posted and I almost missed it. This is just about as interesting as anything I have found in the art blog arena. Kudos to Karin Jurick for coming up with it.

I tried a new approach to this one. I got a book last week and it really hit home with me. I want to be loose and spontaneous and have the painting look "alive". There were things in the book (by artist Ted Goerschner) that really made sense to me. Many were things I already knew, but he put them in a way that it seemed like I understood better how I could implement them. Until I picked up a brush, that is.

As with any new thing you have to progress in baby steps. This is my first baby step and I can see what I was trying to do, even if I didn't actually pull it off yet. And then, on top of that, the photo is not too good. I am struggling with my camera here lately!

Spiderlilies and Geraniums Daily Oil Paintings

Spiderlilies.....5x7......oil on panel.........SOLD

Geraniums......5x7.....Oil on Panel.......SOLD

These paintings were done by commission for a lovely lady that says they remind her of her mother. She has two daughters and when she received these after I had completed them she said that she knew they would be something that the girls would keep for years to come. It is rather touching to me to think that my work might be handed down from mother to daughter.

Speaking of daughters......we have a little more news about the twins.....they are going to be girls! We were so excited when we found out, but then we thought, we'd have been just as excited if it had been boys....I think we're just excited period. We went to see my son and DIL up in Kentucky this weekend. We got to go with them to Babys R Us to register for baby stuff. Boy have things changed! There are so many cool things to help you out and some of the old stand-bys have been so improved! But man it all costs a pretty penny. And they need two of so many things!

I got in one more art show for this fall....The Three Rivers Festival in Covington, La. That means I was accepted in 3 of the 4 that I applied to so I am pretty happy about that. I wanted to do as many in the fall as I could since I won't most likely be doing any in the spring due to baby arrivals.

Chardonnay, Please

Chardonnay, Please....12x24.....Oil on GW canvas....$275

I took this photo at a bar in New Orleans when we went this summer for a friend's wedding. The bar is called "le Bar" I think. It was at the Royal Sonesta on Bourbon street where we were staying. When my husband first saw it he kept looking and finally said he didn't like it. He said "it's way too big with those people in the background...it look like King Kong's wine" So I took another look and he was right to a certain extent. I muted the people down some more, so that they were not competing for attention and I think I came out ok.

Best Foot Forward... Oil Painting

Best Foot Forward.....12x12.....Oil on Canvas.....$150

I have been painting in the last week, just not blogging. Much has happened, much to tell.

First, the above painting is for a new blog project started by my friend Karin Jurick. The blog is called Different Strokes by Different Folks. Her beloved dog, Jack, had to be put to sleep this week. She found a positive outlet for her sadness by starting this blog. Every Wednesday she will post a photo along with the invitation for any or all artists to paint the same photo in any medium or form...abstracted, cropped, whatever. The first photo for the first week was, of course, Jack. The above is my version. Click on the link to see others, along with Karin's and the original photo.

Next we move along to hurricane Gustav. Things got pretty crazy on the coast here in Mississippi as shell-shocked people got ready to face the first real threat since Katrina. My art show was set to be Saturday afternoon, but people were evacuating and boarding up and such. When Saturday turned out to be the calm before the storm, so to speak, and was sunny and calm, we decided to go ahead with the show. It looked great and we were all set. The bad news is that we had 3 customers all afternoon (that weren't related to me) the good news is that two of them bought paintings. I could have had 50 people come and maybe not sold more than two paintings, so I was very pleased. We have rescheduled for the 20th and will do it again when people are less occupied.

But we are not through with Gustav. We returned home fairly early Sunday so as not to get caught up in too much evacuation traffic. I got a phone call from a dear friend in Baton Rouge (the one who guessed the trailer painting name a few posts ago). One of her good friends was in Jackson (where I live sort of) and could not check into the hotel they had reservations for (let's just say I will never use Orbitz again after what they did to these people). They had confirmed on Thursday, had their conf# and email in hand and were turned away! We are talking about a woman(talented nurse), her very kind and patient husband, her 80+ parents and her 80+uncle and their dog. So they came to stay with us for a couple of days. Considering we had never met them before, we have three dogs of our own, and it was a very stressful situation for them, I could not have hoped for it to have gone any better. We hit the lottery where unexpected house guests are concerned. They were the sweetest people and we are so glad that we were able to help them. In the meantime, our friend in Baton Rouge had a huge oak tree fall into the middle of their home and have had to move out while it is repaired. Please say a prayer for them all as they recover.

