Sunflower Farm in Gilroy, CA

This farm was across the street from the seed flower farm in Gilroy. So much yellow, orange and green in one place. I painted it on a full sheet of watercolor paper and had it professionally matted and framed for my gallery show.

The Lavender Farm in Oregon

Hi Everyone! I'm back after a very long work spell. I have so much to tell you about and to show you! This is my latest painting of a lavender farm I saw last summer. We were driving on the Historic Columbia River Highway on our way to see the famous Columbia Gorge and the double waterfall there when someone pointed out that they saw a lavender farm off the side of the road. A lavender farm they said? You mean I could stop regretting that I didn't sign up for the dreamy painting trip to Provence? Yes, I could! The lavender farm was right next to me in Oregon! How many people reading this love lavender? Let me hear you shout it out! Alright, me too!

Flower Farm in Gilroy

Hot off the press! I just finished this painting last night. I took the photo while on a road trip to Los Angeles with my daughter, Katherine, this summer. I was snapping photos along the way when to my great and delighted surprise I saw this flower/seed farm at the 101 and 152 junction in Gilroy, California. Then I looked to my right and saw a sunflower farm! I've already drawn that one out on paper and I'm ready to paint it today. Both of these paintings will be ready to show for my artist's reception at Gallery Saratoga on Dec 12th. Come on by!

Villa Montalvo on a Throw Blanket

Take a look at this! My Villa Montalvo painting on a throw blanket! The throw is a large, 53"x 71" , thick, 100% cotton, made in the USA blanket. I've bought two throws like this in the past from gift shops and specialty stores and now I'm thrilled I can sell throws with my own paintings on them.

Fairy Land

I just finished the Fairy Land painting this morning while listening to some beautiful Celtic music sung by Heather Dale. (I highly recommend her music www.heatherdale.com) Why do I always want to stop at only drawing the pen and ink picture (see October 26th's entry). Color is the life and soul of the painting! I think I may be heading toward children's book illustrating one small step at at time.

Holiday Gift Bags

I just finished the first holiday boutique of the 'o9 holiday season. My kitchen table was converted to the manufacturing and packaging center complete with stations for making cards, magnets, lavender sachets and bookmarks. What an understanding family I have to let me take over the dining room for a while.
The Unique Boutique in Sunnyvale California is a wonderful little shop run by seniors. It was the first shop I sold anything in and I love the ladies that are in it.

Proteus Flowers

These South African Proteus flowers thrive in the Southern part of Australia too. I painted these flowers on a Get Well card while in Australia for my brother's friend who had a bike accident. I hear he's better now though still not 100%, 4 months later.

Fairy Land Drawing

This weekend while I was watching my daughter's soccer tournament in Fresno, I drew out a "Fairy Land". I'm at the point where I think the drawing is finished and don't want to wreck it by messing up on the painting, but I must press on. I got the idea for doing this when a patron at the Coffee Society asked if I could do a fairy painting and put it on a cup since his wife loves fairies. I've loved the idea of fairies since I clapped my hands for Tinkerbell to live, and she did! I'll post the painting when it's finished.

Cabin Pine Cones and Leaves

What can I say? When God makes the raw materials for a painting, and they fall from the trees to the ground in just the right position for a painting, can I really take the credit for it? I just want to praise the Creator who does all things well.

p.s. this little painting found a loving home and I'm happy it did.

Little Cabin in the Woods

My husband encouraged me to walk down the hill a bit and look at the cabin from a new angle since the trees were cleared and new pathways were available to us. I hadn't seen it look quite so picturesque before, though it does look very beautiful in the snow. My imagination took hold and I had to draw all the rocks and boulders with a pen before I painted it. I've been wanting to use this kind of style even more since I painted this picture.

Years ago Rich's great step-grandmother made a beautiful garden all around the cabin. I wanted this painting to sing out echoes of it's former glory.

Deer at the Cabin

Again, I love seeing deer in the woods...

Cabin View

This is the view from the back deck of our cabin in the Sierra foothills. We just had some trees removed so we can see the view of the next mountain range. I painted the same spot for Cabin Dreams, but it looks very different from that painting. This is the 2nd time I posted this painting (see April 19th). Since I had this painting already, I had the idea to build on it to make a collection of one of my favorite places.

Cabin Rest

What do you know. On the back deck of the cabin we have a hammock for dreaming, but on the side deck we have a hammock for resting. The hammock was actually blue and white stripes, but I wanted to paint it like Joseph's coat of many colors.

Cabin Dreams

At our cabin in the Sierra Nevada foothills, we have this peaceful spot off the back deck where we can nap as long as we want to. Heres to the lazy summer days at the cabin.

The Making of the Cabin Collection

Hi! In this entry I want to show you what it was like at the end of July, beginning of August for me. I took on this project of making an entirely new collection of paintings to hang at the gallery for August. I've been in the gallery since February and have had to provide from 5 to 8 new paintings each month (with a few I could carry over from a previous month.) So by the time August rolled around I ran out of new and slightly reused paintings! The only thing I could do was to paint like a madwoman... 7 paintings in 2 weeks! I drew on my old elementary school teaching skills to "assembly line" each step of the way. First, I drew them all out. Then I painted one background, and while that was drying I started another and then another and another....

