The Gift

 11"x14" oils

This was not an easy reference photo to take. I had to be stealthy. Really stealthy. There were several female cardinals outside the window, but I only got in one photo before they caught my un-stealthy movement and flew away. At least this one photo, I did get, turned out to be pretty cool.

I wish I could have invited her in for a bit. It was just a few days before Christmas and I would have loved sharing some hospitality.

Step 2: getting the layout down.

(Step 1 was starting with a canvas that had been coated in burnt sienna)

Step 3 - started to place the branches and the bird

Step 4 - working across with the leaves and some of the woodwork

Step 5 - Added the brass window latch and more detail in the wood.

The last step, at the top of the page, was more detail and especially more leaves.

I used a palette knife to dab in more texture.

Thanks for stopping by!

Thief! But, darn. A cute one.

5"x7" oils

Our grandson, who lives in Las Vegas, refers to our place as the house in the forest.

Nope. We are just a regular residential plot with some trees. Haha! But I love the fact that from his viewpoint, closer to the ground, it appears to be a forest.

We've planted a couple of peach trees which have been kind of hit and miss with their production. In 2022 we left in July for a vacation of 5 days. When we pulled out of the driveway, the peach trees were heavy with fruit. Tons of it! When we returned, the fruit was completely gone. Completely gone. Not even a peach pit. The culprit(s)? I have a guess. But man, what I wouldn't have payed to see those guys in action. They had to have worked their fluffy little tails off to have pulled off the peach harvest heist of the century.

Jump ahead to the summer of 2025. There weren't a whole lotta peaches - just enough for a pie or two. We took our share, and I made sure to leave a few fruits on the branches for the squirrels, because I'm a soft-hearted idiot.  In payment, I got a sweet little photograph to work from, and a few instances of being able to watch them scamper around in glee, chasing each other and collecting some booty. Not a bad trade off.

Here are a few of this piece's steps along the way.

 Step One: Just some base colors (in oils)

Step 2:Basic placement of things.

                                       

Step 3: Stepping up the color and a little bit of detail.

Step 4: Detail day! Getting more detail done.

Step 5: Ditto!

Lastly, pictured at the top of the page, all the detail. 

Sorry for not posting at all in February. I went out to visit my Las Vegas grandson, celebrate my 60th birthday, and see a bit of Route 66 (a bucket list item). I did, however, work quite a bit in my studio in February, and I hope to be able to finish up a few more pieces to post this month. 

Thanks for stopping by!

This artist, now in her glorious 60s, appreciates you from the bottom of her heart!

The Beauty of the Snow - a poem by me

The Beauty of the Snow

I wake in darkness. Rise.

The world tied with a sugared bow

as promised, I now gaze upon

the beauty of the snow.

It sparkles, gleams; it beckons.

“Test my drifts, and watch me blow.

I am the winter’s blanket;

a glory named the snow.”

I reach for sound, for anything;

for birds, for cars, but no.

A muffled world encompassed in 

the silence of the snow.

Not everyone is happy.

I must hide my thoughts, and so

I pour hot chocolate, make some toast,

and celebrate the snow.

Shops close and flights delay.

Our schedules lose accustomed flow.

Ashamed, (I’m such a child at heart!)

I wish for deeper snow.

Beauty, wonder, danger?

Do you see it friend or foe?

No mind. We are but witnesses

to power of the snow.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Bulletin Boards

This is a sampling of some of my favorite bulletin boards I've done for the New Madison Library over the last few years. Many of them began as an idea I found on Pinterest, or an idea shared by another staff member. Then, I just made them my own.

Here's my most recent:

And here's a throwback to one I did for the Greenville Library more than 10 years ago. This one was really big, on a bulletin board that was (as far as I can can remember) about 4 feet or so across. I think "Light Up the Night was the theme for the summer reading program.

It's this bulletin board piece that inspired me to do a couple other art pieces.

Click the links below to check them out.

https://tracyonoz.blogspot.com/2015/09/enchanted.html

https://tracyonoz.blogspot.com/2021/05/your-invitation-to-moonlight-ball.html

Thanks for stopping by!

JOY

die-cuts, tissue paper, and modpodge with some Procreate digital editing.

Definition of JOY from 1984 Websters dictionary: a very glad feeling; happiness; great pleasure; delight.

Definition of JOY from google: a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.

My definition of JOY: bubbles of happiness that erupt from your heart, creating a warmth to bask in. 

An effervescence of the soul that erupts in smiles, or bursts of laughter. 

How can one define joy without the words bubbles, or effervescence? 

I have chosen the word JOY once again as my word of the year. I think it may be a permanent choice. Similar the the Golden Rule, it is an umbrella that encompasses other words I have chosen in the past:  gratitude, soul, and energy to name a few.

Joy is truly a choice.

If you have children running through your house laughing and screaming in play, you can roll your eyes and click immediately to order earplugs on Amazon, or you can close your eyes for a moment and think how lucky you are to hear children laughing and screaming in play, in your home.

If you have a party that leaves behind all the clean-up that comes with parties, you can vow to have that party at someone else's house next time, or as you clean up you can think how fortunate you are to be in a position the have people to throw a party for, and a house to throw it in.

For me joy and gratitude (my second favorite word) are very closely linked.

I wish you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year! Choose joy!

The original from my new 2026 planner/scrapbook/sanity preserver.

Thanks for stopping by!

December Calendar piece

 die-cuts

December has arrived.  Sorry folks, for being a broken record, but as I sit down to write a post - Jeez! Where did the year go?! That's all I can think about. What a year!!! - Two big family weddings, news of a baby's arrival early next year, a change of states for my son (he's coming back to his hometown!). . . so many things. I live constantly in gratitude. 

December will be busy as always. I intend to enjoy the WHOLE month - enjoy all the preparations for Christmas, enjoy the effort, and enjoy the anticipation. (I meditate in the mornings, and it helps keep me in that frame of mind. I'm not as amazing as I may sound. Haha!)

Today, December 1st, is my one year anniversary of learning guitar! I'm trying to learn classical guitar on my own, but I see lessons somewhere in my near future. There are just some times when I get frustrated on my own, and need someone to whom I can ask "just how the hell, exactly, am I supposed to do that?" But I'm pretty proud of myself for making the practice part of my daily routine. At this stage of life, my big incentive is in impressing my grandkids and hoping they'll say, "if Grandma can do it, so can I!"

Fingers crossed.

This is most likely my last post of the year. I have plans for this blog next year. Hopefully, some lessons - tips and tricks to help others with some drawing help. The year ahead doesn't look quite as hectic (I say as something enormous is barreling its way, unbeknown to me, down the path of my life's journey). So, please come back here in January.

I wish everyone a warm and lovely holiday season!

Thanks for stopping by!