Greatest joys and sorrows, all sandwiched around the best of painting times...

Coming Home 

16"x20"x1" framed in gold

oil on gallery wrapped stretched canvas

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Dare I say painting time is some of my most fulfilling time. I was just talking with another artist about this. Life goes on for artists though, just like anyone else. Our family has experienced some of it's greatest joys and deepest sorrows this summer, and they just happened to bookend some wonderful painting time for me.  

Earlier this summer, on the last day I was teaching painting in Ireland, my mother-in-law passed away in Atlanta.  My fellow painters were so supportive, and I am so grateful for those heartfelt emotions.  I flew home as planned, but immediately continued my way down to Atlanta for a funeral. 

Mid-summer brought a wonderful new experience for me, an opportunity for which I'm so grateful for. I was an "artist-in-residence" at the CT Audubon Society's Trail Wood property in Hampton, CT for an entire week. I did a collaboration with my writer friend Judy Benson, who is a journalist for The Day paper in New London, CT.  It was an intense week of painting, and much discussion in the evenings about what we both had discovered about Edwin and Nellie Teale (and ourselves in relationship to all that).  We came away with so much more than we had anticipated. What an amazing gift this couple of naturalists left to humanity through sharing this property with the world.

Early September brought one of the happiest times, my daughter Chelsea married her fiance' Ryan in a wonderful ceremony in Virginia. I'm still over the moon about that! Thrilled to have a son in my family now!

The last weekend in September, the volunteers for Trail Wood hosted the "Harvest Moon Festival" on the property to a great crowd.  Four of us presented our work that we did during our residencies - one painter (me), a photographer, and two writers. Since I've only shared these on Facebook, I'll share them here with you now. I'm excited to share the beauty of each day there!! It was so wonderful to rise early each morning, and head right out to paint as the sun crested the trees. Or as the day progressed....and the only interruption was a chipmunk or groundhog to cross my path. Birds would flutter by, or a humming bird zip by to check out who this person was. Any of my hiker friends will totally understand that wonderful feeling of being out in nature...just BE-ing. Listening to the rustle of the trees, the soft breeze blowing tall grasses, the light moving across tree tops in the morning...the clouds changing shapes. Ah, the intense wonder of it all! 

"6PM Glow Under the Catalpa Tree"

12"x12" framed in black with a gold inset, oil on archival panel

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So - the house above is Trail Wood, the home where Edwin & Nellie Teale lived for the last half of their lives. He was a naturalist and writer of many books, his Pulitzer Prize winning book "Wandering Through Winter" being one of them. This couple endured the loss of their only son, (aged 19) to World War II. It was two years before they finally discovered what had happened to him, and where he was. They moved from Long Island to this place out in the country. Rather than become embittered with their loss, they remained connected to the world, protected and nurtured it and their relationships. Finally willing this property to the CT Audubon Society for the use of others to enjoy. I feel so lucky to have experienced this time, painting and exploring here; staying in their home, and using his personal library for reference material. 

I highly recommend the residency to other artists and writers, as well as a wonderful place to go for a day hike to all my friends! During all seasons this is a great place to go explore!

I'll share some more about this in the coming days. It was an incredibly productive time, completing 13 paintings while I was there. Hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend spending some time in nature!! 

 

Blossoms of Glory - Day 9 of #jan30in30- SOLD!

 

6"x6"x1" deep oil on cradled archival panel

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Our front yard...summer time. Ahhh. Old Glory waving from the front porch, and a brilliant variety of coneflowers standing at attention by the front fence. 

The ground is covered in snow right now, seeds in deep slumber until they burst forth in Spring time! This snow set me back a little bit today, so everything is running late. It's after midnight, so this will probably post on Saturday....but it's intended to be for Friday's post.  Sleep tight friends...and stay warm.  

