For many 2015 has been the best year, for others, they may be happy to see it go, just know that tomorrow is not only a new day, but a new year. A year that brings promise and hope for the future!
If you’re out and about tonight – stay safe – call a taxi if you need to – don’t drink and drive – don’t text and drive – Off my soapbox now hee hee…
Catch you back here NEXT YEAR! 😉
Dorothy Woolbright has some beautiful old world type paintings. I love those beautiful browns, especially with the pop of color from the sunflower. Very nice!
Be sure to check out Dorothy’s website and her blog!
Read a bit about Dorothy, from her website:
While her career path has led her to teaching and publishing, she has continued in her spare time to pursue her passions of drawing and painting. Her award winning work has garnered recognition as Best of Show and Director’s Choice in several art shows locally and nationally.
Dorothy’s method of study continues to be a combination of studying the masters’ works, taking workshops and lessons, and keeping her drawing skills sharpened by attending weekly life drawing classes. Dorothy prefers to paint and draw from life and she has studied painting still life in oil at the Scottsdale School of Art under Daniel Keys, Jean Chambers, and Kathy Anderson and landscapes in oil under Kathryn Stats. She has continued her study with Qiang Huang and portrait artist, Anna Rose Bain.
She is grateful to her teachers, Kelli Folsom, Dennis Parker and Judy McCombs, whose influences have inspired her to continue her creative path.
Dorothy lives in Oklahoma City close to her children and grandchildren and travels extensively for creative inspiration and adventure.
All images via DorothyWoolbright.com, used with permission…
If you are an Artist (or Emerging Artist) I welcome you to submit your website for a possible ARTIST TO WATCH future feature.
Catch you back here tomorrow!
Two versions of chowder below. One with chicken, and one a bit different, with no meat. I served both with the Jiffy-Like Corn Muffins.
OUT. OF. THIS. WORLD.
Recipes from a friend, is there anything better? It’s so nice to hear of other things to make for dinner rather than being in a rut with the same old thing.
I was excited to try this, it sounded delicious to me. I found the perfect time when we had a bit of rotisserie chicken left over. That worked perfectly! These are guidelines, but use what you like! I happened to use 4 cups of chicken broth, so mine may have been more “brothy” than what is normal, but I had two very large potatoes, and I also supplemented with frozen sweet white corn.
What I forgot… the bacon crumbled on top! We had it the next day, when we heated up what was left (be sure to heat on low and DO NOT LET IT COME TO A BOIL or it will curdle). So DAY 2 had crumbled bacon, which I was so excited about I forgot to take a photo. Story of my life!
This recipe was heavenly! Give it a whirl!
Click HERE to print just the recipe!
Version two, I like to call Garden Chowder, click HERE to print the recipe! One hint is to warm the thawed corn in the microwave just a bit, just so it’s not cold when adding to the soup…
Catch you back here tomorrow!
As you may notice, I have created a new artist-type post that I will pepper in with my regular artist features. A while back I added a page to my site for artists to submit to be featured, they can choose whether they are an “emerging artist” or “artist”. It has opened my eyes to artists I may have otherwise missed. Are you an artist that would like to be featured? If so, see the ARTIST Submissions page, select if you are an Emerging Artist or Artist, and send me your website and email address. It’s that easy. No submitting images (but you do need a website). I look forward to featuring many more in the upcoming year – these will be “Artists to Watch”/”Emerging Artists to Watch”! I am excited! The talent that is out in this world is truly amazing!
I think this painting “Dreaming” is so wonderful. This woman truly looks like she is lost in thought. The face, the hair, all so fabulous. Wonderful light in this painting. Be sure to check out Craig’s website!
I see that one of his portrait mentors is Ray Kinstler. I have featured him in the past, he’s a wonderful man and an extremely talented artist! A fabulous mentor for sure! Thank you Craig for submitting!
Read a bit about Craig, from his website:
Craig Alan Carlson has been painting original commissioned portraits and figurative work in oil since 1985. He has an impressive client list of over 1000 portraits. He is always intrigued with trying to capture the essence of the person whom he is painting.
A native of Chicago, Carlson studied commercial art at Western Illinois University and continued his education at the American Academy of Art in Chicago and the Art Students League in New York city. He has been represented by the top portrait agencies in the country. His portrait mentors include distinguished artists Joe Bowler, Ray Kinstler, John Howard Sanden, and Michael Del Priore.
In his commissioned portraits and his gallery pieces, Carlson seeks to accomplish “enough detail to satisfy, but not bore the viewer.”Always intent on refining his painting techniques,he is intrigued with the variations and applications of color to achieve the most realistic skin tones and lifelike features. “I just love painting people, portraits and figurative work. Nothing excites me more than trying to capture the essence of a person with soft light or sunlight illuminating them. I like doing landscapes and still lifes, but doing a painting with a person in it is really makes me come alive!”
