​​Like Canvas #12 in my “Is It Bigger Than A Breadbox?” / “Twenty Questions” / “Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral?” painting project, my Canvas #13 also touches on the subject of school. Read about the numbered canvas project I made-up here:

"Is It Bigger Than a Breadbox?" 

My canvas #13 is a painting of a painting of the family dog from my kids’ childhood years.  I created the composition to include what can be classified as vegetables as well as what can be classified as minerals by painting our old dog in a holiday setting with a candle, a strand of garland, evergreens, and a wreath plus red bows, paints, and brushes.

We got our black and white bellied rescue dog in the early 2000’s when our kids were just starting primary school. Being that everyone in my family has their birthday in May ( except mine ​), we named the rescue puppy “Moxie May” and called him “Moxie”.  Since the beginning of school days for the kids, Moxie stayed close to our side ( literally for me, when I was the only one home, he was never less than a foot away from me as he followed me everywhere ) filling our home with love, comfort and joy from those very first days of school until the kids were off to college.

We treasure all those years with Moxie by our sides and recognize what a central part his love and companionship was to our family.  One of my favorite memories of the love, loyalty and joyful warmth Moxie brought to our home can be traced back to each and every morning when it was time to catch the school bus. 

The school bus stop for us was very convenient to reach considering it was just right out our front door at the end of our driveway.  Of course when the kids were very young, their dad or I would walk with them to the end of the driveway to catch that step onto the bus, but as we all got a little older we felt it was fine for me to simply wait with my coffee at the front door for the wave. 

Moxie, however,  never saw things that way. For him the walk to the bus stop was not something he was going to let go of. Moxie never stopped seeing that walk from the door to the end of the driveway as a principal part of his day; and I remember watching his loyal dedication to it.

I love remembering how at the end of the driveway, after the kids jumped onto the school bus, Moxie would attentively stay and stand watch as the bus drove off, and down the street,  and past the stop signs, and around the bend until it reached the horizon and disappeared. It was at that point in time where he would gently nod his head down, make a direct 180 degree turn, and begin his journey back up the driveway.

In his ritual, Moxie then proceeded to continue strait back up the winding driveway. Some days I remember him having an energetic, hopping skip in his steps and others just a calm, peaceful evenness to them. All the same, he always carried on his course up the driveway until he reached the walkway which lead to the house. It was there where the walkway branched off the driveway that he then consistently progressed with a clear 90 degree turn towards the front door where I was waiting.

After making the turn, Moxie would then ceremoniously steadily continue on step by step along the curving walkway.  He continued on step by step along the curving walkway until he reached the stoop where he happily hopped up to get to the front door step at which point he would stop at the toes of my feet and look up directly into my eyes with a sense of peacefulness and accomplishment as if to say, “The kids are alright. I saw them off and safely on their way.” He did this each and every day.

       

   

​

​There was a time when my kids were younger that dogs were the main subject of my paintings. I painted many of them until around the time that my boys reached high school and I found a little more time to begin an art print business with the subject of baseball. I then painted quite a few baseball players.

​Like our dog Moxie seeing the kids off to school and then a baseball player who attempts a journey around a diamond, in retrospect, going off into the world and then getting back to home safety is an apparent theme here.

Some of those old dog paintings including our rescue dog Moxie as a painted pup can be found in the blog linked below ( as well as my grown boys’ painted dogs of their own that 
they each got in 2020, the year of the Covid pandemic quarantine. ) :

The Joys Found in 2020

​

​Throughout the year I pull out old paintings when decorating for the seasons.  Here are some of them I currently have up on one of our fireplace mantels for All Hallows’ Eve.

Read about the pieces through these links:

“Vintage Halloween Masks” 

“Cosmic Peacock”

“Saturn”

​​{ Saturn. …Just typing the word “Saturn” today brought to mind one of the world’s great gems - - couldn’t help but shine light on a review of the all time genius of S. Wonder and a piece from his beyond great Songs In The Key Of Life album… Some timely lyrics and music for the world: “Saturn” by Stevie Wonder }

​
The Owl Painting can be found in these blogs:

“First Day of Fall”

“Winter 2021”
​

​
Other blogs from this October 2022:

Canvas #11: “Fine Mined Minerals & Spooky Season”

Canvas #12: “Six Elements Plus Six Green Figurines”

Halloween Top Hat

Canvas Number Twelve brings ongoing questions and easily suggests all three elements in this “Twenty Questions”/“Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral” painting project I created.

​Read about the project through the links listed below:

My canvas #12 for this October of 2022 ( in addition to my painted canvas #11 also for this October found in the blog “Fine Mined Minerals & Spooky Season”  ) focuses on the elephant and is based on the parable about blind men which touches on the subject of truth or of the state of understanding or misunderstanding. 

