November Storm in Virginia

We have just made it through a terrible Nor'easter here in Southeast Virginia! It started to rain late Monday night and it has been raining steady ever since. We have had rain again today! We must have gotten over 8+ inches of the wet stuff.
The worst has been the wind! Little did we know it was going to be THIS bad!! We had tropical force winds for 4 days steady with many gusts of 75 mph! Our tides have been as bad as it was during Hurricane Isabel!
We have had monsoon type rains with strong wind, it has been horrible. The governor has declared our area a disaster area! Schools have been closed, all city offices and services closed, no mail and all of the areas bases were closed. My mom was without power from Thursday until this afternoon. We were lucky, and never lost power.
Tomorrow, we go an check on our boat in the marina. So far, it is still afloat!
A tug pulling a barge from Puerto Rico to NY lost a cable and the barge is a runaway. It ended up at our beach in Sandbridge! It is heading for the fishing pier and no way to stop it. I have to watch the news tonight to see what happened. I have a photo of the salvage crew being flown aboard to flood the bilges to slow it's progress. Bad thing about this barge is, it is full of hazardous waste! Oh boy!
The other photo is of one of the local marinas, it was almost destroyed by the storm and waves. We just had some branches and siding come off. The yard is flooded, but that will get absorbed eventually.
I have to admit, I am tired of being cold, wet and not seeing the sun! Tomorrow is supposed to be a nice day, I think our area could use that.

Bathroom Vanity

We painted this bathroom vanity last week. It was in a new construction and the owner already had an idea of what she wanted on the vanity.
The area to paint was tight quarters and we had to juggle whom painted where and when. Of course, it didn't help that the power line workers cut the power to the house at lunch time and then never came back!! So our blow dryer was no use to us. We painted until we had to stop with wet paint and no way to dry it!!
We came back the next morning and yeah, power was back on! So we quickly painted and stared to add the poly finish. Mom was blowing it dry to add the second coat when we heard the power folks saying power was being shut off in 5 minutes. Quick, blow quickly! Sure, enough a few minutes later the power went off again. Luckily, we were done!! Oh the joys of working on a construction site!!

Faux Bamboo Door

We had fun today painting a doorway and door with faux bamboo. The owner has lots of bamboo around her house and loved the idea of bamboo on her bedroom door.
We loved the finished look too! After we came back from lunch, she wanted us to paint another doorway also!! They look great.

Day at Colonial Downs Race Track

We had the chance to spend the day at Colonial Downs Race Track today. It was great!
This was the first time I have seen harness racing in person, and not on the television. I had the opportunity to participate in a charity race before the real races began. I couldn't believe that no one in my husband's company wanted to do it. So, I spoke up and said I did! Six other people from other company's also made up our race. We were just along for the ride, but it was great!!!
They gave us helmets and tipperary vests for protection. I am wearing a green jacket and vest. My driver's name was Tyler, he was very nice to have me climb aboard! Our horse was Kelly's Traveling Man. He is a pacer, so it was interesting to watch him move.
We were last out of the barn onto the track. The barn in on the opposite side of the track from the grandstand. We followed a truck with a gate attached to it, past the grandstand and to the far turn. We all made an about turn and got closer to the gate as the truck increased it's speed. We never really got close to the truck, still behind on the outside.
All of the horses sped up and the race was on! We still were behind everyone. The driver "hissed" at the horse and boy, did he shift into gear! We suddenly were in the middle of the group and moving up! He hissed again, and again, the horse just shot forward! It was great!
We Won!! What a great experience it was, I want to do it again!!

Latest horse portrait

Cruisin' on a Goodbar

This is the latest horse portrait I have just finished. It is a equine portrait of "Cruisin' on a Goodbar", or "Cruiser" as we all know him!

The owner gave me a great photo to paint from and made my job so much easier!

This is painted on a 11" x 14" canvas board. That way, they can find a nice frame and just have to remove the glass.

The custom portrait is a surprise birthday present for her daughter. So happy birthday Ashley!

Latest murals

this is the latest mural painting we have just finished today! We started in the kitchen doorway. The owner wanted some painted molding around the doorway to match existing woodwork in the house. We painted the molding and the shelf over the door. The terra cotta pots are more red to go with the decor of the room's drapes. We also painted some exposed bricks on each side of the door. We matched the tone of the bricks to the tile backsplash.



After talking to the owners, they asked if we could do something with their fireplace wall. They had just added the mantle and wanted more impact on that wall. A plasma tv is usually hanging on the black bracket. We matched the bricks again to the tile in the kitchen.

It is an open floorplan and needed to blend.
The fireplace faux bricks turned out better than we had expected!! It looked great! It has added so much to the wall. In fact, it looks like it has always been there! We were very pleased with the end results.

