Made it to FINALIST!!!

I'm so excited today...several weeks ago, I entered artwork in a national art competition, hosted by The Trail of Painted Ponies (http://www.trailofpaintedponies.com/). 

After weeks of waiting and thousands of entries, the finalists for eight categories were announced yesterday, June 1st.  My pony, "TUMBLIN' TUMBLEWEEDS" was chosen  as a finalist in the "American Country" category!!!  I'm so excited about this honor!!  I absolutely love painting these beautiful horse figurines and I am hoping, with the help of voters, to win this competition! 

PLEASE click on the link below, to be taken directly to the category page...you'll find my entry (TUMBLIN' TUMBLEWEEDS)there.  If you feel that it's deserving, please vote for me!!  There is some awesome talent shown in the entries, and each person should be congratulated on this achievement!!

Please pass this on to anyone you know that might help me achieve my goal!!  Sincere thanks to everyone!!

http://www.trailofpaintedponies.com/artists/competitions/competition-american-country/

2011...ALREADY???

Well, we've raced through Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas of 2010 and now even the New Year of 2011 is behind us!!  We're racing through the days here at AWESOME ASS ACRES, but can't really give an account of what we've done!!  We have a new granddaughter, Isabelle Leigh, born 12/14/10...healthy and beautiful!  We've had a recent visit from her big sister, Alayna, which is ALWAYS fun and at the moment we're in the midst of our 2nd BIG snow storm of the season.  We enjoyed a beautiful white Christmas day, with 6-8" and then yesterday, nature gave us about 12"!!  I do love to see it, but with livestock, I'm ready for it to leave after about 3 days!!

I've been painting several items through the holidays...ornaments, pendants, ACEO's and the wonderful Painted Ponies!!  I'm working toward becoming an official artist with The Trail of Painted Ponies, and my imagination is in overdrive! One of my latest was titled, "My Only Wish" and sold on Ebay...also 2 commissioned pieces for a wonderful customer from California!  I'm now working on a special pony that was inspired by an old Western tune!! 

Thanks so much for stopping by and please leave a comment to let me know you visited!  I love hearing from folks and have made many friends through my blog!!  Take care!! 

Cades Cove camping...

Since we live so close to Cades Cove, we camp there as often as we can get away from the farm.  It's almost addictive, with peaceful, beautiful scenery, a wonderful campground, abundant wildlife (turkey, deer, fox, black bears (with babies, if you're lucky) and of course, the relaxing drive through the cove.  This little settlement was the last area lived in by the original residents before the National Park Service bought the land.  Several of the original cabins, barns and churches still stand.  The cemeteries are full of old headstones, dating back several generations.  On this trip, we took our sweet 3 year old granddaughter (Alayna) for her very first camp outing...for more info: 
 http://www.cadescove.net/camping_cades_cove.html

There's hundreds of miles of hiking, biking and horseback trails too!  I've ridden my mule over several of them and the best word to describe the scenery....breathtaking!!  Creeks, valleys, wildlife, gorgeous flowers, ridges...you see it all!!

Alayna...morning after spending 1st night in tent!  Her first words that morning..."NeeCee, I love this tent & this cot's perfect for me!"  She stayed happy throughout the 4 days...

Uncle Jordan and Alayna, on the porch of the old Tipton place

The old Tipton fireplace was the perfect "frame" for this one!!

Poppa preparing his mouth-watering beef stew (campfire style)!

The old Tipton place

Whether you live nearby or across the country, this is a wonderful place to visit!!

PICS FROM AWESOME ASS ACRES!

Hello again, everyone!!  I feel like I might need to re-introduce myself!!  I've been soooo busy here, it seems that every time I think of posting an update of what I'm doing, something else happens to keep me from it!!  We've had hay baling, garden chores, canning, some illness (with my sweet mother-in-law), my gosh, when I think of everything, I give out! 
Well, I've also managed to paint some, but not as much as I'd like.  I thought with this post, I'll show some of our critters here at AWESOME ASS ACRES...

One of our sweet, egg laying machines...from a flock of 8 Golden Comets!

Our front sheep pasture...looking out from our front porch, on our little piece of paradise!

Our WONDERFUL flock of guineas...insects don't have a chance!!

One of our 3 Boxers...AWESOME BONNIE JANE DOE (BONNIE for short) and my sweet, sweet Soapy...she was a tiny feral kitten when our son, Jordan brought her home after finding her at the car wash! 

I will post again soon...since I have dial up, it's sooooo hard to down load pics, but I love to blog and hope you'll stop in again!!

NEW Blog Addition!!

Since I've started painting the painted ponies, I've decided to add another blog to display and describe them.  Check it out and be sure to follow it for the new designs as I post them!! 

Thanks for stopping by...don't forget to leave a comment!!

http://paintedponyoriginals.blogspot.com/2010/07/pictures-pictures.html

Something NEW!!

It's HOT here at AWESOME ASS ACRES, but I think it's hotter in Magical Mule Folk Art Studio!  I've been staying inside to beat this humidity and heat, but have I been BUSY!!  About 2 months ago, I discovered the collectible figurines from "The Trail of Painted Ponies" and as I researched the different designs, I fell in love!  You can order through their wonderful web site...be sure to visit!
They also offer a blank resin figurine that you can paint yourself...that has really gotten me excited!!  These are wonderful gifts for kids, grandchildren, anyone that loves horses!! 
I've completed 2 (Magical Mule and "Beauty" of the Mountains) and will be offering more in the near future!!  I've posted pictures of both...let me know what you think!!  Both are SOLD, but I'm filled with ideas for more!!

Of course, this is my very own "magical mule", Solomon!  I added a little to the ears (remember this started as a horse) and painted it as close as possible to his markings which BTW, was VERY hard!!

I love this one...she has 11 different mountain flowers painted on her, with a bear on this side, looking out from a cherry tree and a raccoon on the other side sitting on a limb.  Her mane and tail depict waterfalls and a mountain stream runs down her back!!

We also found a surprise in our peafowl yard last Friday...6 babies!!  I didn't know if the eggs were fertile, and 6 is all she had, so the odds were against her hatching all of them, but she did!  I'll be posting pictures of them soon!!

 Take care and stop in again!!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all the great dads out there!!  Thanks for the time, effort, money, advice, discipline, guidance and love that you give to raise productive, honest, hard working, self reliant, respectful kids to contribute to society!  I'm married to one of them and soooo glad he's mine!!  He's not only Daddy to 4 biological kids (2 girls, 2 boys), he's also Daddy to my son, who was 5 when we met.  He stepped in when he was needed the most and never showed preference from one to the other.  That will never be forgotten! 

"To guide a child by the hand of a father is to offer the gift of tomorrow"