​A group of blind men heard that a strange animal, called an elephant, had been brought to the town, but none of them were aware of its shape and form. Out of curiosity, they said: "We must inspect and know it by touch, of which we are capable". So, they sought it out, and when they found it they groped about it. The first person, whose hand landed on the trunk, said, "This being is like a thick snake". For another one whose hand reached its ear, it seemed like a kind of fan. As for another person, whose hand was upon its leg, said, the elephant is a pillar like a tree-trunk. The blind man who placed his hand upon its side said the elephant, "is a wall". Another who felt its tail, described it as a rope. The last felt its tusk, stating the elephant is that which is hard, smooth and like a spear.
​

A review of this parable summary taken from Wikipedia is a reference for my design composition for this twelfth canvas creation. For canvas #12, I continued by then referencing a decades old "back-to-school" issue of a fashion magazine of mine and found this modeling fashion figure that I actually remembered from way back when I got it during my days as a student. This time however, when deciding to paint the girl, I changed her coloring a bit including coloring her jacket in deep blues and purple instead of a grey plaid like the model in the photo was wearing. I also decided to give her an imagined magnifying glass that I conceptually designed with a handle made of ivory.
​

From this old back-to-school fashion magazine photo seemingly made to look like it was taken in a classroom,  I replaced a collection of fossils that were against the wall with a posted illustration/painting of a descendant of the now extinct Mammuthus primigenius and the only surviving member of the family Elephantidae. This picture of a mammal that I put in the room may of course be recognized as the presently critically endangered species known as an elephant.

Finally, to complete the composition while tallying a collection of more animals, vegetables, and minerals, I transformed the hand bags that were being advertised in the magazine spread by turning one of them that I suspect was some kind of real or fake reptilian skinned bag and made it into an action figure sized wall. I then replaced the rest of the purse products with the rest of the isolated elements that the men in the parable mistakenly perceived when attempting to understand or identify an elephant. 
​

Other blogs from this October 2022:

Halloween Top Hat 

All Hallows’ Eve Fireplace Mantel
​

​This fashion model is understandably from a long time ago.  I found a picture from a 1950’s advertisement featuring a model fashioned with the then growing in popularity "Beehive" hairdo as she highlights pricey jewelry.

​
“March On ~ 2022 So Far”

​Approaching canvas #11 during this October of 2022, I took the liberty to adjust the model’s exclusive jewelry collection to keep in theme with the spirit of Halloween season that is upon us. Through a little “on-line shopping” to see what is currently on the market, I gathered a collection of some high-end jewelry to paint and shine light on Spooky Season.

Using the jewelry as symbols for the collective “Animal, Vegetable, and Mineral” featured elements in this multi canvas  painting project,  a big pearl and solid gold helped to define the diamond studded spider earrings and create an “animal” feature.

For the “vegetable” element, of course this season’s most popular vegetable, the pumpkin, is elevated through the rarest and most expensive of sapphire gems, the Padparadscha Sapphire Stone ( also known as Orange Sapphire ), to create a sparkling and stunning pumpkin carriage brooch.

For the third mined mineral gem, an actual symbol of a “mineral” in the form of an American flag styled charm bracelet. Similar to the other jewelry pieces adorning this lady, a Swarovski red, white, and blue exclusive crystal charm import which I found online also carries additional seasonal meaning with the patriotic 2022  “first Tuesday in November” vote casting season coming on the heels of “Spooky Season”.

​
Find an additional blog for this October 2022 and my Canvas #12 in this series of paintings here:

Canvas #12: “Six Elements Plus Six Green Figurines”

​

Lately I’ve been continuing the project I created earlier this year. It’s a painting exercise I made-up based on the old fashioned game called Twenty Questions ( also known as the “Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral?” guessing game. )

The design of the painting project that I made for myself to play with is to create a themed collection of canvases that starts with referencing a fashion model from some old magazines of mine. Then, along the lines of the 20 Questions guessing game, recreate a setting or scene with that fashion model that in someway illustrates at least one element that could be classified or understood as an “animal”,  at least one element that could be classified or understood as a”vegetable”, and at least one element that could be classified or identified as a “mineral” in each painted composition. Uniquely however, unlike the 20 Questions guessing game where the objective is to narrow down one individual element as an ‘animal’, a ‘vegetable’, or a ‘mineral’, these paintings I created attempt to include all three categories in each imagined art piece.

Read about the explanation of my exercise of the 20 Questions game and find the first 6 painted canvases for this specific project I created through the following blog:

”Is It Bigger Than A Breadbox?” ~ “TV Land”, “Saturn”, “December”, and “Parrot Wallpaper”

​

Below are my next painting project compositions for canvases #7, #8, #9, and #10:

​

​Canvas #7: “Skateland USA”

The Mid 1970’s and the spirit of America’s Bicentennial celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence became inspiration for this piece.  

