"The Stone Bridge"

This painting will appeal to the traditional landscape lover. Who does not love an Old Stone Bridge, water and a barn that has been ravaged by the tests of time?

The bright yellow and crimson of the sky is reflected into the water that flows lazily under the bridge and past the barn, through the snow covered brush interrupted only by a broken fence.

This painting makes you wonder how many teams of horses have hauled hay across that bridge to be stored in the barn over the years, and how long has it been since the barn was used.

The Painted Ladys Story

Once upon a time there was a little blonde haired girl, who grew up happy in a little tiny midwestern town, and lived a pretty normal life. Although she had 4 siblings they were all grown and gone and she, her mom and her dad lived a pretty non descript life.

Finally when she was 9, her mom and dad adopted a happy little tiny baby boy, and then they were four.When the little girl became a teen she did well in school, in fact she was an A student and wanted to be a lawyer. And she LOVED ART. One day a little window opened in her high school art class, showing her that she loved to paint. She dabbled a bit and her mom and dad bought her some paints for home, and she taught herself more, and soon she had so many little paintings of pretty flowers, her room was full.









Then she got bored. As she grew into an older teen, in spite of the fact that her dad was the Chief of Police and her parents were quite strict, she got into her fair share of trouble. One thing led to another, most that she lived to regret. Fast forward several years and this young lady was now a young mom, in a troubled marriage with three young sons. Yes, she still had those pretty flower paintings and yes she still had the little tan suitcase full of oil paints tubes and brushes that her mom and dad had bought her so many years back. But now, she had bigger things to worrry about.

When her marriage finally hit it's lowest point, she packed her boys and left, and never looked back. By the time she got back to that house to recover the things she could, the little tan suitcase and the pretty flower paintings were gone, destroyed in a fit of rage and revenge, by a man that knew full well what he had taken from her. But she had bigger things to worry about and life moved on.

Many years passed, and that little girl, who became a trouble young woman, married again and learned that life could be quite nice. Over the years as she went to museums and art and craft fairs, she told her new husband wistfully "I used to do that" "I wish I still Painted" or "I bet I could do that", as she pointed to other's work that she so admired. But life moved quickly, raising five sons and being active duty Navy was more important.

One day many years later, this much older lady still had five sons, but they were grown. Life had quieted down a great deal indeed. She had a great life, with a loving husband and sons and she was happy. Though something was missing, she didnt know what, in fact she didn't really even know something was missing.

But Poppy did. He bought her some paint, for Valentines Day, and threw down the proverbial gauntlet. "Paint" he said, "Put to some use that easel that you have been dragging around for years, you know, the one I thought you were nuts for buying at that garage sale"

And she did. And she found what was missing, and she never looked back. And from that happy little girl, that grew into a troubled young woman, and found herself happy so many years later - an Artist was born.







So there you have it. Now you know. This is the story of The Painted Lady, and the man that knew what was missing, and the Art that bubbled and brewed patiently in her soul for so many long years, until it was given back to her. And she was complete.

Thank you Poppy.

1500 Fan Celebration

It is amazing but soon I will be hitting yet another milestone here at The Painted Lady's Place, 1500 Fans! In honor of that unbelievable milestone, and in light of the new restrictive FB rules on Contests and Giveaways, I have decided to resurrect my blog, and use it wisely! If you are interested in entering to win SUNFIRED BRANCHES, AN ORIGINAL FULL SIZE OIL ON CANVAS PAINTING, by The Painted Lady aka Vicky Carra - Then click on the words 1500 Fan Celebration beneath the main photo on this page. That will take you to the Giveaway page, read and follow the instructions, and then leave me your email (to contact you if you win) address. I do not want your paypal address now, (winner only pays shipping and handling). IF you win, then and only then will I ask for your paypal address! Best of Luck everyone and please spread the word!

"Hometown Hero" This painting will be auctioned off in August at a benefit auction in Guthrie Ok. to raise money for a severely injured U.S. soldier from the war in Afghanistan, Rusty Dunaway

How do you do what you do, is a question I hear a lot. I dont really know, to tell you the truth, it just happens. In this post though, I will attempt to show you how it happens...

First you lay in the background colors, what color the sky and the underlying landscape will look like - those subtle, almost not there colors, and just hint at the 'lay of the land'.

Next you begin to see the important elements 'the meat and potatoes' of the painting, those things that will capture your interest and draw you into the painting, and additional background elements, like the faintly showing fence behind the sliver of a pond and the trees surrounding it. The barn and the silo will be central figures in this painting.

Next the faraway fence is detailed more strongly, since I have decided it is a 'keeper'. More detail, the doors and windows, and patriotic themed wall painting appear on the barn, as well as some additional detail on the silo.

More color in the upper reaches of the sky, a weathervane on the barn, pasture detail, the road and the fence come into play to add a richness of detail. One begins to feel the loneliness of the midwestern farm family that owns this barn, for a loved one serving so far away from home.

The foreground cottonwood tree, dressed in its fall foliage is added... still in those rich golden fall colors that will be the central palette of this painting.

Next the light playing on the roof and side of the silo, a wheelbarrow alongside the barn, the gate on the fence and the yellow ribbon around the tree further enhance the details. Now you know this family has a loved one, serving our country on a distant shore, and they long for his safe return.

And finally the final details are added. Touches of color to enhance the landscape and central figures, along with a new shed at the side of the barn (the wheelbarrow is inside!), and another smaller tree at the side of the barn to add balance and just a 'pop' of color, still in the fall tones, but to add visual interest, just a bit more orange.

AND JUST LIKE THAT, A PAINTING IS BORN. I hope that you can feel the quiet patriotism of my midwestern upbringing in this painting, and more than that, I hope it brings in a great deal of money for Rusty and his family, as well as bringing years of pleasure to it's new owner.