My daughter and her husband went to England and returned home over a week ago.  They said they had a fabulous trip and my granddaughters did not go with them.  My son-in-law has a friend that lives in England and they stayed with them while visiting.

They visited Henry VII's palace, Hampton Court and then rested on the next day.  The following day they went to downtown Orpington, and did some shopping.  The next day they went back into London (uptown London) and saw St. Paul's Cathedral where Wellington is buried.  She said they had a few other notables buried there.  They saw the hugh memorial to all the Americans that died helping Great Britian in World War II at the back of the sanctuary.  They then took the underground (subway) to Big Ben and was there when it stiked one o'clock.  They did not take a tour of it.  They then went to Buckingham Palace.  They saw the Houses of Parliament and Westminister Abby along the way.  They walked through one of the parks in the area and took the path that was denoted as Princess Diana's Memorial Walk.  They went to Wellington's Arch and then went to shoppers heaven, Harrods, London's premier 7-story department store.  It is owned by the father of Princess Diana's boyfriend, the guy she was dating and died with in the bad car crash. They spend some time there and then went to Harrod's and shopped some more.

They were both exhaused when they got home and also had jet lag but they are recovered now and both are back to work and the girls are in school.  My granddaughters are both in high school and they are only one year apart to the day.

My daughter took lots of photos while they were gone and the photos were so very nice.

This is an original oil painting by Ruth Housley on a 16x20 Linen Stretched Canvas. I have taken photos of Blue Jays and have wanted to paint one for a while. Hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed painting it.

The big noisy blue jay is one of the most colorful of the wild birds that have responded favorably to civilization and become common in the shade trees of eastern towns, but it is essentially a woodland creature and is still most abundant in open oak and beech forests. After breeding, jays gather in flocks that do much to enliven the fall woods with their calls and flashes of blue.
The blue jay is about three quarters vegetarian--acorns, beechnuts, and corn being its staple food. During summer its diet becomes preponderantly insectivorous. Jays bury more acorns and beechnuts than they can eat and are therefore important agents in planting oak and beech forests.
Their voice is extremely varied: harsh calls, a trumpeting whistle, a scream like a red-shouldered hawk, a flicker-like call, and a song of soft warbles and twitters.
They make their nests in a tree crotch or on branches near the main trunk up about 10 or 15 feet made of sticks and grass and other softer material at the center to form a cup. The 4 to 6 buff to greenish eggs are spotted with brown, most heavily at the large end.

Proverbs 27:8 "As a bird wandereth from his nest, sos is a man that wandereth from his place."

This is an original oil painting by Ruth Housley on stretched canvas.

It is a rare flower and the botanical name is Impatiens Psittacine. This plant was discovered in 1899 in the Shaw States of Burma. It is only found in portions of Burma and northern Thailand and as such is quite rare. According to the grower it is very difficult to cultivate and requires a local natural pollinator to produce seeds. It also requires very specific soil pH in order to prosper and produce the "blue" coloration. If you care to read about the species you can find more information on The Exotic Rainforest at www.Exotic Rainforest.com.

I really enjoyed painting this and hope you enjoy viewing it as well.

I ran across this article and liked it so I wanted to share it.  A friend sent this to me a few years ago.  The author was unknown.

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are  high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh
When care is pressing you down a bit -
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a person turns about
When they might have won had they stuck it out,
Don't give up though the pace seems slow -
You many succeed with another blow.

Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor's cup;
And he learned too late when the night came down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out -
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit -
It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit.

John 3:16  For God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
 but have everlasting life.

This is an original oil painting by Ruth Housley on a Portrait Smooth Canvas 14x18. This was an inspiration from God.
It took me a while to decide on the background.
I really enjoyed painting this after I did decide on the background for this particular painting.

Psalms 47:1 "O clap your hands, all ye people, shout unto God with the voice of triumph."

Lamentations 3:41 "Let us lift up our hearts with our hands unto God in the heavens."

Psalms 119:105 "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path."

Psalms 8:6 "Thou made him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou has put all things under his feet."

This is my newest Original Oil Biblical Painting of "The Hands and Feet".  It was done on a Portrait smooth canvas 18x14. 
The scriptures I have for this one are:

Psalms 47:1 "O clap your hands, all ye people, shout unto God with the voice of triumph."

Lamentations 3:41 "Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens."

Psalms 119:105 "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path."  This is one of my favorite scriptures.

Psalms 8:6 "Thou made him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou has put all things under his feet."



This is a new Original Oil Painting of "Fishing at Golden Sunset" on a Gallery Corner Canvas 12x12.  The inspiration I had to do this one was from the sunset photos I had and wanted to do a bright sunset with a man fishing on the lake. 




This is a Floral Original Oil Painting done on a Gallery Wrap Canvas 11x14.  One of the doctors I see told me his wife loved Orchids after I told him I was an artist.  I did not have any paintings of the Orchid at that time but now I do. 
This was interesting to paint and I have painted a lot of different kinds of flowers.

I have been busy this month with things other then painting but I think now we are getting back to normal so I can paint more.

I am on Facebook, as well as www.RuthHousley.com and www.RuthHousley@FineArtAmerica.com and www.RuthHousley.Blogspot.com .

I will be doing a art and craft show at our church this year..

Until next time, keep checking in to see what Ruth is doing new with her oil paints.