A new cemetery photo, Lonely Angel:

A lone angel statue, standing against a purple sunset sky. The original photo was taken at the historic Santa Clara Mission Cemetery. This California landscape, from the Eternal Wanderings series, is offered as a print on fine art paper (soft, matte finish) from an artistically enhanced photograph. The copyright watermarks on the image do not appear on the actual print.

A new one in the Eternal Wanderings series, Grave Redwoods:

Three stately redwood trees stand among the tombstones and monuments, watching over the graves. The original photo was taken at the Madronia Cemetery in Saratoga. This California landscape, from the Eternal Wanderings series, is offered as a print on fine art paper (soft, matte finish) from an artistically enhanced photograph. The copyright watermarks on the image do not appear on the actual print.

After spending so much time visiting cemeteries for my ghost paintings, I decided to try out offering the photos for sale as well, figuring there were people out there who love these places as much as I do. I call the series, Eternal Wanderings.

In search for interesting cemeteries for my ghost series of paintings, I found a fantastic one, right near home. The Santa Clara Memorial Park. It's even dog friendly! My mom's dog, Star, found a friend there (Star is the white dog). Interesting monuments and trees, including redwoods and pepper trees. We got there late so we only had time for a short visit but I'll be back soon.

New ghost painting, Lenore in the Breaking Dawn:

In her prettiest ballgown, the ghost of Lenore casts a final look at the raven, before the day breaks and she fades. The rising sun illuminates the haunted cemetery, casting light of pink, deepening to magenta. Cherry blossom petals dance among the tombstones. This Gothic fantasy landscape, inspired by the "The Raven" poem by Edgar Allan Poe, is an original acrylic painting on a gallery-wrapped stretched canvas (the 3/4" sides are finished off in black acrylic)--no need to frame. It has been lightly varnished to protect the paint and preserve the lustrous colors. The copyright watermarks on the image do not appear on the actual painting.

Found another great site on etsy, sewmeamemory, featuring all kinds of clothing, items for the home, accessories. This little girl's purse is just too adorable:

One thing I love for breakfast is a whole-grain English muffin and some sort of fancy jam. I found a great shop on etsy, dasweetspot. The Vanilla Bean with Pears Jam is particularly tempting.

Today, I went on a little day trip to Monterey to gather inspiration for my Haunted California series, and more Lenore paintings. There was a fantastic cemetery there. I took over 100 photos. Here are some highlights...
My personal favorite for "Spookiest Tree in the Cemetery":

Unusual cross covered in seashells:

One of the many mausoleums. This one was a little fancier:

These tall cypress trees stood like sentinels, watching over the graves:

This was a different one with an Asian theme:

And, as we were leaving, I spotted this sweet little angel statue near the base of a tree:

New ghost painting, "Bent Cypress and Blue Lady":

A local legend, the ghost of the Blue Lady walks the bluff along Half Moon Bay. She wears an evening gown from the roaring 20's. A crow (messenger between worlds) perches on one of the distinctive cypress trees. Seagulls glide through clouds in gentle shades of mauve, gray and purple tones. A golden halo surrounds the sun in the late afternoon. This haunted California paranormal fantasy seascape is an original acrylic painting on a gallery-wrapped stretched canvas (the 3/4" sides are finished off in dark green acrylic)--no need to frame. It has been lightly varnished to protect the paint and preserve the lustrous colors. The copyright watermarks on the image do not appear on the actual painting.

I am inspired to work on more ghost paintings so I looked up some older cemeteries to visit. Today, we went to Los Gatos Memorial Park (in San Jose, California). We had the puppy with us so we couldn't go in. I took some photos at the entrance gate (where there was a crow...I thought that a good omen) and where the hedge was low enough. We saw there was another entrance on the other side but we couldn't find it so that will have to wait for another trip. Here are some images from the excursion:

Happy New Year! Got my newsletter out: Click here for my January 2011 newsletter. Chock full of special offers and a nice recap of new pieces. There's a sign up on my website, or email me.

I can't really say when it started but, for years, I've wanted to go to the ocean near the new year. This year, we went to Santa Cruz. This was a particularly inspirational photo, I thought, of the light and the ocean.

And wouldn't this be a great house to have.