Memories

Is it true that a happy childhood lasts forever?  When my children were born,  a dear friend gave me a little plaque with those very words.  I look at it often as a reminder that what happens during these years will follow my children their whole lives.....good or bad!  I hope it is all good!

Since my last post I set off on a journey of my own down memory lane, remembering the "happy places" from my childhood.  I feel extremely blessed to have grown up the way I did, in a loving Christian home. Money was always tight, but I had both a Mom and Dad who always made sure there was food on the table, a warm bed,  and a safe neighborhood in which to play.  

I thought it would be a great surprise to paint out a few memories and have the paintings made into notecards for my family at Christmas.  I am happy to say that it was a big hit,  and over this Christmas break a lot of fun conversations were started because of them.  Over the next six weeks I will not only be sharing each painting with you but also the great memories they hold in my heart.

I would like to write a few words before we begin about where I grew up.  I grew up in a the little country village of Powdertown.  Here is what I wrote on the back of the notecards that I gifted to my family:

Powdertown was originally built in the 1890’s to house workers from the Du Pont Powder Mill (maker of explosive powders). The Powder Mill closed down in the 1940’s  leaving behind a group of modest homes that would become the setting of my childhood.  The sleepy little village was the idyllic rural Iowa existence, littered with playing children and made complete by the occasional dog taking a nap in the middle of the road.   These paintings are not inspired from photographs , but rather from the everyday places of my childhood, and just to add to the sweetness of it all, I have added my two sister’s in each scene.   

This series is dedicated to my two lovely sisters, Jules and Nell.  Thanks for a beautiful childhood!   Love you  both,  Joey

Powdertown Series:
 Feeding the Ducks (Chatfield Park)

Due to the very explosive nature of the Powder Mill, the Mill needed to be located next to a water source....enter Chatfield Park.  The beautiful lake rested peacefully between the the settlement of houses and the Powder Mill.  During my childhood years, the Powder Mill was nothing more than an abandoned ghost town with a "No Trespassing" sign but the Lake remained and was teaming with life.   The Lake was merely a short walk or bike ride away and every kid in the neighborhood loved being there to fish, swim, catch tadpoles, or feed the ducks.  As a cure for summer time boredom, Mom would let us take bread crumbs down to the Lake to feed the family of ducks.  I loved this activity just as any small child might.  This is a special memory of mine and I so appreciate you taking the time to read about it.

Yesterday I got the chance to visit Chatfield Lake and to share it with my daughter.  She watches me as I paint my illustrations, so I think it was special for her to see where the inspiration for "Feeding the Ducks" originated.  I am happy to say that Chatfield is just as beautiful as I remembered. 

Thanks for reading and I hope that you continue to stop by to see the rest of the Powdertown Series.

Extreme Leap Frog

Extreme Leap Frog

Don't you just love little boys!  Hopefully you have been blessed at some point in your life with the love of a little boy.  Last week,  as I was working on the finishing touches of this illustration, I got the good news that my niece and her husband are expecting a little boy.  Oh boy!  She grew up the only girl in her house so the "world of boy" is not so foreign to her.  I grew up in a house full of girls (sorry Dad) so when God blessed me with the adoption of our little boy (already two years old) I was way out of my comfort zone.  Quiet nurturing play was not in this kids arsenal!  Lol  He was loaded with energy, two speeds actually.....full tilt or down for the count in a two or three hour nap!  The kid really  needed those naps....okay so did Mom!  Let's just say he was and still is an "Extreme Leap Frog" kind of boy.....full of energy, daring adventure, and a whole lot of mischief.  So glad the little boy in this illustration decided to wear a helmet aren't you?

It is funny how when you are working on a painting,  you sometimes don't notice some very obvious things....like how tall and thin it is!  Lol  It could be cropped down a bit; however, I will need to think that idea over a bit.  I will be adding this to my shop so please check it out.

Shop for Prints

Shop at ImageKind 

Over the years I have sold some of my art, and then again I have made a lot of art that no one has ever laid eye's upon.  I am a "creative type", what ever that might mean.  I have this creative force that drives me.  I love drawing, painting, knitting, pottery, jewelry making, decorating, sewing, designing, or searching for something new to challenge me.  It is just  the way my creator made me, and for that I feel extremely blessed and very thankful.   Sometimes I like to do my art before bed because it relaxes me and helps me sleep and yet sometimes the creative energy can be so strong (typically at the beginning of a new project) that I can't fall asleep or it wakes me in the wee hours of the morning.  I know some of you know exactly what I am talking about because you are wired the same way.  I don't know any other way to be,  and frankly I have a hard time understanding people who don't have at least a dozen or more hobbies... LOL!

