mmmm.....fall.

i am painting away, like never before, in preparation for my art show in 9 days...gulp....so i did not think i would be posting ......but i just had to share these gorgeous shots i took yesterday.
i took a break from the studio and hiked this 3 mile trail in a nearby park.....and boy, am i glad i did!
ENJOY.

did i "enhance" some of these shots in photoshop?? why, yes i did.

are some of these shots out of focus?? why, yes they are....it is fun to purposely shoot out of focus, to really see the colors.

were these scenes as pretty in real life??

EVEN BETTER.

nature amazes me.

i am so glad i took the time for this hike, as today it has been raining and i fear most of these pretty leaves have been fluttering to the ground.

i hope you can take "the time" too!

o.k. back to the studio for me!

erin

xxoo

p.s. a special thanks to my darling husband.... who has been cooking all the meals.... and loves me even though, i have been wearing old paint covered shirts, sweat pants and yesterdays make-up....i think i have been brushing my teeth, but i might have forgotten?

love you, babe!

crows and spiders...

hi everyone! just popping in here..... with some pics i took around the house (mostly in my dining room).....thought i'd better share some halloweenie shots before it was too late.

this is about as scary as i get when it comes to halloweenie decor......

some black crows...

and spiders under glass....there is a problem with the spiders that i made......can you guess what it is??

this is not halloweenie at all......but the morning light was so purty, hitting the sand dollars that i collected a couple of weeks ago at the beach.

yes folks, that is a picture of ME (in the plastic wig, early "Toddlers and Tiaras") and my little brother.....circa ??? ahem.

our fall leaves are peaking right now and the afternoon light was hitting these beautiful leaves in my backyard....in a such a magical way......this shot is for my two special bloggy friends ( Z and Becca) who live in the desert of las vegas...and perhaps don't get to see the magic of the leaf change like i do.

THANK YOU so very much for all of your visits and comments and cyber love and support...y'all are the BEST....you REALLY are......i am working very hard on my art right now....the show is in two short weeks!! GULP.......so although i have been visiting your lovely blogs, i am not taking the time to comment, as all of my energy i am putting towards this thing called ART.

i hope you understand.

love,

erin

p.s. oops.... i accidentally made the sculpy spiders (under the dining room cloche) with 6 legs instead of the EIGHT legs that spiders have! duh.....i guess they are ants then?? oh well.

white chenille punkins...

this weekend at the nashville flea market, i was absotootly tickled, to find these white chenille punkins!!

i love old chenille blankets and have been collecting them for years, especially the white ones....there is just something about the nostalgic look of these blankets that has spoken to me for a very long time.....they conjur up feelings of sweet grandmotherly hugs.
you may remember these orange chenille punkins that i shared last year....the same sweet unassuming lady at the flea made these too.

i bought them from her six years ago...the very first year she started selling them....i still love them and have them displayed in my kitchen......

but these white ones are my new faves!!

cute!!

mm

mm

i have been painting away in my studio and i am just thrilled and also relieved....... my long time bestie girlfriend, ANNA (i have known her for 30 years), is coming down from chicago to help me with my art show!!! she is an artist AND knows the art biz AND has been a producer on several independant films AND is one of the smartest and prettiest lady i know.....i feel like a weight has been lifted as she will take care of things like no other...... having her support and love and guiding hand means the world to me.....not to mention how much fun and tinkly giggles we will have together.

with the loving support of my family, my friends and my god, all of the pieces are fitting together.

this is my time.

can you stand some color?

as my beachy freckles start to fade, so soon will our summery flowers.... with the impending first frost just around the corner...i went about snapping pictures of some of my gardens......before it is too late....
the pineapple sage is just peaking now, after waiting all season to bloom...the gorgeous tennessee hills in the background are showing their colors...sorry no blue sky this day, but rain is ALWAYS welcome.

the autumnal leaves are just screaming, "look at me, look at me...i'll soon be a memory......and a big pile to be raked and removed......enjoy me while you can!"

it is good to take pictures, yunno for the record, so as to not repeat this years mistakes....clearly seen here, is the damage the damn deer (yes, that is what i usually call them) have done to the sun coleus......i won't plant that next year, at this snack bar....a pretty snack bar, none the less.

the dragon wing begonia performed beautifully, despite the extreme heat and humidity.

sweet basil gone to seed....thanks for all the caprese salads.

the lantana look great now, but mid-summer were not faring well.

the new dawn rose putting on its last show.

"look at me".

these twin pots fared nicely with evergreens and ivy and vinca...never mind the puny petunias.

and the purple setcretia comes back every year and makes a pretty filler....i love how it has mingled with the fragrant lantana.

and here is my hubby doing some raking (he traded his beach toys in, for yard tools, poor guy).

the FIRST of the raking that is, as this is just the beginning, of the

FALLing

of the

leaves.

mnn

i turned the heat on for the first time today and have a chicken in the crock pot...it may be a soup night! o.k now i need to get back to my sudio to start acting like an artist....i have been going around telling people that i am going to do my very first art show in a few weeks....as if, by VERBALIZING it, will make it true?!?! am i really doing this?

mmm

mmm

it is kind of freaking me out.

a smidgen.