Oklahoma Redbuds

This is a painting I did a long time ago, and gave to a friend, who reminds me of it almost every time I see him. The painting came to my attention today, when I was looking for something on my computer. Being that we are in the redbud season of the year I thought I would post it.

Our redbuds have already started blooming almost a month early. In fact spring is here in Oklahoma already. I look out in my backyard and the daffodils, crocuses, and hyacinths are blooming everywhere. Lots of flowers on the plum and peach tree, and I pray that it won’t freeze so we can have an abundant crop of fruit this year, but you never know in Oklahoma. The weather can change dramatically. It’s hard not to get your hopes up.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

All Thy Works With Joy Surround Thee

This painting is from a photo I took on a road to the beautiful Sandia Mountains in Santa Fe.

It reminds me of this beautiful verse from the hymn Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee written by Henry Van Dyke:

“All thy works with joy surround thee,
earth and heaven reflect thy rays,
stars and angels sing around thee,
center of unbroken praise.
Field and forest, vale and mountain,
flowery meadow, flashing sea,
chanting bird and flowing fountain,
call us to rejoice in thee.”

Old Roses Drying

Old roses drying…

From Art and Faith by Makoto Fujimura…

“The Bible begins with Creation and ends with New Creation. Everywhere in between, Creator God (the grand Artist) beckons the broken, but creative, creatures (the little- ‘a’ artists) to create shalom/peace in the face of our “Ground Zero” reality all around us. God sent God’s Son, Jesus, to be the reconciler and redeemer – to set the world right, and to exhibit God’s love in the world.”

A Few Minis to Share

Belle of Balmera and Arabian Night

6″ x 6″ oil on panel

SOLD

These were my last dahlias of the season. There are no flowers in my garden that I spend as much time coddling. I wrapped each flower in netting for a month or so to prevent the grasshoppers from decimating them. I do love dahlias!!!

Red Berries in Red Vase

4″ x 4″ oil on mini canvas

SOLD

Lily of the Valley

4″ x 4″ oil on mini canvas

$45

A beautiful poem by my daughter Anna to accompany this mini painting…

blanketing the forest
tiny bells worship
without a sound
bowing to the breeze
her tears
bathe the valley
heavenly balm released

Let Your Light Shine

4″ x 4″ oil on mini panel

$45

These last two minis are available at the G Gallery and Glass Studio in Guthrie, OK.

Here’s a quote from a book I’ve been reading called “Art and Faith”, a very inspiring book for artists, makers, and creators by Makato Fujimura:

“Our creative intuition, fused with the work of the Spirit of God, can become the deepest seat of knowledge, from which our making can flow.” – Makato Fujimura

Enjoy your day… 🙂

Wildflowers in Silver Plume, CO

One of my favorite places in Colorado, the little old mining town of Silver Plume. This little cabin is right across the street from a wonderful bakery ‘Sopp and Truscott’. When our dear friend Frances owned the shop many years ago we would always feel welcome and very loved. Her bread was out of this world delicious! Wildflowers flourished in front of this small cabin in the summer months.

20″ x 24″ oil on canvas

$650

Asiatic Lilies

10″ x 20″ oil on linen

$325

These Asiatic Lilies grow in my garden every summer, except for when the deer eat the blooms. :( Deer have become a real problem to us, I think because we no longer have a dog on our property. They have been munching on almost everything.

Here is a photo from my studio several years ago showing the bouquet I was painting from…

The painting itself went through several transformations, because I darkened the background and ended up liking the lighter better. It took a couple years for me to finally finish it. 🙂

“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” Matthew 6: 28-29

Lilies are really beautiful, aren’t they?

Limelight Hydrangeas

These flowers grow in abundance outside my kitchen window all summer long. Changing colors from white to lime green to pinkish brown, dancing in the wind and stormy rains, withstanding the hottest summer triple digit temperatures, even drying in the fall into gorgeous floral arrangements. These plants are over the top amazing!!!

14 x 14 oil on linen

$365

This painting started out with a white background, but then I opted for black.

Here is another picture of the painting drying on my windowsill next to the bouquet itself. The bouquet is still sitting on my windowsill 6 months later, and still looks beautiful. 🙂

“Yahshua saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen Me, thou hast believed; blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” John 20: 29

Vintage Vase

I’m sure feeling vintage today, remembering this vase from…well…as far back as I can remember, maybe 4 years old. My mom had a parakeet, and she would let it out of the cage every so often. It would fly over to this vase and peck on it. The vase has survived moving to far distant lands, and sad to say I never asked my mom where it came from.

My dahlias from the garden are delighted to be in it…I just know. 😉

10 x 12 oil on linen

$250 includes black frame

Available from G Gallery and Glass Studio

Sweet Nothings

So pleased that my daughter Anna wanted this painting as soon as I finished it. She is so talented with woodwork, and found an old gold frame that she was able to cut down to fit the piece. I’ve always told my children that if they want a painting, they have first dibs.

10″ x 10″ oil on linen

My Mother’s Vase

She is gone now and I don’t know anything about this vase. It’s so important to find those things out while our parents, aunts and uncles, etc. are still alive and write them down, lest too, we also forget. My mother was Swedish, so when I heard about Swedish Death Cleaning it peaked my interest.

Swedish Death Cleaning… sounds kind of depressing, but here is a definition:

Swedish Death Cleaning is the brainchild of author Margareta Magnussen, who coined the term in her 2017 book The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter. Magnussen asks her readers to consider the loved ones who must comb through your possessions after you’ve died, providing suggestions for making their experience as easy as possible.

In practical terms, this means organizing and decluttering your home to reduce the burden of sifting through dozens of objects and trying to decide what’s significant. With Swedish Death Cleaning, you’ll have already done that for them by only holding onto items you’ve determined to be essential. 

the SPRUCE

I think this is a really good idea, but also brings me back to the fact that what we treasure and leave to the next generations needs to be labeled so that they know why and what and when. Really speaking to myself here, as I need to incorporate this into my decluttering.

Have any of you done this yet, or does this inspire you to do this yourselves?