I have a new painting to share with you that was commissioned by a friend as a Christmas gift for another friend. It was such a fun painting to do. It took several enjoyable hours to complete. I say enjoyable because of the challenge in painting something I have never attempted.

God is so good to me I could not do these paintings without Him. It is He who has given me the talents and gifts and I want to honor Him with them.

It is a beautiful Saturday morning! Just wanted to share more of the fall flowers from Phipps Conservatory with you. Enjoy!

There was also electric trains and village scenery set up, it was fantastic. I will do a post with photos of those also as well as some other fall flowers.

We have lots of work to do around the house today. We are getting ready to have some painting done and will be scraping old paint off that has started to peal. I also have a painting I need to get started on today as well. Busy, busy, busy. It seems that's how our weeks are these days; all work no play. But that's okay it has to be done and I always feel good when its finished.

A dear friend surprised me with a wonderful birthday adventure today. She arrived at 7:50 a.m. to take me out for breakfast at another friends home, it was delightful! She had the table all decorated with fall colors and special treats. In the center of the table was a beautiful yellow mum with deep red stripes in the petals dressed in pretty fall wrappings, there were tiny (real) pumpkins all decked out in hodge podge, and a tiny camera necklace. We had tea, almond biscotti, quiche and hot homemade applesauce, it was sooooo yummy! We left from there and headed to Pittsburgh for the fall flower show at Phipps Conservatory. I got some beautiful photos to share with you below. So enjoy! It was a fantastic day!

My hubby and I have gotten back into bike riding; we both loved it as kids and younger adults and haven't been on them in several years, since my early 30s. So we decided to invest our anniversary
funds in new bikes and try out some of the rails for trails in our area. We would like to do some traveling over the next few summers to some of the places on our bucket lists and having bikes along with us would be a great way to enjoy a few of those spots.

The first trail we tried was the Butler to Freeport trail, it is pretty nice but I would advise starting on the southern end and head toward Butler. In doing this, you're biking the slight incline first, then its down hill pretty much all the way back. These pictures are on our favorite trail from Foxburg to Parker which is a beautiful 5 mile round trip trek along the Alleghany River (2.5 miles up and back). Eventually we'll have an opportunity to do the Emlenton trail which we're saving for spring.

The top picture on the left I took just before we headed down the trial. Below that, Daryl is riding down the trail a head of me. About a mile from the trail entrance we pulled over a short distance past the bridge so Daryl could make an adjustment to his new seat and I took some pictures. You can't really see it too well, but my bike is parked just in front of his. Behind me was the bridge, the photo of it to the right.

It was really windy that evening and that we struggled against it on the way back. It was tough riding. I enjoyed the ride, it was a beautiful evening in spite of the wind.

White Balloon Flowers

It is hump day! I just had to say it, I love that commercial that GEICO put out, it is one of the better ones that I've seen on TV lately. I don't know what is going on with advertising companies these days, but most of the commercials are just plain annoying. I would love to hear from anyone out there how you feel about the poor quality advertising commercials on TV.

The sun is shinning here in western Pennsylvania but it sure is going to be one humid day. Thunderstorms will be in the picture for tomorrow and Friday. I have a very busy day today.

I'm working on the final sketch of a 3-painting project. Each one is very detailed and unique. I just love doing these types of projects; intricate and challenging.

During the beginning of Summer I did some sketches that I will be working on during the winter months. I was hoping to have had them finished before mid summer but unfortunately that didn't happen. My plan was to have some birds painted and ready to go press but it will have to wait until next Spring, which is much better actually, rushing things can sometimes cause mistakes and we don't want any of those.

I'm gearing up to take some fall foliage photos to share with you when the time comes. It seems as thought the leaves are changing early this year, I'm hoping they will slow the process, I'm not looking forward to the cold of winter ahead. I love the snow but the cold that goes with it is not so nice to the body and the bones.

Have a blessed day all!

Hey All! So sorry I haven't kept up with my blog over the past couple of weeks. I've been pretty busy in my studio. Had our photography workshop August 1st out at Moraine State Park which was a fabulous and enlightening evening. Our class was taught by professional photographer Kim Vensel. I have also taken a few photo excursions when I've been in town to run errands and have included my photos from the workshop and my little excursions.

