Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Thursday Thirteen - 106 - 13 Paintings By My Sister-in-Law, Violetta Smith


Oh look - there she is waiting for us. Hi, Violetta! ((hug))

Happy Birthday!

"Thank you Julia," she says as we head over to the gallery. I'm celebrating my sister-in-law's birthday today by having a showing of her work in my cyber gallery. "That is very nice of you," Violetta says. "That will make me feel very special."




Her husband Jeff meets us on the balcony before we head into the art show. "Hey bro," Jeff says to my husband Brad.

"Hey, Jeff," says Brad.

"Hey, Big Guy!" Violetta says, hugging Brad.



"Happy Birthday!" Brad says, giving her a big hug.

"I hope I don't have to make any speeches," Violetta says, laughing.

"Nah," I scoff. We're almost at the door. She turns and looks at Jeff, takes his hand and walks into the gallery.


















As I watch her walk in and look around at her paintings, I squeeze my husband's hand and feel so lucky to have Violetta as my sister-in-law.

Those Smith men really are magnetic - my husband pulled me from the Maritimes across three provinces to Ontario so we could meet. Jeff pulled Violetta all the way from Poland. It's probably why Violetta and I get along so well. We both fell under the same Smith spell.

I've always admired her adventurous spirit, coming to Canada and seizing life with both hands. I love her no-nonsense style, her easy laughter and her get-on-with-it manner.

I'm so glad you've come to my art show today, so we can enjoy the world as Violetta sees it.

Well, here we go.


- 1
















- 2














- 3














- 4














- 5














- 6
















- 7














- 8














- 9

















- 10

















- 11

















- 12
















- 13














Ha! Ha! Here comes Violetta, bobbing through the crowd with food for us.

"What are you doing?" I ask. "I should be getting it for you!"

"Just sit down and eat it!" she says.










Who can argue with that?

Happy Birthday, Violetta.


And thanks to you for joining us at her art show.





Marcia says Wow. I am so impressed. I do love her art work.

Jen says They are all amazing.... I love 7 and 12!!

Adelle Laudan says Those are fabulous. What a talented lady.

37 comments:

marcia@joyismygoal said...

Wow I am so impressed I do love her art work #6 looks like my childhood homes backyard

Jen said...

What a talent! They are all amazing.... I love 7 and 12!!

Unknown said...

Those are fabulous. I think I like number 10 best. What a talented lady. Happy T13!

Kristen said...

What wonderful art. Thank you for sharing it and your sister in law with us. I love #1.

Alice Audrey said...

I really like #11.

They have her coloring. :)

Rekaya Gibson said...

I love your photos. My favorite is #9. Thanks for sharing.

Thorne said...

Lovely...

anthonynorth said...

They're beautiful. She's very talented.

Hootin Anni said...

very impressive art work....and a beautiful sister in law.

My 13 is posted. Either use the link provided at the top of my Thursday blog or scroll down to the bottom of the entry. It’s English for Dummies!…..fun. Have a great day.

Mia Celeste said...

Nice work. I like the ones with the children best.

I am Harriet said...

wow. Nice paintings!

Tracey said...

What talent! The paintings are gorgeous!

Susan Cook said...

Great art work. Your Sister-in-law is very talented. I love the first one.

Happy TT!

Chameleon@CoffeeBreak said...

So beautiful - and how lucky she is to have you as such an enthusiastic fan. #1 completely stole my heart.

Dorte H said...

Oh Julia, you must tell Violetta that her paintings are wonderful! They are all great, but my favourites are no 1,8 and 10.

How great for you to have such a sister-in-law, and I really liked ´the Smith spell´ :D

I can feel that I have a broad grin on my face now - thank you for a bright and uplifting post on a rainy day!

Sandee said...

Wow, she is indeed very talented. Beautiful. You are very lucky to have her as a SIL.

Have a terrific day. :)

Susan Helene Gottfried said...

She's got a great style. Happy birthday to her!

Daisy said...

What awesome paintings! I love the flower ones, especially the tulips. Happy TT!

Thursday 13 - edition 7
101 Things About Me

Isolated Existence. said...

She's very talented! I love #4, #5 and #10. Beautiful!

efaqffqaewfm said...

I love 3 and 6! I wish I could paint :o) Fantastic pieces!

Travis Cody said...

Wonderful pieces. Thanks for sharing them.

Dorothy said...

That was a fantastic art show. Your sister-in-law, Viloetta has a wonderful talent. I love her flowers, and the scene where the little girl is in a field of flowers. But they're all good. Hard to pick just one. Thanks for sharing her talent with us.

Shelley Munro said...

Firstly, happy birthday, Violetta. You're very talented. I loved the art show, and it's very difficult to pick a favorite. Can I have one of each?

M. said...

well, darn. i left a comment on wordless wednesday that the painting felt kind of european, and was all prepared to bounce in and say 'haha! i was right! the artist is polish!' but my wednesday comment got eaten. how many other of my comments disappear?
*feels paranoid*
*feels sad that there is zero budget in the 'art' folder so cannot make an offer on the tulips*
*feels happy for julia that she gets along so well with her SIL*

Karina said...

She sounds like a lovely lady, and I can see why you get along so well. And she is incredibly talented, those are beautiful paintings. I love the first one especially.

Unknown said...

Happy birthday Violetta.

Her paintings are beautiful. I especially love #13.

Gattina said...

Lovely paintings ! and such a nice post !

Nicholas said...

Really excellent! Thank you for sharing.

Jen said...

Gorgeous! I like 3 and 11 the best!! She is very talented!

Akelamalu said...

1, 7 and 10 are my favourites but they are all fabulous! What a talented SIL you have there! :)

Amy Ruttan said...

Beautiful pictures. :)

Celticlibrarian said...

Thanks for taking us to the art show. I wish that I could paint well.

Robin said...

How beautiful, Violetta has a real gift. My favorites are 7 and 11, but they're all wonderful.

Anonymous said...

Fabulous! My fave is the first one!

Julia Phillips Smith said...

Thanks, everyone for coming to the show!

Annette Gallant said...

Your SIL's paintings are gorgeous. Thank you for sharing them with us, Julia. :-)

violetta smith said...

Thank you Julia for making my cyber gallery. What a wonderful birthday present. I really enjoyed reading all of the comments and of course thank you all for visiting my gallery and leaving me your thoughtful words.
I haven't been painting for a while but now I'm ready to start again freshly inspired by your kindness.