Back Into The Bigger Biggers

This afternoon I finally was able to get back into the studio and set up my easel to get back into painting this 30 x 40" casein of the "Beautiful Blonde Belgians". Even though it seems to be taking a long time to finish this one...it is one of those paintings that seems to be painting itself. I am using my usual palette... but it seems to be coming together differently.We shall see when it is done! Once I got over the initial fear of the BIG CANVAS....I am loving the looseness I feel doing this.


Nellie has been helping me by keeping me company from the comfort of our bed.From there she can see into my studio... and also into the mirror to keep tabs on that canine friend of hers who lives in the "Bizarro" world inside the mirror. That silly dog barks at her and growls a lot...but has yet to come into the bedroom to actually challenge her...big brave dog that she is!!

I love this shot of her...I think I will have to paint this one!

Come to the Show Opening!

Come one, come all, to “Maine Harvest: Land and Sea,” a benefit sale of fine art and crafts inspired by Maine’s farmland and ocean. For six weeks Skyline Farm’s 4th annual invitational exhibit and sale will showcase talented Maine artists and artisans whose paintings, photographs, sculptures, and fine crafts are inspired by the cornucopia of Maine’s bountiful harvest - both from the land and the sea.

--- Please join us on Friday, Sept. 25 from 5-7 p.m., to help kick off the show, where you can buy artworks or bid on intriguing silent auction items. Enjoy light refreshments while meeting talented Maine artists, sculptors, photographers and artisans of fine crafts, including fiber, jewelry, wood, glass and metal.

Original creations to appeal to every taste and budget are for sale just in time for the holiday buying season for your gift-giving pleasure. The show is complemented by vehicles from the museum’s carriage and sleigh collection.

A Silent Auction, featuring artworks and related items donated by the artists and local businesses, will run concurrently with the art show. Bidding action will begin on Sept. 25 and conclude at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 8. Artists are generously sharing a portion of each artwork’s sale and 100% of the funds raised from their Silent Auction donations to benefit Skyline Farm’s programs and operations.

Done - Fall Gray

This morning I am heading out with hubby, two dogs and my painting to help hang the Skyline Farm show....
This painting is done..and framed, ready to hang. It is a 18 x34" casein on canvas and it is titled "Fall Gray". The scene depicts Maine Carriage Day at Skyline Farm, a very old and traditional pleasure driving show that originated in Maine many years ago!

Gotta run....it's long drive [ by car ] to North Yarmouth!!!

Skyline Show and Painting Almost Done

I think I have been saying that a lot lately. "Almost done"... but I look at a painting and when I am not completely happy with it, I can't let go. I am at that point with this painting....I will let you know!
This is one of the paintings that I will be sending down to the Skyline Farm's Fall Exhibition which has it's opening reception on September 25th at 5-7 pm...on the farm.... in the Carriage Museum. The invitational exhibit is titled "Maine Harvest, Land and Sea", and this year showcases fine art and crafts too. My work in the show will cover the gamut.. from bovine to equine...and a bit of ocean too! I am looking forward to seeing the work of the invited artists and craftsmen. It should be a neat show for folks to come to, to find that very special Christmas present for their very special someone!


And speaking about someone.....Nellie , our resident Terrier-ist has taken to following me up into the studio...and then making a nest for herself on our bed amoung the pillows. She thinks if she hides her face...I can't see her! Silly girl!! So she sleeps amoung the pillows, like a princess, while I work!

I CAN SEE YOU, NELLIE!!!

Still Working On The Biggers

Today really feels like Fall..a cloud covered day where the air has a different feel to it...a different rhythm to the breeze and bird songs. Hard to describe, but a feel of nostalgia permeates the morning. I covered my tomatoes and basil again last night, as I have the last few nights. Trying to grab the last sun filled days to grow the tomatoes bigger, redder and to keep the basil for more spaghetti pesto before a frost hits them. I picked the last of my green beans...the few that the deer have left for us....and will gather in the last of the summer squash and cukes today. Now it seems that life will be about cozy-ing in and not growing.


I work in my studio listening to classical music on the radio and the birds singing in the crab apple tree outside my studio's east window. I have been working on the big casein of the Belgian horses...and is finally pulling together and pleasing me. The image above is where it stands at this moment. That will change by this afternoon, if I get to stick with it.


BUT....Right now the dogs need walking and I am headed out to watch Les work with one of his mares. To soon the weather will change and the snow will blow. I need to savor every moment of fall's beauty.

