Penetrating Preachers ~ SOLD

“For me, trees have always been

the most penetrating preachers.

I revere them when they

live in tribes and families,

in forests and groves. And even more,

I revere them when they stand alone."

~ Herman Hesse

Penetrating Preachers
•SOLD

#13 of 30 - "Paintings Inspired by Quotes About Trees".

The Alphabet of Trees

"The trees are God's great alphabet:

With them He writes in shining green

Across the world His thoughts serene."

~Leonora Speyer

The Alphabet of Trees

#12 of 30 - "Paintings Inspired by Quotes About Trees".

Trees Are Sanctuaries ~ SOLD

"Trees are sanctuaries. 

Whoever knows how to speak to them,

and whoever knows how to listen to them,

can learn the truth.

They do not preach learning and precepts,

they preach, undeterred by particulars,

the ancient law of life."

~ Hermann Hesse

Trees are Sanctuaries
•SOLD

#11 of 30 - "Paintings Inspired by Quotes About Trees".

One of my earliest recollections was of climbing a huge Weeping Willow tree in my neighbors' backyard. Because of the placement of the branches, it was easy for a young child to climb up to the top, which seemed at the time, extremely high. I remember, just sitting there and looking down at the earth and up into the sky. Feeling the branches sway in the wind, I felt even smaller. Yes, maybe I was a little scared too, but it was oh so, exhilarating and such an amazingly magical hideaway. I continued visiting the tree regularly until the sap was flowing and I had to go home all sticky. Shortly there after, the neighbors cut the lower branches off which put an end to my lovely retreat.

Do you have any fond childhood or adult memories of your favorite trees?

I'd love to hear your stories.

X ♥  O

I'd Plant a Tree ~ SOLD

"If I knew I was going to die tomorrow,

I would plant a tree today.

~Stephen Girard

Original Watercolor on Yupo Paper
●SOLD

I'd Plant A Tree is #10 of my 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge

of paintings inspired by quotes about trees.

Wow, today we are 1/3 of the way through this challenge. With all my other activities here at The Sandarosa and painting everyday, the past eight days has been a fast motion blur! By the time this thirty day challenge is up, I will have painted more than I did all last year! Now I wonder what I was doing all that time. This challenge has taught me so many things already. Learning to focus, organize and follow through more efficiently are just a few.

What do you think about my tree series so far?
Any suggestions or requests? Your feedback helps me to

stay the course. Thank you, you are most appreciated!

X ♥  O

Ancient Sequoia Trees

"Death is a low chemical trick,

played on everybody except sequoia trees."

~ J.J. Furnas

Ancient Sequoia Trees

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

Quotes will be hand lettered and laminated to the back of the painting's matting.

mats -(acid-free/white core) with foam core backing, in an acetate sleeve
ready to fit into a standard 8" x 10" frame

Ancient Sequoia Trees is #9 of my 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge

inspired by quotes about trees.

Thanks again to everyone for your feedback and enthusiasm for these small watercolors on Yupo paper! I am enjoying working on this synthetic paper, because I never really know how it will turn out. I put my marks down in ink first and then just try to go with the flow, letting happy accidents happen as they may.  Yupo pushes me beyond my comfort zone and makes me constantly stretch my skills.  I'm excited knowing that I'll be learning something new each and every day during this 30 in 30 journey.

And YOU help keep me focused.

You've given me the feeling that I'm on a good course with these

little trees and for that, I am truly grateful.

Thank you for stopping by!

X ♥  O

An Old Acquaintance ~ SOLD

"I frequently tramped eight or ten miles
through the deepest snow to keep
an appointment with a beech tree,
a yellow birch or an old acquaintance
among the pines."

~Henry David Thoreau

An Old Acquaintance

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

Quotes will be hand lettered and laminated to the back of the painting's matting.

mats -(acid-free/white core) with foam core backing, in an acetate sleeve
ready to fit into a standard 8" x 10" frame

• SOLD

An Old Acquaintance is #8 of my 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge

inspired by quotes about trees.

Thanks again to everyone for your interest in this project.

As always, your comments help me to

stay on track and are most appreciated!

X ♥  O

I like Trees ~ Sold

"I like trees because they seem more resigned

to the way they have to live

than other things do."

~ Willa Cather

I Like Trees

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

Quotes will be hand lettered and laminated to the back of the painting's matting.

mats -(acid-free/white core) with foam core backing, in an acetate sleeve
ready to fit into a standard 8" x 10" frame • Sold

I Like Trees is #7 of my 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge

inspired by quotes about trees.

Thanks to everyone for your feedback. Your comments help me to

grow as an artist and are most appreciated!

X ♥  O

The Loner ~ SOLD

"Trees are much like human beings 

and enjoy each other's company.

Only a few love to be alone."  

~ Jens Jensen

YAY!!