In the second picture you see the framing process. Same assembly line mentality. You never know when you will use the skills you learned for another job on a totally different job. I remembered when I was teaching Sunday School and Vacation Bible School and had to prepare the crafts for 25 to 75 kids. This felt so much like that.

The last picture shows the paintings hung at the gallery. I finished 6 of the 7 paintings. One is still here in the studio waiting on me for inspiration. Since then 2 of the paintings found good homes. I'm glad I finished it since now I can bring six of them to another show I'll be attending in Roseville on October 17th. That'll be a piece of cake now that I have all the paintings I need for it.

Gallery Saratoga Garden Party and Art Show 8-09

We had a lovely garden party and art show hosted by Gallery Saratoga this August. A jazz band played while people looked at the art. I shared my booth with two other artist friends. Fun for all.

Villa Montalvo

After I finished taking photos, I walked to the middle of the grass, sat down, and drew out this picture. I had my paints all set out and ready to go, but I only had time to draw that day. Later I drew over my pencil lines with pen and ink and added more details to the picture. I decided to keep most of what I did Au plein air and not to correct it too much. I liked the spontaneous feel it gave to the painting. Oh, the pink tree in the front was painted using my artistic license...

No, I'm not getting paid by Villa Montalvo to promote them. I chose to do that all on my own. But I did discover they're having a holiday arts and crafts show on November 20, 21 and 22 this year and I applied to sell at a table there. This came about because I gave some cards I made of some of these paintings to someone who works with my husband, since she's a member of the Friends of Montalvo group, and that same day she emailed me about this show! What a pleasent coincidence!

Some of the people who saw these paintings said they remind them of story book illustrations. I had the idea to publish a small book of some kind with these paintings in it to sell at the show. What do you think? Any suggestions?

To finish the Wikipedia article, I'll post the part about what Villa Montalvo is doing today:

Villa Montalvo today

Today, Villa Montalvo is a private non-profit arts center called Montalvo Arts Center. The 3.5 miles (5.6 km) of hiking trails are maintained through a partnership with Santa Clara County. The park and arts center are open to the public. Funding support is provided by the Friends of Montalvo memberships, as well as foundation grants, other private donations, and earned income via ticket sales and rental fees. More than 600 volunteers donate thousands of hours annually to support the arts programs and maintenance of the villa and grounds.

Since 1939, the estate has hosted "artists-in-residence" who live and work on the property. Artists range from musicians, painters, actors, writers and architects. While in residence, the participants produce works and give performances. Since Montalvo started its artist-in-residence program, more than 600 artists from 20 countries have participated. In the fall of 2004, Montalvo opened Sally and Don Lucas Artists Programs which offers facilities and staff supportive of the creative process as well as state-of-the-art technology.

A small gallery, called the Project Space, as well as the box office, are located in the building between the mansion and the Carriage House Theater. Montalvo and its arts programs serve nearly 200,000 visitors each year.

Muses in the Fountain at Villa Montalvo

In the courtyard behind the Villa I found this beautiful fountain. I loved the way the sculptor created these three ladies. One can only imagine the story behind their emotions. I'm going on a fact finding mission to find out, but for now I'll post the painting my imagination came up with. The fountain itself had layers of dried minerals of all colors running down the forms of the ladies.
It wasn't too much of a stretch for me to imagine them in flowing watercolors.

Here again is what Wikipedia has to say about how the Villa was named. Does it mention who these mysterious ladies may be? Perhaps...

Phelan named Villa Montalvo in honor of the popular 16th century Spanish writer Garci Ordonez de Montalvo. Montalvo coined the name "California" in one of his fables. In it he described an island rich with gold and jewels, peopled by Amazons ruled by a queen named Califia. The Amazons in the fable rode griffins, mythical winged guardians of precious treasure. Griffins can be found throughout the arts center grounds, standing guard over Phelan's precious gift.

Did I mention that on the left and right of the ladies are winged creatures?

The Red Hat Ladies at Villa Montalvo

When we arrived at the Villa on that lovely day, we discovered there was a very fancy luncheon going on where all the guests were dressed in their finest. The grand piano was playing favorite songs in the background while the diners were eating both inside the Villa and on the veranda. My eye was captured by these ladies who were all wearing Red Hats. They were from the Red Hat Society, a group of women who celebrate their age (being over 50) and the particular wisdom that only comes from living long and learning from the many experiences life has to offer.

The original owner of this Villa, Senator Phelan, also entertained many famous people here in his day. Here's another timely quote from Wikipedia:
During his lifetime, Phelan hosted many celebrities and notables of the era as guests at Montalvo. Jack London, Ethel Barrymore, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and Edwin Markham were among Phelan's many guests. Though not his only home, Villa Montalvo was one of Phelan's favorites and is where he died.
I close my eyes to picture one of the luncheons in his day and hear the grand piano playing in the background, and I'm glad we can still do the same today.