One more prayer request...our Hawaiian friend Ivan has devastating news about his father. They had just returned home from Hawaii last Saturday where they had gone to help Ivan's dad move into his new assisted living quarters (at his request, I might add). They got a call on Tuesday that he had had a massive heart attack. By the time our friends got there there was nothing but bad news, organ failure, no brain activity...now hard decisions will have to be made. Ivan just lost his mother not very long ago so my heart goes out to him.

I have an appointment, so I must head out, but I will post more paintings tomorrow.

Okole Maluna! Oil Painting...

Okole Maluna!...30x30.....oil on GWcanvas..........$800

This is the only painting that I did this week, but since it is 30x30 I am OK with that. I also did a community project on Monday and have been getting ready to deliver my paintings this weekend for the show in Biloxi next weekend.

But back to the painting. I just want to say that I am button-popping proud of this one. Not that it is the greatest painting I have ever done, but it is by far the best HANDS I have ever done! Any artist knows that hands are just hard. And let's see...why not put four of them in there from all different angles!

I was searching for a foreign toast and then I saw Okole Maluna...it is Hawaiian. I had images of it meaning something to do with light (luna) so I went to look up the meaning. I first found Okole it meant rear end. Huh? Then I found the entire phrase and it means...Bottoms up! So much for my romanticised melodious Hawaiian phrase.

Interesting Places to Go and Things to See....

First let me answer the question that I know is on everyone's mind...What the heck? Or actually what the heck does a little Shasta trailer have to do with anything. If you don't know what I am talking about, check out the previous post and then come back.

Last night I received the correct answer from our dear friends Randy and Joleen in Baton Rouge, La. (who are just "the best people). There is a reason we have been friends with these folks forever....they just get me. Anyway, for those of you who are still scratching your heads, the answer is======"One Happy Camper"!

Ok now on to something serious...As I stated yesterday, I was honored to receive the "Arte Y Pico" Award again. The first time, I played by the rules and did everything I was supposed to do. It takes a little chunk of your day to post all those links and email the folks you have chosen and all that stuff...so this time I decided to update my link list to the right with cool people that for some reason I never did put over there. Now anyone who comes to my blog forevermore will be able to look over there and go check them out.

So here are the new additions to the party:

Justin Clayton...I got to meet him in Austin and he is a really nice guy. His site is very different and beautiful. This is what blew me away...look at his archives of paintings in those little collages that he has and then look at all those little red dots! Those are paintings sold people! Way to go Justin!

Charles Sovek...My most helpful site ever. Mr. Sovek passed away this past summer and it just broke my heart that the world had lost such a great generous, talented artist way too early. His site has tutorials, and helpful hints and wonderful archives of his work. Spend the day just checking it out!

Maggie Stiefvater...She is a writer, mom, humorist, colored pencil artist and all around nut. Her articles in the archives about time management are solid gold. Use the magic search feature and find them, read them, follow them, and then call me and remind me to do the same.

Mike Rooney...I love his work and he is a "chatter" like me. He always tells you what is going on and what he's thinking. I like that. It makes you feel like part of the process or something. It also makes me know that there are other artists out there that I consider much farther up the food chain than me, that have their own insecurities, bad days, and wiped off paintings just like I do.

Mary Sheehan Winn...She does beautiful work that I can identify with, would like to own, like to look at, etc. Plus her commentary is pretty entertaining. Check out the painting of the kite store. Wow. Love it.

Jerry Lebo (a.k.a. The Sixty Minute Artist)...Interesting views, hints, and articles. Be sure to read his bio piece on the side that tells why he is the Sixty Minute Artist.

Quiang-Huang... I got to meet him in Austin as well. His name is pronounced Chong Wong. He is such a sweet, gentle person. His paintings are beautiful. His journey is interesting and I love his phraseology in the "English as a second language" vein of thinking. Sometimes it is almost musical.

