Gratitude 133

I was lucky to be able to spend three nights and days up in Maine in the Sebago Lake area with my friends Tori Brega and Kelley MacDonald.

Being on a tranquil lake is soothing and reflective. I love the crashing lulling waves of the ocean, this is different and equally awesome. The haunting sound of a loon on the lake at night is beautiful.

Here is Tori working on one of her many lovely paintings. She is a gifted artist in many mediums, including cooking! 

We were accompanied by Rudy the sheltie and Paco the pug.

They got along swimmingly! Paco likes to be up on chairs or laps whenever possible.

This is our view from the ice cream- penny candy store in Standish .

They have all the old time candy I haven't seen in years!

Tori snapped this of me sketching at sunset.

I will return!

I am working on finishing up the two large canvases I started up there.

I will post those soon.

Have a wonderful labor day weekend everyone!

Outside my Window 20"x24" acrylic on canvas

This is the first summer I've continued to fill my feeder. What a colorful array of birds we are enjoying!
I'm off to Maine for a few days and am bringing big canvases to continue this,as much as I might be tempted to paint Mainey pictures of houses and roads! Okay, I might do that too...

Augustus the lion- 16"x24" acrylic on canvas

This photo is a little darker than the actual painting.... Im planning on getting a better camera soon.
Im having fun and am not stopping. Thanks for your comments on the blog and emails, it means a lot!

Bear 16"x24" acrylic on canvas

I am having so much fun with these. I went a little dot crazy just before I snapped the pic.
I am having a one person show this November at the Cohasset public library (Pratt)
I am planning on showing all these. They are telling a story- and I am not even sure myself what that is but it is unfolding.

fun stuff

This is a watercolor with washi paper and real butterfly wings I found on the road...

This is a ( blurry!) photo of  a painting I did of my sister- in- law Anna.

It was taken at her mom's 70th birthday tea party int March 2012. We all wore hats and "fascinators".

Anna is one of the sweetest people I know.

Sadly her Mom passed away three weeks after her birthday.

I framed this and gave it to Kellie, Anna's daughter, for her birthday.

Bear W.I.P 16"x24" acrylic on canvas

I am about 1/2 done here. I love it when I get to erase the chalk lines to reveal the black underneath.
I have to let it dry completely - the acrylics are drying fast in this lovely weather we are having!
its a little bit tough to be in the studio-but I am feeling the rush of this new work and I want to stay on it!
 Now I am about to walk Winnie down to the creek for a swim.Then another session on the bear.

She is so ready!

Get off the pooter!

LETS GO ALREADY MOM

summer fun

 Ive been so blessed with my beach time this year. Im not one to spend a whole day at the beach ( too A.D.D.!) but my morning walks and evenings there have filled me up!

If you haven't been to Donna Greens magical moon foundation garden and farm stand -get there! I loved every bit of it- truly magical!

This tarp is hand painted painted and hangs over a lovely sitting area in her garden. There is also a fairy house village.

Not to mention yummy corn and organic veggies.

Someone is on time out because she won't leave the fish alone in my pond. She barks at them non stop and tries to catch them. The last straw was her biting my beautiful pond plant. Naughty!

Found all these old bottles at the dump. I love putting flowers in them. Winnie is in the background

 ( not sure you can see that but she's meditating on the fish)

This little wren ( on the left) has babies right outside in my studio window box. She hops on the fake bird sometimes and I love that. I watch her come and go with treats ( bugs) for her brood. Shes bold and quite vocal.She  keeps me company while I paint.The babies are soon to fledge. i will miss them.

Bad lighting for this photo- what's on my easel now....

And my start for the next one. I have this down- simple lines are essential for keeping the painting clear and fresh.

Thanks for looking!

COMMISION

I've had this on my docket for way too long- I actually had started this and abandoned it 4 times !
I finally have it where I like it.
There were no real perameters- just that it needed to have a camel.
Hope my client is happy!

"time flies" 16"x26" acrylic on canvas

My niece Mikayla and I had an art day together yesterday . She is working on a beautiful portrait of an African child she met on a recent mission trip to Uganda. I love painting when she's here.We can share hours of quiet together and it is so centering and relaxing!
I perused a few source materials and this flying bird called to me-  the background and flowers are pulled from a piece of wrapping paper that was on my wall. Painting this felt so good to me- its a whole different approach and one I have not worked in in a long time. No layering- each stroke is mindful and finished. It's on a canvas that was repurposed from  artist Dot Krause's studio sale . I gessoed it black- there was some crackle glaze here and there on her canvas making for an interesting surface. It wasn't until after I finished this that I realized my daughter Maddie was flying while I was painting it.
 Art imitates life...

Time flies- Maddie is back to school at the College of Charleston for her senior year.

Gratitude #132

This was a dream I had the other night- I could see summer written in the clouds in the sky and was desperately trying to save the image with my phones camera... Fleeting- like summer itself.As soon as the calendar turns to August it feels like everyone is talking about the end of summer- and yet there's still so much of it left! So I am trying not to be too concerned with getting a lot of paintings done- I want to read at the beach, eat lobsters, swim, kayak, hang out with friends and family and do fun summery things. When September 21 hits I will be ready for fall.

"time travel" 6"x6" acrylic on panel

This is my monthly challenge piece for the "girls just wanna paint" ( and I am late again!)
Inspired by a sketch done when I was traveling in Italy in 1985. I was 27. YIKES. I am more than twice that now. I would love to go back, but revisiting the drawings is pretty cool. See all the travel paintings here.

Walking with elephant. 3"x5" acrylic and watercolor on paper

I love elephants. 

This summer has had every kind of weather here in New England. I don't mind the heat but am glad for the coolness we are having now. Above is sunset over the South River in Humarock.

Winnie is so happy here! Walking on the beach in the morning is my favorite thing to do.

Breathe in, breathe out, listen to the waves.