This is a wasp and her nest that she has fixed to the top of a window on the side of the one of the buildings at Moraine. Looks pretty mean and ready to strike if I got any closer.

The photo to the left is of a small Dogwood Tree in a friends front yard. This will be one that I will sketch out to paint over the winter months. I love how there is just a smidgen of pink on the edges.

Well I best get back to work and get stuff cleaned up for the night.

Blessings to all! Have a wonderful evening . . . until next time.

My new Nikon D3200 SLR camera arrived July 16th just in time for our vacation at Lake Lure North Carolina. I have had so much taking pictures with this camera, and the detail is phenomenal.

This week I got some nice shots in of mama bluebird feeding her babies in the mealworm feeder my husband made for me. I never thought when I put up three bluebird houses that I would actually get all three of them filled with bluebirds—amazing! We also have two other bluebird families that live in an old tree on our property on the other side of our garage. I'm truly blessed and enjoy watching them bring their young to the feeder and hope you will enjoy seeing them as well.

Its is difficult to see how pretty the adult female is through the plexiglass on the feeder, but the young one sitting on the top waiting its turn to be fed is really clear and very cute.

I have hopes in getting much more proficient in taking some professional pictures over the next year. I want to be able to capture some amazing wildlife and birds to set up a file of reference photos that I can do watercolor paintings from.


I will have an opportunity this week at an onsite photography workshop taught by professional photograph Kim Vensel. I'm really looking forward to it and hope that it is a beautiful evening at Moraine State Park.

Tuesday morning I went to my friend Colleen's to photograph some of her flowers. She has one of the most amazing and beautiful flower gardens I've seen in a very long time. I've included some of those shots for you to enjoy also.

Chimney Rock

We are finally home from vacationing in Lake Lure North Carolina. What a beautiful area! Went into Chimney Rock (a neighboring town) and visited some local shops, played miniature golf, and topped it off with a wonderful dinner at Genny's. The next day we went back to Chimney Rock traveled up Chimney Rock mountain and took an elevator up to the chimney rock off the side of the mountain what a fabulous view of Lake Lure. We snapped a few pictures.

Lake Lure shot from Chimney Rock

A long time coming . . .

Have you ever had something exciting take place in your life that you totally forgot to share? I did just that. Four exceptional friends of mine believed in me, enough so, that they were willing to sponsor the cost of printing my snowman series of watercolors into greeting cards. I was so overwhelmed with their generosity and kindness and thrilled too.

The process was a long one and I finally received the cards, all 1600 of them, three days before Christmas. It didn't leave me too much time to sell them for Christmas but I did have some sales throughout the winter months and that was a real blessing. What I forgot to do was share the photos with you of the cards so here they are. And if you would like to purchase any, you can find them on my website: www.whiteoakstudioandgallery.com. A portion of the proceeds helps feed and clothe orphaned children.

Its the first day of summer, Friday, and its a beautiful morning here in Karns City. I love mornings like this; I make myself a cup of coffee and head out on our porch to have my time with the Lord and read His word. Its where I tell Him everything going on in my heart. I like to start my day off right, also right with God.

This afternoon I will be headed up north to Edinboro, PA to bus the soccer referees to each of the playoff games. I'm excited about this. I've never been to the University of PA in Edinboro and I'm looking forward to watching some of the games as well as get some reading in. I will fill you in when I return home Sunday night. Have a great weekend all!

Good Saturday morning to you! I was up bright and early, got coffee made and a blueberry bagel for breakfast. Daryl enjoyed a french toast bagel. Yummy!

After breakfast and a second cup of coffee I went out to the garden area and planted our veggies. We are still sticking to a small garden so that we have time for some summer fun. We did add two new items this summer and eliminated two. I put in Better Boy Tomatos, King Arthur Peppers, zucchini, summer squash, red leaf lettuce, and green beans. I also planted some basil and Italian oregano in separate pots. We'll see how it does. This is my second year at this and I'm hoping it does better than last year. Although we got a good crop of better boys and green peppers the rest of the veggies didn't do well at all; weather played a big roll in that too as it was hot and dry conditions. Looks like it will be a better year for veggies at least I'm hopeful.