Columns in the Courtyard at Villa Montalvo

In my previous post I showed you my artist friends at Villa Montalvo. If you turn to see what they're sketching, you'll see this lovely pillared walkway. I particularly liked the way the shadows created the same beautiful patterns on the pillars.

Here is another portion of the Wikipedia article:

In 1911, James D. Phelan, a three-term mayor of San Francisco, California who would go on to be California's first popularly elected US Senator, purchased 160 acres (65 ha) in the Saratoga countryside and foothills.

Phelan began construction of the mansion in 1912. The initial supervising architect was William Curlett. When he died in 1914, his son, Alex Curlett, took over supervision along with partner Charles E. Gottschalk. The construction of the building was completed that same year.

Upon his death, Phelan bequeathed Montalvo thus:

"I would like the property at Saratoga, California, known as Villa Montalvo, to be maintained as a public park open under reasonable restrictions, the buildings and grounds immediately surrounding the same to be used as far as possible for the development of art, literature, music, and architecture by promising students."

Though I may never live in a mansion like this one, I'm so glad it's being shared with fellow artists and with the community. I'm thankful for Senator Phelan's gracious intent. I love the concerts and plays given at Villa Montalvo and I know it has inspired me to paint.

Villa Montalvo Artists

My friends settled in to sketch and paint Villa Montalvo from the side and I thought they made a beautiful picture. A gazebo behind them added to the beauty of the scene. While they were painting, I decided to walk around and take photos of the grounds. Thanks to my friends for the inspiration!

Villa Montalvo: Stairs to Heaven

After so many months I'm back to update the blog. I missed you all and I missed doing the blog! I'm going to start by showing you some paintings I'm currently working on called the Villa Montalvo Series. I've painted 6 and I have 4 small ones drawn out and ready to paint. Three are hanging in the Gallery Saratoga this month. Villa Montalvo is a beautiful set of buildings that use to be owned by a prominent Senator in the area. Here's what Wikipedia says:

Villa Montalvo is an Italian Mediterranean style mansion nestled in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, in Saratoga, California, United States. It was constructed from 1912 to 1914 by California statesman and businessman James Duval Phelan. After Phelan's death, it was donated to the state as a park and then a cultural and arts center, as it exists today. It is a historic landmark and in 1978 was awarded inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places.

Myself and my two artist friends (two followers of my blog, guess who...) decided to paint and photograph the Villa one day. Soon after we got there we settled in and I turned around to see these wonderful stairs cut into the hill. I just knew I had to paint them. Later when I got home I saw the pink roses arching over the top of my photo. This was just the start of what would be a magically wonderful day.

Fleur: On the Front Porch

Fleur is a little store in Aptos, Ca. They sell wonderful things for the home and garden. I was even inspired by her front porch so I painted it in watercolor/pen and ink. This will be the first in a series of paintings I'll make cards and prints from. The owner, Nancy, actually has a beautiful standard poodle that stays with her in the store sometimes. This one on the porch is made of iron.

Gallery Flowers #2: Red, Orange and Yellow Lovelies

Fun, pure fun. I just had to paint the flowers at the gallery again. Someone brought in these red and yellow flowers (can anyone tell me their name?) and I painted while it was my turn to sit. It's great to just let the colors flow and play with the salt. Look at the colors in the photo of Hildy's lovely loon paintings and pink, yellow and orange seascape on the wall to the right of the desk. I let them inspire the background of the painting. And yes, that's really how I set up to paint this time.

Seascape Beach Resort Wedding Bluff #5

Hello my blogging friends! I've been back from Australia for about a month now and getting back into my routine, though it is summertime and I'm still going with the flow around here. I have many more great photos to show you of my trip, but they will come along later. I've been painting little paintings in between attending a wedding, a memorial service, framing for the gallery, family gatherings, cooking for groups of teenagers and hungry 20 somethings, watching fireworks at the beach, two road trips to L.A. with my actress daughter Katherine, tending to 2 sick dogs one week after another.... you get the idea.
Thought I'd show you one painting from that continuing series I have. How many ways can you paint one place? Well, this is #6 (#5 flopped) and I'm working on what may be my personal favorite, #7 (show you that soon.) Since it is a place for weddings I decided to throw roses on the path. Then I put the tree shadows all along it and the grass. I think the effect is interesting. It's like one of those seeing double paintings where it can look like shadows and petals on the sidewalk or a crumpled up red and white sheet. Oh the fun of painting.

Driving home from Churchill Island--Day 7

Here are some images that caught my eye on the drive home from Churchill Island. I was sorry to leave this haven for animals, but as you can see in the last photo, no U-Turns (any way you look at it.)

Churchill Isand-- Day 7

I love farms and farm animals! Rich, do you think we can retire on a very small farm? I loved visiting Churchill Island, a historical settlement by one of the first governors in the area.

Phillip Island-- Day 6

The Penguin Parade!! I was here 17 years ago with my two older girls, Aletheia and Katherine, and was glad to show Bethany the penguins waddling in from the ocean. This time there were no cameras allowed at all past the visitor center, so I took photos inside and drew a sketch of the area while sitting on the bleachers. This has to be one of the most strikingly beautiful places on the earth, the kind all set up for a painting. Too bad there was no photography, but the penguins are upset by flash photography they say. What a memorable time we all had.

