Real Snow

This morning, I woke up to cold. Not chilly, but COLD! After I chased the children out the door to the bus (why I still have to do this at their age continues to baffle me), it started to snow. This is the first snow, with big fluffy flakes, that I have seen in a very long time. We had a bizarre winter with almost no snow at all. Storms would come in and leave a hole over the state where it was too warm to snow or just flat out sunny blue skies. I missed snow so very much!

But today! Today it snowed! The flakes came down furiously for about 30 minutes, and then they eventually lightened up into sunny blue skies once again... but I saw them! I saw the snowflakes! It looked like winter! I curled up with a book in front of the fire and with my pumpkin spice tea while it was happening, and simply enjoyed it!

Once it was over, off to the studio I went. It was a shame it couldn't continue on all day!

It's funny how some paintings take a lot of time, and some take almost none (by comparison, anyway.) It's also interesting how a groove just takes over and that's all you want to do for a while. I'm well and truly in the holiday mood for painting, and I've managed to make these three little ones (I'm really enjoying the fast nature of the 3x5" canvas panel, even if they are rough as burlap):

"Snow wave" $30, Etsy

"Bendy" $30, Etsy

"Night Light" $30, Etsy

They're so little, it's a bit odd to finish so fast - as in an actual day, instead of MONTHS for a change! Sure, they still take several hours of work, but there's something about starting something in a day and finishing it in a day.

Also, it's a novel feeling to hold such a little, yet complete piece in the palm of my hand. For now, I really like it!

I'm also working on a commission piece, the one with the Irish theme? I couldn't figure out where to put the Celtic knot work in it (although I have a tree sketched out on the left, I might sneak it into the trunk):

Although, it's a bit too far to the left I think unless I get really tiny (and this is only a 6x6" anyway, so that's unlikely to happen, without testing my sanity.) We've got Irish castle ruins on the right, hills, tree, flowers, and picking clover. Her flower-basket won't be empty, I just didn't feel the need to plot it out.

I'm finding that at a certain age, girls become difficult to draw. It's easy to draw them as babies, toddlers, young children, late teens/adult. But that in-between stage when they're not so little anymore and yet not womanly yet either... tricky. Seriously tricky. I ended up having to scrap a canvas (well, set it aside for something else to cover it up) because of it. This one, well, she may end up looking a bit older than I'd like once she's painted in, but my hope is that won't happen. It's the plot-lines on the face that make her look a bit older right now (I'm aiming for the 9-10 range), and the expression, while looking peaceful (adultly sedate?) like that, I think with a blush can look younger as well. Still... tricky.

So I'm working on my Irish lass, and then switching to a bit a snow and sparkle, then back again! We've got a cold weather week in front of us, but it's unlikely to snow... still, a girl can hope!