Christmas Past

Christmas time is full of nostalgia. Seven years ago when we moved into our house I bought new Christmas decorations, pretty flowers, butterflies, color coordinated bulbs all sized to fit a 8 foot tree.  It's a beautiful tree when it's all decked out, I wanted it to look like a fancy one at the mall or Pottery Barn.

I decorated my Christmas tree with my old Hallmark ornaments this year. I found them in storage in the same cardboard boxes I packed them in 12 years ago.  My Mom and I use to collect them.  We bought the movable ones that plug into the lights, with kids sliding down the banister and trains going around in circles. There is a radio with a cat that announces Santa and a dancing toy soldier that drove my husband crazy till I turned it off.  Just the sound of the tree when I plugged it in at night made me remember Christmas past.

My Mom bought me many "For Daughter" ones, hearts and "Mother" ones. She knew my love of animals and bought me cats and mice, dogs and birds. The first one she bought me was a Crayon box with little mice sleeping in it. I bought her "Mother" ones back, old cars and lots of Santas. We bought them together at after Christmas sales. I guess we stopped buying and collecting them for each other in 2000 because they are all dated and the latest date is 1999.

I stopped putting up my tree in 2000 when I was dating my husband and I wasn't at home much.  Dan, my son, was on his own and we all went to my Mom's house on Christmas day. After my Mom passed away in 2005 my sister offered me some of my Mom's ornaments but I don't remember if I took any or not.

Each ornament has it's own box and packing. It took hours to unpack them. The time was worth it when my Dan said the tree was the one from his childhood. I've spent the last two days repackaging these treasured ornaments into their individual boxes and remembering my Mom at Christmas. Good and bad, happy and sad, wishing she was here to celebrate the new babies in the family and maybe we would buy each other a "I Love You Mother" Christmas ornament.

I should have taken a picture of the tree when it was up. Darn it. I only took pictures of baby Dustin and Sandy my granddaughter.

I did have a nice Christmas with family, I hope you did too.


Thanks for reading

I am helping to support a great animal rescue center with portions of my sales from my Etsy sales site.  I am giving 10% of all sales to this fantastic animal rescue center.

Forever Wild Exotic Animal Sanctuary

http://foreverwildexotics.org/

PURCHASE 8x10 painting prints, holiday & birthday cards!

Visit my personal portfolio website.

http://www.LCurtin.com

Thank you for stopping by, hope to see you back soon.

Tax Lady

I don't think I'm going to get my Eagle painting done before tax season gets started in January.  I have two paintings going and I'm pretty darn sure I'm not going to get either one of them done.  This year went by so fast. The whole summer and fall devoted to making, selling and promoting art. Time really got away from me. I've been working so hard being an artist I didn't notice that I was working.

I put in 70+ hour weeks in my tax business, Hess Income Tax, from January till April 15th and then I have 8 months to do mostly as I please. Each year as the Holiday season rolls around I say to myself, "I can't believe it's almost tax season again."  As if I didn't just have 8 months doing what I want.

So here we are again, I'll put away my paints and easel, get out my dresses and nylons and become Laura Curtin, Tax Lady.  This will be my 33rd year of preparing tax returns for my clients, friends and family. The office has been open for 53 years with 48 of those in the same Westminster California location.  My clients are mostly referrals from other clients and the grown children of those and so on. I'm an Enrolled Agent licensed to practice before the IRS on behalf of clients and I keep up my education to give the clients the best tax advice I can.

 I have a great job and I love the 8 months painting but I wonder what it would be like to be 100% Laura Curtin, Artist.

Grumpy Faced Eagle under Construction

I'll be back soon. Have a wonderful Holiday season.



Thanks for reading

I am helping to support a great animal rescue center with portions of my sales from my Etsy sales site.  I am giving 10% of all sales to this fantastic animal rescue center.

Forever Wild Exotic Animal Sanctuary

http://foreverwildexotics.org/

PURCHASE 8x10 painting prints, holiday & birthday cards!

