Winter Cardinals

I feel so fortunate that we have SO many cardinals in our backyard at the feeders. These two are my favorites...the male is so red, it almost does not look real. The female is so beautiful, I can't get enough of her. I love the fact that I can look out my window and paint what I see.

New painting...

I have been working on this one for a while...hopefully I will be done by the end of the week.

Beauty in the cold...

Not too far from me, trumpeter swans stay all winter. The local nuclear power plant dumps warm water into the Mississippi keeping the ice away and giving these beautiful birds a place to stay. The neighborhood residents feed them and give them a refuge. The park, known as Swan Park is completely run by donations and gives people a chance to see these amazing birds up close. You can read more about them at www.monticellochamber.com/swans.cfm

We had a hoar frost on Wednesday and I got out to take some pictures. There is so much beauty in the winter here, you just have to go out and look.

And now...for something completely different...

I have never been a big still life person, but I have always liked looking at them. I have painted from photo's so much (as an animal artist, it is necessary) that I forgot what unexpected results can happen from painting from life. These are just a few of what I hope will be many to come studies from life...

Lemon #1 6x6 Oil

Habenero #1 6x6 Oil on Hardboard

Arizona!

We just got back from a visit with our dear friends, Leonard and Melinda. We laughed and ate and ate and ate! Did I mention eating? Anyway, one of the fun things we did was ride in Len's mother's cart with her Haflinger, Carmel. We also got the chance to visit a local alpaca ranch, IG Alpacas. John and I have long dreamed of giving up the fast pace life and retire to a ranch and raise these adorable animals. How can you look into this face and not love them??

Melinda gets a kiss...

John gets a ride with Nina and Carmel in her dressage cart.

We had a wonderful time and enjoyed the warmth. When we got home it was in the negative temps, so it was quite a shock to the system. Now it is back to the grind as I have deadlines looming...

If you get a chance, take a look at the www.barIGalpacas.com. John has many wonderful animals and amazing textiles. He does things with his weavings that are just beautiful. Now it is back to the drawing board.