Cob Cottage Studio

Another Small Casein Painting - Keeneland Morning

2012-02-02T16:05:00.000-05:00

It might be cold and wintry here in Mid-Coast Maine,but I am keeping warm in my studio painting memories of past summer visits to Kentucky and the behind the scenes racetrack excitement. I love the hustle and bustle that goes on, the training and conditioning of the horses.So many paintings to be done....keeps my winters busy here.

The above is a small 6 x 6" casein of morning training.....a familiar scene there. The painting is available on my website,and is offered framed and ready to hang.

Painting Small With Big Color - Carefully

2012-01-31T18:02:00.000-05:00

Snow falls on and off today.It covers the ground with a clean soft blanket,hiding the icy spots....so I walk slowly and carefully. A bit of caution is called for. I heed the warning and proceed prudently.

And I have been painting small.....small works, but pushing the color....and this is good.The beautiful snow falling inspired me to paint one of my perfect Christmas trees that stand in my gardens. I also painted a small 5 x 5" casein of a wonderful side-saddle rider on her gray steed.Both small works will be available through my website.

And in between painting small paintings I did a larger,but not too large, 12 x 9" casein on paper, depicting a four in hand ....as seen from a different angle. "Four In Hand From Above" was inspired by a scene from Maine's Acadia's Wildwood Stable.The horses were waiting by the barn, beneath the loft window on a hot summer day....I love seeing the world go by while sitting in the hay loft !!

So I have been busy in the studio....and walking slowly, carefully around the farm.

Small Jack Painting

2012-01-27T13:01:00.000-05:00

As Winter rages outside....Nellie,resident JRT,holds down the couch after a rough morning playing in sleet and rain .....lucky dog! I am back in my studio with an afternoon planned of more creating. Lucky me!

This is a new small gem of a painting, a casein, ready to be framed and looking for a new home! It is available on my website in the Small Works Collection.

I am Stoked

2012-01-26T12:17:00.000-05:00

The year has started wonderfully....I am so happy to announce that my casein painting "His Flock" was selected as part of the FAV15% (the jury's favorite 15% of the entries) in the December 2011 BoldBrush Painting competition. This is a huge competition that highllights the works of the best of the best.......and I AM stoked to be elected to be part of the FAV 15%!!
I just wanted to share.........

Horses and Hound and Maine Winter

2012-01-22T15:13:00.001-05:00

Winter has been cold and bitter of late....winds howled and snow blew.The horses cherished any sun they could find,soaking up any warmth it might afford them.But I have to admit that the snow covering the farm and forest is beautiful to look at.....soft to walk through....and not that hard to shovel.I am grateful for small miracles!

I have been working in my studio each day. I have finished a new painting of a mare and foal. "Mother and Son" will be up on my website soon. I am also busy on an smaller casein painting on paper....a four-in- hand driving scene from up at Acadia National Park.....a freguent subject for my artwork. I paint what I know and what I love......Acadia is so beauiful. Combine that with carriage driving.....heaven!!!

But now it is cold out. Winter is in full force and my days are spent in the studio,...while our resident horses and hound look for comfort in the warmth of the winter sun, while they dream of spring,summer, warmer days.

Winter In Maine Is Cold

2012-01-15T14:33:00.001-05:00

It is cold. It is winter and we live in Maine. One would think that we would be used to this....but it always is a bitter reminder that Mother Nature is in charge... and we get what we get and HAVE to cope, as we bundle up in multiple layers, to go down and do barn chores, waddling like Michele men through new snow and ice. THIS is when I wax nostalgic for Italy......sun and warmth. I have been looking through old photographs of my life, ions ago,in another life.....growing up in Italy. A lot of sweet memories there.....and they help warm my winter days in Mid-coast Maine.

But I have also been painting.

I have done a new oil painting, again with a copper panel for the substrate.The subject of the painting is an old bicycle that stands leaning on an old tree....and has been standing there for several years now....summer, winter,spring and fall...in all weather....in snow or rain. I have been wanting to, planning on painting it, for a long time. Each time I drove by the yard where the bike sits, I would say to myself...."Paint that!" It was time to do it last week....so here it is. I have added it to my website.

The sun is dipping lower in the sky now. The temperature only rose to a chilly 10º F. today, is starting to fall again. I guess it is time to bundle up, waddle to the barn and close the horses up in their cozy stalls for the night. They will appreciate it. Winter in Maine is cold.

American Saddlebred Painting Done

2012-01-11T12:49:00.000-05:00

The first week of the new year is over and I have two painting chalked up as done. I have had the luxury of long spans of uninterrupted time, where I have been able to start approaching some paintings that I have been meaning to do for a long time. I am starting into them now!
We are expecting snow tomorrow....I am in the mood for painting with oils, so I am starting a winter scene to get ready to shovel the real thing tomorrow. Today is a sunny day but very cold out.....I am staying cloistered in my studio.

The above casein painting is finished....a fun Saddlebred horse painting. Now back to the easel.

A Fjord Pair

2012-01-09T12:58:00.001-05:00

The watercolor of the Fjords is done and before the snow came, I was able to capture a good photo of it. I have put it up on my website purchase, unframed.
Now,with NO snow outside, I am finished up a 9 x 12" casein of an American Saddlebred horse and rider. A lovely studio day for sure!

New Fjord Pair Watercolor In The Works

2012-01-04T11:31:00.000-05:00

The New Year celebrations are over.We enjoyed dinner with fellow artists and their spouses.[the unsung heroes!].Artist Susan Renee Lammers and her husband Robert invited us to a lovely dinner highlighted by a delicious seafood chowder that we shared with Gregory Dunham, his wife Pat and their daughter.There was much laughter and talk....a great start to the new year 2012. Now it is time to get back to the studio with new conviction and to create.

I have started a watercolor of a driving pair of Fjords horses.It is almost done at this point. A second painting,a casein on paper sits on my easel, and I work on that while I wait for the watercolor to dry between glazes. I am not one for hurrying up the drying progress of watercolors with the use of a hair blower....I prefer to let nature take it's course and elect in stead, to use that time to change direction,with new eyes and work in another medium.....still a water medium... but in my first love casein!

And I have prepared a copper panel for a new oil....Now I need to get that idea sketched out onto the copper. A new year...new ideas!

Maine is cold now.This morning the temperature was a bone chilling 3º F. Nellie and I are trying to work up energy to head down to the barn to do barn chores.Just a another cup of coffee and I should be ready to go!!

After Christmas

2011-12-27T12:34:00.002-05:00

We had a lovely Christmas with family and friends. Christmas day blessed us with a perfect snowfall....Santa found Cob Cottage and all the four-legged family members received gifts. Now we are all getting back to work....and I am in my studio after what seemed to be a long break. Too long.

Nell and I are enjoying walks along our woods trails and found this small nest left after the occupants headed south. I think it might be a chickadee nest?? Or maybe Nuthatch's? I will be doing a painting of this nest....I do feel the need to do work other than equine art...!! I think I will try it in oil???

So new work will soon be available....and soon it will be a new year with new goals. I have been "thinking" a lot of late.

Holiday Wishes From Cob Cottage

2011-12-21T13:30:00.001-05:00

It is a very damp cold gray day outside. A drizzling rain is covering our farm [and most of Maine] with ice.So in between wrapping Christmas presents and taking care of office paperwork, Nell and I decided it was time to get into the Holiday spirit and have Nell pose with her Holiday outfit.....she as always thought she could be one of Santa's reindeer!!

BEST WISHES EVERYONE!!!

New Poultry Oil Painting

2011-12-14T16:01:00.000-05:00

Wet paint drying in the studio as we speak. In a few days it will be ready to be varnished and ready to go! Over the next week or so my time in the studio will be sporadic. But am I excited about new work coming.
This small poultry oil painting is available on my website in the Small Works Collection Portfolio.
Now ...time to feed the horses!

Not Looking A LOT Like Christmas

2011-12-12T14:49:00.003-05:00

Our snow came.....and then went. Now it stays cold and gray out....even when the sun shines, the gray of bitter winter permeates the air. I am in the studio now where I contemplate the next work. It is warm here, so here I will stay until it is time to go on a brisk walk with Nellie or tend the horses. Chores are done quicker now...we are down to two horses...an easy chore.

It has been cold,even for Nellie.We were spoiled by the warm weather that fall afforded us.I fight with her to put her barn coat on her......she looks at me with

'boogie' when she sees me coming with her jacket! After the tussle we are off for our walk.In fact, it is time now!

2011-12-07T11:42:00.001-05:00

Our fields are green The horses feed most of the day in the far pastures and I find it hard to remind myself that it is winter!! The days have been warmer than usual and Nellie have been able to take walks with no need for her to get duded up in her barn coat or sweatshirt. We will enjoy the mild weather has long as Mother Nature cares to bless with this reprieve from winter's cold.

A new casein, titled "His Flock", is up on my website and I am busy now on a few small oils on copper. The casein, pictured above, was inspired by a man I saw a few years ago at a farming event we had attended here locally, and I have been wanting to paint him. But what was he looking at so intently? So I used artistic license and painted in his "flock"......a small flock it might be, but still important to him....a bit like how I feel our Lord feels about us all....his flock. So I would say that this painting is a metaphorical depiction of my beliefs.

This year is coming to a close. I am taking some time to rethink my goals for the new year [years?] ahead. There will be a few changes in my life, I know....but that being said.....I am looking at my "flock" and pondering life. Waxing poetic I retired to the studio.....with Nellie!

A Christmas Show!!

2011-12-03T10:06:00.001-05:00

I want to invite everyone to view the wonderful on-line art show featuring the work of many of the Women Artists Of The West's talented members...!!!

So many great Christmas present ideas!!

I am proud to be part of this select group of talented artists!

Yes.....ENJOY!!!!

2011-11-30T15:43:00.001-05:00

This small oil painting on copper substrate and titled "Pay To Play Horses - Carousel" is available on my website. I think I have lost track of new works done ....and realized that I actually had not put them up on my website or told anyone about them. Trying to play catch up today on things that need doing!! The next thing on my to-do list is frame some work that needs to be done!! I need longer days!!
And I swear I will paint tomorrow!!! or else.................

