Fall 2011

Still here. I've had a very busy summer and am relieved to be moving into a slower paced, more productive phase of the year for me. My summer shows are done for the most part and I can, once again, settle into painting. I've been asked to participate in an exhibit being put together by a group of local artists and have been focusing most of my energy on the work I'm doing for that show. Also, I've been working on the "Top Shelf," project for the Discovery Museum in Bangor and hope to finish that up next week.

Spring, 2011

It takes a certain type of person to make frequent entries to a blog, journal or diary. It does no good to cajole oneself or feel guilty about not keeping up, although I certainly do feel guilty with my lack of blog entries; but, just making them when I can has to be enough for me and since I don't rely on this as a method to sell my work, it is OK.

I have been working on a number of new pieces during the past few months and will show them here, today, even though none of them are completely where I want them yet. Posting them later when they are done is something I like to do so that I, as well as others, may see the progression of the works. These are a few.

September

I Started this entry way back in August and this is the first time I have actually been able to take time to finish. Today is October 8th so it has been quite a while. It still is a problem for me to place images where I want them to go and wonder if there is a way to do that.

The painting of the porch is one I did probably about 15 years ago and recently pulled out from the back of the closet I store a lot of my paintings in. Since then, I have completely repainted the entire surface. The colors now are so much more vibrant. In the older version, for some unknown reason, I greyed the colors down so much that they didn't really look blue. I also fooled around a little more with the perspective, and it is one of the problems I had with this painting from the beginning. I have actually repainted the perspective a number of times, changing the lines of the stairs and the clap boards. I think it's right now. One instance where perservarence paid off. The landscape, I painted for the Downeast Sails Uptown show and it was one of those paintings that pretty much painted itself. We were supposed to paint something, that in our opinion, represented Downeast. Nothing further represents, to me, Downeast than tall pine trees against a blue sky. It is so typical of our coastline and I just love driving on Rte 9 to Eastport in the Summer and seeing the pines, the blueberry barrens and the blue sky.

Since most of my energy has been focused on the art festivals I do in summer, I have not been able to complete many paintings lately. These are some I have completed this summer and some I have been working on that are not done yet.

Moving into August

I'm sitting here waiting for my student to come, she is usually early, and I decided to make an entry. Most of my paintings are packed in the pick-up truck for the shows I do in summer. It's convenient not to have to pack and unpack everything each weekend, but it does tie up the truck for the duration. I haven't started any new paintings lately and am wondering if it's why I have an anxious knot in my gut. Being an artist is a mixed blessing. When I'm creating and in that special place, the world drops away and my focus is thoroughly on what I am doing; but when I'm in a place where I'm not creating, I become tense, with a yearning to be back at my easel. I have talked to others and it is apparently a universal problem that we face as artists. The above images are paintings I did from photos that I take. Sometimes I edit the composition quite a bit, but did not have to in these. You can see that the color and mood have changed dramatically, though.

July

Apparently, monthly seems to be what to expect from myself to make an entry. I've been travelling, doing shows and painting which seem to be what it as all about for me right now. I'm posting a couple of finished paintings. If anyone is reading this, I would love to hear from you. These are three of my newest paintings. The clothes line image went through a few changes before it got to this stage. I added another chair and repainted the entire surface a number of times before I was satisfied with it. The coastal scene presented some struggling before I got the water to do what I wanted, it could use a little more tweaking, but I think I'm calling this one done.

I like the new templates available and changed mine to awesome. One thing I have a problem with is getting the images to go where I want them to. If anyone reads this and knows how to do it, make a comment.

June

Already, it is June!! Here are a few paintings, some not posted before and some that I have now finished. The still life is now one of my favorites. It is so simple, just a few objects on a plain grey background. The background had to painted a number of times until I got it just the right color and value. I wanted it to stay neutral but still have some pizzaz to it so I used violet and gradually greyed it down with yellow. The objects really stand out against it. The next still life I do, I plan to have in front of a window with a landscape outside... I've seen it done by other artists and it always makes an impression on me.