THE ANNUAL SANDAROSA STUDIO ART SHOW CONTINUES . . .

"Life beats down and crushes the soul 

and art reminds you that you have one." 

~ Stella Adler

~~MS COOPERS HAWK~~

Alcohol Inks and Watercolor on Yupo paper

See painting specifications and price here.

I want to thank all my collectors who attended last weekend's 

SUPER SAVINGS EVENT!

This coming weekend looks like it's going to be perfect weather, so come out on your way to the Cranberry Festival 

or just come here and avoid the crowds all together.

Some Classic Sandy Sandy work

Watercolors, acrylics and oils, oh my!

Sometimes it takes years before a painting finds a happy home!

Last Saturday was cold and rainy so the show was held exclusively in the studio, but on Sunday the sun came out, so we set up panels with more of my classic work outside.

I am taking appointments for private showings all this week, so if you can't come this weekend and would like to see my large selection of work, please give me a call at 609-268-9106 or shoot me an email at: Sandy@SandySandy.com.

I AM ALSO EXTENDING THESE ONCE-A-YEAR DISCOUNTS TO ALL ONLINE SALES!

“Nobody can achieve success alone.” 

~ Ifeanyi Enoch Onuoha

Thanks to all my collectors for your friendship and support!

X ♥  O

Dreams (Day 23)

“To understand the heart 
and mind of a person, 

look not at what he 
has already achieved, 

but at what he aspires to.”  

~ Khalil Gibran

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Dream Hawk~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alcohol Inks and Watercolor on Yupo paper

See painting specifications and price here.

What are your dreams? I'm not talking about the kind that occur during sleep. What ambitions or ideals do you aspire to? Are your dreams attainable or are they merely unrealistic, self-deluding fantasies? Are your childhood dreams the same as the ones you have now? What dreams have you attained and which ones have evolved or been set free over time? James Allen said; " Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so you shall become. Your vision is the promise of what you shall one day be." I had this quote posted to my bulletin board for many years and I choose to believe in its truth. Do you believe that our thought processes can have a direct impact and shape the outcome of our dreams? What else may be at play in the accomplishment of our desires?

X ♥  O

Hawk ~ Symbol of Visionary Strength

"In order to carry a positive action,

we must develop here a positive vision.

~ Dalai Lama 

Hawk Spirit ~ Dare to be Different

Day 14

Imagination  ~  Courage  ~  Stamina

Tip of the day:

