Top Hat Snowman

Carrot Nose, 6x6" oil on museum quality panel, ©2012, Fay Terry

There are lots of places you could build a snowman today and even a couple of colleges in the NC mountains canceled classes today, which rarely happens.

I have been happy to hear from some of the art bloggers in New England that they are doing okay in spite of last night's arrival of Sandy. 

This little snowman will be available at the Festival Of Trees and I will be delivering all of my paintings, including the large one for their beautiful display at the Festival, to One Eleven Main tomorrow. I am including the information below if you are local and would like to attend.

Oh, I almost forgot, today is my 500th painting posted on this blog!

Festival of Trees

November 6-11, 2012                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             The Carolina Hotel, 80 Carolina Vista, Pinehurst, NC

FESTIVAL OF TREES WEBSITE

Festival of Trees is a display of over 200 decorated holiday trees, wreaths, gingerbread and gift baskets in a winter wonderland that will be available for silent auction.  Each auction item will have a “buy it now” price, so come early for the best selection!  Every item remains on display until Sunday at 3pm.  All proceeds go directly to Sandhills Children’s Center and benefit children with disabilities in NC.

Contact Teresa Copper at Sandhills Children’s Center (910-692-3323) to volunteer or make a gift for the 2012 Festival of Trees.

Complete Angel

Angel Of Hope, 6x6" oil on museum quality panel, ©2012, Fay Terry

This is the same angel that I posted last week when it was unfinished.  I am pleased with it now and I love the colors around her and the grass beneath her feet.

Time To Start Bulbs

Amaryllis, 6 x 6 " oil on museum quality panel, ©2012, Fay Terry

available soon at the Festival Of Trees Marketplace

November 10, 2012 at the Carolina Hotel, Pinehurst, NC

for the benefit of Sandhills Children's Center

I am painting Amaryllis from my photos of my 2011 flowers. I have just gotten the bulbs started for this year and I am hoping they will bloom right around the holidays.  They seem to grow very quickly once they get started.

I hope you enjoy this painting and maybe it will prompt you to get a bulb or two planted this week-end to enjoy in your home.  They are very easy to grow.

Thank you for following my art!

Angel Of Grace, 6 x 6 " oil on museum quality panel, ©2012, Fay Terry

available at Festival Of Trees Marketplace

11-10-12 at the Carolina Hotel, Pinehurst, NC

 Looking at this painting seems to give me a very peaceful feeling and I hope others can feel it, too. This angel is perhaps sending out a message of love and hope. The word "angel" is derived from the Greek word aggelos, which means messenger.

I am really enjoying painting these small angel paintings!

The Nutcracker

Holiday Favorite, 6x6" oil on museum quality panel, ©2012, Fay Terry

I had so much fun painting this little nutcracker, especially the fluffy white hair.  This is the favorite in my small collection of Christmas nutcrackers. I just love the bright epaulets on his jacket and the yellow stripes on the sleeves.  

This is really early to be painting holiday themed paintings but these are going to a fundraiser for the Sandhills Children's Center that is coming up very soon. It is the Festival Of Trees and is held at the beautiful Carolina Hotel in Pinehurst.

Angel

I am not quite finished with this angel but I decided to post it to show you how it looks right now.  I want to add more definition to her wings and work on the background.

This is the second angel painting this week and I will post the other one when it feels finished, too. It really helps to look at a painting for a while sometimes, especially first thing in the morning to see what the next step is.

Moonlit Snowman

Snowy Fun, 6x6" oil on museum quality panel, ©2012, Fay Terry

available at the Festival Of Trees Marketplace 

Carolina Hotel, Pinehurst, 11-10-12

This was another fun one to paint and brings me up to five that are ready for this annual fundraiser for the Sandhills Children's Center.

I will also have 2013 calendars for sale at the One Eleven Main space at the Marketplace.

Looking Ahead

Lime Green Scarf, 6x6" oil on museum quality panel, ©2012, Fay Terry

available at Festival Of Trees Marketplace, 11-10-12

Does this make you feel cold? 

 It felt strange painting this today after spending the week-end at the beach in Southport where it was in the mid eighties.  I actually had to buy some shorts while I was there- It was much too warm for jeans.

I've been working on some fun paintings for the holiday season.

Friendly Grin

Move Over, Pirate! 5x7" oil on museum quality panel, ©2012, Fay Terry

These tall metal buckets have long lasting candles inside so they line the walk up to the front door. They really look great all lit up at night, half of them are orange and half are black. I'm going to start lighting them every night next week.  Our neighborhood goes all out decorating for Halloween and there are already several houses all lit up each night.  One of my neighbors has a really great circle of ghosts in the front yard that look pretty spooky at night.

Everybody gets really creative and I think the adults have as much fun as the kids.

Outside My Window

Closely Observed, 6 x 6 " oil on museum quality panel, ©2012, Fay Terry

available soon at Festival of Trees

I recently walked into my bedroom and spotted this little bird looking in at me.  I hastily grabbed my camera and hoped that I could get at least one photo.  It turns out I had an interested observer checking me out, in no hurry to leave. I was able to snap several pictures and have seen him several more times  in the same spot.

This is the male Cardinal, naturally the female is much less showy and quite plain.  This is also the state bird on North Carolina.

