Sunflowers in Purple Jar, 6x6 Inches, Oil

SOLD

This is my little purple jar again, with the 'swan song' little sunflowers from the garden.  I was interested in the reflections on the jar and in all the yellows in the flowers, and in the transition from cool to warm in the background.  The board that the jar is on is a foam board, which is holding up another still life set up (liquor bottles - see them next week), so it was a platform... see below:

(except, yikes, I had kicked the flood light and it swiveled away from the flowers...)

Wish me luck tomorrow night, at North River Art Society, with my Blogging Workshop  - I'm pretty excited about it!

Salt Water Taffy II, 5x5 Inches, Mixed Media

This is the last week for my show at the wonderful shop called Nest in Dedham, MA.  These candies were bought on my trip to Provincetown, and painted during Hurricane Irene.  The 'mixed media' was a complete accident.  It was supposed to be an all-acrylic painting, but something funny was going on when I started painting the yellow and green striped taffy.... I picked up the tube of Lemon Yellow and saw that it was Oil paint!  So... mixed media it is ;)

Also of note... Paco discovered during this painting that he LOVES Salt Water Taffy.  He was so quiet, and I finally turned to him, and he had a green one with the twisted ends of the wrapper sticking out of each side of his mouth, acting very nonchalant, so maybe I wouldn't notice....

Purple Jar With Pussy Willow, 5x7 Inches, Oil

SOLD

I love this little purple glass bottle I got in Brimfield with my friend Jane.  She put up with the endless fascination I have with glass and cups and saucers!  Pussy Willows are always in vases in my house, year round.  To me, they stand for remembrance.  People I've loved but will never really lose.  My dad passed away when the Pussy Willows bloomed, so they're special to me.

Live in Massachusetts?  Have a Blog and wonder why you're not getting what you want out of it?  Come on down to North River Art Society in Marshfield on Thursday at 7 where I'm giving a workshop that will get you back on track!  Click HERE to register!

Little Debbie, 5x7 Inches, Oil Painting of a Little Girl

$100 & $10 S&H

I don't really know who this little girl from the 50's is.. I buy old photos at the antique stores in town.  She COULD be little Mary.  Little Cindy.  Little Linda.  Those are my best guesses.  She's probably in her 50's now!

I love old photos and have been inspired lately to try to turn them into paintings.  I want to be looser, stronger and and mindful of design.  Stay with my on my journey?

I apologize for the typos that went out on yesterday's post!  Must stop late-night posting!

Also I wanted to mention that my Blogging Workshop at North River on the 29th DOES have a charge, minimal, just $35, but I neglected to mention it.  You'd see it on the link.  You'll get a great handout (and I'm thinking of bringing some wine & cheese ... let me know your favorites :)

Waterfire, 6x12 Inches, Oil

In Providence, RI, there was an effort to make the rivers in the city a place where people could come together and enjoy a safe, beautiful celebration with music, food, entertainment, and.... FIRE in the rivers!  It's wonderful, and they build fires in the brasiers in the river and they are tended by volunteers who dress in costumes, and travel in boats.  Gondolas full of people enjoying the evenings go up and down the rivers.  People sit on stairs and benches that line the river.

This painting is on 1 1/2 inch Gallery wrapped canvas.  It is reserved for an upcoming show.

AND in other news - I'm going to be giving a talk on Blogging Your Art Successfully at North River Art Society on Thursday Sept 29.  7 p.m.  Will be fun and full of good tips!  :)  Come on down! 

Waterlily, 6x6 Inches, Oil

$100 & $10 S&H

This water lily is among my favorite images.  I took the photo on a trip to San Juan Capistrano Mission where they have gorgeous fountains will lilies and koi.  Anyway, one time I was fiddling around with this image, and my husband walked up to me, and seeing the photo upside down he urged me to take a peek.  Here it is, below:

Now maybe I'm just seeing angels everywhere, but it looks angelic to me!  I wish you could see the painting in person, the whites have beautiful colors in them!

*Angels To You!*

Day's Cottage, 5x7 Inches, Acrylic

SOLD

While painting in Truro a few weeks ago, I became completely captivated by the tiny cottages on the Bay side of town.  I painted a few for my show, but I thought I'd paint another one, just for *us* in the blogsphere. I love the simple angles, the light of the sky and that silvery blue of the water.  That's where I think I'd like to be today.  In a beach chair with a book.   Except I'd probably ALSO have my sketchbook, some watercolors, my painting backpack, camera, some fruit, and iced tea... I complicate everything!  That's why I like to paint these simple images... it's what I WANT, not how I live. :)

Magical Moonlit Evening, 11x14 Inches, Oil

I'm in a rush to post this because I'm going out (to a party - YAY!) and I've waited all day for my RSS problem to be solved, and it JUST was!  (I don't know how I got it, but it's fixed!)

