Things to come..............................

Soon a whole new year will be upon us. I do think 2008 flew by. I hope it was a good one for you and yours. I do feel 2009 will come with lots of challenges, changes, and I keep hoping for a brighter future for so many who are being effected by the current status of our economy - all over the world.

I did have a great Christmas celebration with my family (the picture, here, is of my son and his wife on Christmas Eve). I altered it a bit in Photoshop. My daughter-in-law presented my son with a "Kiss the Cook" apron as he was the chief cook and bottle washer as a gift to us all. We all contributed a food item and he cooked, served and cleaned up! It was a wonderful meal and evening!

I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful holiday celebration with your loved ones and would love to read, in your comments, here, how you celebrated.

With every new year, there is hope for more things to come.................... I wish, for all of you, a very healthy, happy, joyous New Year and may we all find more art time so we can continue to share our passion for creating.

I look forward to visiting your Blogs and websites, in the coming year, and the inspiration that I receive from them!

Thank you for your friendships, your continued support in 2008 and I am excited about sharing the new year with all of you!

Stay well! Love to all - Marilyn

"Cherish"..................

Thought I'd pop in, here, for a bit in between stuff...................

This is a digital collage that I created, tonight, while enjoying some relaxation time in my home. Last Friday, December 12th, we had a terrible ice storm that hit our area and we were without power for one week. We didn't have heat, lights, running water; all those comforts of home that I took for granted.

Fortunately, we had family to turn to and we stayed at my son and daughter-in-law's home during this stressful time. We were very appreciative of their gesture of love taking us in for a whole week. Thank you David and Kate!

We just got back in our home yesterday. I am cherishing the moments, now, feeling the heat that is coming from the vents, the Christmas tree lights, the bathroom light! I am appreciating the fact that I can sit, in my favorite chair, while having my computer on my lap, while my husband is watching the news on TV.

Our area was hit hard by this ice storm; just driving around our neighborhood lets me know that we were luckier than some.

We did suffer some external damage to our home from falling trees and heavy limbs but we were able to come back and stay in the house once the power was restored. Some people were not that fortunate.

I am very thankful for my family and my friends who have offered their assistance and help during this difficult time. I would like to thank everyone who reached out to us; your love and support were so appreciated.

Happy holidays to all of you and I will be back blogging soon.

Love to all........................Marilyn

Takin' a little break............................:)

I've been realizing, more and more, that time is getting away from me a bit, here, with holiday time and Christmas is right around the corner.

I haven't done a thing! I don't have one Christmas card made, let alone addressed, I've worked on one gift package, so far, and I need to get myself moving.

This means I will be taking a break from Blogging for a couple of weeks so I can allow myself time to work on the things that I need to get done.

Thoughts of all of you and your beautiful art will be with me throughout this holiday season.

I wish you and yours a safe, healthy, and joyous holiday and may the traditions of your holidays offer you peace and comfort that continues in the New Year.

Much love and appreciation always! Marilyn xxoo

Before and After..............:)

I've been cleaning out some files on my computer today and it's a little like cleaning out my art room :) I'm finding some little buried "treasures" that are inspiring me.

This first picture is one that I took last year! It's outside my living room window and it was just before a snowstorm was due. I converted it to black and white and cropped. I thought it was kind of cool.

I decided to play around with it in Photoshop and the second picture, here, is the result. I now think this picture looks like the sun is over a city scape!

Hope you're enjoying your time today! Love - Marilyn

Dreams.............................

"Dreams"

16"x 20"

Illustration Board

This is my very first commission piece.

I was approached, recently, to create a painting which would include a figure of the person's grandmother as a young woman. I used a photo of the woman as a reference.

The painting will be presented to the grandmother at the celebration of her 80th birthday. I so hope she likes it.

The first picture, here, is of the original painting and the second is of the painting altered a bit in Photoshop. It's such fun to do that :)

Hope you're all having a good day and have plans for a fun weekend!

Love to all....................Marilyn

Time Passages..........................

I felt like having a little fun with Photoshop tonight. I've taken so many pictures over the past year; stored them in my computer stash and have forgotten about some of them.

The first picture is one I took late September. This shot caught my eye as I really love the shapes of the tree roots intermingling with some leaves and bricks; kind of grungy. :)

The second picture is what I did using this picture as a background.

Enjoy your upcoming weekend everyone! Love, Marilyn

"I Can Walk Through the Storm".................

16 x 20

Acrylic/Mixed Media

on illustration board

Thinking of you all and wishing you a safe and happy week ahead.

Love.......Marilyn xxoo