"Pony in a misty field" by Hilary J. England, 2012, oil on canvas, 8" x 11"

Snowy today.  That's nice though.  We've had no snow this winter, and I don't mind it, especially since I am leaving for Fort Lauderdale tomorrow, haha.  That's one of life's little gifts.  enjoy the snow, then head for warmer territory.  That's OK though.  I love the cold weather, so even if I stayed, I'd be perfectly content with the snow.

Here's is a quick little painting I did, and I say quick because ponies and horses don't stand still for so long, even if it's they are at a constant slow motion.  We have so many beautiful horse farms around here, but getting a quick painting of a horse or pony can be challenging, not so much from the beast itself, but from the farmers...you gotta watch or you'll get an arse full of salt shot, haha.

I really enjoyed the way the rays were illuminating the mist...very beautiful and almost reverent.  
I love unusual weather, and this was one of those moments.

So, inside today, after shoveling the walk, forcing my spoiled little dog out into the snow (she resisted mightily...I may have to get her little doggie galoshes), and now will work on the last day of math I hope I am ever forced to take!  So, although it's quiet today, I am very good with that too.

Enjoy the little painting, and I'll give more information about my upcoming show in Fort Lauderdale as it comes in.

Ciao♥

"Snowy farmfield at dusk" By Hilary J. England, 2012, oil on canvas, 8" x 11"

It's been bitterly cold out, and that makes me reticent to go out and paint, but I force myself to.   Thank goodness for the invention of Under Armour. 

I am on the last leg of my math course--ending up 10 weeks of hell, no joke.  I'm so happy about that, and also about heading out of here at the end of the week. 

This little painting was done from the field down the street.  I don't paint snow much, but it was peaceful, and the light was getting low, so I don't have time to scurry and search and search.

So, that's the painting of the day.  Another tomorrow....



"The Tree (Autumn dusk)" by Hilary J. England, 8" x 11" 2012

I have doing little painting studies between fighting through a brutal math course, and never-ending annoyances with kids, for real.  I think these little studies help to keep me sane.  The winter seems to sometimes put a damper on my feelings after a while, because everyone has this inclination to remain inside and under each other's feet and skin.  If someone askes me one more time "what's to eat," I may go postal LOL.

Anyway, I haven't been to the canal in a few days, and that has me depressed.  I miss my runs, and my knee has been hurting, my good one, so that has me a little worried.  I'm so damn thankful this math course will be over next week, and I still have to find time to truck 8 paintings down to Ft. Lauderdale in the next week and a half for a dual show down there.  Yikes...but, road trips I enjoy.  Staying at home studying for math, I do not.

So, that's where its' at.  I've been lazy with the holidays photoing new work, and have just started a new direction for a new series, this year.  Same subject matter, slightly different progression.  It's what I love, painting people and landscapes and if I can combine them, even better.

So, here is another little paint study called, "The tree (Autumn dusk)" and it was painted right here in Schuylkill county Pennsylvania.  Enjoy♥

New Year, new intentions...

"Winter's dusk" By Hilary J. England, 12" x 16" oil on canvas

So, we welcome a new year. 2012.  I guess I've learned things throughout the year, although for all the credit I give myself as a quick learner, I sure made a lot of mistakes, and some of them repeat errors.  I am so very grateful that God is a merciful and forgiving one...

I'm not corny and cliched enough to make resolutions, since I usually have them blown up by the end of the month anyway, but I do have a bit of advice that was given to me, and darn it, seems to work pretty good if I could just follow it!  It's so simple, and yet so very tricky!  Live in today.  24 hours at a time.  Plan for tomorrow, but live in today.  If you can make today successful, you can make your life successful, because, after all, your life is just a series of "todays" since no one is ever guaranteed tomorrow.  So, I'm going to try my darndest to live this advice.

With that idea, I am going to try and paint in every "today."  With the recent interloping of math into my schedule, as I pursue the completion of my Communications degree in the near future, my mind has been in two different camps, and that's OK, because in all honesty, I enjoy the very different way my mind has to work in order to process quadratic equations and cube roots, haha, and it is a refreshing change.  Kind of like swapping your five mile run for a two hour Zumba class.  Just as challenging, but sooo very different.

I think it's funny how I am the only artist in my Communications program.  We have Army and other military, law enforcement, some business majors, a rogue teacher here and there, and then me....they must think it very odd for an artist to be in a left brained field like this.  But, mass communication has always fascinated me, and I think it's marvelous to get degreed in a field different from what your obvious talents are.  I pursue art and furthering my craft because it is who I am, but I pursue other intellectual studies because I have many interests that I feel compelled to cultivate as well, and this is one of them.

Ah well.  On a different note, I have gone back to my most primieval comfort zone for my first painting of the year, the local landscape.  It's like curling up with chicken soup and a blanket on a cold winter's day, and I love the sting of frigid, super clean winter wind on my face and watching the various birds such as cardinals and chickadees so puffy in the barren tree branches, and little creatures scurry by every now and then, our worlds touch for just a moment and it brings such warmth to my heart...so I will never abandon this genre. 

Yes, painting the landscape makes me feel closer to God, and brings me great comfort and love for this beautiful world.  I especially love the lonely and barren landscape of Pennsylvania in winter.  There is such a stark beauty in the farmlands, where all the woods, creeks, hills and dales look quiet and at peace, and I feel such an anticipation as I look at it in restful winter slumber, knowing in a few months it will be bursting with color and activity...but for now, it gets some blessed peace and quiet.  Even the creatures seem reverent of the stillness, as if they are tiptoeing through the brush.

So, more to come in the next days and weeks, that is my hope for the upcoming "todays."  As for today, I've got my own agenda to move along to, so Adios for now...

Happy, peaceful, healthy, and prosperous New Year 2012.