Grandma's Card Tree:Decorations

Grandma's Christmas Card holder from the 1960's makes a great way to display hand painted ornaments. This is the display for the open house at Fox Den Antiques.
For more information on about the art of L.L.Martin go to www.llmartin.com

Betty's booth at Culpeper Antiques. She how she has the paintings hanging so that when you approach the booth you can see the reflection of the paintings on the oppsitewalls. Very Kewl I think! Betty has a lot of really good ideas! 

My new profile pic!

me and nika


Sometimes Nika has the cutest face; other times she looks like she is barely submitting to the degradation... hahaha! I think she would rather be playing ball here. This picture was taken last week so it's recent. Like how come my gray hair never shows in these... the camera is kind!!!!!! Favor Favor Favor!!!

For more information on about the art of L.L.Martin go to www.llmartin.com or Linda's Art News

Nika at 9 months

Nika 9 months
Nika remains such a wonderful blessing Cat. brought to me at a time when God was not only teaching about his generosity and amazing grace but he was and still is begining to restore everything I lost through time, rebellion and theft. Nika has opal eyes, very light blue with flecks of gold that nearly appear white but arent. She is very indepent but needs a cuddle at least once a day. And I do mean a cuddle. I have to pick her up and hold her like a little baby and she wraps her paws around my arm as i stroke her face and murmmer about how wonderful she is. She purrs and purrs and unless Nikki comes into the room she would allow me to hold her like that for a continuing lenght of time.
Dont we all need that? To at least once a day hear how wonderful we are. Its refuge, encouragement, intimacy, helps in positive growth. My time with God is like that each day. I go before him; I am awed by his perfection his love of me; his grace and his power over life and death; and I kneel before him and he takes my hand and lifts me into his lap and holds me, wipes away my tears, listens to everything as if I was the most important person in the entire word and when I am comforted and reassured and affirmed by him he lets me get from his lap and allows me to play and sing and dance at his feet and he laughs with me and enjoys my company. this is a blessing of those who are servents of God. We go to him anytime. Daily, many times daily, all day long.. repentent and fully his and he never rejects us. And we know our importance and that he delights in us.
Nika has a game.. its one only a few special cats have that there must be an apptitude for. Nikki doesnt understand it and thinks its weird. And he trys to stay out of the way when its being played. Nika likes to play fetch. She is passionate about it but not obcessed. And once a day she brings me a crumpled piece of paper and tosses it at my feet repeatedly until i throw it for her. And I laugh and throw it and challenge her and delight in the game.

I looked up her name when I decided to call her Nika. It means belonging to God. She is the first animal I've ever had that I have decidated back to God. I love her with a special foundness .. unique from NIkki but she is for God's purposes and what he decides for her I will do.

I love this photo and how the light makes her look so romantic. Someday I might actually paint it.
For more information on about the art of L.L.Martin go to www.llmartin.com or Linda's Art News

Close up of the garden chicken at Lackawanna B&B in Riverton, Virginia

After two weeks of painting bread and butter paintings this 9 by 12 watercolor of a jack russel terrier and a white pony immerged.  

Nika helping me work. 

IM IN!!!!!!!!! My space at Fox Den Antiques

My Space at Fox Den Antiques


Well after trying to find a place for me for 5 years several of the vendors finally decided to strike out on their own and open businesses so there was suddenly space available for me in the Fox Den. Right now Im the only artist in there. We shall see if any others wise up to the idea. I really love the people that stop in and I shall be continuing my monthly demonstrations in watercolor there on the first of every month. So far the response has been great now to make some sales!!!!


To read more about Linda L. Martin the web and up coming events look at Linda's site www.llmartin.com or check out Linda's Art News

Nika, She IS growing up

Nika does have her most beautiful and ellagant moments. Here she is almost 3 months old. Her great great grandfather was Nikki's dad Koddiak. I really love this baby but to tell you the truth I havent been able to keep my house clean since she got here.The other night I walked into my bedroom and turned on my light and she had stalked, killed and shredded an entirely new roll of toilet paper all over my clean carpet. Hahaha there wasnt a place on that floor that wasnt covered in shredded tissue! She was sooooo pleased with her self and completely exhasted

For more information about L.L.Martin and her art, check out her website at http://www.llmartin.com/ or her other blog at Linda's Latest Art News

YEAH! ITS ALL about my cat!(?)

