HAPPY ANNIVERSARY and other important things...

Today is my 3rd wedding anniversary! Even though Jerry and I hold probably the world's record for years dating (over 15), we are still newlyweds! We met when our kiddos were little, and to be honest, I kept moving away! I think most of our dating years were long distance...I moved to Nebraska to finish college, I moved to Oklahoma to be near my parents, I moved to Texas to finish raising my kids...and THEN I came back home to Denver, and THEN we had time to date close-up! So, we are old friends, new marrieds, and in LOVE! Happy Day!! My wonderful hubby brought home my FAVORITE flowers...YEP...SUNFLOWERS! It means a WHOLE lot especially since we have a few inches of snow outside, so I know the time to have them is limited. Tonight we are stopping by Helzburg to pick up my newest piece of jewelry my husband is spoiling me with. Years ago I lost a beloved pinky ring, so we went to find something else that would mean something...I picked a sweet little double heart ring that I will be thrilled to show you tomorrow. I'd tell you what I got him, but he'd probably tickle me to death...so I suppose you can just wonder. :)

I wanted to show you a pic or two of our deck after yesterday's snow. Just tell me...WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PICTURES!! :)

AND...I had to show you the Nebraska field (I've got to find out its NAME) so far...Not much to look at yet...if you look closely you will see a bunch of LINES...that is what took me awhile to set right...As you know...a painting in such a baby state can change drastically at any time...but I promised to show you the stages...and this is it's baby years...:)LAST but definitely NOT least is my passing along the Kreativ Blogger award list of wonderful artists that you absolutely MUST take a peek at... There are SO many wonderful artists out there it was hard to narrow it down...here they are in no particular order...

Remember the rules for the Kreativ Blogger award is to list 7 things about you (so we can get to know you a bit better) and pick 7 deserving artists to pass it along to. Notify them and link to them from your blog.

ENJOY:

1. Krista Hasson has a wonderful blog called "What is Krista painting now?" - Krista's work is just beautiful. She works primarily in watercolor, but also does other things like pastel. Her blog posts are informative, interesting, and shows us step by step work. Very worth a peek!

2. Alisa Burke is quite an inspiration to me. She is a very creative artist that recently quit her job to work full time. Her name might be familiar to you as she has written a book called "Canvas Remix" and sells a lot of her canvas grafitti type work as well as teaches different on line classes. I highly recommend you stop by her site. Alisa Burke - Redefine Creativity.

3. Nancy Merkle is an artist I've been following for quite some time. Her blog, "Painting Small Impressions" is a wonderful mix of small oil paintings of animals, still life, landscapes...you name it. She does beautiful work...Check her out!

4. Ross Lynem is another must see. His watercolors are fresh and interesting and absolutely a delight to see. A fresh take on a timely medium for sure! His site is "Lynem Art".

5. David Patterson is an artist that never fails to inspire me. He is a prolific photographer AND painter. He works in pastel, and I believe I've seen a bit of oil in there as well. You must see his beautiful work and his interesting eye for photography will inspire! Visit him at "Artistic Renderings"

6. Nicole Leigh Smith at "A Bunny a Day" just makes me smile! Her plush animal paintings are a delight to the child in all of us. I just love visiting her site and seeing her composition choices for these little loveys! She has a couple of blogs...follow the links to see all her wonderfully creative pieces!

and number7. the the surprise blog of the list...This is a brand spankin new blog created by a friend of mine Sheri Lineberger Roberts. Her blog is called "Sheri's Showers of Love". Sheri's blog is about her experiences in running a child care business in her home. Sheri is a creative woman of a different sort that all of us painters out there. (She's written a children's book that needs illustrations!!) I want to remind us all that we need to branch out and find other avenues and I think Sheri's blog will be a fun read. Her first post is fun, and the pic is of painters of the shorter kind! Try it out for a little variety! Remember when we first started our blogs? It is always so nice to leave a welcome comment to encourage the budding creative soul!

WHEW...I know it was long...but HAPPY PAINTING TO YOU ALL!!