"Lavender Light" SOLD

"Lavender Light"

12 x 12in oil on museum quality panel

$550

Still tinged with lavender from my trip to California (you can read the details here), I headed up to Westford, Mass. to teach a workshop this past week at the Parish Center for the Arts.

And even though it was held in what was one time a church...

I fear there was much misbehavin' goin' on:)). 
Someone actually had the nerve to say they wanted their money back (don't want to point fingers, but their name starts with a Lau and ends with a rie)  (she later recanted and said she was willing to pay more...:))

We painted

And We Ate

What does it mean when the chocolate chip cookie is the size of your head??? 

Fearing foul play at work, I taste tested for the safety and consideration of my students.

 

We painted some more

And we ate some more

we laughed, we ate.

...breakfasts of banana bread w/cream cheese, jailhouse potato cinnamon rolls, chocolate chip scones, coffee cake and a, a, --

lunches of.....Brie, apple and arugula sandwiches on toasted rustic bread served with sweet potato fries with Pure Maple Syrup for dipping, oriental chicken salad with homemade buttermilk biscuits, roasted tomato, fresh mozzarella, caramelized onion and basil gallette with baby spinach salad topped with caramelized onion sherry vinaigrette and pine nuts SERVED in a parmesan cheese cup--watermelon and fresh raspberries.

But of course by afternoon we were all STARVING, so the after noon pick me up (or roll me over) included mini butter tarts filled with honey citrus cream cheese topped with glazed strawberry, oatmeal raisin cookies, shortbread, jam streusel tarts, sweet cheese puffs... and  *GIANT TRIPLE CHOCOLATE CHUNK COOKIES (*see photo above)

We were very inspired....

And the paintings just appeared!

These artists had their work cut out for them, what with all the food, er I mean painting, involved:))

Laurie, Cathy, Christine,  Renee, Dyan, Karen, Tressa, Jeanne, Helen, Jungmi,  Sheila, Julie, Sarah, Vanessa,  Kathleen,  Pat and me:)!

My first trip to Westford, Mass was truly memorable in every way. 

Thanks to each of these women who were such a JOY to meet and paint with:))!!

P.S.  After the workshop ended, Laurie, Pat,  and Cathy had a surprise for me.  More story to follow tomorrow.....:)))

My Workshop Page (Click Here)

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"Evening in the Garden" SOLD

"Evening in the Garden"

8 x 8in oil on museum quality panel

$350 

What is sunshine and shadow by day, becomes soft shapes, twinkle lights by night.

Dusk,  a  truly magical  time. 

Both romance and mystery deepen. 

Time for reflection by the emerging moon. 

Cool grass, crisp wine

Long sigh of a day well spent.

Just another lavender evening:))

Part Four of the Lavender Land series awaits.  Just click here!

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"BeThere--Le Jardin" SOLD

"Be There--Le Jardin"

12 x 12in oil on museum quality panel

$550

God calls you to the place

where your deep gladness

 and the world's deep hunger

 meet.

                                                                                                                        

 ~Frederick Buechner

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"Mur Français de Jardin" (French Garden Wall) SOLD

 "Mur Français de Jardin" (French Garden Wall)

6 x 6in oil on museum quality panel

$200

One hand on cool, damp stone, the other gently easing the door open to allow you access to the garden.  The timeless quiet that envelopes your senses eases away the tension.  All that exists in this moment is the scent of musty earth, velvety softness of rose petals and the hum of life that says..

it's gonna be alright. 