Here's Nikki's portrait. He is even more famous now! The prints are available through my online Gallery or just contact me at contact@llmartin.com. They sell for $25 ea unframed.


For more information about L.L.Martin and her art, check out her website at http://www.llmartin.com/ or her other blog at http://sunnymondays.blogspot.com/

Birth.. er.. um...adoption??....well look and see she IS cute!

This is Nika my newest family member. She was about 6 weeks old in this picture.Nikki really loves her...most of the time.hahaha.


For more information about L.L.Martin and her art, check out her website at http://www.llmartin.com/ or her other blog at http://sunnymondays.blogspot.com/

I really love the way this Chocolate lab turned out. It was a recent commission. Its watercolor on 140lb cold pressed paper. Its about 16" by 20" 

The display at Fox Den Antiques. Yeah its a real Persian Rug! 

Just when you think things cant get worse and other blessings from God!

Im stunned.. well i was yesterday. Last week was an amazing blessing. Kim the owner of Pennsylviania Landscape Gallery in Wellsboro PA bought 13 of my paintings. Including "The Buck" Kim and I met through E-bay the fall before my father died. She bought up nearly everything I put on ebay. She's a Christian and former Art teacher. We lost touch a couple of years ago but she finally found my e-mail and contacted me a few weeks ago. So thats an amazing blessing to hear from her again and have her purchase some of my work.

Last weekend Was the monthly antiques, collectables and art weekend at Fox Den Antiques. It was the weekend that almost didnt happen for me. We had lots and lots of rain. and I wasnt sure I would be able to exhibit and demonstraite my work because there wasnt a place for me inside. But when I arrived back in town on Saturday morning I went streight to The "DEN" and Lori greeted me at the door with "did you get my message" She then proceeded to tell me that at the last minute they had a vendor move out so there was a prime space for me to set up for the entire weekend. I was so grateful. I didnt know how on earth I was going to lug all my stuff in and out of the building by my self two days in a row. Every person that bought a painting this weekend wanted a real origional not a reproduction. That was amazing. I doubled my best sale day even with such a messy weekend. Thanks to Lori who suggested I add jack russel terriers to the subject matter. All the mini foxes sold, one barn and a number of those terrier paintings. ...hey it pays to take advice from some one who knows the market!

WEll that brings me to the last thing... that thing that has me stunned. For the last 10 weeks I have been really struggling. I mean Ive been trying to get my mom taken care of, to drs appointments, taking physical therapy twice a week ( aqua therapy) recover from the pain and the strain of it, and hit prayer meetings at two churches.. load and unload the car (80 ft walk to my car one way... and paint and teach... and.. yesterday I found out why it was so hard...*long sigh*...

On march 10th during my intake exam for physical therapy I rebroke my unstable ankle. Now I could be really discouraged about this cause its like really messed up. I can have a cast for 6 months, or an op to reattach the tendon or just walk around with it in a splint for the rest of my life. Geeze no wonder I couldnt dance at the Powwow two weeks ago. .. well i might do the last one... the splint thing for a while... I mean this is really crummy you know... then I suddenly realized

LOOK AT ALL I'VE ACCOMPLISHED in spite of it!!!

Am I not just the most amaz..... geeze...... no im not all that amazing.

The realitiy of it is that God is so merciful and kind that through his HOLY SPIRIT during all that weakness.. all that pain.. all that struggle to do what was required, he was my complete strenght. I didnt really accomplish anything.. he just showed my his great favor in the midst of something I didnt even know about that was wrong. I never had time to even go to the doctor until yesterday. So I could just sit here and fuss and grumble and be angry about this turn of events when Im trying so hard to loose weight and get fit, but I am sitting here trusting that all of this is just part of the bigger plan that I havent seen yet. Im not going to change a thing except that now I dont have to feel guilty about sitting down when the pain gets too bad. whoohoo.. AMAZING GRACE!

