My Studio...

Years ago I had seen a child's size dish drainer.

An antique shop by the lake~

Shopping wasn't planned... it was picnic time.

On the way home I couldn't stop thinking I should have grabbed it!

I went back for it a few days later~

It was gone...

I've been trying to come up with a way to store my

little butter pat palettes~

Remembering how PERFECT the little dish tray would have been!

I went to Etsy and typed in "vintage wire dish drainer"

Found this treasure!

It's perfect at 6" wide!

Absence of Color~ Cool Vintage Finds

The store has oodles of vintage treasures~

I wait for my little palettes to dry~

They don't touch each other... no more paint on the bottoms!

Hope your day is creative!

Cicada Photographs...

"These are a few of my favorite things..."

We took step by step~ moment to moment photographs

of several Cicadas this past Thursday!

They love the five Maple trees in our front yard~

Sharing one Cicada's journey...

Our little Green Jeans!

We found this one just starting to split...

Our own little Olympian~

We were trying to be quiet... move slow...

I had to be within 6" to take these photograph~

(Chariots of Fire music... domm, dom, dom, dom, dommm, dom....)

Amazed~

Their shells stay tight to the tree!

Staying close to my first home...

Wings are starting to open up...

TaDa!

Our beautiful friend~

This was a favorite photo...

"Upside down!"

Hope your week is off to a beautiful start~

Daisies & Sweet Peas...

A pretty blue~purple bottle from the Mohawk Valley Region

and Wild Daisies from along the side of a corn field...

Stained hands from Red Raspberries...

Sweet Peas from my grandmothers 1950's city garden~

My mom took seeds and started them in her 1970's country garden~

We took seeds from my moms and started them in our 1990's garden!

Our children will gather seeds and bring them to their gardens~

Wild or heirloom~

They're all treasures to me!

Hope you're having a wonderful weekend~

Bumble Bees, Teddy Bears & Birds...

Cinderella had sweet little helpers~

I think feathered friends around the studio would be grand!

Teddy bears find feathered friends quite playful~

Bumble Bees and feathered friends go hand in hand...

Bees just wanna have fun!

I'm so glad they do~

Hope your week is off to a wonderful start~

These treasures & more available in my Etsy store!

Queen Anne's Lace & such...

Wild Chicory mixed with Queen Anne's Lace...

Sweet little yellows tossed in~

Roadside pictures...

Once reason why I love living in the country!

Beauty around every corner~

I'm lookin' over a four leaf clover...

No matter how many leaves~

Clover smells sweet, always has a curious bee hovering and

the pinkish-purple blossoms are stunning!

Roadside gardens!

Hope your road home is lined with simple beauty~

Wild Chicory...

The heat and lack of rain have not kept my 

favorite wild flowers away...

Wild Chicory blossoms line our country roads~

Brilliant and fresh first thing each morning~

They close up later in the day...

Saving their flowers & energy for the next sunrise!

Beauty in the studio...

The most perfect blue sky smiling at me~

Hope your Friday is off to a wonderful start!

Flea Market Finds...

My very first flea market!

All these years of hunting for treasures at auctions,

garage sales, thrift stores, antique shops... farm dry dumps!

Hubby brought us to a field of goodies~

Each of us found a little treasure~

I found more.

More pens.

More tips...

The worn handles and stained tips prove a history.

Pen and ink love letters, deeds, marriage certificates~

Journal sketches, calligraphy on calling cards, detailed illustrations...

My favorite things!

I love digging through "stuff" to unearth these rare beauties~

The older, the better!

I have never paid more than $1-$2. each...

It wouldn't be fun for me if they were expensive~

I save my cash for chocolate!

(giggle)

Hope your week is off to a wonderful start!

4th of July...

Happy Birthday, America!

Painting in Red, White and Blue~

Playtime at holiday-time!

Special effects bring my design to the 1960's...

America~ bold & beautiful...

Sun is setting, vignette~

Campfires share their soft glow...

I'll bring the marshmallows!

Fireworks over the neon lights!

It is always fun to play with special effects~

My heart will always be close to my palette.

Wishing you all the best~

Three cheers for the Red, White & Blue!

Americana Watercolor...

I have been teaching myself watercolor

since I turned seventeen and purchased my first tubes.

My palette was a simple milk glass plate~

I have always purchased the best paper...

Good brushes, but never top of the line.

I have been searching for the perfect Red for over 25 years...

Winsor & Newton is a very close first to Grumbacher.

Have always tried to invest in top quality pigment for longevity...

My eye wins over in the color battle.

I mix the two and gain performance & permanence!

I have mounds of blues!

Every brand, deeps and lights... greenish to redish to blackish.

Comes down to three favorites~

French Ultramarine (deep, light and as is)

White is my favorite color to purchase...

In watercolor~ it's free!

The paper is white and watercolors are transparent.

Pretty sure the specialists finds watercolor running through

my veins when they run my lab work...

I'm confident the main colors are Red, White and Blue!

Hope your celebrations are happy and safe~