Colin Page...I am seeing his name pop up everywhere in the blogs that I frequent. He is a fabulous painter with a style that I aspire to. Loose, colorful, happy, with blocks, and splotches of color that may not necessarily make sense until you look at the overall picture. As was the joke in an art class I took, when we particularly loved something we said we just wanted to "get a spoon and eat it!" I need a knife and fork, too, when I see his work!


Okay, my job here is done. I must get to painting since I rally hate to post without a "picture". But I will have one for you tomorrow. I hope.

Pat O'brien's Evening Radiance...Oil Painting

Pat O'Brien's Evening Radiance.....24x30.....Oil on Canvas.....$700

This is from a photo I took when we were in New Orleans for a Saint's game last year. I have always wanted to paint it because of the wonderful glow it has.

Well, folks, I am indeed surprised to say that I have received the "Arte Y Pico" award from another source. This morning I got my Google Alert and saw that Carol Marine had included me in her five recipients. Talk about an honor! For a musician, this would be like having one of your alltime favorite recording artists bestow an award on you. It is very very special to me in an entirely different way than when I received it from Pattie. The picture below describes what I am right now...I challenge everyone to submit the right answer in the comments column. So do you get it? Come on think about it......Answer will be posted tomorrow. But I know there is someone out there on the same quirky wavelength as me.Also coming tomorrow will be five more artists...I got the award twice and cannot wait to post another 5 recipients that are every bit as interesting and talented as the first five.

Mom's Flowers Oil Painting

Mom's Flowers.......24x36......Oil on Canvas.......$800

These are some flowers that are in my mother's dining room. She won them at some event she attended. It makes me think of the Christmas arrangement that I still have that my grandmother won at a Christmas Open House at a local florist. It is way old now, but I can't get rid of it.

I have had a couple of people tell me that they are unable to leave comments on my blog. Not sure what's the deal, but I promised someone that I would tell how to do it so she would be sure she was doing it right. First, for those of you that subscribe to my blog, you may not know this, but you can click on my name at the top of the email you receive and it will take you to my actual blog. It is ever so pretty with the black background and all that stuff so check it out every now and then. If you are on the actual blog you can look at the bottom of each post and you will see a spot that says "0 comments" or "1 comment". If you click on that it takes you to a comment box and you can leave a message there. There may be a verification box that you have to type in the letters that you see in the squiggle form, but that's pretty much it. So let's hear some comments!

Where I Stand on Sunday:

This is my first post for a photo-journalistic sort of project that caught my eye. Pattie Wall, the cool lady that gave me my award a couple of posts ago, is part of a group that takes a photo every Sunday of where they are at that particular slice of time. This is my first Sunday to do it.

This is "where I stand" today. I am in my den, sleeping pooch nearby, trying to be sure I don't miss anything on the Olympics. We've been to church, grocery shopped, so I have just a couple more chores before I can settle in for some serious Olympic viewing!

Fountain Reflections Oil Painting

Fountain Reflections.....20x24.....oil on canvas......$490

This is for my festival in October in Gulf Shores. It is based on a photo I took while in Santa Fe last year attending Carol Marine's art workshop. I became friends with a wonderful classmate named Bernie. He and I would meet early and ride around and take pictures and then go to class. This was a fountain at a hotel near the one where I was staying.

Arte Y Pico Award...

This month I was awarded the Arte Y Pico Award by Pattie Wall, a talented artist from Kansas. Patty was one of the students in the workshop that I took in Austin taught by Karin Jurick and Carol Marine. Unbeknownst to me she has been following my blog since then and graciously chose me for this award. I have seen this on other people's blogs and thought it was a way cool idea, but never thought I would receive one. If I had thought about it I would have guessed that it would be sent by someone I know really well. I was so touched to get this from Patty and to have it reinforced that I am not just sending this stuff out into space....that someone besides just my family is actually looking at it. ==sniff- sniff===This is where I say "I promised myself I wasn't going to do this" as I dramatically wipe away a tear. But there is business to take care of.

The Origin of The Arte y Pico Award You might be interested in the origin of the "Arte y Pico Award" The designer of the award puts it like this..."The Arte y Pico Award has arisen from the daily visits that I make to many blogs which nourish and enrich me with creativity. In them, I see dedication, creativity, care, comradeship, but mainly, ART, much art. I want to share this prize with all those bloggers that entertain and enrich me day to day. Doubtlessly, there are many and it will be hard to pick just a few."

