December traditions

Home made cards are much more than a challenge now that the kids are grown and no longer illustrating sweet Christmas scenes for us to copy and glue. We have home made our cards for more than 25 years, with a couple of skipped years due to too much to do!

Each year we try to create a card image, fully expecting to get it all together in August or September, but that has NEVER happened, not once, even when I knew what picture would be on the cards! It has become our December 'hurry up' project and tradition, right after cookie baking.

This is a Buffalo Botanic Gardens painting from this season, the first of my pictures with colors that might work, even if it was not holiday themed. Since then, I went to the gardens to sketch three times to try for another image, coming home with approximately 10 plans and drawings, none of which suited my purpose. The gardens are now wall to wall with poinsettias and Christmas themed decor, absolutely entertaining and beautiful. This is a large leaf office type plant, the waxy leaves are richly colored and the red spathes in the center are a lovely surprise from an already handsome plant.

So, Merry Christmas! This is the image on our 2012 Christmas postcard, the reverse side has a lovely snowflake motif that Carl created, and tonight I will write my notes. I am saving some without the Christmas message for my own use, sending notes and postcards may be so 20th century, but I love it all year long.

December's Surprise, pastel 12x16  c.2012

Not Just Paint. not just cookies

People often look at my artwork and say they wish they were artistic or creative, but art is more than paint, and these people all have their own skills. Many of my art students went on to work as hairdressers, florists, toy, jewelry and clothing designers, window dressers and in film and theater working on costumes, makeup and sets. There are so many ways to express your creativity, including how one dresses or decorates their home.

As for me, I nearly quit my paint habit in December when plein air season (warm enough to paint out) is over to move into the 'creative' kitchen. Not a fan of shopping in stores, I spend days in the kitchen baking homemade gifts, containers of cookies galore, incorporating color design, flavor blending and shape considerations with baking expertise before I begin the wrapping and ribbons. 

 Each year I make trays of traditional favorites such as Cuccidatis (filled with fig, date, raisin and more), Chocolate Spice, Wagon Wheels and Thumbprints, but I also try new ones.

  Always a favorite to eat whenever I go to NYC, I made my first Linzer Tarts and a new swirl cookie with raspberry this week.

 The Checkerboards are not new, but they are chocolate mint for the first time. This is also the first time I (reluctantly) added food coloring in my cookies, just three drops of green in the mint flavored batter made a pretty cookie with a visual mint hint.

 Merry Christmas!

2013 calendars

New 2013 calendars are available from me through the mail or at these local sites:

Niagara County
Art Museum Giftshop at Niagara University
Book Corner on Main
Studio One on Niagara Street

Erie County
Art Dialogue Gallery 1 Linwood, Bflo
464 gallery on Amherst Street & satellite shop in Williamsville
Quaker Bonnet on Allen
Serene Gardens, Grand Island Blvd, GI

$12 for calendar and case, $10 for a refill.
Mail orders, $15 and 11. Contact me for discount on multiple purchases to one address.

www.kschifano.com
Art news & pictures at www.kschifano.blogspot.com

2013 calendar

Dealing the 13 pages of my calendar to assemble the sets creates new colors
and patterns on my table as each month is added. It is assembled backwards, Back page, then December, November, October....this is a set of July ready for June on my table, I get a kick out of seeing a table full of my mini paintings as each month is added.

What happens after I get to dealing the January pages? Then it is time for packing the months into special calendar stand boxes and clear protective bags. I'm nearly finished with sorting this year, because starting when the pages arrive from the printer, I put them together in bursts. I have them ready by the August Lewiston Art Festival which is my only big art event outdoors. The final calendars will be ready for Open Studio next weekend.

October Art News

The Lower Trail at Artpark, Lewiston NY

Sometimes friends are the best reason to get up and try new things. With a report of warm sunny weather, Sherrill Primo convinced me to come paint at Artpark-right when I was preparing for my Houston trip. Of course I dropped my suitcase and joined her.

I knew we would be hiking a bit, so I packed my small art kit with me as well as a take out lunch from Orange Cat in Lewiston. The first surprise was how close we parked to the trail, and the second was how easy a hike it was, new trail had been cut and it was wider with crushed stone and mostly trimmed bushes and overhangs. Even the final long staircase was new with handrails and landings.

First things first, we sat and ate lunch....and talked....and contemplated the water, then we talked some more. We eventually got to work, but the quiet time down on the Niagara rivershore with eddies and flows, little whirlpools and changing water depth was just the recipe for a perfect day.

Glorious painting day

'Autumn on the Ridge' is a 12x18" oil painted yesterday on Lower Mountain Road, at a Shaw Barn paint out. I started with a 5x7 plan which sparkled in the morning light, it was mostly overcast for the rest of the day when I worked on this, but the brilliant Fall colors stood out against the farm buildings. I thought about naming it after the profusion of purple asters along the fields in the painting and the ride through Sanborn.