Visit my personal portfolio website.

http://www.LCurtin.com

Thank you for stopping by, hope to see you back soon.

How to Oil paint

How to Oil Paint? Practice. I know that's not what you wanted to read but you know it's true.

While practice is important and the best way to get better at anything, specific instruction is also very helpful. I've been painting a long time and the lessons I've taken from other artists were very important. I learned what I like to do and what I don't want to do when I paint. So, I'll make some outlines and videos for you to watch. I'll share what I've learned along the way. I've already started the first one, I mentioned it here before, "How to Paint Cat Eyes ." My brother is editing that one now and I will post it soon. I will do the best "How to Paint Whatever" videos possible.

My job besides painting is to write stuff, video tape things and come up with many ideas of what my friends and readers would like to know how to paint. I sure wish I was younger, only for the energy, well, maybe the younger part would be ok. I would love to be able to stay awake painting through the night or writing descriptive content. If perhaps you have that kind of energy now I hope you feel it and put it to good use.

So practice and instruction are two important parts of painting. Talent and vision are two parts you already possess, put together all of the parts and we are making art. Let's do that.

Thanks for reading

I am helping to support a great animal rescue center with portions of my sales from my Etsy sales site.  I am giving 10% of all sales to this fantastic animal rescue center.

Forever Wild Exotic Animal Sanctuary

http://foreverwildexotics.org/

PURCHASE 8x10 painting prints, holiday & birthday cards!

Visit my personal portfolio website.

http://www.LCurtin.com

Thank you for stopping by, hope to see you back soon.

Taxes and Holidays

Hello!  I've been busy with my "other job," income taxes.  Today was the last day to file if you had an extension of time to get your taxes completed.  I like tax season and the extension deadlines because I get to be busy with work and see people I haven't seen in a year. I think it's funny that every year about November I say to myself, "Oh man, it's almost tax season again!" I work really hard for about 3 1/2 months and then I have a whole lot of time to paint.  I have no complaints about my job.

Saturday November 17 2012 I'm going to participate in a Holiday Boutique at the Elks Club in Huntington Beach, California from12 noon till 4 pm. The show benefits the Second Chance Pet Adoption.  I'm going to have a lot of artwork, Christmas cards, birthday cards and flower photos for sale.  10% of all my sales go to the Forever Wild Exotic Animal  Sanctuary.

http://www.zvents.com/huntington_beach_ca/events/show/283719185-holiday-boutique-to-benefit-second-chance-pet-adoptions

December 7th and 8th 2012 I will participate in a two day show in Tustin California. This show should be really festive, there will be a tree lighting ceremony, Santa, a pancake breakfast and raffel giveaways.

http://www.businessallianceoc.net/?page_id=369

Both of these holiday shows should be fun.

Fairy Granddaughter

Come visit me at the shows!

Thanks for reading

PURCHASE 8x10 painting prints, holiday & birthday cards!

I am helping to support a great animal rescue center with portions of my sales from my Etsy sales site.  I am giving 10% of all sales to this fantastic animal rescue center.

Forever Wild Exotic Animal Sanctuary

http://foreverwildexotics.org/

Visit my personal portfolio website:

http://www.LCurtin.com

Thank you for stopping by, hope to see you back soon.

Like a Circle in a Spiral Like a Wheel Within a Wheel

Last night I woke up at 1:10 and could not go back to sleep.  Kevin saw on the internet that if you can't sleep try stretching your toes out and then curling them back over and over until you fall asleep.  I've tried this before and it worked pretty well.  Last night not so much.  I never did go back to sleep.  I sleep walked through the my day today.

What makes the brain go round and round in circles at night. Worrying about things I have no possibility of fixing from bed. I should have just gotten up and exercised or painted or something. I could have gone outside and watched the sunrise.

