Pug Boat

Not only does this cute pug have his own yacht...he also has people to sail it for him! This 12 x 12 " casein was commissioned by a collector of my work from New York, and it is to be given to Charlie's people. Yes , Charlie....THE PUG......has 'PEOPLE'! I should have people!

What I have is animals....
My Cob Cottage crew are napping on the deck.....soaking up sun before thunderstorms storm through. Summer has finally arrived in Morrill, Maine!

Cob Cottage On A Hot Day

Yesterday was hot, muggy and very much a July day. The air was stagnant in the studio. even with the fans running. Poor Mittens had to stretch herself out on the cooler wooden floor in be comfortable, while I worked. It is very hard to be a furry cat on hot summer days.

Addie, our resident Corgi, took her guard post on the arm of the couch [with her chewy bone close at hand] from where she could see the cottage door and all who entered ...and catch the breeze from the living-room fan. It's a hard job, but one that she nevertheless takes on as hers.



Little Nell, our homeland terrier-ist, rested herself in the big chair where there is ample room for her to stretch our her long legs and catch a breeze on her netherland's on such a muggy July day. I was stuck working upstairs in my loft studio, where the heat and mugginess collected ...and so went my day.

Today dawned sunny, but the mugginess is gone and we are all enjoying the weather that is what Maine is all about. I am working in my studio..... and some of us are still napping around the house.

It Never Rains in Southern California

But it rains in Maine!!! And as been raining since the beginning of summer. My perennial plants are the tallest they have ever been. The gardens are lush and green but inundated with snails and slugs. I don't think I have enjoyed one afternoon of reading and relaxing by my garden pond on my bench, due to the weather. If we have had a clear day or two, it was spent mowing the grass and trying to keep up with the weeds!

So I have been in the studio, and I am working up some new ideas and different directions where my muse is taking me. I will be working more on my family series....and after my 'Shades of Black' series am doing a 'Shades of White' series. I also am doing new work for a show in North Yarmouth, Maine that opens in September. And of course the commission work....fitting that in where I can.

I am not so happy to announce that I will not be physically able to attend the reception or to do my casein demonstration at the Saratoga, NY show at The Equidae Gallery August 7th., due to some health set backs. But I will be making good use of my time at home, keeping busy in my studio.....and in my gardens if the rain would stop!!

Draft Nap Gold

I love painting white/ gray horses. I can see so many colors in a white horse. But when I painted this draft, for some reason I approached him with a solid white,very graphic,and not shadowed at all. With a gold background and his bed of gold and yellow hay, I wanted to "keep it simple".

Years ago [it seems, in another life] I drew fashion illustrations, wrote a fashion article about what was "in" on the fashion scene in Italy. Now a days, one would find me in jeans, covered with hay, dog hair and paint. I would not change a thing about my life....and my training in fashion, in illustration and commercial art often colors my work that I produce today. My painting animals is a far cry from the fashion world.........but I love it here on our tiny farm that feeds my muse each day.

This 16 x 20" mixed media painting, titled "Draft Nap Gold" will be put up on my website.

Mother and Child

New Jersey is home to many breeding farms. This painting titled"Mother and Child" was done from a photo of a Standardbred breeding farm. A friend and collector of my art supplied the photo. The finished painting is sized 13 1/2 x 18" on 300lb watercolor paper.

I miss having foals on our small farm. Our last foal was born six years ago. Our "Maggie" cold be bred and the thought has crossed our minds. Then reality sets in and we go on with our lives!

A Jack Called Punky

This handsome fellow was all Jack when we visited Cobra Farm in Lexington,KY. last May, during my solo show at Gallery B. Though I was taken with all the beautiful thoroughbred horses at the farm, it seems the dogs I met there have come alive on my canvases first.
This is a small 8 x 6" casein on canvas on board.

Another rainy day finds me back in the studio for the afternoon. My pups are sleeping.The house is quiet. It's a good time to paint.

Jack Russells Wanta Have Fun

Another gray day. Seems that is what I am bemoaning a lot these days.
Sorry if I sound like a broken record.
Above is a fun little casein on board, 5 x 7”, of a young JRT having fun. Jacks are always ready for fun! I am titling it “Leapin’ Lizards”. It will be put up on my website too. The pup who inspired this painting belongs to a new friend I have made on Facebook. Thanks, Vicki!!

Now I have to make some time for some commissions that need to get finished and in between those I will be working on new work. While my family series got put on a back burner, that whole subject matter is begging to be done…and so I have to follow my muse.

The other night I spent a fair amount of time looking for rentals in Italy. It is a dream of mine [and Les’ too] to go back to Italy and spend some time there. [Our horses and dogs and cat don’t think it is such a good idea…!] I looked over the area where Les and I used to live in Umbria and Tuscany. It has grown up so much since we were there…. villages are now cities. Cobbled stoned streets are now highways. Maybe we should stay where we are and just remember it like it was? Oh, but wouldn’t it be great to be painting in Italy again???

Getting Back to Normal

After delivering the “BIG” painting to Freeport, my studio time as been sporadic at best. I manage to clean up a bit of the garden overgrowth and we mowed lawn in shifts with the sun. I captured back the book I was reading “Casa Rossa” , which was stolen by my husband while I was slaving away in the studio on the “Big” painting. But I also started two small caseins of JRT’s…. and a graphite commission of a paint horse. So I have been busy, but not over productive.

Here are a few shots of the gardens as they turn into jungles around the cottage.

Today we have sun…so I am headed out to muck stalls and walk dogs.
Then back to work…I have to paint!