Golden Vines

We are so enjoying this Christmas season – celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ at a beautiful Christmas Eve service, getting together with family and friends for special events, and still anticipating our “official” Christmas Day on January 6! This year promises to be one of our larger family gatherings our house – Paul thinks there may be 24 – 11 grandchildren, their wonderful moms and dads, nephew and his girlfriend, and my sweet mom! We are so thankful for every one of them.

Our current weather forecast is for a winter storm with predictions of anywhere from 3 to 12 inches of snow accumulation, but my heart must be in a much sunnier place. My inspiration this week is a photo I’ve carried with me for several years. This painting, Golden Vines, is 11” x 15” on 300 lb. watercolor paper and captures rolling hills of vines resting in the late afternoon sun on a warm autumn day.

First Light Paddle

It’s that time of year . . . and I can’t believe we are measuring days left to Christmas! Each year, we have to renew our commitment to not shop wildly, but to remember the true reason for this celebration – the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. Reading the Christmas story, putting up the tree, decorating the house, baking cookies, and singing the Christmas songs all serve to remind us of God’s great love and the many blessings we’ve been given. And this week, we’ll attend our grandchildren’s Christmas programs, get together with family to celebrate my Mom’s 86^th Birthday, and then gather with dear friends for the beautiful Christmas Eve service at our Taylor’s Falls church.

And in the midst of a fairly warm December (with hardly any snow), this seemed a good time of year to remember summer days on the river. This week’s painting, First Light Paddle, is 9” x 10” on 300 lb. paper, and captures the feeling of an early morning paddle with fog rising off the water.

Gunderson Farm

This past fall at the Baker Orchard Art Fair, I met a lovely couple who lived on a nearby farm. A few weeks later, Paul and I met with them to tour the farm – their wonderfully cared for farmhouse, historic barn and lively dog, Mollie – and to talk about the commissioning of this painting. The journey to creating this painting was such fun! This week’s painting, “Gunderson Farm,” is a 10” x 15” watercolor painting on 300 lb. paper.