I'M SO GLAD IT'S SPRING...

...and boy, am I glad! The daffodils are blooming, the tulips aren't far behind, and all of our feathered friends are finding their way back to our bird feeders after their winter vacation in sunnier climes....

"I'm So Glad It's Spring" is the title of this watercolor painting of a White-Crowned Sparrow , and I'm happy to report that the painting is currently winging its way to its new home Missoula, Montana, having just sold yesterday at Lawrence Gallery Sheridan (thank you Margot!). To celebrate, there will be extra suet for all this week, maybe the fancy peanut delight kind...

Thanks for visiting!


"I'm So Glad It's Spring" is also available as a limited edition print at my Etsy Shop.

Each print is personally signed and numbered by me, and is printed on Epson 100 percent cotton rag acid-free art paper with archival quality inks using a "giclee" (ink-jet) process. The image itself measures 9-1/2" x 12-1/2" and is matted in white, ready to frame in a standard 16" x 20" frame. The edition is limited to 200 prints.

BIRD BRAIN

Illustration Friday
(theme:"subtract" )







Abercrombie is fairly certain that he saw FOUR birds on the wire just minutes ago...








This original ACEO pen/ink with watercolor illustration is currently for sale at my Etsy shop:
BIRD BRAIN ACEO


"Bird Brain" is also available on gifware and t-shirts at my CafePress Shop:
www.cafepress.com/SusanFaye

Thanks for visiting!

Illustation Friday: Legendary

For at least 700 years, the legendary Havasupai Native Americans have lived along the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.

Imagine generation after generation telling and re-telling their fireside legends about Raven and Bear.

The Havasupai call themselves the “people of the blue-green water”. This raven is halfway down the trail that goes to the canyon floor, and if you look closely, you can catch a glimpse of the blue-green glint of the mighty and timeless river below...

Thanks for visiting!

This Grand Canyon Raven image is available on clothing and gifts at my Cafepress Shop: www.cafepress.com/SusanFayeNature

Illustration Friday is a wonderful website that presents a different theme each week, then encourages illustrators to submit an illustration about that theme.

IF: Intricate

My entry for Illustration Friday is a watercolor study of a little song sparrow that I painted last year.

I love the INTRICATE pattern of banding that he had on this throat and chest...it was a fun challenge to paint. He had a favorite fence post and would appear every late afternoon and serenade us with his beautiful song after eating his fill of seeds spilled on the ground by the feeder birds.

I just put this painting up for sale in my Etsy Shop:

Song Sparrow Watercolor

Illustration Friday is a wonderful website that presents a different theme each week, then encourages illustrators to submit an illustration about that theme.

Enjoy!

Let Your Dreams Take Wing

"Breezy" is this week's theme for Illustration Friday. My entry is my watercolor of a hawk dancing on the wind. We have a wonderful array of hawks, eagles and vultures in the Willamette Valley and Coastal Hills of Oregon, and I always find inspiration when I see one of these splendid birds floating through the sky.

This image is available on my line of Mother Nature giftware at my Cafepress shop: Susan Faye For Nature Lovers

Illustration Friday is a wonderful website that presents a different theme each week, then encourages illustrators to submit an illustration about that theme.

Thanks for visiting!

A Tale of Two Rabbits

I'm happy to announce that both of these rabbits have recently found new homes, thanks to the beautiful and talented Margot Cole, super Sales Consultant at Lawrence Gallery Sheridan, and a wonderful artist herself.

The jackrabbit was one of many that Dave and I spotted on one of the dusty back roads of Anza Borrego State Park in the California Desert, several springs ago. The cottontail was an inhabitant of Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Gardens in Claremont, California, caught munching on a grape leaf one bright morning....


Both have made their way to the Great Pacific Northwest, where they now reside as watercolor paintings in the private collection of a Portland couple. Like me, hopefully these Southwest bunnies will get used to a little less sunshine and thoroughly enjoy their new home.

To see my current collection of paintings at the Lawrence Gallery, please click here: Susan Faye at Lawrence Gallery

Thanks for visiting!

Illustration Friday: Celebrate!

I've just learned about a wonderful artist participation site called "Illustration Friday". Each week, on Friday, they post a topic and give artists a chance to interpret that theme in an illustration.

This week's theme is Celebrate, so I'm throwing my (party) hat into the ring!

In the mean time, if you like this illustration of a Cat Lady and her feline fella, you'll find plenty more at my daily blog: www.365catladies.blogspot.com. I'm always looking for great cat lady stories to include, so if you have one, let me know in the comments section of either of my blogs.

Thanks for visiting!

Count Your Blessings And Your Birds

It's that time again folks--

The Great Backyard Bird Count begins across North America on Friday, February 13th. It's simple and it's fun. It spans four days, but you can participate for as little as 30 minutes during one day of your choice.

For more information, visit the wonderful interactive site: Great Backyard Bird Count

These two paintings feature goldfinch pairs that are regular visitors to our feeders in the spring and summer--haven't seen any of these pretty little chirpers yet this year but Dave spotted a gorgeous varied thrush a few days ago, along with the juncos and chickadees...

