2021 Holiday #12

 
SOLD!  $145. (unframed) 4x6” mini original watercolor

Available to the 1st person to email
(framing $35 - shipping available at cost)
If unsold by 1/1 the price goes to $250

My last Holiday painting for the year!

This is the perfect time to say THANK YOU to everyone who supported me this year.  Through purchased paintings, gifts that arrived and endless cards and emails.  It is truly because of you that I can continue to paint for a living.  You all enrich my life and make me a blessed artist (a blessed artists wife also!)  Wishing everyone health (Covid free) happiness and love in 2022!

2021 Holiday #11

 
SOLD!  $145. (unframed) 4x6” mini original watercolor

Available to the 1st person to email
(framing $35 - shipping available at cost)
If unsold by 12/31 the price goes to $250

A nice little scene that I put together.

If you have a little Christmas money to spend you may want to check out some of my original paintings!  Like this little number I just finished.
NEW: Image:9x9    Framed: 14x14 in a black wood frame
$450.   Standing on the ground and looking up does interesting things to angles...

This painting found its new home, and it looks fabulous!

2021 Holiday 10

 
SOLD!  $145. (unframed) 4x6” mini original watercolor

Available to the 1st person to email
(framing $35 - shipping available at cost)
If unsold by 12/30 the price goes to $250

Thank you Carol for another great photo for me to use. Since my usual Holiday painting was spent on commissions, I plan to do a few more.

I can now show you one of my commissions.  This house was built by the owner and he put in the gardens as a gift to his wife.  I needed to nail this one and felt a little pressure to have it accurate.  They were thrilled.


We took off over Christmas and I think it was one of the nicest holidays we have had in a while.  Our VRBO was perfect.  This was our daily view...

Linda got her fire in the fireplace from morning till bedtime!    The wifi was spotty and the TV could not connect (dish) so it was QUIET!! We had an excellent dinner on Christmas Eve at the White Dog Bistro in Mathews, VA.  On Christmas day Linda's brother Jimmy and his wife came for a dinner, Linda premade a lasagna. It was the first Christmas they spent together since they were kids.  All in all...perfect.  It could have been longer!  For once, even I was not ready to come home.  Our Christmas in NYC with Abbey has been postponed to Christmas in Spring!  We are a bit disappointed. - darn Covid.

2021 Holiday #9

 
SOLD!  4x6” mini original watercolor

This one sold while I was painting it!  Thank you Joan for the great photo from the Chester Springs area.  I changed it to evening with a full moon just to add my spin to it!

It has been very hectic here as I am sure most households are this time of year.  I finished my commission and it looks great.  I will show them all after Christmas.  My focus was painting commissions while Linda was juggling several things.  We have a large remodel job started which in a 160 year old house means NOTHING is plumb, and NOTHING is easy! It takes a special carpenter to work here!  We picked up some new flooring yesterday.  Our living room looks like a storage unit!  We decided not to bother putting up a tree, there is simply no room.  The project is going slower than we would like because at every turn there is something needing done that you cannot even see, like all new plumbing lines...  a kind of  "while I am in the crawl space you may want to consider..."   why YES, lets go ahead and do that!  Linda started working on our empty cottage, one room is painted, and then Covid stopped us in our tracks for two weeks.  We had a few handyman repairs done on Monday and we decided not to even think about it until January 2nd!  Although every time we look out the kitchen window the cottage is there yelling  "hey, I'm back here waiting!"  Linda is type A so this is a louder scream than what I am hearing!   Added to the list since Grandpa's passing is all the closing of accounts, but Lancaster is very behind on death certificates so that is all on hold. This does not stop Linda's mind from thinking and the list keeps growing. But we now have another apartment to empty and repair and paint.  She is to only be doing a large trash bag of things a day.  BUT, I already had two runs to Goodwill, one large run to Art of Recycle AND a large amount of trash bags were set out for pickup.  Our conversation is about how quickly a life is dismantled.  All the things we collect and spend money on is quickly disbursed and trashed.  But the ironic thing is we just bought 16 small antique oil cans as our Christmas gift! 

Something for our daughter to disburse when we are gone!   Anyway, all that to say Linda is not following her own one bag daily limit.   We are heading out for a rest and new fantastic Bay water views in Virginia.  Linda is excited to work on a puzzle in front of a fire sipping a cocktail that our friend Kathy lovingly put together for her to take along.   It looks like our postponed Christmas with Abbey and Ben may be postponed again with raging Covid in NYC.  We will deal with that next week.

So with all that, please be careful while out and about and gathering.
I want to thank everyone for their love and support this year.  I wish you all a wonderful Holiday season and the very best in health and happiness in 2022.

working...

 I lost a week of  work so now I am concentrating on my commission.  It is a bit complicated and requiring me to really pay attention to details.  It is a Christmas gift so I cannot share it and I need to keep steadily at it so it is finished in time.
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Meanwhile the nice things keep arriving...
Thank you Rose Ellen for the  Harry and David fruit...  this will not last long!

Thank you Lynne for my favorite shortbread and Linda will NOT share the super thin cut outs!  Evidently I gobble them and they are meant to be nibbled!


Linda and I were just talking.  Linda said she learned a valuable lesson.  Do not ask if someone needs something,  we told everyone we had everything we needed, and we did.  We really needed nothing, our kitchen is always well stocked.   BUT it was nice to have a few surprised dropped off, a meal we did not have to think about.   So from now on when we can do something nice, we just do it and don't ask!   But a HUGE THANK YOU to all!!

2021 Holiday #8

 
SOLD!  $145. (unframed) 4x6” mini original watercolor

Available to the 1st person to email
(framing $35 - shipping available at cost)
If unsold by 12/17 the price goes to $250

More from downtown Lititz.  There was a stuffed cat in the window, I thought about leaving it out but I like cats!  

