Day Lilies

Day Lilies
12x12, acrylics on gallery wrap canvas

Another floral painting. Having great fun with color. And today, FINALLY, the sun has come back out full-force. It's about time, as I can't take much more of the gray gloom. Again, I painted this mostly with my fingers, although I did use a brush in a few places. Hope people are enjoying these colorful and fun paintings!

Still Alive

Poppies
12x12, acrylics on gallery wrap canvas
Not For Sale

I've been sitting here in rainy Maine for the last, oh, four to six weeks, looking out the window at mostly gray, gloomy, drizzly skies. Every so often, we get a beautiful, sunny day, just to tease us. Then it goes back to ugly, monochromatic gray. I've desperately needed color, and it seems the only way I can get it these days is to paint it myself. But my landscapes don't generally have enough color to bring me out of a deep, gray funk, so this morning I decided to do something different: poppies. I painted this almost entirely with my fingers...only used a brush for the original background color (pale turquoise) and for the stems. There's just something so fulfilling about digging in and actually using my fingers in that paint while I create! The sun may not be shining outside my window, but indoors, things are getting h0t. Hope you enjoy!

Not Dead Yet

Mountain Highway
2005, acrylics on canvas
18x24

Still no new paintings to post, but I thought I'd post a couple of oldies instead, just so you folks wouldn't think I was dead. I call this one Mountain Highway, and I painted it on a summer evening in 2005, by the light of a jerry-rigged lamp at the kitchen table in our camper while camping in Belfast, Maine. The scene was based on a photo I took on Route 26 between Errol, NH and Newry, ME. I believe the mountain is called Old Speck. If you're ever up that way, you should take a drive from Newry to Errol and then circle around to Gorham, NH. It's beautiful, wild country, abundant with wildlife (i.e., deer, moose, etc.).

Sisters
ca. 2000, acrylics on canvas
16x20

This is another of my early paintings, I call it Sisters, and it's a painting I did nearly ten years ago of our old neighborhood. Our house, in which we lived for sixteen years, is the one at the right. The lines are a little wonky, and the photo doesn't do it justice, as the colors are quite striking, with the sunlight running in bright yellow bands down the hilly front lawns.

Foggy Evening, Old Orchard Beach
2007, acrylics on canvas
12x24

This was an experiment, as I was trying to paint the OOB pier on a foggy night. I didn't like the way it came out, lived with it for a short time, and then painted over it.


Whew. In case you couldn't tell, I've been in a major painting slump. It hasn't helped that it's rained for nearly three weeks now, with only an occasional sunny day interspersed with all the doom and gloom. It's raining again today, and the forecast calls for rain, rain, and more rain, although we may see some sun in between raindrops during the next couple of days. One can only hope. I can take a day or two of rain, but when it rains like this, for weeks, it really gets me down, and I find myself unable to do anything but sit around and feel sorry for myself. Which is very unhealthy!

So this morning, I went downstairs, turned on the lights, and allowed myself to play with paint, which always restores my spirit. I really got into it, shoving my fingers into the gooey stuff and swiping it all over the canvas. I just love the way it feels on my hands. This painting is a commission, and a gift, so I can't say anything more about it publicly. But I'm excited to be painting ANYTHING at this point, and I have my sticky, paint-laden fingers crossed that it will please the giftee (Is that a real word?).

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

Some Photos From Boston

Just a few photos from yesterday's trip to Boston. The Beacon Hill Art Walk was fabulous, but we walked our legs off. Up and down, zigging and zagging all over the Hill, over crooked and buckling brick sidewalks. The artwork was beautiful, amazing, invigorating, inspiring, so much to see! So many different styles! I discovered a few artists I really liked, and scooped up their business cards, but since I got home at 10:45 last night and had to work this morning, I haven't had time to look any of them over yet. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and the sunlight and shadows all over the Hill were spectacular. Got a chance to chat again with Sean Flood, who I blogged about after the SOWA Art Walk, and to enjoy his wonderful paintings again. We also got the chance to walk all over the city, which I always enjoy doing, but the walking is tough on this out-of-shape old lady!

We also stopped by The Trident Booksellers & Cafe on Newbury Street, near Mass Ave, where JJ Long has a solo exhibit hanging right now. I think his exhibit will only be up for another week, so if you're in the Boston area, now is the time to stop in and check out JJ's work. I love realism, and JJ's brand of realism just sings!

I didn't get to take as many photos of the city as I'd hoped, and I was carrying my hubby's small camera instead of my new one (which is pretty bulky for carrying around all day), but I'm hoping I got two or three photos that would make good paintings. I've only done one painting since I got back from SOWA three weeks ago, and I'm starting to itch to pick up a brush. So stay tuned; new paintings will be posted within the week.

Happy Monday, everyone!