Art on the Radio! Kewl Beans!

This morning I was on the radio promoting The Monthly event at Fox Den Antiques. This painting(Golden Moment) was dontated to WPRZ Praise Radio to use in their fund raising. Its one of my favorite Landscapes from the Fenton Farm Series I did last summer. Pictured with me is Radio Show Personality John Etcher the morning DJ on 1250am in Warrenton.

*******

For more information about L.L.Martin and her art,

check out her website at http://www.llmartin.com/

or her other blog at http://sunnymondays.blogspot.com/

My biggests problem, as always, is having enough framed work. I also try to have a lot of bread and butter stuff. These things are between $3 and $25. Little water color paintings of cats, rabbits, foxes and maybe horses are just studies that can sell quickly with no frills. After I paint a number of these, gradually I begin putting in more and more detail, until this little fox I'm holding was so good that I framed it. A study might sell for $15 or $20 but as a detailed watercolor, framed, it will go for between $75 and $80 

Ive been working hard to get ready for the first art event of the spring. Fox den antiques in Warrenton, Va is hosting a Spring Fling for Artists, Craftsmen, and Antique Dealers. They invivted me to set up inside and demostraite painting. I've been working on finishing a number of paintings. Some like this one of the Orange County Hounds I started years ago. At the moment lots of high humidity days is stopping me from finishing it. I may not have it done by this friday. 

Late Start to 2005

I cant believe that nearly 4 months have passed since my last post on this blog! Believe me it wasn't on purpose. First I got caught up in Christmas, then right after finishing a rushed commissioned portrait for a dear friend's birthday my mom enters the hospital for "DOUBLE" knee replacement. This was January 13th.

After the operation I spent every day with mom until January 18th when I caught the flu. I cant believe I caught the flu. I was still taking antibiotics for the secondary infection as late as last week. My cough is finally gone. But I missed the entire month some place. I finally was able to visit mom in the Hospital Rehab two weeks before she was able to go home.

It was really tough for mom. She lost her ability to see, to write, to stand. The drs say most of it was due to the medication. She is one brave and feisty lady! She fell once in the hospital and twice at Rehab. I found out about it once my fever was gone and I could visit her again. Needless to say I didn't get much painting done over the winter. And here it is only a week before my first selling exhibit of the year and Im rushing around trying to get the paintings done, framed and take mom to the Dr and pick up medical equipment.

Its kind of exciting though. I will never forget my amazement when mom stood up straight for the first time in maybe 8 years. And When she walked down the ramp to the car for the first time! True she was using a walker. But she did it and fast too!

She is doing strength exercises now. She just needs to increase her stamina and get stronger and she will be ready to boogie back to work! She is graduating to two canes this coming week .. Well as soon as I pick them up after the holiday. She is pretty excited about it.

Thanks everyone who prayed for us during this time. Please keep on praying for us too.

******

For more information about L.L.Martin and her art, check out her website at http://www.llmartin.com/ or her other blog at http://sunnymondays.blogspot.com/

Is there a song about working elves?? Hmmmm

I wonder if my family gets tired of getting a painting from me each year. Gosh some of them must have quite a collection by now. Well one year I wrote a short story and sent it to all of them hahaha.It wasnt a very good story but at least it was something. Since then both my writing and my painting have really improved. Thank you God for that!


These are 4 of the ten or so paintings I am working on for family members. Blues and greens is the theme this year. The paintings are between 6" by 8" and 5" by 7" depending on what I cut them from. I hate to waste paper but they should be able to frame them at 5" by 7" and it wont cost too much. I dont usually do oil paintings this size. No one will buy them for what I would have to charge to sell them. hahaha. I guess that makes them worth even more right? *hopeful look*

Dont forget to check out my website at : www.llmartin.com If you look in the gift shop section you can see the Christmas Fox. There is still time before Christmas to order it. Its a reprint of one of my most popular paintings. I used it as a Christmas card in 1995

Its Christmas Time AGAIN!!!!!

Well this year Im challenged again LOL.

