Tiny Paintings

I thought I would share some of my latest paintings, sort of a mini summary of 2011.  These are ACEO originals.  ACEO stands for Art Cards Editions and Originals and always measure 2.5"x3.5".  I have been painting them in my spare time and listing them on Ebay.  They are fun to paint and easy to ship so it's been an enjoyable enterprise and I get to hear from people all over the country who buy them.

Gayle

Goat in a Hole

In the Shade of the Granary

Old Stone Wall

Oscar

Springtime in Vermont

All of them are done in watercolor and gouache but I plan to
do some in pencil and colored pencil soon.

Happy 2012!!

Hunting the perfect Christmas tree

Last weekend we set out to find our Christmas tree.  We headed out to a small Christmas tree farm in West Pawlet where we would meet Margot and Alex, whose pick up would be ferrying the trees home.
While it seemed odd, and not at all Christmas-y, the warm, dry weather made searching for just the right
tree much easier than years past when dragging it through the snow to the waiting truck ensured that puddles of water would enhance the floor beneath it as the snow-filled branches melted in the house.

Jill and her friend Eily lead the way toward some likely looking specimens.

Jill, looking distressed, raises a gnarled claw
in the direction of a possible candidate....
Eily looks skeptical.

We have a winner.  Everyone agrees, it's "The One".

First, Dan decides to take a nap while I yank it
out of the ground.  

Here Jill attempts to play it, trumpet-style, but gets poor results.  She decides
a better idea would be to count its rings.  It appears to be 12 years old.

Margot uses an unusual technique to determine the soundness of
her chosen tree.

Like Father, like Daughter... Margot decides to nap under her tree too.
Alex, not quite as strong as me, needs a little help from Eily
to wrest it from the ground.

Here is our tree in its new home, looking lovely.
A very good Christmas tree for our first Christmas in Vermont!

'Tis the Season

The past few weekends have been gloriously, freakishly, unseasonably warm and dry so while Stephanie was home for Thanksgiving, she, Margot and I trekked out to the wilds of Consider Bardwell's back acres to gather greens with which to decorate for the holidays.

Margot and Stephanie, dressed in requisite (not to
mention down right fashionable) hunter's orange caps, lest anyone
mistake them for deer, hack down a scrubby specimen
with nice boughs.

Margot's and Alex's trusty pickup awaits its festive load as Stephanie
piles on another bundle of greenery.

Mysterious red berries which grow profusely in this area, mixed with assorted greens.
Should make nice arrangements.

Almost enough.

Margot emerges from the swamp with more berries.

We made some beautiful arrangements using whatever
we could find lying around.  This container
is actually part of an old chicken feeder that was left in the barn.

An old wooden sap bucket.

Margot's festive window boxes.

Though this is a faux wreath, Margot thought the pigs
would appreciate a little holiday adornment added to the
new  little Swine Chalet Alex built them.

The ground around the barn is ripe with shed guinea hen feathers.
Jill thought they added just the right touch
to the wreath Stephanie and I made for the milk room door.

Oscar makes a festive Christmas goose, though
not in the traditional sense.

Stephanie's beautiful window boxes now adorn Oscar's end of the barn.

Our front door.

Next post: hunting the perfect Christmas tree!