Amarillis Flowers in Master Bath

This floral painting of an amarillis bulb is painted ona master bath wall. There is a slight angle corner in the wall. Dottie painted the bulbs in a glass vase on a white shelf. This is all paint, no real shelf, or glass vase.

Italian Village

Mom & I were to paint a front of a hotel in Italy on a kitchen wall for a family. When we arrived, they had picked out another photo of Italy instead! This new picture had a lot more going on and more color, so we were pleased.
This mural is on a 9' high wall x 6' wide. It is on a smooth wall.
We loved all of the color, but I got to paint all of those roof lines!! As usual, mom & I painted our usual areas, me high=sky and clouds, mom low=water and hillsides! I tackled the houses. I swear I saw houses in my sleep! I spent a day and half just doing roofs!
While I was still struggling building my houses, mom went upstairs to the master bathroom and painted a couple of red amarillis bulbs in a glass vase on a faux shelf. I will post that picture when I get it from mom!
We finished the mural with the colorful boats in the water and the family just loved it!

My Horse all Drugged!

This is a photo of my horse, Wyatt. He had rain rot in lots of places. The vet said rain rot starts as a fungus and becomes bacterial infections. We ended up drugging him because, it is painful to touch those areas. Wyatt is very easy to drug, this photo is less than 5 minutes after the shot!
He went to a safe and happy place for him, his food dish! He stayed with the dish holding up his head for about 45 minutes! I couldn't resist and took a picture of him. We had to shave quite a few areas so his thick coat wouldn't reinfect the areas. So this was a good thing and got it all done. Hopefully, day after tomorrow it will be much improved. Wyatt is such a good boy.

Bryan's 3 Dogs

This is an acrylic painting I painted this morning. It features 3 dogs, 2 are no longer with us. My friend Bryan just made Chief Petty Officer in the Navy. This is his gift from his wife. These dogs were well loved and have a spot in his heart. So, his wife thought up the idea and I painted it. It is an 11 x 14 canvas board.

Portrait of "MY Buddy" RIP

This is a custom portrait of My Buddy, a dark bay TB Gelding. He is being put down tomorrow due to multiple health problems. A sweet lovely horse. This is a painting I did for the owner to remember him. I have included the original photo.

Fairy Ring

A friend of mine took this picture of a fairy ring out in one of the horse pastures. She said it was way in the back of the field!
We've had a ton of rain lately and a few of these "rings" have appeared! Love to see the magic.

Surf Art Expo on the Boardwalk

We participated in the second annual Steel Pier Surf Classic and Surf Art Expo back in May. This is the first chance I have had to post all of the pictures.
It was held on the boardwalk between the jetty and 3rd Street in Virginia Beach, VA. It was over Memorial Day Weekend, and the weather was fantastic!!
Have Brush Will Travel (Carol & Dottie) and VB Tiki (Son Chris), joined forces and had one hugh booth.
Newlyweds Christina and Chris Buck showing off a large tiki table. Mom & I painted lots of canvas, metal tiki signs and tables with tiki artwork.
Chris was selected to be a sponser for the East Coast Surfing Championship (ECSC) coming up here at the beach in August.

WIP Floral Painting

Well, here is the final version of this still life oil painting by Dottie. She submitted it as her test for the Society of Decorative Painters.

It is interesting to see the first photos and comparing them with this end photo. What an improvement!

The convention was in June and mom got word that she didn't pass. I can't wait to see the reason why!! They send a detailed explaination.
You have to use their line drawing and your own colors. So when you paint, you can not enlarge the pattern at all. It is very difficult for a painter that is used to using a whole wall as her canvas!!

We back !

I am sorry we haven't been on our blog for quite awhile! We are now back and will be writing again. Thank you for all of our followers and friends.
Please stay posted for new happenings!!!

We had a lovely time at mom's house for the fourth of July. We celebrated on Sunday so all of the family could come. My poor husband was out in the rain doing the grilling! Well worth the effort. Friends of the family were there too,and it was wonderful. Hope everyone had a nice weekend!

The photo is my front porch decorated for the holiday weekend.

Happy Easter!

Spring is finally here in Virginia! I am looking forward to having the family over to our house for Easter.
This past week has been crazy busy here, my oldest son bought his first place and we have been decorating! Lots of fun to buy things for his place!
We want to wish everyone a Happy Easter, and hope you have a wonderful day.
I am so happy to see signs of Spring, in my hydrangea bushes- the leaves are coming out! My daffodils are still blooming happily in my front yard. The pansies are perky after this last rain storm. They will last until the first heat wave, and then die off. That's ok, they were the only spot of color all Winter! Yeah! Spring is here!

