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After 3 years without a large Christmas tree, I have finally unpacked my tree!  I've missed it so.   It's been in storage you see after relocating to a new state and purchasing a new home.  During the transition, there was no room in the inn to display a sizeable tree.

A tree to me isn't just for decking the halls, it has a real and true significance of many wonderful memories.  The gathering of family, friends at our Christmas parties, little children hanging their favorite ornaments, wide-eyed at the twinkling lights and a toast to bring in a fresh New Year.

I gave away or sold most of my Christmas decorations  before this tree went into storage.  I grew tired of the old color scheme.  I kept those ornaments that were made by my children when they were growing up and all those that I made.  Now as I unpacked this tree, I wondered what colors to choose.  Since there is a considerable amount of teal or turquoise in my new home, I decided to go with shades of teal and ruby-red.  I had all the ruby-red flowers, red balls & Santa's from Christmas' past. I may tire of the teal so next year, it will be but a small thing to change.

A Santa I made years ago.  After unpacking, I realized that Santa needs a wardrobe update for next year.

Santa's been working so hard. Maybe a long winter's nap right here will do.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night!

2012 Home for the Holidays Linky Party

These hand-painted St. Nick's and Santas are just a small number of  Santas that I've cut out and painted over the years.  The last Santa I have pictured here is actually cut from old barnwood from my Grandfather's farm in Kansas.  That barn no longer exists so I feel so fortunate to have hung onto this.  I still have some of that barnwood on hand just in case I decide to paint these again.  I have included a few that are actually hand sculpted with Celluclay (paper mache) and then hand painted.  A number of years ago, I had a large band saw and an awesome Delta scroll saw that I cut the wooden pieces out of.  I sold that equipment when I decided to simplify my life of things that I didn't use that much any longer.  I must admit, I really miss that scoll saw and there are days when I wish it was back in my garage.  Living in Colorado at that time, I had a wholesale rep that sold over a 5 state region for me.  It was a messy job cutting and sanding all that wood as well as a tremendous workload to keep up with.  I was so honored to have the late Betty Ford add some of these to her collection.  

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to link up to the 2012 Home for the Holidays Link Party

Hand painted Thomas Nast painted sleigh in my entry

Hand-painted Celluclay Santas

Hand-painted St. Nick by Colleen Taylor

2012 Home for the Holidays Link Party

This is a 16 x 20 painting of my adorable granddaughter.  She is just a little over 2 years old.  She is an avid reader already and loves to be read to.  I think the child has well over 100 books added to her collection by now. 

I have been a multi-media artist for longer than I can remember.  I have always loved what I do and each day as I paint custom paintings for clients as well as paint whatever moves my spirit, I am grateful.

I chose this painting for my 2012 Christmas card that I send out to my family, friends and clients.  It's such a joy to paint her as my "model" of a number of my paintings. Each year since she was born, I have painted a card of her.  I hope you enjoy viewing this special little card.

"Believe in the Magic"

by Colleen Taylor

Inside Greeting

2012 Christmas Card ~ "Believe in the Magic"

by Colleen Taylor

It truly is the little wonders of the season that make this time so special in our lives!

When I decided to make this glass marble tree, all supplies were purchased and I thought I was rarin' to go.  That is, until I literally lost my marbles.  I'm not kidding, I seriously thought I had everything completely organized and ready for this project.  No marbles were in sight, so off to the Dollar Store again for more marbles.  It can be so overwhelming this special time of year when there is more to do than one person can possibly accomplish.  I try my very best to be as organized as possible, however, it does get the best of me at times.

For this tree, you will need:

One Stak Styrofoam Tree (I purchased an 18" through Amazon)

Flat glass clear marbles, I used 5 bags

Craft paint color of your choice if desired

Glue (I already had a tube of Goop, which I used)

Craft paint brush or chip brush

Optional: Craft beads and Head pins

The Stak Tree Box

Styrofoam Ring Intact out of Box

Styrofoam Rings Ready to Assemble

Painted Rings

Tree Assembled and glued

Starting from the bottom up, begin glueing marbles row by row

At this time all marbles are glued and dried.  In reality the tree is completed, however, I just wasn't happy with the results.  I was thinking the dullness and the yellow cast of the clear marbles would give the tree a more sea-glass-green look.  I made the mistake of painting the turquoise a little too bright in color.  I tried to tone it down with white paint but next time, I would choose a different color.  Because I tend to over analyze everything and frankly, I'm just too darn picky.   So a picky person as myself just had to add something else to camouflage the turquoise a bit.

