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Tomorrow...

Today's post is entitled
'Their Favorite Park'
6 x 8 watercolor
$30 (+shipping)

As a parent I know the restorative importance of a good park.
One that they love to explore and play. One that is relaxing enough that I can regroup my heart and mind to survive the rest of the day...I mean enjoy the rest of the day with my beloved offspring.
He he.

TOMORROW will not only be my last day for this September's 30 in 30 challenge but it will also be the last time I post my latest creations on THIS blogsite.
So stay tuned...for the big reveal of my NEW ART WEBPAGE!!

To the Love of my life

September 28.
Twelve years ago today I married a tall, dark & handsome man I had come to love & respect. Little did I realize how much deeper our love would grow through the years ahead. 12 down, 60+ more to go, Babe-Love

So for today, i painted this for you babe. A view from our La Luz hike (you know that 8 mile hike where i cried half way through and couldn't even speak the last quarter - good times) together to say this.
Even in the toughest 'climbs' so far, I have been glad to be side by side with you. It hasn't always been easy but what breathtaking views there have been. Whatever is around the next bend, I'm so thankful we get to go thru this adventure of life together. There's no one else I'd rather cry or laugh or laugh so hard I cry with thru the next 70 years with.
I love you.
I do.
I will.

Peace out

"When peace, like a river, attendeth my way
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot,
Thou hast taught me to say
It is well, it is well with my soul."
- Horatio G. Spafford, 1873

Watercolor
8 x 10
$40

Day 26: a little fun

So here i am 26 days down and only 4 to go. 
Today I needed a little break. So here's a daily double. One light hearted but fun painting from a  Dr. Seuss quote with a 'so true' message.
And the second is just something I had to do. For my own sanity. Too many detailed or semi-realistic paintings in a row for this granola girl. So, i let myself get messy and have fun with no plan. Won't win any awards with this but it was fun to paint.
Sometimes we all need a break from what's expected to just sit back and enjoy ourselves.
So don't forget to be a little silly and enjoy yourself today.

watercolor

Dr. Seuss quote

6 x 6

$ 20 (+ shipping)

 Original Watercolor

Garden View CityScape

12 x 18

$ 50

Cactus Bloom

For thoose of you who may not be familiar with cacti or dessert plants there are actually a ton of varieties of flowers here in the desert.
It s day 25 so that means i'm in the home stretch.
Hope u enjoy today's desert beauty. It's the bud of a cactus bloom from my neighborhood. I see things like this every day as I walk my kids to the bus stop. Hope you are surprised by a little beauty in the ordinary day to day event of your day.

Desert Beauty
Watercolor
6 x 6
$30

Steeple

Day 24

Watercolor
4 x 5
$15

Lime

Day 23.
Lime.

Watercolor
4 x 5
$15

Taos Pueblo Church crosses

"The greatest symbol of love
is not the heart,
but the cross."
-unknown

A beautiful place - Taos pueblo.

Watercolor
6 x 8
$30 (+shipping)

Brave

"The brave man is not
he who does not fear
but he who conquers fear."

-Nelson Mandela

Preach brother.

3 x 8
Watercolor
$10 (+shipping)

Puerto Rico

Today's painting challenge was to paint while on a only somewhat turbulent airplane.
A special spot in Puerto Rico.
Enjoy.

6 x 6
Watercolor
$30

Fall Tree

Autumnal breezes.
Warm, new colors surprise you every day.
Apple cider. Jumping in leaf piles.
Hayrides. Pumpkin pie...
So much to look forward to in this season. But my favorite is the crisp air and ever changing tree hues.

Fall Tree
6 x 8
$30

Today i tried a new technique. Water first, then color. It s a looser style. Learning to use the unexpected blending (when you add color to water it bleeds, however it wants) that happens for good.

Also i usually use a craxy amount of brushes. Limited myself to only 2 today, just to change it up- for the fun of it.

Marshwiggles

Day 18 (and LAST day -until 6pm- to get entries for our FREE ART CONTEST) finds us chillin in the Marshes. This pic is from the Marshes of South Carolina.

I grew up on Cape Cod. We'd go down to the beach every week, walk along the boardwalk which rose from the dunes over the marshes. I loved to jump down into the marsh and wiggle my toes in the delightfully cool (although bug infested) mud, chew on seawart (a local bitter plant) and pick oodles of lilac sea heather to crown any vase i could get my hand on.

6 x 8 

watercolor

$30

B & B

I'm not sure which B is my favorite but I do love a good B & B. This particular one can be found tucked away amongst the hills and gardens of Northern Italy.
Enjoy the view.