Passion for Painting Award

I have been awarded the Passion for Painting award by Gail Ragsdale. Thank you Gail!
List 7 things your love.-

Put a link to the one who picked you.-

Choose 7 others to pass the award to.- Notify them of the award.
1. my husband of 30 yrs
2. my two sons-fine young men now!
3. my 4 legged pets-2 german shepherds and 2 horses
4. sailing in out boat-we don't get out often enough
5. watching the sunset at the beach with a nice glass of wine
6. working with my mom painting murals
7. getting together with my friends and enjoying their company!
now to find 7 artists that haven't already been honored with this award!
1. Wyanne
2. Dottie
3. Lynne
4. Kari-Ann
5. Ingrid
6. Deborah
7. Danielle

WIP Still Life

Here is an update on Dottie's work in progress on this still life. Some of the flowers are now in shadow, some more bright. The lemons became limes! She liked that color combo better. The basket handle has been worked on and the highlights more defined. Dottie had a clear acetate sheet with focal point circled. She has added 2 more larger circles. She uses those to help show what would have more light on them, depending on how far they are from the focal point.
Still not finished, lots more to add to it, the small flowers will be added last.

Arabian Art Challenge

I am having so much fun participating in some of the challenges on www.wetcanvas.com! I discovered the Arabian Art Challenge and decided why not! This is my first attempt.It is acrylic on canvas paper. It is an 8 x 10. This is a portrait of Sanadik Ibn Estopa.

work in Progress-floral still life

This is a WIP on a floral still life being painted by Dottie. It is a test for her certification with the Society of Decorative Painters. If you pass, you are a Certified Decorative Artist, or CDA. Once a year,the SDP puts out a black and white line pattern, you decide which colors and what if any the fruit will be. It will be judged in May. You are judged by a panel of certified or master painters. They have a checklist and will award you points. You have to have a certain amount of points to pass and be certified.You can not paint "outside of the lines", they check! They check your angle of light, and how it reflects or makes an object recede.
This is a few weeks of work, done in oils. I will post more as she progresses. She is using an Analogous color scheme. You must not omit anything, but you can add
but, you are judged on everything.. Dottie has found that if she puts the canvas in
in the back window of the car during the day it will dry (only if the
sun is out, of course!)

Week 9-Austrailian Stock Horse

Finally found some time to sit down and paint this weeks project, the Austrailian Stock Horse. This is the wonderful breed of horse that was featured in the movie Man from Snowy River. Wonderful movie about this surefooted breed found in Austrailia.
I painted this on an 8 x 10 canvas paper with acrylic paints. This was a fun one to do!

Gypsy Vanner 2 Painting by Carol Buck

Well, I still felt the urge to paint another Gypsy Vanner for the wetcanvas.com - breed a week project. So, this is what I did on a cold wet and rainy day!

week 8-Gypsy Vanner

Here is weeks project on Wetcanvas.com breed a week-Gypsy Vanner. It is an acrylic painting on canvas paper. It is a 9 x 12 size. I was able to paint this in about 2 1/2 hours.

Breed a Week Project-Irish Draught

I have been following the Breed a Week project on Wet Canvas for a couple of weeks. My schedule had been too busy to do anything but lurk! I have been wanting to start and finally found some spare time to submit my first for the project. This week is Irish Draught. I have been painting a lot of Arabians lately, and that was causing me a bit of a problem. Arabians have a very narrow throat latch area, Irish Draughts are much thicker there! So, I had to repaint the throat area, at least 4 times! So, this project will keep me from being in a "rut" and painting in the same style. I am pleased with this first attempt. I can't wait to see how my painting should improve by this time NEXT year!! I will post each week's project and we can check them out together!

Updated Photos in Website

Please check out our website gallery of photos! I have just added 60+ new photos. This photo is some of the ones I just added! We really do have fun painting the murals. It is so satisfying to see a difference in a short space of time. It is fun to go back years later and see what we had painted then. We always say "it still looks great"! Most of our advertising is word of mouth for the past 15+ years.
This is an outdoor bath house located on the Chesapeake Bay. The owners were tired of the plain bath house. It is visible to the front door and needed something! We painted faux stones on 3 sides. We painted windows, shells on the window sills, flowers and bushes. The door got a faux wood grain treatment. Now the building is a cute addition to the house. The house had a facade of stacked stones which is why we did the stone work. The other side features a bistro table and chairs. Check out the gallery on our website for more!! We have added a work in progress gallery too!

Arabians on Wooden Plates

This is a wooden plate made from monkeypod. I painted a sorrel arabian on a black background. I seem to be on an arabian theme at the moment! I have lots of these plates and plan on painting up most of them. I need more room on my shelf! So hopefully, I will get more on here painted up! I have this sorrel arab listed in my etsy store.
The camera has 'brightened' the photo. It is darker in person, and the muzzle fades into the background more.
I finished another plate tonight and here is the next one. It is a bay arabian on a black background also!