30 Paintings in 30 days

Jan. 1, 2014 I am starting day one of Leslie Saeta's  30 Paintings in 30 Days challenge!  I would suggest you visit her blog to see everyone's work posted daily.  This is a first for me, but I know people in this challenge from as far away as CA and WI.  Living in MO gives me that CENTRAL location to know lots of artist!  So starting tomorrow, between football and food, I will be painting numero uno.

Andrea modeling

  I guess I would say we were lucky this evening when the model scheduled to come didn't show up.  Andrea offered to model!  Yeah!  Sometimes the model is just so beautiful, they are difficult to paint. 

The beginning of my work.

We had a couple of painters that I did not catch their  names.  

Andrea, caught in a break!  :)

I can't stand the suspense until Adam paints her eyes.  He is so patient!  

Adam's unfinished painting of Andrea.

My painting, nearly finished.

Dec. 19 at Clague's Studio

It was another splendid evening in the Clague Studio with a model.  This will be our last night before we take a week off for Christmas.

Our model

Andrea Clague and Adam Clague.  

Andrea Clague

Our guest, Martin Jolley, joined us from Salida, CO for an evening of painting.

Adam

Andrea's charcoal drawing.  Break time for the model!

Adam

Andrea

Cathy Kline

8 x 10 oil on canvas.  This painting is for sale.

I am BLESSED

This is going to be a rather long post, and I hope you read the entire page.  The painting above is by Andrea Orr Clague.  I mentioned this painting about 2 blogs prior to this one.  The name of the painting is "Break time".  For months I watched the progress of this painting week to week as Andrea worked on it.  From the moment I saw it I was mezmorized by it's beauty.  It is hard to explain how a work of art captures you.  I dreamed of having it in my home.

Late yesterday afternoon we had a knock on our door.  My son answered the door and accepted a box from UPS.  I asked who it was for, and he simply said, its from the 'Legacy Gallery'.  My heart began to pound.  I knew that was where the painting was.  I had just asked Andrea Thursday evening if it had sold.  She gently said yes, she was notified yesterday.  My heart sank a little, but I knew whoever purchased it was going to love it as much as I did.  So I was in a 'meltdown' with the far fetched hope the painting was in that box.  I began to cry, as Oprah describes it, the ugly cry.  Kind of out of the world cry.  As I opened the box, I would see the back of a painting and an envelope.  It had a precious note from the Legacy Gallery, that an anonymous person has sent it as a gift to me.

I had talked a lot about this painting to my husband over the weeks of watching Andreas progress on it, so I suspected he purchased it for me as a surprise. But no, he did not.  He commented 'If you bought it for yourself, you are sure putting on a good act that you didn't!'  Then I knew he was serious, and didn't get it for me.  For those of you who know me, I am a woman who reads spoilers BEFORE I watch a movie to avoid surprises.  So to receive this gift was not even something I could imagine.  I thought I had died and gone to heaven.

When I woke this morning I went in to check the wall to make sure I hadn't been in a dream, and I was still on this earth.  It was still on the wall.   I have someone that brought this joy in to my life that gave me a gift of art that I will cherish forever!  I am BLESSED.  From the bottom of my heart, I thank you.

Merry Christmas.  There are Angels walking among us.
Hebrews 13:2 “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”