One of my most treasured memories.

Good morning. Last night, in the wee hours, I finished a little watercolor painting which was inspired by a camping trip we took last year. We had never been to this particular campground…and it was my idea to go there.
I thought I would never hear the end of it as we tried to reach our destination. The road was narrow, curvy and steep with few guardrails and the edge of the cliff at our side. Huge septic trucks came barreling down toward us several times and Hubby had to veer cautiously, yet quickly to the grassy edge of the road….I thought we were going over the edge more than once!

There were a few mishaps once we got there. The site I had paid for online was too small for our tent. The bathrooms were far away. And….we didn’t have to worry about bears so much as we did wild hogs and mountain lions! They even had special hog proof boxes for our ice chest!

After we settled in, we began to appreciate where we were. We have never been to a campground with so much wildlife. An owl hooted softly over our tent all night long.


In the morning, before the sun came up, I had to trek to the potty. On my way back, I decided to go look over the site we originally had. It was right on the edge of a slope overlooking the oak-studded valley. As I got near the edge, I looked out at one of the most incredible things I have ever seen. Of course, I didn’t have my camera with me, so I tried to soak in the view and etch it in my mind so I might be able to paint it later. It really took my breath away and actually brought me to tears.
My painting cannot come close the beauty I saw that morning….but I enjoyed trying. Here it is, listed at auction on Ebay. Enjoy!
 CLICK HERE to see it.

So true, but not just for today.

 

 

I don’t follow my horoscope “religiously.” I just look at it once in a while for entertainment. Sometimes, I am very entertained my how appropriate they are.  Like today’s:

 

Libra (Sep 23 – Oct 22)

Wednesday, Feb 12th, 2014

• Yesterday
• Today
• Tomorrow

You can see potential in things that other folks miss today, and it's up to you to use this special vision to your advantage. Ultimately, it's your innate creativity that enables you to discover these magical possibilities. Now it's time to jump in and play an active role in manifesting results. However, don't try to do everything all at once or you might burn out too quickly. Follow your intuition and turn your dreams into tangible reality.

*********************

     It just so happens I was about to post some photos today of my latest project. It is part of a larger project which will be unveiled later. Anyway, I have this old shower pole shampoo shelf thingy that is rusted too much to clean up and look nice in our recently rehabbed bathroom. But, instead of throwing it away, I saw potential!

     So, I decided to plant succulents in each shelf and place it in the garden. I’m really happy with how it’s turning out!

 

I’ve also had the pleasure of working on another commissioned Whimsical Pet Portrait.

My subject was a beautiful cat by the name of JuJu Bee.

 

She looks as sweet as her name….

 

…but her owner wanted me to portray JuJuBee’s mischievous side.

 

I came up with a few rough mock-ups for my client to choose from:

She liked them all but ultimately chose the first one. After discussing the colors and addition of garden window, I got out my paints.

So here is the final piece and I’m so happy that my customer said she loves it!

If you are interested in a custom pet portrait of your very own, Click HERE to visit  my etsy shop.

I’ve got more projects in the works so I will be posting on my blog more frequently. I’d love for you to join me!   ~Shell