Beloved Pet Portraits

Two new pet portraits went out for Christmas this December.

Farmhouse Artwork

I have loved farmhouse decor since, well, spending time at my grandparent's farm but it wasn’t called farmhouse decor, it was just hanging items you used daily on the walls of your home or barn. They were elderly by the time I was born and their farm was only a shadow of its former glory. There were a hundred acres of rich Missouri farmland acquired from the Homestead Act, passed down from my great-grandparents, were they raised and milked Holstein cattle.
My paintings and artwork are inspired by farm life, country living, and a love of animals.

Not your Hobby Lobby Art!

This white pumpkin is painted on a piece of reclaimed wood from a local family- owned business that was in operation in Tuscumbia for many years. We had a painting class and many local people with a connection to the Pryor Novelty Company painted their own fall decor with a nostalgic bonus!

This drawing is of three boys sitting on an old Model A truck. I named it The Board Meeting.

Farmhouse Decor Fall Decorating

White Pumpkins are a new favorite! Painted on old barn wood.

Summer is coming to a close and Autumn is calling our attention. Here are some past projects, some in-process projects, and some of my paintings for some inspiration and ideas. Come back and see what has become of the table legs we sawed into pieces. There will be a lot more Fall and Halloween ideas in the coming weeks.

I love Autumn! The fall colors are my colors-warm and soft, vibrating and still, subtle and vibrant.

Cemeteries have always been a favorite hang out of mine from high school trips on Friday nights to college where they were a quiet place to study. I wondered about the stories behind all of the lives that are gone with the wind. I especially love them in the Fall. I love cemeteries so much I even made a quilt with a cemetery.

The Graveyard Quilt, originally made by Elizabeth Mitchell in Kentucky in the early 1800s. I faithfully reproduced it from photographs in a book. The original is too fragile to be displayed. See my older post The Graveyard Quilt. It is a great story!!

An old house in our neighborhood.

Decorating for Fall is something I enjoy every year.

My tastes run to more vintage and gothic expressions but I really love all things Halloween!

Vintage looking old Trade Sign.

Below is an old drawer from our kitchen re-do. I added some vintage wallpaper and painted the inside with some what I call "dirty blue" paint.

The crowning touches were some cute black cats and a little pumpkin.

Drawer in progress.

Display of some of my artwork.

 Cute fall pumpkins on canvas.

 Jerry is doing some surgery on an old table leg--what do you think they should become? Gotta be something really cool!!

 These old table legs just scream for some new identity.

Now can you guess what I am thinking?

Pencil drawing for the
Halloween season.

 Pencil drawing of favorite Halloween symbols.

Solitary red barn-kind of lonely.

Crumbling old home.

Farmhouse Paintings for Summer

  

Here are a few farmhouse paintings Chickens in the Yard-one of my favorite!
One below is on pallet boards-Fresh Farm Eggs would look good in a farmhouse kitchen.

Pallet painting classes are always fun. We like to take a break from everyday life and just paint!

Farmhouse Painting Camper Pillow

Camping is the number one summer-time activity for many families-especially here in the Mid-West. A hot afternoon, down by the river is simply heaven in these parts! Whether you camp in an RV, camper, or tent--it's a great way to make memories for a lifetime.
In this episode of "paint a pillow cover", we will paint a little Airstream trailer. For those DYI-ers I have created a little presentation.
Sooooo look at the photos and paint your own Airstream Camper pillow!

Cute little Airstream!

Paper image to transfer

I really love this little painting project!

Turn over the image and rub a pencil over the lines

Decide where the image goes on the pillow cover

turn paper back to front and go over the lines

going over the back with pencil

     

check to see if lines transferred

      Below is the transferred image-ready to paint

Now you can paint!

    

Paint a pillow kit
From Bowser's Emporium Unlimited

It is easy and yields a great product. You can use it for your own camper or give it as a great gift!
If you want a copy of the template (image), leave a comment and an email address and I will send it to you for free
.
If you are interested in the little kit shown in one of the last photos-it has the canvas pillow cover, paints, brush, template of the image and detailed instructions.
The kits is  $40.00 plus shipping.
Message me on FB at Bowsers Emporium Unlimited
if there is a problem contacting me and I will try to fix the issue.
Or leave a comment just for fun!
I use Paypal
Contact me at petsbyhollis@gmail.com
Bowsers Emporium Unlimited on FB
Or call 573.280.9382

Farmhouse Decor Pillow Covers

Painting a pillow is the best!!
This is the time of year when everyone thinks about changing the decorations in the old Farm House!
Pillows are an easy and inexpensive way to changes things up with little effort. And really, everyone likes a nice pillow, functional and beautiful. Hide the old ones away until the next change of season and Voila! instant mood uplifting. Different styles are easy to accommodate with a variety of images available.
Here is a little example of some fun painting a truck with summer flowers.

Cows on the Walls

Springtime seems to be a great time to add some new cows to you decor.

Or maybe an animal painting!

Contact me at petsbyhollis@gmail.com

Or at Bowsers Emporium Unlimited on FB

Spring Decor Loves a Good Cow Painting.

Spring is here-no matter if it doesn't FEEL like spring! Some years we have skipped right to summer--and really I am not ready for that.

I haven't blogged in a while mainly because I am still teaching school half a day, doing commission work, and just recently moved.

I do have some things to talk about so I will include three projects with some photos.

There is an old buffet that I revamped, two paintings, and two night tables repainted.

First of all, here is a photograph of the buffet sitting in my living room with my beautiful Main Coon Cat reclining luxuriously in front of a recent painting (sometimes I just have to paint for me) of a barn that lives close to me in the country. It was inspired by Cheryl Tarrant's Distressed Textures app. I love the isolation and solitude the atmosphere portrays.

Secondly, are the two tables bought at two different times at two different thrift shops. They are just what I wanted to go beside my bed made from two old doors. A coat of chalk paint and some new old hardware for the drawers and a protective coat of polyacrylic sealant and they are good to go.

 The inside of the two cupboard areas I painted a nice teal. I reworked the drawers and doors so that they would shut nicely and sanded and varnished the top with several coats of the same polyacrylic finish. I even greased the stuck wheels so I could move it if I needed to later.

 Above are the two tables as they were unloaded from the truck. Along with Miss Kitty checking out the new stuff.

 Finishing the top of the buffet and the antique white of the side tables.

 Below is a photo of another old place in the countyside around my home. I used the Distressed Textures app to enhance the solitary look of the place--almost abandoned but not quite. I think this will be the subject of my next painting--something to use when we return to fall--my very favorite time of year.

This is the full view of the painting in the first photo.

Here is a painting-one of my favorites, that I did of a cow selected from the above farm for her beautiful face.


My paintings are available for sale if you contact me at petsbyhollis@gmail.com
Call me a 573.392.9011 or 573.280.9382
Facebook at Bowsers Emporium Unlimited

This is a 20x20 oil on canvas
$175.00
The Lonesome Barn is $36x56 and is $550.00
I would love to hear some comments
Do so in the space below!!