I love seeing the sunrise. I'm up most mornings exercising by the time the sun comes out.  For many years I roller-skated outside on the streets in the early morning and I've seen a lot of beautiful sunrises.  I'm sure people thought I was crazy, I would skate down the street and sing "Oh what a beautiful morning."  I remember seeing sunrises because I stayed up all night on purpose. Some of those times were great, others not so much.

Sunrises and sunsets are wonderful painting subjects.  It's always hard to convey to the audience that it is morning or evening. Like the painting above, are the Langur Monkeys waking to the day or getting ready to sleep. You could find the childrens book "Langur Monkey's Day" and read the page to find out what time of day it is.  I sure don't remember.
http://www.amazon.com/Langur-Monkeys-Day-Amazing-Adventures/dp/159249143X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1349150821&sr=1-1&keywords=langur+monkeys+day

Tonight I will sleep. Tomorrow another sunrise.

Here is a website from the Mayo Clinic about staying asleep
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/insomnia/AN01611

Here is another one that has some really reasonable answers to staying asleep. http://www.greenhealthspot.com/2008/02/staying-asleep.html

PURCHASE 8x10 painting prints, holiday & birthday cards!

I am helping to support a great animal rescue center with portions of my sales from my Etsy sales site.  I am giving 10% of all sales to this fantastic animal rescue center.

Forever Wild Exotic Animal Sanctuary

http://foreverwildexotics.org/

Visit my personal portfolio website:

http://www.LCurtin.com

Thank you for stopping by, hope to see you back soon.

Photos That Fit the Pictures in my Head

I feel really fortunate when I can use my own photos to paint.  I'm not a big traveler and when we do go on a trip it's usually to one coast or another.  I got lucky taking photos of horses in a field when my husband and I stayed in San Luis Obispo, CA .  Kevin was napping and I went out with my camera to see if I could find some flowers.  There was a large group of horses way across a field.  I called and called to get their attention but they just ate grass.  I did take some photos with my zoom but the horses were so far away the photos were only ok.

I went around back of the hotel looking for flowers and came across this field.  It was nearly 7 pm and the sun was just going behind the mountain and the field was reverse lit. The dark shady area was in the back and the front of the field was very bright.

I took this picture then turned and noticed a mare with her two foals had come across the field to drink water from a stream near me.  When I moved around they got very skittish so I had to be still.

I took these photos and about 30 more and was able to use my own photos for a painting for a change.

I get a certain satisfaction having the painting come to me rather than how I usually have to chase the photos that fit the images in my head.

I did turn one of the foals around and changed the background some.  I took out old trees and bad fences.

Three Foals in a Field

The painting turned out similar to how I felt seeing the beautiful horses in that setting at the time.  

San Luis Obispo is a nice place to visit.  If you've never been there here is one of the city's websites. 

http://www.sanluisobispocounty.com/

Thanks for reading.

PURCHASE 8x10 painting prints, holiday & birthday cards!>

I am helping to support a great animal rescue center with portions of my sales from my Etsy sales site.  I am giving 10% of all sales to this fantastic animal rescue center.

Forever Wild Exotic Animal Sanctuary
http://foreverwildexotics.org/

Visit my personal portfolio website:
http://www.LCurtin.com

Thank you for stopping by, hope to see you back soon.

Is Ambition Something You Can Catch?

I'm working so much right now it feels like tax season. The new routine is get up at 5:30 post an etsy listing on facebook, twitter, and pinterest. Exercise for an hour. Feed the cats. Get ready and go to the office. Work is split between taxes and clients, painting, promotional work, printing prints for sale and so on. I think I caught ambition.

I went to work for my mom when I was 22.  One of her staff had quit in February and Mom asked me to help and that's where I've been ever since.  My mom passed away in 2005 and I became the owner of Hess Income Tax. I love the office and my clients.  I didn't expect to stay there most of my adult life.  I'm a really good tax lady and I'm a really great artist.  I don't want to be a starving artist.  I want to be a successful artist. Am I too old to get ambition?  Is ambition for the young?