Optional Supplies ~ Craft Beads and Jewelry Head Pins

I added clear glass beads with jewelry head pins in between the marbles.  Yup, at this time, I really had lost those marbles of mine in my head.  This became a bit borderline crazy but when I started pinning in the beads, (no glueing involved) there was no turning back.  I think it gives it an extra dimension.  I'm not even sure you can see that they are there but I can here at home. 

The Finished Results

I hope you enjoyed this and if you have any questions, Follow my blog and drop me a line.  Merry Christmas everyone!

2012 Home for the Holidays Link Party Hosts and Schedule

First of all, I would like to thank the Link Party Series hosts for making this link party possible.  The Link party series, Home for the Holidays 2012 gracious hosts are,  Miss Flibbergibbet, Bliss at Home, Hyphen Interiors, Shizzle Design, Finding Silver Pennies, Restoration House, Lindauer Designs and This, That and Life. When Kristy Swain of Hyphen Interiors posted this announcement on her blog, it set me in motion to participate, so a great BIG thank you to Kristy!  The link party concept is entirely new to me and what a fabulous idea it is!   My blogging took a back seat this past year due to relocating from Colorado to Arizona.  Most of my year consisted of finding a home to purchase,  remodeling and so much more.  More of that subject in another post.

My inspiration for this recipe was my recent painting "Kissed by the Sun."  The Meyer Lemons were picked from my back yard from my gorgeous Meyer Lemon tree.  After our big move this past year and purchasing a home, the discovery of such an incredible variety of fruit trees, plants and flowers growing here has been pure joy.  I am thrilled that I have this very prolific Meyer lemon tree in my yard.  Certain times of the year here in Arizona, the lemon trees in the area are a glorious floral profusion.  Not only is it a thing of beauty but these trees give off the most intoxicatingly fragrant scent.  It doesn't take much to be inspired to paint just looking around in my yard. 

 Meyer Lemon Tree

Luscious Lemon Bar Recipe

I have made this recipe for more years than I care to think of.  It's quick and so easy.  I have many cookie recipes as well, however, with lack of time especially during the holiday season, it's a good old stand-by. 

Baked Crust

The Crust:

1 cup butter softened

1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups flour

In mixer bowl, cream butter and sugar.  Add salt and flour into mixer bowl and mix well.  Crust will be very pliable and not sticky.  Pat into a 9x13" lightly greased baking pan.  Bake 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Lemon Filling (unbaked)

Lemon Filling:

2 cups sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup fresh or bottled lemon juice

rind of one lemon grated

To make the lemon filling, mix all ingredients in mixing bowl and pour immediately over hot crust.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.  Cool for about 10-15 minutes and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.  Cut bars into desired size when completely cool.  Yield approximately 16 bars.  These freeze very well and so fast and easy to make ahead of time. 

I hope you enjoy the fruits of my labor with this painting, "Kissed by the Sun."

"Kissed by the Sun"

20x20

by Colleen Taylor

© All Rights Reserved

It's been nagging away at my brain and yes, I realize it's been such a very long time since I've posted on this blog.  So much has happened in my life to prevent me from doing so.  Many changes have been made to my life, some uphill as well as downhill battles.  

Having said that, at the same time, I'm winning all of the battles.  It's not that I haven't had things to say or write because I probably have more stories than anyone could begin to take the time to read.  I promise, this post will be short since time is always of the essense for me.  I have much to do, many places to be and important things to accomplish.  Sound dramatic, somewhat, but never underestimate me and what goes on around me.

I will not have the time to be back here before the year ends so I will start by announcing an exciting piece of news that many of you may not know.  A number of months ago, I was contacted by someone from Warner Brothers in Burbank, CA that they would like to purchase one of my paintings that they saw online for a new television series.  The name of the production is, "It's Me Chelsea" based on the book, "Are You There Vodka, It's Me, Chelsea by Chelsea Handler, an accomplished stand-up comic and actress.  Warner Brothers have expressed a desire for more paintings as the season progresses so I continue to work on the subject matter that they are interested in.  The show premiers in January of 2012 on NBC.

Cosmo-licious above is vibrant, exciting, wild and crazy just as I expect the show to be.  The painting represents a cosmopolitan martini.  It consists of paint, paper and various found and printed objects. 

I hope you enjoyed this post.  I hope to be here considerably more in the coming year.  Enjoy the callendar link and feel free to check out my Zazzle products.  Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy & Joyous New Year.

