'Cruising'

"Cruising"
12X16
Oil on Masonite Panel
Available
Click on Picture to enlarge the view!

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I've been working on this one for the better part of two weeks. I know that sounds like a long time, but if you have been following my blog, you know that I am now very time challenged with the care of my elderly father. This has become nearly a full time job, so.....I am not giving up, just trying to keep up. And this is a bigger painting than I have been working on lately. I hope you will enjoy it!

Anyway, this scene is from this past summer's trip to Blowing Rock. As my husband and I enjoyed some gorgeous weather and walks around Bass Lake and the lake at the park in the middle of town, I carried my camera and took some shots as we walked. This was at the lake in town. Two very nice Mallards came by to greet us as we stood by the lake. I know Mallards are as common as dirt, at least where we live....but I like them nonetheless. They are sweet natured and only wish to hang out...cruising on a beautiful summer's day.

'Munchies before sleep'

"Ram"
10X8
Oil on Panel
NFS

This one is a painting for a friend of mine. The story is this: Some years ago my friend and I were shopping, cruising around some antique shops to be more specific. As we looked around in one particularly nice shop, she spotted an antique painting of a ram and she fell in love with it. It had that presence about it...strength, patina, that air of confidence, a celebration of being. It was expensive. Really expensive for those of us raising our school age children at the time and not something she could justify buying. But years have passed and that painting sticks in her mind. She never got over it. A short time after we saw it she dragged her father over to that store to show it to him. I think she was secretly hoping he would buy it for her, but that didn't happen. She still talks about that painting. So here we are, all this time later and it suddenly dawned on me that, while I couldn't possibly replicate that exact painting, I could at least paint a ram for her for Christmas this year. She is in the redecorating mode for her bedroom and I was thinking this might be just the thing to gaze at while going to sleep....counting sheep? Only one, but what the heck! (if you happen to know who I am speaking of, don't tell her! It would spoil the surprise! So....shhhhh!)

Off to the next thing...
Thanks for visiting my blog!!

And the winner is....

"Pomegranate in White"
9X12
Oil on Board
$625.00

What a nice surprise! I entered the Mooresville Artist's Guild Show, The 26th Annual Octoberfest, for the first time this year. I'm going to say glowing things about the Mooresville Artist's Guild, not because I won the show, but because they are doing a terrific job of showcasing their members' art and maintaining a lovely facility / art gallery. The guild is housed in a former train depot smack in the middle of a small, but booming, downtown area. As you know, small towns all over America have taken a huge hit over the years from the outlying shopping centers. The town of Mooresville has not let this demoralize them, from the look of it. The buildings are renovated and business appears to be thriving. It is a charming townscape and on last Friday night of the Art Reception for the Show, the main streets were alive with interested shoppers and live musicians performing along the sidewalks. I have to say, I was very impressed with the enthusiasm I saw in Mooresville, for the arts, but also for the ongoing life of a small town. The Mooresville Artist's Guild is certainly doing their part and have a very dedicated core group of people who are putting in quite an effort to make their guild a success. The depot has 4 large rooms for gallery space, three of which are rotating galleries each month for member artists. This show filled up three rooms plus part of another room. Very nice, Mooresville and Guild!

The icing on the cake was the scene I saw when I entered the depot. There was my painting hanging in the very front room with a blue ribbon next to it! Now that doesn't happen every day to this artist who spends too much time in her studio, away from the world. I was quite surprised and delighted, and have to say I enjoyed the evening.

'Silver and Seashells'

"Silver and Seashells"
8X10
Oil on Canvas Panel


I must admit this is a re-post of a painting I did a year or so ago. It's hanging here in my house. It is one I particularly like and I don't think I can even say exactly why. It might be that painting that silver was something I dared myself to do. Reminds me I should try to do more silver/metallics.

There has been so much going on that I have had just a bare minimum of time painting. I do have one in process that I will post soon. My Dad's situation has escalated into more and more Dr.s appts. and more care-taking as time progresses.

So here is the news:
I am currently in two shows.
The first one is "The 26th Annual Octoberfest" sponsored by the Mooresville Artist's Guild, 103 Center St. Mooresville, NC. The opening reception is this Friday, October 10th, 6 to 8 pm and you are invited to come. I have three pieces in this show. I've been told I have won some award, but they keep it a secret until the reception, so at this moment I have no idea which piece or what award. Very suspenseful!