Koala Conservation Center on Phillip Island--Day 6

Koalas, koalas, koalas! and a wallaby thrown in as a bonus!

The Nobbies on Phillip Island-- Day 6

Here's a beautiful place called "the nobbies" on the coast of Phillip Island.

Phillip Island-- Day 6

Look at the tails on these seagulls, black with polka dots. Their calls are shriek and long, quite different from those back home.



One of the locals told us a recent storm washed up tree branches onto shore.
Can you see the seahorse in this log?
The colors of the sky and the ocean had a opalescent hue.



Into the Harry Potter forest, oh my!

Walking to the beach close by.
Look at this little visitor Michael found in the beach house we stayed in. It's harmless and beautiful, but I didn't get too close to it. It's called a Huntsman spider- B and I were commenting on how much it blends in with the colors of the trees there.
What a wonderful, activity filled weekend we had on Phillip Island. In this first picture from the drive along the way, I was amazed again at just how much some areas look like the east foothills I grew up in- in San Jose, California.

Saint Andrews Market --Day 5

Shopping at Saint Andrews Market was a friendly, colorful, artful, flea market/thrift shop experience! Notice the dreadlocks and synthetic dreadlocks sold. Being here really got me in the mood to create.

Memorial Cross - Day 4

Here are some pictures of the drive from Hanging Rock to Memorial Cross. I've been clicking away on my camera all the time, even on the drives to and from our destination points. Everything is so picturesque and the lighting is unique. It's mostly been lightly raining off and on so we get these wonderful cloud formations and sun streaming through the clouds.
Memorial Cross was built in memory of World War One veterans.

Climbing Hanging Rock - Day 4

Hanging Rock was named for this rock that hangs between two others. At the top of the climb are idealic views of the Macedon Valley below. (It reminded me of Happy Valley in Mickey and the Beanstalk ... so peaceful, so beautiful.)

Kangaroos at Hanging Rock Reserve - Day 4

Hanging Rock Reserve is a park with Basalt Rock formations formed from old volcanic activity. When we got to the park we saw these picnickers with unexpected visitors! They said they thought a group of children were running up to their blanket, but when they looked up they were kangaroos (pretty rare for them to come up to people.) The roo didn't move from the blanket until she moved the picnic basket.

At the National Institute of Circus Arts: Day 3

On this day we watched Caroline practice her gymnastic feats with her partner, Hannah, high above the ground. Caroline is the flyer. What a special treat for us to view a small part of what has to be hours and hours of exercise, practice and extreme dedication to her art form. How very proud I am of my niece!

In the City of Melbourne: Day 2

We took a tour of Melbourne on this day. What a beautiful international city on the Yarra River and Port Phillip Bay. It is the capitol of the state of Victoria and I've included a photo of their Parliament building. In the center of the city is the National Victoria Art Gallery. Floor one houses the art of the indigenous people of the area. Floor two has art from the 19th and 20th centuries. Floor three has art from select year 12 art students. I was so moved and inspired by all of the gorgeous artwork.

Welcome to Melbourne: Day 1

On the first day we came we had a lovely welcome from our wonderful family down under.
Bethany and Uncle Michael kicked the soccer ball around on the field right across the street from their home. Joshua is a constant companion-- filling in for his cousins Caspian and Cozette back home. We also got to visit Reservoir Secondary College where Michael teaches.

The First 5 days of our Australia Vacation

Hello again!
Bethany and I are having a wonderful time here in Melbourne, Australia. Our hosts are so gracious and it's great to stay with family. Over these last 5 days we've toured the city of Melbourne, seen our niece/cousin practice with her partner high up on the trapeze, visited an art museum, and eaten scones with heavy cream and jam. We've climbed to the summit at Hanging Rock (a lava rock formation) and seen panoramic vistas of idyllic farmlands below (complete with a rainbow!) We watched a mom and her daughter (the real little red riding hood) try to retrieve their blanket from a kangaroo who planked herself down on it waiting for food from their picnic basket (they never did get fed and hopped away). We shopped at colorful St Andrews Market (think Santa Cruz and artsy/alternative dressers) and I've never seen so many dreadlocks in my life (they even sell synthetic dreadlocks)! At this place I couldn't stop taking pictures and we had so many friendly well wishers!
We'll be away for a few days at the coast, but when we come back I'll figure out how to get my photos on the site (got some great shots for all of you, trust me.)
Take care everyone!
No worries,
Charlene

Down in the land of Oz!

Hi everyone!
I'm back but not really. I'll be visiting family in Australia for a few weeks. I'll try to blog while I'm there if I can.
Take care!

Seascape Beach Resort Wedding Bluff #3

This is my third painting of the Wedding Bluff. I enjoyed spattering the tree.

Orchids in the Gallery Parts 1-3

Here's what I did while sitting in the Gallery on Sunday night. Funny thing, I'm so peaceful when I'm drawing and painting from a still life or out in nature that I don't mind too much if people watch me. I even stayed one hour past closing time to finish these! This is the second time I painted these orchids. I framed parts 1 and 2 (the bottom 2 images here) into one painting and hung them in the gallery today. The third one (on the top) will be part of another series of 3. Stay tuned!

