New Prints in the Shop

Hello Friends,

What a sad week for the entertainment industry, huh? I remember cutting junior high school to watch "Thriller" on Mtv with my two best girlfriends. Shhh, don't tell my mom:)

Maybe in Heaven he'll get to enjoy that childhood he seemed so desperately to have missed.More proof that life is too short.

On a happier note, I have added two new prints to my shop. I continue to offer my prints at the very reasonable price of $12.00 in an effort to make art affordable to everyone.

You can check them out here.

Don't ask me how I stumbled upon this fine specimen but I felt like he was something I needed to share...

Wipe the drool off your chin girls...he's a looker.

You have to give him some credit for the artistry of a clean shave.

Enjoy your day!

I'm off to Target to buy an electric shaver...hubby and I have a busy night planned;)

New Swimmers and an Announcement

Hello Friends,

The sun still hasn't shown it's face in NJ this month but everything is as green as can be. That's the positive I'm trying to put on this depressing weather. It figures that the very first season that I try to grow vegetables, we have zero sun. I guess it will be interesting.

See that tiny little bumpy thing? Don't strain your eyes. It's a cucumber, yay!

Tiny little tomatoes.

The lavender on the front walk is going CRAZY! I snipped some and hung it in the shed for making sachets later on. We'll see how that goes.

Some kind of wee critter is nibbling on my sweet potato vine but I kind of like the lacey look:)

More blooms from the yard.

When we first bought this house 9 years ago, there was nothing. Just some overgrown evergreens and a few hostas. So I'm very pleased that everything I have planted over the years is finally filling out the beds and look beautiful.

New vintage swim couple.

SOLD Thank You!!

I worked on these two yesterday. I just love painting this swim couple so I decided to paint them a more "formal" portrait. They are painted on wood plaques with French corners. I painted the sides gold and gave them a slight antique glaze. I should have them in the shop later this evening.

*** They are now in the shop***

And now for the announcement....this is my 198th post, and you know what that means?

200th POST GIVE AWAY TIME!

This is a biggie so I will have to come up with something special.

Don't you think?

Check back soon!

Have a great day:)

Feeling Fishy

Hello Friends,

First I want to thank everyone who commented on my Father's Day post. I was having a blue day and you all made me feel much better.

SOLD! Thank you!!

Second, I want to share with you my new mermaid painting. This one just happens to be a mer-man and mer-maid deeply in love, deep in the sea. I had a lot of fun just adding layer upon layer of texture. This one is 8" x 10" on a piece of up-cycled compressed wood that is about 1/4" thick. I really do prefer working on hard wood surfaces as opposed to canvas. You can find it here.

Well, just 1 1/2 days of school left for us and than watch out summer, here we come! If only the NJ weather would cooperate. It's been raining E-V-E-R-Y day this month and it's not doing anything for my mood. The skies cleared long enough this morning for me to take my walk and I was delighted to see that my secret blackberry bush, hidden in a bike trail that I take, was full of delicious fruit. I filled up my hands with as many as I could carry and ate them on the way. Sorry birds, you can have the ones that fall on the ground:) Not ten minutes after I came home did the rain start again...ugh! So if anyone has a little too much sun for their liking, please send it my way!

Dear Dad...

Dad working on his beloved boat.

Dear Dad,

Not a day goes by that I don't think of you. Most of the time it's something funny and I thank you for that. It's you, after all, who gave me my sarcasm and my sick sense of humour.

I think of the "short cuts" you always took (that always took us longer) when driving somewhere. I now find myself doing the same thing because most of the time the longer way looks nicer.

I think of our evening boat rides on the Rancocas and paddling the canoe in the lilly pads, you doing most of the work;)

I think a lot about how much you would have loved your three grandsons. I know you would have enjoyed teasing them and tormenting them just the way you did us and I know it hurt you to know you wouldn't get to see them. They all know who Pop Pop is and they know all of the funny stories by heart.

I'll always remember the advice you gave me..."Don't sweat the small stuff." and "Enjoy the little things." I try!

Thank you for being my dad. Happy Father's day.

Love,

Tracy Lynn

Poor Little guy...

Hello Friends,

We had another busy week here with end of the year school activities. This spring has been a bit dreary. If it isn't raining, it's cloudy. Bummer.

But that didn't stop us from having a great time at Paws Farm here in Mt. Laurel. Alex's class had a field trip on Thursday and the kids had a ball. In a converted barn they have a nature display behind glass. It's a wilderness scene with several real stuffed critters. An owl, a skunk, a fox and all have seen much better days. I found this one in particular both disturbing and hysterical. I'm not sure why.

Eeek! He's so old and dried out that his face is falling off. I know, gross, right? Maybe I shouldn't be sharing this with you all. If you're offended, I apologize! I showed my husband and we both cracked up. I'm just glad the kids didn't really get a good look and start asking questions.

I finally finished my latest family portrait. This is a couple and their 7 adopted children...yes, 7! I wish I could share their family website with you because they are truly the most beautiful looking kids. This is the largest portrait I've done so far both in the quantity of people and the canvas size. This one is 18" x 24". I hope they like it.

And this is the latest piece for sale in my shop.

This is acrylics, pencil, paper and bees wax on an 8"x10" canvas panel. You can visit her here.

Now that I'm finished up with the last of my commissions, I'm going to get started in the studio. I have a bunch of canvas ATC's that I will be working on as well as some polymer pins. Also, I'm putting together a pack of ATC prints that you can either collect or frame. Stay tuned:)

Enjoy your weekend!

Al Fresco Art

Hello Friends,

Alex got off the school bus today wanting to go to the pool. I had a lot of painting to do so we decided on a compromise.

I'm still working on this giant family portrait. I think this will be my last for a while. I enjoy doing them but I miss just painting what I want...being free!

Enjoy your day!

Ugh!

Ok, so the touch of a cold I thought I had turned out to be a big ol' cold with a hunk of flu thrown into the middle for good measure. The flu? Seriously? I can't remember the last time I had the flu. My mom warns me every year. It sounds like this...

me: yeah, I just came back from the kids Dr. to get their flu shots.

mom: how about you? did you get one?

me: no. why would I get one?

mom: because you're getting older and you should really get one.

me: nah. i never get the flu. and besides, I'm only 35, 36, 37, 38, 39.

So maybe I'll get a flu shot next year....probably not.

But the bonus is that Baby Mama has been on HBO all this week so I watched it about 10 times. I laugh at the same parts every single time. My favorite quote is when Kate say's to Angie, " I'm sorry I called you stupid." and Angie replies"I'm sorry I farted into your purse."

I realize that it's not for everyone but it's definitely for ME! My 93 year old grandmother calls it "bathroom humor" which totally cracks me up. Her, not so much.

Evil Little Bunny!

Cute right? It's his disguise! He's really an evil little plant muncher. God made him so gosh darn cute for a reason. I went out to check on my new climbing rose bush to see how close to climbing the arbor it was and aaaaaagh. Nothing but a bunch of stems. At first I thought I had done something wrong when I planted it and then I noticed that each stem was ever so neatly "trimmed" on an angle. Bugger. Notice the little green stem in front of him? That's the bottom half of a morning glory vine. He mowed down about 35 to 40 of them in one evening. Oh well, live and learn. New little green fences have been erected around the roses and the other stuff will just have to be his. He's lucky he's not an ugly bunny:)

Have a good night!