St. Anthony and the Silver Hoops

A small, strange magical story that happened last week.

Have you ever heard of of the little prayer to St. Anthony regarding lost objects?




I've always used it with good results - don't ask. I'm not an organized religion follower, yet I enjoy some of the Catholic saints.  I'm known for my St. Francis artwork and enjoy painting them because of the love and relationship he had with nature and animals.

St. Anthony is another person who has had a positive effect.
My little magic story:

I wore a pair of silver hoops shopping one day and discovered one missing when I got back into my hot car after shopping . I went back into the store and asked if anyone had turned it in - of course not.

I was bummed. So even though the earring had been lost at the store, I repeated the little prayer several times when I got home, then gave up. This was three weeks ago.

The other day, I got a back pack out I hadn't used -  since May. When I reached into the front pocket, there was the other silver hoop earring...
Honestly, I was astonished and in wonder - but refrained from the usual questions. Focused on Gratitude instead :)
Yes, magic Does exist, especially when we least expect it.

St. Francis Love

St. Francis pet portrait paintings always get a lot of love. Whimsical, cheerful, full of details and color.  St. Francis pet portraits are very personal keepsakes of happy memories with our beloved furry companions.

Visit my Art Of Sue Etsy shop HERE  for St. Francis commissions and prints.

St. Francis and Kitties has been featured in Etsy's Catholic art collection Polyvore religious art, Pinterest, Facebook and more.  Here is this week's featured St. Francis pet portrait image: (sorry about the big watermark.)

St. Francis and Kitties pet portrait. Art Of Sue for commissions and prints.

St. Francis in Texas

St. Francis love is universal and here he is in Texas.
Instead of the glass painting, this is an acrylic on a 9x12" cradled board.

St. Francis main companions are two loving brindle boxers, a clever Amazon green napped parrot and a sweet Angus cow. Whimsical accents of regional flora and fauna surround them.
The rest is my imagination to add a bit of magic in a place of love, trust and peace.

Some of the flora and fauna include: Vermilion flycatcher, Scissor tailed flycatcher, Meadow lark, Green Jay, Red winged Blackbird, Armadillo, Jackrabbit, Rat, Gopher, cactus, flowers. The white iris and house in the trees on the horizon are part of their ranch.

It's Dogtoberfest 2014

Fall is here with all the crazy activities jammed together in three short months. 90 days or so of lots of choices, so little time - Tucson style.

My booth at this year's Dogtoberfest is sponsored by diMosaico and will have animal and pet related artwork, demonstrration of mosaic, and a drawing for an art print and mosaic class.

Dogtoberfest is at the beginning of the activities whirl and well worth attending. If you're like most folks, we love to watch the parade of people and their pets in all sizes, shapes and colors. 

There are many fun dog activities if you choose to bring your Well Mannered Leashed K9 companion.

However, if you want to cruise and look - there are costumed doggies, activities, food, live music, and booths with lots of fun items.

Song To Sister Earth

Color Study for garden birds painting. Another 'singing' quote. Since it will be in a different media I wanted to do a color study first - adjust colors, shape relations. Playing with hand lettering :)

I have actually seen two amazing Indigo Buntings when I lived back east. What a thrill it was to watch these beautiful birds - their color seems surreal. If you want to hear their song, just do a search for audio on bird songs - it's cool :)

Colored Pencils, Prismacolor.

Song to Sister Earth - Sue Betanzos