Also want to introduce to you the Allium Schubertii: Ornamental Onion that looks like fireworks. My friend Colleen gave me two bulbs last fall which I planted one in the small garden by our side porch and the second bulb I planted on the opposite side of the house. I was shocked when it had blossomed. Here is a picture of it. It is an amazing flower! As my friend said "it looks like a fairy's wand." Yup it does but more so like exploding fireworks. I absolutely love them. We have a friend we like to give joke gifts at Christmas and it is my understanding that these blossoms will remain like this when it dries. So guess what our friend is getting for Christmas, yup a fairy wand! Thanks Colleen for my bulbs I love them!

We topped our day off with several games of "Agravation" with friends, needless to say I didn't win any of those games   :(    oh well next time!

The weekend started off with a Friday morning breakfast with my good friend Colleen. I got to actually see the new book she designed featuring her graphic design business, 45 Degree Design. She is a phenomenal graphic artist and the quality of her work speaks for itself. We had a great time and a delicious breakfast at Michael's.

After that I did my errands about town then met my friend Val for lunch at Monroe Hotel and had another wonderful meal, making two in one day . . . trust me my chicken wrap was low in calories but not in taste. We took our time had a great visit then traveled off to Lowe's to check out flowering hanging baskets. I left with a beautiful pink and white fuchsia that the hummingbirds will love too. I also picked up a coconut lined metal hanging basket to fill sometime next weekend and mealworms for my bluebirds. Friday night was a nice quiet evening at home. After dinner I read for awhile and relaxed. 

We got up early Saturday morning to get to the Farm Market for fresh Amish Donuts--YUM! Daryl and I stood in line for about 30 minutes and carried away a dozen and a half hot glazed donuts. We hurried home to have a donut with a freshly brewed cup of coffee--ahhh satisfied customers!

Saturday night we had pizza with friends and played some cards including penny-ante poker and skunk your neighbor. It wasn't my night to win :(  but I had fun and that's what counts.


Today we decided to sleep in, of course for me sleeping in is until 6 a.m., I put on coffee to brew, fixed a cup of Millstone Breakfast blend in my Keurig and went out on the porch to enjoy it and watch the hummingbirds get their first brew of sugar water. I mixed a quick recipe for Jewish Coffeecake put it in the oven to bake, fixed myself another cup of coffee and back out on the porch. Next time I'll post a picture of those delicious Amish donuts. Yup its been a nice weekend! Back to work tomorrow. See you next weekend!

Hello Friends!

What a joyful day I had today. I found out that I didn't have to drive bus today that a mistake had been made that worked out for my benefit. So my friend Barb came down from Shippenville today for a visit and we took a trip to the new Whole Foods in Wexford. We had a blast. I had been to the store before with my friend Colleen, but this was Barb's first time here. We stopped at Olive Garden on the way home for lunch, had their soup, salad & bread stick special--it was yummy!

After Barb left I made an apple cinnamon coffee cake for dessert for our company. Daryl's sister Beth and her boyfriend Ted came for dinner, burgers on the grill, chips and dessert. We hadn't seen them for quite some time and had a really nice visit. Ended up going to bed around 10, just couldn't keep my eyes open any longer.

My friend Dale just returned from Thailand with some phenomenal photos. There were two that interested me in particular of her petting a beautiful adult tiger. Dale was willing to share them so I could use them to do a couple of paintings. So be looking here in the near future, you may see them posted before mid summer.

That's all folks!
Check back next Saturday morning to see what's happening at the studio.

It was tricky driving today, snow, sleet, and freezing rain was the weather menu . . . I prefer ice skating on a pond not on the road in my bus!

My website is now officially up and running and open for business. I am so excited. It was easy choosing the design and putting all the little tweaks in but writing the copy was a little more difficult, I'm rustier than I thought! I hope you will take the time to visit my website and let me know what you think of it.

www.whiteoakstudioandgallery.com

I also have a new painting to share with you, it is a tufted titmouse. Thanks for your friendship and support!
Enjoy!