Mah Lil' Baby Boy

He weighs a whole 2lbs. 1.5oz now...

He's full of "Sass" like I said- lets us know at all times what he wants! The poor girls have to put up with him chasing them around, grabbing them by their scruffs and pulling, etc. They are very patient with him, although Pooka can sound VERY cranky at times. You'd think she was going to eat him alive- all noise, no "tooth"! :-) I'm a bad mama- I have to admit- he's my favorite, but I love them all. This morning was the dreaded "toenail trimming" day. Glad that's done for another time. Don't know who hates it worse- them or me!

WIP - Wolf

I meant to do a WIP and then promptly forgot to photograph as I went. I have a terrible time with that...
He's a fair ways along, but still work to do- so you get to see at least part of the WIP. :-) Acrylic paints.

Hope you had a good weekend. I spent part of it wrapping Christmas gifts (for the early Christmas with my parents before they head south) and making banana bread. Also shopping for MORE puppy chow for my baby. He has a sensitive tummy so he's been on rice/hamburger for awhile. After a visit to see the vet about it, he's had major worming just to be sure it's not some strange parasite (doesn't seem to have been). So now we'll try special food. Hope that's it. He's happy, growing, and full of "Sass", but I worry- he needs good nutrition. Ah, the worries of children... :-P

Cider Painters of America Award

I just received word that I have been given an Award of Excellance by the Cider Painters of America (miniature painters society) for one of my paintings. This is my very first award from a miniature society for my work. I have been painting miniatures just over a year now so I am very excited to receive this. The letter says "This is an award that is given to an artist for excellence in painting in any media." It also went on to say "The judges had a difficult time this year selecting the best of the exhibit to give the award to since they had so many wonderful entries, but your work stood out from all the others!" What a HUGE complement. I know there were some fabulous artists there so to be one of the lucky ones chosen is such an honor. The piece that was chosen was "On the Rocks- Meerkats".

Finished Harpy Eagle

I've finished the harpy and finally gotten him photographed. These birds are soooo amazing. We were fortunate enough to be able to stand very close to this fellow and really get some close observation. So aloof, so regal, so "of another world". Just awe-inspiring. I'm very happy with my efforts on this fellow. He was a joy to paint once I got those feathers figured out!

A Pooka and a Harpy

I believe I've finished the Pooka, altho I am not completely satisfied. It was a photo taken indoors and so more difficult to get the lighting. But for now I am calling her done. Do you know what a Pooka is? Do you remember the old Jimmy Stewart movie "Harvey" about Elmer P. Doud and his 6 ft. tall buddy, the white rabbit named Harvey? Well, Harvey was a pooka. A pooka is a large, mythical creature. This Pooka, isn't so large, but she can be "mythical"!!! :-) When she was a puppy she had "spectacles", but once she'd "caught" me with that face, she lost most of her sabling, so now she's mainly tan with a bit of sabling (the dark fur) on her back and a very dark sabled tail. This piece is done in casein.


I and a friend went to the Russian museum last Thurs. and really enjoyed it. She and I did alot of talking about Flemish masters and their technics. She is taking classes on how to do this. It turns out that is a bit similar to what I've begun doing so I started trying to do a bit more along those lines with this harpy. All these feathers are driving me crazy, but I think it is coming along ok. Time will tell. Obviously it is a WIP and has a long way to go yet. I think I like this technic more and more as I go along. I am doing this piece in acrylic as it lends itself to this technic more than the caseins or gouache.

Another castle website

Just a quick link- I found this from one of the blogs I follow called Life at Willow Manor. I doooo love castles and ruins!
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~hanna/sorbie/Sorbie.htm

One last robin post and KLUTEN!

I've reworked the robin to get his size and angle a bit better. He "grew" as I painted him and got a bit out of shape! I did also try to add a bit more darkness to his shadowed side as well. I'll post him at the bottom so you can see him closer to the "before" shots. He's a bit out of focus so I'll have to try and retake him and repost later.
I thought I'd post a family recipe made by my grandmother when my mom was growing up, often this was their dinner or a good portion of it. My grandfather came over "on the boat" with his father very early in the 20th century- they went through Ellis Island- and they were from Germany. The name of the recipe is Kluten and we believe it came over with them. It is a "by gosh and by golly" recipe as my aunt says, so you must realize things are approximate in some of the amounts. But it is yummy and very different from anything else I've ever had. Also very easy. This time of year we get all those lovely apples, so I thought as I made it yesterday- I should post this on my blog. :-) So, I give you...

KLUTEN
apples
1/2 c. sugar
cinnamon
Cake batter:
1 egg, beaten
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. milk
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. vanilla
flour- approx. 1 1/4 c. (enough to stifen like a cake batter, not too thick)

Mix cake batter ingredients until well mixed.

Pare and slice apples (about 5-6) into a large Dutch oven. Add water to come even with the apples. Sprinkle with cinnamon and 1/2 c. sugar. (You can add some red cinnamon candies to make it pink, pretty, and a bit sweeter if you like.) Heat to boiling and cook until apples are half done. Lower heat, and drop cake mixture over. Cover and cook until cake is done, approx. 45 min. Very good with whipped cream or ice cream.

Hope you enjoy this old family recipe which warms our tummies each fall, and also has brought back memories in the past for my mother of her family around the dinner table.