Chase's Ocean Grove 6"x6"

These beach cottages at Chase's Ocean Grove on Cape Cod are like dollhouses, absolutely delightful. I could spend the summer there painting each one.

Thank You Ros...

Today was the memorial service for my friend and painting mentor Ros Farbush. Ros would have turned 84 next week and she was away painting for the winter where the weather is warmer, in Tucson, Arizona. She left us doing what she loved best: painting.
Fellow friend, painter, and blogger, Kelley MacDonald and I had the great opportunity (no, we MADE the opportunities, a lesson from Ros) to travel to Mexico and Holland to paint with Ros in addition to painting locally with her. Ros kept it real at all times, she was who she was, and maybe that's what we all loved best about her, except of course, for her beautiful, unique paintings. When you are confronted with a Farbush painting, there is no mistaking the painter, it's all hers.

Thank you also to Franny Andahazy at Oceanside 17 for hosting a gathering in Ros' memory with a beautiful collection of Ros' work, including some from her art school days. It was amazing and I'm glad that Franny will have Ros' work on display for a little while. Below are some of the paintings on display there.

A series of self portraits:


Below: The "Solidarity Streak Sisters," Kelley, me, and Val, all with our "Commemorative Ros streaks of color in our hair. Kelley had Magenta, Val a shade of Red, and me with Purple although not so evident in this photo.

Kelley pointing to a painting Ros was working on while we painted her one day.


Mrs. Blossom reading a lovely eulogy written by Kelley.


Thank you Ros. We love you and miss you but we are all grateful to have had you in our lives.

"His Bride" 6"x6"

While out at lunch with my parents at a Bickford's recently, my father pulled out his wallet to get a credit card out and left his wallet on the table. I grabbed my phone and took a picture of it because at that moment, I saw him and my mom...her from a 1940's photo (she's much prettier than the photo) and Dad in that he always picks up the tab. I changed the credit cards...the colors on his cards just weren't working...artistic license. Anyway, this is my entry for this month's Girls Just Wanna Paint challenge for which the theme was "Love."

Merry Christmas, 2011!

‘And now we’re slowly heading towards winter, and many dread it, but Christmas is wonderful, it’s like the moss on the roofs and like the pine and the holly and the ivy in the snow.’ - Vincent van Gogh

Joy L

For the November challenge theme of "Joy" for our Girls Just Wanna Paint group, I opted to paint one of the terrific ladies I work with, Joy.

"Early Autumn at the James Library" 12 x 12

Since this blog is titled "ME and my Paintings," I thought I would add a little more background about me, the author and artist. This is the first painting I was able to paint since breaking and dislocating a couple of fingers in October while training for the NYC Marathon which I ran successfully on November 6. A minor accident but with more daily impact than I cared for, painting was not going to happen until I at least had my cast removed and even now, my hand is not fully recovered but I can hold a paintbrush. I finally completed this painting for my painting challenge group, "Girls Just Wanna Paint," just in time for the opening of our show this Friday night at, you guessed it, the James Library in Norwell. There will be lots of wonderful small sized paintings by this talented group of ladies who, well, just wanna paint!

The Opening for the GJWP Show!

We are girls, and we just wanna paint...and....we're having a show of our work! Hope to see you at the opening!