" Dirt The Ghost CAt " PAINT PARTY FRIDAY

It has been quite a while since I last participated in Paint Party Friday and my last submission was a  "Patch of Blue"; a night landscape of a crescent moon with a straggly tree on a knoll. 

I tried to place a sleeping critter beneath it but along the way, while we were off to Manitoba the painting changed direction and Dirt appeared; must have had something to do with the locality of where we took comfort for the few days we were there.

PineWood Lodge in the WhiteShell Provincial Park was a most satisfying escape and I would recommend it whole heartedly to anyone who wishes to find a secluded place for some tranquility and relaxation. Renting a cottage on the gorgeous serene Dorthy Lake with the occasional family of geese visiting does wonders for the mind and body and I suppose this is how Dirt came to be;  in any case I am very content with the end result.

Meet Dirt the ghost cat, my third instalment of characters for the little children's book I'm writing.

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My reason for the lengthy absence from blog land.....we are moving! Will explain at a later date.

Please visit the other participants of Paint Party Friday......

Hunting for Treasures

What Treasures do You Hunt for???

A Florentine art work of a miniature book on a green velvet mat beautifully framed in a most lovely gilded gold picture frame.

A MASTER'S TOUCH

Two Portraits from Florence Italy in gilded gold frames.

The one on the left is Hand of Man by Andrea Del Sarto

and the one to your right is Head of Woman by Leonardo Da Vinci

Treasures to Me......Much of what I collect is to use in my art work especially old vintage jewellery
and the old frames for spiders and webs; although some of these portraits and landscapes will be purely for admiring and inspiring.

 A lovely collection of vintage art and some not so very old like the girl in the wood miniature print on canvas "The Serenity of Solitude" by Cliff Sanderson printed in Italy. Unfortunately the canvas is a bit too big for the lovely gilded gold bird frame that I photographed it in. The silver paste heart I think is a scarf pin but I'm not so sure....any thoughts?

My Eye was Fooled

At first glance this photograph of an old farm house in an elaborate frame evokes a feeling of a by- gone era that survived many years, yet on a closer look the truth unfolds and exposes the reproduction.
I will be using this picture for another spider and web....it will be a great new home for Aunt Nancy.

A diamond paper weight from Winners bought at a yard sale, an amethyst from a thrift store, and very old bottles found at a fundraiser for kid's camp....... Loving the aqua blue bottle.

Another Fool the Eye...Satin Glass or Velvet Glass

This glass will fool you every time if viewed out of the light....It will look black in colour,

but once it is placed in the light the true colour will be revealed....the beautiful colour purple.

Next time I remember I will post some glass in the sunlight.

Madonna on a Blue Velvet Mat

The clear bottle has Paris and a bouquet of roses embossed in the glass. I may do a sculpture with this one but not a shell, something different.

Spider Jewels

This vintage brooch will become Aunt Nancy the Spider ...Lots of pretty crystals , a tole rose brooch and gorgeous pearls.  I'll be busy creating much with this lot!

I can already visualize Aunt Nancy the Spider on that Old Farm House Photograph.....Come to think of it, I have much to complete and continue visiting PPF posts....

I have always wanted this beautiful romantic Nymph and whimsical crocheted miniature umbrella.
The Nymph I found a while ago and this umbrella a few weeks ago. The black kitty-cat vase was found in Bishops Mills. The lady who was having the sale is a member of the Red Hat Society and it just so happened that she had a box full of vintage hats and one of them was a tiny red velvet hat she apparently decided earlier on before the start of the sale that she wasn't going to sell it but rather wear it herself; a great decision on her part for it really and truly looked lovely on her , not anything like Princess Beatrice's Royal wedding hat....wow, I hated that hat; anyway, back to the kitty I found. It just seemed to be waiting for me for I walked by it a few times and didn't notice what it was since it was face down in the grass by the sales table but on my last walk through I decided to pick it up and discovered it was a heavy kitty cat vase and since it had a chipped ear the lovely Red Hat Society gal gave it to me for free. I now use it for my tiny paint brushes and pussy cat purrfectly charms my table while holding my paint brushes ~^..^~ .... little things make me smile!