The second is "A Visual Harvest" sponsored by the Gaston County Art Guild, at the Jeanne Rauch Gallery, Gaston College, Dallas, NC. The opening for this show is October 16, 6 to 8 pm and you are also invited to attend this one. I have two pieces in this show. I spent most of Saturday assisting with the entries and the judge for this one.

Our local miniature show is coming up next month, too. That one is always fun and I love to participate in it. Stay tuned... :-)

'Preening Lady Duck'

"Preening Lady Duck"
6X6
Oil on Masonite
Available

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I don't know if this is a quirk or something typical of artistic temperment, but when I am painting certain subjects, I seek allegory as I paint them. Does she have a Saturday date for a swim with a handsome Drake? Or is she merely picking at a bug in her feathers? Whichever it is, I also ask myself, "Where would this painting fit into someone's life?" Would you place it in a dressing room where it would remind you of primping? Or do you love ducks and would put it out with a collection of them? Would you give it to a friend with a card that says, "I hope things are just ducky!"

Silly artist....just thinking up reasons for someone else to love a painting that I enjoyed creating. I hope you like her. And I hope things are "just ducky" for you today!!
Thanks for visiting!

'Queen Anne's Road'

"Queen Anne's Road"
5X7
Oil on Masonite
Available
$150.00 unframed

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One of the prettiest gifts of sight in the summer is Queen Anne's Lace along the sides of country roads. This particular place had a profusion of blossoms that made me stop in the middle of the afternoon and grab a picture. Queen Anne lives here! You can tell this painting is of an August day with wheat colors morphing into gold with just a hint of what September will bring us.

'August Mountains'

"August Mountains"
5X7
Oil on Masonite Panel
Available
$175.00 Framed

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This is from our trip up to the mountains last month. You can pronounce that word 'August' either way, as the month or as the adjective meaning exalted or resplendent. Our North Carolina mountains are so beautiful! This painting is but a small reminder of the scenery as you drive up, around, and through them. I hope to do more paintings to keep these beautiful mountains in our hearts. This one shows some tall grass by the side of the road at a resting spot with a stunning view.

A lovely little gallery in Darlington, South Carolina has decided to represent some of my work recently. It is called the Chameleon Art Gallery, so, if you are in that neck of the woods, do stop in and take a look!

As some of you know I have taken on tending to my father who is nearly 91 yrs. and who fell a few weeks ago. It has been more time consuming than before, since his fall, so my paintings are not coming as fast as I would like. I think it has taken me almost two weeks now just to find a couple of hours to get my paints out. Each day I look for the amount of time I need. And each day I find only bits and pieces, here and there, not enough to make it worth getting the brushes wet.....however, I have found some time to plan paintings, so maybe that counts towards the ones in the future.

There are two shows coming up...entries due Thurs. this week and also on Oct. 4th. I have been varnishing and framing to prepare for those. Will fill you in on that later.
Stay tuned....

Fine Art meets Commercial Art

"A Taste of Kindness"
9X6
Acrylic on Paper
NFS
One of the career goals I have strived towards, when I had my stationery business and beyond, is that I love to match up fine art for use as commercial art. Those two categories cross paths often, but I happen to think the best of commercial art actually is fine art. The lousiest of commercial art is never fine art. Witness the upsurge in popularity of posters for collectors, i.e. Hollywood posters, Skiing posters, Travel posters, etc. Those posters achieve something of the best of both worlds. Same with magazine covers, a la Norman Rockwell. You get the point, I'm sure.

So this is the kind of project I think is a great deal of fun, bringing my fine art to the useful endeavor of taking a commercial message to someone in some way. My stationery business was like that. It was fulfilling a commercial need while at the same time making something beautiful for lots of people to enjoy using and sending. Great fun it was.
This time it is a Cookbook project to benefit the Battered Women's Shelter of my county. They are always seeking ways to increase their funding and this year they decided to embark on a Cookbook to sell. When I heard about it I was happy to offer to create some art for the covers to get them some shelf appeal and hopefully lots of sales. The art you see here is waiting on approval, so we'll see if this is what they will like. If not, I will be back to the drawing board. Below is an idea of what the cover will look like with type / copy.

