The Last of the Winter Squash....An Original Painting by Jan Lackey

“The Last of the Winter Squash”
6 x 8 inch acrylic painting on board
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A friend of mine gave me some seeds for winter squash a few years ago. We have been growing cucurbitas in our garden every summer, since. After the harvest we store the pumpkins and squash under our bed throughout the winter. The last of the winter squash is another indicator that winter is coming to an end.

Two Garden Apples....An Original Painting by Jan Lackey

Two Garden Apples
6" x 8" inch acrylic on board
Kitchen still life
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These are the last of the apples from my garden. I will have to go to the open market on the square in Chrudim for some more. I like shopping at the street market because the local farmers sell their pruduce there. Small stand line the square with an assortment of fruit, vegetables and flowers.

Living the Bohemian Lifestyle...An Original Painting by Jan Lackey

"Red Apples on lavender Table"

6 x 8 inch acrylic on board.

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Living the Bohemian lifestyle in modern day Bohemia. Dwelling in a village surrounded by fields of sunflowers, poppies and grain. Life is good. These apples I picked up at the open market in the square of Chrudim.

Pumpkin, Winter Squash and Canister....An Original Painting by Jan Lackey

Pumpkin, Winter squash and canister,

6 x 8 inch acrylic painting on board, kitchen table still life.

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Spring is finally here. The seeds from this pumpkin are going into the garden to make more pumpkins for next winter.

Bowl, Apple and Jug......Original Painting by Jan Lackey

Original Painting by Jan Lackey
8" x 6" Original acrylic painting
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I´ve started getting up early in the morning to paint while the world is quite. It is very peaceful in the wee hours of the morning until the garbage truck goes clanking by. Have you ever thought how important that job is? I am truly thankful for rubbish collectors. Bless their hearts.

A Portrait of a Young Girl....an original painting by Jan Lackey

"Constance"
By Jan Lackey
14" x 10" acrylic on canvas
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Chrudim, which is just two miles from our village, is the cultural center for our region. Concerts are performed every Friday evening in the local theater. The most famous regional orchestra in the Czech Republic is based in Chrudim. There are also many choral groups and opera companies. Another quite unique form of entertainment are puppet shows. Marionettes, carved wooden puppets, have been made in Chrudim for centuries. At the Puppet Theater you can see the puppeteers at work. The shows are quite elaborate. Not only do they perform classical puppet shows, but they also do experimental theater. In July, is the annual international puppet festival. Puppeteers come from all over the world for a week of celebration and workshops. If you have an interest in puppets, Captain Oddsocks has written a nice piece about the Chrudim puppet theater. http://captainoddsocks.blogspot.com/2008/11/czech-national-marionette-museum.html Visual art is also well represented in Chrudim. I feel that we are very lucky to be living so close to such a town, yet still have the tranquility of the country life. That’s life in the Czech Republic, a bit of everything.

Lean on Me.....An Original Painting by Jan Lackey

6" x 6" Original acrylic painting on board


It was another cold and rainy week-end. My husband and I stayed in and tried to stay dry. I painted and my husband read a book on the sofa. All in all, it was a nice time. We stay close, leaning on each other, like these little apples.

Blue Vase, Canister and Apple.. An Original Painting by Jan Lackey

Blue Vase, Canister and Apple

8" x 6" Original acrylic painting on board

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I have a small collection of vases, pots and canisters that I use for my still life paintings. When we moved into our old farmhouse, I discovered some old Czech pottery in our attic and in the barn. Pots that had been put away and forgotten.

I have heard that the clay in Bohemia is the best in the world for ceramics. There are some really talented artist here. Their handmade pottery is beautiful. The white and blue pieces are my favorite. I prefer the old traditional patterns although most of the Czechs prefer something new and creative.

Islands in the Midst of Fields...Original Painting by Jan Lackey

8" x 10" Original painting in acrylic on canvas

The fields in south Bohemia are broken up by small cluster of trees or villages. Looking across the sea of crops these trees and villages appear to be little islands. The village, where we live, is like many others, an island in the midst of fields. It is located in the hills of Eastern Bohemia. The hillsides were planted in vineyards in the 1700's. The town produced wine. In the 18th century our house was the local tavern. The house next door was a school. They offered French and Italian studies. Viniculture was the main subject, naturally. The vineyards failed in the early 1900's. The vines are no longer here. Apple and plum orchards have taken their place on the hillsides today. The plums are used for making a liquor called Slivovice. It is a distilled alcohol, very strong around 55%, it warms the Czechs in winter and is used to celebrate every occasion. The countryside is beautiful in the spring when the trees are in bloom. The air is full of the fragrance of flowers. The Czechs are finally able to get out of their houses after the cold winter to care for their trees and work their land.