A New Magzine Cover A New Magazine

I feel very honored to be the artist picked to have my casein painting "A Moment In time" chosen to grace the cover of the new equine magazine, 'The StableWoman Gazette"!! This painting is a commissioned work, commissioned by the husband of the woman in the painting...a gift for her birthday. I have blogged about this work before....the painting has been delivered and now hangs in their Ohio home.

"The StableWoman Gazette is a new online magazine style portal dedicated to ALL horsewomen worldwide! Featuring a wide variety of content, from articles and stories to art galleries, video shows, boutique shopping, stress relievers and much more!

This publication is for you and about you. There will be features that are informative on a host of subjects, but also it will include your participation and comments. Browse through the sections. There's something to please every horsewoman.

The StableWoman Gazette changes several times daily with news, stories and updates. So make The StableWoman Gazette your home page to visit and enjoy often.'

Check out this great e-magazine...it is a good read about timely equine news and great stories! and tell them that I sent you! ;-)

Working On The Biggers

The canvas with the 'Beautiful Blonde Belgians' is in the 'uglies' stage. All paintings seem to go though that phase... where I sort of loose direction and have to pull the work back together again. The fact that my studio is so small is also a problem when I work on these larger canvases.
But I am excited about this one...and I do know where I want to go with it...I am just not there yet!

The artshow reception at Anderson Galleries in Locust Valley, NY took place on Thursday [9/10/09] evening and I have already had positive input about the show and my work. Hope you can get into the gallery to see my work and the lovely work of the other artists exhibited there.

Color is slow, so far, to hit the trees surrounding our farm. But I can heard the sounds of fall and the sad passing of summer in the birds and insects around Cob Cottage. The yellow finch are singing like they never sang all summer. I wonder if they will stick around this winter cheering up the gray landscape with their sunny yellow? I hope so!

Back to my painting....mixing my colors for the day.

I Am Not Feeding The Deer

The weather lately has be the most awesome...bright sun filled days followed by cool starlit nights. I love it! The garden is winding down for the fall and the deer are nibbling their way through our backyard each evening. The beautiful zinnias and morning-glories in my veggie garden are like hors d'oeuvres for them. So I picked one bright zinnia to grace my windowsill in my studio. The sunlight pouring through the old jelly glass [One that we use as a juice glass for morning orange juice] prompted this small 'gem"..... 7 X 5" Casein on board. I have placed it in my Small Works Collection on my website too.

I am still working on the larger canvas of the Belgian draft horses.
The summer days have just seemed to fly by here at Cob Cottage.

Beautiful Blond Belgians

This is one of the paintings I am working on now...a 30 x 40" on canvas painting, it will be sort of exciting to complete. It is in the beginning stages, as I do the drawing with charcoal to get my harness and movement right in the composition.
So after I do our horses stalls and walk the dogs, I will get back into it.

Yesterday we went down south to Freeport for the artists reception of the 'Experiencing Freeport" exhibit. My painting for this Maine Art Commission and Freeport Creative Arts sponsored show, is hanging at the corner of Maine Street and Bow Street. I am so pleased to be one of the Maine Artists picked to take part in this show supported by the National Endowment For The Arts.

But today it is "back down to earth"...muck the stalls and play with the pups....and then back into the studio to create ...another painting!

Before The Paint

I am sitting here posting this...still in my pj's! That is one of the perks of having my studio at home!!! But I got into this drawing this morning and forgot about everything else! So the dogs sit and wait to be walked for their mid-morning walk and here I am posting about this sketch that will be put up on a 30 x 40" canvas this afternoon. ...after I walk the poor pups! After I get dressed!
Actually they have been busy watching from their deck perch as Les trims around all the gardens. I am sure our Corgi , Addie thinks he could do a better job!

This sketch on bristol paper is really too big to scan at 11 x 14", so I will have to photo it to really show all of it and my signature on the right bottom. As I explained before, I very often work out a sketch before putting paint on canvas or board. This sketch works for me...so I feel the 'need' to get into it.
I am excited about the possibilities! Strike while the iron is hot!!! No???

Belfast Dock & Maine Seagull

This small casein will be hung in the Skyline Farm Art Show with the opening reception September 25th. Titled" "Dock On The Bay"......it is sized at 5 x 7" !

It is a beautiful day on the farm...and I will be most of the day in the studio.I am all stoked on a new work started today! But also need to finish works still in the process. It ever ends....and as Martha would say "That's a good thing!!!"