Comes Winter

2011-11-27T21:43:00.001-05:00

Nell the snow bunny... ©Kathi Peters 2011

Snow came last week and covered the farm with a soft white blanket ,brightening our days. Nell donned her new barn coat and burrowed in the white, gone to ground in pursuit of moles or other varmint.Thanksgiving day was shared with our children and family. Fall is slipping into winter as it often does.

Our outside greens are up.

And then on Saturday our mail brought a pleasant surprise......the Fall issue of StrokeSmart magazine arrived and it is sporting my face on the cover!! It actually is my self-portrait that I did...A study of my face in casein.StrokeSmart magazine is put out by the National Stroke Association .In 2009 I donated a portion of all sales in my solo art show "Finding My Voice", held at Gallery B in Lexington,KY. , to the National Stroke Association.had been contacted by a freelance written for StrokeSmart about doing an article about me, my art and my recovery after a ischemic stroke in 2006. I never thought it would be such a big article....and never thought I would make the cover!! Imagine my surprise to see my face
on the cover!!! I try to do a new self-portrait every year.....and they used my 2009 painting! Lisa Pogue,the writer, did a lovely job capusclating my stroke and personal approach to recovery.Thank you Lisa and StrokeSmart!!

My mug.....my self-portrait ©kathi peters.2009

Article featured two paintings that are now with Gallery B.

Maybe next my painting will make the cover of The Rolling Stone!!!!

Getting Back To Business [ As Usual ]

2011-11-17T13:39:00.000-05:00

A small casein on board is my latest work done and I find I try to get back to the business of working in the studio. I had to process the loss of my old friend Dom and some other changes in my life. It was time to take a break...and I feel better now.....better for having taken the time to morn and celebrate. Life goes on.

I also have been doing a bit of drawing....another change.....and a discipline always enjoyed. In the past, I have drawn a lot...but of late, not so much as I might like.I am going to make a point of doing more drawing....not just drawing out the paintings to be done...but actually sketching,drawing to get a better handle on what I see and what I am putting down on paper. In essence getting back to my roots artistically.

"Sweet Memories" Charcoal on Vellum 12 x 9 1/2" © kathipeters 2011

The above charcoal drawing is of my dresser and mirror in our bedroom.....with a flower vase that was my mother's and a dish that is from a dresser set that was my mother's too.I think the dish was used for hair to be kept in...hair pulled our of a hair brush?? or maybe for a women's jewelry to be put in at night? The the jar is mine...I bought it because I liked the flowers on it....what it should be used for I haven't a clue.

Yes...it is good to be back in the studio.

Imperial Dominator D. - My Muse

2011-11-07T15:05:00.000-05:00

"Spring Green" casein 6 x 6"

Last Thursday was a sad day for us on Cob Cottage Farm. My 31 year old Tennessee Walking Horse crossed over Rainbow Bridge. We knew he was failing and that we would be facing this moment ....but it is never an easy decision.Imperial Dominator had been my main man for 26 of those years. He came to me a very green, just gelded ,still stallion-y and in need of manners. Dom and I had years of learning...and we bonded and melted into one. Rider and horse...covering miles...always sound and sane. Dom was my main man....my strength and protector. I treasure years of riding with friends, in competitions, for fun and game. Dom could be difficult. There where times when he did NOT want to go into a trailer.....and it was his call when he would eventually load. Other times he would march right on Life was lived on his terms. He was a thinking horse and often did not think what I wanted to do needing doing. And on occasion his stubbornness saved us from a wrong step, a bad trail...a bad decision on my part. He took care of me. I hauled him to Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire.... where we competed in long distance rides against GAG's ......."Gray Arabian Geldings"......Dom was a black Tennessee Walker gelding....not the right color or breed for endurance races....but we showed them to never underestimate a determined TWH, no matter what his size of color is!! We did well.
Dom was handsome...impressive...and he knew it. But he could be a fool too. He loved opening locked doors, pasture gates, untying ropes. He loved to have his ears scratched, his nose scratched...but hated having his teeth floated. He loved apples, but knew when a pill was hiding in one and would refuse the "poisoned apple". Yes, Dom was a thinking horse.
I miss him so. I have not painted...have not even worked in the studio since his passing. His barn buddies, Victoria , our Welsh Cob mare and Duster, our other TWH gelding, miss him. It is a big loss in all our lives.......but this too will pass. The pain will lessen and sweet memories will soften our sorrow.
Dom is buried on our farm.....but I have to believe that one day I will be with him again in heaven.

Imperial Dominator D. photo copyright Dodo Knight 1989

Paintings Of Kentucky Done In Maine

2011-10-31T14:45:00.000-04:00

"Foal From The Farm" Casein 5 x 5"

Winter came early.With leaves still left on the deciduous trees a heavy wet winter storm covered the farm here in Maine with a taste of what is coming in the next few weeks.That was on Saturday night.This Monday most of our snow is gone...the grass is green or ice covered.Time to get ready for the hours of studio time that winter affords me. Most of today I have been busy packing done works away and making room for new works to come.....and getting rid of some old work too. A cleansing of sorts. Maybe it is also the nesting syndrome?

One of the new works done is a small gem...5 x 5".... and is offered in a gold wooden frame. "Foal From The Farm" is one of Cobra Farm of Lexington, KY's foals....all cozy in a nest of sorts it seems. And then I also did a small oil on copper of the wonderful barn at the Red Mile race track in Lexington,KY. This is a 8 x 6" and is also offered framed and shipped for free within the USA . "The Barn At Red Mile" is on my website.

Now back to rearranging the studio.....right after taking a fresh air break with Nellie.I am going to walk the dog!!

Immortalizing The Chippie

2011-10-24T17:09:00.000-04:00

"Little Chippie" Casein 6 x 6"

Nellie and I have a certain chipmunk who likes to chatter at us when we are working in our garden. He darts in and out of the rock wall that surrounds the garden, then he is up the tree and throwing crab-apples down. Nellie has declared an out and out war with said chippie.I chose to paint him. There is a gray squirrel family that lives in our woods too...they are raiding our bird feeders. Nellie is waring with the squirrels too. I will do a painting of the squirrels. But for now the small casein painting of "The Chippie" is up on my website and available.

I also painted a small landscape of an old barn that is down the road from us.This barn was shelter for an old appaloosa horse and a small mismatched herd of cows.I drive by this barn a lot and always wanted to paint it.....so I did.This 6 x 8" oil is also on my website and offered frmaed and ready to hang.

"The Shade Barn" Oil 6 x 8"

Les and I have been busy painting the house,.....still. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I have had a bit of time in my studio, but not enough to get into anything big or complicated. Soon I will be able to......I can't wait!

Dressage, Oil Paint and Cats Hunting

2011-10-17T12:21:00.000-04:00

"Tempi Changes" oil on board 6 x 6"

A beautiful day out today in our part of Maine......I sit with the door open,the sun spilled in and the air is filled with the sound of the wind blowing through the defrocked trees, stripped of their fall color, the rustling leaves blow across the lawn and into my gardens. I want to head out to plein air paint today. It is too beautiful a day to stay in.

I just did this small 6 x 6" oil of a dressage scene shown above. I have explored before. I often do this, re-explore a previous work, tweak it, change colors, composition...my approach. This small painting will be available on my website in the Small Works section.

While was outside this morning our Mittens went hunting.She has spent most of the morning stalking a chipmunk.....I am doing a small casein of this chippie.....Mittens is determined that she will be having a chipmunk dinner soon. I will immortalize him for prosperity.

But for the time being...the chipmunk runs around storing food for winter, Mittens waits for the perfect meal [in her eyes] and I am going out to paint or sketch.....out into the sun!

At Last

2011-10-11T13:08:00.000-04:00

They popped today it seems!

This morning I awoke to see Fall had finally arrived.while I was sleeping.The loft window looked out on the farm with it's garland of autumn color. Even though it also means that soon snow will arrive, I always marvel at the fall display that brightens our days as a harbinger of the cold gray winter ahead. I took Nell for a long walk around our pastures and woods beyond.The woods smelled sweet with leaves that crackled and snapped beneath our feet. We met a doe who stopped in her forging for food and watched us before turning and running into the depth of our woods.Nell wanted to give chase, but she, of course, was on a lead.

So close we got!

We are still painting our house.....inch by inch it seems. And in between our house painting days, I am grabbing studio time as I can.I did one fun Polo casein...it's all about color. And then yesterday afternoon, I did a quick oil of our Nellie....a painting that I have been wanting to do for a long time...from a photo I had taken of her on our bed.It is oil on canvas on board and sized at 8 x 6". It will be put up on my website and available for JRT fans......I think.

"My Bed Too" oil 8 x 6"

The Grapes Are Ready

2011-10-04T13:51:00.000-04:00

A sure sign of fall is the ripening of the Concord grapes on our arbor.I am ready to do a painting of them,and have been checking on their progress each day.The time has come!! Now if the rain would stop....just for a while...I will do a painting of them in their lovely purple hue...it will be an oil on copper....I can't wait!!!

My last roses of summer are on the bush....I think I need to do a painting of them too.This all needs to be done soon....the days seem to fly by....I feel a need to capture the sweet songs of summer and of fall as they slip away.

This Friday,Nov 7th is the opening reception of the TWO PERSON SHOW at Gallery B in Lexington,KY. I regret that I will not be there in person....but my artwork will share the stage with the work of Veronica Clark...and I will be there in spirit. I am also donating a portion of my sales to the American Stroke Association.....so please help me to help them!!!
and enjoy the show!!!

New Mixed Media Equine Painting

2011-09-29T17:03:00.000-04:00

"Champion" Graphite & Casein on claybord 12 x 12"

The second work is done in a series I am doing where I am depicted a horse in graphite and then going back in to highlight selected area's with my casein paint adding color.I have done a driving horse,a hunter jumper now and will be doing at least 2 more of various disciplines.
They are done on Ampersand museum series claybord,a very archival substrate. "Champion" will be put on my website for sale.

