Watercolor painting on Amate Bark Paper will continue into the New Year.  So Happy New Year to everyone, and especially to hard working creative souls who work hard every day for little pay and less praise.  May you days be filled with joy, and may the New Year bring you well earned rewards, joy, and hard earned praise.  Thank you for your kind words,  and uplifting words.  May we all prosper in the New Year.  Enjoy the art!

                                      Silent Night~11.5" X 15.5" Watercolor on Amate Bark Paper.

                            Bateleur Eagle~11.5" X 15.5" Watercolor Painting on Amate Bark Paper

 Javelina~ 11.5" X 15.5" Watercolor Painting on Amate Bark Paper from a photograph by Donald Abbott.

 Perturbed Peccary~ Watercolor Painting on Amate Bark Paper from a photograph by Donald Abbott.

                                      Coyote Alert~ Watercolor painting on Amate Bark Paper

                         American Bison~11.5" X 15.5" Watercolor Painting on Amate Bark Paper.

            American Bison Steadfast Warrior~ 11.5" X 15.5" Watercolor Painting on Amate Bark Paper          

Painting Watercolors on Amate Bark Paper is not only fun but rewarding.  These are paintings I've completed in the past month.  I am currently working on another painting of a wolf, but I've just finished up a painting of a Barn Owl.  I hope you enjoy my work, and are enjoying your own work.  May every one have a Happy and Productive New Year.  Oh, and write when I get work!    

I've been painting every day, usually in the evening after the packing of books and fixing the house chores are done.  We are Elder Proofing the house (similar to child proofing, but you don't have to make anything difficult to open) , for it's necessary to make the floors easy to clean and difficult to slip and fall on.  We now have a textured porcelain tile on the floors, and it's great even when wet.  Plus we are installing new toilets, wall paper, wainscoting, and moldings in the bathrooms, and refinishing all the cabinetry.  What does this have to do with art...well if your house is clean and neat it's much easier to do the things you love to do with a clear, clean conscience.  Plus, my huge oak roll top desk will be moved into the studio so it can be transformed into a Jewelry making bench.  Then I can post jewelry designs I make here too.  I know...Needlepoint...painting, sculpting...jewelry making...book illustrating...what doesn't she like to do?  I like to do everything!!!!  I love to paint, draw, design, construct...I just like making stuff!!

Here are the other paintings I've been doing of wild animals on Amate Bark Paper.  Plus I haven't posted the pen and ink drawings I did of Aesop's Fables or the pencil drawings of famous writers.  There is so much to share!  Happy Holidays!  Keep your sense of humor, hug the ones you love, and be sure to write when I get work.  Enjoy the art work, and I will have more to share soon!  Good cheer to everyone even in these hard economic times.  Remember, the best things in life are free, and if you have your health you are very rich in spite of everything else.  May there be more jobs and prosperity in the NEW YEAR!

Watercolor Amate Bark Paintings

Well, it is December 2012, and I haven't posted for over a year.  My mind is still sharp (most days), and I'm still producing a painting, drawing, or something per day again.  My youngest son was married this year to a lovely woman, and Annette is now a Shoemaker, and I couldn't be happier.  Getting ready to set sail on a Cruise Ship wedding is what caused me to leave my painting, drawing, blogging post this year, while I concentrated on losing weight, figuring out how to manage chronic pain, and buy outfits for wearing in public. My wardrobe has not been updated in the last 20 years, and my normal outfits of Navy Blue or Black knit pants and shirts are not appropriate for a wedding or a cruise..  Plus most of my normal clothes have paint all over them.  LOL 

If  I have any steadfast viewers left this is what I've been working on in recent months.  These paintings are all done on Amate Bark Paper, and it can be purchased from Dick Blick Art Supplies.  It is a highly textured hand made paper that is made in Mexico.  My paintings are all done in Watercolor with white or black added to some of the colors.  The paper is absorbent, strong, and because I can't see pencil on it very well...I am 64 with fairly overused eyesight ...so I just paint most of these images with no previous drawing.  Kind of like an impressionistic oil painting.  I hope you enjoy the new paintings.  I  have more I can post, but this is enough for now.  Each painting took about a day, and sometimes a little bit more time, but that is the average.  Most are painted from photographs taken by some wonderful photographers on Deviant Art.  I've been working on Needlepoint Canvases, stitching and painting new ones, and will post some of that work too.  Write when I have work, and let me know if you would like me to paint an animal special to you.  Thank you, and hug your loved ones and let them know you care.  Life is very short, and over too fast.  Take Care...Annie

