Great Pumpkin Carve

Despite the cold, rain and wind, my Mom and I had fun working on our pumpkin at The Chadds Ford Great Pumpkin Carve.  2011 marks our 9th year at this fabulous event and I'm so excited to write that my design won the award for Most Halloween!

Lighting the pumpkin...

My Mom likes to paint her face and hair like a pumpkin:)

The inside is neat...

View from the parking field...

Some of the other pumpkins. My favorite was the barn owl but I really like Totaro too. 

To be eligible for judging, you can't add anything to your pumpkin though. 

Happy Halloween!

Exciting news!

So I did manage to break my camera while at the beach last week (major bummer). My last few shots were quite memorable though and a good way to go out I think (see post below).

One good thing has come out of this though, I was forced to upgrade. After some research I decided to go with the Canon EOS Rebel T3i. Unfortunately I have to wait a week (hopefully not more, I am going through withdraw). This baby looks pretty sweet, I can wait to get my hands on him. I am already dreaming of all the places we will go! My deal savvy husband also found 2 telephoto lenses and an awesome $400+ printer to go with the camera. If you bought the package, you got a $400 rebate on the printer!

So there will be no new photos on my blog for a little while. Perhaps I'll have to go through some old favorites for something to blog about. In the mean time, I did have a few prints made of some of my favorite pieces. There are 5 mostly Halloween images with two ginger cat prints as well. All are in my Etsy store if you want to check them out. I also added several pendants and reduced the price on my originals.

Sleepy Hollow Friends - click to purchase print.

Detail from Headless Horseman print - click to purchase. 

Ginger Cat with Dogface Butterfly - click to purchase

Played Out - click to purchase

Tricks for Treats - click to purchase

Caballo de los Muertos - click to purchase

Curious Equines

Last night we went over to my mom's house for dinner. She always makes a wonderful meal and after homemade mac and cheese, pizzas from scratch, choco chip cookies & ice cream and sticky toffee pudding (to DIE for) I felt we could use a walk. Here are two of the cutest equines we found on our 4.2 mile adventure through the countryside.

My mom's Amish neighbor's horse.

I buttered him up with a juicy red apple.

I love this guy, he's such a black beauty!

Down the road we met this sweet mule.

He didn't want us to leave!

I've been a busy bee this week. Painted a Sleepy Hollow Pony that is now on Ebay and am working on a Day of the Dead horse painting. Still may tweak a thing or two. Might have to get prints made of this one or at the least, postcards!

What's Blooming & Sleepy Hollow

Hyacinths - yippee!

An early, wild looking tulip.

Looks nice with my bunny statue.

Voila! My newest original Sleepy Hollow folk art sign. Painted especially for the

EHAG Emporium which opens tonight at 9 PM EST. This one is BIG - 24" x 16".

Now on EBAY - Click for auction.

Click on the image for a larger photo.

Newtown Square Pumpkin Carve

Here are some photos from the pumpkin carving contest I participated in today. There weren't many carvers since this is the first year, but the ones that came did a very good job. My Headless Horseman carving took 2nd place - $50 and I got to bring my pumpkin home! I wasn't expecting such a nice prize. The best part of the day was meeting all the wonderful people that put this event together and talking with the people as they walked by.







We were awarded with a gorgeous sunset on the way home!

(Not so) Scary Mary

My daughter Zoe and I made a scarecrow of sorts yesterday. This this the cheapest Halloween decoration you can make, in fact I had all the elements of her construction laying around my house: old pants and shirt, JOL head, straw hat, garden gloves, newspaper stuffing, witch broom. Zoe has named her "Scary Mary".
Scary Mary is not fond of rain though, she was Headless Mary this morning!
We went and got her a few more pumpkins last night. Found another Amish farm selling pumpkins for $1 each!



Finished my quick Headless Horseman painting. I think it will be fun to show the people at the pumpkin carve tomorrow. I have butterflies in my stomach over it! I don't like doing anything in front of a large group of people. Should I imagine everyone naked? Isn't that what they tell you to do when you have to speak before a group?

Becoming an Artist

One day my husband asked my daughter if she wanted to be an artist when she grew up. Her reply was - "Dad, I am an artist!"

Having never raised a child before and possessing no knowledge of how kids develop artistically, I am constantly amazed by what my child comes up with. I know everyone probably says this about their kid and I'm sure viewing a blog post with the art of a 3 year old is at the very bottom of most people's lists but I just felt I had to share a few pieces. I really wish my mom would have kept some of my "early work" and I think it will be fun for Zoe to see when she gets older.


My studio walls are covered with my art and Zoe's art. So are my sketchbooks (her art often on top of my drawings). Her drawing here is of a crazy icecream cone with a spotty tongue named "Sugary".


This drawing is called "Sad Sun". When I asked why she said, because it's raining on him.


Dr. Cockroach drawn after we went to see Monsters vs. Aliens.


"Princess Roxanne" is a drawing made of our mail carrier, Roxanne.


"Ghosts" - This drawing looks like one of those that the crazy kid draws in a horror movie when he starts seeing scary stuff in his house! Yikes!


"Ghost That Ate a Flower" - One of my very favorites. Her first flower drawing too. Maybe she's a budding Halloween artist?



And my newest Sleepy Hollow painting, 8" x 10" acrylic on masonite. I'm thinking of making prints of it.

"A work of art is the unique result of a unique temperament."
~Oscar Wilde

"Art is the proper task of life."
~Friedrich Nietzsche

"Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life."
Pablo Picasso