The Loner

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

Quotes will be hand lettered and laminated to the back of the painting's matting.

mats -(acid-free/white core) with foam core backing, in an acetate sleeve
ready to fit into a standard 8" x 10" frame

• SOLD

The Loner is #6 of my 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge. My personal theme is paintings inspired by quotes and so far I've done all trees because I love them and all the great things about them. This piece evolved into a "Tuscany Inspired" tree theme through the comments and feedback of friends on facebook. Although I've never been there, or painted it before, I've seen many photos and hear from everyone that it is simply one of the most magnificent places on the planet. It is most definitely on my bucket list! I did a lot of pre-painting planning on this little gem. It kind of came out with a Van Gogh influence, don't you think? How do you think I did with the colors?

Thanks to everyone on facebook that helped me with these "Tuscany Colors". Your comments and feedback help me to grow and is most appreciated!

X ♥  O 

#5 of 30 Paintings in 30 Days

"A tree which has lost its head will never recover it again,

and will survive only as a monument of the

ignorance and folly of its Tormentor." 

~ George William Curtis

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

This is #5 of my 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge. Thought I'd try something new today and throw in some lettering, as I'm also still taking that fun online lettering course this month. Trying to come up with some "Tuscany Colors" here in this painting and the next one that's on the boards.  I wanted to do the "Tuscany" inspired one today, but got too involved in pre-painting planning. This is my first attempt at adding the lettering to a painting. What do you think about the colors and the lettering, on or off? Stay tuned for tomorrow's painting. I'm psyched!

Since my theme for this 30/30 challenge is works inspired by quotes, I thought it would be nice to hand letter the quote that goes with each piece on the foam core backing board that comes with each painting. All the original paintings in this series come double matted (acid-free / white core) with backing board, in an acetate sleeve ready to fit into a standard sized 8" x 10" frame unless otherwise stated.

We got a light dusting of snow last night.

These pictures were taken early this morning

when I went out to feed the horses.

Sometimes there's nothing prettier than a herd of deer in the snow.

Thanks for stopping by.  Leave me a comment,

add your 2 cents and let me know you were here.

I love hearing from you. That way I can visit your blog too.

X ♥  O 

Angel Oak, A Precious Antique ~ SOLD

"Trees are your best antiques."

~ Alexander Smith

Angel Oak, A Precious Antique

•SOLD

Angel Oak is located on John's Island and has been owned by the city of Charleston, South Carolina since 1991. It is considered to be among the oldest living things in the United States. Estimates of it's age range anywhere from 400-1400 years! She stands some 67 ft. tall, has over a 28 ft. circumference and is 187 ft. in length from tip to tip of the longest branches. I just found out tonight, as I was putting this post together, that Angel Oak is threatened by development by the city of Charleston. Now it makes more sense that the painting evolved with a yin-yang pair of doves flying from the tree. (Not my original intention.) Hey, do you believe in divine intervention?

This is painting # 4 of 30 in the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge.

A special welcome to goes out to some new friends here!

Thanks for reading and commenting on my new painting series.

I jus - luv ya all, really I do!

X ♥  O 

Doorway to a New World ~ SOLD

Here is painting #3 of my series of thirty paintings in thirty days. I'm trying to keep them simple and loose. I plan on taking some different approaches and playing around with contrastive concepts. Using inspirational quotes provides lots of ideas! Like the interpretation of today's quote by John Muir, this challenge is a doorway to a different world. This is such a good exercise on so many levels.

"Between every two pines is a doorway to a new world."  ~ John Muir

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

• SOLD

On the home front, big brother Tigger is finally getting over most of his jealousy and is starting to regularly play with the kittens.

They all like to play in and around the little tunnel. Notice all the other toys in the background. I now call my studio Kittengarten. It is no longer my own. 

Tigger outweighs them at least two to one.

And he always seems to be the one on top.

They do play rough, but so far there have been no serious incidents, fingers crossed...

Thanks for reading and commenting on my new inspirational quote painting series. I look forward to your input and hope all is well in your world!

Hugs and Purrs,

X ♥  O 

30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge

I was feeling a little uninspired this morning when I went online. That's when I found out about Leslie Saeta's thirty paintings in thirty days challenge. It's par for the course that I'm late to the party, but it only started yesterday, so I'm giving it a shot along with over two hundred other participants. I did two paintings today to catch up. My theme for the series is paintings that are inspired by inspirational quotes. I'm starting off the first week painting trees. Wish me luck!

Bonsai Tree

"There are rich counsels in the trees."  ~ Herbert P. Horne

Windy Tree

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

"I hear the wind among the trees

Playing the celestial symphonies;

I see the branches downward bent,

Like keys of some great instrument."

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Hope you are all off to a good start in this New Year!
See you back here again real soon friends!

X ♥  O 

Cheers to 2013

"We will open the book.  Its pages are blank. 

We are going to put words on them ourselves. 

The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day."

~ Edith Lovejoy Pierce

Best Wishes for a Healthy, Happy and Prosperous New Year!

X ♥  O