The Fine Art of Colleen Taylor - 2012 by colleentaylor5280
Learn how to make money as an artist online at Zazzle.

Have you ever found yourself making a decision to take a trip, a vacation or anything else at the spur of the moment?   This
may not seem strange to you but I'm a bit of a "girl scout."  I like to plan things, know where I'm going, when I'm going to
get there and all things in between.  I'm the type that will pack a lunch if I think I'll get stuck in traffic.  I don't prefer
the unprepared unknown and pride myself in being ready for just about anything.  I know it's a quirky fault but difficult to change at this stage in the game.  So when I decided to take this trip to Italy a number of years ago it was
just a matter of booking the trip with the airline and it was done.  I asked my daughter if she wanted to go with me and she
thankfully did.  I was prepared in my mind to go it alone if she said no.

My daughter, pictured above, lived in Germany as well as Venice and various other cities across Europe while studying abroad in college for awhile so Venice was crossed off the list.  I did some online research and bought one of Rick Steve's travel books on Italy. 
I didn't touch the book until I got on the plane,  and it served as my bible on that trip. I highly recommend any one of his
many travel books.  I know, hard to believe this was me with no real plan and on my Europe.

We arrived in Milan, and from there took a train to Florence.  Over a period of two weeks, it was Milan, Florence, Rome,
Siena, and my absolute favorite, Cinque Terre.  This so called "girl scout" traveled with a backpack and a small carry-on. 
We decided early on to have the ability to be as mobile as we possibly could.  We had a lot of ground to cover on foot when
we weren't taking a train or bus. We had to be able to move quickly and we did.
Prior to arriving in Siena, while reading Rick Steve's Italy book,  I picked an inn at random.  There were many listed but
this one stood out for no particular reason.  There was no detailed description from Steve's book that indicated what I was
about to discover.  I remember my daughter and I walked the cobblestone streets for some time before we finally could get
someone to understand English and to be able to tell us where this inn was.  We were both very tired and were getting extremely frustrated but I wouldn't relent. 
This is where I knew we must stay. Finally, down this quiet narrow alley was the unassuming Locanda Garibaldi, a gem within
the cobblestones.

The charming innkeeper greeted us drinking a glass of Chianti.  He spoke no English. In Italiano, he told us to call him
"Marcello."  Nicollini Marcello, was this intriguing man's name.   The modest inn was filled with artwork of all kinds but
what was most impressive were these wooden artistic sculptures. There were  purposely hidden nooks and crannies full of
artistic touches; broken pottery creatively displayed, mosaics and gemstones.  Truly a hide and seek adventure, even as you
entered the hand-crafted door front.  You could tell all the furniture was personally chosen.  Hand crafted pieces, many made by Marcello, some painted and some as I've never seen before. Everything was meticulously clean.

As the days progressed, I asked him about the artwork and wood sculptures.  He did understand this it seemed, so he took me
downstairs in a back room to show me his incredible wood sculptures he had in various stages.  What an amazing artist, so
unassuming and modest.  I asked him if  I could purchase one of them.  "No" was his answer.  I would have happily paid him,
however, you could tell he was very accustomed giving a decided "no."

He seemed to be a man proud of his independence, who painted, sculpted and cooked as he pleased. From what I understood from
some of the villagers, for many years, Marcello built this inn from the ground up.   Marcello was hump-backed from all his
hard labor throughout the years. In a world of commercial clones, Marcello's is a rather funky and very artsy inn with a
trattoria on the main floor.  It is a place apart, its integrity palpable both to the eye and to the tongue. Very inexpensive
and a good value with all the senses that fuel the artist soul. Marcello's wife is the chef at the trattoria. 

I never could determine what his wife's name was.  A very charming, Italiano only speaking lady, who happened to be very
talented with her fabulous dishes.  I had a feeling she kept Marcello in line. I thought the strong woman behind the scenes
deserved a painting so above you see  my painting of Marcello's wife. They had a friendly teenage son who waited tables at
times.  As my daughter and I were leaving, I know my eyes were tearing up. I turned around for one last glimpse as Marcello
was saying something to me in Italiano.  "Tanto gentile e tanto onesta pare la donna mia"..."  Blinking my tears back I must
have looked quite puzzled so his son translated to me. "So kind and so honest my lady appears to be .."  With tears in both
eyes, for once in a very long time, I felt at home. I didn't want to leave. I plan to go back someday.
"Nella vita - chi non risica - non rosica."  In life: who risks nothing - gains nothing

Whether you care to admit it or not, just about everyone has some sort of sibling rivalry.  Unfortunately, I do not, since I have no siblings.  It's not the rivalry thing I miss, it's the sibling that I have missed throughout my life.  When I hear others complain about their brother or sister, I just wish I had a couple to complain about.   Some of my friends are as close as I can imagine siblings to be.  We have no sibling rivalry though, we just have fun together, and that's just enough for me. 

