new in the studio

Just finished up a four panel piece called season shift.  Would love to find a big, beautiful wall to call home :)

passing the torch

Yesterday I delivered nine tiny paintings to Nahcotta for the ETA 10 (Enormous Tiny Art) show. Working in a small format is a great opportunity to experiment a bit with materials. I tried applying three different grounds to the canvas. They all accepted the paint in a different way. The inspiration for the works was one of my favorite subjects.......SUMMER. I have been enjoying many early morning walks on the beach. Every day brings its own beauty.

2012 calendars are in the house!!

It's always challenging to choose twelve images that tell the story of my work, but I am very happy with this mix. Some images are representational, some a bit more abstract: some done in pastel, others in acrylic.

.......now if I can just motivate the staff to get them packaged up!!

beach walk

What an incredibly inspiring way to start the day.......

CHIHULY

Finally made it in the the Boston MFA yesterday to see the Chihuly exhibit. It was SO inspiring! The installations are incredible from conception to scale to execution. It was very uplifting. If you can possibly get there, I would encourage you to do so! http://www.mfa.org/exhibitions/chihuly

Saturday Cove Fine Art re-opens!

I am so excited to once again, be working with Kim Clark at Saturday Cove Fine Art in Northport, Maine. SO many years ago, it was Kim who welcomed me and my work, truly getting my career off the ground. After a well deserved break, she and her husband, Scot Sebold have re-opened the gallery and are excited about the season ahead. Mid-coast Maine is an absolutely gorgeous area and this beautiful gallery , filled with fine art, crafts, home and garden items, is just one more reason to make the trip!

spring

It has not been a particularly lovely spring here in New England. Unseasonably cool, cloudy with lots of rain. Nonetheless, nature, ever steadfast, went about the business of renewal. Eventually, the sun came out......and the masterpiece revealed.

COLOR /VALUE QUIZ answer (newsletter)

SO.....you knew it was a trick question, yes? The answer is that the the line in all three rectangles is the same, but it appears altered by the colors and values of the the colors surrounding it. (value meaning lightness or darkness) This is something I learned many years ago...and I use it all the time in my work......and yet it STILL fascinates me!!

MFA visit

The minute I walk through the doors at the Boston MFA, I can feel something wash over me that is a mix of serenity and exhilaration. This happens every time. It can be the new wing (which is AMAZING, by the way) or the older part of the museum. It doesn't have to be any particular show. It is just so amazing to be in a space where art is revered and beautifully displayed. Some people are talking animatedly about the work with friends, some are sitting with it quietly. Some work you love, some you don't. Other pieces seem hard to access. This is all okay. You are looking, thinking, expanding your own vision.

tiny art time!!

I just dropped off some small acrylic paintings on paper to Nahcotta for ETA 9! The tiny art shows are a great opportunity to try something new or develop an entire series on a single backboard in the studio! Working a number of pieces at once is a favorite way of working for me. Each informs the other. As I have been spending a lot of time looking at the winter sky, I chose a soft, muted palette for this series.

As always, I am excited to see the work of other participating artists. This show is always so diverse. I love that!

sentinels of winter

Every year once the leaves have fallen, I find myself watching the bare trees and the light surrounding them. They are sentinels standing against a silver sky. The motion as I walk or watch from a vehicle constantly shifts their relational positioning and flickers of light bounce off the bark. I am beginning to explore this fascination in my work.