I have been drawing and painting all summer, and have joined two new Art sites...Shadowness... ..http://shadowness.com/HouseofChabrier   and a site called  Thalisee.  I'm always known as HouseofChabrier where ever I go so that makes life easy.

I have been working on Needlepoint Canvases, Wizard drawings, and bird paintings.  I recently found out about a bird called a Ruff.  A very elegant bird, and I have been painting and drawing them, plus vultures and hummingbirds.  I guess you could say I like variety in my life.

Here are some of my latest paintings, and I will start being a good blogger again, and post more often!

Older Painting

 These are four Oil Paintings I did of the California Pepper tree on our neighbors property but at the bottom of our property.  This is what it looks like during the hot dry California summers.  The second painting below is what it looks like in spring during the spring rains.  The orange is the California poppies and other spring flowers that come back year after year.

 This 32" x 32" Pepper Tree Oil painting on canvas is what the bottom of the property looks like when a cold mist enshrouds the pepper tree, and you can barely see details as you look over the land.

 This painting below is what the California Pepper Tree looks like when the late raking sun lights up the pepper tree, and the pink bougainvillea  just beyond, and it looks like the tree is aflame.  These are paintings I did a couple of years ago, but there are still areas on our property I want to draw and paint.

I have painted the above image twice, and would do it again because the old pepper tree (even though the neighbors trimmed it back severely) always has a different look at different times of day.

Next I will put up a few more paintings that were done a while ago, but still hold their appeal.

 The above are oil portraits of People I know, and painted from my own photographs.  The Images below are done in Adobe Illustrator and were done for the fun of it.  I like to try out new mediums...I love the computer, and drawing with a wacom tablet is great deal of fun.

I hope you enjoy today's offerings, and I look forward to posting here again soon.  Write when I get work, and if you have work and a paying job congratulations.  Write when you get work too.  Have a good day and good art.

Paintings from the Present and the Past

I paint or draw everyday, and sometimes surprise even myself when I rediscover something I did quite a while back.  I thought I would put up some of my recent drawings and paintings, and then put up some that are favorites of mine.  

I painted these wonderful roosters from some great photos taken by a young girl on Deviant Art who raises and loves her chickens...You can see her work on DA by going to this link:  http://jordanmireldis.deviantart.com/

These were of course done with her permission, and I have a couple of hens she took pictures of.  I had a great deal of fun painting them because they look so protective of their little chicks.  Thank you Jordon for letting me paint from your photos!  The hens:

 This is one of my favorites working from Jordon's photo.  This Hen looked just this mad in the photo.  I captioned the photo "Don't even think about it!"

Well I found one of the hens, but not the other so you will have to look at another colorful Rooster.  This one is called King of the Garden.

I have joined a new art site called Shadowness, and you can see my artwork their...new and old.  I was asked to join another art site in France called Thalisee, and now my paintings, drawings, and poetry can be seen there also.  I always am listed under House of Chabrier or HouseofChabrier no spaces.

This is one of the reasons I've been going through old files, and looking at older work.  I will put up some of my favorite older work, and I hope you enjoy it.

However, since the site is experiencing upload problems I will publish the paintings above, and publish the others later.  Write when I get work, take care of your body because nobody else will.  Have a good day, be kind to your love ones, and feed them well.  A fed family is usually a happier more relaxed family.  Less shouting if everyone has food, and everyone gets their share of hugs and kisses.  It's either too hot, we are in a drought, or as some of you hit by Irene your home occupies a new flood plain.  My thoughts, prayers, and sympathy are with you.  Everyone take care, and be sure to write if I get work.   Hugs... Annie