Vase of Orchids Card and Envelope

Last Thursday when I was sitting in the gallery, I was looking for things to do while I waited for people to come in. We're encouraged to do art work in the gallery, so I found this deckled edge card in my purse, took out a pencil and drew the orchids and vase someone had brought in. Then I drew over it with a regular black ink pen. The next day I painted it and the back of the card and wrote a note to someone and mailed it. I think I'll do this again!

Coffee Society by the Cupertino Library

I like displaying and selling my things at the Coffee Society. I'm learning here how to keep a good inventory of things and how to change things to keep it interesting. Then at the same time it's so much fun to talk with the terrific people who work there and with the local patrons who call this place their home almost every morning during the week days. It helps that they have great coffee too.

Gallery Saratoga

I thought you'd like to see some of the places where I'm displaying my artwork. Here's Gallery Saratoga, a co-op artist's gallery in Saratoga, CA. Each month we move over to the left a space until eventually we show our pieces all around the gallery.

Seascape Beach Resort Wedding Bluff #2

I painted with my friends yesterday!! It's so much fun to paint with buddies who love the same things. This painting is the second in what will be a series of paintings of this location. The original and prints will find new homes soon, I hope.

Deer in the Auburn Woods

Here are two paintings in one. I call it: Deer in the Auburn Woods. And this is my first painting to sell at the gallery! After I came home from vacation I was surprised to hear this great message on my answering machine. What an encouragement.

Cabin View in the Sierra Foothills

This weekend we had a great time with family and friends. One of my friends, Beth, painted with me for a day while we sat on the deck at the family log cabin in Nevada City, California. Since we recently had many of the trees cleared, we now have a wonderful vista view, and I have a renewed inspiration to paint, paint, paint. Looking at the beauty of the woods reminded of the bible verses in Isaiah 55:12-13. They say," You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands...This will be for the Lord's renown..." And I say, "Let it be Lord! Let it be!"

Easter Tea and a Vase of Calla Lilies

Today was Easter Sunday and I was blessed with painting together with my family. We didn't paint Easter eggs this time, but 6 of us learned Japanese brush painting together, then 3 of us continued with watercolor painting. The vase and lilies were my first attempt at ink painting, but I continued it on into a watercolor painting. I've been wanting to paint my tea set since I was inspired by my new friend Barbra and her teacup painting. This will be the first of many I hope. May God bless you all who read this. He is risen!

Two Sisters Pond- a study of a painting by Dan Fong Liang

Here's a class study of a painting by the amazing artist, Dan-Fong Liang. (I liked it so much I painted it twice.) The photo I took is of my painting behind glass, so you see a reflection of me taking the photo. I went online today to discover more about this artist and what I found out about her is a treasure in itself. She lived life under difficult circumstances and conditions, but these only made her more determined to paint the beauty of the world. You may find it interesting and inspiring to read what I read. Here's the link:

2001 summer

- 2:40pmLiang Dan-fong, 66, is one of the most outstanding woman painters in Taiwan. Wearing a traditional Chinese cheongsam (a close-fitting dress with a high neck ...
taipei.tzuchi.org.tw/tzquart/2001su/qs4.htm - 27k - Cached - Similar pages -

Google her name and more links will come up too.

Calla Lilies at Deborah's

You only have to go into your own yard, or in this case, Deborah's yard, to find something to paint plein air. These lilies seemed to be doing a delicate, choreographed dance while they were blowing in the wind. God's creation is wonderful!

Filoli Garden House Tree with Tulips

Here's a different kind of painting for me. I saw this tree in a beautiful little garden house at Filoli in Woodside, CA. It captured my imagination and I just had to paint it. In front of the other window in this house was a very large birdcage with two doves in it (a subject for a matching painting to come.) Last year I thought I'd enter them both into a juried art show at Filoli. I planned early and started it well ahead of time. However, it turned out that they changed the subject of the art show to botanical flower paintings! Mine is more fanciful and not as realistic as they may want for a botanical painting, but I may just enter it anyway. What do you think?

Cherry Bonsai Tree in my Studio

Here by a special request from my friend, Beth, is a photo of my studio/guest room wall. This tree was commissioned by my daughter when it was her room. Notice the little sculpture (on the top shelf of my bookshelf) I found at my favorite second hand store after I painted the wall. I didn't know anyone else thought of Bonsai Cherry Trees till I found this...

Fabulous Blog Award

My friend Christine graciously nominated me for a Fabulous Blog award. Thank you Christine! Yours is too!

My new Etsy Store

Hi all,
Just wanted to tell you I'm now linked from the blog to my new Etsy store (they sell handmade and vintage things and arts and crafts materials.) Just hit the button on the right under Celio Arts on Etsy, and it'll take you there. Or go to www.celioarts.etsy.com. I'll be adding products you see here to Etsy a little at a time.
Cheers!
Charlene

From A to Z: Window View of a Garden and Beyond

Here it is. My step by step project of my Aunt's painting with a window scene. I had a few steps in between like drawing more details and then tracing over the drawing with a sepia pen and ink 005 permanent pen. The actual painting itself took 12 hours. I'm happy with the way it turned out.

