Eat at Joe's

I started this one about 2 years ago and put it aside. It started out with alot of energy as they always do when painting plein air. Something happened to it in the studio and I just couldn't make it come alive. I almost scrapped it but decided to work on it again recently. I think I would love to paint this building again plein air with the knowledge of what happened when I decided to finish this one later. I think it is possible to tweak paintings later after the initial session, but like anything else, it is a learned skill to know how to do that without taking away that original spirit. I do like this painting, but I liked it better in the beginning. We'll see what happens next time.

Mexican Mementos Work in Progress

A couple of weeks ago I visited Kelley MacDonald at her cool studio and she set up a still life of pottery from a painting trip to Mexico for us to paint from a couple of years ago. I am still working on this...but I just didn't want to wait another day to post an image, so here it is!

Who Moved My Cheese?

Managing change. That's what I've been up to lately. A couple of weeks ago I was hit with a vile stomach flu, albeit self-diagnosed, and it came with all the pretty things associated with that particular illness. After a few days of complete lethargy following the bug, I learned I was laid off from my part-time job along with 369 other people from my company. Oh well. Since then, I have painted a few times with a local group of painters, creating portraits of local familiar faces for a show in April at our town library. Portraits have been a change for me too, and although I am pleased with most of the results, I don't want to post them until the show happens. Maybe it's superstitious, but it just doesn't feel right. In between these sessions, I am sharpening up my resume and determining my next professional course of action. Looks like I may be facing less time in the studio again with the full-time work that at this time I'm seeking, although, at least I'll be able to afford it. Is this a little like O.Henry's "Gift of the Magi?" Like anything else, it will simply be change, and I will adjust.

Let Freedom Ring

On the eve of the inauguration of a new president, I remain hopeful that our country be a model for promoting peace, well-being, and dignity for all. Very best wishes Mr. Obama as you begin your new role as our President.

(detail from "Field of Honor," posted 6/28/08)

My Work in OnTray Magazine

As of today, lucky magazine readers in the Boston area will get to see a 2 page spread of my paintings in OnTray Magazine, a periodical that is distributed to restaurants and many other locations in the Boston Area. It features many of the wonderful eating establishments we are lucky enough to enjoy plus places to go and things to do in this area with a focus on enjoying life. Publisher Joe Chinzi appreciates fine arts and has been featuring an artist in each of the recent editions. The January-February edition also features my studio mate, Kathi Dugan in an additional spread. Thanks Joe for including us in your wonderful magazine!

Out of This World 30"x30"

I did this painting for a show with the subject being trees. I saw this scene while walking through the town graveyard with my husband and daughter last fall; it's an historic graveyard that dates back to Revolutionary War times and has nice views of the harbor and the historic downtown area. In all the years I've lived here, it's one spot I don't remember ever visiting previously, but it's really about as lovely as a graveyard can get. I looked up at the trees and considered painting several different views but decided on this one that included the elegant monument. I added the jet plane because I had seen them pass by several times and considered the dreamlike state I can be in when gazing upward. As I was painting this recently, I wondered about painting the monument, but then after seeing the death and devastation that is taking place in the world on the news and considering the escape of being on a plane and the cycle of nature with the trees turning, it made sense. It got rejected from the show...but I still like it.

Sunoco I (?)

I started this painting for a show about trees, and I took the original photo last fall at Scarsilloni's Sunoco station in Scituate, MA with this in mind. I began this painting and it never felt quite right, so I never really finished it and submitted different one instead. I do like this in spite of a few issues I have with it, one of them being that the entire time I was painting it, I felt like it needed to be larger. This one is a strange size...somewhere in the range of 13'x 17" or so...not sure where I got the canvas...but I'm thinking of trying it again only much bigger....I would like to see what happens to the technique since I prefer to use big brushes, could be interesting.