Its Christmas time and I have 35 students to find Christmas presents for. And due to some sort of administration error one of my contracts isn't paying me as much as we thought soooo its just a good thing I'm an artist.

Each one of those clothes pins represents about 10 to 15 3" by 5" Watercolors. Well except the land scape.. those are oils and there are only 6 of those..for teachers aids and such. I have to say.. I am grateful that I'm blessed with talent or I would never be able to pull this off.

I sure hope the children love them. Its so hard to tell when they reach 12. Before that you can pretty much keep a child in awe because they haven't figured out yet what they can do. Now they are pushing the limits at ever turn seeing not only what they can get away with but what they can do with out your help when you show them how.. Its really kind of neat.

Dont forget to check out my website at www.llmartin.com I have prints of the Christmas Fox there and there is still time to order *S*

FOX DEN ANTIQUES:Arts and Crafts Day (#3)

Here is space #25 near the front door of Fox Den Antiques.Tom, the guy who had spaces on either side of me had some amazing things he had purchased at estate sales.

Tom, the gentleman who basically surrounded me on both sides, turned out to be a very interesting chap with a hobby of hitting estate sales and buying anything that he liked for a $1 and usually ending up with more than he bargained for.

Tom had a great number of prints from modern certified fine art prints by quasi well known artists to Currier and Ives reproductions , Mort Kuntsler(the civil war painter) and even a print of Winslow Homer’s. Tom had so much in fact that he hadn’t even had a chance to look through it and price it. What was really interesting about Tom was watching him work.. he is a master sales man and hardly anyone who walked by didn’t get his full attention and didn’t leave with out buying something. He was fun to talk with too. All in all the day went pretty fast.

I would say it was a better than average day. I enjoyed meeting so many people and probably gave away about 40 business cards. Lori liked my work so much that she invited me to have her hang it in her booth. I agreed and left 17 pieces with her and will bring a few more reproductions on Tuesday I hope.

I guess the biggest surprise of the day was at the very end when I was getting ready to leave and all my display things were packed up. Tom gave me the table I had been praying for. Sure it’s a little wobbly, but that’s no problem I can fix it. Now I have a place to write and a place to cut out my sewing projects. All I have to do is clean out the office so it will fit. Thanks Tom. ( and thanks God for getting that one to me so quickly*grin*)

FOX DEN ANTIQUES: Arts and Crafts Day (#2)

I got my vitimine D for the entire year and a sunburned nose.. More importantly a lot of people who haddn't seen my art had the opportunity today!

By noon the sun began to burn off the fog and facing me was the sun.. something at my age I try to avoid if at all possible. I did get a fine sun burn on my nose and I'm sure my annual shot of Vitimine D that afternoon. I had Art work flowing out of the trunk of my car.

Today I was good will hunting… meaning giving out as many cards as possible and talking to people about art or what ever they had on their minds. Several friends I hadn't seen in years wandered by and talked to me about things that varied from art to the housing boom to polotics. One lady, whose visit I enjoyed immensely even had a light hearted discussion with me about what idioms a real southern lady would use or not use that would be perfectly acceptable today.

By 1 pm there was the first vestiges of the change of the day. There is a tattoo parlor on the next street over. And they were having a live rock band and motor cyclists and road racers started arriving with loud showy roars. For a fleeting second one wondered what one might be in the middle of..

I mentioned to one worried vendor that if any of the motorcycle people had their Ladies with them we would soon have a new wave of customers. It wasn't long until several couples did in fact show up. I thought it interesting that the guys with long hair tucked it up so they looked more main stream.
After a while some lady walked by my spot and asked what was going on with the music( like I know every thing hahaha) I said, " Why didn't you know? Its Ozz Fest!" (yes a few people actually smiled at that hahaha!)

FOX DEN ANTIQUES: Arts and crafts day (#1)

When the sun finally came out I had art work spilling out of the back of my car.

Its 5am Saturday October 30, 2004. I've already had my shower. I'm listening to the radio. It's a Foggy dark Saturday morning. The fog is heavy and WTOP radio is telling those of us who are reluctantly awake that when the fog burns off it will be 80 degrees and their will be intermittent showers. It's a crummy day to have paintings outside.

