This painting is in the Provincetown Art Association and Museum's annual 12x12 auction.
It opens on August 12th and bids are ongoing through September 24th. Bid early and bid often and above all, visit one of the most beautiful and unique destinations in New England.
Summer Skies is the June theme for the Girls Just Wanna Paint and this is a stand in for the one that got away ;)
I spent a few days last week on Block Island with my brother. We didn't bring a car so I just wandered around the main drag near the ferry landing enjoying the old hotels and the plethora of boaters in for the July 4th Celebration.
Hotel Manisses
There are beautiful old hotels on the Island and the weather was superb. I didn't bring all my gear but I found a shady spot and did a sketch of the Surf Hotel.
the architecture is very Edward Hopper
Lightburne Cottage
This little shop is a must see. Everything is handmade and Jan, the artist, is a bubbling fountain of creativity.
South East Lighthouse
More paintings on the way of this beautiful place.
I spent last week exploring and painting on Monhegan Island with fellow artists Bobbi Heath and Carol Douglas. I painted this from my perch on the 4th floor balcony of the Monhegan House. It was a gray day with intermittent sun and clouds mixed with sprinkles and downpours. Such is island weather.
We frequently encountered Karl Nestleberger's Uber golf cart service with Anne Nestleberger, Jack Haran and friends aboard.
This was the loaded topic for this months Girls Just Wanna Paint challenge and the possible paintings depicting such, were like a roulette wheel going around and around in my head. Finally, I pulled it out at the last minute after procrastinating over, what women want. They wanna paint! This woman wanted to paint these beautiful sunflowers in her periwinkle blue, faux McCoy pitcher! So, she did. Our meeting tonight ran from laughter to tears and back to laughter. Some of us are bearing up under loss and some of us are struggling with life's randomness and inexplicable path. We all agreed that this group friendship, begun around our painting, is an anchor and that we feel safe and loved and supported by one another, and that that, is really what women want.
I am surprised and so very pleased to be awarded the Roz Farbush Memorial Prize for Color at the North River Arts annual Festival of the Arts!
Roz was an icon in our artistic community, known for her bold and colorful paintings. I was fortunate to make her acquaintance through two of my "besties", Kelley MacDonald and Paula Villanova, who invited me to be part of a girlfriend painting outing, which became known as "the Jeep Trip", to Provincetown and continues to this day.
I confess that we trespassed to paint Edward Hopper's house in Truro and I probably could not find it again but, it was one of our great adventures!
We took a trip through Gettysburg last week on our return from our winter in Naples. The Gettysburg Military Park includes a fantastic museum and a most unexpected and spectacular treat, the Cyclorama, which is a 377' by 42' high, painting of the battlefield mounted in a circular venue with a sound system and light show. The Cyclorama on Tremont Street in Boston was the original venue for this painting! We did a self guided tour of the battlefield using a CD we bought in the visitors' center which gave us the option to visit at our own pace. I can only say that if you haven't visited, you must. The experience was moving and beautiful beyond anything I had imagined.It's cliche but just being there is a sobering experience. We arrived to perfect spring weather and this past Sunday I set up this bouquet of tulips on my deck and painted some post worthy work for the first time in weeks. In order to get these pinks and purples I had to go into my (can't live without) stable of "reds". They are Grumbacher Thalo Red Rose, Grumbacher Thalo Violet and Winsor Newton Permanent (Quinacridone) Rose. You must have at least one of these colors to make a real pink. The painting sabbatical is over ;)
February's topic for Girls Just Wanna Paint was palette. I came across some paintings by Paul Klee and I liked the way he broke the subject up in different colors and this is the result. This is the Boston skyline as seen from I-93 or in local parlance The Southeast Expressway. The tall building is the Prudential Center and I don't know the name of the building with the "crown". I call it the Party Hat building after a review I read on its architecture after it was built. It looks quite festive.