Living in the Czech Republic...Zdena, my friend, my neighbor, 10" x 14" original painting, acrylic on canvas

The Czech Republic does have a curtain charm about it. Most of the country is hilly divided by some areas of flat plains. In the north the hills build into mountains. The third highest peaks in all of Europe third only to the Alps and the Piedmont. The high lands are covered with forest. The valleys are planted with crops. In the summer the fields are full of rape, sunflowers and poppies. Most of the poppy seeds you buy in the grocery stores are produced in the Czech Republic. Rape is a seed that is use for oil. The plants produce a small yellow flower. In June and July, the fields are blanketed in yellow. Unlike our farms in the USA, Czech's co-op their land. A custom left over from medieval times. The fields are massive, as far as you can see to the horizon is only one crop. They cultivate the fields with enormous machinery, tractors, which take up two lanes of the road. You literally have to yield the right away to these monsters and get off the road when they move the machinery from one field to another. The farmers live in small villages instead of in the middle of their fields. A village could have twenty to hundred houses. All cluster close together. Everyone knows the business of his neighbor. They work and live together. The villages look like little islands in a sea of crops.

Camposilvano, 12" x 12" Original landscape painting, acrylic on board

Camposilvano di Vallarsa is located in northern Italy. A quite little village nestled between the peeks of the Trentino Alpine mountains. Perched high on a steep bank, Camposilvano is one of several small towns or villages which poke up through a wild countryside carved out of the highlands by the river Leno. The houses are clustered close together near the church in the limited area available on the hillside. The tolling bells of the church cascades down to the valley floor as does the water of the river Leno. The rushing water of the river can be heard lapping against the jagged rocks furrowed between craggy slopes. unspoiled nature surrounds the village, where the enchanted silence is only disturbed by the warble of birds. The fragrance of roasting sausages and polenta bubbling in copper pots on wood burning stoves fill the lanes between the houses at meal time. Camposilvano is as picturesque as it gets.

"Slice of Life" Original Still life painting, 6" x 8" acrylic on board

This is a slice of my life. The weather is warming and the sun is shining outside. I would almost like to go out if it wasn't for the mud. I took a walk around my garden. It's such a mess. The soil is still frozen. Inside, I'm working at my dining table on another painting. I still have winter evergreens on my window sills. I need to take them outside but not today. Painting apples seem like such a natural subject for Bohemia. Apple trees are everywhere in the countryside. The dark background focuses your eye on the apples, while the green clothe on the table compliments the red fruit.

"A Cup of Tea, Apple, Brie" Original still life painting, 6" x 8" inch on board.

A cup of tea, an apple, a piece of brie. My typical morning breakfast. I'm an early riser. It is usually still dark outside when I wake. I enjoy the tranquillity of the early mornings when the world around me is still sleeping.
This small still life of a morning breakfast is painted with acrylics. The drying time of acrylics is fairly rapid so I have to work quickly. The items are surrounded by darkness, illuminated by a single light, casting shadows on the table.

"Friendship" 6 x 8 inch, still life, acrylic on board

Apple trees line the country roads throughout Bohemia. The trees blossom in the spring, give us shade as we walk along the country roads in the summer and yield fruit in the autuum for winter. They confort us as good friends. These two little apples are from my garden. While I was painting them, I couldn't help reflecting how they looked like two close friends sharing their lives together.

"Apple, Plate and Jar", 6" x 8" original acrylic painting on board

The winter starts in November. The fields get covered with ice and snow. Most of the fields are turned for next year's crops. Black loamy dirt replaced the flowers of summer. The apples are already harvested and put in storage. The farmers harvest sugar beets, the last crop that is left in the fields. Sugar beets are the largest beets that I have ever seen, the size of pumpkins. Lories move in every direction hauling beets to the sugar processing plants. The roads are black and muddy from the traffic of the fields. At our house carboys sit in our kitchen, full of apple juice. The juice will continue to ferment until it changes to apple wine.