The Master Key

"Love is the master key 

 that opens the gates of happiness."
~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

"Holiday gift suggestions:  

To your enemy, forgiveness.  

To an opponent, tolerance.  

To a friend, your heart.  

To a customer, service.  

To all, charity.  

To every child, 

a good example. 

To yourself, respect." 

~ Oren Arnold

Love,

X ♥  O

Home For Christmas

They'll be home for Christmas,

If only in my dreams . . .

It's that time of year again when I start really missing

my friends and family that have moved far away.

"Christmas is a time when you get homesick;

even when you're home."

~ Carol Nelson

Hummingbird Feeders make great holiday gifts.

See proven methods on how to attract your own l'il band of buddies here.

Thanks so much for your friendship,

X ♥  O

 

Happy Day of the Dead!

"For Mexicans, death is something good, not bad.

We say death is like waking up. We are not

afraid of death; we embrace it."

~ Diane Guerrero

Happy Day of the Dead
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

4" x 6" original hand painted watercolor on Yupo paper 

Acid-free Mat w/ Backing in sleeve/ or framed - 5" x 7" 

Signed and certified by the artist.

Learn how you can celebrate the Day of the Dead.

"People do not die for us immediately, but remain bathed in a sort of aura of life which bears no relation to true immortality but through which they continue to occupy our thoughts in the same way as when they were alive.
It is as though they were traveling abroad."

~ Marcel Proust

X ♥  O

Wishing You a Joyous Heart

True holiday spirit is about inner peace, love and kindness. It's ours for the asking. Take time now to reach out to friends and family. A simple compliment, caring dead or a kind touch can do wonders for setting the stage.

By embracing the meaning of the season, we can awaken our inner child and add considerable enjoyment to the holidays. Slow down and savor the sights of lights twinkling in the dark, the taste of various treats, the smell of spice and evergreens, the sound of music and laughter.