My studio is located in the Sandpaper Factory and I've long thought of doing a painting of the hallway which has sawtooth skylights on the roof which are just fabulous to look at as well as being functional. Such a great abstract subject. As you walk down this hallway the lights in my studio are visible over the drywall so I called this painting, "Studio Lights". The Girls Just Wanna Paint subject this month is "the golden mean" which is a mathematical something or other which I don't understand well enough to define it, nor do I know whether this painting is an example of it. Check out the Girls'paintings to see how everyone handled it.
This is just one of many sweet little harbors tucked away all over the coast of Maine. I would have liked the tide to be lower because I think that makes the painting more interesting, but you get what you get.
I am planning a return to my Monhegan "garret" in early June!
This collage is my take on "Chair" for the Girls Just Wanna Paintchallenge. I thought I was on this but after several attempts I resorted to cutting out the chair working with the stamps again. I love working with the sheet music. My New Years resolution is to not procrastinate. We'll see how that goes as it's in my DNA.
This commission had to be painted from a photo, of course, but there are many pitfalls in that and it takes some knowledge to find a way around them. The original photo gives me enough information in the dog's face but the glare on his body erases his chocolate brown markings. What I ended up doing was to just fill in what I knew to be there. Don and I are packing for our annual trek to Naples, Florida on January 8th. I like to take this last day of the year to thank all of you for your visits and comments. They are much appreciated! Happy New Year everyone!
This is a commission for a friend who will be giving this to her husband for Christmas. It wasn't initially on that kind of timeline but it sure works!
I'm busily painting a couple of commissions and needed to prime the pump before working on larger paintings so, I painted this little sunset down by Green Harbor.
It wasn't that cold today and it felt great to be outside!
By the way. Don't miss the North River Arts Holiday Salegoing on all week at the GAR Hall at 157 Old Main Street in Marshfield. They have gone all out as always, beautifully arranging the art and artisan work. I have a bin with some serious bargains there!
On my trip to Utrecht art supply last week, I accidentally ended up in the paper department and could not resist this beautiful sheet of handmade paper with all kinds of organic material embedded in it. I used it as the backdrop for my Girls Just Wanna Paint monthly challenge piece, "celebration".
I also chose the dragonfly paper in teal and black and ended up cutting them out and decoupaging them into the composition along with Christmas sheet music printed off the internet. I completed the piece using stamps in red, gold, silver and copper.
It was great fun and I wish all of you a wonderful Christmas Season in which ever way you celebrate.
Come visit from 12-5 Saturday and Sunday, November 21 & 22.
Over 70 artists and artisans in two buildings.
Stop into the Sandpaper Factory at 83 East Water Street in Rockland, MA. Enter through the left side door and you'll find me at the top of the stairs on the 4th floor!
It's that time of year again and we are all scrambling to get ready for Open Studios which is next Saturday and Sunday from 12-5. There are many new artists in the Sandpaper Factory and our new owner and steward, Alan, has really spruced up our building with siding and new windows. Bring your family and friends and have a blast. Maybe pick up something wonderful for someone on your Christmas list! This is a little painting I did a few weeks back while visiting my friend Bobbi Heath at her cool house in Maine. This weekend in New Hampshire to celebrate my nephew Ryan's 12th (gasp)birthday. Guess what he got from his Auntie?
Although we don't focus on tough topics, we don't shy away from them either.
October's topic was "gun".
Some of us had trouble figuring out a way to portray this subject but, there are many possible interpretations of any given topic, and as usual, the Girls came through.
A last minute conversation with my young nephew in which he exuberantly shared the details of the "coolest" nerf gun he had picked up at a yard sale for $1, reminded me that I could work the lighter side of this "loaded" subject. Pun intended.
We all carry a psychological burden just from witnessing horrific acts of murder and increasing gun violence in our culture.
I don't have any answers but I remember the victims.
The Painting from the Heart workshop with Page Railsback was awesome! I got to experiment with acrylics and loved the texture of the paint. So different from oils. Loved painting a large painting and being able to scumble over passages that dry so quickly that added layers of color can shine through.
The other thing is that I'm in Maine and it doesn't get better!