What if some of those closest to me don't have any interest in my ambition to succeed? What then? How do I overcome that? Anyone have any ideas?

Maybe ambition is not caring so much if it's the right time or if anyone supports me.  I've always heard ambition is wanting something so bad your willing to work hard for what you want. Watch me.

This is my office website. 
http://www.hessincometax.com/

PURCHASE 8x10 painting prints, holiday & birthday cards!

I am helping to support a great animal rescue center with portions of my sales from my Etsy sales site.  I am giving 10% of all sales to this fantastic animal rescue center.

Forever Wild Exotic Animal Sanctuary
http://foreverwildexotics.org/

Visit my personal portfolio website:

http://www.LCurtin.com

Thank you for stopping by, hope to see you back soon.

Going on

The most important painting tip I've learned over the years is "Keep Going."  I am telling myself to keep going a lot with this new painting I've started.  I wanted to paint something different, something I've never painted before.  I decided on a desert tortoise.  I found wonderful reference material.  I can see the finished painting in my head and I am must be growing as a artist because I have to keep telling myself to "Keep Going!"

I guess it's been awhile since I felt like a novice.  After the last painting I felt so accomplished even smug.  There was so much work and detail in "Cougar Ledge" and I never felt like I had to figure out how to paint something. Rocks were rocks and cats were cats and that's what I painted.

I will learn how to paint something new. I will figure out how to paint tortoise hide. I will not get mad at myself when painting doesn't come easy.  I will "Keep Going" again.

American Bison 

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PURCHASE 8x10 painting prints, holiday & birthday cards!

I am helping to support a great animal rescue center with portions of my sales from my Etsy sales site.  I am giving 10% of all sales to this fantastic animal rescue center.

Forever Wild Exotic Animal Sanctuary
http://foreverwildexotics.org/

Visit my personal portfolio website:
http://www.LCurtin.com

Thank you for stopping by, hope to see you back soon.

Obsessions

I love my yard. We moved into our house in January 2005. The previous owner John, was a true gardner, he loved his yard.  He planted plumeria and roses, perennials and annuals.  He cultivated orchids of all colors. Our neighbor, Oscar was a good friend of Johns and together they cross bred different plumeria for unusual colors and fragrance.

I started photographing the flowers in my yard the first spring we lived here and I can't stop. The trees are the same trees year after year and the roses the same colors but I am fascinated with them. I was just downloading some flower pictures to post here and tried to show them to my husband but he said he has seen so many he couldn't look at them.

I can't figure out my obsession with the flowers.  Is it the same obsession that keeps me painting beautiful places and colors?  Is it the perfection in nature, the pleasing fragrance, all the colors in the world?  Did you know that every color goes with green?

I could post photo after photo of the flowers in my yard but luckily I already post a couple hundred I like best on my etsy page and my website. Which, Dan has all finished now.  Please take a minute to look and see if you are just as flower crazy as I am.

Thanks for reading.

Please click the FOLLOW button above so I know you are out there. 

PURCHASE 8x10 painting prints, holiday & birthday cards!

I am helping to support a great animal rescue center with portions of my sales from my Etsy sales site.  I am giving 10% of all sales to this fantastic animal rescue center.

Forever Wild Exotic Animal Sanctuary
http://foreverwildexotics.org/

Visit my personal portfolio website:

http://www.LCurtin.com

Thank you for stopping by, hope to see you back soon.

Let's Splurge

It's Thursday painting class again.  Yay!  Today was treat day.  Joan brought homemade chocolate chip cookies, she loves to bake. The next door neighbor to the art gallery is a caterer and she brought us angel food cake and oatmeal cranberry cookies that were still warm from the oven. I've been on a strict diet since February and for the most part treats aren't included.  Today I splurged, two cookies, a piece of cake and a cranberry cookie.

