Little Lina’s Lovelies Home

This is my submission to illustration friday this week for their theme of Idle.

"The Unfortunate"
I could not help but think of these harder than normal economic times and how so many are out of work and wondering what to do next. If only they had that magical crystal ball to look into the future to see if everything will be alright.

I wonder through all the good times what Fortune Tellers were doing. I don’t suppose they are idle these days.

So, that brings up the question, was this a happy painting because the Fortune teller was idle?

huh…/scratches head…perhaps.

Artist’s note for this piece: her eyes are actually sans pupils, she is blind. I thought that was more meaningful. Oh, and sorry for the watermark, can’t be too careful these days!

This piece will be up in my shop for purchase soon, I have a feeling I want to play with it a bit more. So check back often!

This piece was super hard for me to create without a reference, and I’m still not happy. But maybe some of you will enjoy the piece anyway, maybe you can find the enchantment I cannot after working on it so hard. I think it’s like when you cook, you don’t always taste the flavors.

I finally got a chance to visit the Biltmore in North Carolina this past week. My good friend Suzanne took me for a little surprise celebration, on a wonderfully cool summer day. Oh what an amazing place, it’s the largest home in the United States and probably the most regal.

Upon arrival you drive in from the main gate, past the visitor’s center. You park and you can walk in or take the shuttle. We chose to walk the very short walk in from the shaded parking area. You round the last gate and BAM…

There it is!

You walk up to it and as you go closer you can see the amazing detail work, even gargoyles! We took the tour of the place, where unfortunately you cannot take photos. It was quite lavish, exciting and a few notes of interest, apparently people were very small back then. The beds were only 5′ long! Anyway, there were amazing tapestries and beautifully displayed historical items, they really did a great job making the tour interesting.

Next we walked over to the gardens and the Biltmore Conservatory. I caught the end of the rose’s blooming, so no great picts for ya. But here is the Biltmore Conservatory itself.

The Biltmore Conservatory is incredible! It’s quaint, it has such a variety of flowers that I haven’t seen before. It’s a gardeners dream I believe. I took many photos of exotic flowers to be in upcoming illustrations, but here is a pict I took of my favorite things, leaves with sun shining through them. I think it’s one of my favorite picts I took that day.

Ahhh so serene….

Onwards! From the Biltmore Conservatory Suzanne took me over to the Winery for lunch, and a fun little wine tasting – yay! Our group took off for the wine tasting, but I enjoyed walking through the tunnels. Here is a picture of the wine’s collected by the Biltmore house.

Ok I’ll admit it, I just tasted wines, I didn’t take any picts of the actual wine tasting area, hehe.

From the Wine Cellar we went to the Biltmore Kitchen Garden. You should see the amazing, perfect little veggie and herb garden they have there! Well here are some picts…

Lavender patch picture for my friend – you know who you are!

Adorable isn’t it? The little sign is so cute.

Lastly we took a look at the Biltmore Stable by the Biltmore Kitchen Garden. I just had to capture this moment. The golden light on the little sitting area, look there is even a little baby cradle. Such a lovely touch to this lovely place!

So that was my trip to the Biltmore in North Carolina in a nutshell. I hope you enjoy the photos, I also suggest you visit if you are in the area.