An heirloom to treasure.

This past November, my kids' school held their annual Fall Festival and Silent Auction. I donated my services as a Silent Auction Item— offering a "ewe"nique opportunity for someone to buy a mixed media reproduction of their own home. 

David White and his wife Kelly bid on my item and won! I gave them the painting all wrapped up on Christmas Eve. Here is their home.

The White's House

11"x14" Mixed-Media Acrylic on Stretch Canvas 

The thoughtful details:

• Pages from an old book wrap the walls of the home;

• balsa wood columns add dimension to the front porch;

• a painted burlap matt is a welcoming added detail, while the fabric window simplifies the look;

• felted wool, yarn, pom-poms and buttons depict the lush landscape;

• the exaggerated roof was created using molding paste, acrylics and a pallet knife;

• masking tape and acrylics create a subdued sky.

• and finally, paper pulp was used to create a 3D tree that embraces the home; 

The meaning behind the expressionist style:

I drew a distorted home with exaggerated lines and angles, and added colorful accents to simplify the look and make it fun. At first glance, it's a simple home, but as you look more closely the thoughtful details are revealed. To me it almost looks like someone has given the home a big hug with a tight squeeze (just like my kids give to me). I'm sure the White's house has a lot of love in it. That's what makes a house a "Home".

Something for over the couch.

"Florida Fall"

acrylic on 40" x 40" stretch canvas

A belated birthday gift for my friend, Shona. I promised I would paint her a picture for over her couch because I couldn't stand the thought of her ordering one from a catalog. I painted this with various palette knives and my hands. No brushes necessary.

Fall in Florida

"Tweeting in the Rain"

4"x12" Acrylics Painting on Stretch Canvas

Inspired to Draw

Quick Sketch

inked and colored with Pastels

I've been reading the book,  "Drawing Lab" by Carla Sonheim. The first assignment was to draw cats. Well, I hate cats (sorry all you cat lovers out there) so I decided to draw my little buddies instead. 

The directions were to curl up in bed with a piece of paper and a pencil and spend ten minutes drawing as many cats as possible with the paper resting on a pillow. Ok, so I wasn't in bed when I did this assignment, I was at Wesley's football practice. I have to say, I've got quite the set up on the sidelines. I bring a camp chair for myself and sometimes a kid-size one for Jackson. I roll out a cooler complete with fruit, ice water an other yummy snacks and I always carry my bag of art books and magazines to peruse. Sometimes I even bring Max and Birdie to practice too!


I quickly sketched a bunch of Birdies (she's the one on the right). She was pretty easy and fun to draw. She's so teeny-tiny compared to big ole Max. Max, on the other hand, was a little more difficult to capture. His look evolved quite a bit as I drew him over and over. 


 I've always wanted to write and illustrate a children's story about my dogs. "The Adventures of Max and Birdie." Maybe one day!

Monday in my "ewe"niverse"— Our Wake-up Song.

Yesterday (Monday) was the first day back to school and to continue with our tradition from last year, I turned on "The Red, Red, Robin" song to wake the boys up in the morning. It always seems to get them up with a smile.

Click Here t Listen to the Red, Red Robin Song.

BTW, another blog I love is my friend Jamie's over at Lyrical Journey where she is creating the soundtrack of her life, travels and memories. Check it out! I've picked up some great songs from her.

Monday in my "ewe"niverse— School Mode

"Welcome Back"

Beeswax collage 

9"x12" Canvas

Happy Monday! I know, I know. I'm totally in school mode right now. It's the last week before school starts for the kids and I'm on the Bulletin Board Decorating Committee. Woohoo! So while I was working on decorations last night, I pulled out my old Claudine Hellmuth "Beeswax Collage" video and thought I'd try experimenting with beeswax again. This piece is made using tissue paper, some scrapbook paper, material, ribbon and cheap (crappy) oil pastels. I need to get myself some of those Shiva Oil Paint Sticks. Anyway, it was a fun experiment. 

"Bird Meeting" (Super-sized)

"Bird Meeting" (Super-sized)

30" x 30" stretch canvas

I painted... or rather... re-painted a "Bird Meeting" for my friend Kelley while on vacation  last week. She wanted something to put over her bed and she loved my birds on a wire painting, so we went and bought a huge canvas. I was really nervous because I've never painted anything that big before AND I knew I would have eyes watching me while I painted. Considering the circumstances, I'm glad she picked something I've already painted before. I started the painting at 9:30 or so after we put our kids to bed and we (Shona, Kelley and I) watched "My Sister's Keeper". I finished around 2am. And Kelley was a happy camper the next morning!

In loving memory of Matthew Erik Dunn

I've been thinking about my cousin Wes and his family and the loss of their oldest son Matt. I painted this last night. It's kind of a dedication to Matt and his family. Matt was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis when he was six months old. He passed away this week due to complications from pneumonia. 

