I get to live on five acres in Sebastopol, Ca. The property used to be a chicken farm. My husband renovated one of the chicken barns long ago into an office for me. It now has a new life as my studio. I’m so grateful for days spent with the winter sun streaming through the windows and paint getting applied to canvases, or cool nights with the fire burning and my animals snoozing away while I paint.
I’m about ready to refresh the displays I have up at Brew Brothers coffee shop in Sebastopol and Brothers Cafe in Santa Rosa. As I considered what to paint, animals kept coming to mind. First I found a photo of a highland cow with its tongue out. A town near us, Tomales, is known for these curly haired creatures. The photo cracked me up and I had to try to capture it.
Next I enjoyed working with a new size of canvas- an oval- to paint my cat Duke’s portrait. He’s been such a gift. When I began my cancer fight I decided I needed a snuggle buddy, I wanted a Maine Coon mix cat like the one I’d had as a child. I got him from a lady who thought he was a girl. I named my kitten, Daisy. A friend questioned his female identity, so as we awaited the vet’s verdict, I started calling him Daisy Duke. That soon got shortened to Duke once the vet confirmed we have a male cat 😂
A friend from painting class knows how much I enjoy painting farm animals and asked if I might like to paint her kids’ pet pig. She had a hilarious photo of the day the pig, Pipoca, decided to “help” her grandson paint, and stuck her snout in the wet paint. They live in Portugal and the pig’s name means popcorn 🍿 So, here’s Pipoca the Painting Pig…
Now, I was on an animal roll and remembered some fun photos we’d taken one evening of cows on our weekly drive to the beach. The sun was setting, lighting up the hill behind them as they ambled up to the fence in hopes of dinner. Curious Cows @ Dinner Time was a fun challenge because of the lighting.
Well, I thought, this collection needs a barn… in the past I’d painted our turn of the century barn and wanted to do something different. Brent had taken some great barn photos for me on one of our trips to Tennessee. So, I printed one of a white barn and decided to paint it. White barns with green trim are so pretty! The photo didn’t have any animals… so I added some sheep and daffodils bursting forth. Daffodils are always the first to bloom at our property bringing with them the hope of spring.
Last year, I painted Garden Friends from a collection of photos from our garden. I’m thinking I’ll hang this with the farm paintings. Every year, I eagerly await new blooms on the plants. A sweet friend just hired me to create a bouquet for her mother’s birthday. I think she was hoping I’d do so from our garden, but this time of year we’re still getting frost and nothing is blooming yet. So off to Trader Joe’s I went to collect the blooms for her gift.
During the dark days of winter after Christmas, it can be a challenge to remain positive. I’ll confess to leaving up my barn “Christmas” lights to brighten the evenings while the days are still short.
During this season, the ground needs to rest, hydrate, and rejuvenate. May we find ways to do so too. Curl up with a good book, fill your home with Trader Joe’s flowers 😆, watch a movie with hot popcorn, or get a cup of coffee with a friend. I hope these paintings bring a smile to your face and that the small blessings you have around you, bring cause to rejoice.
Soon the plum trees will bloom pink and white and the promise of fruit will come again. Just finished Tart Sweetness, my first try at plums. They are tart and sweet- just like this crazy roller coaster called life 💗
