Merry Christmas to you!

Wishing each of you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday. Have a wonderful happy healthy new year. I have pictured here for you my gallery wall showing a few of the paintings I have available. Right now I'm waiting for my son to arrive. He's coming home for Christmas, my daughter has been for a visit earlier this month but has to work on Christmas Day. Dusty and Daisy are laying in front of our little red stove warming themselves, and our kitty is nestled in the packages, J. is answering the door...... Merry Christmas, Here he comes.. love to you, Diana

Texture in Watercolor of Cyclamen

Hi,it snowed here. It is lovely and already melting off the road and trees. Here is a photo of my backyard with the snow, beautiful,isn't it!

With some family coming this weekend and more coming next week for Christmas I've decided to take some time and paint. Ha Ha.. I know I shouldn't but anyway.(My cookies are made-- yes you may stop by for some with a cup of coffee or tea.I know I still need to do more cleaning but--) Here is the beginning of my pink cyclamen watercolor. I bought this flower last week and love the shape of the petals.. Look closely over the middle of the cyclamens in the painting.. do you see that texture..??? Can you guess what it is? I used a potato masher on the wet paint and left it there to dry. Watercolor is wonderful.

Wishing you a wonderful holiday, start celebrating immediately. Talk to you soon, Diana

Egg Yolk Paint For Cookies

Hi,this is my 100Th post. Wow so hard to believe. This is for cookies! After you make up your sugar cookie recipe and roll and cut your cookies. Make this simple egg yolk paint for decoration. Take the yolk of one egg and divide into 2 bowls,add food coloring and paint on the cookies with a clean children's paint brush. Use one brush per color or wash after each use. Then bake your cookies as usual. Fun for all especially us artists and kids love to join in. talk to you soon, Diana

Christmas Past Sketch

HI, yesterdays show at Copper Creations' was wonderful. We had lots of people stop in and good food, amazing art.Lots of Fun and good sales!

Too tired to paint today, so here is a sketch from Christmas Past from my sketchbook, this is of our Christmas tree that year, a white pine. It also shows some of the cards we received. It was my grandmothers practice to hang her cards over the curtains to display them so I do this too. One of these as you can see is from Guy Wilkins,a dear artist friend.

I hope even if you aren't an artist you consider getting a sketchbook and sketching your Christmas memories. Remembering is much easier after you literally draw it. Also here is a photo of my art table now with reflections of this years tree in the mirror(the Christmas Moose is a gift to be)..So I'm going to rest and talk to you soon, Diana

Hey Froggie Baby...

HI, The title for the post is from a line of a children's book,one of my daughter's favorites when she was little. :)I've painted this little red eyed tree frog and will frame it today for the show tomorrow( I will glaze the black background again, how to: apply clear water on background and mix ultramarine blue and sepia-use a lot of color and apply to background,leave to dry).

Copper Creations Christmas Open House. Hope you can come it's in Melfa,Va.on the Eastern Shore.10am-4pm Dec.11. Here is a photo of a piece of Don and Donna Drew's work- this lovely hummingbird flying above a flower. I have it in my garden and have quite a few of their pieces.(This is one of my favorites.)

So to get ready for the show I have to 1-make cornbread,my Dah's recipe,2-make fresh apple cake,3-frame 2 paintings,4-pack the car.. and J. has hurt his back so I may need to round up muscle for unloading..

This is going to be a fun show!!It always is! Join us if you can.. Talk to you Soon, Diana

Barbara of Maplewood Gardens

HI, Sad news. Barbara Custis of Maplewood Gardens died Monday after a long battle with cancer. She was a friend and a kind person. She always invited the ESAL ( Eastern Shore Art League) to her lovely farm/garden to paint in July. We would bring dishes to share and enjoy her company and swim in her pool and paint her flowers and sheep. It was a lovely day. We will miss her. These are photos of her garden and my painting is of a quiet spot there. Soft music flowed into the garden. A lovely place and a lovely person. This is in memory of Barbara and for her family. Love, Diana

Red and Green Peppers (Christmasy?)

Hi,I'm trying to get ready for the holidays and so I'm shopping and cooking and cleaning, oh my.( you know how it is) I haven't had time to paint but will soon.. this is a painting I did a while ago and have sold. I like the looseness. My inspiration were beautiful peppers I bought from Sam's and a vine photo I took at Maplewood Gardens, a lovely farm near Nassawadox on the Eastern Shore. Green and red.. maybe a little like Christmas..

I made 10 dozen chocolate chip cookies for my family's upcoming visit.I'll be making more!! I will talk to you soon, Don't eat too many cookies.. I'll try not to. They don't have carbs, do they? Diana

Frozen Wash in Watercolor

hi, this painting is my white poinsettia. What is so different about this is in the bottom left hand side look closely and you will see ice crystals.. Yes, isn't that exciting. I did my wash, clear water then color and took the painting outside and left it on the table in my porch. The temperature was below 32 degrees F. that night. When I brought it in there were ice crystals where the wash had frozen, so very delicate, so very precious. Now it doesn't work all the time but when it does.. ah gorgeous. So this is my icy tip for you!! talk to you soon, Diana