North River Members' Show 2011

What the Juror, Joseph McGurl, said upon bestowing an Award Of Excellence:

"Lively brushwork is interesting to look at in its own right.  Great color choices.  Nice, careful observation"

Honestly, I am thrilled.  It is my very first award at North River, where I have been a member for most of   20+ years.  Not that I can bring myself to believe what he said, being 1/2 Irish.  But since I had my sons over for dinner that night, I couldn't make the Opening, and found out about my prize via Facebook.  So you won't hear ME slamming Facebook!  I also got the hours the show was open via FB, as it wasn't readily evident (to me, anyway) on the website. 

So my friend (and fellow award recipient) Jody Regan was kind enough to re-enact the Awards Ceremony, and I had my Sally Field moment:

I do want to thank all of your who share my artistic journey, which is so very important to me, by reading, following, subscribing to and commenting on this blog.  I never knew when I started it 4 years ago how much of an impact it would have on my art career, my friendships and... really, my life!

Muchos gracias...

Dreaming Of Venice, Oil, 12x6 inches

I'll come clean... I've never been to Venice.. YET.  It's on my own personal list of Places I Need To Go. Monet loved it for it's light, so I can't imagine not falling in love with it myself.  My son Conor has been, however, and he shared his photos with me.  I don't normally paint from photos.  But I was so inspired by some bloggers I saw this morning I thought I'd give it a try!

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Cairn III, 6x6, Oil

Feeling mellow today, as I am starting a new Yoga class, I played with all my little rocks at the studio, and made this little cairn.  I just love painting stones.  

Dreaming Of Harry Winston, 6x6 Acrylic

Well, it's that time again, when my Challenge Group posts their monthly interpretations of a theme or idea.  This month the theme was "Dream".  First of all, I'm completely lost when it comes to 'making stuff up' about a painting, and this is why I never thought of myself as a creative person for many years.  I started this and was really going places with it, till my loving husband told me I needed to make it 'sparkle' more.  OK.... I darkened the background, changed the color, changed it back, repainted the 'steps' on the inside of the stone, changed the shape of the diamond, gave it double claws like a 'real' HW, and then declared it completely dead.  If you check the Challenge Blog you'll see I did a Mermaid's Dream.  Just thought you'd get a chuckle out of this.  No, it's not something I own.  I just love sparkles, and.. let's be honest, in real life they're pretty sparkly!

As an aside, I've been paying more attention to my Studio Blog, and, well, Paco's Blog is featuring him and my MARTINI!

This one is NFS (not for sale)

Wild Strawberry Wedgewood Coffee Cup, 6x6 Oil

SOLD

This little china cup has always been a favorite.  I liked painting the cloth underneath, and the cloth underneath THAT.  No more cups or drinks this week, I think.  I'm a little exhausted by elipses (the way a circle flattens out as you view it from the side)!  So we'll see what I come up with.  It'll be fun (well, for me, anyway!) I sure!  Let's get through March weather with a smile on our faces!

Martini & 3 and a Cocktail Party Invitation!

NFS

OK, I won't apologize for the photo, but bear in mind that it is nighttime and I finally found my camera (hidden in plain sight, of course!).  Well I promised my daughter another couple of 'drink' paintings so she can auction them off because they were so popular, and that's how this martini came about.  My friend Janet Kingan asked for 3 olives last time, so here you are, Janet!  I'm always inspired by Shawn Kenney when I paint martini's - he been an inspiration since I started blogging!

OK - I'm inviting all my fellow bloggers to send me an image they paint of their favorite cocktail - and in a couple of weeks I'll post them - lets' say by the 15th of March - so it'll be a 'birthday cocktail party' for me!  I'll post them all here.  It's a non-recurring challenge, and I just need to be able to upload your images, and have your full name and link.  Cheers!*

*My husband asked WHY I needed vermouth to paint a martini - "You can't SEE it..." he said... I guess I just need it to be authentic!!  And I think you can SMELL it....