This painting is a view of what I saw one night on Paco's late night walk.  It was as if the light from the moon just sang through the clustered clouds.  I didn't want to go back inside!

At any rate this is at my Nest show in Dedham, and it is a true bargain - $425 for an 11x14!  I don't know what came over me, but I was trying to keep the prices low for the show.  It can be purchased over the phone or via email with them, HERE's the contact info.

Painting class at my studio starts in October!  Contact me with questions!

Cairn V - Strength, Acrylic, 5x5 Inches

SOLD

Another cairn painting - a little one.  

At the risk of boring everyone, I would like to say a little about the cairn paintings and why I do them.  I was intrigued when I saw my first cairn.  I was astounded when I saw them at the vortex in Sedona, about 9 years ago - hundreds of them.  And again in Maine.  I think each one is like a lesson - of patience to find the right angle of each stone, of gentleness in the placing of the stone atop.  Of the joy I find in our differences - I think each stone has a personality and it's color and shape reveal it,  I think we must trust when we balance them, and give in to that sense of balance.  Very much the way I want to live my life.  This one is named Strength because the stones fit very solidly into each other, and support each other.  I know people of true strength.  I bet you do, too.

Hydrangeas III, 5x7 Inches, Acrylic

SOLD

Do not adjust your set.. this painting has very soft edges!

Happy Bubbles, 12x12 Inches, Acrylic

This painting is a donation to the Dana Farber Cancer Hospital's Fundraiser.  I paint the bubbles/foam that hovers at the edges of the waves, both here on the Sakonnet River and on the ocean nearby.  I used to use more 'local' colors, the tan sand and the blue water, but lately I've been experimenting with colors that simply make me happy.  I hope the joy I felt in painting this travels to the person who takes it home - spreading the joy around!

P.S.  HUGE thank you to those who attended my Opening at Nest - we had 5 red dots (almost a quarter of the total!) and I met some wonderful folks, including Gay and Brooke, who along with Molly Jackson are owners of Nest, and fun and fascinating people in their own right!  Thank you to those who drove so long and so far to GET there - I'm sure you loved the things they have in that shop, too.  I went home with a mental list for future shopping :)

Begonia And Larkspur, Days Cottages, Truro, 6x12, Acrylic

One more - a whimsical interpretation of the Days Cottages in Truro on Cape Cod - from my show at Nest.  I am so grateful that as of today 4 have sold - and the Opening isn't till Saturday.  I'm just WOWed!  The names of these two cottages (they are all named after flowers) are Begonia and Larkspur.  I love the light from the setting sun hitting the side of the cottage on the left.  Time and time again I return to this string of cottages up against Massachusetts Bay, and am captured by the romance of a week of escape... to just the sun, the sand and the sea....

I sent out an 'Event Invitation' on Facebook to my Opening on Saturday (622 High Street, Dedham), and was so technically inept I ended up 'publishing' it three times - the first two were incomplete - and I apologize to all my Facebook friends.  And thanks to my daughter Molly for coaching me through the revision... 

*No Painting Safari This Friday*

I couldn't complete a painting donation for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute Thursday because of the high humidity - Friday morning's the deadline!!!  Next week.  Take care!

Ready For The Cocktail Hour, 8x8 Inches, Oil

Last one I'll post from the Nest show!  This is so cool, that a couple have sold via the blog before the show is even Open!  This is the most fun I've ever had doing a show!  Saturday, 4-7 is the Opening.

But life is sure not fair, and that's for sure.  If you are aware of Daily Painters on the Blogsphere, you've heard of our friend Carol Marine.  She and her family lost their home to a wildfire on Sunday.  Many, many of us want to help, and you can follow this link to make a donation to her family.  Like the trooper she is, Carol is planning on still coming to Massachusetts to teach a workshop in a week.  She is an amazing young woman, please remember her in your thoughts and prayers.

Nest, 12x12 Inches, Oil

This is hanging at 'Nest' - the shop in Dedham today!  I delivered my paintings and am looking forward to the Opening on Saturday from 4-7.  This nest is special to me, it was sent to me while I was on a painting trip from a dear friend, to ensure there were wonderful things to paint.  While I didn't get a chance to paint them then, I have done  a couple of paintings of the nest since.  I love the symbolism of the eggs in the nest.  I love the shapes, the colors of the eggs and the twigs.

Cairn IV, 6x12, Oil

SOLD

Crossing the finish line - friends and family both have asked if I'm still alive, or mad at them or you name it - I have missed phone calls, emails, etc. in order to finish up for my show.

I love cairns, and something about their balance and serenity has a very calming influence on me.  I love to 'discover' the personality and texture of each stone.

Peace to all of you. 

This, along with a couple of other cairn paintings will be at Nest in Dedham for the month of September

Saturday 9/10  from 4-7 I'll be there.... will you?