Happy Memorial Day

 Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend. I relish this day- after a fantastic festival it is great to be able to relax. It was an amazing weekend and the hills were alive!

I loved the "knit bomb" tree art this year!

 Becky Haletkys cool watercolor

Carolyn Dunbar's prize winning drawing...

We always end the day with toasts to all the folks who work so hard at making this happen...
My Demo- inspired by Paul Klee ( below)

20"x20" acrylic

Lastly I am thankful for all the men and women who gave their lives for our freedom.

finished pottery and festival weekend!

Last night was so fun! Magical- great weather- everyones spirits were high including mine!

 Nancy Colella, Carolyn Dunbar and me with our ribbons- we are show dogs!

 Carolyn's piece was amazing and won first place in drawing!Must see- Ill post it later for those who can't make it to the festival show..( which is up for a week after the festival BTW)

 the shining new firehouse looked so beautiful! It is no less than miraculous that year ago there was NOTHING there. Now its done and gorgeous .The photography show is in there now.

 Finally! fired some low fire scraffito pieces done by my students in march...

love these! But not for sale- lots of good crafts at the festival tho so COME ON DOWN!

Ill be demo-ing tomorrow painting  10 AM on and off  all day by somewhere by  the entertainment -and I will weather the weather whether or not its perfect!

Yay!

LOL or OMG

My friend Jeannie sent me this picture of an od assemblage I did years ago- it was in the Wellspring House in Hull- a thrift shop with a mission. I can remember making this but it was a long time ago. I considered buying it back, but that seems kind or counterproductive to say the least! I hope someone gets it. $32.00!

In the Garden

I have been a gardening nut lately- having fun planting and creating gardens. I did an arial view of my yard ...not that I did anything with it but it was fun...

                              this fairie house garden is in memory of my Mom who loved" little worlds"

I planted a ton of gladiolas.
I know they are funeral-ee but I love em. And they are easy! It's gently raining today- perfect for all the baby plants to settle in!

Two Opening Weekend!

Girls Just Wanna Paint! Opening was Saturday...
From upper left: Pam Copeman (new member)  Paula Villanova, Paige Railsback, Tori Brega.
bottom row from left: Jeanne MacFarland, me, Kelley MacDonald and Nancy Colella.
Unable to attend-  Mary Sheehan Winn, Lisa Daria Kennedy, Joan Brancale and Jody Regan ( other new member)
It was well attended -considering we had some gorgeous weather to compete with!

Sunday was the opening of the George Nick tribute show at the Art Complex Museum- and the Student Outdoor Sculpture. Here's some of the kids talking about their pieces, and Michelle Booth from the Bay Farm Montessori Academy playing their birthday wind chime.

it just shows to go ya

After being elated about two pieces in the North River arts festival show and a ribbon- I got notice that BOTH entries were rejected at the South Shore Art Center festival show. So its always a crap shoot and we just have to keep trying. I am hoping to be able to branch out beyond the south shore at some point .
This is a drawing I did on my iPad that I got as a birthday present ( thank you Al!) on the brushes app. I love my iPad!

Nancy does Duxbury

Yesterday my friend Nancy Colella volunteered to work with the early Alzheimer's group at the Art Complex. She showed them aboriginal art and they took off from there. I love the art that was created! And as always it was relaxing and fun just to hang out with these folks. Nancy works with a group at Linden Ponds in Hingham . She blogs about it here...

GIRLS just wanna PAINT opening Saturday

Hope to see you at the Bumpus Gallery in the Duxbury Public Library-Saturday, May 19 from 2- 4 PM.
Stop by on your way to or from the beach , ice cream at Far -Fars, lunch at the Milepost or a walk around the town. See the paintings of the places I mentioned!

You won't be disappointed!

"Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"20"x20" acrylic

This is my entry for the South Shore Art Festival show in Cohassett. It was finished 20 minutes before the deadline! I got great news yesterday- two of my pieces got in to the North River Arts Festival show- and one got an honorable mention! I am very happy about that! The exhibit opens Friday May 25 at the opening gala- a truly fun evening, and all weekend at the festival. The show is up for a week or so after.

Sisters weekend

My sister Bryson came over Saturday and we made wreaths. She got the idea and brought the materials to make them. My sister in law Anna came too ( she has not finished hers yet) .
Fun!

Hope everyone had a great Mothers Day!

My wreath...

My sisters'

My Mothers Shoes -9"x12" acrylic

These shoes were in my mothers closet when I had to clean it out after her death.
They were never worn, still in the box, shiny black patent leather. I thought a lot about how there were a lot of things my mother lamented about never having done, and the shoes were there waiting. Funny how it takes a while for things to dawn on me- as I was painting this I realized the label on the shoes said "Life Stride".

sunny morning

I did this one of the front of my house the other day when the sun was out. We seem to be getting the moisture that we needed.
My10 year old nephew and I did art together yesterday- he's making a journal. He had a new set of charcoal and I showed him how to use it. It was fun... he's adorable and has a lot of energy.
We did batting practice after.

Chris's trees in the moonlight.

Art Camp with my pal Nancy!

Yesterday I played with Nancy Colella in her studio ( see her post for her version of the project) and we painted on lampshades to be auctioned off at the North River Arts Society Festival.
It was fun to try a whole new medium.
We looked at Aboriginal art and took off from there.

Its cool to see how they look in the day light, and in the dark with the light on. I think this will look good in a contemporary- possibly southwest decor.

Sister

Some sisters you get when you are born into a family, others you gain along the way. Sisters are special!
This is my sister-in-law, from a snapshot taken at the tea party she threw for her Mom's birthday.We all wore hats, played bingo, ate cake and drank tea. It was so old fashioned and sweet. She is a wonderful person and I love her! She's actually prettier than I made her look- found this painting to be a little challenging in the face area- the photo was in shadow... but I love the warmth of the lamp. Sums up the coziness of the day.

cluck 6"x6" acrylic

I am bringing some pieces to the North River Arts Society this week- a few hopefuls for the juried show, and  a bin of paintings for the "Art in the Barn" where there will be deep discounts. Here's one for the barn...
Come to the Festival! It's a long standing tradition in Marshfield and a great way to kick off the summer-
I will be doing a painting demo along with several others on Sunday.

Murals are DONE

It feels good to be done- till next year- AFRICA!

FarFars opens today! 8"x8" acrylic

This is the place to get amazing ice cream.. I painted it for my Duxbury challenge for the Girls Just Wanna Paint ...see that blog here.

This photo is a bit blurry as I forgot to photograph it - now it's hanging in the Duxbury Library.

Lily of the Valley

My mother used this vase for her lilies of the valley that grew all over the yard each spring...and now I have it. I haven't painted flowers in the morning for a while- it felt good. Meditative. I listened to Aaron Copelands"Appalachian Spring" one of my moms favorite pieces of music. It's a cool moody day, soulful. I kind of like it.

Happy Birthday Mimi!

A shout out to a faithful follower- my own dearest Mother in law.
Hope you have a wonderful day, Mimi!