Watercolor
6 x 8
$40

Daddy Daughter Time

I'll do my best not to get too sappy today but any of you who know me well know that I have a big soft spot in my heart for the subject of today's post. I have so many sweet memories from the past and more ahead, just me and my Daddy: ice cream dates, sipping tea chats, he teaching me tennis or fishing or soccer, listening to him read me the Hobbit or Narnia, riding on his shoulders around camp, singing Spanish songs with him at bedtime, holding his hand anywhere and everywhere (cause that was the safest and most fun place to be) or chatting about the unique quirkinesses of his grandchildren. 38 years old and I still have a soft spot for my Dad.

Now-a-days I watch my little girl bask in the safe, comforting presence of her Dad. If she has a scary dream, he is who she runs to first. She loves to play with him. Water gun fights. Soccer. Jedi laser duels. Board games. Mostly I think they are all wonderful excuses to share life with him. She adores him, just as it should be.

So today, let's hop accross the pond again to Cape Town, ZA where we visit this sweet Daddy and daring and beautiful duo daughters wade in, share life and bask in the beauty which is.

Watercolor          6 x 8            $ 30(+shipping)

Family

Just couldn't help myself.
I decided we had to stay at the beach a little longer. This pic is from the coast of North Carolina.

Strolling.
Arm in arm
With those we love.
To the sound of the waves rolling in, and the sweet laughter of a child.
Simple. Safe.
Whole.
Family.

Original watercolor
6 x 6
$30

Beach walking

While we re already virtually (thru painting) in Bora Bora this weekend,  I thought why not take a quiet stroll down the beach and see what we see. So, all you beach walking lovers, this one is for you. (We may just have to stay at the beach another day cause I'm having so much fun here.)

Watercolor Shell

6 x 6

$30

Bora Bora

Come on in. The water is warm.
 A perfect day for a tropical getaway.
Come with me to a quiet hut in Bora Bora.
A place with no bills to pay or groceries to buy, no whining children...
Just for a moment, escape with me.

Bora Bora

Original watercolor

6 x 8

$30 (plus shipping)

And so it begins.

In 1794, Robert Burns (a treasured albeit black sheep, distant relative of mine) wrote:

O my Luve's like a red, red rose, 

That's newly sprung in June: 

O my Luve's like the melodie, 

That's sweetly play'd in tune. 

As fair art thou, my bonie lass, 

So deep in luve am I; 

And I will luve thee still, my dear, 

Till a' the seas gang dry. 

Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear, 

And the rocks melt wi' the sun; 

And I will luve thee still, my dear, 

While the sands o' life shall run. 

And fare-thee-weel, my only Luve! 

And fare-thee-weel, a while! 

And I will come again, my Luve, 

Tho' 'twere ten thousand mile!

And though it isnt exactly a red rose, I hope you enjoy both the painting and Burns' words. 

 This 6 x 6 watercolored rose is one of the 3 prizes  you could win in 7 days. CONTEST to win FREE ART is on. The winner will be announced next Friday morning, Sept. 19th.

Remember, starting today you have 7 days to get as many entires in as you can. See below for the 3 ways you can enter daily.

How you enter:

All you do is show me that you are been joining me in my 30 in 30 by using social media.

1) Follow me and Re-pin ('Carlye' on Pinterest) my daily 30 in 30 post for the next 7 days. 

Each day repinned = 1 entry

2) Follow my shop on Etsy before next Thursday 6pm (carlyedaugird) = 1entry

3) Leave me a comment here on my blog. Each day commented = 1 entry

A Summer's Breeze

 Day 11 & THIS WEEK'S CONTEST Details

A Summer Breeze.

Made with care.
Given to share.
Stitched with love.
Lavender washes soft as a dove.
A summer breeze makes it dance.
Snuggled up tight with both hands.

Watercolor & Thread

9 x 9

$50

Close up of thread. 

There s a reason I paint and not sew but it seemed a bit 

silly not to have any thread in a painting of a quilt.

And now...

THE CONTEST

Starting from tomorrow's post, until 6pm Thursday, September 18th

For the next 7 days you can enter to win: 

What you win:

1) a free original watercolor: Your choice of one of the paintings posted on the first or the last day of the contest. OR

2) a set of 6 fine art glossy, heavy weight paper notecards (can be used to frame or as notecards)

How you enter:

All you do is show me that you have been joining me in my 30 in 30 by using social media.

1) Follow me and Re-pin ('Carlye' on Pinterest) my daily 30 in 30 post for the next 7 days. 

