Holiday Snow Scene

Home for the Holidays 

I love this frame.  In a way, I am sad to part with it because it had been some of the frames that my mom and dad had given to me (but realize this, it was to paint art that they were given).  In 

loving memory of my mom, I am going to part with it.  Everyone should have a piece 

of her.  SHE WAS THAT AMAZING.  I love that word...amazing. 

This is no where near completed but I wanted to post the

progress because I have been amiss doing this.  

I love the frame. 

The barn really is so cute with its little side window.  I resisted the urge

to put dividers in the windows...sigh.  All my houses have them. 

I will post more as it's finished! 

Kolene 

Tweet

Halloween Painting by Pennsylvania Artist Kolene Spicher Trick

TRICK OR TREAT! 

YOU DECIDE! 

This painting was developed from this piece of art that I blogged about a good while ago.  

http://kolenespicher.blogspot.com/2016/12/city-folk-homes-with-neighbors.htmlhttp://kolenespicher.blogspot.com/2016/12/city-folk-homes-with-neighbors.html

Trick or Treat 

This is a good example of a painting that I decided to change.  I mean, I really changed this one.  Everything about it is new...almost.  I am not a huge halloween fan, but it is fun for children and some adults, too, that know how to have a good time.  I didn't want this to be too spooky.  I think I pulled that part off...it's just sweet.

Where's Batman? Look**at pumpkin boy. 

I love it when my paintings ask questions.  This is one of those pieces.  I don't know if I should call it, Trick or Treat or Where's Batman?  I guess I will let you decide.

I like the spots of light illuminating this painting.  There's also an eerie night feel to it, which is what I was striving for. 

I sort of like it in this frame because it ties into my silhouettes, which I am thinking of taking along to Wilton, Ct.  It is going to be FUN. 

Also, I decided to change the subject matter of this because, overtime as I looked at it, I kept thinking EGGS.  This painting has to be about the eggs.  I grew up in a neighborhood with about 25 kids.  The boys down the block always threw eggs at us on halloween.  I know you don't approve. They did get in trouble! haha.   Today, I laugh, yesterday I cried (on the inside.) LOL

There's so much detail in this piece, from the dentals to the tree branches.  LOOK at the bricks.  There's a good bit of work in this one! 

Sometimes, you just have to put it on the floor and stand back...NOW you have the feel of it.  Don't forget to look for batman! 

I hope that your October and November and December are so very special.  

My best. 

Kolene Spicher 

PS, this will go to Wilton, CT. on November 3-5, 2017!  

Tweet

House Note Cards

A Blast from the Past 

Die Cut

Many years ago back in 1995, my husband and I had thousands of greeting cards printed.  It was an exciting time for me, to say the least.  I had about 15 designs (I think), and I would take them to shows.  I had them placed in Qty of 5 in a little cellophane bag.  We would sell them in little sets.  I had all sorts of cards--house cards, tea cups, a winter scene (yesterday's post), and even little bras and girdles.

As I said, I found a box of these little goodies and am selling them on Etsy.  I have a very limited supply.  My Etsy store is KOLENESPICHER so take a look.  They are $20 for a package of them, which is a little more than the one winter scene due to the expense of the die-cut. 

Look how primitive!!!! 

So you can have a sense of the die-cut shape, I have also included a picture of the card standing!

Same shape as the Red one!

They are printed on glossy premium card stock.  I think the die-cut feature makes them look high-end.  They were really expensive to produce, which is why we only did it one time.  As I said in yesterday's blog, I thought they were all gone…I am happy to find some.

We published it under Markol Greetings, which was just Mark and Kolene blended.  Isn't that special. 

Enjoy! 

Kolene 

Tweet

Two Bluebirds flying High

A Painting about Bluebirds 

When I was a very little girl, my grandmother used to recite poetry.  She had many poems put to memory.  One was about birds.  Try as I may, I could not find 'her version' of the bluebird poem.  

What I did find is a poem about the Blue Willow pattern, which she had a FULL set in her corner cupboard! I imagine that she would have loved this poem, and just maybe, she would have been able to recite it, herself!  She lived to be 100.  She was amazing. 

Here is the poem: 

Two Birds Flying High

Two birds flying high;

a little ship sailing by; 

a Chinese castle here it stands;

facing many far 'way lands.

A little bridge,

three men upon, 

A willow tree, 

that ends my song. 

I decided that I wanted to paint blue birds and was going to use up some of my round or oval antique frames.  This was what I came up with. 

This looks like a huge contact lens, doesn't it? 

Because I put one of my special finishes on this painting, it doesn't necessarily "HAVE" to be put under glass.  What do you think? 

This looks a little brighter than the first image and it is because the glass sort of casts a shadow over the water color.  Plus, it just photographs differently without the glass.  I am sort of loving the concave glass from the early 1900s which is why I never used this frame~I wanted to keep it! 

I will try to update this post after I have the painting assembled.  

Also, If you have a bird that is your favorite, and you would like to see paint your bird choice, drop a note or make a comment. 

Remember that anything you really like, it is for sale :) 

Simply fill out the blank with your name at the top right section of my blog! 

Tweet

Wedding Guest Book Painting -Part 1

 Special One-of-a-kind Wedding Guest Book Painting

Designed to compliment this invitation (Below) 

The Lemon was placed here to honor the Bride's privacy! Also, I had to
trim off the bottom of the card for the same reason! 

It's not every day that I receive a request for a wedding guest book painting, but this one has been on my list now for several months.  I am running out of time~it's a MAY wedding!

So today, I put a call into the lovely bride and asked a few additional questions. She wants the painting to be created 'around' the invitation, which I will gladly do for her.  The questions I needed answered will determine the path I travel to achieve the finished product.   Maybe you are wondering what exactly I mean by a  'Guest Book Painting (GBP).'

A GBP is a painting that will be at the entrance of a church (or other building) where a wedding is going to take place.  People will sign this (that are invited) who have been able to attend the wedding.  It needs to go with the theme of the wedding.  Having the invitation will greatly help me with this.

Firstly, how many people are invited?  This is an important question because if there are only 10 people invited, then obviously, we will not need a large painting.   In this case it is 200. I think that it needs to have a little size because we need to be able to squish 150-200 signatures comfortably and in a manner that does not look chaotic.  After all, we want this to be pleasant to look at when all the signatures are on the painting.   Secondly, does she want the colors to match her invitation?  The answer was yes, but not exactly.  She wants the painting to be something that she will be able to actually hang in her home somewhere and something that will blend in with her furniture, etc.   It was decided it needed to be a little more timeless than the invitation, which means that it will be less trendy than the example.   She loves the fun trendiness of the invitaion (which is why she choose it)  but wants it to be something that is traditional enough to keep for 50 years.  

We decided that we love the color of the teal/blue sky and the tree but that I should plan on using my imagination for the rest of it.  I will be including the tree and the birds but adding additional things besides.   

I placed the lemon over half of the card to preserve the privacy of the bride but also to show you that the leaves are not all the same color.  Some of the leaves (although subtle) are more on the yellow scale, while others have some red.  I will be including the bride and groom in this painting along with a house.  It will be shocking for her when she sees it because, she has pretty much given me creative license.  This makes me happy because I dislike following someone else's ideas directly.  I did NOT design this card, as cute as it is! 

I will be updating this post in a few days with the finished product.  Depending on how long it takes, there may be a post in between this and the final version.  

Keep this idea in mind should you ever want me to design something similar for YOUR wedding! 

Check back! Enjoy!

Tweet