Wintry Painting-like Designs

I’m actually following Rain’s “matches” theme this week.  I was unsure if I’d get it done but here’s my Procreate rendition of the Little Matchstick Girl.

 

The week before last I followed Rain’s YouTube tutorial on how to paint a wintry country cabin scene except I used my iPad.  While digital art doesn’t give you quite the visual effect that paint and brush produces my final digital painting turned out nicely.  Art is art and I had fun doing it. That’s what I am seeking to do more of this year, too. 

 

After I completed the first painting, I made a few changes relocating the tree in front of the house to the side and adding a door with lights on both sides illuminating into the night.   I, also added clouds to the night sky to make the snow falling more realistic. Rain pointed out the obvious in her tutorial and it hit me after I had Vista Printing to do one of my designs this Christmas that you don’t see the moon when it snows but it looks pretty in print. 

Rain’s thought process got me thinking of another possibility. Instead of a snowy night, how about a windy, moonlit starry night? Do you see the movement in the snow on the ground, the roof, and from the trees?

 

 

 

This probably looks familiar to some of you.  I did a few touch ups to a sketch from last year. I felt compelled to give my snowman a little friend and then felt poetically inspired.

 

MY ANGEL UNSEEN

©2024 Cathy Kennedy

 

Cardinals appear

When angels are near

Fragrances sweet

Fond memories repeat

Sadness defeat

God’s promises

Heart gladdened

Face grinnin’

One day

I will see you again

While composing this poem, I listened to almost an hour and a half of Tim Janis’ beautiful relaxing instrumental Winter Calm. 

 

 

 

I’m thankful for shield from the cold, hot drinks on a winter’s day/night, soft snuggly clothes to chase away the chill, fluffy fleece blankets to wrap up in, tender music to warm my soul, cardinals that visit,  and an occasion snowfall, we got 10-12 inches of snow by Tuesday morning.  What I’m super thankful is our electricity stayed on. The bitter cold is brutal this week! Also, I’m thankful that my kids were/are snowed in safely at home and not on the road.  All these things are blessings from the One above.   

 

I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works. ~Psalms 9:1 KJV

 

Normally I don’t do this but I think I shall share my art posts with the WW community hosted by Sandee at Comedy Plus.  I’ll be back with Monday’s Music Moves Me where you’ll find me boogieing on the dance floor.  If you have music to share or you’re just a music lover then this is the party for you, so come join the fun. This is CAAC signing off,  have a doodletastic day! X💋, Cathy

Snow Fall with Cardinals ~Mindy and Laura Sullivan

Are you looking for new Thursday blog connections? Consider visiting a few of my friends!

 

 

 

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32 comments

    1. Iris,

      The Little Matchstick Girl is a sad story. I remember it as well from my childhood. I’m glad you liked my depiction of the fairy tale character and appreciate that you took time to visit, darlin’!

  2. What fun to see you experiment with the cabin scene. I like the effect of the moving snow. I didn’t know that the moon doesn’t shine when it’s snowing. I like your exuberant snowman! Stay safe and warm, Cathy!

    1. I don’t think we think of things like the moon or no moon when you see a wintry scene with it snowing unless someone points it out or you just get to thinking about it. It’s been a very cold and snowy week for us but things are expected to improve tomorrow. I for one will be happy to see the cold to go…even if it’s short term. 🙂 Thanks for dropping by!

  3. You’re so talented, Cathy. I wish I was as talented.

    Thank you for joining the Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop.

    Have a fabulous day and weekend, my friend. Hugs. ♥

  4. I love The Little Matchstick Girl, your snowy scenes and your lovely poem, Cathy. Stay warm and safe. 💖

        1. We’re doing our best to try to keep warm and we certainly haven’t stepped outside our house since all of this began. Monday should be a lot better despite the very cold beginning to the day. I hope y’all are doing better than we are!

        2. We’re okay so far. Not this past Christmas but the Christmas before, one of the bathrooms in our apartment flooded due to a burst sprinkler head pipe. It was 9 F that night. Today, one of our neighbors had the same problem. I feel sorry for them because it is a nigthmare but at least this time it hasn’t happened to us. We haven’t had snow but 11 to 12 F morning temps. Tomorrow will be a little warmer, I hope.

  5. We like the different scenes of your sketches, CK and what a sweet drawing of the Matches girl. Granny wished she could draw like you. We listen to Tim Janis too, not at this moment, we’re now into the heavenly harp hymns, while we’re watching your postie😻Here are some Warm Pawkisses for a warm weekend🐾😽💞

    1. Thank you, Granny & little kittens! Heavenly harp hymns sounds like divine mewsic. I’m trying my best to stay warm. The conditions are expected to improve drastically on Monday but for how long? After all it’s winter. 🐾😽

  6. Love the sketches, especially the last one of the cabin. Somehow, it looks more serene wtihout the snowflakes, but they’re all great. 🙂 Wow! You sure had a lot of snow! We barely have any, but it was shockingly cold for 4 days. Thankfully, that has moved on now and temps are more bearable. Hope it’s the same where you are!

    1. Debbie,

      This is the biggest snowfall we’ve had in many years. The last one I recall of any substantial accumulation occurred in February 2014. I had to double check my photo archives. Judging by the pictures, it was the wet heavy kind of snow and we probably got about a foot. What we got this week was dry. I wish now that I had snapped at least one or two pictures from the window but I didn’t. Thankfully, my daughter and son sent pictures to jiggly my memory in years to come. I’ll be happy when weather conditions improve. I like the wintry cabin with a starry night scene probably best, too. Snow dampens sound but you really get a full sense of the peace at night or wee hours of the morning. It’s a magical feeling and I just love it!