Carlson has won first and second place in the Alabama National Fair and a Purchase Award at the South Carolina State Fair.
All images via CraigACarlson.com, used with permission…
Catch you back here tomorrow!
Since the new year is coming upon us (can you believe it?) I think this is sound advice. I saw this downtown Charleston and snapped a photo.
Catch you back here tomorrow!
What a great shot! We were walking down King Street last month when Charlie halted and jumped up on a window. The store was closed. Then something moved… a cat! They had a stare down for a bit… then we went on our merry way. Never know what you’ll see in Charleston.
Catch you back here tomorrow!
This photo was taken prior to surgery when we were all living out of the sunroom to restrict movement until Charlie could have surgery. After surgery we had to move to the back of the house to prevent squirrel/cat/people chasing and allow the incision to heal – Charlie is getting stronger each day from his ACL/CCL surgery repair. Not fun for the beast. Not easy for the humans.
I guess what I’m getting at is to be thankful for what you have, whatever it may be. Gather together to help those who need it. Providing comfort and joy to others will make you a happier person. You know the adage, “it’s better to give than to receive”? One thing I’ve come to learn is how true that is. I am far more excited about giving a gift, it makes me happy to make someone happy.
Make that your mantra for next year. Make someone happy. Every day.
Merry Christmas Eve, Happy Holidays, whatever holiday it may be!
Catch you back here tomorrow!
I love this photo. I snapped this a while back while visiting my parents around Christmas time. I always get up early because the sunrise over the water is so spectacular. I was walking around snapping photos when this little ornament appeared to be lit up from the light coming through the window. So much charm. I love the view from this window looking out over the river. Absolutely beautiful, just cannot beat it! What great memories growing up on this river!
Merry Christmas Eve eve!
Catch you back here tomorrow!
I’ve always loved this photo. It remains my desktop photo for a majority of December each year. This is my parents front yard. The river is on the other side of the Christmas tree. The sky is magical, the lights are happy and it brings back good memories.
May all your memories be happy and bright…
Catch you back here tomorrow!
Today is the first day of winter. I cannot think of a more perfect painting. Isn’t this the sweetest? It makes me want to live where there is snow, a roaring fire, a very cool snowman and that beautiful dark sky. How happy is this? Marieluise has charming paintings. Each has character and life. They tell stories, and you want to just keep looking at them!
Another, perfect for the season! I love the lights in the windows. Both of these paintings are available at Bayview Gallery in Brunswick, Maine!
Read a bit about Marieluise, from her website:
Marieluise Hutchinson, a self taught artist from Yarmouth Port, Massachusetts and Cushing, Maine, paints subjects of “roads less travelled.” The distinct seasons of New England as well as its character present an endless source of inspiration. A deep respect and sensitivity for the commonplace is evident as she records the passage of time of vanishing homesteads, fields and farmlands of rural America. Marieluise is a Copley Artist at the Copley Society of Boston, a Master Artist at the Cape Cod Art Association and a member of the Cape Cod Museum of Art. She is also in the permanent collection at the Cahoon Museum of American Art and the Cape Cod Museum of Art.
Growing up during the early 1950’s-a time when our nation was strong and at peace, patriotism played a significant role in the evolution of her aesthetic expression. This accounts for the frequent appearance of the American flag in many of her paintings.
The basis of an artist’s work, the reasons behind composition and subject matter, is often the result of their personal foundation. The influences and preferences of a painter are brought forth in a clear context by the way they paint. Without question the idealogy supporting the paintings by Marieluise are due in part to her upbringing. From “hearty stock”, her formative years were enjoyed in a bucolic 1820’s homestead in Hanover, Massachusetts; Marieluise chooses the countryside inasmuch as it chooses her.
Marieluise is self taught. Many of her discoveries have resulted from trial and error. Always drawn to creative pursuits, she did not, however, begin to paint until her late twenties. Her work has a tone of thoughtfulness, a tangible silence. It evokes the feeling of a crisp autumn evening or the chilling snap of winter. Or the solitude that follows in the wake of a New England snowfall, smoke drifting from farmhouse chimney tops – a pale veil of white drifting up into a sapphire blue night sky. Generally, no figures appear in her paintings but a human presence is implied by lights in the windows, clothes on the line or a snowman in front of the farmhouse.
Proudly, in 2006, Marieluise had an authentic barn raising in Cushing, Maine. It is quintessential New England, placed in a meadow with stonewalls, woods and wildlife – her dream of the simplicity and beauty of America. (Read more here…)
All images via MarieluiseHutchinson.com, used with permission…
Catch you back here tomorrow!