The house has been in upheaval..with no time to clean!!!!.The studio was full with packages and wrapped paintings heading down to Lexington,Ky. and Gallery B for a show that opens on October 7th with a reception .....The show will be a 2 person show...I share the show with fellow artist Veronica Clark of North Carolina. I will not be able to get down to the reception,but I do hope that everyone will check out the exhibit...and add to their collection of my work.I am giving a portion of my sales to the American Stroke Association.As a stroke survivior I am invested in this Association.....and their purpose. Help me help?

Thought you might be interested in seeing a studio in flux.....here is how it was earlier this week before the paintings were boxed and sent.....

Pre shipping

And this is how it looks today!!

I have my studio back!!! and I am looking forward to making use of it!!

What Artists Do When They Aren't Painting

2011-09-19T16:35:00.000-04:00

Paintings all over the studio!

I am lining up my artworks that are going to be shipped.....some sold...some to a Gallery show that opens in a few weeks in Lexington,KY. My artist friend, Renee Lammers came over yesterday to help take photos of me for an upcoming magazine article about me,my art work and my stroke recovery. The above photo is one she took of my cluttered studio! We had a lot of laughs trying to get good shots of me....my studio,my Nellie!! Nell kept playing dead in my arms.....so funny!!! I think she thought she was being smart!

Silly Nell

I have had some studio time.The mixed media work,of my last blog's post, of the hunterjumper is almost done. But I imagine a lot of my time over this week will be taken up with packing and shipping.In between that.... and barn chores......I will get into the paint! I am feeling like maybe it is time to get some out side painting...plein air....!! I hope!

Hard To Get Good Help

2011-09-12T15:24:00.000-04:00

Studio helper.

As the days pass, and yes, they are shorter now, I have gathered up my work to pack and send down to Gallery B's 2-person show I am in, for the opening date of Oct 7th....in Lexington,KY. The latest watercolor that I finished, needs to be taken to my framer to be framed and I still need to frame a few small works that I will frame myself. Nellie helps me in the studio...and checks out each painting to make sure that it is tagged and signed! I would be lost without her!

I am almost done a 12 x 12" mixed media work......here are two shots of the work as it is in progress. I am playing with a new approach to what will be a series...I am sure. This is done on Ampersand Clay Board and I am loving this substrate!

Getting the drawing right.........

Almost done the drawing and then going in with the paint......

Back to the drawing board.....I will post the finished work very soon. I am in with the paint already as my studio help sleeps....getting her beauty sleep!

Team Work-New Watercolor

2011-09-07T12:06:00.000-04:00

"Team Work" Watercolor on board 12 x 20"

They work up at Acadia,this handsome pair, pulling the carriages that folks take to enjoy another experience,another view of Rockefeller's miles of carriage roads on Mount Dessert Island. This is the way Mr. Rockefeller wanted us to experience the carriage roads in Acadia National Park......not speeding along on bikes, not seeing the views that open up through the trees,displaying the ocean and islands that surround Mount Dessert...not seeing the moss that grows on rock,not smelling the cedar and fir that stand sentinel on the roadways. A slower time...a more gentle time...try it if you go there. You won't be disappointed....I assure you. Everytime I get a chance to drive the carriage roads behind a good pair of driving horses [or even in a cart with one horse in draft] I revel in the moment. I think I am due for an Acadia fix!

This watercolor, started a bit ago....is finally finished."Team Work" is 12 x 20" and ready to be framed.Now onto the next painting......

But I am taking time to enjoy the last of summer's color.....my gardens are in that leggy out of control stage they always seem to get at summer's end. It is a bit sad...but soon the brilliant fall colors will be surrounding our farm...the view from our deck. To everything there is a season!!!

My Morning Glories....a delight every morning!

Another Crow

2011-09-06T11:01:00.000-04:00

"Crow #3-I Drink Diet" casein on board 6 x 6"

Another summer week has flown by.I hear the crickets singing their adieu to their summer life....their ode to fall.When time allows I have been in the studio,painting and framing works for the October 7th show opeining in Lexington,Ky's Gallery B. The above work is another casein chaulked up for my crow series.[ "Crow #3-I Drink Diet" ] I am having fun with these.This is available on my website.Shipped for free within the USA!

Going To The Birds

2011-08-31T14:42:00.000-04:00

For three days I have been trying to write my blog post since Irene pushed her way into our lives. Every time I have lost it to cyberspace. All this also done while trying to cope with Irene's mess littering the landscape and dealing with the farm daily chores. I have not had very good luck trying to find studio time. And an Oct 7th two-person art show opening at Gallery B in Lexington is breathing down my neck...I am one of the two!!!..so I must persevere. I can do it!!!

I have managed to finish three bird themed small gems. They are available on my website.

I am in the studio.....and to work!!!

Summer-Enjoying It While It Lasts

2011-08-22T12:37:00.000-04:00

Nellie likes the cool shade and grass. copyight 2011 Kathi Peters.com

The weather has been summer like.Warm with humidity in the air, with cooler nights where the fan is needed for sleeping.Our gardens are growing like Topsy ...flowers reaching for the skies and zucchini popping up overnight. Red tomatoes line the kitchen windowsill and bounty fills our plates. Nellie enjoys lazy afternoon in the shade of the arbor,laying on the cool ground blanketed with soft grass. This winter when the winds howl we will relish memories of the too short summer.

My days are mostly spent in my cool basement studio.I work at my easel or drawing board,as I watch life go by in my back gardens. Some days I can leave the studio door open,hear the birds songs and the chipmunks chatter as they pursue their daily activities in the gardens. Nell lays in the doorway, catching a breeze and wishing she could catch a chipmunk.

I have been working on the second painting I started at Equidae Gallery in Saratoga Springs, New York, in the beginning of the month. This demonstration painting on canvas [on board ]started as a casein, is becoming an oil pastel, but a nocturnal scene this time and it is almost done. But today I am backing away from it, to return later with a 'new eye' to finish it. Today I am working on three 6 x 6" caseins .....not of horses...but of crows and a seagull.
Nell sleeps at the studio door.

Finished and Signed!!

2011-08-17T14:02:00.000-04:00

The first demo painting is actually done. Ready to go...!! It will be up on my website.I started with casein and ended up with casein and oil pastels. I am in love with the mix and plan on doing the second demo painting the same mix! Stay tuned!

Demo Painting Continued

2011-08-15T11:13:00.000-04:00

The Saratoga demo starts
.

Terry Lindsey, of Equidae Gallery, invited me to do a demonstration of how I work in Casein paint and to tell about this much misunderstood milk based water medium. I hope I was able to dispel some fear that folks have about Casein, a paint medium that lost artists' interest when acrylic came into being. I have worked in acrylic, sometimes mixing Casein with acrylic in my mixed media works...but for the most part Casein is my favourite medium, and the majority of works done by me, and collected by collectors of my work, is done in casein...pure and simple. Casein, a clean milk based water–soluble medium requires no strong solvents. Because of that, I am comfortable using it in my home based studio. And because it dries quickly to a velvety, matte finish and over time, it becomes resistant to moisture, it is possible to lay on a glaze and move onto the next stage within a few hours instead of waiting for days,like I do with my oil paints....or even watercolor. Did I say I like Casein?

I explained how I work in Oil on copper versus Casein on canvas.

Demo #1

All most done...or done? I need to put it against the wall for a bit,then look again!

This shows a bit how one of the caseins progressed. I turned it into an oil pastel painting when I got home. I don't know why. Maybe just because I could. I think it is done now. I will know that it is in a few days....after looking at it a while.Or NOT looking at it for a while!!

In the mean time my sunflowers are growing!!!

Back From Saratoga & Back To Work

2011-08-10T16:19:00.000-04:00

At the race track...

It seems that time just flew by. Last week was taken up with packing, getting the farm sitters introduced to our daily routine and then the drive to Saratoga Springs. And now here we are back home,getting our life back on track with the art show and the excitement of the racetrack behind us.

My work hanging at Equidae Gallery,in the Holiday Inn in Saratoga Springs,NY.

It was nice to get "off the farm" and to see new places, horses galore at the track,and wonderful art work in Saratoga galleries....but now I am back in my studio, working on the two paintings I started in my casein painting demonstration that I did for Equidae Gallery in Saratoga.One of the paintings is turning into a mixed media piece....I have gone into it with my Sennelier oil pastels and am liking it!

The gardens grew while we were gone....the grass grew.....the weeds grew. We have our work cut out for us,so to speak, when the rain has stopped. But for now, I am painting away making up for lost time. A gallery is asking for new work for an October show! So it's back to the drawing board!

A new casein turned mixed media ....in progress!!

Painting In & Out - In Casein & Oil

2011-07-25T15:58:00.000-04:00

"Day Lilies and Bird Bath" Plein Air

I felt a need to get out of the studio and away from the casein painting I am working on, so I readied my Thumbox with oil paint and a new 8 x 6" copper panel...and off into the very warm day I went, to sit in the shade on the north of our house, while I painted the glorious yellow day lilies in blossom where they sit under the front "Look Into Garden"'s bird bath. I am liking the ability to change medium and subject matter....and environment. I am starting to get the knack of plein air work. It is a learning process for me. I have a hard time focusing on what to paint and how to approach the work when I am surrouned by so much visual abundance. I am thinking that this changing of gears,so to speak,will only help me with my studio work too. Now that I have the small plein air oil drying in the studio,I look at it and can see where values need to be addressed,lines fixed and will finish off the painting... and will then be putting it up on my website.

I also finished a small casein of our JRT from the photo that I posted in my last blog entry. "A Sweet Face" is varnished, framed and going to a good home. It is so easy to buy work off my website over the Internet using PayPal's secure login. Don't forget!

"A Sweet Face" casein on board 6 x 6" SOLD

They say we are getting some rain.This is good.The fields are dry around our farm....the gardens need watering daily.The watering takes a good part of the day.I have to grab my studio time when I can. I am grabbing some time now!