  8. WOW, that’s a lot of snow, everything here would be closed for a month. Love your snow art!

    1. I don’t know about all businesses but the dental practice we go were closed all week. They send out alerts texts and emails informing their patiences. Not that we could get out to go to an appointment but I do need to make one as I’m having painful dental problems again. 🙁

    1. Winter can be beautiful. I enjoy sketching or photographing wintry scenes. I can really do without the cold and snow that we’re experiencing right now. Thanks for visiting, darlin’!

  12. Hi, Cathy!

    Happy Thankful Thursday Art Date With Rain, dear friend!

    Your concept of the Little Matchstick Girl, produced with the help of your handy Procreate tool, is delightful. I love to view your art, and you have proven yourself very versatile as an artist, able to cut across multiple genres with apparent ease – from cartooning and fantasy to charming, nostalgic landscapes. I very much admire the wintry cabin scene, especially versions 2 and 3. I tend to agree with friend John that the third execution is the best of all. To my way to thinking, it makes sense that a crescent moon would be more visible on a starry night after the snow has fallen rather than during the snowstorm when you would expect the sky to be clouded over. Placing the tree off to the side is also a good move on your part because it results in a more pleasing and interesting view of the cabin.

    Yessum, I certainly do remember your snowman from last year. To me, a snowman symbolizes all the fun there is to be had during winter, a real winter, the kind I remember from boyhood. As I told you, I am feeling like a school kid this week surrounded as I am with snow covered houses and lawns. My neighbor wasted no time building a snowman in his front yard. The cardinal is a wonderful addition to the snowman sketch. He looks as if he is getting ready to perch on Frosty’s nose. 🙂 Your poem is lovely, Cathy, and I suspect it was written in memory of your daddy.

    You guys in K-ville received a lot more snow than we did up here, and your overnight temps plunged lower as well. Thank you for letting me know that LA#1 and LA#2 experienced this week’s snow. Surely, the pure joy of the moment will remain in their memory banks for the rest of their lives.

    What a great song by Mindy & Laura! Their soft, clear, intimate vocals get right inside your head, don’t they? You and I heavily favor female artists who do this type of singing. I love how the bright red cardinal, the male of the species, is set off in stark contrast to the bleak, snowy background.

    As always, I thoroughly enjoyed your Art Date feature. Thank you again for visiting Shady’s Place this morning as I begin another year of blogging. Take good care of yourself, DH and the rest of your family, dear friend Cathy. I look forward to getting together with you again next month!

    1. Tom,

      I’m not too sure about being “able to cute across multiple genres with apparent ease” but I do enjoy trying my hand at whatever sparkles my interest. I’ve learned over the years to not be so critical of myself. That’s just lack of confidence talking. Now, I’m able to push that all aside and tackle the challenge. I usually an art example to base my work upon but am looking for opportunities to do my own thing. The Procreate app is a wonderful tool for the untrained, self-conscience individual to have a zillion do-overs with ease. This has boosted my confidence and ability to improve without fear. I appreciated you telling me what you liked about each of the wintry country cabin scenes. Rain’s tutorial was very helpful. You’re right, I penned the poem for Daddy. I can’t believe it’s been 4 months since he left us.

      LA1 will no doubt remember this snowfall. LA2 is too young but will have pictures to look on someday when he’s older. LA1 made snow cream with her mommy. We did that with the kids when they were small. My son and his wife also made snow cream. This was the first time for my daughter-in-law to have it. She grew up in Georgia where the chance of snow is even slimmer than here.

      Thanks for taking time to visit. I’m glad you enjoyed the music selection. I’ll be looking to our next get together, my friend. Stay warm and enjoy your wintry climate!

  13. I like the house without so much snow (the third one), but they’re all great! You’ve gotten quite good with that art program…. Thanks again for the shout-out. Hope you can join us sometime…

    1. John,

      My poor iPad gets worrisome with its battery easily drained, especially when the temperatures get real cold overnight. Frequently, I get up to find that it shut itself off. I love drawing on it with the Procreate app! For anyone who enjoys doodling then this is one app I highly recommend.

      I would like to jump back in with you and the Writer’s Workshop. I think once I get a better handle on things then I’ll know how to work it into my schedule.

      Thanks for visiting, my friend!

      1. Have you considered having the battery replaced? I wouldn’t mess with it myself, but it’s a relatively simple repair.

        I put the prompts out on Tuessdays at noon. Jump back in anytime…

        1. Yes, but as old as it is Apple will soon stop supporting it which could be security risk for using it the Internet. So, I’ll wait it out. This spring might be a good time to get a new one and then I can use the old one for as long offline. It can serve as my media player for my music. I did that with my very first iPad for a long time before we reset the device and got rid of it. By that time, it didn’t have any trade-in value so we junked it. That made me kinda sad. I get too easily attached to things. Thanks for the heads up on when you post your prompts. That’s good to know.

        2. It might be worth it to look into upgrading, then. I think the prices are holding steady and even the low-end machines have 256GB of memory, whch comes in handy for the apps that use a lot of it (which I figure is your painting program). We did a lot of upgrades this year (my phone and desktop and Mary’s iPad), mostly because we wanted to get the newest operating systems (iOS 17, MacOS 14).

        3. We always keep our eye on the price on Apple devices. I want to see how the upcoming generation iPad Pro and Air compare. I just my Pro but Air has evolved into quite the machine. It may be plenty for my needs. My current Pro has 256GB and I still have plenty of free storage. Procreate is a huge program. It takes up more space than my music files. lol My iMac is old, too. So, this is something else that’ll need replacing before long. One of the really good things Apple does is they offer support for several years on their products which is far better than Windows or Android devices as we know.

        4. You might consider a Mac Mini to replace the iMac. You’d have to buy your own keyboard, mouse, and monitor, but the Mini s a powerful little machine…

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