Cat Oil Portrait

Barnhardt's Cat
16X12
Oil on Linen Panel
Commissioned

Click on image to enlarge the view.

I've been having a busy month with relatives visiting, major projects here at home, and then fighting off some dastardly cold virus that hit both my husband and myself this past two weeks. Still not over it...but finally have been able to get back to painting this week.

This little adorable cat is no longer among us, so this commission is to celebrate her life. Her owners adored her and I can see why....she seems to be so sweet in this pose. I had to do some fictional background because the photographs had window glare and black shadows which made it really tough to see the details. But I think this has turned out well and I hope her owner will be pleased. This painting will allow them to look at her and remember how much she meant to them!

Nature's Fireworks

"Highway Flowers"
8X8
Oil on Canvas Panel
Available

Happy 4th of July, America!! At the risk of sounding like a socialist, which you all know I am no where close to that label, I have to say I do like the flower program that Lady Bird Johnson began in the 1960's. Quite possibly, other than military defense and interstate highways, this is the only Federal program I do like. It's definitely not necessary. It's totally socialistic. Taking tax dollars to plant flowers on the highways is so frivolous, especially during bad economic times. But it is innocuous, too. It doesn't take away your choice of doctor or take away your choice of energy consumption. It isn't draining your bank account in order to give more power to the politicians who take your freedoms away. If we can afford it, it is nothing more than a little icing on the cake. Being an artist, I always admire the sweeping areas of bright flowers along the highways....and I am always looking for nature's beauty to remind me that there are still some of God's gifts I can enjoy under a totalitarian American government. Nature is my only refuge from man-made oppression.

So call me a hypocrite just this once. But don't try it on any other day.

Watermelon

"Baby Watermelon"
8X10
Oil on Board
Private Collection

I recently read another blogger's description of the Green movement. He compared the movement to the watermelon...green on the outside and Communist Red on the inside. I agree.

I hope my fellow artists will love freedom more than they wish to attach themselves to this insidious "green" movement, which has nothing to do with saving the planet. It has everything to do with taking away the freedoms and independence that I so cherish and that benefit the creative spirit of any artist in America. It has everything to do with enriching some very evil people who, honestly, don't give a rip about the environment. Check out Al Gore, Goldman Sachs, General Electric, T. Boone Pickens, Nancy Pelosi, and others. All this Cap and Trade bill will do is ruin our economy, do nothing to enhance the environment, and tax the American public to death. Please email your senators and tell them not just NO, but HELL NO on Cap and Trade. Please do this today!!!! And while you are at it....tell them HELL NO on Nationalized Health Care which is another death sentence to America.

On the domestic front...It has taken me the last two months to get my Dad settled into assisted living, which I have discovered is both a huge relief, but also not complete absolution from my duties. It is better, however. Then, on top of that has been the organization and disposition of his household belongings. This has meant multiple trips to donation centers and reorganizing my home to accommodate some of the furnishings that, hopefully, my children will want someday. I've cleaned out three closets and made trips to the attic. The good thing about this, albeit very time consuming, has been the purge of things we needed to get rid of in our house anyway. And next up on our agenda, our daughter-in-law and three grandchildren are coming for a visit next week. This also means getting the crib ready, the high chair out of the attic, prepping the house to be child friendly as much as possible, and food planning! I am very excited to see them! It has been a year....except for skype. They are visiting from South Korea where my son is stationed..protecting the U.S. from the insanity of the North Korean nuclear threat.

So between my Dad, my kids, the house disruptions, and most of all, my dedication to attempt to save us from this Fascist/Socialist government headed up by the fraudulent usurper in the White House....I've written letters to the editor, letters to Congress, and kept up with writing on my other blog regarding government....a lot has been going on here. But not as much painting as I wish. I have finished three commissions in this month and another one is waiting on my art table. It's difficult to paint beautiful paintings while our country is being wrecked and stolen from us. My heart aches for these darling grandchildren and my children who are going to suffer mightily from the selfish and corrupt government in place today. Please speak out, write letters, and do your part to stop the insanity.