Use clear acetate print bags to store small paintings or drawings inside file folders. This is especially helpful for Yupo paintings, because they can be easily smudged before fixing. The sleeves make the paintings easy to find, see and use. And they are well protected from damage.

~~~~  8.5" x 6.5" watercolor  paintings on Yupo paper  ~~~~ 
stored in clear acetate sleeves in file folders.

Hope you're having a great day. Thanks for stopping by!

X ♥  O

Raptor Rhapsody

Here is a collage of six hawk paintings

done in the past two weeks.

These paintings were all done on Yupo paper.

Yupo (pronounced You-po), paper is a recyclable, tree-free, synthetic paper which does not absorb water, so the transparent watercolor pigments sit on top of the surface. It is tricky to work on but very forgiving. It can be scrubbed back to the clean surface at any time prior to fixing it with a clear acrylic spray. YAHOO FOR YUPO!

One of the reasons we have so many hummingbirds here at The Sandarosa, is because we also have a healthy colony of Coopers Hawks. The hummingbirds build their nests close to Ms. Cooper's Clan. Too small to be of any interest to a hawk, the crows and other hummingbird predators stay clear or else. It's a very symbiotic relationship.

Ms. Coopers Hawk - Hummingbird Protector 5.5" x 7.5" original watercolor on Yupo paper, matted - $85. acid free, white core mat with a foam core backing in an acetate sleeve ready to fit into a standard 8" x 10" frame.

Ms. Coopers Hawk - Hummingbird Protector

5.5" x 7.5" original watercolor on Yupo paper, matted - $85.

acid free, white core mat with a foam core backing in an acetate sleeve

ready to fit into a standard 8" x 10" frame.

This is the same painting as the one below,

only without the background.

*I'd love to know, do you like it better with

or without the background?

Regal Red Tail 5.5" x 7.5" original watercolor on Yupo paper, matted - $85. acid free, white core mat with a foam core backing in an acetate sleeve ready to fit into a standard 8" x 10" frame.

Regal Red Tail

5.5" x 7.5" original watercolor on Yupo paper, matted - $85.

acid free, white core mat with a foam core backing in an acetate sleeve

ready to fit into a standard 8" x 10" frame.

On the home front, the kittens, Opie and Cutie Pye, are now 10 months old! How time flies when they are little!  Opie weighs about 8 lbs. now and looks as large as 15 lb.,Tigger because of all his hair. The boys like to sleep in the little wicker basket. And the petite Ms.Cutie Pye, at only 6lbs.2 oz., prefers the large dog bed. Go figure! ☺

Thanks for stopping by today. 

Have a great weekend everyone!

Hugs and Purrs, 

(And the Kitties)

P.S. Before you leave, please help me out with your opinion * above.

Thanks again! 

Hawk Totem

Hawk people tend to see an overall view of things and are more aware of signs and messages from the Spirit world. Individuals with hawk as a totem are often more evolved in that they are attuned to heightened physic perception and subtle energy forces. Because hawk is a visionary messenger, people with this totem often tend to be involved in some form of creativity as a vehicle in conveying their story.

Hawk Totem

5.5" x 7.5" original watercolor on Yupo paper, matted - $85.

acid free, white core mat with a foam core backing in an acetate sleeve

ready to fit into a standard 8" x 10" frame.

Here are some of the steps in painting this portrait.

This little American Kestrel,

actually a small falcon,

was inspired by one who sits on

the telephone lines up the street.

Like clockwork, he'll be there every morning,

waiting for his breakfast to show up.

Kolorful Kestrel

5.5" x 7.5" original watercolor on Yupo paper, matted - $85.

acid free, white core mat with a foam core backing in an acetate sleeve

ready to fit into a standard 8" x 10" frame.

Thanks for letting me come into your life.

"Humankind has not woven the web of life. 

We are but one thread within it. 

Whatever we do to the web,

we do to ourselves. 

All things are bound together. 

All things connect."  

~ Chief Seattle, 1855

X ♥  O

Dream Hawk

“If you talk to the animals, they will talk with you

and you will know each other.

If you do not talk to them, you will not know them

and what you do not know, you will fear.

What one fears one destroys.”

~Chief Dan George

Dream Hawk

See painting specifications and price here.

Do you remember your dreams?

Are they ever about animals?

If so, what animals come to you in the dreamtime

and what might their messages be?

Thanks for reading.

Follow your dreams and have a great day!

"An animal's eyes have the power to speak a great language."

~ Martin Buber

Hawk Messenger ~ SOLD

This time of year, the hawks seem to be out in full force. I see them soaring in the air, perching in the trees and standing on the ground. Maybe it's partially due to the fact that they are easier to see in the winter landscape.  According to my beliefs, it also has a lot to do with the messages they are bringing me. Right now there are many changes going on here at The Sandarosa with me and my artwork. Hawk is here to remind me that everything in the visible, physical world has a divine, invisible connection. Everything, including a hawk crossing your path, happens for a reason. I try to stay open to that. This week I have been painting hawks and have even remembered to take a couple of in-progress shots of this one! When was the last time you saw a beautiful hawk? What was it doing? How did it make you feel?

Hawk Messenger

SOLD

The work in progress:

The first thing I do when I am painting a portrait is to paint the eyes because they are the windows to the soul and they must be right. Here I also painted the dark beak and put a light wash on the body.

In this second step, more mid-value washes and some details were added.

Refining important details by adding darker mid-values to the bird and putting in the suggestive, soft green background hues brought this piece to a finish.

Please let me know if you are interested in seeing more work-in-progress shots in the future and I'll try to remember to stop and take a few snaps while I'm painting.

As always, thanks for reading

and for your interest.

Hawks, Eagles, Foxes and Ravens, Oh My! ~ SOLD!

Foxy One

5.5" x 7.5" original watercolor on Yupo paper, matted to 8" x 10" - $85.

mats- (acid-free - white core) with foam core backing in an acetate sleeve

ready to fit into a standard 8" x 10" frame.

• SOLD

My friend, extraordinary photographer, Sally Vennel, just sent me 20 of her fabulous fox photos to use as reference! Guess what my next series will be? (Don't worry, not 30!) It felt so good to paint an animal today! Although my last series was exhilarating, I am ready to paint something other than trees. This fox painting was done on Yupo paper today. I may attempt the same pose tomorrow on regular 140 lb. Arches cold press cotton rag paper.

Ms. Cooper visited our bird feeders on Saturday. She dined for about 40 minutes on a pork chop that Jerry had thrown out there. I'd much rather have her eating that than our song birds! This was the best shot I got while shooting from my kitchen window. Jerry said he saw her out there again tonight.

We have had a large bald eagle flying around our place lately! I spotted her in a one of our big bull pines Sunday morning. I called Jerry and we got the binoculars and saw her up real close when she flew directly over my studio window before circling over the house. She is spectacular and huge! What a sight! It gave me goosebumps! The problem was that we hadn't seen our beautiful, little, feral, Maine Coon, Eva, since Saturday. We were both pretty sad all day, thinking Ms. Eagle may have carried our little Eva away. Jerry searched everywhere for her. Then around 3:00 pm, Ms. Eva showed up! We were very happy to see her and she seemed happy to be home. We have a couple of stray males that just showed up here and they chase her. Perhaps they chased her into the woods and she got lost or she could have spent 24 hours up in a tree. Poor baby. I wish I could keep an eye on her, but she is a feral, very independent and not crazy about people. She is coming into the screened porch at night and sleeping in her cooler/ home now that it's cold. At least she's safe then. 

Opie was very interested in the Super Bowl yesterday. We actually couldn't tear him away from the game! He spent a good part of the game sitting in front of the TV, watching the action between the Ravens and the Forty Niners. A lot of the time, he was sitting up on his haunches like a mercat. What a guy!

Good news for me, I completed the shooting of the high resolution images of my 30 Paintings in 30 Days series today. Yay! Now I can sign them, spray them, mat, frame and ship the ones that are sold! Looking into several online vendors for producing books, I found this site, Blurb, the most attractive. I am asking if anyone has any thoughts about the "Tree Paintings Inspired by Quotes" book as far as hard cover/ soft cover, size, price, etc. If I go with the smallest book (6" x 9"), with shipping, they will cost me about $20. ea. I would like to see it in a little larger format (8" x 10"), so that the images won't be tiny, but they would probably cost me $25 - $30 ea. I will sell them at my cost, but would have to add on $5.00 for ea. pkg. (1 or more) shipping. I would like to know if anyone is still interested and what your thoughts are on the above. Thanks for your time and feedback! I really and truly am thankful!

X ♥  O