 The roller disco era of the ‘70’s gave spirit to this fashion figure that I painted sporting the colors of Americana and placed in an imagined stereotypical roller rink setting with a disco ball prop for the model’s pose. I then styled the girl with a popular hairstyle found throughout the magazines from the 1970’s and had her sport some painted red, white, and blue colors on her tube socks, shorts, jacket, and t-shirt for some clothes that were common in those days.  For the *animal(s) in my “Skateland U.S.A.” I painted some snakes. The mirror balls can cover it for the *minerals ( along with the skates and just about everything else in ‘Skateland’ ), and not to miss a *vegetable in this composition I styled the t-shirt with an iron-on transfer of an apple.
​

In review of the old magazines for this project, the name Estée Lauder evidently was big in the 1980’s as their company’s many advertisements can be found throughout the pages of the fashion periodicals from that time period.  It was from one of those many classy Estée Lauder ads that I chose a model to be a figure reference for this painting on canvas #8.
​
​The photo of this model was found in an advertisement for finger nail polish I think and seemed to highlight some of her eight painted fingers and two painted thumbs. However, for my painting, I decided to fold some of her fingers over and have her hold a basket. I figured the basket can represent a “mineral” for my inclusive “Animal, Vegetable, Mineral” elements.  I also figured the basket could be filled with a bundle of strawberries from my painted rolling strawberry fields making this piece plentiful in the category of fruits and “vegetables”.  In keeping in tune with my reminded “All You Need Is Love”  love of  *The Beatles* and “Strawberry Fields Forever”, I also added to the scene a homage to an “Octopus’s Garden” with figments of a floating octopus captured in the scene.

​​


​​“Boxes and Butterflies Under a Billowy Cloud for Canvas #9”

​
​For canvas #9, under a billowy cloud, a fashion figure on boxes with some imagined painted butterflies finding their way through a wooden create’s handle will take care of the *minerals and *animals in this created composition. For the *vegetable category in this cloud 9 piece, I added an impressionistic background with a quick painting of something from my list of favorite things = A countryside filled with colorful wildflowers.

Canvas #10: ​“Sea Turtle Café”
​

For the next painting in this series, Canvas #11, see my next blog from October of 2022:

”Fine Mined Minerals & Spooky Season”

​

Getting back in my studio this week and came across this old canvas.  At the time I started painting it, I believe I was just trying out some new oil paints and never really finished it as evident in the bright base colors in the sand, etc. More textures in the waves could definitely be added as well. ~ I like the expressions on the faces though and am thinking that those were some nice oil paints that I haven’t used in a long time.

Amongst other projects, I’m going to get back to finishing my 20+ canvases in my “Twenty Questions / Is It Bigger Than A Breadbox Project”.  I think that I will start using those oil paints some more.

​

An image from the Facebook page: Cincinnati Reds & Bengals Art by Chrissy Breslin Schroeder:
 

🐅 🇺🇸 Happy 4th of July Weekend! 🇺🇸 🐅

​
Chrissy Breslin Schroeder's Store | Society6


​

Welcome April and TGIF.  Happy 04.01.2022.

This is my next canvas in my made-up “Is It Bigger Than A Breadbox?” art project. I call the painting “A Bonnet, Bouquet, & Bees”.  The title includes a seasonal theme being that there was a time when the fashion of wearing an Easter bonnet carried much weight and the date for Easter this year will fall in the middle of this month of April. ( It is always curious to me when Easter is because it changes every year based on the spring equinox and the cycle of the moon. )

Read about my painting project that uses vintage fashion magazines and takes inspiration from an old-fashioned guessing game in my previous blogs linked below where I explain that I am creating a series of paintings inspired by the game “Twenty Questions” also known as the “Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral?” game. Sometimes I also call it the “Is It Bigger Than A Breadbox?” game.
​

The concept of my art project is to reference a fashion model ( or mannequin in this case ) from my collection of old fashion magazines and catalogs, then imagine and create a painting that somehow includes in the composition what could be identified as an animal, a vegetable, and a mineral.

Find a review of the game of questions mentioned and my made-up project including my first five canvases of this series of paintings in the blogs linked below:

“A Bonnet, Bouquet, &  Bees”.

That alliteration and title of this painting should cover it for including an animal, a vegetable, and a mineral in this April creation and canvas number 6 ( number 6 like the 6 number of sides found in a hexagon = the geometric shape that repeatedly makes and defines a honeycomb. )


For the hat model in this painting I will note that the figure or face in this piece was actually created based on a picture of a mannequin in an ad.  The disproportionate humanlike features may be noticeable in this regard, for example how oversized the eye is relative to other features. All the rest of the elements in the composition I just made-up to include in the design what could be classified as an animal, a vegetable, and a mineral each of which can be found blooming or buzzing with a brim.

I have some other projects I am working on this April and I won’t be spending much time in my home studio space in May because that is the merry month that my family celebrates all our birthdays ( aside from mine which is in December ). In May we celebrate my two sons’ birthdays as well as their dad’s ( my husband’s ) birthday.  We will also celebrate Mother’s Day too of course, and will be traveling together throughout the springtime. I have begun sketching out some summer holiday artwork however and see my next piece as having a little 4th of July flair.  It will be my 7th canvas of the 20 canvases I have for this series of paintings and will likely groove with some 1970’s vibes.
​ …I think I may call it “Bicentennial Spirit”.

​​

See my next canvas in this series of paintings and some artwork for April:

Canvas #6 and “A Bonnet, Bouquet, & Bees” 


​