So I Started a THANG!

At the beginning of 2021…. seriously, on January 1st, I decided I wanted to choose something to do each day in 2021 that would bring me joy unspeakable and leave me full of glory. So at 5:30 p.m. I decided I was going to paint a watercolor picture EVERY BLINKIN DAY of the year. And I sat down and started. I mean, we all need some joy after 2020! It did my heart good just to know that I planned to chunk out some time each day to be creative. I love painting. I love bright colors. I love birds, and flowers, and the beach, and fruit, and trees, etc. And for accountability, I decided to post them on facebook every day… spread the joy around a bit.

As I was posting my first prickly pear cactus picture, I decided to name it after a song…. U Can’t Touch This….and now I am strapped with coming up with a song title or lyric for every painting. Sometimes that takes longer than actually painting the picture. Anyway, I continue the titles for my own personal enjoyment. Really, who doesn’t think a purple onion titled Big Girls Don’t Cry isn’t funny! LOL (See, for my own personal enjoyment!)

People asked if I have had painting classes. Yes, I have. In 1983 I took an oil painting class from my mother who taught oils. I still haven’t finished the painting from that class… and I learned that I’m too impatient to wait for oils to dry. In 1984 I took an airbrush class and enjoyed that medium for one semester. In 1987 I took a painting class but soon discovered that the teacher graded highly for abstract, messy, not-my-style-of-painting works of art. I got an A. I did not keep one single creation from that class. In 2001 I took two water color lessons from a local teacher in a friend’s home. Since that time, I have done multiple tutorials online. I would still like to take watercolor lessons…. especially from Steve Stento. Google him. Amazing!

After my first few paintings were put on display for my friends and friends of friends to appreciate, inquiries began regarding purchasing my art. That wasn’t my plan. It actually never entered my mind. I was simply creating joy and spreading the love. But as the paintings piled up…. 31 in the first month! I decided to sell them. What was I going to do with 365 paintings anyway?

So I have scanned them all so I could spread the love a little further than one original could go. If you want to see them all, go to my facebook page Linda Nikander Crosby and click on photos, then Linda’s Photos. They are all there. I have made a note on each painting if the original is sold, but prints are available.

Prices are as follows for originals:

U Can’t Touch This

• 2×3 with frames are $20
• 4×6 are $20
• 5×7 are $25
• 6×9 are $35
• 8×10 are $40
• 9×12 are $45

Prints are available of most of the paintings that are larger than 4×6. Prices are:

• 5×7 are $10
• 8×10 are $12

Shipping is $5 because if the Post Office can’t bend the envelope, they consider it a package. (Insert eyeroll) If you live in Phoenix, feel free to pick up!

Payment can be made through Paypal, venmo, zelle, or facebook messenger. laughwithlinda@gmail.com or 623-385-9692.

I Believe I Can Fly

Thank you, friends, family, new friends and friends of friends for your interest in my artwork. I pray that it brings you joy!

When the Cats Away the Birds will Play

Well, this was a first!  Upon returning from a week away, there were two concentrations of gnats in the house.  One by the fruit bowl…. not surprising, and the other in the kid’s bathroom upstairs???  The other noticeable “markings” were in my kitchen… bird poop on my kitchen counter, the print of a bird on the INSIDE of the window and two bent feathers to lend to the tale.

What in the world goes on when I’m away????  Did they leave the doors open and invite in the wildlife?  Did the bird wander in because the swarm of gnats was so inviting???  I feel like I’m in Maui, at my sister’s house, with the plague of gnats. Okay, no, it’s not THAT bad.

Come to find out, some child of mine ate a banana and threw away the peel in the upstairs bathroom. Probably a week ago, because that’s when I left. It was a gnat smorgasbord!  I have never seen that many gnats in a bathroom before, but then, I’m not in Maui.

Pinterest to the rescue again.  Vinegar, dish soap and a bit of water in a little bowl collects gnats like flies to fly paper.  It’s an amazing concoction that worked wonders right before my bloodshot eyes. I also hung up a curly fly strip IN my kitchen to aid in the death of the irritating little bugs.  That was a first! Three hours later we are almost a gnat free zone again.

I did wipe up the bird poop, but haven’t made it to cleaning the window yet.  There’s only so much excitement I can handle on my first day home.