I did find a white hat with velvet forget-me-nots in the box but forgot to take a picture of it and I also forgot to take a picture of two framed art pieces , one an embroidery of an Airedale and the other of a terrier with a cute and sentimental poem written beside him....... Next show and tell {: )

A Beautiful Treasure Find !

A Little Black Purse to match my Little Black Dress that doesn't fit any more .... {: (

Well , Im guilty of eating too many sweets, carrot cake with cream cheese icing and butter tarts....need to stop and get back on track!
Luckily this purse is perfect for holding lots of silver and some treats but they wouldn't be sharing the space this time....need all the money I can get to go hunting for Treasures in Pinawa, Manitoba come Monday. I'll be gone for five days and on my return Friday I will be heading out later in the evening to " Hey Day" a fabulous Treasure Sale run by the Kemptville Hospital Auxiliary....Great place to find just that perfect Gem!

So I wouldn't be checking in on PPF Posts till the following day on Saturday although I hope to have something done by then to post for week13...my lucky #....I better have something!

I hope you've enjoyed my Show and Tell of Found Treasures..... I have so much more to show!

Until next time, DO WHAT YOU LOVE! Annabelle {: )

Dancing in a Fairy's Ring Paint Party Friday Week 12

A little late in posting this but I had a few errands to run before my daughter and I accompany hubby on his trip to Winnipeg next week. It will be M's first time on an airplane. Of course hubby got stop overs so she could experience the take offs and landings....my worse part of flying, I guess he forgot.

 I wanted to stay behind and let my son go but it didn't work out, so this time around it will just be the girls while hubby goes to work for the week; hopefully we will find plenty to do while we're there :)

So I didn't get a chance to finish "A Patch of Blue"...kind of stuck on what I wanted to put in that patch, I thought I did last week but then I changed my mind after looking at it for some time.The good news is I have finally figured it out but didn't have enough time to implement it so instead of missing this week's Paint Party Friday I elected to show case a few of M's illustrations. I also threw in there a little Artist Conk that I played around with a few weeks ago when I ran out of large Conks.....how sad ):   ....Actually it could pass off as an aceo, after all it is miniature measuring approximately  2" across x 1 1/2 inches in height x 1 1/2 inches in depth...not the size of an actual aceo but otherwise similar in it's small canvas space.

So here  are the three illustrations M did......years ago.....maybe I might entice her to bring them along on the trip for her to paint.

              

            A Crown M saw on the internet and decided to give it a try

A Baby Whale with Its Mom

  

And a  Seahorse

All these illustrations were done when she was in grade six.....a long time ago....time to PAINT them I say!

And here is the make shift ACEO...An Artist Conk 2 x11/2 x 11/2

Dancing in the Fairy's Ring

or

Dancing in the Rockets

These lovelies are one of my favourite Wild Flowers...Dames Rocket ~ Sweet Rocket

The Sweet Scent of Dames Rocket lures the Sphinx Moth to our garden

Sphinx Moth Image Wikipedia

A garden shouldn't be without them! Give them a try.

Kristin , tomorrow I will be posting a lot of the Treasures I found recently on my hunts....Promise!!!

Until next Paint Party Friday.....Happy Painting and whatever makes you HAPPY!

 Annabelle :)

CHECK OUT ALL THE PAINT PARTY FRIDAY  PARTICIPANTS HERE.....*^..^*

Oooh my Creative Process?....I never know until I get an idea , only then do I make a special note on paper of all the essentials required to make the vision come into being. Nature, Music, Poetry, Writing, art, life...... all that surrounds us is Inspiration to me.

Return of Happiness

The Lilly of the Valley...Return of Happiness

" This was one of my prayers: for a parcel of land not so very large, which should have a garden and a spring of ever-flowing water near the house, and a bit of woodland as well as these. " ~ Horace

Like Horace the Roman poet I too long for the same , only I may be a touch more demanding.