From A to Z: Yosemite

Have you ever been to Yosemite Valley in California? No matter where you are from, you must plan to visit it at least once in your lifetime. We use to camp here often when my children were small. I must make a point to visit it again soon.

From A to Z: Van Wickle Gates at Brown University

I painted this for my niece's graduation present. I love painting historical sites and places of interest. The Freshman class at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island enter the gates and don't officially exit the gates as a class until they graduate. I was privileged to share in this moment at my niece's graduation when the gates were opened wide and hundreds of happy graduates in cap and gowns poured through them.

From A to Z: Umbrellas on Santa Cruz Beach and Boardwalk

I painting this while sitting on the beach in Santa Cruz, waiting for my daughter's sand soccer tournament to start. The beach was more crowded than I've ever seen, with teams from all over California converging on it. But I chose to take out the people for the day and make the beach all my (our) own. You can see a hint of the roller coaster from the boardwalk on the left.

From A to Z: Train in the Sierras

Here is a painting I completed in Dale Momii's class. I learned how to paint in oils from Dale, an extremely talented artist. Please view some of his beautiful oil paintings in the Quent Cordair Gallery at www.cordair.com.

From A to Z: Swan Family

When I painted this I had four young children so I put in four cygnets to represent our happy family. However, I had a thought that I should paint in one more on the Papa's back just in case I ever had my fifth child that I wanted one day. Now we have that 5th beautiful child and I'm glad this swan family is complete.

From A to Z: Sunrise over the Mountains/ Rita's Hope

This painting was done on a sympathy card for a friend. The sunrise symbolizes the hope of resurrection life after death.

From A to Z: Sunflowers in a Vase on a French Country Table

Here's a fun study. I love yellow, blue, orange and green together in a painting. The colors of French Country are so pleasing to me.

Form A to Z: Sunflowers

There's nothing like a field full of sunflowers to change your perspective on your day.

From A to Z: Stream in the Mountains.

This was painted from photos of mountains in Yosemite National Park and from Colorado, of trees from our cabin in the Sierras, of photos from King's Canyon National Park, and a deer in Alum Rock Park in San Jose, California.

From A to Z: Stormy Sky with Sailboats

A painting done from an art book for a class study. Everything looks so watery because it is. That's why I love to paint with watercolors.

From A to Z: Stanford University's Palm Drive

I painted this from a photo of Stanford's Palm Drive. I can't make prints, but the original painting is still for sale.

From A to Z: Sheep on England

We saw this view while driving in England. I love how the farms look like a patchwork quilt and the sheep turned their heads to look at us.

From A to Z: Seascape Beach Resort Wedding Bluff (Midsection Solarized)

Here's the middle of the painting, "solarized".

From A to Z: Seascape Beach Resort Wedding Bluff -Trees Solarized

I was having fun with this paint feature on photoshop called "solarize." I like the effect it had on the trees that are to the left in the original painting.

From A to Z: Seascape Beach Resort Wedding Bluff

The full painting of Seascape Beach Resort Wedding Bluff.

From A to Z: Seascape Beach Resort Wedding Bluff (Mid-section)

This is the midsection only of a long painting I did for the gift shop at Seascape Beach Resort in Aptos, California. I sell my products there and you can see this on cards and cups. This is a beautiful place to get married. I've stayed at the Resort and have eaten there many times. The views are fantastic. The food is gourmet and at a reasonable price! Another destination to put on your must go to list.

From A to Z: (The) Red Hot Poker

Sometimes a flower comes along that begs you to draw and paint it! This one from a photo by Jerod Haskins (taken while he was a missionary to orphans in Africa), did just that to my soul. The multiple petals and the triple colors cause me to praise the God who has endless creativity and imagination!

From A to Z: Rancho San Antonio Park

This painting is one of my personal favorites since this is one of my favorite parks to walk in. We went on many field trips here to see their working farm called Deer Hollow Farm. Docent tours also offered talks to my school age children on the life of the American Indians that originally lived in the area.
A good healthy walk or bike ride through the oak woods and open hills to the top of the hill will rewards you with a panoramic view of the entire San Fransisco Bay Area. I suggest you make it a point to visit this park at least once in your life.

From A to Z: Pony on the Moor

While in England, my husband and I saw these wild ponies racing along the Moor. Some were tame enough to come up to our cars and nuzzle for food!

From A to Z: Pirate Ship Battle

A commission from my daughter. The sky was challenging but I'm pleased with the results that happened from an unconventional method!

From A to Z: (Aletheia's) Pegasus over the Ocean

Here's a commission from my creative daughter and named for her.

From A to Z: Peach Blossoms and a Dragonfly

I added the dragonfly to this painting for my niece who loves them.

From A to Z: Pansies

Another commission from my daughter...

From A to Z: Owls in the Blossoms

A favorite of mine. I painted it twice.

From A to Z: North Georgia Trail (My Dwelling Place)

This was a commission for someone who wished to have a painting of good memories of when she rode horses in woods just like these.

