Original Oil Painting "Looking Up the Hill" on 10"x12" plein air panel

This past Saturday rather than my normal routine I decided to stay home and paint.  Paint is really what I did almost the entire day.  I finished an oil painting for a friend the day before and did finalizing stuff first on that Saturday.  I then painted the oil to the left "Looking Up the Hill" and was surprised at how this vision appeared on the canvas and seemed to take on a life of it's own.  I then finished off a landscape in oil on a 12"x16" canvas paper and a fun little 4"x4" wooden block in acrylic.  Sunday I finished off the wooden block flower with some silver gel pen.

A new follower on Twitter made a comment that she'd like to sell my birdhouses.  I'm so flattered and happy that people like the birdhouses I paint.  I have to tell you I buy the wooden birdhouses at Michael's, even bought some at Walmart and Hobby Lobby.  Each of the birdhouses I've painted have been a labor of love, individualized for whoever I'm giving it to and not for sale.  I did try painting one with specifications so almost a commissioned birdhouse except it was a gift and I have to say that I felt so confined by the specifications that it wasn't as much fun, I don't think it turned out as nicely as all the ones done from my heart, thinking about that person with each paint stroke and idea.

The oil painting I did for a friend recently is actually a painting from a Walter Foster instructional art booklet that she just fell in love with.  I have gotten so used to doing my own original art that I wondered how different this one might look from the original I did when I first started painting.  It was a good experience to paint again from someone else's work and I think this turned out even better.  Also I recalled some of the techniques I learned from my painting instruction years ago and think that's why the oil painting above flowed so easily from my thoughts.

Tomorrow I take the painting to my friend that my husband lovingly framed for me today.  I'm so grateful that I get to share my love of art and gifts I've been blessed with and hope my friend enjoys this painting for years to come.