"Christmas Blessings"

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  John 3:16

  Peace to you and those you love.

Merry Merry Christmas!

 

"Orchard" - SOLD

A rich harvest of abstracted colors, shapes, shadows, dapple light...

"Clementines" - SOLD

It's getting to be that time of year again.  Time for clementines.  They're kind of special as they come out during the holiday season and that's just plain fun.  Bon appetit!

"Olives" - SOLD

   

A simply rendered olive branch.  

Olives - trees, branches, Kalmata, Spanish, stuffed with pimentos, garlic, onions, bleu cheese and more.  By themselves or thrown into a plethora of dishes, they're usually welcomed by most.  If not for eating, then for looking at in a garden.  What a variety of tastes and flavors and they're yummy in martini's too.

"Beach Scene"

Buy it at AndolsekArt on Etsy!

 

Relax, listening to the waves, children splashing and playing, a good read, not a care in the world, sunshine...  Bliss!

"Picnic Basket"

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Photo compliments of Food52 & James Ransom, Photographer

 

Picnics, I LOVE picnics.  Have you ever noticed how great food tastes when you eat outdoors?  It's yummier than ever.

One of the picnic dates I recall with my husband was us quickly purchasing produce, etc from a local grocery store and packing an impromptu lunch before heading up to Pt. Loma very early in the morning to check the tide pools (another huge fav of mine).  

We were ravenous by the time we did eat our little picnic on a bench at the tippy top with seagulls politely flying by and giving us a wonderful aeronautical display.  One of our best days ever!  Am I blessed or what!!!

"Vintage Lawn Chairs" - Sold

 

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Summertime and the living is easy are the thoughts that seize me when I look at this painting. It whispers 'take a break', 'come sit for awhile'...

Years ago I did a small version of this particular painting and just could not let it go as I love the feelings I get when I look at it. I have it in a coastal gray frame which is perfect for this piece.

So I did something I rarely do, I painted another version of mine on a larger scale. Changed the colors up a bit as well, otherwise very similar. I thoroughly enjoyed painting this for every reason imaginable.

"Orchid" - SOLD

Elegant fascinators... Orchids are quite easily distinguishable from other plants. They seem mysterious, even exotic in nature. I often think of Hawaii when I look at them. A symbol of love and beauty. 

So if you're ever stuck for a present that will be sure to please, think of an orchid.  It's always a welcome gift.

"Velvet Violets"

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Regarding the computer calamity, back-up and running. I find I do have a few more necessary tweaks to make as I go along and still thanking God that I had a great back-up. My husband has been indispensable. My daughter helped me out as well and told me about Micks Macs in Santa Barbara.  It's about a 45 minute drive from us and I cannot say enough good things about him. Now to posting. 

When I was a child, there was a particular patch of flowers that seemed to be wild.  No one planted them to my knowledge. There were only two types of flowers there. Violets and Lilies of the Valley.  The intoxicating aroma of the Lilies of the Valley  sent me into a state of wonder the very first time I smelled them.  Could anything possibly smell that intense, that unique. The violets were a deep velvet color with luscious variations of intense purple, but no smell.  Interesting... 

With this sudden recollection, I went on a search for Violets and rendered them intensely, wild, free and abstracted.

Computer died...

My Mac laptop pro died about two weeks ago and I am hoping to be back-up by this coming weekend. It's been a bit of a journey deciding which direction to go, but a decision was finally made, my laptop is being dealt with and back-ups were good, thank God. Springing for this large ticket item wasn't in the cards or so I thought. Ah life.

That's the reason I'm actually posting today. I normally let things like this pass and not say anything, but it occurred to me to post a reminder to back-up your work and not to put it off. 

Happy I have my iPad. Ciao!

'Apron' - SOLD

Photo compliments of both Food52 and James Ransom, Photographer.

If you haven't found Food52 yet, you owe it to yourself to visit their fantastic website full of wonderful products AND they also have great recipes.  Two gals, named Amanda and Merrill started it up in 2013 and they're going strong.

James Ransom is one of their still life photographers, love his work. Simple, clean, and for Food52, it's all about their products, not so much fluff to take away the focus. I'm old school and of the 'kiss' principle philosophy so I really gravitated to this site.

'Delicate Bouquet' - SOLD

A sweet bouquet of lovely softness.  I've always thoroughly enjoyed having fresh flowers of my choosing to look at daily.  

It just so happens that we have roses, a wild variety, in front of our house which is taken care of by our HOA, yay.  When the guys were trimming them the other day, they left a few on a table I have on the front porch. So sweet.  

That's the next one up.  I'm having a great time playing with different approaches.

