“Lavender Days”, a new Amish Painting

Hello! It’s been awhile I know! There has been many personal things going on here and I really had not had the time to keep up with all the social media and being creative. Thank God it has come back for awhile…I hope for a long while.

Soooo, I have had this idea for an Amish painting for awhile. It all starts with a face and an idea, and the other additions to the painting come afterward, as if I were putting a puzzle together.

The first step was the face…always the face! Once I painted her face with her tranquil expression the rest came a little easier. I can usually tell what I want after that. I can see the dress she’s wearing, the field in the back…the flowers she’s holding, the colors I want…and then the finished piece surprises even me…like it didn’t come from me at all! I sometimes look back on my other past pieces, and I can’t believe I’ve done them. So crazy, but I’ll take it!

The title is always last…do I choose a name? Do I choose a quote or some kind of unique expression? I could have been more creative with this title, but it was not coming to me, and so “Lavender Days” it became. I just needed to get her out in the world, it has seemed so long!

Well, I hope you like her and she is now on my Etsy Shop! Now it’s on to the next piece before I loose my creative streak…lets keep it going! Take care!

Lavender Days

New Amish Portraits Completed

Hello and here we are again…finally!

I just wanted to share 2 paintings I just completed. One is very new, and it is just titled “Katie”. I wanted to come up with something more creative than that for this portrait, but every time I did, I was just too much…so I stuck with “Katie”.

Katie is a very curious little Amish girl, simply appreciating the scene outside her kitchen window. Her tranquil expression, along with her beautiful clear blue eyes and scarlet geraniums nearby, make for a charming and inspirational portrait. This is “Katie”.

The other portrait I have to share is one that I had already been selling on my Etsy Store for awhile as “Sarah In The Flower Field”.

In this one, an Amish girl is standing in the middle of a field full of daisies. All the time this print had been on Etsy, it had never sold, which made me wonder if it was because she didn’t have an Amish cap on. Many of my Amish girls have caps, and I think that does help sell the prints, so I decided I would take the risk and alter this portrait and add a cap to her. I would also change the name of the print…which is now “Sarah’s Serenity”.

I really like the finished look and the new title. I was fearful I wouldn’t be able to pull it off, because I did have to actually erase Sarah’s hair on the original painting and add the cap…and pastel is “NOT” easy to erase entirely…believe me! But it did work out and I hope she gathers some interest now.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this post, and be sure to check these out on my Etsy Shop. Thank you again for stopping by. Be back soon!

Two New Paintings from 1970’s TV Series

Hello and I’m back with 2 new paintings I am very happy about. They are from two popular tv shows in the 1970’s, “The Walton’s” and “Little House On The Prairie”. I just love these two shows, and appreciate them now more than ever because of how much simpler the times were back then. I think it’s kind of an escape from what’s going around us each and everyday. Just watching these two shows just totally relax me, and so working on these two paintings was actually like therapy!

So Laura Ingalls/ Melissa Gilbert in front of the school was so enjoyable to do. I had found a picture of the school and tried to capture it the best I could and found a picture of Melissa in her school/church attire with tied up braids and placed her in front to look like she was walking down the road. I really like the way this one came out. (Excuse the pencils and pastels surrounding the painting, I usually do this for Instagram).

The next one is Grandma and Grandpa Walton/ Will Geer and Ellen Corby from “The Walton’s”, another favorite of mine! I just love these two characters and feel like they could have been my own grandparents for the 60’s…showing my age now! I loved painting these two as well and I hope I did them justice. Next I would love to try the two Baldwin Sisters as they were also lovable characters…then maybe even Olivia and John Walton!

Anyway, these are both on my Etsy shop…finally! Hope you enjoyed this post. Be back soon!

Sharing a Few New Paintings

Hello again. Still trying to get used to using another computer for doing things that came so easily to me before. It just seems to take forever to do all the extra steps…whew! Anyhow….

I have been trying to actually paint in acrylics again, as an alternative to pastels, and it has been a nice break. I will share some things I’m working on next time. I just want to try a few more before I share.

First, I wanted to share a piece I worked on that was for a fan of John Mayer, the musician. It was requested to be in black and white, no color…and I hadn’t done one of these since my teen years…which was many years ago. I actually had to go back and watch videos of charcoal and pencil drawings being done because it had been so long. It’s like you have to strip away the color and just look at the values of an image. But I did it and here it is…

The next one was done around Easter, and I have been trying to find a perfect way to paint this one, and it’s of Jesus. I needed to find an image that I would perceive him to look like, and I always loved the way Robert Powell looked in Jesus of Nazareth, back in 1978. The only thing I would change is his sky blue eyes, so I changed them to brown. I changed a few other things here and there and this is how he came out in soft pastels…

I also added a quote here, something I always want to remember. I was very happoy with the way he turned out. His eyes look determined and mysterious, and looks slightly off in the distance like he’s watching over and protecting the viewer.

I’ll just add these 2 in here as well. They were cows done in watercolors and I loved the way they came out, but they had the white backgrounds and when I photographed them…the backgrounds always looked grey. I tried everything to get the grey color out, but it would alter the color of the cow. I just got so fed up, I added an antique filter to them and made them look old instead! But I will try and find out how to take the grey out of an image with a white background…I will!

So that’s what I have for now. I am presently working on another Laura Ingalls painting from Little House that I will share soon…that’s coming out awesome! Be back soon! Enjoy the eclipse! Stay Safe!