Things That Take Me Away From My Studio

2011-07-18T16:27:00.000-04:00


"Pond Iris" oil on copper panel 6 x 8" I have a new copper panel ready for painting Plein Air....I want to get out and paint the pond lilies in our field pond,a bigger and deeper pond than the small oil I finished a few days ago.[ "Pond Iris" ] The yellow and white pond lilies in the big pond are in full bloom, reaching for the sun from the depth of the deep dark pond. Nellie and I have been there several times on our walks to check out their growth, but I have yet to get time to go there and actually paint. Maybe over the next few days,if it doesn't rain. My artwork for Equidae Gallery,Saratoga Springs,NY, has FINALLY left the studio after a snafu on my carrier's part. The show there opens this Thursday, July 22, 2011. I guess my shipping problem is one of the down-sides of living in the woods! The weather lately has been very hot by Maine standards My studio is cool in the summer, so Nell and I have been staying in the studio a lot .....so if I do go out to paint, I will leave Nell in the house,sleeping. I think. Take me!!???

Plein Air Or A Wonderful Afternoon

2011-07-15T16:35:00.000-04:00

My Thumb-box that was a gift!

Today is one of those summer days that we, here in Maine, dream about when snow piles up to our windows and frost bites our noses.The day dawned cool and sun filled. A constant breeze blew through the trees and the smell of my roses filled the air. I HAD to paint outside. I do have work that needs to be done in the studio, but this was too good a day to miss. I headed out after lunch. I didn't go far. I sat on my garden bench, by my pool where water trickles over stones and through flowers... and I painted.I painted my "pond" and the water-plants....my Japanese Iris and the rocks. At one point two deer walked through the woods beside me...I yelled at them, as I am sure they were looking over my garden like a smorgasbord meal.

Various bugs also stopped in to check out my progress and approve......

My critic

I used my Guerilla Thumbox and painted in oil on a copper substrate. My thumbox was a gift from good friend and fellow artist Renee Lammers. Renee paints plein air everyday [just about]...and on a day like today, it is easy to explain why. But Renee also paints in the winter when the snow is up to the windows and the frost bites noses!!!! Her work is wonderful!! I have some hanging on our walls. Renee also has got me painting on copper panels.....I love it with oils!!

Here is the painting I did Alla Prima.......in about 2 1/2 hours. I will get a better shot of it later, but I just wanted to share a great day!! As Renee says..."Get out and paint". ;-)

Packing, Labeling & Other Mundane Things

2011-07-11T14:12:00.000-04:00

The studio is a mess as I get art works ready to ship out the Equidae Gallery in Saratoga Springs,NY. This little JRT painting, titled "Running", is one of 5 works,image size 6 x 6" and all framed to measure 10" x 10"...all being set to celebrate it's being the Gallery's tenth year in Saratoga!! So they will be sent, along with other larger works. The show opens July 22 and hangs until Sept.5th. 2011. I will be headed over to Saratoga Springs later....about the beginning of August. On August 5th, I will be talking and doing a demonstration on painting with casein at 10:00am at Equidae Gallery. I would love to see folks there....to talk and to ask me questions of this under-rated medium.I will try and explain my methods and ways.....but remember, I am not a teacher.....!!! But I will do my best at playing one!!
Then in the evening is the Champagne Reception and I will be there, meeting, greeting and would be happy to help you pick out the next painting for your art collection!

Summer is in full swing here in Maine. Hot surrounds the farm and Nell and I enjoy our studio time in my cool studio.Outside the sun bakes, the flowers bloom and all need daily watering...another time consuming chore. The air smells of roses.I am not complaining!!

Drawn To The Gardens

2011-07-06T11:40:00.000-04:00

The garden outside my studio.

The gardens outside my studio are in full bloom now.I sit at my drawing board and paint and look out the window upon this myriad of colors....How they tempt me to come out side. I have been working on the watercolor of Acadia drafts.... and it is all I can do to keep my mind on the work at hand. But I have made some headway on it...This is almost done....the work in progress is at this point now:

"Acadian Clyde"s watercolor....... almost done.

Life on the farm is in full swing...and between the mowing, weeding and chores I am getting paperwork, paintings and framing done. Life is good ...if a bit fragmented during this season. Paintings are framed and ready to ship to the next show in SaratogaSprings the end of the month. I will tell more about Equidae Gallery's show in another blog post.

The studio is cool....I am headed there now! Nell and I will enjoy the studio's cool while looking out at the summer hot..... remembering what winter is like in Maine!!

My Roses In Oil And Acadia Drafts In Watercolor

2011-06-26T21:27:00.000-04:00

"The Garden Hat And Roses" oil on copper 6 x 8"

I have been painting in oil.In fact I did a small oil on copper of my hat and my roses as I thought I would might in my last blog post. I have put this small work on my website and it is available for purchase in my Small Work Collection. 'The Garden Hat and Roses' is offered framed... and shipping within the USA is free!!

The past few days have been wet and muggy.....good studio weather! So I have been concentrating on a new watercolor of draft horses I saw up at Acadia and on getting my art work ready to be framed,.....and then to get shipped out to Saratoga ,N.Y. for Equidea Gallery's race season art show.
More on that later!!

A watercolor work in progress!

Inbetween studio and barn chores I get to enjoy new colors as they bloom in the gardens!! Always a joy and that offers constant eye candy!!

Monkshood have blossomed!

Roses Etc....

2011-06-20T13:28:00.000-04:00

My garden hat and my roses.....soon to be my painting!!!!

I so love this time of year. The time when our roses start blooming and the air is filled with the sweet aroma of the sun warmed blossoms. Honey bees busy themselves with their daily task and butterflies dart in and out of the gardens. I love it.
Nellie on the other hand is busy keeping my chair warm for me....a chair that I only have time to sit in for a short time in the evenings.....so Nell is very busy too .....protecting my chair.

Nell warming my chair.

I have new work on my website.......one of my latest caseins...an 8 x 10" work of a draft all soapy ...a draft I saw a short while ago it Wildwood Stables in Acadia National Park. I call it "Soapy Draft" . An appropriate title.

"Soapy Draft" casein on board 8 x 10"

I am thinking I will paint my garden hat and roses...in oils...on my new copper panels....To the studio I go!! Nell is sleeping.

Painting With Casein While Juggling

2011-06-15T13:27:00.000-04:00

"Storm Brewing" Still in Progress Casein on Board 12 x 12"

Lately I have been working on paintings from photos from my last year's trip to Lexington,KY. I have a life's worth of subject matter filed, ready to be painted. I am sure I won't get them all done in my life time, but I will have fun trying! The above painting is almost done....I think it needs a bit of a tweak...and will get it done today. Then "Storm Brewing" will be up on my website. Remember all work bought from my studio is shipped free in the USA....even if it is framed....so don't hesitate to buy through easy secure Pay pal.....!!!

My poppies.

The almost summer days are busy now...gardens call.....horses call...sometimes even hubby calls...Kathi,Where is ..???..etc etc!!" I am trying to juggle....so far so good.

Now to the studio now....

There's One In Every Crowd - Critics

2011-06-07T11:29:00.000-04:00


Resident critic

Over the past few days I have finished the veggie gardens planting, bedded it with hay, mowed lawn twice and figured out how to set up my new plein air easel on the fly. Yesterday was a glorious Maine day and after getting barn chores done,and finally finishing an oil painting I had been working on for ages. [Well not working on...MORE LIKE letting it sit, waiting for me to work on it again. ] I set up my new easel outside in the garden under the arbor and sketched the orchard. I think I will be liking this 'out of the studio' experience......and now that I am REALLY set up for it, I am sure I will do it more often. I had company while I worked. I had a critic who watched my every move and in the end agree I had done a "good job" and it was time to eat. If only all critics were that easy to please!

The orchard sketch

Days are so busy now. The summer buzz. For instance, I am headed out to the barn now for stall mucking, then I need to water gardens....and THEN I get time in the studio. On my to-do list today ...I need to choose what art work goes to Equidea Gallery in Saratoga Springs, NY. I personally will be there this year, for August 5th, doing a' painting in casein' demonstration in the morning....the same day of the Gallery's champagne reception in the evening. Come on out and share a bit of the bubbly with me! Buy a painting!

This racing oil painting might be heading to Equidea Gallery.....I have to decide today. I will ask Nell to help me decide. She always has opinions.

This oil was done after a 6x 6"casein painting I did. The oil is bigger.

Playing Out - Painting Out

2011-05-31T15:23:00.000-04:00

Asticou Gardens in bloom.

Yesterday we took off on a road trip to Acadia National Park on Mount Dessert Island in Down East, Maine. We got up, packed the car, filled Nellie's Ditty Bag with goodies,and off we went to play. I had also packed a bag with my plein air painting supplies, including my new lightly used thumbbox pochade that artist friend Renee Lammers had just gifted me.We ended not having time for me to paint, but I did get oodles of photos for future paintings.The gardens at Asticou were brilliant with their June splendor of azaleas mirrored on glass like waters. We picnic-ed in Acadia shade. Nellie got a walk in the woods to smell the not yet ready blueberry bushes and sweet cedar and pine. Acadia is my favourite place to be....ever.

The eagle would not look at us.

We saw a eagle sweep and grab his lunch from Hadlock Pond.I tried to get a better picture of him but he would not turn his head towards us.But another feathered friend, whom we met in Ellsworth, was more than happy to come visit in our face.....Mr Crow was very truculent,looking for handouts and had no problem posing for photos.

This crow will be painted!

So though we had a lovely break from the farm and studio, today we are back to the same old and I am in the studio.....Les is mowing the lawns and orchard.....and it is summer in Maine!

Here is a quick little casein plein air painting I did ....sitting in my garden and trying out the Guerrilla thumb-box....what a neat little unit it is! I have gone back into this painting after I shot it here. You can see the current paintng on my website . I will be doing more paintings outside....I am ready!