I sat down to write a condolence card and couldn't seem to put my thoughts into words. So I painted them instead.

"Fly Away Home"

Monday in my "ewe"niverse— flower garden with a view.

garden with a view.

 mixed media on 11"x14" stretch canvas

Hello and happy Monday! With all the whimsical art I've seen at the stores and galleries here in the mountains, I just had to paint some myself. The sun is made of pages from the NC phone book and features Balsam, Waynesville, Maggie Valley and Asheville—where we spend most of our time. And if you look closely enough, you'll see the white cross on Jone's Knob. 

History of the White Cross— Originally called Jones Knob, Mount Lyn Lowry was renamed in 1965 in honor of leukemia victim Lyn Lowry. The Rev. Billy Graham presided over the dedication ceremony. Mount Lyn Lowry is located in the Plott Balsams. The Plot Balsams cross the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina between Waterrock Knob and Yellow Face.  Mt. Lyn Lowry is one of the more unusual mountains you will climb. On the east portion of the ridge there is a 60 foot white metal cross with seven lights strategically placed on its east facing side. The lights are lit at night and can be seen from Waynesville, Sylva and other Western Carolina villages in the surrounding valleys. The cross itself is part of a memorial to Lyn Lowry. There is also a memorial plaque on the summit. The views to the east from the summit of Lyn Lowry are spectacular. There is also a beautiful meadow at the summit. The route from Waterrock Knob is strenuous, especially when wet, snowy or icy.

We have not tried to hike to the white cross yet, but I want to one of these days before we leave.

Monday in my "ewe"niverse— stopping to smell the Roses.

I'm in the North Carolina mountains, so this Monday in my "ewe"niverse is on mountain time. Sorry for the delay! Anyway, yesterday (Monday) I had the pleasure of spending the day with my niece, Kaylee Rae (7) and (according to my husband the Geneology expert) my second cousins once removed— Cecily (7) and Cara (5). We spent a good part of the day outside on the porch overlooking the beautiful mountains, painting rocks while my mom pruned her flowers in the garden. Cara helped. This inspired me to paint some of my mom's sweet smelling roses.


Hope you had a marvelous Monday!

My first try using Beeswax.

Finally, something new from my studio! I've been wanting to try working with beeswax and today's assignment (from Creative Bootcamp) was to try something new. Change things up a little. So, here it is. I used tissue paper, masking tape, a page from an old book and oil pastels. It was fun! I think I'll be trying this technique again for sure!

ewe hooo loves ya Kaylee Rae!

22" x 28" Mixed Media Canvas

"ewe hooo loves you baby!"

Kaylee Rae, the only niece on my side of the family, has a newly decorated bedroom courtesy of her mother and her favorite Aunt, ewe know hooo! Kaylee had a traditional, pink, girly room before. Now, at age 7,  it's time for a change. She chose a fairytale forest theme. There is a life-size tree painted on her wall with mix-and-match fabric leaves. The owl painting will hang over her bed that has a cozy tree themed quilt from PBKids. And the neatest thing of all is that she was given my great grandmother's bedroom furniture—that would be her Great-Great Grandmother (Mamaw Reba 1892—1984). A lot of love went into that room!

Kaylee Rae, I just want you to know, "ewe know hooo loves you baby!" 

Try something new...

Thought I'd try something new this week to celebrate the launch of my new ewe hooo! blog design. And surprise, surprise— this is my first piece for sale on Etsy.com! Just click here on "Try something new" to get to my Etsy page. Yikes! I'm so nervous! Hope you like it. I sure do. Maybe I'll by it back for myself:)

I Love Daisies

I painted these daisies from a photograph I saw in the Feb/March issue of Artful Blogging Magazine—my new favorite magazine. Madeline Beishline took the gorgeous photo and you can find it on her blog at madelinebea.blogspot.com. She's inspired me to start carrying my new camera with me wherever I go because you never know what you might see! Ok, so I haven't remembered to bring my camera with me anywhere yet, but I HAVE seen lots of great photo opps! Hmmm. 

A Bird Meeting

One morning on our way to daycare when Wesley was three, he asked curiously looking out the window, "Mommy, are they having a bird meeting?" I looked and saw a bunch of birds on the telephone wires. "Yep, they sure are!" I agreed. Every morning after that he acknowledged the bird meeting in progress. Yes, in today's hectic world, even birds have meetings.

This painting is my homage to bird meetings around the world.

It's not what you think.

Well, I completed my first painting. Actually, it's my second. My first was total crap. This one though! This one, while it may LOOK like a piece of poo (literally), I am calling it my first official painting. I wanted to experiment with 3D, so I tried paper-pulp. More lumpy than I would have liked, but works ok for a tree. It's still a work in progress, but I will be moving on to a new painting today, hopefully.