Pink Carnations, Oil, 6x6

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I used to dislike Carnations, and still am not too keen about most of them.  There seems to be a variety without fringe, and I like those, and then there are these oversized carnations with a deep pink color - I like these, too.  Working on the drinks paintings, and thank you all so MUCH for your suggestions.  Good thing I'm painting them and not drinking them, or nothing would get done!

Cat In A Box, 6x6 Acrylic

This is my boy cat, Harry, who had the idea that napping ON the cat food in the box would be  really great.  He kind of glowed orange and yellow, and it was fun to put the details on the Fancy Feast box.  I think I've got a good service to send out the posts to people's inboxes so I'll start uploading the emails from the group.  Till I can import their subscription box to my blog, just email me if you want to be put on the list.  Really, I'm hoping that happens within the week.  Thanks for your patience.

Gold Rimmed Teacup, 6x6 Oil, and a GIVEAWAY!

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I'm giving away a painting from this week!  That would include the Valentine Pop, the Baby Steps, the Fortune and the Gold Rimmed Teacup!  Help me celebrate my 500th post this week by

1. commenting on my blog under the painting you'd like, and
2. sending me an email, with the painting you'd like, and your EMAIL address so I can notify the winner.

My friend Sally Dean gave me this cup, and she has a matching one, that she'll paint and post on her blog, too!  Painting shimmering gold is so hard, but I do love a challenge.  I think this is not the last you'll see of this cup.  My new subscriber system will hopefully be chosen soon, I'll let you know the status of that!

Fortune, Oil, 6x6

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"He who climbs the high tree has a right to the fruit".  And I love the background.. it's called "Radiant Violet" by Gamblin.  Good 'fortune' to you!

Baby Steps, Oil, 6x8

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My mom had a pink ceramic baby shoe for each baby.  I THINK this one was my sister's, as I seem to remember a big chip in mine.  But the pink was so delicate it was a bear to paint.  I suppose putting it in front of a pink background only made it more difficult, but I tried putting it on bright, neutral and white backgrounds, and none looked 'easy' (that's what I'm looking for...;).  So this is a sentimental piece, I wish I had these for my own babies....

Last Light Over The Sakonnet, 6x8, Acrylic

SOLD

This is a little painting of one of my many sunset views, overlooking the Sakonnet River.  The land mass is Aquidneck Island, which is home to Portsmouth, Middletown and Newport, RI.  I have always loved to paint these sunsets, but since the Fall I'd not been able to bring myself to.  A rejection of these paintings, which I said would not bother me, apparently did, more than I realized.  But now I'm able to put it behind me and move forward, and love this every changing view again.

And because you are so wonderful to me I'm going to share a photo from our Challenge Group's Meetup last week - with NO NAMES attached (because I value my life) - trust me these were fabulous 'grandma's'  - and the strudel was TDF.

Step On It, 8x8 Oil

The scariest thing just happened - I clicked on my blog title to go to my blog and post, and my blog showed up, but 30 seconds into it a different address showed up in the browser ON ITS OWN and then this spam page came up. I tried it again and again, and could not get IN to my blog. I had to get here from Paco's blog and hit the 'x' on the browser as soon as the SPAM address came in. Blogger is no help on this, either. So... here I am... having snuck in, hoping someone can see it. These shoes were done in Denise Zompa's studio, getting ready for a show in Newport. Tried to keep it loose. RESTRAINT is my guide these days.

Grampy Croft's Lunch Pail, 6x6 Oil

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I'm trying to get my 'Challenge' painting done before I go to Texas next week. See how I said 'next week'? Well, I accidently bought tickets and packed and loaded up the car this past Tuesday. Uh, oh. Saved by a phone call from my friend and hostess, Amy (who has a very cool blog, too). I called my other friend Debbi (also a cool blogger) to be SURE that Amy wasn't pulling my leg! Nope. So after treating my incredibly nice husband to a delicious dinner out, I came home and re-booked my plans for next week. *sigh*

Anyway, this month's 'challenge' is for us to paint something from our grandmother's kitchen. My grandmothers had been gone for over 25 years when I was born, so I 'borrowed' Tim's grandmother. This is her husband's lunch pail. I think he worked in one of the mills in Fall River, but I'm sure I'll be corrected if I am wrong! This one painted itself. I was outside with Paco. Almost serious. ;)

Below is a couple of photos from my workshop this past weekend at Oceanside 17. Really talented painters, they did a fabulous job in the small format.