My garden of Dreams lies out in the open air , somewhere between an ocean and a wood, secluded in a pastoral rural landscape far from the maddening crowd that is steadily coming my way. Since the arrival of Spring I've been awakened by the sweet scent of the lilly I found near my door ; It summons my hidden affairs of the heart knowing quite well that I'll never escape from the want of the remote pastoral landscape that I lovingly long for.

Don't get me wrong for I do have a house and a yard, roughly a 1/2 acre which of course I'm  very lucky to own but it isn't the garden I dream of...for many reasons....and it will never be, although someday it will be for the next occupant of this home. Soon we will be looking for a secluded place far from the city in a beautiful remote area where I can dream and create to my heart's content ....there my garden will grow. 

Until then, these are  a few of the products of which makes one Happy, makes us Happy...makes me Happy....The Return of Happiness......

Happy is *** Family Group Photo of the Whimsical Wish Flower the Dandelion ***

Found this Sonnet on the net....I like Cheeky Missy's  writing, must do some further reading on that site for I am known to be partial to the ancient mariners; never really explore the modern day poets....maybe I should....Enjoy!

Sonnet #xcv   Lilly of the Valley

On dainty fragile stalks white waxy bells

No music play; whilst melodies surround,

Demurely silent hang their heads; whilst round

Them rise the other greens whose height excels,

Whose damsels' colour palettes o'er their swells

In lavenders and lemons, reds abound;

Yet in their brilliant rainbow ne'er is found

So rich a scent as yet as have these belles

Who fill, infuse the breeze, on wafting airs

Entice and tease. As maidens modest, sweet,

Ne'er boldly e'er parade nor voice they raise,

Yet play upon the senses softly; theirs

The love that's pure and clean; in white they greet,

As  brides their heads now bent to hear love's praise.

   

                                      by ~ Cheeky Missy

from 21st Century Poets.com

Lilly of the Valley image Wikipedia

Always keep a keen eye on those country drives, you never know what will greet you around the bend....

Happy Chance meeting these whimsical purple coneflowers-daisies growing up along a weathered wall of a barn.These lovelies happily make a good substitute to the real mccoy; especially great with Ottawa's water ban in place.....No Water Needed! Discovered on route to Merrickville one Saturday morning.

So HAPPY in finding this lovely Black Velvet petunia at Richmond Nursery.

Happy to see these lovelies ( Miniature Iris ) return each year more beautiful than before and so easy to care for.... my only compliant....too short lived. 

Another Happy Meet...Petunias were my grandma's ( on my dad's side) favourite. I hated these flowers when I was young, never could understand why so many gardeners loved them...now I know....ease , beauty , variety, their scent and attraction to wildlife.

A Happy day for the Bumble Bee.......

and his companion

Happy being near "Pretty in Pink "

sO Happy I discovered this Fairy's Tree...not sure what it is but if any of you know its secret name I would luv to know....on my list for my dream garden

May Apple Flower ....Happiness is sitting in a cool meadow of ethereal white and green.

Happiness is finding a tiny Karner Blue Butterfly sitting long enough to capture with my camera .

Happiness finding that Dark Red Calliope Geranium I enjoyed last year!

Happiness is having your Art Hearted......this Little Hobbit - Faerie's House was sent to a new home yesterday....Hope you like it Mary!

Happiness is a painted Daffodil..a symbol of Hope..and Hobbit's favourite colours of yellow and green.

A Heart and a spiral window....simple things make me Happy.

Happiness is  a twinkling door ...every time a different colour, purple....and then green

Happiness receiving a gift from a far away land over the sea....

More surprises from inside the package to come later.....Thanks a bunch cRAFT aTTACK.

Happy in contentment at being home with the family , both human and furry.....



Happiness will always be there, you only need a keen eye.....

Don't Worry be Happy!!!....Just had to say it...haha! 

Until tomorrow see you at PaintPartyFriday..will most definitely show you  some of my found treasures Kristin....haven't forgotten. Good Night!

Annabelle