Each day repinned = 1 entry

2) Follow my shop on Etsy before next Thursday 6pm (carlyedaugird) = 1entry

3) Leave me a comment here on my blog. Each day commented = 1 entry

A day in the life of a garden pepper

I would not say i have a green thumb but i do love a good garden. The persistent smell of tomatoe vines and sweet aroma of basil leaves. Invasive mint and of course the dramatic purple pepper tantilize my taste buds..
So whether it's the flare for the dramatic or the simple sweetness of life, i hope this day sees you enjoying yourself.
Till tomorrow...
P.s. stay tuned. FRIDAY i will be announcing a contest (to win free art)!

Watercolor

8 x 8 On 9 x 9 paper

$50

The Bo what?

Day 9 and we find ourselves a skip and a jump accross the 'pond'. South Africa here we come.

The Bo Kapp. 

It's this beautifully diverse neighborhood I visited last spring with my sister (in law) to take a Cape Malay cooking class (near Cape Town). A conglomeration of resilient, unimbittered people who now belong to each other. I say now cause it has some complicated and not originally pleasant history. (Here's a very brief summary: http://book app.co.za/history) 

What I liked most about this neighborhood, besides the obvious splashing color of their homes, was that the people and tastes (food known from the Bo Kapp) were mirrors of each other. Spices and souls from all over, forced to geographically collide and then came together to blend so shockingly well. Sweet. Spicey. Smooth. And impressively blended.

So today, try something new. A new taste of life to wake you up to the possibilities of the future.

Watercolor

6 x 6

$30 (plus shipping)

Things Italian...

The Mediterranean. 

Italy to be precise.  

What's not to love. Pasta. Gelato. Wine. Olives. Panini. More pasta. Oven grilled pizza. Arrancini.  And that s just the food. There aren't too many things Italian i can think of that I don't enjoy.
So let's add this to the list.

An Italian Seaside Sunset.
Savor it.

watercolor

6 x 8

$30

A Sunday's Stroll

When i was a little girl i remember my parents going "Sunday driving". Driving around, looking out the window, finding beauty, enjoying a slower, no-agenda pace. As a kid I thought it was ok. A bit overrated. Now? Sounds delightful.
Today's painted adventure takes takes us strolling down a special trail, Tobacco Trail in the Dur-ham part of North Carolina. Enjoy the cool shade and sun shining through the branches. Enjoy the slower pace of a Sunday's stroll.

Watercolor
12 x 18
$50

Day 6: Hot Springs part 2

Today's is a reminder, to stop and enjoy the beauty around you with those special people in your life.
Here's to family, beauty and sweet memories.

Jemez hot spring hike
Part 2 (part 1 is available individually for $50 or with part 2 for $80)
Watercolor
9x9

Castles aren't just for fairytales...

...They're also for visiting. Day 5 and this picture was sent to me by a former youth grouper who went on a mission trip with me to Northern Ireland. County Down to be exact.
So today you can gaze into this painting and be magically transported, whisped away - under the cool shade of these Irish boughs, whose fortitudous trunks guard these ancient walls of secret passages. May fanciful dreams of knights, fair maidens and ole Nessie himself invade your pockets of doldrums today.

Watercolor Original
6 x 8
$30

Her Favorite Shoes

Doesnt this just transport you back to the days of donning your favorite princess tiara and hulu grass skirt, with a plastic wand and sword tucked into your Dad's old belt and of course your favorite shoes as you race out the door to go to the grocery store with your, I'm-sure-absolutely-horrfied -but-lovingly-gracious-and-honestly-too-tired-to-fight-with-you, best Mom in the world.

(And yes i am the daughter of an English teacher. So just know I was using the lonest run-on sentence in the world as a literary device.)

"Her Favorite Shoes"
watercolor original
6 x 6
$30

Hot Springs

3/30: Today brings us to the Jemez natural Hot Springs in the Jemez mountains of New Mexico

Hiking through the forest surrounded by breathtaking cliffs of raw, stone slabs. Battleship rock looming in the distance. Up the hill and around a corner or two, in the middle of the forest you'll stumble accross these natural pools, hot springs. A refreshing invitation to take off those too tight sneakers and jump in. Soak your cares away and receive the healing powers of these warm waters. Laughter and joy may even seep into your bones reminding you how to enjoy this life.

Jemez Hot Springs, NM

Original Watercolor

9 x 9

$50

Charleston, South Carolina

September 2.
Day two of painting takes us to Charleston,  South Carolina.
Can't you just picture sittin in the shade y'all sippin iced tea and baskin in the shade of this gentle giant?

Original watercolor

6 x 8

$30 (+shipping)

Here's a view halfway done.