"Wisdom"
18" x 36"
Acrylic on stretched canvas
©teresa kogut

The original painting features a quote in the center of the image: "Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom" by Thomas Jefferson. I did some photoshop "magic" and made a whole new painting!!! Gotta love photoshop.......

oh what to do......

I still have not found the owners of this sweet 4 month old puppy. I am guessing at her age, but she is loosing her puppy teeth and found out via the internet that puppies loose their teeth at approx 4 months of age. While searching for the owners, I have fallen in love with her. She is very sweet, smart, funny and brings so much joy and playfulness to our home. I just can't imagine that the owners aren't missing her and frantically looking for her. If they are.......I wish they'd hurry up because every day she lives with us, we grow more and more attached.

Most people we talk to about this situation say "just keep her". Those of you who know me know we already have two dogs.....they are big and hairy......they shed.....they can be expensive between the groomers and vet bills........need I say more. It's not that simple. The biggest problem is vacations. We take our dogs to Missouri and up north and stay with family. They are generous enough to let us bring Buster and Daisy....how can we ask to bring a third dog? Any other time we are out of town, my parents take care of our pets......the list goes on. My heart tells me "keep her, it will all work out" and my head says "what are you thinking...are you insane?"

OH NO! Ryan is a teenager!!!!

Ryan's birthday (at least I hope so) was a blast! It started with cupcakes at school with his classmates. After school I picked him and 4 friends up and took them to Rollhaven for a few hours of skating, laser tag and arcade games. (and really loud music)

Then to our house for a sleepover full of pizza, video games, ping pong, air hockey, Foosball, cake & ice cream. (Oh and see that jar of candy......let's just say they were on a sugar high :)

What kind of parent gets their child trick candles that re-light themselves over and over??? ME!! It was so funny! He blew and blew and they would re-light. LOL! Anyway.....I'm pretty sure Ryan's 13th birthday was fun for him and his friends and that's all a Mom could ask for. But omg....he is a teen now!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY SWEET BOY, WE LOVE YOU!!!!

Harmony

"HARMONY"
22" x 28" x 1.5" acrylic on stretched canvas
©teresa kogut

"HARMONY" (detail)

LOVE this one! But boy did it give me fits! I used a crackle finish that nearly ruined this painting. LeFranc & Bourgeois 3 step crackle finish is what I used....I have used it before and liked the results but those paintings were on wood. Not sure if it was because this painting is on canvas or not but I will NEVER do that again.

First I applied the aging varnish....which I love because it "yellows" the colors making them warmer. After 3 hours I applied the crackle varnish, then was done for the day. The next morning I couldn't wait to get to the studio to see how it crackled but instead was shocked and very disappointed. The crackled varnish had flaked and was "milky" dulling all the colors. I wasn't sure what to do so I tried sanding it off.....that got some of it off but if I sanded too much I could possibly sand some paint off in the process. I read in the directions that water would take off the crackle....so after much scrubbing, I got most of it off........now what??? I wasn't sure where to go from here. Finally I decided just to put another coat of aging varnish over top and call it good. That worked but it was very glossy....not my style.

I was petrified to put anything over top of the varnish but I couldn't leave it like it was so I took a leap of faith and applied a matte varnish over top. It was a different brand name so I wasn't sure if they would have a reaction (I have had varnish get gummy before). Anyway...all it well. I love the matte finish, the colors are still vibrant and some of the crackle shows on the lettering. Live and learn, right?

Snow Fun....

The past couple of weeks we have been getting 1 to 2 inches of snow every couple of days. It keeps a fresh bright white layer on top that sparkles in the sunshine.

New wips

"Live in Harmony"
work in progress
22" x 28" x 1.5" stretched canvas
©teresa kogut

I am lovin' the colors in this one...so fresh! Putting the finishing touches on the it then crackle!

"Folk Deer"
24" x 36" x 1.5" stretched canvas
©teresa kogut

Love the earthy colors of this painting. I also did something new for me....I used molding paste in the border details to give it texture. Wow...it was time consuming to do this but I love the raised look on the border. I will post a full picture of this one soon :)


UPDATE on found puppy......
the boys and I went door to door in our neighborhood with fliers of the puppy we found but nobody has ever seen her before. So today we are hanging fliers at local businesses. I have such mixed feelings.......we do not need another dog....two is plenty, however, lil' precious is so lovable and has the sweetest disposition....... if we do find the owners we will be happy for them, but heartbroken because we will miss her.

I wouldn't be surprise if someone just dropped her off in the neighborhood because they couldn't taken care of her anymore. At our previous home we had a Dalmatian (found the owners of that one) another dog (it was nice to us but trying to bite anyone that came to our house), two black kittens, a rooster (yes, a rooster) and a baby possum (that thought out dog was it's mother and kept trying to nurse). We are like a magnet for lost animals.........why us??

a precious lil' visitor

On the way to the store yesterday, Kyle and I found this lil' baby in the road near our house. We just had to help her so we stopped and she came right to us. We put her in the car with us and went to three nearby houses. None of the residents had ever seen her before. Kyle and I had an appointment to keep so we decided to take her home and put her in the garage so she would be safe until we returned. When we got home, I went to the studio to make fliers to pass around the neighborhood. She ended up staying the night with us because it was too dark/late to go door to door...and of course, we have all fallen in love with her. Buster and Daisy aren't as crazy about her as we are. After school today the boys will take the fliers around the neighborhood. I hope some poor child wasn't in distress crying all night because their puppy was lost. It breaks my heart to think of that.......because it happened to me years ago before Kevin and I had the boys. However, the reunion will be sweet for whomever the owners are.

wip

"FOLK DEER"
24" x 36" acrylic on stretched canvas
©teresa kogut

I am lovin the way this one is coming together! Finishing it today!!! Stay tuned.....

do you believe in luck?

"Diligence"
16" x 16" x 1.5" acrylic on stretched canvas
©teresa kogut

......I don't. I believe that we create our future. First by our thoughts, then by taking action and finally with diligence we make things happen. "Some people have all the luck"....I'm sure you've heard that before or may have even thought that about a particular person. On the contrary...."things" don't just fall into one's lap. Someone may seem lucky but believe me, they have worked for it and it starts with right thinking.

sharin'

Words of Wisdom for the New Year....

"Be a Good One"

24" x 13" x .5" acrylic on antique board

©teresa kogut

It's going to be amazing.....

I hope you are as excited about 2011 as I am. This year is going to be a great one!!! I have big plans for my business (which I started in 2010 but will flourish this year). I have also made up my mind to make some personal changes as well.......things that will help me be a better wife, mother, daughter and friend.

I read on Danita's blog this morning "it's the perfect time to get rid of the things that have been accumulating during all the months that passed, to make space for new things to come to our lives".....I love this! I, too, need to do some re-organizing and "evacuating" in order to make room for new.

Whatever your plans for the new year, I hope they all come true......just remember, it all starts with YOU! Wishing you all a happy, healthy, prosperous 2011!

PEACE