Happy Thanksgiving

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Thanksgiving is almost upon us and I have been busy in my kitchen this weekend baking pumpkin bread and cookies for my family and friends. My kitchen smells yummy and I am reminded of how thankful I am for family traditions and how much I treasure my family and friends.

As I look around my kitchen, sipping a cup of tea while waiting for cookies to bake, I am reminded of how much the simple, every day objects in my life serve as inspirations for my paintings. My kitchen is a happy place ;filled with southern light all throughout the day with blue and white check curtains blowing in the breeze and filled with my treasured collections of roosters.

Finding Inspiration . . . . . . Here . . . . . .

There . . . . . . . .

If you look close, you can see roosters on my chandlier and on plates in the plate rack.

Everywhere . . . . . . .

Bentley, my Studio Assistant, waiting for the cookies to come out of the oven!

With all of the roosters for inspiration, I decided to paint roosters while waiting for the cookies to bake.

I painted two small roosters and added eye hooks so they can be hung with a ribbon on a door nob in my kitchen.

Next I sketched out a "welcome rooster" painting that I will hang outside the French door to my kitchen. I like to sketch with a fabric marker instead of a pencil (pencils tend to smear and I prefer the marker). Next I started filling in the dark feathers on the rooster. I paint the darks first and then paint the lights and finish with highlights.

The cookies are done and I am off to deliver pumpkin bread to friends. I will show you Mr. welcome rooster completed on a later post.

Wishing you and your family blessings during this season of Thanksgiving.