needful things....

Fresh flowers were one of the first things to go last year as I became more budget conscious.  In the spring I had plenty of fresh and intoxicatingly lovely lilacs from the yard and towards the end of summer I had a plethora of hydrangea (which I adore) but other than that my house has been unadorned most of the past 12 months.  For the past 3 weeks (since the house has been on the market) I have been sure to have flowers in at least four or five different places and I am enjoying their company so!  It's amazing how the scent of a rose or the promise of spring seen in a tulip or daffodil can lift the spirit.  I may have to pare it down a bit but I'm not going to let flowers slip out of my life again....what have you given up that you miss?

crop circles are cool....

This new encaustic painting is the first in a series entitled "Things I Saw From The Plane".  It's so amazing to travel across the country by plane and witness the amazing diversity below.  Being on four flights in the past two weeks I've had lots of time to stare out the window and sketch the cool shapes that make up family farms, winding rivers snaking their way across endless expanses of land and snow capped peaks on majestic mountain ranges.  There has also been extra time for reading, knitting and hanging out with the kids.  As crazy as things are right now there is also this bubble of togetherness that we are all living inside here (working through issues, getting things done and being there for each other).  It's actually been a really great week. Thanks for stopping in and I wish you all a relaxing sunday evening-cheers! 

the trip....

We are back and tired as all get out.  The magic of the mountain air, redwoods and rainbows held us all for a few days as we tried on our new town (a good time was had by all). 

Three....

House Built On Moments

Car On New Infrastructure 

The Lovely Day When Time Stood Still

As promised I finished these three paintings for you and for me....

I've been obsessing about housing lately with my beloved house for sale and the unknown of where my family of five will land but i have decided that this is it for houses for now and that when i return i will paint something new and purely in encaustics like the old days (stay tuned)...

We are all of to CA for five days of sun, sand, fog, redwoods and not having to keep the house clean...see ya next Friday!

Beth

House with a beautiful view of Sister Moon...

Hi there-just a quick note to show you Sister Moon.  We've got to be out of the house most of tomorrow but I really love her and wanted to share....Ihave three more paintings in the works that I hope to finish before the weekend???  I also want to officially welcome Wool Nest (aka: my creative soul mate) to the blogosphere!  Stop by and say hi if you get a chance....

House Built On Yarn

This painting was inspired by my friend Annri's new blog "Wool Nest" which is still incubating (hint, hint....) but I was so intrigued by the name and  found myself knee deep in my own stash....a rainbow of color and texture waiting to be knit into items wooly and fabulous!
No one guessed the actual answer but I got many new ideas and a couple of good laughs so I decided to pick a winner anyways.  This morning I put all of your names in a bowl and drew Katherine (Just A Girl).  I will be sending off the painting "Wee House Built On Love" first thing tomorrow.  Thanks to everyone for guessing and have a great Sunday afternoon!

House Built On Yarn measures 8" x 8" and will be added to my shop later this morning.....

you're getting warmer....

here is the next stage of the house built on _____?  I expected to have it done for the big reveal this morning but the orange paint took a bit longer to dry than expected.  I plan to coat it in beeswax and carve out the details later today so I'm extending the give away thru this evening .  No one has the right answer yet but thanks for many great ideas!  

put on your thinking cap (for a wee giveaway!)

Hi there...I'm back.  My flight was late and I didn't climb into bed until 3am last night and I had to be up at 6am to get the kids off to school so my head is a bit foggy today.   I'm getting the house back in shape for a showing and running kids here and there (i didn't realize how much orthodontics would run my life stealing time each week for broken springs, cracked retainers, etc...)  The photo above is of a painting in progress  titled a house built on ______?  Anyone who comes up with the correct object by Friday at midnight will be entered into a random drawing for a wee block painting.  So put on your thinking cap and take a guess! 

my new bffs....

Well I'm off to San Francisco (actually Mill Valley) for a few day to check out schools and meet with realtors.  The whirlwind of relocating a family of five continues.... 

However,  I will be traveling with my new BFFs (Max and Liam) who are really excited about the move to the Bay Area.  These smarmy gents are from my dear online friend mummysam and I fell in love with them at first site.  I'm not sure if it's their amazing fashion sense, coiffed hair or chins that got me but I've become irrationally attached to these guys.  I'm tucking them into my bag along with my knitting and foodie mags to ensure a relaxing, inspiring and smile filled trip....thanks sam!  

Sunday morning....

Good morning!   This is a delicious and savory dish which we had for dinner during the week and for breakfast this morning (yes, it's that good!).  I used a little less ricotta than suggested and served it with crusty buttered toast....mmmmm!  I've got a few new oil/encaustic paintings started and plan to squeeze in a bit of studio time later today (after a trip to the aquarium).  What are you up to this rainy and foggy Sunday?

oops-epicurious won't let me link to the recipe (just type in the name and it will come up)

kickin' it old school....

Look Ma! (everyone's going electric)

Neighbors stitched and sewn

Dwelling x 4

Yep-back to houses and cars and lots of hot wax.  I have a few more ideas sketched out for oil/encaustic pieces but they take more time to complete so I decided to heat up the palette and just paint with wax today.  Sage felt all the birthday love sent his way and had an amazing and memorable 5th birthday complete with pinata ( which seemed to be made of iron-what's up with that?).  Thanks!

ps...these 3 little block painting will be added to my etsy shop tomorrow morning.

FIVE....

Today my little guy turns a whole hand!  I am working on buttermilk cupcakes with lemon cream cheese frosting while Sage builds with new legos, explores with a cool spy glass and models his brave knight's helmet.  I'll be back in the studio tomorrow but for today the magic sounds of a new kazoo (along with the word awesome) fill this old house with joyful noise!

One step at a time....

These are the pieces for my final submission deadline (hooray!).  I was asked to document the encaustic process in actual physical form with written descriptions for each step in the process.  This will be mailed off tomorrow and I'll let you you know if, when and where it will be used.  It was really interesting creating this set of blocks....a few times I almost wrecked the first steps by adding to them...it was hard to leave them unadorned!   It was great to slow down and take notice of how each step along the way adds something very special to a finished piece (It was also really challenging to try and create five identical paintings !)

Happy Monday ...