Night Owl

Just completed and listed on ebay my Night Owl Cafe sign. Please check it out when you have a chance. It is my first owl sign and I love how it turned out.

Also coming up this week are two challenge pieces I've created. The one is for EHAG's Creey Confections and Tricky Treats Challenge. The other is for AHAO's Alice in Halloweenland Challenge. Both pieces are 3-D and made out of paperclay. Thought I would do something a little different and unexpected since they are challenges.
Check back to see what I've come up with!

Haunted Holstein

Just added to ebay my "Haunted Holstein" cow sign.
Thanks for looking!

A chill in the air...

Yay, it's almost here, October! My favorite month of the year which happens to include my favorite holiday, Halloween. There is a definate chill in the air. Yesterday I saw two maple trees that are turning a gorgeous shade of red. We went to the farm market and selected our pumpkins. My husband got all our Halloween decorations out of the attic and most have been set out. My little one has been introduced to the magic that is Nightmare Before Christmas, her new favorite movie.
Only a few more days and October will be here!
Just listed on ebay is yet another Sleepy Hollow sign. I love how this one turned out
with the black and orange colors that have come to represent Halloween. The horse looks very tortured and I suppose he would be carting around a head lopping maniac.
Lettering hand painted in "Blackadder" which has come to be my go to font for Halloween signs. I even threw in a frightened black cat and some bats for an extra spooky effect.
Now go get out your Halloween decorations and start hanging!

Gypsy Caravan

Just finished my new gypsy caravan Halloween sign and had to post a picture. I'll be adding it to ebay in the next day or so.

I also just finished a "Happy Halloweenie" small sign with a trick or treating Dachshund. Thought I would celebrate my new puppy with a sign featuring her likeness. Sorry, I don't have that one varnished and photographed yet:)

EHAG

I belong to a really great group of juried Halloween artists called EHAG (Eclectic Halloween Artists Group). If you haven't searched EHAG on Ebay, now is the time! So many wonderful, one of a kind pieces of spooky, fun art.
EHAG also has a blog where members can post photos of new work and anything that revolves around Halloween. Lori Rudolph of Retro Rudolphs has done a fabulous job updating the blog recently with some really cool photo collages of EHAG member photos. Please check it out when you have the time. Click on each collage for a larger view.

Great Pumpkin Carve

I'm so excited, my mom just went and paid for our entry into this year's Great Pumpkin Carve in Chadds Ford, PA (at the Historical Society, right next door to Andrew Wyeth's farm). Since she was the first to sign up we have pumpkin number one, just like last year. Perhaps we will be as lucky and win one of the fabulous prizes from Hunt Country Furniture.
I am especially excited this year because my husband is taking off work that day so our daughter can come. We'll go to Longwood Gardens early since we'll be in the area and they have the place all decked out for Fall.
Here are some photos of our pumpkins from previous carves...

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And some photos of OTHER people's pumpkins over the last several years. Sorry, I don't know who the artists are.

Haunted Gypsy

UPDATE 9/20/08: Since no one wanted to buy this from my blog, I have added it to Ebay. Click here for the auction. Thank you!

I thought I would offer my newest Halloween creation for sale on my blog for 2 DAYS before I listed it on Ebay. I am quite smitten with this one. Perhaps it's the oh so Halloweeny colors in the black and orange sky. Maybe it's just because I love Gypsy horses, who knows. So here's the deal, the sign is $139 (plus shipping based on the Priority Mail rate for a package 2-3 lbs. sent from 17520). First come, first served. If it doesn't sell on my blog by Saturday night, it will go on ebay. I prefer the buyer to pay with Paypal but you could send a postal money order if you'd like. Of course if you're one of my regulars, a check would also work. The sign measures 11" x 14" and is signed and sealed. On the back there is a sawtooth hanger for quick and easy display.
Here he is...

Arwen

I am so excited I had to write a quick blog. More to come! Meet our new family dog, Arwen, 7 month old mini dachshund. She is such a sweetie!!!

Sleepy Hollow Revisted

Back to one of my favorite Halloween themes this week, the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow.

