Happiness Blooms from Within

"A flower does not think of competing with

the next flower, it just blooms."

-Anonymous

"Happiness Blooms from Within"

5"x5"

I signed it on the side so the purchaser can decide which way is up.

All works are copyrighted and all rights are reserved by the artist.

My original paintings are available in my online gallery.

Prints of many of my paintings are available in my Etsy shop. 

Let me know if you're interested in prints of my paintings.

  I welcome commissions.

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She Shines

I was commissioned to create a caricature of an amazing woman I know. Seriously, there's nothing about her that isn't amazing and I was super honored to take on this project. What fun!

"She Shines"

Click here to view my gallery 

Most of my paintings are for sale and I welcome commissions.

Please click the links below to share my blog.

I'd love to hear from you...feel free to leave me a comment.

Happy

So I figure I've got a pretty darn happy marriage when pretty much the biggest thing we fight about is jelly. Yes, jelly.

You see, this past weekend I rediscovered peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. This is something that occurs about every five years or so. And, by golly, last weekend when I had folks here all day both days for WEST I was all in for a quick bite. But...I wound up eating the last bit of Dave's precious grape jelly.


Dave: "You ate all my jelly!"

Me: "Your jelly? I bought it."

Dave: "It's my jelly."

Me: "I'll buy more."


And now we have two jars of grape jelly. Perhaps I'll mark them "his" and "hers".


Here's my second piece inspired by Joan Miró. Tomorrow I'll create one inspired by him and less "just like" his. Today's and yesterday's pieces were warm-ups for tomorrow's.

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

How do you spell "Happy"?

There have been a rash of chess game requests at my house lately.

OK, to be totally honest, I don't like playing chess. I know how to play, I've known since I was a kid, but when I tune into my feelings...well, the inner me says, "uh-uh". I'm much more of a Scrabble girl. Now that game makes me feel good (almost every time).

But even though I made it perfectly clear to my family that I don't like the game, each of them managed to convince me to play them. So I did, under duress.

I played the big guy...I won.

Then I played Dave...I won.

Lastly the little guy...you got it, I won.


But this chess-winnin' girl just wanted to play Scrabble.


Me: "Will you play Scrabble with me?"

Little guy: "Sure."


And we played. And he won his first game ever against one of his parents. And I was so happy!

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.

 

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

ACL Love

I know that ACL means something to so many people.  Great music...fun crowds...sunkissed bliss.

Know what it means to me?

I get to hang out in my house with the windows open and listen to the jams.  I get to make about a million cookies for my kid to sell in our front yard as all the festival goers walk by (he and a friend are raising money for an upcoming school trip to Costa Rica).  I get to paint and write to my heart's delight and enjoy it all...from the comfort of my own home. 

I love ACL!

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale.

 

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

A Good Day

Conversation in the car today:


Little guy:  "Today just feels like a really good day."

Me:  "Did something special happen."

Little guy:  "No, it just feels like a good day."

Me:  "I know that feeling."


I love that he tunes in like that!

This is part of my Hallway Project.

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I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Flowers and Stripes

The other day when I was walking my big dog, Hazel, I spied ahead of me something of pure delight.  Actually, someone.  A lovely lady was walking my way, her shoulder-length wavy gray hair bounced with each step, and she was wearing the most magnificently happy outfit ever!

She had a long-sleeved blue, red, and white striped shirt that came down to her upper thighs, and then below that she had on turquoise flowered capris.  I smiled ear-to-ear as she and I were about to pass.


Me:  "Your outfit makes me so happy!"  I told her.

Lovely lady:  "Your dog makes me happy!"  She told me.


And then off we went in opposite directions, happiness enhanced.  Bliss!



...I knew right then that I had to tell this story on canvas.

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I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!

Open Wide and say, "Woof!"

Every morning I eat my yogurt.  And every morning my dog, Hazel, patiently watches me.  And every time I finish scraping every last bit I can get out with a spoon (and sometimes a finger tip), I hold the container out to her.

And she opens her mouth.  She closes her mouth.  She turns her head side to side.  She looks at me.  Now, I'm thinking, "Goofy one, why don't you just grab the edge?"  She's thinking, well, not what I was thinking.

Hazel opens her mouth wide...wider...widest...and takes hold of the yogurt container ALL the way across its opening.  Mind you, it's not some baby Yoplait container, no way.  It's a wide rimmed sucker, but she manages, goes off to her bed, settles in, and blissfully cleans it out.

Now this all worked fine, although wackily, until I deviated from my usual shopping plan.  I was at a different store and my favorite yogurt wasn't available.  I was going for second best, but they only had the half quart size.  So, I got it. 

For days on end Hazel would watch me, hope in her eyes, as I dug into the HUGE container, ate my bit, and put it back in the fridge.  Disappointed she was.  Until the last day when I finally finished it off.  That sweet girl of mine, who never wavered from her beside-me anticipation, was finally rewarded.  I held out the HUGE container.  She opened her mouth.  She closed her mouth.  She turned her head side to side.  She looked at me and thought, "Yeah, I think I'm gonna just grab the edge."  And off she went to blissfully clean it out.

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The Excitement of Bran Muffins

I think I have to chalk it up to age that Dave and I are both super excited about this new bran muffin recipe I just found.  We seriously love them!  And what's even better is that I make them in my mini-muffin tin so they're yummy and cute!

And what made it more exciting was that the recipe amounts were all metric, so a conversion calculator was my best friend.  And it called for buttermilk, which I never, ever have, but I figured out I could make a substitute myself with milk and vinegar.  And I changed the recipe to substitute a banana for the sugar.  And there are raisins and apples in them, too!!

These are exciting times, people!  Math, science, and regularity all from one particularly delicious food item.

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Mean Mom Alert!

Yup.  Tis true.  I'm officially a mean mom...again.

You see, I've officially stopped making food for my kid.  I know, sounds awful...but the thing is, nothing else was working.  The kid was assigned a summer reading project (personally, I think it's mean to assign a kid an assignment over the summer) and he won't read the book.  And it's a great book.  One of my favorites ever.

We've tried:

- no friends over
- no sleep overs
- no technology

And we've had no results...at all.

So, today when he let me know that he was starving as soon as I got home from work, and I found out that he still hadn't read, well, I told him I was done cooking for him.

And did I create a passionate reader?  Well, no.  But I did create a kid who has since displayed an amazing ability to cook for himself.

Thinking that makes my parenting moment not a total fail, right?

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