2024 Holiday #2

$145. (unframed) 6x4” mini original watercolor
Available to the 1st person to email
(framing 10x8 $35 - shipping available at cost)
If unsold by 12/5 the price goes to $225

Another whirl wind day. Took down the show panels in the house.
The girls were busy boxing orders. Phone kept ringing, which
is a good thing!  I ran to UPS, the bank, and dropped all our
pumpkins at a farm. Tonight we are headed to Hershey Theater
with friends to see Hamilton.  Wednesday we head to Gettysburg.

2024 Holiday #1 ~ PLUS 2 Portugal!

Over Open House whenever I had a spare moment I worked on small paintings.  So I am going to offer 3 today!

Holiday #1

From Byers Choice;  greens on a shelf.

SOLD!   $145. (unframed) 6x4” mini original watercolor
Available to the 1st person to email
(framing 10x8 $35 - shipping available at cost)
If unsold by 12/4 the price goes to $225
__________________________________
Portugal #1
The Douro Valley, Portugal  I am obsessed with the patterns in the land!

$145. (unframed) 4x6” mini original watercolor
Available to the 1st person to email
(framing 8x10 $35 - shipping available at cost)
If unsold by 12/4 the price goes to $225

__________________________________
Portugal #2
Pena Castle, Portugal.  I liked the light.

$145. (unframed) 4x6” mini original watercolor
Available to the 1st person to email
(framing 8x10 $35 - shipping available at cost)
If unsold by 12/4 the price goes to $225

Today was hopping busy!  All of the fall things had to be picked up and put away and we dug out some Christmas things.  I have a large pile of pumpkins to go to a farm.  Hung 3 wreaths.  We decided to buy a new fridge in case the prices go up.   We have a 25 year old Crosley who's seals cannot be replaced and its time!  So a trip to Martins and $1500 later...and that's with NO bells or whistles!   Then to New Holland to pick up the Suburban at the shop; sporting a new catalytic converter.   The grocery store, the pet store for a litter mat, Target for a dust buster. Then we took apart the studio so we can get back to work tomorrow. Cut a special order mat.  Its 6:30pm and I am beat, 8,837 steps, climbed 10 flights of stairs (running down to the basement to haul things up!)

and its over...

We had two excellent Open House weekends. Saw lots of old friends had some new clients and sold lots of paintings and prints. It is always amazing to see the amount of work that goes into the show and suddenly its all over.  A little let down...   My focus needs to change to Holiday/Christmas but I need to go on a search for subjects. We have plans for Gettysburg, Cape May and NYC.

I have a story to tell... December 1978 I went to the Village in Lancaster to dance and met Linda!! We have been together since that day. We  used to go out dancing 3-4 nights a week all around Lancaster for several years. When we started a family that stopped! We had not been back to the Village since 1982. It recently reopened. Last Friday after Open House from 10-5, then a family dinner at Scooters; Linda's brother and wife from Virginia surprised us with a visit.  And then at 7:30pm we went to the Village to hear Bump City and we danced till 10!   What a little thrill to be back there, So many memories! A bit full circle.

Open soon...

Today was the girls cook day, then rearrange the kitchen and stage the table.  I am making it sound easy but it was a full days job.


Here are the new prints...

Incase you need a reminder...  see you soon!

2 days...

 Today was cooking prep day for Linda and her helpers.  Cheese and meats are ready.  Toffee pretzels and Chex mix were made.  Linda woke with a red itchy eye and the girls were worried she had pink eye so we spent 2 hours at Urgent Care to find its only allergies!  Meanwhile,  I took our van to be looked at for a bit of work scheduled for next week, blew some leaves and washed off the front porch and sat with Linda at Urgent Care!  It is 6pm and planning on a quiet evening.

Two more originals waiting for Friday at 2PM!

4 Days to Go...

We had a "to do" list today and everything got done! The studio is set up with some older painting. Panels, covers and lights. We moved the check out desk from the studio into the area off the kitchen. I oiled the butcher block counters, polished the kitchen table. Ran to Home Goods for a pitcher for Sangria and to the farm for a few more pumpkins.

Here is a sneak peak...

Douro Valley Finished!

Here is the FINISHED painting! What a challenge it was and I loved it.



Backing up to where I left off...
You can see I am working my way to the top, row after row.

Moving up



Almost at the top...

After this I go back over the whole painting and soften it, add shadows from the overhead clouds.  Scroll back to the top and look at the finished painting one more time.  I am pretty proud of this one.

I worked till 10:30 last night and was back at it today.
Filling in the back row and adding trees to the foreground.

Concentrating on the foreground, going darker.



I am working a row at a time... stone terrace and green vines.

I had a client drive up from Solomons MD and had a nice visit.  Meanwhile Linda made ham & bean soup so friends are coming for soup and grilled cheese.  I am going to keep painting rows...

Last painting before Open House

For my last painting Linda said she needed to fill in with a landscape. I decided on the Douro Valley in Portugal. It was absolutely beautiful, it looked like a patchwork quilt. Terraces holding grape vines and olive trees. It is a UNESCO site and impressive.
This is our travel group at a pull over stop, look at that view behind us.  The photo does not do it justice.

So this is what I wanted to paint.  It is 11x15"  but packed with angles and texture.  I need to show vast distance.   I took a whole day and evening just on this drawing.  All by hand, using a photo on my cell phone for reference.

I woke this morning anxious to get started.  A slow build of  under washes, drying often.

Adding rows of vines and trees, terrace and small hills.   I want to get the flow, all the directions of the patches of fields, showing movement.   I went between excitement and frustration all day.  You are seeing about 8 hours of work today.  

I am expecting to work into the night...

9 Days till Open House...

9 Days to go! There is still 3 small piles of mats to cut and shrink wrap but framing is FINISHED! Linda finished the shopping today (except the fresh stuff). Labels are all printed and cut.
Meanwhile I finished and framed 2 paintings I had been steadily working on.

I have one more I started last night.  A landscape from the Douro Valley.  It is complicated and I want to take my time.