Focused Friesian Done

"Focused Friesian"      Mixed Media                 12 x 12"         copyright 2011

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

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.

"Angels and Horses"       oil on copper panel          8  x 10"       copyright 2011

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.

"Focused Friesian"      mixed media      12 x 12"       copyright 2011

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

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

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

"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

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

"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

 

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.