Christmas is almost upon us. How did it sneak up so quickly? Why is it when you’re a child Christmas takes forever before it comes again? The mystery, the magic, the love, the lights. All are such wonderful memories… even Alfie, the kid next door… While all tucked in my bed and almost asleep I see his creepy grade-school aged arm reach up to steal a lightbulb out of the Christmas lights that hung on the house. “DAAAAA -AAAAAADDDDD!!!!!!!” You know, those cool, big bulbs… creep! Got the bulb back, and Alfie didn’t try again. I wonder where that kid is now? Hmmm.
Thank you dad for getting the bulb back, for making holidays extra special, for being so cool, for being level headed and calmly teaching us what’s right. To always consider other people’s feelings. To not “cry wolf”, to “Do unto others as you would want them do unto you”.
You’re a great dad! Happy Birthday! Woohoo!
I’m am blessed to have such cool parents!
xoxo,
barbara
Catch you back here tomorrow!
492 is a beautiful restaurant located on King Street in Charleston, SC. What a classy looking building. Kudos to a restaurant that takes an building that sat vacant since Hurricane Hugo in the early 90’s!
Check out their website for the current menu offerings (eyes roll back in head). Cannot wait to try this place!
Read a little about the history of Four Ninety Two, from their website:
During the renovation of 492 King Street, historical significance and attention to detail played a large role in creating the new space. The building dates back to the late 1800s when clothiers such as Reuben’s, Leon’s and Bluestein’s were a large part of the economy in Charleston, especially in the Upper King Street district. The button wall art installation in the main dining room, an interpretation of Chef Whiting’s photograph of sous vide leeks, pays homage to that history. Additionally, the fabric ceiling in the downstairs dining area is a replica of a 1902 city map.
The gates that enclose the courtyard were inspired by 30” x 40” Sanborn street maps of different colors, patterns and scale found while researching the building’s origins. As executed, the red rectangles show the 492 King location in an abstracted version of the 1884 map, noted by the circle. All the other lines represent the surrounding streets.
The building sat abandoned since Hurricane Hugo until it being purchased by the Relish Restaurant Group. During renovations, spearheaded by local architect Reggie Gibson, as much of the original building was left intact as possible. The red color in the dining room, called “eating room red,” and the “piazza blue” on the upstairs hall ceiling are both historic paint colors. The base of the bar is paneled in old tin that served as the ground floor ceiling of the existing building, reflecting a dedication to preserving and restoring this unique piece of Charleston’s history.
Catch you back here tomorrow!
Margaret McWethy. I love her style. Just look at that fabulous light. I can feel the sun hitting my back as I meander my way through the snow, walking in someones footprints who has forged the way ahead of me. She has such great brush strokes. Her coloring is just so wonderful. Be sure to check out her website and her paintings!!
Read a bit about Margaret, from her website:
Margaret McWethy, Impressionist painter, studied art history and biology at Swarthmore College. Since graduating she has sought teachers who base their art on training, careful observation, and understanding. Master colorist, Henry Hensche and nationally known portrait artist Cedric Egeli, have been influential.
Margaret, a native of Maryland, now lives and paints in Massachusetts. Since moving here, she has spent time studying the traditions and methods of some of the famous northshore painters. “They have a very different approach which I hope to integrate with what I have learned about color and light.”
She teaches painting the Impressionist still life and landscape locally. She has won a number of awards and is a featured artist in the publications, Painting the Impressionist Landscape by Lois Griffel, Capturing Radiant Color in Oils by Susan Sarbeck, Painting the Impressionist Watercolor by Lee Boynton. She is a charter member of the New England Plein Air Painters. Her work hangs in private collections in the United States and Europe.
Interested in taking a workshop in 2016? margaretmcwethy.com/workshops
Margaret also has a 2016 Desk Calendar available, you know it’s going to be a good one! Christmas is in ONE WEEK. Whew, time flies!
All images via MargaretMcWethy.com, used with permission…
Catch you back here tomorrow!
This is the Berryville House Plan by architect John Tee. This plan is 1,269 square feet, with 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. This is a small plan that is so smart. You can live in a smaller footprint when the layout is ideal, and this one is! Charming front porch, isn’t it? It’s so welcoming! This looks like a home with character from years ago. I love that!
Two Bedrooms, each with a Bathroom on one side of the home and Living, Dining, Kitchen with a wonderful Utility room on the other side! The Utility room keeps the house looking neat. You can put shoes there, wash clothes, give the dog a bath, and then step out onto the back porch for a break!
Are you looking for a larger floor plan, look no further! Check out John’s website, he designs house plans of all sizes and types. All are just beautiful!
All images via JohnTee.com, used with permission…
Catch you back here tomorrow!
ARTFOODHOME.COM 