And here is what's going through my head... foam. Like the bubbles that waves make when they reach the shore. These are oils, but I've been doing them in acrylic, too. Close ups on my Studio Blog. Also, Paco's blog is being updated!

PB&J, 6x6 Oil

SOLD

Lunch today. I was a little stymied because I still had the plein air paint in my portable easel and I painted at home. My Colin Page workshop had us use one red (ONE! My God I must have 15 reds at the studio!) and I find jelly to be so dimensional I like to layer a lot of reds. Bread was HARD (to paint... it was actually quite delicious, as I usually have a higher fiber bread, but wanted to paint the sandwich I ate at least 3 days a week for, like, 8 years.

New Vase with Tulips, 10x10, Acrylic

I don't know what it is about this time of year, but I HAVE to have flowers in the house. Just seeing them lifts my spirits and reminds me that it won't be 19 degrees forever. Although I have to say that Paco and I had a wonderful time at the little beach across the street today - there was no wind, and it was comfortable to sit at the edge of the water and meditate. (Well, I meditated, I am not sure that he actually did.) So when I came home I dove into the acrylics and did this BEFORE I head to the studio to do the oils!

I would also like to invite you all to see the Girls Just Wanna Paint Challenge, which is finally up for the month of December, with the topic of "Lamp, or Light". Page Railsback was the moderator and hostess of the gathering last night to view all these paintings in person - wow, they looked great! We missed Mary Sheehan Winn and Paula Villanova. And if any of you don't know, a 'Challenge' is where a group of artists decide to paint a different subject/topic each month, and the results are posted on a blog. We'd love your comments!

ReGift, 6x6, Oil

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Well, technically not a real re-gift... I bought it to paint the week before Christmas, and.... here we are, finally! I love to paint the challenges - anything that scares me. So here we are - cellophane, a glittery ribbon, a logo! Getting ready for my workshop, AND for a trip to Austin next week, so it's busy, busy busy. Good busy, though, and I'm thankful.

Stuff On My Mantel, 6x6 Acrylic

6x6 inches, acrylic

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I'm trying to learn Photoshop, and it's not easy! Anyway, this painting is for my Challenge Group, the December topic being "Lamp", and there's my little pinecone painting and some winterberry branches. It's New Years' Eve, and I wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous 2010. I'm still reorganizing my 'Group', but will be finished soon, and you'll be getting these images in your Inbox, if you desire!

Penguin Snow Globe, 6x6, Oil

Penguin Snow Globe, 6x6

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I had a painting of the last (really!) rose from the garden, but at the last minute decided not to post it because I really think I need to work on 'roses'. The vase was OK, but the flower was not as rich in color as in real life, and I could see a real struggle with the petals.

THIS little guy, however, just sprang onto the board. I must really like painting little toys and such, you know? Anyway, just wondering... do you guys think I talk too much in my posts, and include information/subjects that are too personal? I'm thinking of applying (again!) to the Daily Painters.com. And I think my work ranks high enough to get in this time, but you never know what they'll reject you for. Just give me your honest opinion in the Comments section. I definitely can take it. And maybe I should reserve the more personal stuff for my 'Studio' blog, no?

YUM! 6x6, Oil

YUM!, 6x6

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This is the last of the goodies from Allie's donuts! And I don't even know if it was TASTY, because it 'waited' it's turn at the studio.... so it was a few days old when I attempted it. Although I have to tell you, a little while under that light, and the studio smelled like someone was baking a cake! horrors! Sorry for the glare. And yesterday morning I woke up to the most beautiful morning.... view from my bed below! Now, just disregard those electrical wires, will you? It was such a soft blue with pinky light at the horizon. OK. I'm taking a couple of days 'off' at the end of this week to re-structure my email subscriber group. I'll try, but man, at this time of the year it's 'get-together' time!