"Sweet Spring Colors" casein on canvas on board 6 x 8"

May Is Always Special

2011-05-23T13:32:00.000-04:00

My Bleeding Heart

Sometimes we miss the small details. Sometimes we miss the beauty and wonder that each day provides, while we hurry along with our daily obligations. I try to not take each day for granted. Each and everyday for me is a blessing. I am reminded of that on a daily basis...and especially in May..... I want to remind everyone that May is Stroke Awareness Month. This month always means more than the beauty of spring to me....it means the beauty of life.....and all the God given blessings that I see each day in my life and surroundings. I am a Stroke survivor [See my story on my Tuesday, May 6, 2008 blog post.] and proud of it. So when life gets too busy and full of details, I really like to take the proverbial time to smell the roses...in this case the Bleeding Hearts....and look what I saw!! A little guy who is way busier than I!

Busy Bee

May is also special for me this year because I have a painting in the 57^TH Annual Exhibit of the National Society of Painters in Casein and Acrylic [ I am a member.] that will be hanging in the prestigious Salmagundi Club of New York City! The show opens today May 23, 2011 and hangs

through June 10^th, when their Awards night will take place. I am so honored to be included in this show ….!!! And it is one of the only national exhibits that have a medium category for casein. This is wonderful!

"Shades Of Black #9" casein on board 12 x 12"

That being said….Here is my latest ‘oil’, a small 8 x 6” painting of our JRT that I have titled ”Boogie Eyes”. Our Nellie often lays and looks at us with these eyes….big and dark…Boogie eyes!

"Boogie Eyes" oil on board 8 x 6"

With rain still coming down, gray skies surround the farm…..I am headed down to the studio to finish a new casein…and work on another I have just started. I also need to start making notes about my method for painting in casein for a demonstration I will be giving in August in Saratoga Springs for Equidea Gallery.

I am busy….but what else is new?

Another Gray.....Horse and Day

2011-05-16T16:46:00.000-04:00


"Gray Eating Hay" Casein / ink on board 11 x 14"

After several day where we actually saw sun,we are back into gray spring weather that rains,brings fog and makes the trees blossom ,coloring our views with whiles and pinks. Maybe it is the spring colors that inspired me to depict this gray in a sort of spring like atmosphere....but I did and here it is. "Gray Eating Hay" is offered on my website.

Tilled garden

In spite of rain, the gardening still needs doing and we have tilled the garden [while the sun shone] and then in the drizzle. I have planted my salad mix and my Cilantro and Basil. The Curly Garlic is growing tall and green. I use the green stocks in cooking and so enjoy them as the grow and show their curly tops. A fun addition to our garden! AND they expand each year! I am going to paint them, probably in oil on copper, when the tops are curling.


Some Tulips and Dandelions

My tulips are dotting the gardens.....and even the lawn is colorful with yellow dandelions....!!
How I love spring!


Plum trees in blossom

The Plum trees dance like young ladies in Tu-Tus across our orchard. I need to paint them....I will paint them too.
Lots to do..... and no lack of subject matter without even leaving the farm. If the weather will clear I am going to plein air....right in my back yard at Cob Cottage.

A Lot Of Crock

2011-05-10T16:38:00.000-04:00

Cleaned up!

The studio had arrived at the point that it REALLY needed some help. I couldn't find paintings, my supplies or any space to work in. So I took charge and went shopping. I bought a shelf to store framed paintings and supplies on. The building of the shelf was a testament of how solid my husband's and my marriage is! Yes ,we got it up and working, through mutual agreement, and much holding of tongues....yes, a labor of love! It stands strong and tall, and is already helping me to get my space back.

The Shelf of a thousand usages.

I moved some furniture around and gained some more space...I can actually get to my cupboard for supplies.What an novel concept! Brilliant!!

Space!

But I still have a huge sauerkraut crock, that my brother gifted me with, taking up space beside my studio table...the spot where I like to sit and read...I am trying to come up with some constructive use for this mammoth pickling crock!! Ideas?!! No.. I will not be making sauerkraut.

Nellie and the "lotta crock!"

I am painting, in between other artist type chores and farm duty. My days are a bit easier, being down to the three horses now. And it is the season of more shows and changing out art works with galleries and shipping of new work.

AND I received the exciting news that the painting I sent to the National Society of Painters In Casein and Acrylic annual show was juried in! I am excited about this, as the painting will be hanging in their 57th annual show May 23 through June 10th , in New York City at the prestigious Salmagundi Club on Fifth Ave. The painting juried in is "Shades Of Black # 9" , one of the paintings in my 'Shades of Black' series. I am so honored to be part of this show.

But I am painting....and here is one of my works in progress.....see?

It is not a bunch of crock!!! ;-)

Casein work in progress.

Maggie's Marvelous Adventure

2011-05-03T14:52:00.000-04:00

Victoria and her filly Maggie.

Thistlemead Margret was born on our farm 7 years ago. We had planned on pairing her with her mothe,r Trevallion Victoria, to be our driving pair. Maggie was a sweet girl from the get go. She was a beautiful foal and grew up into a beautiful full bodied Welsh Cob mare, but life got in the way.... and we never were able to put the two together, never able to continue her training after I suffered my stroke in 2006. It has been hard for us to let go and allow Maggie to go to a home where she could reach her full potential. But last weekend we said goodbye to this beautiful girl so that she can be ridden and trained by another beautiful girl, Gretchen Novak. Maggie will become a solid citizen and enjoy her life with Gretchen and with other Cobs...maybe even be a mom herself with a foal to call her own. And we know that Gretchen will keep us informed as to Ms. Maggie progress.

Young Maggie listening to my TWH gelding Duster, her best friend.

Maggie kissed Les goodbye.

On Sunday Maggie was picked up by Gretchen's mother and father. Les and I said our good byes and arrivederci's to her at the barn . Then Les walked her up our driveway where her trailer awaited.

This scene will be a painting, for sure.

Like a trooper she walked onto the trailer, as if she knew she was going on a wonderful adventure. Les and I watched as the truck and trailer took off down the road. A bitter sweet emotion, but lately it seems emotion as been in the forefront of our lives. Yet it is a blessing to know that Maggie will be loved.....we brought her into this life....and it was our duty to see that she has the best life possible. I think we have done that now.

I will try to capture some of the emotion in future paintings..........and I know I have a busy summer ahead of me. Maggie does too!

Waxing Poetic.

2011-04-30T16:56:00.000-04:00

Arbor is DONE!

"There's a warmth in the distance.

I can feel it in the air.The fields that last were snow covered,

Lay dappled brown and bare.

But promise comes of emerald green

And yellow daisies bright,

A star filled sky and warmer breeze

And peepers in the night. "

The weather finally changed and we have been blessed with warm sunny days and cool nights with peepers and hooty owls singing their spring songs. The lawn and fields are greening and trees are budding, with more bursting forth each day. I think that we can safely put the snow shovel away,but I hesitant to do that for fear that it will tempt fate....sure to bring a blizzard. Yet I am going to plant my lettuce and cilantro next week.

I had a good week in the studio, delivered a painting to Belfast and made some headway on cleaning out a bit in a full unorganized studio. And with the garden arbor DONE....we are making headway in the direction of summer!!

Also done....another small casein of Keeneland Race Track.....and changes in my website. Be sure and take a cruise around my site and tell your friends about it too. Sign up for my newsletter on my website.....and invite friends to sign up also! Now back to the studio. Good news to tell next time!

"Keeneland #2" casein on board 6 x 6"

Work In Progress

2011-04-26T13:11:00.000-04:00

The arbor ...in the process.

I love Spring...even when it is so overwhelming with projects lined up to be done, making me feel like the list will never be done. It has been that way lately, but slowly we are picking away at what needs doing....and I know we are making head way. I am sure Mother Nature must be feeling that same way of late. Here in our part of Maine, our crocus are just starting!!

But it is a start....and THAT is what is important. The entire project of redoing the grape arbor hung over our heads for so long. And then it turned out to be a 'looooonnnngggg' project. The main posts had to be dug by hand....and the posts and runners harvested from our woods. But it is done....and we are happy with it. I so hope the deer can't demolish it is easily now! The grapes are back hanging on the new arbor,ready to sprout their leaves....and grapes will come.

I have had some studio time....catching it where I can. I have finished some small caseins. Keeneland #1 is one of them....one of several small racing scenes I am doing. I know I need to get back into the studio with some bigger work...but the "to-do" list hangs over me like a Isosceles sword!! And spring is pushing into our farm saying "Get ready....summer is coming!!"

"Keeneland # 1" Casein on board 6 X 6"

Landscapes And Birds

2011-04-18T14:03:00.000-04:00

"Lazy Kentucky Day" oil on copper panel 8 x 10"

The weather as been very spring like. Very Fickle. One moment warm and sunny,,,,the next the winds howl and the sky is filled with gray ominous clouds. I have had time in the studio and last week did this new pasture scene of horses grazing on one of the many horse farms I saw last year in Kentucky. "Lazy Kentucky Day" is available on my website Our pastures here are not green yet. Our horses still pass most of the day near our barn, eating hay that we provide.Occasionally they venture out to back pastures to look for new grass growth.....it is is sparse pickings. But even at the height of our grass growing season, our pastures never look as beautiful as the bluegrass country's pastures. Maybe that is why we do not raise thoroughbreds?!!

This past weekend we had hard driving rain come through our part of the Maine. Winds blew rattling the cottage, while the trees surrounding our farm danced and swayed.We lost our electric power for about an hour,but we were safe and warm...and dry. I watched the little birds come to our back feeder,braving the stormy weather for their sustenance.

A wind blown Yellow Finch waits his turn at the feeder.

I was able to capture some shots of those plucky little fellows as the jostled for their place at the feeder. The wind blew the feathers about on this finch. A Purple Finch waited for his turn on a branch of the Hawthorne tree.

Purple Finch are not really purple are they?

During the storm our horses were cozy in their dry stalls...munching hay. Better to be a horse than a wild bird in weather like that!!