I would do art merely for my own enjoyment, so when someone asks me if they could purchase my art,  I have to say that that is the highest compliment.  I have uploaded three of my favorite paintings to ImageKind.  This will be my first time using them so I would love to hear feedback on your experience, so just drop me a note in the comments.  There are some artist's that I really admire that use this site, so I am going forth with confidence!  Please, take your time on the site and just play around with the multitude of choice's available to you.  I make money off the prints and a small commission off any additional framing choices you might purchase.  I had a bit of fun myself playing around with all the choices and am even thinking of making a purchase....it is getting close to Christmas!

Shopping Day

found at "Hey Good Cookies"

The other day I was out shopping with my best girl and guess what she found?  We were both excited to see this little book on the shelf of one of our favorite boutiques that we decided to snap a picture of it. When the book first came out I had a similar encounter at the local bookstore.  Funny how the little surprises in life can really make your day.  I know... I am a simple girl at heart!

Happy Fall

Happy Fall Zentangle

Hi everyone, thought I would change things up a bit and post some of my Zentangle this week.   I love my watercolor illustrations, but sometimes it is good to do something else for a while. A little over a year ago I introduced my good friend Sarah to the art of Zentangle, and now she LOVES it!  I have to admit she does a lot more of it than I do these days, there has even been some talk about Tangling their old car.....got to love her hubby for that one! hahaha     Anyway, if you are unfamiliar with Zentangle, I really encourage you to do your own web search and you will be bombarded with images and information.  There are a lot of great books out there to start you on your Tangle journey, but this is my personal favorite and so far the only one I own, Joy of Zentangle.  Zentangle is easy to learn, minimal materials, and artistic talent is not needed. Tangling has been dubbed "Yoga for the Brain",  it reduces stress,  helps put you in a meditative state, and it also helps unblock creativity.  Wow....who knew art could do that......I did!  Enjoy!

Duck, Duck, Goose!

This illustration has been painted twice now and I think I am happy with it this time.  The first one was very similar but void of any trees and it had a blue sky that became troublesome and looked a bit overcast!  Sigh!    I also imagined it with text and so I decided to frame some text with the two trees.  I thought I could find some cute little Mother Goose rhyme about duck, duck, goose and that search turned up a bit fat NO!  So this morning I sat down a wrote my little rhyme to place inside my illustration, please don't laugh.  I never claimed to be a writer or poet, I just like to work with images.  However, I will say that it came to mind rather easy and so I began to wonder if I had heard it before.  I decided to run it through Grammarly. This site  proofreads and checks for plagiarism and TA-DAH, it told me it was an original work (insert pat on back).


This painting was inspired by a friends photograph, thanks Joy.  My kids really look nothing like the kids in the photo but it is great to use the photo as reference for body positions and gestures.  I will leave you with some of my sketch work.  Have a great day!

Follow the Leader

Hey everyone, so sorry for not posting for quite some time.  Many distractions come my way and my illustration work always gets put to the back burner.  Well with thoughts of the kiddo's heading back to school my attention turns toward my favorite activity to do when the house is nice and quiet.....you guessed it.  Also I have a new goal.  I would like to start really working hard on putting together a nice portfolio and website.

This piece I have titled "Follow the Leader".  My original drawing did not include the cute little dog and I decided to add it at the last minute, right before I was getting ready to paint.  I really love the addition, I can't think of anything cuter! The type of dog was an easy choice.  It had to be Katie!  We lost our beloved dog of fifteen years this summer,  sweet little "Katie."

We dearly miss her and my family was excited to see her in one of my paintings.  We have a new furry bundle already and I will need to find the right illustration in which to include her.  Maybe one where she is tearing into the bathroom garbage or peeing on my daughter's bedroom floor!  LOL  It has been an adjustment for this family to get used to a young and mischievous little dog, we love her just the same.  I will share pictures of her later.  Ta-Ta for now.

Holding Your Horses

A wonderful friend of mine wrote this cute little book that she hopes to get published one day.  This is what I did for her as an example of my work.  Self-publishing can be quite expensive if you are not able to do your own illustrations.  I really hope that she is able to self-publish or find a publisher one day because this book is super cute and educational. Good luck to her.

Dreaming of Warm Weather

The weather is so cold!  I think that must be why I decided to paint a picture inspired by the last time we vacationed in the tropics.  This is the first time I have ever painted a picture of my two kids, the two cuties in the middle.  For those of you who know my son, this painting says it all! He is a leader for good or bad, but mostly good.  He loves calling the shots, making the plan, picking the teams, and in this instance, these plans do not include his little sister!  She remembers this day very well, the day the boys would not let her play. These are the trials of being a little sister and that is why I titled this one, "Little Sister".

I will say, it was fun to see my kids cute little faces while I worked on this painting.  This has inspired me to take my work in a new direction.  This year I would like to focus on "portraiture".  I just bought a book by Jan Kunz, titled "Watercolor Portraits That Glow".  The reviews were really awesome so I am  super excited for it to get here.    I have been feeling a little stuck and unfocused artistically, so it will be great to get some new inspirations and a new focus, right along with the new year!  That being said, "Happy New Year" everyone!