It's nice to have a splurge day every now and then. I stick to diets, stick to work, stick to exercise.  I'm pretty sure all that sticking to it makes me a stick in the mud. I think it's time I have a real splurge day.  I'll have to think about what to do. Next week the gallery will be closed while Barbel visits family in Canada. Maybe I can figure out something to splurge on next Thursday besides work.

Yum

Please follow my blog. 

Please check out Barbel's website and if you are nearby Huntington Beach, drop by Thursday morning or better yet sign up to take a class with Barbel. 

http://barbelsartcenter.com/

Check out Joan's Blog, she has the most beautiful watercolors here plus a schedule of watercolor workshops. 

http://joanboryta.wordpress.com/

PURCHASE 8x10 painting prints, holiday & birthday cards!>

I am helping to support a great animal rescue center with portions of my sales from my Etsy sales site.  I am giving 10% of all sales to this fantastic animal rescue center.

Forever Wild Exotic Animal Sanctuary
http://foreverwildexotics.org/

Visit my personal portfolio website:

http://www.LCurtin.com

Thank you for stopping by, hope to see you back soon.

Losing Friends

My ADP rep Linda Pomier stopped by the office today with a trainee to give me a new stylus for my ipad, (very cool), and some information about new programs the company is promoting. The trainee, sorry I don't remember her name, asked me why I started painting wildlife.  I said, "I don't know?" Those were the first words out of my mouth. Now why wouldn't I have an answer to that?  What went through my mind when she asked was, "I like animals better than people".  I wasn't sure that was true so I gave the I don't know answer.

Soon after Linda left, Tommy the Bar guy came into my shop and told me he had the worst day of his life yesterday.  He started to cry. Last time he was like this it was Christmas and his Mom had passed away.  I was afraid this time it was his Dad, but when I asked he said no. I remembered his dog is old and he was worried about her. Sure enough Noodles the Poodle had to be put to sleep.  She was his friend for 21 years. He loved her as a best friend.

Meet Apricot Pie, she was someones friend for many years too. 

I don't have a problem with people.  I do quite well meeting with my clients during tax season. I love hearing about their lives since the last time I spoke with them.  Most of the people I meet with talk to me as a friend and I like it.  So why would I think I like animals better? So many of us bond with our pets. Sometimes our relationship with our pets outlast our people relationships. Everyone knows they don't judge and love us back unconditionally. We grieve when they die. I've had quite a few pets over the years domestic and exotic, cute and cold blooded, all interesting.  Maybe that's what it is, interesting and magnificent, beautiful and amazing.  I love animals, that's all I know.

Please click the FOLLOW button above so I know you are out there.

PURCHASE 8x10 painting prints, holiday & birthday cards!

I am helping to support a great animal rescue center with portions of my sales from my Etsy sales site.  I am giving 10% of all sales to this fantastic animal rescue center.

Forever Wild Exotic Animal Sanctuary
http://foreverwildexotics.org/

Visit my personal portfolio website:

http://www.LCurtin.com

Thank you for stopping by, hope to see you back soon.
 

Still excited

I'm still excited about Monday's radio blog show where I hope to keep my foot out of my mouth. But today I must do tax returns.  Monday is the tax deadline for many entities like Corporations and Partnership business.  So it's off to work I go.

Yesterday was Thursday painting class and I started a new painting.  I love blocking in the painting, deciding colors, using big brushes letting my creative side figure out what goes where.  Building up the painting after the block in requires much more concentration.

I did drop off the new painting at the photographers yesterday and I didn't hear anything about him being to busy at home to do the job.  Thank goodness.  And he thinks he can everything done for me on Tuesday.

So off to work.  I'll post an art blog soon.  Happy Friday.

Detail of "Spring in Bear Country"

Please click the FOLLOW button above so I know you are out there.  

PURCHASE 8x10 painting prints, holiday & birthday cards!

I am helping to support a great animal rescue center with portions of my sales from my Etsy sales site.  I am giving 10% of all sales to this fantastic animal rescue center.

