Kissing Eskimos at Valentine's!

           The holidays have been rich and full for me, time with family and friends, music and food, as we focused on the reasons for these celebrations.  A few  days ago my husband's oldest brother,  Earl Towner,  died of a stroke.  Although a sad time, it does also bring extended family together, and memories of his family.  My own dear mother in law, Ruthie Evangeline Christine Ost Towner, had a lovely hobby-business creating felt pictures of the Alaska of her life.  I enjoyed helping her sew these scenes for years, but lately tried my hand at painting some of her ideas om good cotton dish towels.  Here is one that I did while we sat around reminiscing with these dear brothers and sisters in law. 

Esquimales Besándose

Esto es una toalla de algodón para secar platos, decorado con figuras, como las que hacía mi querida suegra en fieltro sobre fieltro.  Mientras vivía, la ayudaba hacer estas escenas, de los cuales, este es uno.

Trip to Spain, and morning glories!

I have been so busy living, and moving to Sauk Centre, then a trip to Spain interrupted, that blogging has taken a rest.

This fall my husband, Jim, and I and two of our children took a trip around Spain visiting folks and had great time! Yes, there was so much to paint and so little time to do so! When we got back, I got out my paints and covered the large shed doors with morning glories, of the variety so common in northern Spain. Oh, my hands got chapped and numb with cold, and parts were so high that i had to balance rther precariously. It was especially enjoyable becaue it took me a long time to decide what subject I would like on it. I considered a northern MN lake scene with loons or ducks, or large hisbiscus, or mountains, or coasts, or waterfalls, but when I tried to envision what those would look like in the various seasons, they were not satisfying to me. So I asked the Lord for ideas, since He knows me well. Yes, what joy it was to suddenly think of the blue morning glories and know that God had whispered that idea.

New Paintings!

Pensando en España y sus costas hermosas....  al este de Liencres...

I was thinking of Spain and her lovely coasts.  To the east of Liencres we enjoyed views such as this.

We are in the middle of a move.  I have oils, just where, is the difficulty right now.  Michelle gave me a set  on Tuesday and here is the joyous result on Friday!  A sweet memory of Cantabria!

green grasses, heather, rocks, pinnacles, islets, waves, clouds, expanses, crests kissing the coast

 My sister in law commented that a plastic flower on a stick was sometimes the only spot of color in her "garden", and suddenly I knew what I wanted to do.
Why not add "spots" of color to river rocks and decorate a garden?  

This is the backside of the forget-me-nots rock where added a message of praise to our Creator in Spanish.


Poppies, daisies, iris!  I enjoyed splashing colors over this good sized rock. 
These were done in acrylic, so the next step is to seal them with clear polyurathane. 

No Knitting Needles? Know Chop Sticks!

Oh, we artists are always using what is at hand.  Just today I was making time count for more than one thing... visiting with my daughter  Elisa while doing a knitting project.

  Because we are in the process of moving, the knitting needles are packed deep away in some box, so another daughter, Anne Carolyn, suggested that there were some chopsticks in the kitchen drawer of the mission housing.


Yes!!  So my knitting creation is beginning on the length of chopsticks that have surely never been used for that purpose!

How are you innovative?

Martha's Art

Cantabrian Waters with Gulls

--Private Collection*--

Pico San Pedro, Spain

Acrylic, 1986 *

Sara and I sat talking and watching the waves come tumbling in one after another for four hours on a Sunday afternoon, soaking in its joy and wildness. Later I went home and painted from memory.

Simply Life

--Private Collection--

Anne Carolyn on the Cantabrian Coast, Spain

Watercolor, 2004  *

Girls Gather Flowers

--Private Collection--

 Minnesota, USA

Oil, 2000

Frozen Pond study

--private collection--

Watercolor

Andrade Castle

After visiting this castle many times, I took up the acrylics and

a large canvas to enjoy painting it on site.  Later, as often happens, it rained,

but that only seemed to enhance the mysterious look and the fun I had painting.

$2,500 

--original sold-- 

*copies/cards

*Copies of these images are available.

Cards: $1.50   Copies: $39.99