From A to Z: Mustangs Wild and Free

This was one of my first paintings. I added the horses in the foreground years later.

From A to Z: Mountains to the Sea

From A to Z: Japan's Mountains

A class study.

From A to Z: Lilies

From A to Z: Little Lamb

I think this lamb's eyes look innocent and peaceful.

From A to Z: (A) Lady and her Horse

This was a commission for a woman and her horse. She wanted me to paint them into beautiful setting.

From A to Z: Katherine's Jungle Painting

A painting of the fantastic Luong Jungle in the country of Gabon in western Africa. Here jungle meets the ocean and Hippos go surfing on the ocean waves. This was a request from my lovely daughter, Katherine, for her birthday.

From A to Z: Irish Setters in the English Countryside

I painted this from a photo I snapped while my husband drove along a narrow road in the English countryside. We rounded a corner and just at the bend these 2 Irish Setters stood at the gate to pose for the picture! Ah, thatched roofs , Irish Setters, and the English countryside, all three of my loves together for that one instant.. I thought I died and went to painting heaven.

From A to Z: (An) Irish Farmer and His Helpers

Ah Ireland, land of my ancestors, one day I'll visit ye.

From A to Z: Irish Dancing Girls

I painted this from a newspaper photo by Joanne Ho-Young Lee. Their cheery smiles and the bright colors on their dresses can brighten anyone's day.

From A to Z: (A) Humpback Whale and Her Calf

This is a large 24x36" oil painting. I loved painting the barnacles on these whales.

From A to Z: (Wild) Horses in Colorado

This is a large watercolor painting on a full sheet of paper. I wanted to convey the feelings of freedom, power and magesty.

From A to Z: (The) Great Horned Owl

A pen and ink watercolor painting done for my daughter.

From A to Z: Grapes and Leaves

This is a study from a coffeetable book with photos of Vineyards.

From A to Z: (In the) Forest

This painting was copied from an art book for a class study.

From A to Z :Gladys's Geese

This was a class lesson from Gladys Robinson, a fantastic watercolor teacher/artist.

From A to Z: Fuchsias at the Winery

This was painted from a photo I took while at a friend's wedding in a mountain winery.

From A to Z: (The) Flower Girl on Nantucket Island

This is from a photo I took while visiting Nantucket Island in Massachusetts with my sister.

From A to Z: (Octavia's) Flame Lily

A painting from a photo by Jerod Haskins of an African flower, the Flame Lily, also called the Gloriosa Lily. This the national flower of Zimbabwe.
I was painting this when my beautiful Mom, Octavie, went to be with the Lord, so I dedicated it to her.

From A to Z: Fisherman's Fall Paradise

This painting is dedicated to Bill and Franco and to all those fishermen who love get up in the middle of the night to hike miles into the woods in search of the perfect catch.

From A to Z: Filoli Yellow Rose

I painted this from a photo I took at Filoli Gardens. The bees were in the photo just as you see them in the painting. This turned out to be one of my favorites.

From A to Z: Filoli Gardens in the Springtime

Ahh, Filoli Gardens in Woodside, California. These are 16 areas of lovely formal gardens and they're not too far from my home.

From A to Z: Fallen Leaf Stream

One of my favorite places to be in the Fall. We've many rivers and streams just like this near our cabin in Nevada City, California.

From A to Z: (The) Dancing Lord and Lady

The dancing lady is really me, can you tell?

From A to Z: (A) Doe and Her Fawn

I love animals!

From A to Z: California Cows

My daughter's friend snapped a photo with her cell phone while driving up the California coast on Highway 1. She thought I'd like to paint it and I did!

From A to Z: China Cove

China Cove in Carmel was one of our favorite places to visit when the kids were younger. If you look closely you'll see us all on the beach.

From A to Z: Cement Ship #1

This ship has quite a history and a local favorite.

From A to Z: Carolina's Scarves

This painting was done from a photo by Dieter Mueller of his wife's scarves. She does beautiful work.

From A to Z : Canada Geese at Memorial Park

This watercolor was done from a photo my son took at a local park.

From A to Z : Butterfly in the Blossoms

This watercolor was inspired by a calendar photo. I received permission from the photographer, Darrel Gulin, to reproduce it. I made prints, lavender sachets, and mugs from it.

From A to Z: (Soft and Cuddly) Bunny

This is an oil painting I gave to my son who was only 7 at the time. It's now back in my closet waiting for another home.

From A to Z: (A) Boy and His Balloon

This painting was done in oils while I was taking a class. All of us learned how to paint hot air balloons of our choice, and then we could add anything else we wanted. I chose the boy since he looked like he was determined to fly one day.

From A to Z : (The) Birthday Bouquet #1

I painted this from a lovely bouquet of flowers my husband gave to me on one of my birthdays.
I gave it to a lady a church who has faithfully served there for 50 years.

Creating Aunt Cecile's Window: Day 2

This time I decided to use my Tracer Projector to enlarge the drawing I did on day one.
I taped the watercolor paper to my closet door and away we go. Of course, I drew very lightly so you won't be able to see the drawing.

Creating Aunt Cecile's Window : Day 1 continued...