'Bluebird' - SOLD

I have imagined several scenarios regarding what she is so intensely scrutinizing below.  It certainly has her concentrated attention.

It's always such a joy to see the young little ones in their season learning all they need to go off on their own.  No wonder she's called the 'bluebird of happiness'.

'Beach Hypnosis' - SOLD

I love the colors in this painting as well as the abstracted scene. I can almost feel the sand slipping out beneath those cool water soaked toes. 

I considered calling it Quicksand cause that's what it's like when you're dazed looking out over the waves and totally mesmerized. Suddenly caught off guard by one of those waves dizzying effects making you catch yourself or fall over. Life is good!

'Kaleidoscope Oranges'

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A kaleidoscope has forms and shapes of colored objects bouncing off each other in a lovely little cylinder of light.  That's what it feels like at times to look at brilliant oranges on our So Cal trees that are so abundant here in Cali's orchards.

Bursting out amongst leaves and blue skies and grasses all around.  Diving in with sticky juices flowing out over hands that are quite eager to taste their sweetness.

We are so blessed to be close to their availability...  Farmer's markets abound here and I say yay to that over and over again.  Nothing like fresh picked!  Our thanks go out to all of those involved from planting to harvest.

"I Can Do This" - SOLD

The simplicity and the statement this painting sets in motion juts off in many directions.  The old 'I think I can' is my first observation. 

I still rather like the I CAN do approach even though it's basically saying the same thing, I personally think it's stronger and more powerful to say I CAN than I think I can.  Kind of like it's already a done deal.  I just know this little boy WILL do it!

'Petite Vases'

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There comes a time in every bloggers life (I think) when one just sits there staring at the blank screen in front of them trying to think of something to say.  This is one of them.  

Since I have so much to do today and time is slipping away from me, I am simply going to move on otherwise I might be here all day.

Hoping you enjoy the petite vases.  They were great fun to paint.

'Lifeguard Shack' - SOLD

These colorful pastelish lifeguard shacks are located up and down the beaches here in Ventura.  Kind of iconic at this point.  Very California.  

Just caught a breadth of salt air there for a minute.  I actually did hear a few seagulls fly by though.

Finally in 'new' studio

Some before picts with boxes, etc strewn all over...

We've been in our new home for about 3 weeks now.  We're waiting for our shutters to be finished and installed and still have lots to do before I can get back to my usual schedule of painting, like concrete/landscaping the patio, garage organizing, things like that, but at least we're finally in.  We worked sooooo hard.  

It's such a pleasure for my husband Tim, (who is a musician) and I to have our very own studios.  As great as it was living right on the beach, it was just way too small for us and we're only like 10 minutes away from the water now so all is well.

My new studio is upstairs with scads of light which I cannot even say how much I missed.  Go to the light, lol...  It feels like I'm in a tree-house!

Tim had carpeting put in his studio and I opted for linoleum tiles, not real tiles or wood, cause I am not going to care about what does or doesn't land on the floor while in the pursuit of passion this time around.

Had a few mishaps (who doesn't) while moving and sprained left ankle and my right knee took a hit, but on the mend super fast and no longer using a cane to get up and down stairs.  We'd always been in a single floor home except for our first.  

This is a very nice new housing area for the Oxnard/Ventura which is very close to Whole Foods (fav), Target, lots and lots of restaurants, movie theater, and all kinds of shopping.

That's a paper shade (wish I thought of this idea) on the window until shutters are installed.  It sticks to the frame on the top and there are clips to hold it up.  There are still bins in the garage with paints, and other supplies like canvases etc, but this space holds a lot in the closet.  My sweetie pie, Tim set-up shelving and it's working out great (sorry I didn't get a pict of that).

And now, tada!  Here are some shots of the new set-up - yay!

'El Jardin Courtyard' - SOLD

El Jardin courtyard is right on Main Street in downtown Ventura where there are cute shops, hair stylists, quaint little bistros, and truly yummy sweets.  This hidden treasure is behind a gated passageway with steps leading up all the way through to umbrellas, delightful blue skies and strong shadows that seem to enlist the help of wee little birds to sing you into a blissful relaxed state.  Local charms are abundant!

'Umbrella Daze' - SOLD

Photo reference compliments of Claudia Ward Photography.

A rainy day at the bus stop.  Umbrellas up and everyone in quite a daze.  I painted this during our deluge of rains here in Cali.  Very grateful and appreciating the precious element H2O.

However, with that said, I am getting anxious to move into our brand new home with an upstairs studio promising lots of light and no longer sharing small quarters with my guitar slinging husband.  We'll both finally have our 'own' studios like before - soon?.  Yay!

Builders said delays came from the rain as in pouring driveway, Edison, etc.  But I know we desperately needed it.