Winter Blahs

So I came down with the flu last Thursday. I am finally starting to feel a tiny bit better today. Thank God it was not this Thursday because my husband bought my mother and I tickets to see Jesus Christ Superstar at the Hershey Theater. My mom was a bit of a hippy when I was a kid and played the soundtrack from the movie all the time. The cool thing is that Jesus will be played by the guy who was Jesus in the original movie (Ted Neeley) and Judas will be played by the guy from the 90's band, Living Colour (Corey Glover). Should be a pretty good show.

Today was the first day I have been able to paint in almost a week. I am nearing completion on a young shire horse spring welcome sign. I also have another spring sign started but I'm not sure what breed of horse I will paint yet.
I listed a few small pieces I completed early last week. One of those is a cute Easter ornament featuring a white rabbit.

New Pendants

First I wanted to show off my award given to me by fellow blogger and artist, Chris of Designs by CK. Thank you Chris, you made my day!

I also wanted to show off some of my new pendants that I listed on Etsy today. I painted a white rabbit, an English Spot rabbit and a pretty palomino horse.
Here is the spotted bunny:




I think he would make a lovely Easter gift for someone special.

I thought I would try selling a necklace on my blog. I just completed this bamboo tile bead pendant with a black cat looking up at two dragonflies. The tile measures 3/4" x 1.5". The necklace is handstrung with black glass beads and a lobster claw clasp. Length is about 20". I also used three really pretty black/blue/purple Czech glass butterfly beads around the pendant. The back is signed and dated. Would make a nice, one of a kind gift for someone special! Price is $39.00 and can be paid through Paypal. I will send an invoice to the first person that contacts me.



Enjoy today! Jen

The Glory of Horses

I received my panel today for the Glory of Horses project. I am so excited about painting it that I had to write a little blog. My panel will be one of over a hundred panels that when combined will create a huge mural. You can see examples of other mural mosaics by clicking here.
This mural is being created to raise awareness for equine welfare. It will be used to raise funds and resources for horse rescue and rehab.
The Glory of Horses mural will be unveiled at the Midwest Horse Fair, in Madison, Wisconsin April 18-20, 2008. It will then travel to the Kentucky Derby Museum, at Churchill Downs from April 24 through about May 11, 2008. My art will be on display during the Derby! How exciting is that!
So here it is, my panel, # 149. I haven't painted anything on it yet. It arrived with an underpainting that has certain color and tonal values that I must follow in order for the piece to fit in and create the larger image. I have a few ideas so I'll try and post them as I get farther along.
Wish me luck!
Jen

There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man. ~Winston Churchill

When I bestride him, I soar, I am a hawk: he trots the air; the earth sings when he touches it; the basest horn of his hoof is more musical than the pipe of Hermes. ~William Shakespeare, Henry V

Look back at our struggle for freedom,
Trace our present day's strength to it's source;
And you'll find that man's pathway to glory
Is strewn with the bones of the horse.
~Author Unknown

Strike

I was going to write a blog today about why sellers on ebay are striking but I thought that this woman sums it up perfectly on her blog.
Mousewords

So, I will not be listing on ebay this week. I do have one item on but it was listed on Saturday. Hey, I need to feed my family too!
There is a new auction site for arts and crafts. Over 200 ebay artists, including yours truly, have had some input into creating this site. I really hope it takes off!
Art and Craft Auctions
I plan on adding some new work to this site as soon as I create it.

Butterflies from the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadlephia. Great little exhibit. We took our daughter there on Monday.

Come on Spring!

First a howling blizzard woke us,
Then the rain came down to soak us,
And now before the eye can focus -
Crocus.
~Lilja Rogers

Every year around this time, like most people, my thoughts turn toward warmer weather and Spring. Now that we own our own house and a 1/2 acre of land I can finally start planning some really great veggie and flower gardens. My mother is a green thumb and some of that has rubbed off onto me. Our house's previous owners (from 1949 - 2007) planted tons of bulbs. The warm weather we had a week ago has made many of them start to flower already. I don't ever remember seeing flowers so early in the year so it was a nice surprise.

Our taste of warm weather was short lived however, with cold temps and snow and sleet last week. So, I did what I had to do to cheer up. I booked a week at the beach in August. Everyone needs a summer vacation in a sunny, happy place to look forward to, don't they? I found the perfect little apartment right on the beach. The balcony even faces the ocean! I can't wait to sit there in the morning and read the paper while a have my coffee. I also want to wake up a sunrise one of those days and take some pictures of the wild ponies on Assateague Island. Well, I'm getting a little ahead of myself. This post was supposed to be about Spring!