Speaking of reference material, here's some to begin with. I'm going to use the lace tablecloth as a guide for the curtains.

From A to Z : Bed and Breakfast in Tintagel, the Living Room

Here's the living room in the lovely bed and breakfast we stayed at for our 25th anniversary.

My Adventure in Creating Aunt Cecile's Painting : Day 1

I started a new painting today and I thought I'd show step by step this time just how I'll do it.
Day 1: After choosing the reference material (from my reference file I've been updating for about 19 years and from my art books and home decorating books)(it took about 4 hours), I drew it out(that took about 2 1/2 hours). Here's the drawing I did on vellum paper. Christine and I had a wonderful time drawing and painting together. Check out Christine's blog too.

From A to Z-My Paintings: Bed and Breakfast in Tintagel, The Dining Room

I think it's time to put many of my paintings on this good ol' blog. I'll do it a little at a time and in semi-alphabetical order by the title of the painting. There are no A's so I'll begin with Bed and Breakfast in Tintagel, England. This is the first of 2 paintings in the dining room/ living room area. This home was in the southeast of England, close to Land's End, the very SE tip of the country at the ocean.
What a magical place. Very close to the home of Daphne Du Maurier the author of Rebecca.

Sam framed

Here's what Sam looked like after framing.

Moxie Found a Home

I heard that Moxie's owner loved the gifts.

The Adventure of framing La Selva Beach

Whew! It's all framed and given to the buyer. What a framing adventure. Two days and 7 colorful, crooked and discarded mats later....(well only 5 were unsalvageable)... I... am... finished!!!! I discovered that my mat cutter is crooked to begin with... and strangely... that I like using the math part of my brain to calculate the size of the mats. Now maybe I should try exercising again and I might like that too!

A Dalmation and a Flat Coated Retriever at the Coast

OK. I'm up for a challenge! This commission was for a Secret Santa gift exchange for someone's colleague at work. All they could get was a blurry picture of the dogs on the grass.
I ended up putting them on a beach in Texas surrounded by beach morning glories. It wasn't quite finished before I showed it to a family member of mine who suggested black dogs don't have white spots. Good suggestion. I filled in the spots and added more shadows around the dalmation. I hope they liked it!

Sam

Here's another commission I had to paint a watercolor in memory of a beloved pet, "Sam", a very noble looking St Bernard.

Moxie

I've added a fun, new dimension to the business, painting pet portraits! I love it! Here's a watercolor painting I was commissioned to do of Moxie, a beautiful little Siamese cat. I also put Moxie on a mug. I wish I could have been there when they opened their Christmas presents!

La Selva Beach, Aptos, California

This Christmas I had lots of commissions for paintings from family, friends, and new friends. Here's one I painted for someone of the condos on La Selva Beach in Aptos, Ca. I took the photos a day after the rain fell so all of the colors were crisp and vivid. If you are wondering what kind of birds are in the sky, they're the local pelicans.

Holiday Show at the Sunnyvale Community Center

I set up for 2 hours today at the show coming up on Thursday and Friday this week! This is the kind of show I like where I can do the publicity for it ahead of time so I won't have to stay there all day for 2 days.

Show, Shows, and More Shows

I had a successful show at the San Jose Women's Club last Saturday. In a silent auction I won a great little china cabinet to use in my art studio. It was worth going just for that. I also met a very talented artisan who makes jewelry, gourds, candles, and other things. I'll post some of her great products. Her company is A Beading You'll Never Forget. Look her up and say hi for me.
Now I'm preparing for another show in Sunnyvale on Thursday and Friday at the Senior Center.
What to make, what to make.....

K2 at Christmas Time

Today I'll show you one of my favorite kittys, K2 (or Houdini since he's such an escape artist, but his name was K2 when I painted him, so that's still the name of the painting.) I guess you could call him my nephew from the cat family. He's such a beautiful cat and very soft as you can tell. I thought he looked very cozy and Christmasy sitting on a chair with a poinsettia pillow behind him. (This painting looks fantastic on a cup and on cards.)

My First Day of my Renewed Blog!!!!

Hello!

This is my second attempt at a blog. I think I can really keep it up this time. Well, I hope I can! My first blog was deleted from memory since I only updated it one time, two years ago.

The reason I'm going to re-start this blog is that I have a lot of artwork to show whoever would like to see it. It's also for sale. Maybe one of the reasons I didn't update my first blog was because I was so busy painting and making things that I had no time. I also have a website (www.celioarts.com) and thought that would be sufficient, but I don't know how to update it easily. My younger son who did the updating for me moved away to college. My older son said I should go back to keeping a blog spot. So here we are..... I also like to write.

So whoever reads this, you're in for a very pleasant surprise in the future bloggings to come. In the last two years I've painted over 50 paintings in addition to what I painted before (about 33 paintings.) I'll show you at least one painting on every new blog. I've added my latest watercolor pen and ink painting to this blog. I call it, Butterflies- God's Wisps of Joy. I also make greeting cards, cups, bookmarks, magnets, prints..... and more. (I'll try to add a price list and maybe Paypal later too.

Till next time,
Keep finding joy in all the little things around you,

Charlene