I'm still here

It has been a crazy few weeks around here.  We finally moved back into our house after being out for a little over a year.  It feels sooo good to be home.  I've been so busy packing and moving that I haven't had time to paint.  I sure do miss it, though.

We are starting to get settled back in our house.  Most of our furniture will be delivered the end of the week, and I've very excited about that.  We got the kitchen table and 3 stools yesterday.  Once I get my other 3 stools we will be all set.

I hope to dig out my painting supplies very soon, maybe this weekend, finish up a couple of the projects I have started.  I can't wait to share new paintings again!

A little birdie...

I finally completed another painting.  This one was a lot of fun!

 When I painted the little blue bird on top of the flower on my row of flowers painting I knew he deserved a painting of his own.  Here is a smaller version of him.

I really liked the 10 x 10 square that I painted the snowman on , so I decided that would be perfect for my birdie.  I put him on a tree branch and debated if he was complete.  After some thought I decided that my original plan to put polka dots in the background was a good idea.  I chose some pretty pastel colors and went to work.  

I'm very pleased with how he turned out.  He would be a perfect addition to a little girl's bedroom.

I hope to have another painting up soon.  I'm currently working on 2 paintings that are more realistic in style.  They look great in my head!  I hope they turn out just as well on canvas.

Anne

Field Trip to the Natural Bridge (Photo overload)

Yesterday we took a field trip to the Natural Bridge with our Home School Group.

I got up bright and early and drove almost 3 hours through the mountains with 3 kids in the back.  I was exhausted but it was worth it!  

The first thing on the itinerary was to visit The Caverns.  We started by walking down the man made entrance to descend into the caverns.  Here is the natural entrance.  If you look very closely you can see a small tunnel.  A 45 minute crawl would get you above ground!

Here are some of the rock formations inside the caverns.

We went down about 400 feet under ground.  There were about 50 stairs going down but they were so steep it felt like 150 coming back up.

After a quick lunch it was time to see the main attraction, The Natural Bridge.  I saw this tree on the hike down.

and this waterfall.

Then we made it to the main attraction!  It was so beautiful!  Pictures don't do it justice, but I will try.

Legend has it that George Washington climbed 25 feet up the side of the bridge to carve his initials.  Here they are, but I didn't have the right camera lens with me to get a good picture.  

There was also an inside butterfly exhibit.  

Anne

Very First Post and a Snowman

November 1, 2012

Welcome to my brand new blog!  My name is Anne, and I recently opened Anne's Art Shoppe.  I have been looking for a way to continue to stay home and home school my 3 children, while bringing in some additional income for my family.  I have always enjoyed different types of arts and crafts.  As a teenager I was encouraged to pursue my art as a career.  As a stubborn teenager I had ideas of my own and chose to follow those.  Now with a little more wisdom I have decided to pick up the paintbrush again.

On this blog I will share my newest creations and inspirations with you.  I also enjoy scrapbooking and photography so they may show up on my blog as well.  My daughters are following in my creative footsteps and I know they will be thrilled if some of their drawings end up in Blogland.

Those of you who know me, know that I'm not a big fan of the white stuff, that is snow.   We had several large snowstorms a few years ago and I whined every time the weatherman said the 'S' word.  That being said I love snowmen!  I love to decorate with them and I love to draw them.  I recently heard that this winter is expected to be colder than usual and snowier than usual for our area.  To get used to that idea I decided it was time put a snowman on my recently purchased 10 x 10 canvas.  I set to work with a pretty blue background and some snow in the foreground.  Then I started on the snowman.  He became a little larger and fatter than I originally intended, but I love the end result.  Once I got his body correct the rest seemed to just come together.  I love his friendly smile and the red scarf wrapped around his neck.  The snowflakes in the background complete the picture.  I love him so much, I may have to paint one for myself!

Please visit  my Etsy shop that is linked in the sidebar.  I'd love to hear from you so feel free to comment!  Check back soon to see what my next project is.