I couldn't have said it better myself. I LOVE the blogging community and cannot tell you the inspiration I have derived from the art, musings, tutorials and general postings I have found there. So, in accord with the "rules" I shall pass on the links for five artists that I think deserve recognition. There are oh, so many, but these five are women I feel exhibit quality and may need to know that others appreciate their efforts.

Faye Christian Phillips-Her blog is the whole package including quotations that match the subject matter of her painting for the day. Can you say "consistent"? And so classy, like her.

Vicki Shuck-I met her (and Faye) in the Carol Marine workshop in Santa Fe. She is working to improve her art sales so that her husband (also an artist) can "quit his day job".

Paula Cravens-Also a "Santa Fe" friend. Her and her husband were so kind to me on that trip! You never know what will appear when you tune into her blog....and I mean that.

Terry Rafferty-Yes, another Santa Fe friend...what can I say? It was a great class! Terry is a serious girl...she is working to get better and better and it shows.

Robin Cheers-I had the pleasure of meeting Robin Cheers at Carol Marine's house when I was in Texas for the Carol Marine/Karin Jurick workshop. I had followed her work online and did not know she would be there so it was a delightful surprise to be shaking her hand all of a sudden. Her work is probably the most similar to what I attempt to achieve in my own style...bold, colorful, bright, happy.

So now I am requested to post "The Rules":

1. You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award through creativity, design, interesting material, and also contributes to the blogger community, no matter of language.

2. Each award should have the name of the author with a link to their blog.

3. Award winners have to post the award with the name and link to the blog of the person who gave them the award.

4. Show these rules and the paragraph (above) explaining the awards origination.

So there you have it. My thanks to Pattie and my congratulations to these five artists (not intentionally all female, by the way).

Have a great day, I'm off to paint!

Crawfish Boiling Point Oil Painting

Crawfish Boiling Point........20x24.........oil on canvas........$490

This is from a photo at Dacia(my daughter's) crawfish boil that we had to celebrate her graduation. Her boyfriend Shaun was our chef and he reminded me that I had wanted to take a photo of the cooking in action or I would have forgotten all about it. Thanks Shaun! I love this one....you can almost smell the crab boil. Let's say I love it now that it is done. It was a doozie to decipher as I was trying to paint it.

I think this one will be a hit at the shrimp festival.....even if it isn't shrimp!

Steam Boat Willie Jazz Musician New Orleans Oil Painting

Steamboat Willie....10x20....Oil on Gallery Wrap........SOLD

This is a painting of my favorite Jazz Guy in New Orleans. We first heard him on our anniversary trip to N.O. right before the hurricane. We heard him at Cafe Beignet in Legends Park on Bourbon St. on Sat. night. We really liked him and then as luck would have it, he was playing at the Jazz Brunch at the Marriot the next morning when we went there. We talked to him and bought a cd, which he signed. I took a few photos of him and his trio. It was just a most memorable anniversary. (I took the photo of the shrimp on the plate with the lemon that I posted a couple of months ago on this trip as well as a shot of a chef making bananas foster.)

Well, three weeks later the hurricane came and I wondered many times about his whereabouts. On our first trip back to New Orleans (I don't remember the exact date, but it was for a Saints game so I guess it was a little more than a year after the hurricane) we were walking down Bourbon street and I heard this great sound and lo and behold! it was Steamboat Willie back in Legends Park! I was just so glad to see him and know that he was okay and back in N.O. playing.

You can go to his website http://www.steamboatwillie.tv/ and click on live gigs...then click on "listen to Bring Me Back" It is a song he wrote while up in the north somewhere not long after the hurricane. If that doesn't get your toe to tappin' I don't know what will. That song is just so special to me. In it there is a wonderful black woman that sings out the names of different areas of New Orleans and at one point she sings out "New Orleans East!" which is where I lived from first to fifth grade. Just go listen, I know you will enjoy it!

So Steamboat Willie holds a special place in my heart and we always make it a point to go and see him when we are in N.O. I have drug many friends and family members there to sing, dance, sweat, dance in the rain and have many great memories.

So, I have always wanted to paint him and now I have. I truly love this painting. It is like the one of my nephew and his sons at the beach.....just like I want to paint.....loose, colorful, bold. Every now and then I hit one just right and this is one of those.

