Liz

 Click to Bid

Merry Christmas to all my faithful readers, friends, and followers. I had a wonderful day with my family and of course my favorite little boys, Colin and Ryan. There was lots of food and desserts. 
Also, we've narrowly escaped 2 feet of snow from a 48 hour Blizzard which knocked out power and closed roads far and wide. Fortunately not our power. We are on the rain/snow line and got mostly a sleet mix and high seas. I'm going to post some photos over on my Not Really a Cleaning Lady blog for those who don't live near the water and haven't experienced it's 'winter mood'.

 Mama and I do the tree together every year

 Auntie Ag gives Ryan and Colin Hess Trucks each Christmas

Waiting

Click to Bid

 Another painting of my favorite subject, white mums. Waiting for Christmas, of course.

We've got a little bit of snow here and I'm inside painting with my little babies sleeping next to me.

Heaven.

 

Petunia Pig

 She's not the REAL Petunia Pig but she has pretty roses and vines all over her and she's about 43 years old!  In 1967 my father took me to a Red Sox game. We had dinner at the Prudential Center and when I admired this little piggy bank in a gift shop he bought it for me. A great memory of a night out with my dad. The Red Sox won the American League Pennant that year which became known as The Impossible Dream and was the most exciting year (in my lifetime) in Boston Baseball until 2004 when after losing the first 3 games to the Yankees the Sox won 4 in a row to take the AL Championship after which they went on to beat St Louis in 4 games to win the World Series under a stunning full moon!  It was very Hollywood!

Pick Me

Click to Bid

Which one should I open first is the dilemma. Ok, the box.

You all know that I suffered the loss of my dearest boy Wendell in October. Don and I couldn't bear the silence and we were lucky to be chosen as parents for these sweet little sisters. Abba (upside down) and Wolfie are amusing and affectionate and kitten crazy! Life is good. 

 

A Good Egg

Remember when people referred to someone as a "good egg"? What the heck was that all about?

Anyway I did this in my Carol Marine class. She really knows how to paint eggs. This one is sold but there will be more of this subject. I had to hide all my saved eggshells in the back of the refrigerator so Don wouldn't throw them away ;)

Duxbury Dunes

 

I love the Winter landscape and like to drive over the beach road through the dunes which connect Duxbury and Marshfield. In the late afternoon the sun is just right for painting. The beach road is also an adventurous shortcut to the Village where I dropped some paintings over at the Duxbury Gallery today. There are works by all my famous artist friends there like Roz Farbush, Nancy Colella, Margaret McWethy, Jeannie MacFarland and Christine Bodnar to name but a few. I also noticed some fabulous Christmas ornaments with a local flair while I was browsing today. They also feature beautiful stationary, cards, photographs and gifts. Be sure to check it out.

Duxbury Gallery at Nine Standish

Bennett's General Store 8x8 oil

I made a cold call on Duxbury Gallery to see if they might want to show some paintings I've done of the local scenes and was pleasantly surprised when they accepted. Check out their website at to see some work from some of my painter friends who are also represented there. 
This painting is of Bennett's General Store with their iconic Jeep which serves as the advertising for the store. In the summer the Jeep's convertible roof is off and in the winter the cap is on. More local scenes to come.

Miss Cape Neddick

Thank You, Jamey!!!

I had so many visitors who came from distances to see me including Miss Cape Neddick who didn't sign my book. You know who you are so email me please. We didn't get to chat long enough. Also, dear Katie McElwain and two of her three beautiful daughters including the newest addition, five month old Deidre came down from Ipswich. 

My special 'collectors' showed up early and I had great sales through out. The highlight of this was that my brother Jamey, who makes fabulous pochade boxes pictured below, installed a rail system to hold my small paintings so they could be viewed all together. Slam bangin' fabulous!!!! 
Thank you everyone who attended and thanks to my fellow artists for their superb presentation in cleaning, decorating and creating signage in our building. A big thanks to all the volunteers who acted as 'tour guides'. You were a big help.

9x12 Pochade boxes. Lightweight. $150 email me at WENDL15@verizon.net

Katie May holding Deidre and Claire (future author)

Open Studios

Saturday and Sunday 11-5 in two buildings one block apart in Rockland, Massachusetts.  
Look for the red balloons along the route connecting the two buildings. For directions and a list of participating artists go to our website 4th Floor Artists. 
I will have all my 6x6 paintings on sale for $75. Some larger framed works for STUDIO prices and some matted watercolors.