Pastoral And Perennial Musings

2011-04-10T16:33:00.000-04:00

"Pastoral" Casein on board 6 x 6"

Today dawned bright and sunny. After a lazy morning reading and enjoying the sun spilling into the living-room, Nell and I headed down to do the horses stalls.Our two black Walker geldings were sleeping in the sun.. on a bed of warmed hay. A glorious spring day had begun. Nell and I worked all afternoon raking the leaves and broken sticks off a portion of the front gardens. The south facing perennial gardens have started to sprout the tips of the tulips and Daffi's...the snowdrops are actually up and blooming. I raked and made plans of what needs to be moved....divided and weeded. How I love this time of year. Even though I do get a bit overwhelmed with all the to-do's on my mental lists....it IS glorious time indeed! New beginnings.

During the past week I finished a small casein of a field of cows...the field is near our farm. This is a small casein on board and I titled it "Pastoral". It is available in my website' s Small Work Collection.
This week I have to clean the studio.It is time. I know it is time to do that when I can't work due to the clutter. I have new work that needs to be started. I am getting back into some oil paint. It is time. New beginnings.

Nell will soak up the sun....what is left of it. She is SO happy to finally have spring arrived at Cob Cottage Farm.

Nellie sunbathing

Spring Brings Foals

2011-04-05T12:20:00.000-04:00

"A Yearling" Casein on board 6 x 6"

Between shoveling and dreaming of spring I have had some creative progress in the studio.

This little casein pictured above is done and available through my website's Small Works Collection. The subject is a handsome yearling who I met at Cobra Farm during my Lexington,KY visit last year. All the yearlings were getting ready for the weekend's Young Stock Sales.......a sad and a happy time. Young stock were headed to their new life....no longer left to just play and grow.They had a purpose in life.....and the weekend sales would determine that to a point. I saw so many at Cobra Farm that I would have loved to take home with me. Like I need another hole in my head!!

It is raining today.A spring misty moisty morning. The farrier is here trimming our horses feet. Our horses are left barefoot. They have not felt the metal of shoes for years. I think they like that. I am headed to the studio for the rest of the afternoon. I need to clean the studio up a bit before I start on some bigger paintings now....and finish a commission.

Not Really April Fool's

2011-04-01T13:51:00.000-04:00

From our bedroom window.

Last week we were enjoying spring...the singing of the birds, the brook running free of it's mantle of ice and snow, bulbs peeking through the warming ground. And then this morning, April Fools Day 2011, we awoke to almost a foot of snow, covering our farm, hanging heavy on the trees and power lines. This is not nice ,Mother Nature!!

The Hawthorn tree and the sauna by the brook.

The view from our deck, or any window in the house for that matter, gifts us with a wonderful winter scene....but this is spring. It says so on the calendar. I am ready for sun and warmth and yes, even black flies.......!!!!

"The sun will come out ....tomorrow......!!!! Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow there WILL be sun!!!"

But today we shovel. I am headed to the studio until spring really arrives.

Cluck - New Casein

2011-03-29T18:11:00.000-04:00

"Cluck" casein on board 6 x 6"

Maybe it is because I am thinking Spring and Easter eggs and green grass.....but here is a new little casein done on canvas on board. For me, chickens mean spring......"Cluck" is available on my website.

"Durham Fields", pictured below, is another small casein that was prompted by my thoughts of summer flowers and back roads. The old barn in the painting used to be standing on that field in Durham, Maine. The road that past by it was a dirt road and I rode my horses past this barn for years,until the road was paved....the barn fell down ...and new houses were built in the fields. Sweet memories.

We still have patches of snow around the farm. Some of those patches are two feet deep! But winter is leaving and a glimpse of spring it evident...this always makes my spirits soar! I have had good days in the studio, new buds are starting on the trees and bushes outside, new paintings are sprouting inside!

"Durham Fields" casein on board 6 x 6"

Gallery B in Lexington, Kentucky, is having the opening reception of their "Spring Invitational" art show on March 31st. My work is included in the mix that will be showcased there. I hope my Kentucky friends and clients will be able to get to see the show. I have sent some new work down to them....stop in and have a glass of wine and enjoy the art!

I am thinking about getting the rake out and starting to clean some of the garden.....but rain and s-n-o-w are predicted for later this week............I need to paint.

Girl In The Hood

2011-03-21T14:00:00.000-04:00

Nellie styling it in her new sweatshirt.

Today a package arrived in the mail....surprises for me ...for Les ...and for Nellie! Nellie now has a new spring sweatshirt and she has been proudly wearing it around the farm. She has the whole New York hood swagger down pat....she is the 'girl in the Hood'!! She is BIG and she is BAD!! Be afraid!!!

The snow is slowly melting, leaving bits of green and mud. But I am not complaining. Spring is officially here and with it the promise of gardening. I am so ready this year. I am actually excited about it this year! We have started cleaning up the back arbor that the deer ruined this winter as they pulled down our grape vines and clematis vines. I see day-lily leaves spiking through the ground. My curly garlic is green and growing. Birds are singing ,calling for new mates, singing their hearts out, filling the air with music.

Spring melt on the farm.

I have had time to work on new paintings and the painting below is one of new works which are slated for galleries for the summer season. This is one of my Tennessee Walking geldings, Dom. Dom is 30 years young this year. He has been my "man" for over 25 years. "He... the man!!" Dom and his pasture buddy, Duster have been the models for my "Shades of Black" series. Both are black TWH geldings.

"Spring Green" Casein on board 6 x 6"

Now down to the studio. I have work to get done before the gardening time catches up to me!

Casein of a Clyde Grazing On Green

2011-03-17T16:21:00.000-04:00

"Hand Grazing - Clyde" casein on board 12 x 12"

A painting with green...appropriate for Saint Patty's Day!..... while we still have feet of snow covering most of our farm. The handsome Clyde in this painting has been the subject of several paintings I have done over the years. I love painting those gentle giants! I did this casein on board and will be varnishing it.......and putting it on my website. Some of my casein paintings are varnished....some not. I make the choice after I have finished a painting. Varnishing this casein painting will give it a look like an oil painting. That is the look I want for this painting.

I spent the morning grooming our horses.....trying to get into the winter crude and dead hair,as they shed their winter coats .Boy.... do I smell like a horse!! Not so nice as smelling like a rose?!!! But this is a sign of spring for sure!!!

Two New Polo Paintings

2011-03-15T13:58:00.000-04:00

"Polo 1" casein on board 6 x 6"

"Polo 2" Casein on Board 6 x 6"

Two small caseins done and ready to be framed .But what am I doing? I am cleaning out... sort of. I am taking paintings of mine out of the office, off the walls and down to the studio. Having a real need to simplify and get rid of.....clean!!! Maybe a garage sale?.....if I had a garage! I am keeping a few of my favourite works hanging....but for the most part, the walls are bare and white. Looks good!

The white outside...the winter snow....is leaving. Looks good!!! Yes, it is being replaced by mud, brown and deep in places....but this also heralds in the coming of green..Spring! [No, I wasn't thinking about St Patty's day!!! ] I am sure I am not alone in thinking that this was the longest hardest winter. Maybe it is because we are not getting any younger....but the snow came fast and furious all December and January and then in February we were buried in over 34" of white. It will take a while to get rid of this winter's white, which actually is gray and brown now.....Spring.

The horses are shedding, the JRT is shedding.....and Mittens, the Maine Coon Kitty is "molting' all over our bed. Spring!!

Mittens, shedding on our bed!

So I am carrying paintings down to the studio, and picking what works go where...........

Winter Has A Hold On The Farm

2011-03-07T18:12:00.000-05:00

"The Exerciser - Keeneland" watercolor on board 12 x 12"

The winter weather broke for awhile.We had a taste of spring for a few days and rain came in last night with a pounding force that melted the snow that was piled up over the past month. Today I can see patches of brown, green and that means mud is not far behind. But we will have to wait for the mud while as a cold snap comes back with snow squalls and winds that bite. Our brook is rushing ,freed of it winter mantle, but ice coats our paths and walking needs a concerted effort to stay upright.

When winter refuses to leave...I stay in my studio.

I have finished the above watercolor, done on Amperstand watercolor board. I have used this board before and like how the Sennelier watercolors slide around on the clay surface of the board. I will finish this painting off with a fixative that protects the watercolor and allows the painting to be framed WITHOUT glass. A novel idea. The painting, "The Exerciser - Keeneland", will be available from me, on my website.... until I decide what paintings go to what gallery during the summer months.

I also ventured out the other day for a quick plein air foray in pastels....the result is the following 5 x 7" painting on pastel board. "Winter Barn" is available, but I am redoing my website and it might not be put up on my site. In fact a lot of work will be taken off my site. Call it spring cleaning?

"Winter Barn" 5 x 7" pastel on Amperstand pastel board

Nellie does not like this rainy and now cold weather....The temps are falling now more than a degree a hour with high winds bringing snow. This morning it was 42F. Now it is 27F and falling. Nellie has decided to stay snuggled up in our bed....I am headed down to put the horses in. Winter winds are blowing.

Wake up Sleepy Nell!

A Thank You Gift From Sennelier - Thank You, Sennelier!

2011-03-03T13:56:00.000-05:00

My thank you gifts from Sennelier France.

A while ago I was contacted by Sennelier of France and asked if I would help them with a blind test of their watercolors. They had seen my website and liked my work.. and so invited me to help them improve their product.

I have used Sennelier supplies for years and am familiar with their high quality product line. When I lived in Italy I used their pastels ...and loved them!

It was a fun test, with several tubes of various watercolor colors to compare..It really made me think about the consistency and fluidity of each tube as I compared and rated them all, then finally picking my favourite from each group. They told me they would sent me a thank you for my time at the end of the testing. The time spent was fun and I had learned someting during it.

When several weeks later a big box from France was delivered to our home I was more than excited about the contents! I have new watercolors to use....new pastels to play with and new oil pastels to try! AND lots of new 300 lb watercolor paper to put to good use, along with some new watercolor brushes!