I'm a trouper I've done this hundreds of times over the years. I know the drill. You go, you drink coffee, you look hopefully at the sky and when there is a break, you pull out three or 4 pieces that can be easily snatched up if it rains, then you do your best to make a sale.

I pulled my car into my vendor spot, #25, right in front of the building. And very close to the front door incase I needed to go inside. It was kind of Lori, the event organizer, to allow me that. My options were to leave, to stay and set up or to wait it out until the weather cleared.

By 8:30 I noticed the misting drizzle was nearly gone although the fog was still thick but clearing. I pulled out the new Fine art reproductions that were framed and the one framed painting on canvas. I had two goals.. to prove that my work was good enough to be hung inside and to test market the fine art reproductions. I made my only sale of the day by 8:45. And discovered that if I had more of those two prints framed and out where people could see them I would have sold more.

More Bitter Sweet: The Passing of a Generation

My Aunt June passed away yesterday morning......

http://www.angelfire.com/jazz/llmartin0/bit.html

The Buck. Last of the series offered for sale.

The Buck
The Buck is one of the last of the deer and horse series. It was completed in 1994 and framed in a simple maple frame with a deep red/brown cherry stain. The painting was painted on Wild Cat Mountian near Front Royal Virginia and was one of the pod bucks that lived on the property of the artist's parents. At that time the artist was reusing, muslin some of which was printed on in fabric ink. This is the case of this canvas which was gessoed over by the artist then the Buck painting applied in polymer which wont chemically react to any fabric ink that might leeche through the gesso. The Canvas is 24 inches by 24 inches and is ready to hang. It is offered for sale for $800 firm plus any shipping and handling that might be incurred. If the painting must be shipped insurance is required and will also be added to the price. Contact the artist via e-mail or if you have her business card phone her.

Were some of my inspirations come from...Mom's House.

These are the trees behind my mom's house on the mountian.
Taken just a few min apart from the sun set down the drive way in the west, you can see why visiting there always inspires me. I have done hundreds of paintings from there, including my deer and horse series from the 1990s. Double click on the picture to see it bigger.

If you would like to see some of my deer and horse series paintings
click here>> Nature and Country Life. At this time all of the paintings on that page are sold and in private collections. I hope to have the Judd-Crossman gallery site linked to the www.llmartin.com site very soon. I need to up date The JCG site first and finish the www.llmartin.com site. I have a lot of new work that needs to be put up still.

My table at the River Front Christian School Bazaar on Saturday October16th. I was there at 7:30 am setting up and taking these pictures. It rained on and off but a lot of the students stopped by with parents and grandparents so I could show off their art work too. It was a great day really even though we didnt have a lot of people stop in because of the rain Im sure. 

Provocative Laughter: Little purrs now and then

These two kittens are creating a little conterversy at my mom's house.
Smudge is the one on the left andTucker the name of the little boy. Last Friday night he spent trying to pull the sheet off of me and clawed up the back of my leg.

These two were orphans and the little girl we didnt think would live. They were only three weeks old when my neice found them and phoned me telling me the mom had abandonded them. We think she was ill. I told my niece what to do and she convinced my sister to run over to*PET SMART* in Winchester, Virginia and buy formula and kitten bottels. My niece did a great job saving these kittens of course I think my two sisters helped too.

They are now ready to adopt out. I havent any Idea if it will actually happen. My sisters have been under such stress with all the changes of jobs and such that the kittens came along just in time to cheer them up. There is spontanious laughter at mom's now. Its been a long time since that has happened. this weekend when I was home I discovered that each kitten had adopted one of my sisters hahahaha and at night when its time for bed the kittens climb right in with them. It is my understanding that smudge will actually climb under the covers and put her head on the pillow. *thoughtful look* Misha used to do that when she was a kitten. In Fact Misha would get tired of waiting up for me and just put herself to bed. Amazing the first time I lost her I found her in my bed with her little furry head on the pillow and her body under the covers. hahaha ..