Nippon Vase and Roses, Oil on Canvas, 1985

Well, its been a number of years since I painted this one--25 years ago.  I painted it for Dean and Pauline Jansen.  The antique Nippon vase has been in their family for a long time.  I was nervous handling the vase, and the first thing I did was to paint the vase and get it back to Dean and Pauline.  I have photographs of this canvas with only the Nippon vase completely painted and mysteriously floating in the center of the canvas.  

Dean and Pauline raised 11 children.  I painted a rose for each one, plus two more for Dean and Pauline.  But 13 didn't seem right, so I painted a few more. 

A NEW BEGINNING

I'm learning a painting technique--called The Carder Method.  It will be quite different from dry brush and glazing techiques I used to employ.  I am optimistic I can learn the Carder Method and bring my work to a higher level.  I plan to be sitting at the easel in my studio the first week of January.  Ah yes, a new beginning!

Getting the art studio ready is like crawling to the finish line.  There's shingling to finish, insulation, drywall, electrical, flooring, heating, lighting, and window treatments to sew to get it ready.  There's so much to do it is almost painful. 

We never get bored here at home.  Jon has at least five lists going at one time.  I prefer one list at a time.