I'll be counting birds most of the weekend, but I'll also be demonstrating watercolor painting techniques at
Lawrence Gallery Sheridan
in Oregon on Sunday, Feb. 15, from 1 to 4-ish p.m. in the gallery's Wine Shop.

Both of these watercolor paintings that are part of the exhibit which includes about a dozen more nature studies in watercolor. To see the whole collection, visit this link:

Watercolors at Lawrence Gallery

Thanks for visiting!

The Winter Blues...and Greens, and Pinks, and...

Got the Winter Blues? Feet dragging as you head out the door into the blustery cold and gray day? I've put a little art collection together that will hopefully put a little Spring in your step...

This watercolor painting is called "Joy Illuminated" and it is a visual description of the joy I felt on a spring day walking through a luminescent tulip field with a riotous display of glowing blossoms in every color.

The entire collection can be viewed in the Wine Shop at the Lawrence Gallery, 19700 SW Hwy 18, halfway between McMinnville and Sheridan in Oregon,

OR click on this link:
Susan Faye at the Lawrence Gallery

Thanks for visiting! I'd love to hear your feedback in the Comments section below...

Featured Art : "DEW-KISSED"

I'm pleased to announce that my fine art watercolor paintings are now represented by Lawrence Gallery, Oregon. This painting, entitled "Dew-Kissed" is included in the current collection.

The painting was inspired by a trip last fall to the Portland International Rose Test Garden, where hundreds of different rose specimens were still in their full glory.

If you would like to see more of my artwork that is currently exhibited at the gallery, click on this link: Susan Faye at the Lawrence Gallery

To find out more about this beautiful rose garden (admission is free!) visit Portland Rose Garden.

Thanks for visiting!

LET IT SNOW!

It's SNOWING! The Great Pacific Northwest has been blanketed in a beautiful layer of fluffy white snow; children are sledding down the hill near Lamson Park, and the rest of us are staying warm and cozy inside.

To celebrate the fast approaching Winter Solstice, I have designed six new "LET IT SNOW DESIGNS", featuring Cat Ladies and their Feline Friends, snuggled up in their winter coats

The original artwork is in the form of miniature watercolor paintings in the ACEO (art trading cards) format. These are currently for sale at www.SusanFaye.Etsy.com.

You'll also find these designs on a variety of t-shirts, mugs, tote bags, note cards, and more at www.CafePress.com/SusanFaye.

Enjoy your Winter Wonderland, wherever you might be. Thanks for visiting!

PEACE ON EARTH

A special "wish upon a star" for you and your loved ones during this holiday season and during the coming year: beautiful, shining moments of peace when you need them the most. Moments of quiet solitude, reflection, inspiration, fulfillment, joy, enlightenment, sharing, illumination...all of these are components of peace and I believe they can be quite contagious.

Not long ago Dave and I saw a roadside sign that said "If you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours". It was hopelessly hokey, but we couldn't help ourselves: we instantly looked at each other, smiled, and then burst out laughing at how beautifully effective that sign had been.

Thank you to all of my wonderful customers and friends, old and new, for giving me the opportunity to share my artwork with you over this past year. I'm all smiles. Take one and pass them along.

All the best, Susan

TUXEDO CAT Treasury on Etsy

I'm very pleased to have been included in a special Treasury on Etsy which you can view for the next few days at: HOLIDAY TUXEDO CATS.

It features the creations of 12 different Etsy artists who have interpreted the "Tuxedo" Cat (also called Cow Cats, Holstein Cats, and Oreo Cats) in many whimsical and festive ways...

The collection was put together by a wonderful jewelry artist on Etsy who I daresay must also be a cat lover; to see her creations, click this link: WINDANCER JEWELRY

I am currently working on a number of "Custom Cat Lady" portraits--one is going all the way overseas to Great Britain! They make a great gift for any Crazy Cat Lady or Lad (I don't discriminate-- I also do portraits of Men and their pets...). For examples and pricing, please visit my Etsy website at: www.SusanFaye.Etsy.com

Thanks for visiting!

Featured Gift Item...TOTE BAGS

A great way to save green (as in bucks, dinero, moolah) this holiday season, is to give earth-friendly tote bags to family and friends. At $15.99 each, these versatile and roomy totes are budget-friendly and can be used for shopping bags, book bags, or gardening totes. I have over 150 designs to choose from at www.CafePress.com/SusanFaye

OTHER REASONS TO USE RE-USABLE TOTE BAGS:

Plastic bags don’t biodegrade, they photodegrade—breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic bits contaminating soil and waterways and entering the food web when animals accidentally ingest.

Bags are made from oil: it takes about 430,000 gallons of oil to produce 100 million plastic bags, and the U.S. goes through 380 billion of them a year.

Hundreds of thousands of sea turtles, whales and other marine mammals die every year from eating discarded plastic bags mistaken for food.

So please consider adding our 100% cotton tote bags to your daily routine AND your gift list this year! Thanks for visiting!