We have aired out and wiped down the house and studio so anyone wanting to do some Holiday shopping this weekend send an email to confirm we are here!

2021 Holiday #7

 
SOLD!   $145. (unframed) 4x6” mini original watercolor

Available to the 1st person to email
(framing $35 - shipping available at cost)
If unsold by 12/16 the price goes to $250

Downtown Lititz...  This one looks much better than it photographed.  You will NOT be disapointed!

I am working on my commission.  Linda is making lots of phone calls. Did you know you cannot even disconnect the cable without a death certificate?  
Here is a photo of Grandpa...

Meanwhile we had to cancel our Christmas celebrations in NYC with Abbey and Ben because we are not Covid free within NY's time frame.  Trying to be flexible!  We are heading to Williamsburg for Christmas and going to NYC for New Years.  No, not to time square but to Central Park.

2021 Holiday #6

 
SOLD!  $145. (unframed) 4x6” mini original watercolor

Available to the 1st person to email
(framing $35 - shipping available at cost)
If unsold by 12/14 the price goes to $250.

This is from a porch downtown Lititz.  I like the white of the chair against the brick with todays sunlight.

Family Update:  Overnight Thursday, Grandpa had a big turn for the worse.  Friday morning Linda was called to come in and make some decisions.  We agreed to bring in Hospice.  Linda spent the night with him and Grandpa passed away in the morning.  While 87 yrs old he went from pretty robust, walking a mile or two daily, all health issues  under control to 13 days of Covid and he died.  Covid won.    He did two tours in Vietnam and was a proud Army retiree.  He has 2 Bronze Stars, one with an oak leaf.  He earned his military funeral.   We will be having a small family service in Spring at Fort Indiantown Gap.  

We are now true empty nesters...  The house actually seems oddly quiet.  In 1996 Linda's Mother and step Dad (grandpa) moved into our upstairs apartment because Mom had health issues and needed help.   In 1999 my Mother moved into the back cottage.  For the past 26 years we have been caretaking parents, cooking dinner 4 nights a week, taking them to appointments and generally doing whatever was needed. 
It is hard to believe we are alone in the house...  

Oh, I forgot to say we are feeling better.  Linda still has a bit of a cough but we are out of quarantine.

2021 Holiday #5

SOLD!  $145. (unframed) 5x5” mini original watercolor

Available to the 1st person to email
(framing $35 - shipping available at cost)
If unsold by 12/10 the price goes to $250.

Santa!  A friend of ours is Santa, I mean he really looks like Santa.  Thank you John for the use of your photo.  I totally enjoyed painting you.

Family Update:  The Doctor said Grandpa is improving on paper...His breathing is better, he's on a bucket of meds and will need oxygen.  They think he would improve more if he were home where he is comfortable.  He has not even been out of bed yet.   Linda is freaking, the amount of care is overwhelming and he has not been pleasant.   Yes, we can have an aid stop in but 2 hours out of 24 is only a little help.   We will get through this!

We have told everyone we need nothing.  We have plenty of supplies.  But there is always someone who does not listen...and I will admit it was nice to open a few boxes and just eat... Thank you Joan.

 

2021 Holiday #4

SOLD!   $145. (unframed) 6x4” mini original watercolor

Available to the 1st person to email
(framing $35 - shipping available at cost)
If unsold by 12/9 the price goes to $250.

My last star painting...

Family Update: First, a HUGE THANK YOU to all the emails of support.  We have the BEST clients and friends.  Linda was not up to sending replies today so I am saying THANK YOU to everyone.  Not much change in Grandpa.  It was very hard to get info from the hospital today.  Linda called in three times and at 4ish a doctor finally called.  I understand they are busy saving lives but it is hard to sit here and not know anything.  She was able to talk to him for a tiny bit but he was pretty confused.  Meanwhile, Linda had a little relapse, she was in bed all day.  Coughing and just not feeling well.  Our plans to visit Abbey in NYC next week, for our Christmas together have been cancelled, leaving Linda pretty upset.  All in all its a little rocky in the Smith house.

2021 Holiday #3

 

mini original watercolor    $250.

Another downtown Lititz scene.  Following a Lititz Star theme this star is in front of the Bulls Head.  And yes, that's a lot of bricks!

Family Update:  More life curve balls, by Saturday both of us were sick and tested positive.  Actually we expected it, we were caretaking.  We both feel like we have bad colds, Linda a bit worse than I was.  Today we are both feeling a bit better.  Saturday we took Grandpa for monoclonal antibodies but by this morning he could not breathe so the ambulance took him to the hospital.  We were not allowed to be with him.  There is nothing worse than being 87 and totally alone with no support system.  The driver said we were the 3rd Covid call and it was only 9:30am.  This is serious stuff.  Grandpa was admitted and is very fragile...

2021 Holiday #2

 
SOLD!  $145. (unframed) 4x6” mini original watercolor

Available to the 1st person to email
(framing $35 - shipping available at cost)
If unsold by 12/4 the price goes to $250.

This is the front of the Savory Gourmet truck that is sitting at the entrance to the Lititz Spring Park.  I highly recommend a visit to their shop!  The decorated truck is a wonderful photo op and made a good little painting.

Family Update:  You gotta love how live throws curve balls.  My father in law who is 87 and lives in our upstairs apartment has Covid.  He picked it up at a Thanksgiving dinner where everyone was vaccinated including him.  He is pretty sick and we are waiting for an appointment to take him for monoclonal antibodies.  We took a home test this morning and are negative...had our boosters last Saturday.  Hope they are working cause we are his caretakers!   This is taking a toll on my business, I have cancelled clients wanting to stop at the studio and did a few porch pick ups.  Just do not want to take the chance of spreading it.