Two New Amish Paintings

Hello. I am back again to show you two new Amish pastel paintings I am very happy to share.

The first one is a little Amish girl in her garden with a butterfly on her finger. I titled this one “The Wonder”, because that is how I feel when I see a butterfly… I wonder. Like her also, if one landed on my finger, I would definitely just stare in amazement, and not wanting the moment to end. With this painting, I wanted to make it more than just about an Amish girl in her garden. The addition of the butterfly makes this painting just a little bit more than that.

“The Wonder”

The next painting is titled, “Daniels Way”. It’s title is about Daniel’s demeanor. His calm and peaceful nature. The muted background was created so you would focus in on Daniel’s expression and kind eyes. In my pastel paintings, I love mixing nature together with the Amish children. They both compliment each other so well.

“Daniels’s Way”

I hope you enjoy these 2 new paintings, as much as I enjoyed painting them. They are currently on my Etsy Shop now being sold as prints. Onto the next one!

Blessings!

Some Interesting Things To Share

Hello and so sorry for not posting in such a long time. Christmas just always throws me off completely and all of my energies are just focused on that and nothing else. So although I have not created things for my Etsy shop lately, I thought I could at least share some art pieces that were made and given as gifts for people recently instead.

My husband has a Christmas birthday, and he just turned 70. I had seen these simple portraits that are popular now and all over the internet. This kind of family portrait is created by just painting a watercolor picture of family members from the back, no faces. After studying these for awhile, I decided to try it and that’s what I created for him. The portrait came out pretty good considering, and I made sure that his arms extended and touched all of us as best I could.

As a surprise gift for my nephew, I created a portrait of his gentle, Springer Spaniel dog. Unfortunately, I wasn’t there to see him open it, so my sister took a video of him, then she shared that with me later. It was so nice to see him smile as he realized what it was.

Then there was a family portrait I painted of a grandmother and her 2 grandchildren. The grandmother had passed suddenly and the daughter had no recent pictures of the three of them together. So the daughter gave me pictures of the kids and the grandmother separately, and I painted them like they were all sitting together. It was very touching to see the daughter’s reaction to the finished piece. I was honored to do it.

So, even though I could not do any paintings for my Etsy Shop, I was busy doing other projects. Still creating art that hopefully brought happiness and comfort to each recipient. Blessings!

Sea Captain Completed and More

So I have finally completed my new Sea Captain, and I love him! Every time I do one of these Sea Captain portraits, I am always amazed at how their faces come out. I just love adding those wrinkles and painting eyes that seem to have so many stories to tell. I hope you like him. I will try to put him on my Etsy tonight.

I also wanted to show you a new painting I am working on and It’s a little amish girl mesmerized with a butterfly. Her face is coming out perfectly so far. I still have to decide on background and dress color.

My little amish boy in coat and hat (previous post) is still waiting, and I’m hoping that something will pop into my head to add to this painting! If not, it will just be a simple background.

Also, my amish woman that made it on Amish Country News is out on the stand in Lancaster now and all month. That was so exciting to see and the cover came out so clear and colorful this time. I am so happy with it. I am also sharing another Amish News cover they are using next year at this time. It’s called “Temptation”, and it’s a little amish boy staring at his pie as it cools on the table. I will show you the present cover when I get a chance to find out how to share it!

Whew.I am trying..I really am. So many ideas in this head of mine, but time is so broken up , I just cant get them on paper fast enough! Well. I hope I made your day a little brighter by sharing these. Take care and I will come back soon to share more! Thanks and blessings!

My New Sea Captain
Little Amish Girl With Butterfly
Next Year’s cover for Amish Country News

Latest Works: An Amish Boy And A Sea Captain

Here’s a glimpse at a couple of pastel paintings I’m working on right now. Actually I am almost done with my Sea Captain now, I just added his pipe and need to add the smoke and I’ll be done and ready to show you the completed painting.

The Amish boy waits patiently on my table with his eyes seeming to plead to me to finish him. I am waiting until my sea captain is done, and also I’m really not quite sure if I want to add something else to his picture before I add the background. Thats kind of been bugging me, so I’m waiting to see if something comes to me. At any rate, he should be completed within a day or so.

I’m also waiting for The Amish Country News October Issue to come out so I can share that with you as well. I will be back in a few days to share these I hope. But for now, take care and come back soon!

On The Cover Of Amish News (and other things)

Hello again. Just dropping in to show you a few things I’ve created and to let you know I will be on The September cover of Amish Country News! This is a free tourist guide to amish country Pennsylvania and it is delivered to many shops and businesses in and around the Lancaster County area. I am so delighted, and so…if you are in the area …feel free to pick one up! They also told me they will use me again for next September’s guide as well, so I was VERY happy!

I also wanted to show you some other art pieces/photos I have done and have on my Etsy Shop. Some I have not put up yet, because my computer needs upgrading and is not working the way it should..but I will. Thank you for stopping by and hopefully I will have more for you when I figure out this computer piece! Enjoy!

This will be on the cover of Amish News
Early Morning Run Photo
Amish Kap On Quilts With Quote

American Indian Portrait Completed

Hello again! I just had to share this!

I just completed a new pastel portrait painting of this stoic, American Indian.

This interesting portrait was painted from a historical, black and white photo, so I had to imagine all the colors here. His face seemed so interesting and conveyed a quiet strength, that I hoped to capture it, if I could, with my pastels.

I hope I did him justice and that you like what I have done here. Enjoy!

Until next time! Cheryl