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Friday, January 28, 2011

Winter Pansies

Welcome. I am so happy that you stopped by. My garden gate is always open for you to come in and sit and relax with a cup of hot tea while I share with you the inspirations for my art. We are still having unusually warm weather for January in Southern California and today is a perfect day to sit in my garden enjoying the sunshine. My winter pansies are in full bloom. For those of you who are snowed in this week, I hope that you will enjoy your visit. Pansies do very well in our winter weather and the only flowers blooming in my garden at this time.

Bentley, my helpful Studio Assistant, is in the garden looking for inspiration.




Finding inspiration . . . . . .











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Enjoy the beauty and quietness of the flowers.


"In quietness and in trust shall be your strength." Issiah 30:15



I picked a little bouquet of pansies and arranged them in a blue and white pitcher sitting on a blue denim table runner in the garden. I loved the look and decided to use this as a still life set up to paint.



Here is the completed painting.











Thank you for stopping by. I love hearing from you and sincerely appreciate your visits, comments and those of you who are following my blog. Please let me know if you have any questions or would like to see me paint something special.


Have a lovely week. Blessings, Erin

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Flower Market Inspirations


Welcome. I am so happy that you stopped by. My garden gate is always open for you to come in and sit and relax with a cup of hot tea while I share with you the inspirations for my paintings. I love going to the local flower markets, especially this time of year when not many flowers are growing in my garden. I can always find lots of inspiration at the market no matter what time of the year.


Bentley, my Studio Assistant, has a new friend who moved in next door and he is busy playing with her - her name is Annie and she is an adorable Corkie.

Finding Inspiration . . . . .









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"My heart rejoiceth in the Lord" Samuel 2:1




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The flower market reminded me of the beautiful flower markets in Paris - called Marche Aux Fleurs ( Market of Flowers). My painting is called "April In Paris" and was donated to raise money for a charity formed to help the local artists in a village in Africa.




Thank you for stopping by. I love hearing from you and sincerely appreciate your visits, comments and those of you who are following my blog. Please let me know if you have any questions or would like to see me paint something special. So far I have requests to paint pansies, tulips and more blue and white tea cups.


Have a lovely week. Blessings, Erin

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Pink and Blue Inspirations

Welcome. I am so glad that you stopped by. My garden gate is always open for you to come in and sit and relax with a cup of hot tea while I share with you the inspirations for my art. With so much bad and cold weather around the country I almost feel bad about telling you that we are having a heat wave in Southern California and the temperature is in the low 70's - still in the 50's at night. The avid gardeners are rushing out to the garden shops looking to see what is in bloom that will withstand the cold when the heat wave goes away and we return to our unusually chilly weather. Nothing like "rushing" Spring.

Bentley, my studio assistant, is waiting to show you to the tea table set up with some beautiful pink roses purchased at the market for inspiration for a series of blue and white tea paintings I am working on.







Finding Inspiration . . . . .





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"Be Joyful in Hope - Faithful in Prayer" Romans 12:12




The first completed painting in the "tea" series of paintings that I am working on. The inspiration for the blue and white tea set was not hard to find since I love and collect blue and white china. Almost all of my still life paintings have a piece of blue and white china which has become my signature.






Thank you for stopping by. I love hearing from you and sincerely appreciate your visits, comments and those of you who are following my blog. Please let me know if you have any questions or would like to see me paint something special. I have requests to paint Pansies and Tulips..


Have a lovely week. Blessings, Erin

Thursday, January 6, 2011

The Art of Tea

Welcome. I am so glad that you stopped by. My garden gate is always open for you to come in and sit and relax with a cup of hot tea while I share with you the inspirations behind my art. The rain has stopped in Southern California and the sun is peeking through the clouds - in spite of very cold nights a few Inpatients are still blooming - they are getting "leggy" and I really need to trim them back so they will come back in the Spring. I thought it would be fun to post about the "Art of Tea" since so many of my still life paintings have tea sets as subjects and since tea is such an important part of my life and my families life.



Bentley, my Studio Assistant , is in the garden checking on the tea table set up just for you. `


The Art of Taking Tea

Tea just for me - Whether enjoying tea at a tea party or savored alone in the garden, taking time to prepare a cup of tea never fails to provide a few moments of peace and calm. My Mother's family came to this country from Ireland and I grew up in a family where making a cup of tea was a special time of day - a whistling tea kettle in a warm and loving kitchen is one of my special childhood memories. My favorite Christmas gift this year was the blue enamel Le Creuset whistling tea kettle my son gave me.


"Tea for one"



Tea for two in the garden - a pretty cloth on the tray and a vintage table cloth add a touch of elegance.

"Tea for Two"






Tea for three served on a vintage table napkin and a whimsical polka dot tea service make for a fun afternoon tea served in the living room on a cold and rainy day.

"Tea for Three"







A tea party for family and friends does not have to be formal - serving tea on an old vintage table cloth creates a more relaxed and informal setting for an inpromptu tea party.

TEA TIP - My Grandmother always taught us to brew the perfect pot of tea -first empty the tea kettle and refill it with fresh water - while the tea kettle is boiling pour hot water into the teapot to warm it.



" Inpromptu Tea Party"



I bought a bouquet of yellow roses from the grocery store to use for a set up for a painting. I added a few red silk roses as the store did not have any. I like to buy roses that are already open to paint and sometimes the grocery florist saves me older roses that are open to far to sell - they are usually marked down to just a few dollars.

The roses and tea sets were inspirations for a tea painting

Finding inspiration . . . . .Here . . . . There . . . .




" He hath made everything beautiful in His time" Ecclesiastes 3:41



Everywhere . . . .




The Art of Tea






Thank you for stopping by. I love hearing from you and sincerely appreciate your visits, comments and those of you who follow my blog. Please let me know if you have any questions or would like to see me paint something special.

Have a lovely week. Blessings, Erin