I Heart Snowmen

I recently finished a few winter paintings, each featuring snowmen.  They are available at Dutchland Galleries (Phone # 800-760-7175) located in the Kitchen Kettle Village in Lancaster County.  If you are still looking for a special gift, consider artwork for the art lover in your life.  They ship worldwide.

Star Barn Skaters - Framed 16x20" Original Painting

Winter Welcome - Framed 16x20" Original Painting

Barnyard Friends - Framed 8x10" Original Painting - SOLD

I also took the snowman theme and did some decorating for Christmas.  Here are a few photos of the snowmen (including some handmade and hand-painted) that I used in my decor.

Thanks for stopping by.  Wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Driving Lessons

October has been a busy month for my family.  I am finally learning to relax during our daughter's driving lessons as she is working on fulfilling her required hours.  It has been a fun time of growth for her and us as well. Vanessa kept her job from the summer and works every opportunity she can.  She has learned a lot from her job and is developing her skills as a picture framer.  We think it's pretty cool that she gets to frame my paintings at work.  We were also able to take a much-needed fall weekend vacation in Wellsboro.  Thankfully, I have been able to keep up with my goal of a painting a week and have had the privilege of creating one for the Good Samaritan Shelter's auction fundraiser (The Star Barn).  Sometimes I put a hint of our life happenings into my paintings, so it was fun to include some old cars in my painting, "Leaf Day" to serve as a memory of Vanessa's driving lessons. 

Each of the paintings are available as prints at Fine Art America (see link above).  

Meadow Moon (original sold)

 

Hillside Barns (original sold)

Leaf Day (original sold)

Winter Fun (original sold)

Winter Mill (original available at Dutchland Galleries)

The Star Barn - Fundraiser for Good Samaritan Auction (sold)

Wouldn't It Be Easier If We Could Just Text God? / A Few Fall Paintings

We all have those friends that we send random texts to.  We converse and then it trails off and then we pick up the conversation again on another day.  As I was texting a friend last night, it hit me that those random texts are very similar to my conversations with God.  I can be doing something and I am reminded to stop and pray for someone or something. Then, I go until God puts someone else on my mind or He wants me to slow down and spend time with Him.

I believe that God speaks to us when we read the Bible and we can speak to Him through prayer. When I face a difficult decision and don't know what to do I usually pray and then make the best choice I can.  To be honest, I wish that I could just text God and ask him, "What do you want me to do about this, or should I go this way or that way?"  Instead, I tend to worry about it and try to figure everything out on my own, when I should really go to Him first and give it over to Him.  What I really need to do is slow down and wait for God. The fact is, sometimes we don't have all the answers when we really want them RIGHT NOW!  I think He allows this so that we can learn to trust Him.

If we could text God about the things that are most concerning to us,  He would probably send these texts back to us, "I Love You," "I Want to Be Your Friend," "Slow Down," "I Have A Bigger Plan In Mind For This and For Your Life," "Give It To Me," "Trust Me," "Follow Me," "Just Live This Day," "I Will Provide," "I Will Protect You," "I Have Tomorrow in My Hands,"  "I've Got This!," "I Will Do What's Best."  If we spend time listening to Him every day, then I believe when crunch time comes, we will be ready to make good choices when the need arises and He will ultimately direct our steps.   Most importantly, Jesus wants to have a personal relationship with us.  One in which we can talk to Him and Him with us, just like texting between friends.

To learn more about having a relationship with God, check out the following link:

http://www.gotquestions.org/personal-relationship-with-God.html

I also wanted to share a few of my recent original fall paintings.  Although most of the originals are sold, you can still purchase prints of these at the fineartamerica link at the top of my blog.

Autumn Afternoon (original sold)

Roadside Stand (original sold)

Rising Moon (original sold)

Autumn Memories (original sold)

Country Cabin - Original available at Dutchlandgalleries.com

Autumn Garden (original sold)

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(originals sold)

Apple Cider Mill (original sold)

My "Philosophy" on Art

Did you ever want to "pick the brain" of an artist?  Today I want to share my philosophy on art, so that you can see the real inner me.  I'm also sharing a few of my fun pieces from the past for you to enjoy.

 I always got good grades in college, but I'll admit that when I listened to my philosophy prof's first session, my reaction was, "Huh? ... What?"  I had nooo clue what he was talking about.   I ended up either dropping out of that class or barely passing it because I just didn't get it.

At our house we have a saying that we used a lot over the years.  "You are going to eat it, and you are going to like it" or "you are going to do it, and you are going to like it."  Of course we always laughed when we said it, but it worked for us and helped our family to appreciate the simple things in life.  It also rings true for my outlook on art. 

Some artists have long philosophical explanations on why and how they create art.  That's fine, but I'm just not that complicated.

I like the simple things in life. 

So now when you look at a piece of my art, you will understand why I paint folk art scenes in country settings.  Yes, art is therapeutic, it's creative, and there are many reasons to enjoy it's process.   For me though,  "I do it because I like it." I share pieces for fund raisers because I like helping people."  It's just that simple.