Beacon Hill Art Walk

Copley Square, Boston
December, 2006

This Sunday, my sister-in-law and I are headed to Boston on the Amtrak Downeaster to visit the Beacon Hill Art Walk. This art exhibit I'll be seeing as a visitor, and not as a participant. It will be different from any kind of art exhibit I've ever visited; artists and musicians will be set up in the private back gardens and yards of Beacon Hill homes. These are places the public doesn't usually get to see, so it will be a real treat, not just looking at the art, but getting glimpses into the private homes and lives of Beacon Hill residents.

The weather report is promising, and although I sometimes have trouble climbing (and this is, of course, Beacon Hill), I plan to pace myself so that I can see all the art I'm hoping to see. There will be many artists there whose work I've never seen, as well as some whose work I admire: Sean Flood, who I mentioned in an earlier post, will be exhibiting there, and so will Jen Matson, a Boston photographer whose work I've been admiring for several years now. The day promises to be tiring, but fun.

It's been a while since I went down on the train, and now that they've finally put BENCHES in North Station (what a novel idea, to provide seating for the hundreds of people waiting to board the trains...), I'm looking forward to it. It does make for a long day, though. The train arrives back in Portland a little after nine p.m. on Sunday night, and I still have a 60-mile drive to get home from there. Plus, I have to work Monday morning. But I'm sure the trip will be worth any fatigue I'll experience.

The city of Boston energizes me in a way nothing else does. And I plan to bring my camera, so that I can take some cityscape photos which I hope will turn into future paintings!

Just Had to Do It

Nightfall
9x12, acrylics on canvas
SOLD

I couldn't resist. I just had to commit this one to canvas. Yes, the color is exaggerated a tad, but that's pretty standard for me. No houses in this one; just the road, the trees, and that amazing sunset.

Update

Night Approaches
Digital Photo, taken with a Canon Powershot SX10
AVAILABLE

No new paintings this week. Between the long holiday weekend and other matters, things have been so hectic that I haven't had time to pick up a paintbrush. But I thought I'd share a photo I took on Saturday evening as the sun was setting. I may paint this someday. I love the bands of color in the sky.

After a few days of recuperation from the Art Walk, on Memorial Day I drove to Ellsworth, near Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park, and dropped off a few paintings and some prints at a little place called The Rock and Art Shop. It's on Route 1A a few miles out of Ellsworth toward Bangor. If you happen to be traveling Down East, I'd recommend you stop in. It's small place, but it's packed with a ton of amazing stuff! Among other things, there are visual arts, gems and rocks and semi-precious stones, jewelry, awesome metal sculptures of dinosaurs (I took one in trade for a painting at the end of last season), equally awesome metal sculptures of adorable bugs (yes, I did use the words "adorable" and "bugs" in the same sentence...if you don't believe me, drive down there yourself and check it out!). Annette and her family will be showing and selling my paintings there all season, and I have my fingers crossed that we'll do well. In the meantime, since I just depleted the supply in my Etsy shop, looks like I'd better get back to the easel!

I foresee a busy summer ahead. I've added all the regional art shows to my datebook, and I'm going to try to visit as many of them as I can. I love looking at art almost as much as I love creating it, and here in Northern New England, summer brings a wide variety of sidewalk art shows and festivals and fairs. Then, of course, there are the galleries. Oh, the galleries! While I was in Ellsworth on Monday, I drove over to Acadia so I could go up to the summit of Mount Cadillac and get some photos. I swung through Bar Harbor in search of an ATM, and while I was there, I must have counted six or seven galleries. And those are just the ones I saw as I breezed through town. Looking deep into my crystal ball, I foresee a day very soon when I'll be driving down and spending a day in Bar Harbor, checking out the galleries and the awesome specialty shops. Maybe I'll have lunch at some cute little restaurant with a view of the water.

And maybe return with some inspiration for my artwork.

I'm also planning (weather permitting) to check out the Beacon Hill Art Walk in Boston on June 7. From what I understand, it's a sort of art/music/secret garden tour, where the artists are actually set up in the private back gardens of Beacon Hill residents (which of course are not generally open to the public). So not only will visitors get a chance to look at some beautiful art and listen to local musicians, but they'll also be afforded a special glimpse into the private lives of the residents of Beacon Hill. It sounds wonderful...except for the climbing. I don't do well with hills. But I plan to pace myself, and only visit as much of the exhibit as I can easily manage. While I'm in Boston, I also plan to check out the Trident Booksellers and Cafe on Newbury Street, where J.J. Long is having an exhibit. I wasn't able to get there while Jen and I were in Boston last week for the Art Walk; there just wasn't enough time. But I really want to see J.J.'s work again, especially since he wasn't able to make SOWA this year. He's a very talented artist from the Boston area, and I always look forward to seeing his new work in person.

So as you can see, I've been busy, and it looks as though that will continue for the next little while. Stay tuned for new paintings...hopefully by the end of this week! And happy summer, everyone. After a long, cold, and snowy winter, I am PSYCHED!!!!