I’m tickled pink – I really am! From Westfalcon Farm preparing for the Unique Boutique and Antiques Tour, to a cute pig, and another award nomination (not the Sunshine Blogger Award that I previously wrote on) – all have combined to make a pretty great past month or so. Let’s start with the Unique Boutique and Antiques Tour. Westfalcon Farm Boutique Westfalcon Farm has been working diligently to prepare for the Unique Boutique and Antiques Tour – a new adventure for the family farm this spring (2019). This year 11 farms in the city of Cambridge will open up their barns to showcase unique handmade items and antiques. To prepare for the sale at Westfalcon Farm, the kids and I have spent a few days at the farm washing old doors to use as display tables, picking out 100+ year old barn wood pieces to use for painted signs, cleaning old milk jugs to use as table supports, and helping with whatever else my parents may have needed. My dad recently sent me a photo of a wrapping paper holder and cutter he created out of old barn wood, a piece of iron, and an old saw. How fantastic is this? I can’t wait to wrap our customers’ purchased items using this cutter. I love rustic, upcycled creations. When the tour commences, Westfalcon Farm will feature hand painted signs with unique sayings, beautiful stone vases, rustic barn wood furniture, mixed container gardens, succulent gardens, handmade jewelry, potted perennial plants, fresh baked Swedish bakery, hot coffee, Minnesota Swede Fish – a homemade gummy candy, rag dolls, doll beds, maple syrup, and my watercolor paintings – both originals and prints. Because my paintings will be in the barn sale, I wanted to focus my paintings on one of my favorite subjects – animals. More specifically, farm animals. Tickled Pink I’ve been wanting to paint a pig for a few months now, and the Westfalcon Farm Boutique gave me the inspiration I needed. My great-grandfather’s (who grew up on the farm) family used to raise pigs on the farm, and I had a vision of creating a happy pig – a pig that would make the viewer smile. I imagined the pig to look like Clarabell, the pig that my great-grandfather’s family cherished back in the early 1920’s. Here is a photo of Clarabell: A photo of Henry (my great-grandfather’s uncle who lived with the family on the farm) holding Clarabell: This photo is not of Clarabell, but I have to share something my grandpa displayed in his scrapbook. Myrtle, my great-grandfather’s sister, is seen here holding a piglet. My great-grandfather wrote this beside her photo in his scrapbook: “Pigs had mumps. Myrtle came back from the city a week later very sick with mumps. Pigs died.” -1920 My great-grandfather was also a wood carver, and carved this humorous figurine preparing a roast. Here is my version of Clarabell in watercolor. Do you think she looks happy? My husband came up with the name “Tickled Pink” – it suits this painting perfectly. I’m hoping that our customers can connect with the animals I paint. Perhaps our customers live on a farm with animals in Cambridge, maybe their family used to own a farm, or perhaps they just love animals – like me. I can’t wait for the sale! Finally, I’d like to take just a minute to write that I’m also tickled pink to have been nominated for the Best Lifestyle Blog Award. Best Lifestyle Blogger Award An anonymous friend of mine has nominated me for the Best Lifestyle Blog award. A title that is awarded once a year at the Bloggers Bash Awards in London. Thank you kindly to whomever nominated me, I’m very grateful. If you’d like to vote for my blog, please visit The Annual Bloggers Bash Awards to place your votes. I have to say that I am among many other wonderful bloggers, so please take a moment to look around and visit some blogs that catch your eye. Thanks so much for your support!
#painting
Wild Spirits: Watercolor Wednesday
Since the day my daughter was able to walk, she ran. When she was able to run, she flew. In her day-to-day world she is a hawk, mountain lion, tiger, jaguar, snow leopard, or a bull. Her imagination soars, and whichever animal suits her mood on that particular day, wins. But, on most days, she is a horse. Going by names of Apple, Pepper, or Candy, she gallops down the side of the dirt road as fast as she can while giving out a few whinnies, neighs, or snorts while kicking up dust in her wake. I wonder if my daughter ever catches me looking at her with extreme love or admiration – I hope so. She is full of wonder – she is a wild spirit. My family is fortunate to live just four doors up from a horse boarding stable, so when we moved to our current house in 2012, we started visiting the horses on our daily walks. We bring baby carrots or apples from our apple trees to feed the horses. If we don’t have any snacks at home, the kids love to pick the long grass just outside of the horses reach by the weathered wooden fence. When we leave to continue on our walks, my daughter always chooses a horse to hug – her love for them evident. For my daughter’s 8th birthday I told her I’d paint her a picture of anything she wanted. Without hesitation, she picked a photo I had taken of her and one of her favorite horses. A horse that she had affectionately named Taffy. Taffy is a beautiful buckskin mare with a sweet disposition. I had taken the photo with my phone on one of our walks about a month before her birthday, and without her knowledge. I loved that my daughter had Taffy in her arms as she closed her eyes to enjoy the moment. I loved that Taffy stood still for as long as my daughter wanted to hold her. I loved that their hair was blowing in the warm summer breeze. I loved that my daughter’s brows were furrowed with strong feeling. I loved that Taffy’s ears were alert and happy, while her eyes were content and warm. I loved that they seemed connected for the moment – wild spirits. How on Earth could I paint this special photo? Could I do it justice? I needed to try. It took me a few weeks after her birthday party to start the actual painting – I was nervous. I had never painted a person, and horses are not easy to draw or paint. I wanted the painting to convey the feelings that I knew were behind this moment. In preparation for the painting, I read books on painting portraits and figures, I watched YouTube videos of artists painting skin, hair, and horses, and I studied my photo. My first step was to sketch out the photo on my watercolor paper. A simple background was the first paint to be laid on the paper. I didn’t use any detail in the background because I wanted the viewer’s eye to be drawn to the detailed figures only. From there, I painted the face because I figured that if the face didn’t turn out right, I could easily start over without wasting too much time or paint. Satisfied with the face, I continued on to the hair and the horse. My daughter had snapped the picture above while I painted the horse. I must have been zoned in on my painting as I found a surprise on my phone a few days later. My favorite part of painting animals is painting their eyes. I feel that if a good eye can be painted – the rest of the animal will fall into place. After a few days of painting, I was happy with the look of the sunshine on my daughter’s hair, the shine on Taffy’s coat, the way the highlights and shadows made the facial curves just right, the soft look of the muzzle, the sparkle in Taffy’s eye, the windswept hair, the course-looking texture of the mane, and the wrinkles in my daughter’s shirt. My daughter’s 8th birthday painting was finished – it’s one of my favorites. Wild Spirits is the name that came to mind when I looked at this painting. My daughter wholeheartedly approved. My daughter said that she loved the horse’s eye, how their hair was flowing in the wind, and all the details of the painting. I love that my daughter’s feelings of love, passion, connection, and yearning are evident. Happy 8th birthday, my dear daughter! May your wild spirit live on forever.
Watercolor Wednesday: Shugren Barn and Pond
Welcome to Watercolor Wednesday! Today I’m sharing a commissioned painting I recently completed for the Shugren family. The family is beginning an exciting adventure – they converted their family barn into a wedding and event venue. The beautiful red barn, built in the 1920’s, is a show-stopper. It sits in the middle of more than 100 green acres, and has been in the family since the day it was built. A serene, shallow pond is situated just west of the barn where lily pads and cattails grace the landscape. I was asked to incorporate both the barn and the pond into a watercolor painting. A painting the owners hope to use as a part of their new business logo. Shugren Barn and Pond Shugrens, I wish your family the best as you begin your new adventure with the Shugren Farm Wedding and Event Venue. For more information on the Shugren Farm: Shugren Farm Wedding and Event Venue.