Thank you Sennelier!!! Believe me, the pleasure was all mine!! Below is one of the paintings that I completed with the test paints which I liked the best!! It is available on my website.

"Lift Off" watercolor 8 x 13"

Now I am just now heading down to the studio for a bit....going to try those Sennelier oil pastels for sure!

Driving Through Flowers

2011-02-22T09:50:00.000-05:00

"Driving Through Flowers" casein 24 x 12"

Yesterday I finished this casein on board.....Another painting inspired by the beautiful Friesian mares of Tanbark Acres Farm in Cana, Virginia. They are in the middle of foaling season on their farm now.....I am hoping for more beautiful Friesians to paint from their bevy of beauties!
Thank you, Tanbark Acres! The painting is available and can be seen on my website.

Part of being an artist is making decisions. Decisions on what to paint?,,,what medium to use?..what format to do?...how to start and when to finish each painting.?? And then what paintings should go to what galleries?..... what invitational shows?.... even what to blog about? [ If one chooses to blog...another choice! ] I am very bad at making decisions.....and that is how my day started today....What to eat for breakfast? One or two cups of coffee? Stay in my pj's to paint? or actually get dressed in jeans? ......I am tired already.

But I need to feed the horses hay again and do barn chores..........so, I think I will stay in my pj's under my snow pants, bundle myself into my down coat and head to the barn. All those other decisions can be decided on later.....as we say in Italy.."Domani Domani!!

Our Cobs mares.... waiting for hay!

A Turkey For Every Pot

2011-02-16T15:06:00.000-05:00

We have turkeys everywhere. They are in my gardens, under the bird feeders, kicking up the snow and leaving their calling cards splattered behind them. As much as I do enjoy hearing their chatter in the distance,and see in them as they cross our fields... THIS is too much ,thank you! I was working in my studio, when I heard them outside my door where they declared their joy as they cleaned up the bits of seeds left by the song birds. I grabbed my camera and shot a few. [ I don't have a gun.] Some of the photos I took were shot through the screens that are still up on the windows, but I still was able to get some fairly good shots of the marauders! I am thinking that the soup kitchens should come to my garden and harvest the bounty of Ben Franklin's "national bird"!

I have been working on a 12 x 24" casein painting of a driven Freisian horse, forward moving and trotting out! I thought I might show you the work in progress. The painting is on a gessoed board.

The first layer of paint is where the highlights and shadows are done with a watery watercolor affect. At this point, I have used Payne's Gray,Yellow Ochre,Terra Verte, Purple, Ultramarine Blue, Naples Yellow and Titanium White.The gesso soaks up the watery paint.

Now I have started going in with a thicker mix of casein paint with less water,more pigment. This is where it is today. I am letting it dry while I varnished some new caseins, and ship off some work.

I even went for a walk down to the barn with Nellie. She sat and waited while I fed out hay to the horses.....I am sure she was calculating how long it will take for our snow-pile by the barn ,to melt.

while looking for turkeys!

Nellie and one of our many driveway snow piles!

All We Need Is Love

2011-02-14T14:31:00.000-05:00

Nellie wishes everyone Happy St.Valentine's Day!

And we have lots of it here at Cob Cottage! ...hugs and kisses from dog,cat,horses,even hubby!

We are in the middle of February and today it feels a bit warm at 44 degrees F. The snow and ice built up upon our roof is melting, making riverlets producing icicles that hang like swords along the front of our house. Rites of spring. It must be getting near!!

I have painted two small works.....casein on board.....a Jack Russell in snow is one......"Follow The Path".....a quick depiction of our Nell .

And the second painting is of a handsome rooster gent who I met a while ago on a local farm where they raise organic eggs and goat cheese. He was a handsome rooster and he knew it! I hope I did him justice!

I titled this rooster portait "Randy Rooster"....I don't know if this strutting guy had a name, [Randolph maybe?]....but he fits that name, I think!! Both these small paintings are available om my website.

It is time for our afternoon walk..... Nell and I wish you a day with Love......!!!!

One Big Painting Done & One Sold

2011-02-11T13:22:00.000-05:00

Three horses, who stood feeding at their hay rack, provided me with their power house posteriors as inspiration. Thus this painting came into being! The back-end of horses has always been a hallmark of my equine work.....I continue the subject in this 30 x 40" casein on canvas. For now "A Pair And A Spare" will hang in my studio and it is available on my website.

I do like painting big works on occasion and was so elated when I was invited to take part in a exhibit and be included in a Maine Arts Commission grant in 2009. My painting "Freeport Heroes" was part of the Freeport Creative Arts group show "Experiencing Freeport - Showing Our Town Through Art". You can see more about that show in my Sunday, August 23, 2009 blogpost. I was honored to have been chosen as one of the Maine artists to be part of that undertaking. My painting has been exhibited in Freeport since .....and recently sold!

"Freeport Heroes" casein on canvas 48 x 48"

I am enoying the sunfilled day. Winter in Maine at it's best. Nellie sleeps on the bed!

Back Into 'A Pair & A Spare'

2011-02-07T14:06:00.000-05:00

With days of snow, snow, snow..and then more snow.....I have had time to get back into a large canvas I started some time ago. I am easily distracted....and some smaller works have been started and finished since I began this casein painting. BUT, it is moving along famously now....I can see the light at the end of the tunnel with this piece. That always excites me!

I have gone back into the painting with more detail work and worked on shadows and highlights on the horses and the spilling over hayrack. With only a bit more to do on this painting, I am heading to the studio now.

Details added but a bit more to go! The canvas is 30 x 40"

Nellie is telling me I need to take her on a walk first.....Today we are blessed with abundant sun and temperatures up into the mid 40's. It would be a shame to miss some of the sunshine....so off we go! The painting can wait a bit more.............

February sunshine- Winter snow

And Yet It Snows

2011-02-02T12:30:00.000-05:00

It snowed yesterday. It is snowing today. As I write, the gray skies are spilling white onto our farm, covering the woods and fields with another blanket of white. The horses are settled in their stalls after having a morning turnout while their stalls were cleaned. Nell has played in the barn, moused and inspected the stalls for treasures. Now we wait, cozy in our cottage, for the storm to end......then we can continue the endless shoveling. I think of Italy a lot in the winter!!!!

I did the small casein painting, pictured above, after watching Duster [my 23 year old Tennessee Walker gelding ] as he ate his hay that was spread over a snow mound. The day was cold and white. The days have been that way a lot lately!

The painting is available purchase on my website.....along with many other works!

My work is being featured in the art show "All Creatures Large and Small", that has it's opening reception February 3 , 2011 at Gallery B in Lexington, Kentucky. It is a fun show where a portion of the profits from the sales go to benefit the Lexington Humane Society. So I am hoping my Kentucky friends and clients can make that show and help the Humane Society ......it is all about the animals.

The snow is falling harder now.....Nell is so glad she has a cozy house.....she is one of the lucky beasts!!

Cozy Nell

Focused Friesian Done

2011-01-27T23:41:00.000-05:00

I am enjoying working on Ampersand clayboard......a very interesting substrate to work on. This painting is actually a drawing that grew into a painting. I like the small note of color in this very graphically designed depiction of this handsome mare. This mare from Tanbark Acres Farm has been the subject of my work before. And hopefully again.........
It is available on my website.

Painting On Copper, Drawing On Claybord

2011-01-26T15:48:00.000-05:00

The Spruce wood lot at the end of our field.

It has been a bitter cold week, topped off with yet a new blanket of snow to cover the farm. I did have time to get some work done in the studio, but when we are hit with such mean weather, it also means more work caring for the horses, shoveling snow etc etc.......Today we have a break in the cold, but skies have darkened, warning of the coming of a new snow storm. I will take what ever reprieve nature blesses us with. I cannot help but marvel at the beauty of this season and the woods surrounding our cottage. I look out at the distant stand of spruce, all dressed in their lace shawls of snow....even on this gray day, they look lovely.

I have finished the 8 x 10" oil painting on copper substrate. I call it "Angels and Horses" and it is available on my website.

I also have been working on a mixed media peice, on a 12 x 12" Ampersand claybord panel.This piece depicts a Freisian .....driving....through the woods. This work will also be available on my website when it is finished, but this is where it stands at this point. It is done in graphite...but there is more to do........with paint.

With what is left of the day, I am heading back down to the studio.....'make hay while the sun shines'...........on this cold gray winter's day in Maine.

Angels And Horses

2011-01-21T13:35:00.000-05:00

This 8 x 10" still-life oil painting is almost done.

Today a winter storm rages outside the studio. I am cloistered in this cozy space, working on several works..... but the above oil painting on copper panel, is almost done. It depicts objects that I love, and that all have a connection to my life. The angel is one of my angels that came with me when I came back to America after living for years in Italy. I have a small collection of these angels, angels who I imagine came out of churches at some time in the past. I bought them in street markets near our apartment in Milano....How I loved shopping there with my mother.There were no supermarkets in Italy then. Everyday we shopped for our fresh food and vegetables. And while my mother food shopped, I hunted for treasures, like my angels. Today they guard my sleep in our bedroom. The book "The Art Of The Horse" sits on a table in my studio, to always inspire me. The Indian block print cloth underneath, was a gift from a dear friend. They all have meaning for me...and hopefully someone else can relate to these...all depicted together.

The view from my studio today.

I will stay painting in my studio. The horses are bedded in their stalls out of the snow and wind. And the storm blows outside.

What Words Can Not Express

2011-01-17T13:30:00.000-05:00

Sweet Adeline 6 - 20 - 2000 ~ 1 - 12 - 2011

Last week was a week of storms, tears and loss. We lost our Sweet Adeline, a 10 year old Pembroke Welsh Corgi. She was my heart dog…that special friend who was always beside me ….watching me…..looking for a signal from me about a task at hand to be done…be it a horse that needed herding , a cat that needed putting in its place, a Jack Russell who needed a warning not to touch something. Addie came to us a wee snip of a pup, but all ears…..and then her nose grew…..her body lengthened …but her legs did not.

