"Yellow Bell Pepper"

I hope you like this one. I thought the yellow bell pepper looked really good when I got it from the store and would make a nice still life. What do you think?

"Dear Lord, thank you for your blessings. Praise you, Oh God, you are worthy!"

"Strawberry Fusion"

Hi! I hope you like this painting. My stepdaughter said it's almost realistic. My husband said "Hmmm, strawberry!" I like strawberries. I didn't know I'd have such fun painting one, too.

"Lord, thank you for your mercy and your grace. Lord, we lift up to you all who are sick and suffering, please help them, Oh Lord. Please heal them, dear Lord. Amen."

"Flower Puzzler"

I've wanted to paint these flowers for so long but only got around to it today. I took some photos of some flowers at a place we visited in New Hampshire in July. My stepdaughter said "oh, i know, they're marigolds!" I looked up marigolds on the internet and they don't look like the flowers from my original photo. I wonder if they are dahlias. I checked my book of watercolor flowers but it only had a picture of African Marigold and it had more petals. Ditto with the dahlia -- the picture in my book had too many petals. Whatever flowers they are, I hope you like the painting above.

I am posting two photographs that I took of the flowers at the place called the Polar Caves. The flowers were in the flower bed in front of the Klondike Store. These photographs inspired the above painting. What do you think? Can you name these flowers?

"Dear Lord, thank you for beautiful babies and the joy they bring to our lives. Bless all children, dear God. Send your angels to watch over them always. Thank you for your healing as we pray for our brethren who are sick. Thank you, dear Lord for your unfailing love. I love you, Lord, you are awesome!"

"Purple Pansies"

I really had a great time with the last painting (Three Pretty Pansies). Hence, this is the second set of pansies. There are still three big pansies in this one, but there are also four buds, so that makes a total of seven flowers. Whew! (I only learned today that you always paint in odd numbers. Never two, or four or six... like birds in the sky are always three or five, never two.)

Well, my husband thinks these pansies are really nice, and I hope you like them, too. I think I'm going to try to work at achieving more realism in my art. I'm learning that you need to start with a really good drawing, the more detailed, the better. After that, it should be just like coloring... easy, right? The really great artists make it look so easy. But it's not, at least, for me. It's a lot of fun, but it's not easy,... not yet.

I got my second comment today. Thanks, Tammy, I really appreciate that. Thanks also to Dr. Love for posting his comment and greeting Nanna.

"Today I thank the Lord for His saving grace, that we are saved not by our own merits or works, but by His grace. Thank you Lord for your love. I love you, Lord. You are awesome!"

"Three Pretty Pansies"

I really liked how this painting turned out. My husband liked it, too. That's always a plus! I used a combination of wet in wet and wet in dry techniques for this one. I also did some spattering for the background. Pansies are really beautiful flowers, full of color and rich in contrast. I would love to be able to paint more pretty pansies.

I was scheduled to go out of town today but we were informed late last night and early this morning that the appointment was cancelled. The Lord works in mysterious ways. Sometimes we don't understand the why's or wherefore's of things, we just need to trust in God.

"Thank you, Lord for all your blessings, for your loving care and protection. I put all my trust in You. You know what is best for us. Praise to you, Oh Lord, Jesus Christ!"

"Daisies in a Vase and Pears"

I hope you like this composition. I liked the warmth of the colors in this picture. What do you think? My husband's grandmother loves daisies and she's celebrating her birthday on the 21st of this month. Happy Birthday Nanna! My stepdaughter drove herself to school today. I was so happy when I saw the truck coming up the driveway. We're so proud of her! I thanked the Lord for keeping her safe, we love her so much!

"Dear Lord, thank you for your faithfulness. Thank you for your unfailing love. You are awesome, Lord, praise you!"

"Fantasy in Yellow"

I saw some pretty black-eyed susans in New Hampshire. This is my first attempt to paint them. I used wet-in-wet, and some spattering in the background. I liked the fantasy effect of the purples, pinks, greens and yellows in the background, hence the title. I hope you like it, too. What do you think?

"Dear Lord, thank you for your provision in our lives. Praise to you, O, God! You are worthy!"

"Stand By You"

I also got a green bell pepper from Ms. Sarah, and it inspired this painting. I have to agree that the green bell pepper is a good subject for still life. We're almost finished with our second painting project in our class. I'm excited and will post that next week.

Watercolor painting is so interesting. I am learning so much but there is so much more to experience about watercolor.

I talked to my mom today. It's always good to talk to my mom. She's an amazing woman - so lovely and loving.

"Dear Lord, thank you for my wonderful mother who is a source of strength and inspiration for me. Please, Lord bless her and shower her with grace, give her good health and keep her in your care."

Belated happy birthday to two awesome people : the Lovely Arianna, and her Dad, Mark! We love you and we miss you! God bless you!

"I Dew!"

Marital bliss is a wonderful blessing. One old joke says that the longest sentence in the English language sounds like the title above - "I do". But the gift of finding the one person whom you could love and will love you in return, the one person whose heart is the exact match to your very own -- now that is simply God's grace.

I tried that dew drop technique here to add dimension to the tulip. What do you think? I like it. Do you see the fourth dew drop? It's on the stem.

How about the tulip? I know. I'm just gonna have to do another one and another until it's better.

"Dear Lord, thank you for my wonderful husband. Please bless him indeed."

I was reminded of the wonderful prayer of Jabez by a fellow volunteer at the Church Ministry on Monday. It's a great prayer - and yes, God granted it. God bless you and have a nice day!

"Triplets"

I painted these three sunflowers last night. I love sunflowers but I have to admit it is a challenge to paint them. I used pale yellow and cadmium red for the petals. For the center of the flowers, I used burnt sienna.

What do you think of this painting? I hope you like it. I just keep on painting everyday, I believe it's the best way to learn and get better. One of my favorite daily painters, Carol Marine, mentioned in her blog that daily painting really helped hone her skills. Practice makes perfect.

"Dear Lord, thank you for the blessings you give us everyday. Thank you for the beautiful flowers that you created for us. Let each one be a reminder of your great love for all the world, that you gave your only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:16)"

Let us count our blessings, not our troubles. Let us pray more instead of worrying. Worry doesn't solve anything, it just adds wrinkles to our face.

"Three's Not A Crowd"

These fresh tomatoes were given to me by our Pastor's wife, Ms. Sarah. They came from her garden. Very good and yummy!

Notice a change in my signature. My painting teacher told me to try to write out my last name. What do you think?

"Thank you, Lord for nature and the plants -- the fruits and vegetables. Bless us with enough rain that waters the trees and the plants in the land."

The tomatoes were awesome, I just had to try to paint them still life... I hope I did them justice.