Après la Fête ~

For a long time I  had the idea of painting a woman walking through a flower filled meadow at sunrise after an elegant party. I finally did a sketch on canvas, then got involved in other things. The canvas sat on my easel for a long time, periodically I would work on it, put it away to work on something else, then put it back on the easel where I frequently walked by thinking, 'I really must do something about her".

She finally caught my complete attention last fall, but it was holiday time and there were other more interesting things to do. At the end of December when all the excitement was over I begin working on the painting in earnest. It takes me a long time to finish any painting and this was no different but lo and behold after many corrections and changes one day I put down my brush and said to myself, "she is done"!

I usually don't custom frame things, it's more fun just to pop them into empty frames I keep for this purpose, then when I want something different to look at change them out. However I became very attached to my mystery lady and I decided to have her framed for my bedroom. I just got her back a couple of days ago and hung her this morning, now I don't have to feel a bit guilty every time I walk by my workroom and see her forlornly sitting on the easel.

So here she is, varnished, framed, and hung in my bedroom:  Après la Fête  (After the Party).

Thank you for visiting I hope you have a beautiful day.

Adrienne

Bringing in winter ~

Everything always looks so bare when all of the holiday decorations have been put away.I like a clean slate for my decorations so I put most of my usual decor items in storage for the season. January offers a chance to bring things out again but also change it up a bit for the rest of the winter months.

In the living room on the library table behind the couch I put my rabbits back but added some books, a flower arrangement and a new little brass candlestick. the open book is One Year in Art. Every day offers a new painting with a quote to go with it, I love this kind of thing, it's fun to turn the page each day and see what wonders it brings. The bouquet is mostly succulents with some flowers added for additional color.

On the little french credenza nothing seems to work but a floral arrangement. For this I used fresh eucalyptus leaves and evergreens from Trader Joe's, these will dry and last for quite a while. I included some other dried material and silk peonies for interest.

It is pretty monotone but I think it has a winter feel.

And finally, in the entry, an arrangement of dried material along with porcelain birds, books, a Moroccan covered container, a pair of brass candlesticks and framed welcome to my house in french graphic I made a few years back. These candlesticks and the one on the library table were Christmas gifts from my brother.

Now I definitely feel winterized!