Yes, even horses have sibling rivalry and oh so deep it does run.  I've been working on this horse painting for some time in bits and pieces.  I intended to make a companion painting to Amber's Run some time ago.  This is Amethyst, Amber's sister.  Amethyst is a wee bit smaller than Amber.  She  may be smaller but she is very mighty. 

Amber and Amethyst are from the Golden, Colorado coral where the Golden Colorado Westernairres kids stable their horses.  Amber and Amethyst are very competitive, each vying for my attention when I come to see them. Their respect is mutual, especially when in competition together. When I go to visit them, you can tell how much they truly love each other even though they both complain to me about the other.  I understand them well and you could say it' s my common bond of horse sense.

Here I am doing some final touches to one of my favorite ladies.

The thought of when my ladders and scaffolding were hung back up and folded away became forefront in my mind as time went along.  I knew it had to be something to keep my paint and blood flowing freely once again without the fear of falling down from "higher ground."  After much contemplation, my decision finally was made and off to school I went.

Baptism by Fire
The idea of going back to school was not necessarily so attractive in my mind.  Cranking up the old brain once again was a daunting thought.  Taking Graphic Design classes was  not only a new challenge but a scary one as well.  I sat in the last row trying to be somewhat invisible so I could duck way down if need be.  I love challenges but an intensive accelerated Adobe Illustrator class each and every Saturday for five hours was a bit much.  The first day, the instructor requested the class to come up with a name and a logo for a new shoe business venture.  I sat in complete bewilderment as all the students logged onto their computers, opened up some software and went flying away with designs.  When in doubt, get out the old sketchpad and start to draw and so I did.  The thought of slowly creeping out of the room and forgetting about all of this did occur to me but I don’t quit something I start, not usually anyway.  After being put into groups, the class voted on the best logo and design for this project.  To my complete amazement, the class selected my designs as the best.  Our class shoe business project was successfully under way.

Working in the computer lab one day, I struck up a conversation with a graduate student.  She was preparing for her finals and was moving back to her home in New York as well as beginning a new graphic design job with a design firm.  She asked me what I did so I explained my mural and special wall finishes business to her.  I told her how long I was in the business and that I was venturing new territory.  I plugged in my jump drive and gave her the nickel tour of my portfolio.  She immediately blurted “you must take Painter!”  I had no idea what she was talking about but I began my search into the discovery of this amazing software program.  After my search, I knew this was definitely something to be explored.

No Regrets
It was towards the end of the semester of my Adobe In Design class that I started to unravel.  Illustrator and Photoshop had been fun but this was not my idea of fun.  The instructor was toughly seasoned and loaded us up with tons of projects and homework.  I was amazed at the magazine layouts I churned out and the thought of self publishing was very cool indeed.  In Design is a very tough program to learn but I soon found out there was so much you can do with it. I had no life but homework and textbooks.  This became a love/hate thing but I forged on.  The second to the last In Design class, the instructor was flying faster than the sound of speed to demonstrate what our final exam would consist of.  Something inside of me said “ENOUGH.”  I was entirely spent so I packed up everything in my backpack and walked out of the class!  She never even noticed.  So here limps this former honor student into the administration office and there I withdrew from my In Design class.  Something I had never done in my entire life…I quit something.  I had an A in that class and now I had a great big fat W.  The grade letters didn't really matter that much and I really should not have cared about it but my pride cared.  At this point I snapped and I just didn’t care anymore.  The blood was rushing to my head and my heart was pounding and I just kept walking to my car.  In my car, I sobbed and then I sobbed some more.  I felt terrible but I couldn’t go on this way.  I shocked myself when I quit but sometimes you just have to know when you have had enough.  To this day, I have not regretted what I did.

Painter, Ageism and Very Little Art
Back to the intrigue of Corel Painter and taking this class. Nothing was going to stop me from learning a new skill and there was no way I would quit.  This teacher was very large in size and threw herself around like an offensive lineman for the Steelers.  She grew angry with me over some things and then nothing at all.  I soon discovered there were a number of former professors that filed age discrimination lawsuits against the school due to this department's firing of them.  I never found out how those lawsuits turned out for them.

