Prototype Abstract #1 – First Paint by number painting.
In the post World War II era of the 1950′s America elevated its famous can do spirit into a place where dreams really do come true. Dan Robbins was one of those people. Dan made a modest living by producing washable paints sets for kids when one day he remembered how Leonardo de Vinci would hand out numbered patterns to his apprentices and thought , “Why not do the same for anyone who wants to paint but does not have the talent to draw or mix paint colors”. Dan quickly took his idea and prototype to the owner of Palmer Paint Company Max Klein . It was to be a terrific merger and as they say, the rest is history! The years between 1951 through 1954 they sold 12 million paint by number kits alone.
“I painted it myself” became household conversation! It rapidly was the number one leisure activity of the day!
These are just a few samplings of Dan Robbins paint-by-numbers paint kits.
Dan Robbins and Doug James teamed up to produce the now very famous paint-by-numbers Mona Lisa paint kit. Doug once said, “While paint-by-numbers weren’t ‘art’ at the time of their origin, they certainly are now, by virtue of ideas and concepts which have evolved into being”.
Nowadays, paint-by-number paintings have become collector items!
“Picture Walls” are popping up in homes with paint-by-number paintings.
I particularly love this gallery wall !
These days its becoming increasingly difficult to find paint-by-number paintings in antique stores, but you can now find replicas like this Poodle painting at Urban Outfitters for only $19.99 !
If you are fortunate enough to run across a Dan Robbins paint-by-number painting I suggest you snatch it up ! Its now an iconic American form of Art!
Ahhh!! Its great to be back online. I took a few days off to creatively catch my breath and reconnect with my love of painting. I guess you could say, painting is my creative muse of sorts.
For me, painting is a full contact sport. It may look a bit chaotic from a distance, but I assure you all my senses are fully engaged.
In the midst of all the colors and textures of my day, I was meditatively chewing like a ruminant mammal for new ideas to share on future postings.
Most of all , I’d like to say thank you for all the sweet Emails, Face Book messages and comments from my loyal friends and readers. I missed you and hope in the days ahead I’ll bring you some newly hatched ideas!
Everyone has asked me to post my work…and I will. I’m still in the process, but I thought I’d post some previous paint projects of mine for now .
Most of my painting on wood has been in the form of furniture, but several months ago I painted a bunch of wooden bracelets for fun. Here’s just a few samples.
I’ll be taking the next few days off to catch up on some painting projects. Hope you all have a wonderful week! Love and Hugs Vicki
Hoping everyone has a Manageable Monday and a Marvelous week ahead!
L`shanah tovah – Have a Sweet New Year!
Whatever you find yourself doing today…remember to “Stop and smell the Roses” along the way. We all get busy with our daily lives, but try to take a moment today take a deep breath and look around you. I’m sure you’ll find something of beauty to be grateful for! Happy Friday Everyone!
If you read my last posting you would be fully informed of my nectarine shopping spree at Whole Foods grocery store a few days ago. I was so happy to find a generous supply of one of my favorite summer fruits I bought a whole boat load of ‘em! Mostly I was concerned they would be leaving the shelves in a very short time with fall right around the corner and I wanted one more taste of summer !
Once I got home, I realized I needed to think about what I wanted to do with all my nectarines! So that got me thinking ! What can you do with a Nectarine? So I did a little research and this is what I came up with!
Well the first and most obvious is to make Nectarine Jelly! That way, I can still have the taste of summer in the middle of a cold winter!
If you don’t want to can your own nectarines, try this Nectarine Jam from Hurley Farms in Napa Valley. Maybe our photographer friend Timm will pick up a couple of jars for us next time he’s up there shooting wine photography!
Instead of Apple or Peach pie over the holidays, why not try Nectarine Pie by Marybakes. You can get the recipe at Marybakes.wordpress.com
Ummmm, these yummy nectarine muffins would be a wonderful afternoon snack ! You can find the recipe at 
I’m very excited to make this Nectarine Radish Salsa! For the recipe go to: Mariannika.wp.com
I thought this looked interesting. Cherry and Nectarine grilled chicken!
This nectarine salsa has fresh tomatoes, white onions, nectarines and fresh cilantro. I think this salsa spread over a chicken taco would be fantastic!
Nectarine cobbler…Duh? Just find a nice peach cobbler recipe in something like the “Joy of Cooking” then substitute with nectarines for a nice change!
My personal favorite…grilled fish with nectarine salsa! Oh ya!
Nectarine cheese cake! Perfect!
My dear blogging friend Sean should like this wine! Its an Australian dessert wine from the De botoli wine family. The bouquet of this wine is nectarine, honey and peach with hints of vanillin oak!
Lets not forget how wonderful herbal nectarine tea can be!
So, like I said I was really excited about nectarines! There are so many possibilities with this fabulous little fruit! Bon Petite!
