It was daylight, candles unlit, when I visited the historical home named Wildwood House in Nebraska City, the town where Arbor Day began. I imagined the vintage candles lit during an evening of long ago, when the house was new and filled with family and guests. A guest may have played carols on the ebony grand piano, a piano that had been hauled by train and then by horse-drawn wagon, bringing culture to the new state of Nebraska.
      When painting, I added a white rose near the manger, as it is a historical symbol of the Virgin's purity and innocence. The candles reminded me of guiding stars over the manger. The primitive manger figures were carved by hand.
      The Wildwood House also inspired my 2006 oil painting, “Beauty from the Past” (below). Built in 1869 in the “wild woods” near Nebraska City by a banker, it remains a charming Victorian home of ten rooms decorated with period furnishings. Nebraska became a state of the Union on March 1, 1867.

Here is a link to the other Wildwood House artwork on my website, "Beauty from the Past" (below).

Photographs, graphic design, and website coding by Nancy Lee Moran of USA
New Web Page created 12/26/10

      The doll Ellowyne Wilde has been repainted by Nancy. Her new eye color is harmonious with the soft amber of her hair and dress, with flecks of green and blue into gold. She has hints of metallic-gold oil paint on her eyeshadow, which shimmers. She has face/ear/body blushing and a manicure, also delicate painted hairs at her hairline.
      Tracy of sewmanydreams made the dreamy dress/coat from a pattern by Magalie Houle Dawson of MHD Designs. The gown is pale ivory, paisley print, cotton blend fabric. The coat was created using a rich gold silk dupioni and was lined using the same fabric as the dress. There is an underskirt of soft netting to help the dress keep its fullness.

      Antoinette by Tonner Doll Company has been painted by Nancy to have green eyes and russet lips. She has hints of metallic-gold oil paint on her eyeshadow, fingernails and lips, which shimmers. She has many delicate painted hairs at her hairline. Robert Tonner describes this gown, named "The Romantic," as a "sweeping floor-length dress in a quixotic pattern with intricate bust shirring and contrast mesh yoke."

Some of the prettiest doll eyes I have ever painted are shown below.
(I discovered a few subtle eye-painting techniques this autumn.)