Lipton- Eyes Only for You

Lipton- Eyes Only for You  6 x 8 in oil on canvas panel
I met Lipton at Mt. Carmel last week. He is the eyes for an elderly woman with a fantastic, sweet spirit. One evening as we sat at a service I looked over and Lipton had his head on her lap with the most adoring look I have ever seen. That look said I have eyes only for you and I love you more than you will ever know. This will be a gift to her even if she is unable to see it, she will know that someone was thinking  of  her and her Eyes.

                                                        Join Me oil on linen panel 5 x7 in.
These beautiful chairs are all over the grounds at Mt. Carmel Ministries Retreat Center at Alexandria, MN. You can sit and relax, take a nap, read or join a friend for conversation and time together. I always feel they are an invitation to take time for myself and enjoy the surroundings.

Rooms for Rent

Rooms for Rent
8x6 oil on panel
This is from a photo taken many years ago when my business partner and I were at a painters gathering for several days. We took a walk  in the alleys of the small town and this popped out so much we took photos. In my head I think about what happened to the business, what people stayed there and how did it end up in rack and ruin.
The fun of this was doing it in two colors plus white which turned out to be a close match to the original colors.  Transparent red oxide, ultramarine blue .
Perhaps this will bring some interesting scenerios to mind or even conjure up a story.

Pretty in Purple

                                       Pretty in Purple oil on linen panel 12x12
Lilacs are always nostalgic for me to paint. I remember them from the farm where I was born and how proud my Mother was because she had the deep dark purple that were more unusual than the usual medium colored violets. Now , many years later on the farmstead where my husband grew up and we have made our home, the lilacs his Mother planted so many years ago still bloom each spring. They seem to bring a connection to the seasons of my life. The fragrance fills the room and when I put them on the altar in our small country church it is a reminder of the many years these have been placed there by many generations.  Perhaps others will have memories of these well known blooms.

Old Mill

Old Mill oil 6x6 on  linen panel

This old mill reminds me of the many years I was curator of our county museum and we would go to a historic mill not far from here, the water driven mill had been converted to being run by an antique steam engine, it was always hot and sticky our and since the flour was ground by huge millstones at the end of the day, the stones had to be lifted and cleaned, no small job since they weighed hundreds of pounds each.  This job was made more difficult by the fact we dressed in period costumes , petticots and skirts , bonnets and high button shoes.  Met many interesting people and of course became very sympathetic with our ancestors who did this to provide flour for themselves and the community.   I can hear the water trickling by  and on a hot day it was an especially soothing sound.

Geraniums before window box

I snapped this just as I was about to plant them in the window box, this is a painting that just fell together and is a reminder that there is always good with the bad.( the weather has been the bad)

Summer Geraniums

                                          Summer Geraniums 6 x 8 oil on linen panel
These geraniums are the bright spot in my window planters, everything in the yard and garden is standing in water from way too much rain, much is rotting and it is hard to watch beautiful perenials die because of the excess water but my window boxes are glorious and I just had to paint this. I will publish the photo I worked from in my next blog, see if you can see the composition I saw.