In hopes of an early spring I've painted a lovely little Dutch rabbit sign today. She is sitting in a patch of tulips and crocus. Next week is the Ebay strike. Since my Ebay earnings feed my family I cannot participate as much as I'd like. I will still be listing a few things. however, I hope to add some new things to Etsy, complete 2 custom orders and add a piece or two to a new auction site that should be up and running tomorrow. This site was created by fellow Ebay artists that are upset with the new policy changes and fee increases. I hope it will be a success for all of us. I will post the link when I know the site is up and ready for business!

Thank you for reading!
Jen

Spring bunny sign, now on Ebay.


First flowers of 2008!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Wind And Window Flower

Lovers, forget your love,
And listen to the love of these,
She a window flower,
And he a winter breeze.

When the frosty window veil
Was melted down at noon,
And the caged yellow bird
Hung over her in tune,
He marked her through the pane,
He could not help but mark,
And only passed her by
To come again at dark.

He was a winter wind,
Concerned with ice and snow,
Dead weeds and unmated birds,
And little of love could know.

But he sighed upon the sill,
He gave the sash a shake,
As witness all within
Who lay that night awake.
Per chance he half prevailed
To win her for the flight
From the firelit looking-glass
And warm stove-window light.

But the flower leaned aside
And thought of naught to say,
And morning found the breeze
A hundred miles away.


by Robert Frost

La Belle Dame Sans Merci by Sir Frank Dicksee

Three Black Cats

"I believe cats to be spirits come to earth. A cat, I am sure, could walk on a cloud without coming through."
- Jules Verne

"A cat's eyes are windows enabling us to see into another world."
- Irish Legend

"I love cats because I enjoy my home; and little by little, they become its visible soul."
- Jean Cocteau

I really struggled with my latest piece. Perhaps I shouldn't have devoted most of my life to painting horses. I should have given my second favorite animal, the cat, a little attention. That being said, I am very happy with the final product. The colors are reminiscent of Halloween but it is nice enough to display year round. A great little box to store your treasures.

"There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats."
- Albert Schweitzer

"The smallest feline is a masterpiece."
- Leonardo Da Vinci

"Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea."
- Robert A. Heinlein

"What greater gift than the love of a cat?"
- Charles Dickens

And the winner is...

Miccosukee!
I had my daughter draw the name from her hat last night.
I don't have your email address so please get in touch with me in the next few days so I can mail you your prize. If I don't hear from you in one week, I will draw another name. Thank you to ALL who participated. I really enjoyed reading all the comments. Hopefully I will have another contest soon.
Enjoy today,
Jen
jmacneill@hotmail.com

Valentine's Day Contest

I thought I would do a little giveaway for Valentine's Day with one of my new pendants. The prize is a hand painted palomino horse pendant accented with glass beads and a metal charm that reads "follow your heart". It is strung on a long black satin cord.
Here's the scoop. Add a comment to this post and be entered into the drawing to win the pendant pictured below. If you subscribe to my blog you will receive 3 entries into the drawing. If you add my blog's link to your blog's list of links, you will receive 4 entries.
Only comments for this post will be eligible. I will have my husband put all the names into a hat on Sunday, February 10th @ 8:00 pm to pick a winner. Winner will be notified by email and on the blog. Please check the blog on Monday morning to see if you are the winner. As soon as I have your address I will mail the pendant!
Thank you and good luck!
Jen

2 Challenges

I am part of two great Ebay groups that are having challenges right now. One is the AHAO (American Holiday Artists Ornaments) and the other is EHAG (Eclectic Halloween Artists Group). For AHAO the challenge is to create an ornament for Valentine's Day that incorporates a star. For EHAG the challenge is called "Valloween", a combo of Valantine's and Halloween. To see what everyone has created click on the images below...

Buy handmade and help artists!

Open for Business

My Etsy shop is now up and ready! I was even able to paint a few pieces to put in it yesterday. I've been checking out the forums there and the people on Etsy are so friendly. I feel very inspired and it is so nice to belong to a community of fellow artists and craftspeople. I just feel so fortunate to be able to create things that people like and that make them happy. Each time I get an email or positive feedback from a buyer it makes it all worth it. I have been so inspired and motivated this year. The first thing I think about each morning is, "what am I going to paint today?". And the last thing I think is, "what am I going to paint tomorrow?". It's been so hard to shut my brain off lately that it is becoming a problem. Last night I woke up at 2am and didn't do back to sleep until 5am! With a little one that means there's no sleeping in until 10 either. Thank God for coffee. Well, my husband has a two hour delay (he's a teacher) due to ice so I better get to painting while I have a babysitter!
Enjoy today!
Jen