Thank a Caregiver

#30Thanks Day 16

I have always envied those people who knew what they wanted to be from a young age.  That sense of destiny and purpose that never has them wondering if they picked the right path.  I was seven at the time and I can still remember the family drama that ensued when my sister announced she wanted to become a nurse.  She was the first born of our family and  my Dad would not hear of her taking a job whose duties included "carrying bed pans"!  Well, if there was one person more determined than Dad it was my sister Vicki.  Barely five feet tall, what she lacked in height she made up for in cuteness and the ability to "talk back" and in the late summer of '67 she headed out for--you guessed it--nursing school.  Vicki retired last year from 40 years of nursing.  I was always and still am proud of the kind of nurse she was.  When working in the pediatrics ward, she would buy clothes out of her then meagre student nursing money for the less fortunate babies.  She was the nurse who would slip out an extra blanket to a family member slumped over a chair on a night vigil with their loved one.  She carried worries home with her--sad over young adults diagnosed with brain cancer, taking extra time with elderly couples when one was slipping away while the other helplessly watched.  In the latter years of her nursing she gave hope and encouragement, dispensed out like miracle medicine, by working with pulmonary and cardiac rehab patients (those recovering from heart attacks, lung ailments, trying to get back their life and afraid it might never come).  She has attended funerals, sent cards, and just simply been the kind of nurse everyone hopes to have when its needed.  We lost our Dad two years ago this past September.  He was a non-smoker, but ended up with of all things, a lung ailment.  Vicki's specialty had been working with pulmonary (lung) patients.  Guess who Dad wanted most by his side?  Funny how life works.  Thanks dear sister of mine for being a caregiver extraordinaire all these years.  You have made me proud so many more times than you will ever know. You are, without a doubt, simply AMAZING!!

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"Color Me French Blue.." SOLD

"Color Me French Blue.."

6 x 6in oil on museum quality panel

$200

Get quiet and the peace comes.  Words don't do it sometimes, not the way the color can.  Take the specific color of blue that adorns so many shuttered windows of southern France.  Blue shutters smothered in sunshine and a crush of roses.....when I close my eyes, I am there....:)))

Lots of things to keep you up on....like.... I am  pleased to announce that I am part of a new daily painting group called Daily Painter Originals. You can visit the new site here.

And
"Artists Helping Artists" blog radio show topic (that I am co-hosting with Leslie Saeta) for this Thursday is   Top 10 Tips for Online Marketing That Every Artist Should Know--which leads me to...

I will be doing the broadcast on my lunch break during the first day of my 3 Day Oil Painting Workshop in Lexington, KY...:)) Never a dull moment I tell ya!

And for all you artists who are thinking about launching into marketing your art, my book, The Artist's Toolbox will be out in a few days.  It is a simple, straight line book , geared for those of you wanting to get started.  I have worked to keep the information narrowed down to what I feel is the most important and have deliberately not tried to cover everything--I didn't want it to be overwhelming.  I have written it like I would to a friend (which you are) telling you what I have done and what I feel is most important.  I want it to be a great service to those just getting started on this part of their artistic dream.  And just because I like you so much....I will be holding a  drawing (from those who comment on my blog) to give away the first copy.  The contest starts today and ends when I get the first copy in my hands with which to mail out to you....This is gonna be so fun!!

And just remember--as my way of saying thanks to those who purchase my daily paintings--a gift with each painting (read on...)

And let me know, by way of words and/or photos--where's your Dreama original in your home?  I have already had some nice responses that I will be sharing in upcoming posts and my newsletter and would love to hear from you..:)! 

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"Bliss Blue French" SOLD

"Bliss Blue French"

6 x 6 in oil on museum quality panel

$200

Periwinkle blue is a favorite color of mine.  Obviously I am not alone in this ----  turn down any street in the south of France and you're likely to happen upon this delicious color dusted onto shutters, doors, gates and the like.  And what always makes the blue so blissful is the addition of just the right touch of pinks and reds in the way of a scented welcome. 

 On this spring day, I am heading out to the market to pick up a loaf of fresh baked--what else---French bread..:))  Later my friends (you know who you are...:)) and I will share it, with a big dollop of creamy butter, and sip our glasses of Merlot together....and since it's such a lazy, blissful afternoon.... we'll spend the rest of the day curled up in overstuffed chairs with our favorite books.  And maybe take a nap....Eddie says 16 hours of sleep a day is just the right amount....:)  This is one time I am not going to argue with Eddie....

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"Italiano Entrata Gated" SOLD

"Italiano Entrata Gated"

6 x 6 in oil on museum quality panel

$200

I love a good mystery and there is mystery with the gated entry.





Especially when the gate is iron and framed with roses. The spacing of the bars on the gate allow for air and sunlight to pass through, but keep out the stresses of life. It is a private garden, an oasis of coolness, that offers respite.