That's it for today....stay tuned!!

Cover with Type

Hey, Hay, Hay!

"Hay Bales at the Edge of the Woods"
5 3/4 X 9
Watercolor
Available

$75.00 plus postage

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This is from my trip up country to the mountains a few weeks ago. I took my watercolor pencils with me and managed to squeeze in a little time to do this as a study for a larger painting I am planning to do. These hay bales looked like they had been forgotten almost, but I am guessing they are there to save as needed for the livestock. It was near dusk and the sun was streaming across them while the woods had a dark and mysterious look under the trees. That is what captured my interest.

Things are still hectic with all of the running back and forth to my Dad's, but he is doing better and healing is taking place. This afternoon I am meeting also with the Battered Women's Shelter administrators on the fund raising project, a recipe collection / cookbook. I already have several pieces of art that relate to foods so I am looking forward to seeing this work into a very nice publication for them. We'll see how it goes!!

Thanks for visiting my blog.

'Wool in the Rough'

"Sheep #1"
5X7
Oil on Panel
Available


ADDED NOTE:
I am adding to this post on Labor Day Monday.....just to let anyone reading know that some events have occurred since last week to keep me from my paints. Besides the circumstance described below with my daughter's little cocker spaniel, my (ancient) Dad fell last Wednesday. This fall resulted in the skin scraped completely off of the back of his left hand. Seriously. All day in the ER on Wednesday. We were fortunate enough to have a spectacularly talented Doctor who spent hours stitching what skin was left back together, like a patchwork quilt or a jigsaw puzzle. There is still a place with no skin, so we are now going to the plastic surgeon tomorrow to see about a skin graft. Taking care of him and also nursing Lucy has kept me and my husband very busy these past days. Lucy has now gone back to my daughter's house for the rest of this week, but I am having to jump in and do more for my Dad, plus arranging for some in-home health care for him for the coming weeks. I am hoping to get some time to paint in between all of this...so I will post whatever I can come up with as I find the time. Thanks for staying tuned!
_____________________________________________________________
About the painting above:
Where knitting begins....with this little beauty! I look at that coat and find myself amazed of the gift of all of that wool. Maybe some of you don't know that I like to knit. My mother taught me how when I was very young and I have loved making sweaters for myself and my family all of my life. Now that I live in the South, wool sweaters are saved for only the coldest weather. There are other types of yarn to use for other seasons such as cotton, acrylic and blends thereof. But I do love wool yarns and a great love of the sheep who bring us such a wonderful textile with which to work.

Update on Lucy, (see below) she will be coming home from the hospital tomorrow and, from the look of things, she is in for a lengthy recovery. She cannot yet use her back legs and that is going to take time and therapy. She is as sweet as ever and we are looking forward to getting her well. Thanks to all her sent me concern and hope for her. It is much appreciated!

'Lucy'

"Lucy on a Book"
8X10
Acrylic on Panel
NFS

There she is. I painted this a couple of years ago, but am re-posting this picture because #1. Lucy is the reason I don't have a new painting, and #2. Lucy is at this very moment under the knife! There is a whole long story about Lucy. The short version is that four and a half years ago we found her near death as a puppy on our street,covered in thousands of ticks and starving, we saved her and my daughter took her as her own to keep. Lucy has not been feeling great lately. (I have been keeping her at my house for several weeks..another long story that I can't elaborate upon right now.) A few weeks back she developed an inner ear problem. Luckily that resolved in about four weeks. She seemed to be O.K. though not her peppy old self. Then a couple days ago she started whimpering and moaning and wouldn't eat and, by today she could barely walk at all. I fed her from my hand and finally got her to drink a little....we all, my daughter, her best fellow, my husband and I, met at the vet with Lucy this afternoon. We have an awesome vet!...who sent us right away to a veterinary neurological specialist. (You can just see the dollars flying out the window as fast as dust in the wind...can't you?) Low and behold, our little Lucy had a ruptured disk in her back and needed surgery to fix it. And it will be fixed...to the tune of a small fortune. How much is a little stray Cocker Spaniel worth? Lots and lots! We love Lucy.