Christmas spirit is alive in the joyous heart and can be spread anywhere you want it to be.

~~~~~~~~
"May Peace be your gift at Christmas and your blessing all year through!"~ Unknown

"I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year." ~ ~ ~~ Charles Dickens

"It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air." ~ W.T. Ellis
Thank You for your friendship and your comments! As Always, Wishing You Many Blessings and a Joyous Heart!
X ♥ O WITH LOVE 

Joy To Your World!

With all the tragedy and negativity in the news lately,

I have been retreating into my own world more and more.

And it's a very GOOD world too!

I refuse to let circumstances that don't effect my world

and that are way beyond my control, get me down.

Continuing to look for the positive in life, I strive

to enjoy each day to the fullest.

The best way I know of doing this, is to count my blessings

and be truly THANKFUL as often as possible.

Please don't let senseless acts of insanity and negativity

in this world pollute your mind and hinder your resurrection

to a higher plane of love, happiness and spiritual evolution. 

Thanks to all of you for looking at my images,

reading my thoughts and offering your friendship here.

Wishing You Happiness and Appreciation for Your Blessings,

Now, During the Holiday Season

And Always,

X ♥  O

"Saying thank you is more than good manners.

It is good spirituality." 

~ Alfred Painter

Holiday E-Card

2012 FB Holiday Header

As I said in my last post, there are so many things happening in Sandy Land right now. The only reason I have a moment to post here is that I'm sitting at my laptop while supervising the cloning of the hard drive on my iMac. I recently got an email from Apple regarding the possible failure of certain iMacs, including the one I own. Needless to say, I have to get a new hard drive installed in my computer, el pronto. It's already starting to act a bit suspicious and I don't want to wait until it fails to do something... Yikes! With the help of Carbon Copy Cloner software, I think I'll be able to make a bootable external hard drive with everything intact which I can then transfer to my new iMac hard drive. Cross your fingers for me!

Since some of you do not use Facebook, I thought I'd share my FB holiday cover photo here with you today. Hope everything's going well with you!

Until next time, I hope your days are Merry and Bright!

Thanks for reading and especially for commenting if you do.

X♥O

Holiday Gift Offer

I am pleased to announce a print giveaway at My Etsy Shop.

No Special Codes or Coupons Required.

Get A Free Print With Every Purchase!

++++++++++++++++++++

There are so many things happening here in Sandy Land right now. I hope to find the time to post some of my news here in more details soon. It's all good, from animal adventures, an online lettering course, watercolor commissions, photography excursions, holiday preparations, birthday celebrations and a new horseback trail riding friend!

Until next time, I hope your days are busy, bright and filled with joy!

Thanks for reading and especially for commenting if you do.

X♥O

'Twas a Month Before Christmas

'Twas a month before Christmas and all through the house,

Kittens break stuff belonging to me and my spouse.

They look like such angels, this shouldn't be the case,

Observe the innocence of each little face.

So instead of adorning with greenery and glass,

I've decided to refrain and not be an ass.

This season's ornaments will be meagerly sparse,

To do otherwise would be a big farce.

A reminder that material possessions are not the important part,

What really matters most is what comes from the heart.

Wishing You Many Blessings, 

X♥O

We Have A Winner!

"Your mental attitude attracts to you everything that makes you what you are." ~ Napoleon Hill

The winner of my "Little Christmas" Holiday Hummingbird Original Watercolor Giveaway was picked today at 3pm. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw who it was! Well actually, I could believe my eyes, because Jennifer MacNeill-Traylor is one of the luckiest and most positive people I know. She is always winning contests and experiencing the most awesome successes and adventures! Of course, other than the luck of the draw, I believe her powerful attitude has as much to do with it as anything. I wouldn't be at all surprised if she told me she was already envisioning winning the piece. I'm a firm believer in "What you think about comes about".  Jennifer is a dedicated blogger, artist, photographer and gardener. She propels herself with her winning attitude and puts 110% into everything she does. Congratulations Jen! Your painting is on its' way!

"Our attitudes control our lives. Attitudes are a secret power working twenty-four hours a day, for good or bad. It is of paramount importance that we know how to harness and control this great force." ~ Irving Berlin

"Attitude will always define who we are in life." ~ Mark A. Brennan

Celebrating 500 Posts with a Painting Giveaway!

I am still in the Christmas Spirit here and have just painted this little holiday hummingbird today. The Christmas Day post on my web log was my 500th post on this blog! To celebrate, I am having an original watercolor painting giveaway! To be eligible to win this one of a kind, 5" x 7" double matted painting, you have to leave a comment here on this post and tell me why you would like to win this piece. If you subscribe to my blog, or are already a follower, with your comment you get an extra two entries into the drawing, making it a total of three! The drawing will be held at 3pm, EST on January 6th, Little Christmas, the traditional end of the Christmas Season. This contest is open to all residents of the USA and Canada. The winner will be notified here on my blog and by email. I will mail the painting as soon as I have the winner's shipping address. Thanks to everyone who reads my posts and adds their thoughts and comments! Please tell your friends about this drawing and good Luck to you all!!

Easy To Make Party Favor Magnets

As little gifts for people attending this year's Holiday Open Studio, my friend, Nancy Louie, suggested I make fridge magnets. I had never done this before but thought I'd give it a try with some of my snowman images from iStock.

Here's what one of the art layouts looked like. This was printed on magnetic sheets I got from Staples. The thick plastic material was fed it into the ink jet printer and to my surprise, it worked just as good as paper.  Bobbie had the tedious job of cutting four sheets of magnets apart with an X-acto knife. She said she didn't mind doing it though. She always loved getting away from her reception desk and thoroughly enjoyed working in the shop at our old sign company. Especially when she got to cut sandblast masking with her X-acto!