Today this is your place. Only allow in those with a ready laugh, open to living their life with arms wide open.....drink in the divinity of life at its best...:)





And when you have rested and are ready to leave, slip the key behind the bush on the left. Only those who read this will know where to look for it...:))





Now get on with your day--only you and me know you started the morning out in Italy!

P.S. If you would like to know how to leave a comment on my blog, click here..(each comment left on my blog = another chance to win one of my petite paintings that I give away each month!)

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"Derby Time"

Living in central Kentucky, one quickly comes to realize....Derby madness is alive and well. I live in the heart of horse country, surrounded by some of the most beautiful farms imaginable. Barns nicer than many homes. Horses that earn their owners hundreds of thousands of dollars in a single day from stud fees.

Do I ride horses or know anything about them?

No.

Other people have animals that make them money.

I, on the other hand, have Eddie.

The closest I get to anything horsey would be painting silver shiny things (does that count??) So it seemed fitting in this moment of horse mania that is the Kentucky Derby, to showcase the painting "Truth", which sports the famous mint julep cup. That's as close to a horse painting you are likely to see coming from me...:)

This painting is quite large (24 x 30) compared to my blog paintings. It is loosely painted, but looks "tighter" when shrunken down to photo size--one of the things that happens online and in magazines to larger works. If you would like to see a little larger version, click here.

Happy Derby Day!

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"Something Borrowed, Something Blue" SOLD

"Something Borrowed, Something Blue"

oil, 6 x 6in canvas panel

$150

This window is in France. I "borrowed" it just long enough to paint it.

Pure and simple. Blue shutters, old stucco, bountiful geraniums in pinks and salmons. And warm sunlight to make it glow. Ahhh, such are the pleasures of life. Pure and simple.

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"Under the Tuscan Sun...." SOLD

"Under the Tuscan Sun....."

oil, 6 x6in on canvas panel

$150

What is it about Italy that sets us off? Could it be the homemade mozzarella? The abundance of good wines served at every meal? Incredible art? Statue of David? The staggering oldness of it all?? The graciousness of the lives we see hinted at with every curtain moving in the breeze, every scented splash of color hanging from a balcony?

Maybe it's only the gelato. That would be enough...:)

Another slice of Italy served up for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy~

IN OTHER NEWS......

Enquiring minds want to know. Or then again---maybe you can't handle the truth. My interview with Daily Painters has hit the stands---click here to go to the Daily Painters website and check out the DP cafe link at the top of the page (you'll see a photo of me). I am the second interview on the page. Feel free to leave a comment. Just remember---I will be reading them and I know where you live....and if I don't I soon will. It's the Internet. There are no secrets.

Also, Gallery B has begged me to come in on Saturday, March the 20th, and chat about my inspiration for my show, "Let There Be Love.....". I will be there from around 1-3 to tell my story. I know that everyone of you now reading this will be there. Even if it means you have to fly in for it. And because of your extreme loyalty I felt the least I could do was to have a drawing for a small painting created specifically for this occasion to be given away at 3pm that day. Only those who have purchased a painting from the show at Gallery B and those in attendance (they are hauling in the red ropes for crowd control as we speak) will be eligible. I may have exaggerated when I said that Megan at Gallery B had begged me....but everything else is true....except for the red rope part. Okay, nothing is true except I will be talking at 1:30 and giving away a painting at 3 pm.

I only promise to entertain you here on the ole blog--I never said anything about telling the truth. Even if I had, it would most certainly have been a lie.

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"Paris Garden Cottage" SOLD

"Paris Garden Cottage"

oil painting, 6 x 6in on canvas panel

$150

Sheds and garden houses are often a thing of beauty within themselves. Parked on the edges of lawns, tucked away in back yards, they give way to more color, more whimsy, more personality than the demure homes they hide behind. They always seem like people to me. The inside beauty that lies behind that initial covering we see....:) Being a lover of flowers and all things home grown, the quiet beauty that little garden houses offer up are a never-ending source of delight!

This fairytale place could be anywhere---it just happens to be at home here in Paris. I have admired it and photographed it more than a few times as it backs up to a public garden in town. This last gallery hop afforded me the chance to meet the owner---a beautiful soul and obviously, a lover of beautiful flowers!

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