So no new landscape to show you today, and tons of other interference, but it will be coming. I have my ancient Dad to feed Sunday, a dreaded jury summons for Monday, a Dr.'s appt. Tues., a meeting on cookbook illustrations for the Battered Women's Shelter on Wednesday, my own husband and dog and house, and will probably have Lucy recuperating at my house also by Tues. Are we having fun yet???
Ya have to say....it is never boring!!!

'Riverside Cramerton Park'

"Riverside Cramerton Park" / Cropped Version
Oil on Canvas Panel


O.K. Trying to save face...I first posted the entire painting and absolutely hate the thing so much that I decided to just take the part of the painting I really like and ditch the rest...so what you are seeing here is just a part of a painting. The big version is just awful. Maybe just a bad composition on the whole...but this part works, so I am going to make an effort to start over and just do a painting with this view.
This was from a "plein air" outing that was organized by an art guild friend a few weeks ago. More than twenty artists arrived at the park to paint. I don't paint "plein air," so I came to take photographs and observe. The day was horribly hot and, after sweating for more than two hours, I decided to head home. My favorite part of the whole painting is the reflecting of trees in the water, so that is what I am showing here.
I am determined to get past this landscape block I have!!
Thanks for visiting!

'Roll in the Grass'

"Hayroll & Barn"
8X10
Oil on Gessoed Panel
Available

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As promised....landscape! This was late afternoon, hot August, an overgrown field with a barn that caught my eye due to the blue cast on the roof against the gold colors in the hayroll and surrounding grasses. Remember I am a studio painter....and to that point, I want to quote an artist who does gorgeous landscapes in his studio. His name is Peter Fiore and there is a wonderful article on him in the most recent Artist's Magazine. In the article he says, "Some plein air artists profess their works are somehow more valid because they were painted on location." Continuing, he says, "If you're a musician inspired by nature, does that mean you have to create a symphony out in the field?" You can check out his work by clicking on the link. Very impressive.

And that is how I feel about landscape painting. I think the snobbery of "plein air" painting has gotten way out of hand. My paintings are inspired by the beautiful scenes I see as I go about my area and travels. And they are of the places I think are beautiful that I wish to share with anyone who takes a moment to view my work. I can easily get overwhelmed when working on landscapes by the awe I feel, the diverse plant and animal life, the wide vistas, the love I have of the countryside. That is what motivates me to do landscape, but also intimidates me. I struggle with trying to live up to all of that beauty. Anyway, I will be concentrating on landscapes for a while, so we'll see what I can accomplish.
Thanks so much for visiting my blog!!!

'Bluebird Equals Happiness"

"Bluebird"
7X5
Oil on Gessoed Panel
Available
$250.00 framed

Contact to Purchase

I have the perfect frame for this one. (either wall or tabletop) And it is an opportunity to give 'the Bluebird of Happiness' to someone as a gift. (maybe that someone who has everything else, but makes you happy!) They will think of you every time they look at it.

We have families of these gorgeous North Carolina Bluebirds around our neighborhood. They love to visit us in the fall when our Pyracantha bush yields its reddish orange berries. We love to watch them, but they are shy and fly off easily if people are too close by.

My husband and I love having the birds flying in and out of our feeding areas. He is the one who keeps the feeders full and I swear they know him and look for him to come out there with the seeds.

I did get several photos for landscapes while I was away in the mountains, so my intentions are to try try again and see if I can master the genre to some degree of satisfaction. That's what I'm up to next....stay tuned! :-)

'On the Road'

"Nursery on Rte. 321" Oil on Canvas Paper
NFS

This is a painting from a trip we made up to Blowing Rock, NC. a little while ago. We are heading up there again this weekend and I am so looking forward to the cooler air and the scenery, camera and sketchbook in hand! :-) The nursery is obscured now by looming industries encroaching into the countryside, so I am very happy I captured the scene when I did. The field on the right now is nothing more than a big tan colored box of a building.

I've been struggling with myself over landscapes. I love landscape paintings and have been admiring several other artist's work, some plein air and some studio painters. So when I sit down to try to do one lately, I am filled with inadequacy and trepidation and can hardly pick up the brush. I am determined to get myself past this bug-a-boo I am having, so the intention of this trip is to get some photos and sketches from which to work. Not to mention getting away from the oppressive heat we have been suffering through this summer. Believe me, one small weekend is not enough! But I'll take it!!

Have a great weekend!!