North River Arts Society Annual Holiday Sale

There is some fabulous and very diverse affordable art at this sale. Paintings, cards, prints, Christmas ornaments, felting and knitted items and even wood sculpture.

It takes place at the G.A.R. Hall at 157 Old Main Street in Marshfield Hills (MA) 

from 10-4 TODAY and TOMORROW.

Don't Miss it!!

My Wendell

I only have about a zillion photos of this guy. 

We are searching for a new four footed fluffball.

Tea Time

Click to Bid

I'm still not quite myself after losing my dear Wendell but this was done a few weeks back and I finally got a good photo of it. I'm okay but I'm taking it easy. No pressure. Check out Fresh Paint Daily Painters to see more fine work from some fabulous artists. 

Wendell

Wendell  April 5 1996-October 25 2010

And God asked the feline spirit
Are you ready to come home?
Oh, yes, quite so, replied the precious soul
And, as a cat, you know I am most able
To decide anything for myself.

Are you coming then? asked God.
Soon, replied the whiskered angel
But I must come slowly
For my human friends are troubled
For you see, they need me, quite certainly.

But don't they understand? asked God
That you'll never leave them?
That your souls are intertwined. For all eternity?
That nothing is created or destroyed?
It just is....forever and ever and ever.

Eventually they will understand,
Replied the glorious cat
For I will whisper into their hearts
That I am always with them

I just am....forever and ever and ever.

 Wendell and his baby picture

Our 14 year old Wendell recently become ill and there was no hope for recovery. 

We had to let him go. Our home was filled with joy, amusement, and affection by the huge personality of this wonderful being.

He was the love of our lives.

Value Studies

After my recent workshop with Carol Marine I'm aware that I need to study values to strengthen my paintings. When she had us mix a 'middle' gray, no one got it. All were too dark. So, I mixed and matched values right on my gray scale value chart. If I squint these grays blend into the backgrounds and that's how you know you're right on.  Values and composition are the most important elements of a painting. I also did a color wheel using Prussian Blue, Quinacridone Red and Cad Lemon.

Pour Me a Cup

Click to Bid

I picked up this little teapot in The Mother Load a cool little shop in Bonita, Florida. This is the first painting I've done of it and I think I'll take a page out of my friend and teacher Carol Marine's book and paint the thing until I turn into a teapot. That probably won't happen, of course, but you know what I mean.

I am also holding a 3 hour painting class on Saturday mornings from 10 to 1 through December.  I'll do a demo and then we'll paint from a still life concentrating on good composition, accurate values and carefully placed brushstrokes. Email me at WENDL15@verizon.net to sign up. 

Daily Catch

This is an experiment with a complicated subject. It's done from a photo I took in Woodstock, Vermont last Fall. I can see that some parts are a little fussy and overworked but the area just to the right of the fisherman is my favorite. This is 9x12 on Pintura panel and will be available in my Open Studios Sale November 20and 21.

Lurking

Click to Bid

Tonight I met up with some of my fellow Girls Just Wanna Paint 'homies' and had dinner at a fabulous local restaurant called 'Hola' right here in town. We viewed our collective 'door' paintings and had a fabuluos meal. Here is my latest struggle with reflective surfaces. The lurker is the onion ;) 

Lobster Boat, Green Harbor

Click to Bid

This is the finish of the plein air painting I started a few posts back. I finished it off using artistic license, eliminating unnecessary elements and adding color where I thought it would work. It is most important to remember to edit your paintings while composing the scene. All of the elements must work together to lead the eye through the painting to the focal point. The problem many painters have is to try to literally reproduce the scene, often including confusing or odd elements that just happen to 'be there'. 

Standing By

Click to Bid

I picked up this cool bottle at a yard sale for 50 cents. It has lots of green in it so I used a lavender background and a light teal ground to set it upon. I love to paint white carnations because of the dramatic lights on the petals.

Going Green

Click to Bid

Okay, it's a corny title but it's late and the Red Sox are losing (eliminated) and that's my story and I'm stickin' to it :D

It was fun painting this, anyway.