Where is the Queen

Where is the Queen?



Has she gone to walk underneath the rose arches?



Or has she gone to stroll,



through her English gardens?



No doubt that if the beautiful Queen Victoria was around to see her lovely portrait become part of a mixed-media collage she might find it odd.



I found this lovely etching created from a painting by Thomas Sully inside my volume of St. Nicholas 1914, a children's book of stories. In the book, Hildegarde Hawthorne writes:

"It is less than eighty years ago since the princess Victoria was crowned queen, and yet the world is extraordinarily different now from then. Almost all modern methods of travel, of living, of thought, have come in since that year 1837. The structure of society has altered: people look at things in a different manner."

Windsor Castle, it is magnificent. I took this photograph, while visiting the castle in 2004, I altered my photograph and turned it into this frame on flickr.



I took the original black and white rendering of Queen Victoria and added a bit of color and some pretty frames. I wonder what Hildegarde would think of today. The art world of our modern times seems to combine the beautiful images of long ago with today's world of altered art.



One of my favorite things to do is create designs using my digital paintbox. For about a month now I have had to rest from the computer as best I can because of my eyesight. So, I have been enjoying creating once again. To celebrate I love giving these creations away.




Please feel free to take any creations from this post. These images are created from copyright free artwork, so if you would like to include them in something for sale, you may. Wasn't she beautiful?



oday is Mosaic Monday, and Mary from Little Red House, is hosting this lovely day.







The song for this post is Completely Free. A song about Easter. The garden renderings are from a lovely volume in my library, The Ideal Garden by H.H. Thomas, 1910.

Pink Saturday

April is a few days away, and I was thinking about the Spring showers that will follow.



Spring is a time for daydreaming.



Looking out the window at spring showers, or going for a walk and splashing in puddles.



Dreaming of lovely days to come, when bluebirds sing, resting on pink blossomed trees,



and envisioning all the gardens in full bloom.



Yes Spring is here and although we might have some rainy days, they will bring Spring flowers and and lovely gardens in full bloom.



Bev from How Sweet The Sound is hosting Pink Saturday, be sure and visit all the pink posts today.



Even if it is raining by you, here is a pink post that will bring you sunshine. When you get there, just click play.



The song for this post is My Dream is You. Happy Pink Saturday.



Please feel free to take any design from this post. Click to enlarge and then copy to your computer. I repurposed these Antique prints from 1914, colored them with my digital paintbox, added pretty frames and created them for you.

Miniatures

Cindy from Romantic Home is hosting her weekly Show and Tell Friday. I love reading her beautiful blog, and you must stop by and visit the many blogs that join in for Show and Tell Friday. Wait until you see what she has posted today.






I have been working on lots of crafty things lately, instead of my usual work on the computer.



My friend Anita from Castles Crowns and Cottages encouraged me to create miniature paintings. I have always loved miniatures, and have had a doll house for over twenty years now.



I was shopping around for some really nice frames. I found some lovely Antique frames in Thoreauly Antiques in Concord, Massachusetts.



I added a piece of glass 2 x 2 inches, which fit perfectly.



Then a print of my original oil painting of Lily in Giverny



was placed inside the frame.



I found a cute little easel, although I think it would look nice hung on a wall. I made the back look just like a real painting using craft paper as the backing.



I'll be adding more tiny prints to these pretty frames. Crafting is such great therapy. Here is the sheet I used for my miniatures. You are welcome to copy it and use them for your own doll houses, or crafts. Make sure you click on the sheet to zoom in, and then copy it to your computer.



What fun, and well you must see Anita's new miniatures, she even has a blog about them, called ET QUI EST PETIT. So fly right over and see her new creations, and then fly to Show and Tell Friday and see Romantic Home's beautiful blog and the list of places to visit.



The song for this post is It's Only A Paper Moon.