I was thrilled to be asked to paint for a week at the beautiful Spruce Point Inn in Boothbay Harbor, ME. I love Maine's rocky coast.  The light in September is stunning.  I used acrylics, unusual for me, so the paintings would dry quickly.  And, I brought watercolors with me and invited Inn guests to join me for some painting.  Met lots of interesting people, painted with several; a friend and husband joined us for an overnight.  It was a wonderful few days. Looking forward to my next visit. A special place.

 

Thirty years ago I needlepointed a stocking for our infant daughter.  I designed the pattern, simply creating stripe after stripe with various patterns and stiches, sort of a sampler.  I backed it with blue velvet, lined with blue satin and we have loved it every since.  Last year, she and her partner, Nate, decided to marry.  Thrilled!  I designed a stocking for Nate.  An angel is flying down through the forest with a bucket of stars, decorating the trees.  Katie and Nate are a matched pair, and now they have a matched pair of stockings.  So happy with the result.  

 

 

  

 

Autumn sparkles here in New England.  Driving through the winding back roads is a joy during the fall as  yellow sparkles through the woods, yards, and parks.  As the days get shorter, not my favorite time of year, I take solace in the glow from the west every sunny day.  I enjoy arranging a picture space with tree shapes silhouetted against a glowing background.  It's  a gift to be thankful for.

 

 

"Through the Trees"  gouache on panel - painted on the trail in the White Mountains of New Hampshire

 

 

"Afterglow" gouache on paper - painted from the car; perfect spot; coffee, radio, glowing autumn trees

 

 

 

 

"It's a New Day" oil on board

 

 

"Edge of Woods" gouache on paper - painted from the car. 

                    

 

I paint with some friends each week in Hull, MA, a coastal peninsula that juts into Boston Harbor.  This peninsula is comprised of a series of connected drumlins, each with its own personality and community.  This week I painted “On Shore Breeze” (see the red arrow on the map) and several weeks ago I painted “Near and Far” from a completely different location on the other side of Hull (see the green arrow).  Today, I realized that the two paintings are very similar in color harmony, composition, and view of distant Boston skyline.  Yet, “On Shore Breeze” was painted from an exposed beach looking along a steep hillside at Boston.  “Near and Far” was painted from a calm, quiet, shallow cove on a flat piece of land jutting out from the main peninsula.  The two settings felt completely different yet resulted in two “sibling” paintings.  Thanks for looking. You know I love your comments.

 

 

 

 

We re-entered from Monhegan Island, Maine this week.  We have been visiting for two weeks each summer for 25+ years.  Each year is unique, stimulating, interesting, relaxing and visually stunning.  During the past few years, I have lightened my painting setup from a large backpack with my oil paints, a tripod, and pochade box, to a  a backpack.

I gesso wooden panels, and bring a portable palette of gouache (opaque watercolor) along with a clipboard.  I can tuck myself into a lot of spaces to paint.

I use tubes to fill my gouache palette rather than using pre-filled pans.  I like to create some impasto with the gouache, much like painting with oil on a larger scale.  I can carve in and out with the paint and the panels I gesso have some tooth to them, which holds the paint.

The work dries quickly, is portable, and I varnish the panels on return home with  acrylic spray varnish.  Then they can be framed like oil paintings.  Some of these paintings will be used as source for larger oil canvases.  

Here are a few of my gouache paintings from Monhegan.  

Thanks for looking.  You know I Love your comments.

 

 

        

      

 

 

 

I enjoy the puzzle of painting an interior.  This painting is the view from my living room into kitchen.  The afternoon sun moves across the room from lower left to upper right against this window.  There are so many questions to the puzzle.  How to balance the brilliance of the light on the wall with the bright outside.  How to vibrate color onto the interior wall, keep the outside bright and cool?  How to lead the eye throughout the painting?  I love the complexity and the restraint needed.  The time change every fall is hard to adjust to; after 1pm the sun seems to race to the horizon.  Two thoughts that bring me some solace:  the glowing light low through trees and through my kitchen is alluring to paint.  And, the Winter Solstice is coming quickly and daylight will gradually increase each afternoon.  

Thanks for looking.

 

 

Come join me at my Urban Sketching one-day workshop on January 18th.  Limited to 12 attendees at North River Arts Society  in Marshfield, MA.

Details here:   

#mce_temp_url#

 

 

I've spent a lot of time painting in Hull, MA lately with a nice group of painting friends.  I love the connected drumlins and the water views from so many angles. 

Our Christmas tree is packed each year, and the spaces have always fascinated me. I arranged some of my favorite glass ornaments from my grandmother's, mother's and my own collections to form a multi-generational cave for the tiny red bell.