“Sarah In The Flower Field” A New Painting Completed

Here is my newest addition to my soft pastel Amish Collection titled “Sarah in the Flower Field”.

In this painting, this young Amish girl is enjoying a peaceful moment gathering flowers while walking through a field of daisies.

After painting this piece, I had found that the daisy flower symbolizes innocence and purity, and also joy and cheerfulness. I believe this detail only adds to the beauty of the art itself. Also, Sarah’s serene look is captivating, and provides an overall sense of calm to the piece.

I believe this print would make a great gift for anyone that enjoys visiting Amish Country or for someone who collects amish themed items. Also, a great piece for someone that likes art that calms the soul. She is now on my Etsy site here : https://www.etsy.com/listing/1429005176/amish-print-of-pastel-painting-sarah

I hope you like her. Enjoy!

Three Amish Paintings I am Working on Now

Hello! I am so excited to share these 3 paintings with you that I have started. I can’t wait to complete them!

The amish girl in the barn is almost completed as of now, and I will share in the next 2 days. The other 2 are an Amish girl with a bird on her shoulder, and the other one is walking through a flower field or something. I haven’t decided yet, and this is what makes this so much fun…and challenging too!

I have also started doing some watercolor animals, but one thing I do not like is how the painting with all the white background, has to always be lightened or removed in some way as it comes out muddy or dingy in photos when you try to reproduce. But, alas I will figure that out too!

But here they are and I will try to hurry and get the other two done in a decent amount of time. Thank you!

While I’m Waiting to Get Back to My Drawing Board

Hello and Merry Christmas..Happy Holidays…Happy New Year!!!

I had promised a post back that I would be working on my Mary and Laura Ingalls painting, when a creative block hit me along with “Christmas Overload” and I haven’t been at my desk for awhile. The painting is a little farther ahead than you see in the previous post, but it’s still sitting on my desk and I feel so bad it’s not finished. I will be back at it though in a day or so, as my Etsy Shop opens back up as well. Hopefully this means more fresh ideas and better paintings…it usually does! So…I’m hopeful.

Anyway, while I wait for that to happen, I will show you what I have worked on lately. I had taken a couple of my paintings and turned them into Christmas cards this year, and I did it all on Ribbet..which I love! It is a free online photo editing site which is simpler to use and learn than photoshop. I could never seem to find the time needed to learn all about photoshop, I just couldn’t get it down. Then I came across Ribbet and loved how easy it was to use and it had just enough editing techniques I would need for my work. I use the premium version now, which offers more, and I think its worth it for me.

Sooooo, while I was having my creative block, I figured I would just try playing around with paintings already created and change them up a bit with Ribbet and get back into creative mode while I was doing it…and it worked!

For example: I created this angel painting awhile back and wanted to add to this image to make it comforting to someone who lost someone dear to them. A special card they might be able to carry with them and feel better when they just read it or looked at it. Finding a nice, comforting text about angels, I personalized it by adding the loved one’s name and the date when they passed, then making the card small enough to keep it in a wallet or purse. A little prayer card of sorts. I had given a card like this to a friend who just recently lost someone close to her, and I believe it helped her. She messaged me and was very comforted by the image and the saying, so I was happy.

Then again, I also made a Christmas card out of the same Angel image, creating it for my religious friends and relatives, and this also worked out well.

There is a bird painting I have created which I also changed up by adding some extra snow effects to with text, which also became a Christmas card this year. Of course, it always helps adding a touch of glitter to the cards, too!

So, if you are an artist and are having a dry spell, just try playing around with images you have already created, change them up a bit and share to someone special. It gets the creative juices flowing again and makes people happy all at the same time. It’s a win win!

Hope you enjoyed this post and I will try and have that Laura and Mary Ingalls painting done soon! Stay Safe!

Another Amish Painting Completed

Again, I have completed yet another amish themed painting. In this painting, a young, Amish woman is taking in the beauty of the warm,sunset glow of the skies at the end of a long, summer’s day. One can almost hear the crickets chirping and cicadas still singing their songs before the sky turns dark here. The soft sounds and warm breeze just bring peace to the soul. This woman’s face reflects this.

I love the peaceful feeling I get when I am painting these scenes. I never tire of it. I hope you like this one too! Can’t wait to do another! :)))

I love the soft, orangey glow reflecting off her cap and dress

New Amish Painting “Little One” Completed

Just wanted to share my newest Amish themed pastel painting, “Little One”. In this newest art piece, this young, Amish girl just finished her chores and is enjoying a peaceful moment with the new addition to the family, a little guinea pig. The serene look on the Amish girl’s face, added with the late afternoon glow of the background, I believe brings this art piece together. Just a beautiful, serene piece of artwork.

This print would make a great gift for anyone that enjoys visiting Amish Country or for someone who collects amish themed items. Also, a great piece for someone that likes art that calms the soul. I am really happy with the way this turned out. I hope you like her!

For anyone that may be interested, I just added her to my Etsy shop. Thank you for enjoying my art! Be back with another piece soon!

Little One

Back From Vacation and Ready With More Amish Paintings

Hello! It’s been awhile but I’m back from vacation after a couple of weeks and have 3 new paintings to share (1 completed, 2 in the works) with you.

Again we visited Amish Country in Lancaster, Pa, and I couldn’t wait to get back home and try to finish all 3 of these paintings! I will soon!

I’ve finished a new Amish painting titled, “James, Amish Innocence” and I just loved the way this one came out. This one is already on my Etsy Shop!

