Today is my husband's birthday and this is my gift to him. I have always wanted a Bernese Mountain Dog and he and I got Bella for each other for Christmas. She is funny, and goofy, and she makes me laugh out loud every day. I decided to do a portrait of her for his gift. Oh yeah, and I am taking him to the electronic store for a surround sound system for his big screen TV too...I am the perfect wife. :)

Who Me? pastel, 5x7

Snow fun!

We have had record temperatures this year in Minnesota, on the warm side this time.Christmas was in the 50's. But today, it is typical temps in the 20s and snow coming down. I just love days like this. I fill up my birdfeeder and heated bird bath outside my studio window and paint. But today I took a break and played with my dogs in the backyard...

 Bella has a snow mustache.

 Working off some pent up energy

Snow dash!

Again, my cam is up pretty much all the time now, so see the post below to catch the link. With the snow and the cold, the squirrels are taking over my backyard!

I will post my new painting in a couple of days, see you then.

For fun...

The bird feeder outside my window is particularly busy today with the cold temperatures. Not real exciting yet, but as the day progresses, it will get very busy.

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/victoriaschultz

Pink and Blue-a tribute

I grow the most amazing peonies in my backyard. They thrive because I leave them alone, I say that because when I fuss over flowers, they die. Bluebirds are all over our property and I just love watching them, feeding them and giving them a place to live.
January 15th in 2003, the day after her 70th birthday, I lost my mother to cancer, breast cancer was one of the three types she had. She beat it three times until her little body just gave out. I dedicate this painting to her and her fight. I will be offering this painting as a print soon and donate the proceeds to the American Cancer Association.

 She was so beautiful! Inside and out.

I loved to tease her about this picture, she HATED it because the photographer made her pose like this. You can see her displeasure in her face!  I am overcome with emotion on how much we look like each other at this age. I aspire to be as kind and giving as she was.

A sad passing...

About four years ago, our neighbors got a leak in their fish tank. It only contained feeder goldfish, so they sneaked over to our little fountain pond and deposited them. They did not tell us this, of course, and about three weeks later we found that there were tiny flashes of gold in our pond. I called my neighbor Peggy and asked her, "Did you put goldfish in our pond?" Her response was, "I swear to you that I did not put fish in your pond...my kids did, but not me."

We decided to get a tank heater and keep them. Today, one left the earthly plane. We estimate that this fish was about 8-10 years old, and yes, that is a full size shovel, and yes, that is a feeder goldfish. 

Somehow, they managed to breed and we have one left of the original three and three babies.

Let's pause in quiet reflection and remember this extraordinary fish and it's unbelievable life.

Now, I say...SUSHI!!!!

Harvest Time

Harvest Time, Oil on board, 9.5x11.5
This is from reference photo that I took on my 20th anniversary trip to Napa. The cardinals are from my backyard. I was fascinated by the combination of colors.
This painting is sold.

Jessie

I can never figure out why people wander into our lives and wander out, all I know, is there is a reason for it. A special friend of mine, through her facebook posts, introduced me to this special little girl. I "liked" her page, not knowing much about her, but as the months rolled along, she became a part of my day...everyday. I thought of her, prayed for her, and she touched me in a way that no one ever has.
She was diagnosed with two inoperable brain tumors and spent much of the last year in and out of the hospital. Despite her pain and chemo, she managed to create a foundation called NEGU (Never Ever Give Up) and made gifts, Joy Jars, for other children with cancer. She taught me that even though you are faced with the worst of all circumstances, giving back is far reaching and blessed.
Today, sweet Jessie lost her fight. I encourage you to visit her foundation and give what you can. Pay it forward and the world will always be richer.

Check out this link to her story. I hope she touches your life like she did mine.http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=c95EUjw28KM

Too true...

Not all of my followers are on Facebook, so I had to share this on my blog. My friend Paula Waterman posted this and it made me laugh. You can see her work at www.paulawaterman.com



'Tis the season...

My studio is an absolute mess! So before I even try to attempt drawing out a new painting, I decided to get my filing done, the paints and odds-n-ends put away, sweep and dust, and install my new Borco on my easel. I did not plan on having this as a speed bump in my way.

How can I disturb such complete comfort?

I will post before and after pictures and you will see why I am pulling out my hair!

A New Year...

I started a project last year, I wanted to do a painting a week that was out of my "comfort zone". Unfortunately, I was blindsided by a traumatic injury to my painting hand and my hours at the easel had to be limited. Even now, my hand is still not right, and probably never will be but I am determined to do this project.

This is a pastel I did with four colors, black, ochre, white and red brown. It is 18"x22" and I did it with the pastels and the heel of my hand. I resisted the urge to get into detail (very hard indeed) but I stopped at a point when I looked at it and smiled. I am not sure that this will be my new style, but I hope to do more of these and have some fun. I hope you like it.