If you attend the Festival Of Trees for the benefit of Sandhills Children's Center, this is one of the paintings that will be for sale in the Festival Marketplace on Saturday, November 10th.  My 2013 calendars will also be available for purchase along with some of my small daily paintings in the One Eleven Main shop set up in the Grand Ballroom of the Carolina Hotel.

Pretty In Every Season

Crape Myrtle In Fall, 6 x 6" oil on museum quality panel, ©2012, Fay Terry

I love Crape Myrtles when they are in bloom and when they stop flowering their leaves turn the most gorgeous yellows and oranges.  This one has been pruned correctly and has the traditional graceful shape.  They always remind me of ballerinas wearing their tutus on top of their heads.  This is the first time I have painted one of these trees and I look forward to doing more of them. The most prevalent colors for the flowers are bright pink, magenta, deep lavender, and white.

This was meant to be posted last night but I fell asleep without remembering to post it.

Fair Weather

October Leaves, 6 x 6 " oil on museum quality panel, ©2012, Fay Terry

Here's another in my Fall color series but I cannot identify this tree. I usually am able to name most of the deciduous trees based on their bark and leaf shape but this one has me stumped. I will figure it out soon though.

This was a quick study done at the end of the day after my husband and I spent the day together in Raleigh.  We were hoping to go to the State Fair for a little while, but had other commitments and ran out of time. It goes on for ten more days, so maybe we'll get there before it closes.

Dazzling Leaves

Peak Color, 6x6" oil on museum quality panel, ©2012, Fay Terry

This is another version of the Dogwood tree I painted a couple of days ago and I am pleased with the result. This time I massed in the tree with a combination of Alizarin Crimson and Venetian Red.  This was dark but not bright, allowing the brighter colors I added later to stand out much more. Also I did not add any white to lighten the leaf colors so they remained stronger.

 I decided the contrast of blue sky in the background helps make the tree really pop. I may do a larger version of this one.

Enjoying Figs

October Pleasures, 6 x 6" oil on museum quality panel, ©2012, Fay Terry

This is a great time of year to enjoy fresh figs which are plentiful right now. These are Black Mission figs and I consider them very delicious.  When we were in Charleston recently we had lunch in Mount Pleasant and went to Whole Foods which was adjacent to the restaurant. I discovered another variety of figs that were available for tasting. It was amazing to me how many fig halves were in the small trash can beneath the sample tray with just one bite taken from them.  I guess figs are not as popular as I thought!

Dogwood Tree Fall Color

Sunlit October Tree, 5 x 7" oil on museum quality panel, ©2012, Fay Terry

This is one of the Dogwood trees in the yard across the street which is surrounded by Pine trees making it appear like a bright jewel in the landscape.  I was experimenting with capturing the sunlight on the leaves and branches as well as the path of light going across the pine straw.  I will probably try more variations of this in the next few days. Today was the first sunny day we have had in a while. A few rainy cloudy days tend to make one more appreciative of beautiful weather when it arrives.

I hope ya'll are enjoying these beautiful fall days as much as I am.

Camellia in Yellow Pitcher, 6 x 6 " oil on museum quality panel, ©2012, Fay Terry

Today has been a good day in my studio while outside it's cold and rainy.  It was a temperature shock today after spending the week-end in Charleston where it was eighty seven degrees.

I am so inspired by visiting lots of galleries and seeing such incredibly beautiful art on Friday and Saturday. 

Carolina Camellias

Camellias With Granny Smith, 5 x 7 " oil on museum quality panel, ©2012, Fay Terry

I have to admit, these flowers are really fun to paint because each one is different and the dark shiny leaves form a dramatic backdrop for the bright Camellias. This is the first one that has been open far enough to show the pretty yellow center.

Thank you for following my art.

Large Eyes

Night Owl, 6 x 6 " oil on museum quality panel, ©2012, Fay Terry

This one looks a little spooky to me, and would make a great Halloween painting to display on the easel that comes with it. I am decorating the house a little each day so soon I will have the Halloween decorations in place. We have collected a lot related to this holiday and there are always things I am happy to see when I start to unpack them.  

My husband loves the Hallmark musical decorations and has bought one for his office every year for a good while.  He claims they make his patients laugh.

We generally have over a hundred trick or treaters to prepare for. Most years we give out candy but this year I'd like to do something different.  Let me know if you have any ideas!

Thank you for following my art.

Camellia Love

Dark And Mysterious, 6 x 6 " oil on museum quality panel, ©2012, Fay Terry

I picked more Camellias this morning and they are even prettier than yesterday's flowers.  I am pleased with this painting because it has a slight Asian feel,  I love the soft yellow as the background, and includes  one of my favorite vases which I purchased in the city of Delft, in the Netherlands.  It is about eight inches tall but I was looking down on it a little so it appears shorter than it really is.

Thank you for following my art.

First Camellias

Camellias In Blue Vase, 6 x 6 " oil on museum quality panel, ©2012, Fay Terry

These are now blooming in my garden and  putting on a show with their luscious color.  

Sasanqua Camellias begin blooming in early Fall providing Fall and Winter color when little else is flowering in the garden.

Today was a rainy day so I did not get a really good photo so I may retake it when it clears up in a few days. Several rainy days are forecast this week and these flowers were dripping wet when I brought them in the house this morning to paint.