"Pembroke on Persian" casein 10 x 10"

She was a fine specimen of Corgwyn…..and with a vocabulary that was longer then her body and just as pointed as her nose. She sat by my side in the studio and talked to me while I painted. She always had something to tell the vacuum cleaner….a story to tell anyone who came through our house door. When I came home from hospital in 2006 after suffering a stroke, she would not leave my side. She had to be with me, watching and making sure I was ok and not leaving again.

"I Am Watching You" casein 6 x 8"

And now she has left me alone…Even having our Nellie here with me, it is not the same. Nell is sweet…and loving….but she fills different voids…different needs with her company. She is not Addie.

"Cob And Corgi" casein 12 x 12"

We knew our time with Addie might be short from the get go... Addie was born with a heart murmur, and suffered congestive heart failure…..But we were blessed with her presence for 10 lovely years. She was my muse and often painted. Words come hard right now….maybe a painting IS worth a thousand words. Tears come easily.

"Pokey Pembroke" oil on copper 5 x 7"

“There is sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love.” ~Washington Irving

Lift Off

2011-01-13T16:01:00.000-05:00

"Lift Off" 8 x 13" wateroolor

This watercolor was finished earlier this week.......it is available on my website.

After this watercolor painting, I am putting away my watercolors for a bit and getting back into my caseins. It has been a hard week for us here at Cob Cottage ...........but more about that later.

Wrapped in Snow

2011-01-11T14:07:00.000-05:00

Rocks with wraps of snow.

The winter months loom before us with days of snow and gray skies to come for sure. The daily chores of the farm still need doing, whether there be sun or snow, wind or hail....much like the proverbial postman...I trudge out to the barn, with dogs in tow, to do that which needs to be done. My award for this dedication is a whinny from a mare,a neigh from a gelding. I wouldn't change a thing! [Except maybe longer days with more sunshine??]

The meandering brook by our cottage.

The brook looks so lovely this time of winter, cloaked in its mantel of white. This winter the brook has been open with running water. This winter has so far been a bit mild and so the water runs and gurgles through the woods. I am going to get out , plein air, and paint the brook...some warm sunny winter's day. I swear!

I have been busy shipping sold works to their new homes. Thank you too new collectors! I have sent works down to Freeport, Maine to Edgecomb Potters, so please check them out if you are in that shopping mecca of Maine....And it is that time of year when I need to get the office cleaned up, and pay Caesar. I do have a new watercolor in the works, and some other new work in the beginning stages, but office work is calling me a bit loudly at this time......

And Nellie is getting on the bed more often than is really necessary!!

The Promise

2011-01-05T15:35:00.000-05:00

"The Promise" watercolor 8 x 13"

One watercolor done for the new year. It is good to be back in the studio producing again. I have been able to start another watercolor of another foal, same size, same format. Then I do need to get the oils back out and also need to finish some casein works that have been waiting in the wings. Up and running!

This painting is now on my website for purchase.

A New Year Has Started

2011-01-03T14:00:00.000-05:00


Our back arbor & winter grape vine

Our New Year's eve was spent with friends, feasting on Maine lobster and steak. Our New Year's Day was quiet and reflective, my goals established for 2011, personal and career-wise. I have opened the door on the new year armed with my word for the year."Strong" ..... Strong in mind and health....strong in creativity......strong with friends and family....strong in faith.

I have been out of the studio too long. The holiday was good, but it is time to get back to a daily routine and stick with it. I have grabbed and hour here and there, to find my way to the sanctuary of my studio space, but I have so many commitments and show dates ....These will need a strong work ethic from me.That word again...."strong". That being said...........to the studio! But not before wishing everyone the best of New Years......and thank you so for your 'strong" support of my art!

The winter shadows and clouds stretch across our Maine farm today.

It Was All About The Storm

2010-12-30T14:12:00.000-05:00

The snow fell and blew.

The week started with snow.Then more snow..... and then it blew around the farm recreating moguls and drifts, which made the path to the barn disappear from sight. The dogs did not want to go out of the warmth of the house. Ican't say I did either! Our cat slept thoughout the storm, getting up only to race crazed around the cottage, then curl up again and sleep. I wanted to just curl up and sleep too, but horses needed care and the dogs needed to be dragged out occasionally to take care of business. And then after the snow stopped, and skies cleared, came the shoveling out. Not much time was spent in the studio. More time was spent just trying to get 'life' back to a 'norm' for winter chores.....horses out,horses in...dogs out and about ....paths to and from it all.

View of barn after storm & my stars that hang on our deck...for my starry starry night enjoyment!

Duster and Dom enjoy their snow bath each morning.

The horses were more than happy to get out and roll in the new snow. Our neighbor came with his snowmobile and punched a path for Les to wend his way out to the manure pile. Life has taken it's winter schedule and yes, I will be getting back into the studio.....to paint . I grab my studio time as I can.

Nell......thinking.

In the meantime....All of us at Cob Cottage want to wish everyone a Happy New Year. Some exciting new happenings on my front.....more about that later. Now it is time to walk the dogs along their snow maze down to the barn!!

Merry Christmas to All From Cob Cottage

2010-12-23T14:00:00.000-05:00

Cob in snow

We awoke this morning to snow covered fields and woods. What a wonderful present for Christmas! The dogs romped their way down to the barn for morning chores and the horses were more than happy to roll and canter through the fresh fallen snow. But with the enjoy of the seasons new snow comes the reality that this needs to be shovelled and paths cleared before the next snow storm.

Our home is decorated for the holidays...a small Christmas tree befitting our 'cobby' cottage stand proud in the living room, in a spot where we can enjoy it's twinkling lights. The room smells of Christmas, with candles and tree.

Our tree with the small sleighs travelling around it!

The dogs are excited ....as if they know a morning will come soon when Santa will leave them a present to open....Nellie thought that our Santa doll was hers. She was so sad when I took it away from her to put him on the shelve.She sat and stared at him....crying a bit.....so sad that her 'chewy Santa" was out of reach!

Nellie inspecting Santa..

Addie just watches the silly JRT.

We are ready for Santa here on the farm. The studio has sat idle this week while we prepared for this holy and happy event! Christmas is a special time for us...for gathering with friends and family, but the animals are not forgotten on this holiest of celebrations. We remember that a barn was the place that the baby Jesus was born.....a humble barn. We always take a midnight trip to our barn with apples and carrots for the horses....We will this year again..And we wish you all a Merry Christmas ....Happy Hanukkah from our home to yours.

On The Farm

2010-12-14T13:36:00.000-05:00

Graphite study of Morgan 14 x 9 1/2"

Lately our winter has been a bit mild, gray....rainy. We had a lovely snow fall that blanketed the farm in white that lasted a while ...brightened our landscape for a while until the rain, winds and warm temperature began.

White snow to drape our fields

Now our farm sits surrounded by brown and gray woods, and today gray sky. In a spot in our woods, not far from the bubbling brook, there stands a tree that has nestled in its branches a huge squirrel nest. It fascinates me. I image cozy rooms inside....a bed room with leaf covered bed, a living room with games for squirrel sized hands to play, a kitchen with a larder stuffed full of nuts and seeds.It makes me smile to think what might be taking place in this high rise homestead. It is a squirrel cottage on Cob Cottage Farm!

A Woodland home

During the bad weather I have been working in the studio, [ See the above graphite study.] with occasional breaks to walk the dogs and care for the horses. I have shipped paintings off to their new homes, hoping that they brighten someone's Christmas, and have finished Holiday commissions. I have news that I know I need to get sent out in a current newsletter to clients. You can sign up for my email newsletters just by going to my website and opting to take part.

I am headed out now.... out for a quick walk with the dogs, down to the barn to give the horses some hay. I know Victoria ,one of our Welsh Cob mares, is waiting for hers. She stands and looks up at the house, contacting me through osmosis...."FEED ME!!!"

"Feed Me!"

Pondering The Small Things

2010-12-05T14:23:00.000-05:00

Oil painting on Copper substrate....a work in progress. 10 x 10"

"There is a reason things happen the way they do in life. I truly believe we are in life, where we are for a reason....not just random happenstance . " I awoke at four a.m. this morning with these words rumbling around in my mind. I got up and wrote them down. Then I went back to bed and slept. I wonder what that was all about? But I am sure I will soon find out!

I have two paintings in their ugly stage in my studio now. My holiday commission work is all done, except for one watercolor for a certain client, but that can wait until after the holidays. This is good, because I am really feeling the need to get into some original work. Outside a very gentle snow falls and earlier I was called out to the soft flakes to walk the dogs. We walked by our brook where the soft gurgling water welcomed us. Such a soothing sound.....I could sit and listen to it for hours...and often do to be honest. The dogs enjoy searching the brook's banks for bugs and mice while I just sit and enjoy the sounds of our woods.

By our brook stands a clump of birch. I love the white/gray birch year round, dressed in green leaves or stripped of their green, standing tall against the winter skies. I love painting birch. I have done several paintings of them....but now feel I need to approach depicting the birch bark up close and personal. One of our birch in particular is so special...so interestingly different than the rest. How shall I approach it? Watercolor? Oil? .......

Our birch with its lovely coat.

While I ponder this....Nellie is telling me that she wants a walk. Maybe we will walk by the brook again,look at our birch and enjoy the brook's song. These pleasures are all there not by random circumstance.....they are there for our blessing.

Nellis says "Lets go out! Please!!"

Watercolor of Winter Belgians Done

2010-12-03T17:26:00.000-05:00

"From The box - Belgians" Watercolor 14 x 14"

The watercolor of the two Belgian Draft horses is done. A painting that started out as a summer scene ended up being a winter scene with snow flakes falling. The view of the horses as seen from the drivers seat , is one of my favourite views! Looking at the painting makes me want to get out and drive! But our weather is not so inviting. It has been cold,gray and damp...I prefer the warmth of the house,the cozy studio. So let it snow!!!

This painting is available for purchase on my website.....easy to do!

Now back to the studio where I am working on a still life in oil on copper..and I am also working on a big casein.....of drafts....big driving horses!