“James” is an art piece which seems to be just a simple portrait of an Amish boy in his black hat and vest, but really, it is so much more than that. James innocence here shines through from his curious glance and quiet demeanor, to his long eyelashes and rosy cheeks. Such a simple but beautiful portrait. Great for anyone that loves to collect amish artworks or likes to visit Amish Country.

Then I have a little Amish girl holding a guinea pig, which I haven’t titled as of yet. I really like the glow from the sun around her. It was a challenge to try and pull that off as I have never done a painting with a “glow” effect before, but always wanted to. I also like the way she is looking down at the small animal here. I’m almost done with this one, when I am finished with the guinea pig the painting will be complete, then I will share this one as soon as I can.

The last painting is a nice one and I can’t wait to finish this one, also. This painting I actually took from a picture of my daughter sitting under a gazebo in the sunset in Pennsylvania, another “glow effect” painting. I just added a cap and amish dress and she looks like an amish girl taking a rest at the end of a hard working day. I need a title for this painting also. Well, it’s back to the drawing board for now! I will post these as soon as I can! Enjoy!

James

Amish Girl With Guinea Pig
Amish Girl Resting

Amish Painting “A Time To Rest” Completed

Hello! I finally finished my painting “A Time To Rest” , an amish painting to add to the many I have already completed. I just enjoy painting these so much, as it brings the stress level down!

This painting with the amish girl and her horse, I had been wanting to do for awhile now. I wanted to depict the buggy horse and the amish girl, just resting together and enjoying the moment. Work will always be there, but for now, it’s resting time. Something we all need to do for ourselves. I think this painting evokes a sense of calm. I hope you like the painting.

I also added an update on the amish girl looking out over the misty morning. I fixed some things I wasn’t happy with in the painting and fixed it up a bit and I also changed the name to “Mary and The Misty Morning”. I just like to name my subjects sometimes as it makes it more personal, I feel.

So, I have one more on the drawing board I have yet to finish and it’s the amish boy a couple of posts down, and I can’t wait. I will update you as soon as I have more on him. Thanks for coming by!

“A Time To Rest”
“Mary and the Misty Morning”

Amish Paintings Update

Hello again and hope you all are well.It’s been good here so far…I just want Spring NOW!

Anyway, I just wanted to show you and update you on the last paintings I showed you that were in the works, and a couple of other things I have done besides.

So I did finish the Amish Girl in the doorway overlooking her farm on a beautiful, summer morning. When we have gone to Lancaster, Pa. in the summer, on the most humid of days, the early mornings always greet you with this mist and fog that looks a bright white and mutes the colors of the landscape. It’s quiet as well as beautiful ,and I wanted to capture that in this painting. She looks like she is just quietly observing, and that’s just like me! Of course I titled this, “Misty Morning”. I hope you like her. This painting seems peaceful and somewhat calming.

The Amish girl in the barn with the horse is “almost” completed, Just a little more to go. Then I have to title her. I put up some of the stages to this painting. I really like her gentle face and the way the horse is coming out.

I still have the Amish Boy with the straw hat, the same as what you previously saw. I haven’t decided what he is doing just ye, and I keep researching for ideas. I do hope to have him started when I am done with the Girl in the barn.

I am also sharing here a bird that I just wanted to try in watercolor, because my daughter loves Birds, and I wanted to surprise her. I want to do more now, of course!

And lastly I have a hummingbird…who doesn’t love hummingbirds. I wanted it to be as colorful and bright as I could get him, then added a cute, little quote.

Well, that’s it for now. I will put up the ones that need finishing as soon as I am able. Enjoy!

Misty Morning
Girl With Horse Just started
Still Working On It
Almost There!
Little Bird Watercolor
The HummingBird

New Amish Paintings In The Works

Hello again! I’m so excited to share these 3 new amish paintings with you today. I haven’t painted amish children in awhile, and so when I had this spurt of inspiration, these 3 came to mind.

They are all sketched out with the faces partly done, which I love to do to get me motivated. I still have to think of backgrounds, and colors (so they work together), to make a beautiful painting in the end…hopefully. It’s all step by step…eyes…to go with dress color…to go with background color, etc. What will be in the background…not sure yet…just keep going…little bit at a time. It would be nice to paint a painting all in two hours or so and have it completed, but it doesn’t ever work out that way. But here within lies the challenge, to bring it to a satisfying completion. The journey is the fun part in the creating of an inspirational piece. To take the viewer away..in a sense. That’s always the ultimate goal.

I will come back and show you the pieces further along soon, maybe even completed…who knows. I will try to show you something here in a week.

Thank you for your interest and be back soon! Take care. Prayers for Ukraine! Cheryl

Amish Boy
Amish Girl In Doorway
Amish Girl In Barn With Horse

Another Amish Painting In The Works

I’ve been busy getting started on all the paintings I posted in my last post, and now Christmas has taken over my thoughts and time. I haven’t been able to sit at my desk for more than an hour at a time, if that! But I am determined to finish, and that’s why I put some color down on the paper just to get me excited ….to get started!

As I was trying to get those going, another idea for a painting jumped out at me, and so I sketched it. It’s another start. This one I really am excited about, and it’s an amish girl and her brother sitting in a barn (not sure yet) and the boy will be holding a puppy on his lap. It looks like the girl is standing by and watching over the pair, just to make sure they are okay. Not even sure what the title is of yet, but I am sure that will come during painting. I just had to share it, even though you can barely see it. It’s a very rough, light sketch. I hope you can see what I am seeing in this sketch. I cannot wait! Maybe after Christmas I should have more to show you all. Thanks for checking in. Happy Holidays!