Forever Wild Exotic Animal Sanctuary

http://foreverwildexotics.org/

Visit my personal portfolio website:

http://www.LCurtin.com

Thank you for stopping by, hope to see you back soon.

Perfect Christmas Lunch

Today was our once a year painting class Christmas Lunch. What a day!  We went to the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach and spent 2 wonderful hours eating designer food and talking. A bit expensive for lunch but what a nice view and it's only once a year. Most of us in class have been together for 20 years. I should find one of the really old pictures of Christmas lunch and see how much we've changed. Maybe not. Bee is 99 now and still drives to class and lunch today. I followed her to the club today and I had to drive 60 down Pacific Coast Highway to keep up with her. I was afraid I might get a ticket. I was thinking she probably doesn't care if she gets a ticket. How many of us will live to see 99 Christmases.

The decorators at the club really go all out with the holiday decorations. Although they decorate the same every year. Now I'm in the mood to get my tree up at home and decorate. I think I'll break out all my old Hallmark decorations this year. I have a lot of moveable ornaments that plug into the lights on the tree. It's been 10 years at least since I've had them on the tree. There is one where kids slide down the banister, Santa in a workshop, reindeer flying through the sky and so many more. Maybe it will be nice to have a nostalgic Christmas this year.

Bee got cut off the side of this picture, but you get the idea.

Check out the Balboa Bay Club http://www.balboabayclub.com/ What a beautiful place.

It's located in Newport Beach California where they have a spectacular boat parade each year
http://www.visitnewportbeach.com/things-to-do/holidaylights/  This event will really get you in the Christmas mood if you aren't already.

Really should include Hallmark, they are the Christmas people.

http://www.hallmark.com/christmas/ideas/

Please come to the Tustin Holiday Boutique this weekend December 7th and 8th 2012.

http://www.visitnewportbeach.com/things-to-do/holidaylights/

Thanks for reading

PURCHASE 8x10 painting prints, holiday & birthday cards!

I am helping to support a great animal rescue center with portions of my sales from my Etsy sales site.  I am giving 10% of all sales to this fantastic animal rescue center.

Forever Wild Exotic Animal Sanctuary

http://foreverwildexotics.org/

Visit my personal portfolio website.

http://www.LCurtin.com

Thank you for stopping by, hope to see you back soon.

Keeping my chin up

I made a decision a couple of weeks ago to not give away my power to anyone anymore. Which to me means staying up at night worrying about the things people do.  I'm talking about people I know, close to me, not people I read about and wonder how the heck they could be so horrible.  I'd wake up in the night and think about people that were probably at the time, sleeping peacefully with no idea I was letting them keep me up.

So I made this decision.  If I wake up at night I have the power to not think about people and things and go back to sleep. After making this decision, it worked. I'm sleeping when I should.  I applied the same principle to my waking life.  Quit worrying about what others are doing in the day and tap into that new ambition of mine and work on making art.

Boy am I tired.  Do you know how hard it is to be up and in charge of life?  It's exhausting.  I have to find a medium spot to be, at least part of the time.

This small mental shift has led to hope. Now I'm thinking, I can do this.  I have talent and a hard working staff and we are having a great time making the what if a reality.

I don't know if I can take how happy I sound.  Really.

Remember, anyone local to Tustin California please come to the Holiday Boutique December 7 and 8. 2012
Here is the flyer.

http://www.businessallianceoc.net/?page_id=369

My very kind brother David Hess is the owner of "The Bookman" in Orange California. He can get you any book you want.  Check out "The Bookman" website.
http://orange.ebookman.com/index.shtml

Thanks for reading

PURCHASE 8x10 painting prints, holiday & birthday cards in the shop.

I am helping to support a great animal rescue center with portions of my sales from my Etsy sales site.  I am giving 10% of all sales to this fantastic animal rescue center.

Forever Wild Exotic Animal Sanctuary

http://foreverwildexotics.org/

My personal Site

http://www.LCurtin.com

Thank you for stopping by, hope to see you back soon.