The art part of my life is becoming increasingly important and that is unexpected – and exciting – for me. I started painting about ten years ago, quite by accident, and art has been a growing passion.
I recently got inspired by my sister Roberta Cullen‘s bird (named Fido because she and her husband, Jim, have always wanted a dog but have a lifestyle, with lots of travel and cruises, that doesn’t suit a dog’s life).

So I painted two watercolors of Fido. In the process I realized what fun shapes are created by the beaks and cheeks and feathers of birds, not to mention those lovely eyes, so I painted more birds. Sandy Pohl, owner of the Louis Pohl Gallery, loved my birds, especially the “Gossip” series that depicts three birds on a branch, two of them gossiping about the other bird. She sold several of them and asked if she could create greeting cards from one of the watercolors. Of course! What fun!

I remembered that my friend Lynda Sakraida, creative genius behind Hadji Baba Bags (scroll back to one of my first blogs for a story about her) has two of the most beautiful birds ever: Hadji Baba (yes, she named her business after her bird) and Peaches. I asked Lynda to send me a photo of her birds and I painted a watercolor of the two of them having a little tete a tete.

She loved it so much she had it framed and here it is:

That's Peaches on the left and Hadji on the right.

Another favorite subject is fruits and vegetables: beets, carrots, radishes, mangos, papayas…. yummy colors and textures. I recently sold my mango and papaya paintings (acrylics on canvas) and made the mistake of not photographing them first, so I can’t show them here. Ugh. I need to make it a habit to photograph all my work. I hope you will remember to always photograph your creative endeavors before you put them out into the world, whether they are jewelry, dolls, ceramics, clothing, art or whatever. Keep a record!

– Paula Rath