During the Painter class one day, I had a problem with a painting that I was working on.  I asked her for help and as I was looking at my computer screen, she thunderously stormed over to me.  Her pudgy paws slammed down on my desk in her fit of anger. Everyone in the class either gasped or were jolted out of their seats.  While she was yelling at me, that awful flash-back of being 10 years old again when Sister Milburga smacked my hands with a ruler during a piano lesson flashed into my brain.  There was no ruler this time, but plenty of loud and harsh words.  My jaw clenched, pounding blood rushing to my head, tears were welling accompanied by a parched dry mouth.  I had plenty to say but I simmered in silence. Surprisingly, I completed that class with an A.  I left that class feeling very disappointed that I really had not learned much from her.  I have no idea why this person behaved in the manner unbecoming a teacher.  I tried not to spend much time dwelling on this, however, I cannot fathom this type of cruel and humiliating treatment to anyone under any circumstances.  I won’t ever give up or stop learning despite any circumstance, no matter what.  My well worn heels have been dug in ever since and no one better even try to talk down to me, bully me or attempt to wear me down any longer.

I knew I was addicted to Painter and my brand new Wacom tablet, lovingly referred to as my "Big Chief" tablet by my Mom.  If you're not old enough to remember "Big Chief" tablets, you wouldn't find the humor here.  Nothing would stop me from learning more.  I vowed to continue to teach myself as much as I could possibly get my hands on.  Never underestimate the passion of an artist.

Maybe you haven't heard the word "ageism" or "ageist" before this.  What I did learn from this creature was that ageism is alive, not so well, and in fact, rather sick.  I don't think before this happened that I ever coined the word.

This is an excerpt from the September 2010 issue of AARP by Editor, Jim Toedtman. "This is a message conveyed clearly and frequently by the late Robert N. Butler, M.D.   Raised by his grandparents on a farm in southern New Jersey, he devoted his professional life to making the most of the longer lives Americans now live - "productive aging."  He coined the word ageism 42 years ago.  In May, shortly before he died, he published "a call to action on aging," an essay in which he urged "transformational thinking" about work and retirement planning, technology and long-term illness."  Any search will discover far more information about this subject than my blog would do justice.

I am pretty certain other mature students before and after me have been subject to  "Flapping Thunder Thighs" mistreatment.  I do hope she will find some kindness within herself to extend towards other mature students along the way who have chosen to "age productively."  I rather doubt if she will ever become a "mature" person in the true sense of the word.

I have a great deal of passion and did I tell you nothing would stop me from learning and painting?

A Thank You For Ed
A little over a year ago, I needed quite a few boxes for moving my life and all my stuff after selling my home. I called Ed and asked him if I could buy some boxes from his company.  Ed, being the great guy that he is, not only gave me a bunch of boxes but he delivered them all to me in two van loads. You see, Ed is a really big deal for a large box and packaging company that he works for.  As agonizing as moves can be, Ed made my life quite a bit easier with this kind gesture. The painting above is what I painted for Ed.  This is Phil Mickelson, the professional golfer.  This gift was a thank you for a huge favor he did for me.  Sometimes life gets in the way so it took me longer than expected, but I eventually delivered on my thank you to Ed.

 Phil Mickelson was painted in Corel Painter.  I embellish my canvas with Golden Gels and acrylics and several other types of paint.

A Simple Thank You
 It should be quite simple indeed, however, it seems to me, most people can't, won't or even think of those words any longer.  I've often wondered if social graces have come to be a thing of the past.  I hope not.  I was always taught as a child that it was the proper thing to say please and thank you. I taught my children the same and fortunately they always remember to give thanks.  Have any of you ever given a gift, done a favor, and expected nothing in return?  I'm sure you were happy to do so.  Most likely you never heard a word from that person.  A thank you would have been nice, but perhaps, not a word was heard.
I knew I wanted to paint something for Ed that he would truly like, so I emailed his best friend Steve.  Steve, being a great friend himself, reminded me of Ed's love of golf and that one of Ed's favorite golfers is Phil Mickelson.

Thanksgiving is Not Only Reserved for the Holiday
So when you receive a favor, a gift or anything that makes your day better, say thank you.  An email, a hand written note or possibly a small gift that can be treasured.  You might just make someone smile.  It doesn't have to be as elaborate as a painting and it doesn't have to cost much or anything at all.  It's just the right thing to do.  Teach your children to do the same and always keep your eye on the ball.