I put the magnets on the fridge at the party and let people pick some to take home.

I also had the idea of cutting up some of my failed watercolors and making them into bookmarks.

It was Bobbie's idea to dress them up a little with yarn and string.

There is still a variety to offer those who read physical books.

I thought other watercolorists may want to try this too. It's just a way of recycling and sharing. If any of you readers would like a couple of bookmarks and/or magnets, Email me at sandy @sandysandy.com with your mailing address. I'd be happy to share these little token gifts with my friends while the supply lasts.

Here's a photo of some of the food at the party. Bobbie did such a nice job with everything, I sure was lucky to have her. I think she may have missed her calling as a caterer, although her varied skills and unending assistance was truly appreciated.

Holiday Open Studio Tour

I love seeing other artist's studios, so I thought maybe you would like to take a holiday tour of mine.

With the help of hubby, Jerry and good friend Bobbie Zurbach, this year's Open Studio Holiday Party was a smashing success.Bobbie came everyday last week and offered her labor, feedback and ideas. She worked for me at Alpha 1 Studio for many years and we still have a great friendship and a perfect work place symbiosis.

This is the view of the show as you enter the studio, looking to the right.

There are no prints, only originals in this room. The show was mainly for my collectors and neighbors. Prices were lowered considerably and price tags were put on many paintings in my private collection as well.

Panning to the left, the first stop was the mini retrospective.

This was Bobbie's idea and it was a super addition to the show.  It starts at the top left with two drawings of a bunny and a turkey, done at age five. Then moving to the top right, is one of my first oils, and my hand drawing at age 12. In the middle is a high school sketch done from life of my sister, Denise. A few old photos accompany the early art. Then a figure drawing and a couple of watercolors done in college or shortly there after. My company brochure, Alpha 1 Studio, from the 80's and early 90's, showing a sampling of our sandblasted signs. Featured at the bottom right are some recent professional photographs and a CD cover with my artwork.

On the table, is a book I made in college, my Animal Spirits Book and a sketchbook from this year's Sketching Everyday Blog. 

Although it took considerable thought and effort, I would encourage other artists to consider doing this. The retrospective was really a big hit.

On the far left, you see a table of matted originals. They are 8 x10" watercolors

that are arranged in an attractive display by Bobbie.

Moving around the free standing panels, (in a positive clockwise direction),

you see the first panels with the second set behind.

Looking back towards the entrance, see the back of the first free standing set of panels.

Continuing  around the back panels, I hung many older paintings that some

of my collectors had never seen before.

A different arrangement with Chinese watercolors on the left

facing a triptych of lilacs and a soft abstract watercolor.

This is looking toward the North East with my work table and book shelves.

I left my table clear so I could mat and frame while people enjoyed the party.

Some of my favorite books were left out.

Raw original watercolors were left in stacks on this table for people to go through. It was fun watching guests discover their favorites that were hiding in the piles. I matted up several and framed a couple while the visitors merrily ate, drank and socialized with one another.

I had a drawing and gave away little matted original paintings. Door prizes for all included handmade watercolor bookmarks and holiday fridge magnets.

Although not as many people came as I would have liked, all in all, with more than a dozen sales, it was a very successful showing.

I have decided to keep this eclectic collection up all month.  In January, the paintings will be put away and the studio becomes a totally different work space. If you are local, see my work as you will never see it again. Please make an appointment to come by.

I'm really feeling the holiday spirit of love and generosity!

Call 609-268-9106 or email me at:

sandy@sandysandy.com

Thanks to my friends and family for all the great ideas they shared with me to make this a fun and unique event. A special thanks to everyone who attended and helped to make my load a little lighter and my holidays a lot brighter!

More Bald Eagles!

Yesterday was in the 60's here and a good day to get caught up on some outside work. As I was doing the paddocks, I spotted a bald eagle flying overhead. I followed it's flight for a while. It sailed so effortlessly, in and out of the clouds,  always circling my field of vision. I knew it was there to catch my attention, to guide me and offer reassurance that I'm on the right path. Pretty soon the magnificent animal was joined by another. So it happened to me again, just as it had on several other occasions recently. Eagles are rare here, as they are in the other locations where I have seen their glistening heads and identifiable tails gliding through my skies this fall.

Original Eagle Watercolors 8" x 10"
$95. ea. double matted w/ backing
Email me for selection at:
sandy@sandysandy.com

"The eagle symbolizes the warrior being well prepared to seize and make excellent use of opportunity. They represent a connection to the Great Spirit and in many ancient cultures have been personifications of visionary strength and messengers of divine power. Their aerial displays are dramatic and awe inspiring. These birds can soar higher than any other living creature and with binocular vision can observe life in its entirety. Hawks, falcons and eagles often show up when it is time to connect to creativity, spirituality and tune into your life's calling. It symbolizes dramatic new occurrences. When hawk or eagle chooses to guide you, it may become a life long mentor, often appearing to you when a divine spark is most needed to inspire your courage, stamina and creative fire."

~ Excerpt from my Animal Spirits book.

Here is a shot I took of one of two I saw up in Lancaster County, PA last month.


I probably won't be posting again this week because I am getting ready for my client appreciation Open Studio Party and Art Show! 

Out with the fall and in with The Holidays!! YAY!!! I'll be posting more snowman paintings soon. Check out all my snowmen available for download through iStock here!

And let me be one of the very first to Wish You A Happy Holiday Season!