We went to N.O. this past weekend for our anniversary (we have one of those every year and we definitely feel like it is worth celebrating!) We had the most wonderful trip and of course, got to see Steamboat Willie. I took him a print of this painting and he liked it and decided he needed the original. So now we have to make another trip down there to take him his painting.

It's a dirty job, but somebody has to do it.

Flirtatious Feet Oil Painting

Flirtatious Feet......Oil on Board......8x10......$125

It was all about the chair . I took the photo of the chair, I chose to paint the chair...then I noticed the feet. His feet, her feet. Then I had to paint the chair to get to the feet. I think I spend too much time by myself sometimes.

Shrimp Boat with Pelicans oil painting

Shrimp Boat with Pelicans.......20x24.......oil on canvas...............$490

This is one of the last ones in my series of coast paintings for the show in a couple of weeks. This is one of my favorite places in Ocean Springs. Down on the little pier with the pelicans. I love that shrimp boat. It has appeared in a couple of my paintings already, along with varying winged neighbors. I really like the way this painting turned out. I think the afternoon mood is pretty well evident.

Pathway to Peace of Mind

Pathway to Peace of Mind.......24x30........oil on Canvas....................$750

This is for my coast show on the 30th. The show features aspects of life that were affected by Katrina, and this one represents our peace of mind. The slow and easy underlying pace of the coast was definitely affected. The "fishing on Saturday instead of putting a new roof on your house and trying to survive" mode of life is returning for some, but others are still struggling. My heart goes out to all who are still trying to regain their "peace of Mind".

Lovelace Drugstore Washington Ave. Ocean Springs

Lovelace Drugs........ 24x20 .........Oil on Canvas............$490(sold)

In my absence from my blog I have been painting in bits and pieces when time would allow, I just haven't had the time or energy to photo, post and write a blog entry. But I have to get back in the saddle and get down to business.

This is a piece I did for the upcoming show in Biloxi. The title of the show is "Everything is Katrina Related". It will feature aspects of coast life that were affected by Katrina as presented from my personal point of view. The show is Aug. 30 which is the day after the 3rd anniversary of the hurricane.

BIG NEWS.....

I have been away from my blogging for a while and I hate that I have not been current with it. But it is all I can do to keep up with daily life right now. My Uncle passed away this past weekend and we will surely miss him. He was a great man and accomplished much in his lifetime, not to mention he pulled off a succcessful 69 years of marriage to the same woman.

While we were at the family home after the memorial service my son and daughter-in-law called and gave us the huge and happy news that they are having twins. What a joyful announcement that was. My DIL is a twin, but on my side of the family and in my husband's large extended family there are no multiples, so I honestly feel like we are the first ones to ever do this. I know that's not true, but that's what it feels like to this grandma! And they are going to be identical twins which is not heriditary, so how special is that! Below is their first family portrait. I think they might as well enjoy all that room they have right now, because in a couple more months it will start to get a little more crowded!

We will be gone for the next five days....to Destin, FL for a company trip. As company trips go this is a pretty darn good destination if you ask me!
I have three paintings to post when I return!

Flags Over the Coast Oil Painting

Flags Over the Coast...12x24.......Oil on Gallery Wrap Canvas......$275

This is the flag display that is on the beach as you enter Biloxi leaving Gulfport. The other side says Gulfport Welcomes You. (This is a good painting for the Fourth with all the flags and all.)

I painted this side because it is the side I remember best from my childhood. We lived in New Orleans and my grandparents (I'm going to be one, you know) lived in Mobile. I-10 had not been built, so whenever we went to see my grandparents we traveled along the coast. We would wake up (we loved to sleep in the car) when we left Bay St. Louis so we could see the beach along the way. Then when we got to the Ocean Springs Bridge and the beach could no longer be seen we would get our books back out or go back to sleep.

Ocean Springs was the end of the excitement back then, but years later when I lived there I came to find that it was lovelier and had as much or more to offer than any of the coast towns. The same goes for Bay St. Louis.

Another interesting little side note about those trips. There is a very strong possibility that sometime between 1st and 5th grade I probably had a chance to glimpse my future husband as we drove in front of his grandfather's house on Beach Boulevard. But he would have been too old for me then! When you're in 1st grade, three years is a big difference!