Newest Blue Crab Watercolor in the Works and THE Eastville Inn Opening~!

My newest blue crab, I've been working on this week.

HI~ I did a little drizzle of water and then color in the background and drew the crab after this was dry. I've still got to add a few more legs and finish him. It's been fun.

I just walked Sadie, our lab, around the backyard. She wandered into the woods but thank goodness did not bring me anything today(yesterday it was a smelly treasure ugh) and she came back pretty quickly.

I then walked into the nursery across the street but it was so cold I didn't dilly dally as my grandmother used to say. I was moving faster than usual. Picked up a few Ginko leaves and came home, there was a pine branch in the driveway so I''ll put that in the living room somewhere for the lovely smell.

I made chocolate chip cookies this morning but did them in bars. Funny they don't seem to taste as good. Ha.  What have you been doing today?? love to you,Diana

PS> Don't forget Come to The Eastville Inn tomorrow night, Dec. 20 anytime from 6-8pm I will be showing my work in this gorgeous restaurant.  Hope to see you if you are nearby. Thank you!!!

Hanging at the Art Show

Here I am setting up for the show yesterday.

HI! I displayed my artwork at Franktown United Methodist Church Art Show and Bazaar yesterday.  Here I am after John and I got the racks up. I should be smiling but I'm still in hurry up and get it together mode. I had at least 40 paintings to hang. I do the hanging as when he helps hang, I always rearrange it. Ha ha..so I let him go home and he comes back 15 minutes before the show ends to help pack up and carry it to the car. I honestly don't know how I'd do it without him. My back is not good. I'm still wiped out from yesterday but I slept good last night and do feel better.  I had framed 10 new watercolors the day before.

New Crab, 8x10 framed $99. original.

 Sales were slim yesterday but I did sell one larger one so that's good. When I got home my order was in from Jerry's Artarama so I got all my paper. I'm looking forward to getting a hot press sheet out! They were having a good sale.

 Lots of my friends were showing too and I enjoyed being with them. The FUMC had a wonderful lunch. Two homemade sweet potato bisquits with ham and chicken and dumpling soup for $5. I got this and it was so good!!! The money the church made will go to Local Missions(when someone locally can't pay their heating bill or their house burns down or a similar event occurs the missions pay or help with their payments--anyone can apply to ask for help), which is wonderful.

 So tell me how your weekend was. Love to each of you! Diana

Wack it With A Hammer Kind of Day and Franktown ART SHOW THIS SATURDAY

New Watercolors for Franktown UMC Art Show this weekend.

Have you ever had a "Wack it with a Hammer" kind of day?? This is the kind of day when if a hammer is near it would be lovely to wack the computer or whatever isn't working with it. Of course you have. We all have and this is one of those for me.   Oh Boy!.. I tried to get on blogger to find my address had been deleted from the computer. Then I got that straight to find my photos were where??? I had changed the batteries in the camera -- I don't know why but I couldn't find the photos... well you understand. Just took these new photos for the show this weekend. I'll send an email as soon as the email starts to work again! HA... I send an email to my friends and customers with a new photo of my newest work before my art show. I usually do it one week in advance with the information about the show. 

Here is my new sunflower painting finished. Remember the cherish the day post,well the top little painting is other treasures I found with Sadie's(our white Labrador retriever) help, of course, and painted on masa paper. My newest crab watercolor, my lotus blossom, my 2 owls, and my newest the eggplant with Raina's tomato and Daddy's Sugar Maple leaf. John, my husband brought me this eggplant this past Friday and I had to paint it first, then yesterday, I made ratatouille. Yes, actually I'm a good cook.

The Franktown UMChurch Art Show and Bazaar is this Saturday from 9;30am-3;30pm. I will be there with other artists and the bazaar too will be going on so gorgeous art and tons of homemade baked goods will be featured. I hope you can come if you are nearby. Franktown,Va. near Nassawadox,Va. on Virginia's Eastern Shore.

Thank you and love to each of you and I'll be visiting your blogs soon. love,Diana

Blue Crab Watercolor Finished

HI, I finished the crab today. I wanted to keep as much pour as possible in the body but it was too light so I added the mixture of viridian green, burnt umber and cad. yellow medium (my version of Sap Green). I like to mix my colors, Do you?? Wishing you a happy weekend!! love to you,Diana

Ps. How do you like to eat crabs? I love soft crabs fried,crab cakes...This is the crab that we can catch here on the Eastern Shore. We used to go string crabbing --tie a chicken neck on a long string with a weight on it and throw it into the bay,sit on the dock near the line--our feet dangling off the dock, and hold the line until we felt the tiny tug.. Hollar(Yell loudly--even though the person is sitting right next to you!!) for someone to get the crab net and slowly pull it up as they dip the crab and place in a bucket to be steamed as soon as we had enough!! It was a delightful day, I still like to go string crabbing. Have you ever been??

A Crab Watercolor and Wild Mushrooms

crab.. in progress

Sadie Sketches..

Oyster mushrooms??

HI. Here is a crab watercolor. I've just sketched onto my poured background and am negatively painting around the crab. I actually have a little time today!!! Oh it feels so good to paint. Here are 2 sketches of Sadie ha.. one she has her head off the bed. Wish I could sleep that soundly! On my forages into the woods, here are some Oyster Mushrooms. No I don't feel like my identification is good enough to try them... but it's so much fun to find a new mushroom to just look at.. ok maybe paint.... I too found Old Man in the Woods Mushrooms, these are black with almost fur on top and grow from dead wood..so unusual looking. So back to the crab.. hope you know who(Sadie-our puppy) is not awake yet.. love to you,Diana