Still hard to find time to paint and Zoe's naps are very erratic. Most days it's like pulling teeth to get her to go down so it's easier to just let her not nap.
As I'm writing this it is about 1 hour from her bed time and she is a nightmare! I can't wait for the terrible 2s to go away!

It's really hard for me because I have so many Halloween ideas racing around my brain, dying to be set free. I also have a list of requests that I am trying to fill for ebay. So to everyone that has requested a certain piece, please be patient with me. I am not able to take any commissions at the time, probably won't be able to until after Christmas.

I have added several new Halloween designs to my Cafepress store. Check it out if you haven't already. I ordered some nice little raven buttons that I've been including with Ebay purchases. I also have Halloween and Christmas postcards to include with Ebay and Etsy purchases.

Speaking of Etsy, my ebay friend and fellow horse artist/animal lover Danielle Barlow was kind enough to include me in her Etsy "Eeeeek!" treasury. Thank you so much Danielle, I am always in awe of your work!

Black Kitten

Just finished a painting of a black kitten in a jack o' lantern peeking out at a mouse. Auction link.

Raven's Moon

I just finished a very cool cafe sign today and had to share.
Check it out on Ebay...

MacNeill

H.T. MacNeill sketching a house.

There is a live auction on ebay in a few days for one of my Great Grandfather Henry T. MacNeill's original pen and ink drawings. I thought it was such a cool thing to find on ebay. Unfortunately I never met HT, he died before I was born. I very much look up to the man and feel that some of my artistic talent must have come from his side of the family. I have always been very proud of the MacNeill name and HT is one of the reasons why I hyphenate my last name. HT was proud to be of Scottish ancestry and named the house and he built with my Grandfather, Barra, after the small island in the Outer Hebrides that the MacNeill clan hails from.

Henry T. MacNeill with my grandfather, Stephen Moylan MacNeill on the left. Pop-pop was named after distant relative, Colonel Stephen Moylan.


One of my favorite HT sketches of Washington's Headquarters. The MacNeill family has long had an interest in Revolutionary War history.


Kisimul Castle - Barra, Scotland.

Finally able to paint something...

With the husband back at his teaching job it's been hard to get anything painted. I spent part of Friday and all day Saturday and Sunday getting a few things done for Ebay while he watched our daughter. I'm really happy with the way my witch sign turned out. I usually do the lettering at the top but the other day while I was trying to fall asleep, I had the idea to use the top of the sign for the moon and put the lettering on the bottom. I'm working on another piece like this one but with a raven in place of the witch. I think I will write something like "Raven's Caw Cafe" at the bottom. I also would like to work on some black cat pieces this week too and I have a few requests to get to as well. Not sure how much time I will get to paint during the week.
Okay, here are the new pieces, just added to Ebay. Three day auctions so act fast:)
Now off to make some yummy turkey chili for dinner!

Saucy

When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.
When your Mom gives your organic heirloom tomatoes, you make sauce.
So I'm at it again. The sauce is bubbling away on the stove as I speak. It's so yummy and super healthy I had to make a second batch!

My recipe...

Step 1. Aquire 20 + pounds of homegrown tomatoes. Store bought absolutely will not do!


Step 2. Cut a cross in each tomato and drop in boiling water for 60 seconds. This will enable you to easily peel the tomatoes and cut out the core.

Step 3. Throw peeled, squished tomatoes into the largest pot you own and toss in a green pepper, kosher salt, an onion or two, whatever herbs you like, a wee bit of sugar and some garlic.




Step 4. Cook on medium for several hours. Skim off any foam on the top and discard.

Step 5. Run ingredients through a food mill. This will get all the seeds out. I was lucky enough to be given a premo one from Italy. I LOVE it!

Step 6. Cook down on low/medium until desired consistency. I like to cook mine until around 8pm.







Step 7. Cool and freeze. Save a little to enjoy for dinner tomorrow night:)


On a seperate note. I was abot to paint two things for ebay this weekend while my husband watched our daughter. A really cool Halloween vase and a horsey Halloween sign. They are both on ebay right now!
Thanks for reading - now go get some tomatoes while they are in season and make yourself some sauce. You will be glad you did when you're eating it over the winter!