 

Stonington Fishing Fleet Red Boat

8"x10" oil on linen mounted on archival panel

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Down to the sea on a misty, rainy gray day. In the coastal New England fishing village of Stonington, CT the boats were at the pier last Friday when I went down to paint. The rain hadn't come in yet, finished this just in time as the heavy air turned to a light chilly rain. The fishermen kept working on their boats...chores never end. I was able to pack up and return to the warmth of my studio. 

I feel so lucky to live close to the sea. When it the skies are heavy like last Friday, I can hear the fog horns all the way to my house.  It has become part of my life in the same way that I delight in hearing birdsong on a sunny Spring day.

Hopeville Pond Reflections & packing for France!

8"x10" oil on linen mounted on panel

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A fine plein air morning two whole weeks ago! It's been a busy few weeks, so I've been painting, but not blogging! 

I'm currently working on a commission....while packing for the trip of a lifetime....and painting some small works in-between.

I'm heading out to France soon, to go paint with Dreama Tolle Perry - and really looking forward to this workshop! We'll be staying at Le Vieux Couvent, in Frayssinet.  I've been planning this since last summer, and now it's finally here! I do hope you'll follow along on the journey!

Ashlawn Farm, Rain On The Goat Shed

8"x10" oil on linen mounted on archival panel

For more information about this painting, visit this link.

Goats may look pretty silly, but they must be "smarter than they look"!  When I set up to paint the red barn and out-building (aka goat shed), they were all inside their little hut. One brave soul was peeking out.  It was very overcast and they were calling for some strong showers that day.  The rain held off for a good bit of the morning, and the little goats came out into their long pen. Hmm, I liked that composition better- deciding to wipe out some space to include these short-legged tank-like eating machines.  Then it started raining! All the little goats ran back inside - not wanting to get their little "goat-coats" wet! Who would've guessed- they're secretly neat-niks!   And it wasn't evening raining hard- just barely a sprinkle! I wasn't going to pack up until I had those goats placed in the painting - no matter how briefly I had to do it!  So I worked back into other areas of the painting, the sprinkles stopped momentarily, and I quickly wiped off field greens and painted those goats in there quickly. They weren't going to stand around for long!

Creekside Color, Gray Day, (Clucas Field, Lyme, CT)

8"x10" oil on Belgian linen mounted on archival panel

For more information about this painting, visit this link.

"The subject doesn't matter. One instant, one aspect of nature is all that is needed...Nature is a most discerning guide, if one submits oneself completely to it." -Claude Monet

Saturday morning rose misty and gray.  I was out in Lyme, at Clucas Field painting with others from Lyme Art Association for an upcoming exhibit in conjunction with the Lyme Land Conservation Trust, and the Lyman Allyn Art Museum. 

One of the things I love about gray days, is that the light is fairly steady. The values are mostly fairly close in range, but there can be some rich color in the shadows.  I took an interesting photo of my work against the woods, sort of blends in! 

At the edge of the field, a creek ran down one side.  The notch of a fallen tree rested on another tree, still barely supported by its stump. A large hole in the base of that tree reminded me of the 'troll holes' we used to look for when my daughters where much younger. I felt like I was "living dangerously" trying to avoid the poison ivy and ticks.  Ugh- I had left my 'wellies' in the garage at home! I had intended to bring them knowing full well that I'd be out tromping through a field, and they would keep wet grass, and biting bugs off of me maybe up to my knees.  All in all, I came home with no itchies, no bug bites, and fairly pleased with this little painting (and reminded of just one more thing I love about Spring, yes- even on gray days- the color is subtle, but lovely)!

Apple Blossom Spring Morning

"Break open a cherry tree and there are no flowers, but the spring breeze brings forth myriad blossoms."

-Ikkyu Sojun



8"x10" oil on Belgian linen mounted on archival panel

Monday morning opened on a beautiful sunny day, and the apple blossoms are opening every where up here in our corner of Connecticut. This old tree is one of my favorites to see in bloom, I wait to go rush and see it in Spring, like an old friend, willing to commune for a while and be (just...be) in its presence. It's over at Haley Farm, a local state park close to us.

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