Cob Cottage Studio: 2012

Monday, December 24, 2012

Holiday Greetings....from Us !!

The farm waits for the winter snows....all is calm.

And in the studio Nell and I are busy getting ready for Santa.....Merry Christmas All!!!

Nell has been a good girl, Santa!!!

Monday, December 3, 2012

Painting , Still Painting

When it gets too cold for me outside......I am inside.....painting.

It has been very cold of late....and this time of year, I am so grateful for a cozy warm studio where I can work. I may do a landscape or two using my trusty laptop with photos as inspiration...and so here is how I started a small oil on copper substrate using my Guerrilla Thumbox ......getting the feel of painting plein air, but inside and cozy. I know....."cheating!!"

Devon......one of our new boys.....

I have also finished a few new works.....some equine....some not....and some are up on my website ....and some are not yet. I have to admit to being a bit distracted lately with the arrival of the two new Morgan boys to Cob Cottage Farm. And then the decision to get a new carriage for the two new horses....and on and on!

I was invited back for a second art show with Colouer Collection in Falmouth, Maine. Their holiday show is open now, and will be having 3 afternoons of "Meet the Artists" on December 7th , 8th and 9th. It is always a fun show in their fab gallery/store!! I also have work hanging with Chisholm Gallery that is now located in Wellington, Florida. I have been represented by Chisholm Gallery for ions.... years...!! It is always a wonderful gallery, with wonderful work ......and a strong equestrian following .I have work with them that is equine and floral...something for everyone!

With that being said....I guess I need to get back to work...pretending I am painting plein air!! Wink Wink....

Monday, November 26, 2012

With Grace

The Christmas wreath is on the barn.

It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas....well a bit like Christmas. I have hung the wreath on the barn's French yellow door, and have filled the cottages [and the barn's] baskets with greens that I gathered around our farm. A kissing ball, with bright red ribbons, hangs by the front door. All we need now is some snow!!

Prompted by the vision of 'The Nutcracker' ....and ballet dancers...I finished a 12 x 12" casein of a lovely dancer...."With Grace" is available on my website. Other than that and some sketches, I have nothing more to show at this time....but will soon.I do not stay idle for long!! I am longing to paint snow. Bring it on!!!

"With Grace" Casein on Claybord 12 x 12"

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Two Small Casein Paintings & Horses Running

"Equus #1" casein on Claybord 6 x 6"

Two small casein paintings have been added to my body of work on my website, in the Small Works Collection. There is something about a white horse that thrills me and then add the conformation of a baroque type horse and I HAVE to paint it.......and I was happy to get some time back in the studio,as I seem to be a bit distracted with our new equine boys. But I am sure that this is a good thing!

"Equus #2" casein on Claybord 6 x 6"


Danny and Devon.....acting the fools!!

But what I really need to do is hurry up and catch up!!

So many paintings to do...so little time!!!!

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Maine's Fall Colors And Change

"The Fall Farm" Oil on gallery wrapped canvas 24 x 48"

It has been a time of change..... and growth. As the seasons have been changing the colors that surround our Maine farm, Les and I have spent more time with friends, enjoying good times and carriage driving. In between the fun filled days I painted in my studio and worked around the farm. I finished the above oil painting of our farm in fall..... But as the days waned and winter draws near, Les and I arrived at a decision that we sorely missed our driving pair, missed spending time with like minded horse lovers and driving the carriage roads in Acadia. So began our search for a new carriage driving pair....and soon our search lead us to a handsome chestnut Morgan pair who were in Ohio. After anxious days of working out the details ........and the unsettling distraction of Hurricane Sandy....the Morgan boys are here on our farm. So Cob Cottage Farm has again grown to be home to 4 horses and my days are filled with farm chores and the joy of learning the ins and outs of the new redheaded boys, Danny and Devon.

Devon and Danny and our first snow fall......

I now find myself spending time watching the new boys as they eat their hay on our newly falling snow or are out grazing in the fields, glowing with the low light of late fall warm against their auburn coats. I see so many new paintings there.Our older geriatric horses have accepted them. Life goes on.

Last night we had our first snow fall. It started as a wind whipped big flake blanket and we awoke to a farm covered in white. It was lovely with the freshness that the first snow always brings. I know we are so soon jaded and as the winter drags on, the snow isn't quite as welcome. But this first fall of white brings discoveries....like how my small Japanese Maple's fallen leaves have covered the snow beneath its bows have tinted the wet snow pink and it makes me wonder if the leaves could be used for a dye?

And how sweet is is to watch twin fawns and their mother eat under our orchard trees.....All from the warmth of our cozy cottage. The snow is melting now with a chilly rain falling.....I think the horses would be happier in their cozy stalls. Time to head to the barn....and after the horses are warm and dry in their barn, I will head to my studio....it is time to paint.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

More Than A Day Late-Dancing With Horses!!

I guess over a week has past since my last blog post.....need I say I have been busy? I have not posted since I announced the art show opening reception of "Women In Motion" at Couleur Collection Gallery in Falmouth, Maine. I got some lovely shots of The Portland Ballet's performance that was staged at the reception to every one's delight.......and as we stood watching the dancing that was staged in front of my artwork, a friend [and collector of my work] remarked "Dancing With Horses"!! YES!! It was!!....and it gave an entirely different and wonderful meaning to this exhibit for me!

The Portland Ballet performed in front of my art work!

The reception was packed and the gallery put on a wonderful show for all.

So Wonderful to see dancing with horses all around!!

After the reception on our way back to our car we met two fur kids who were looking for some attention too!!We had to stop and talk with them.They are some wise words to say about art and the state of affairs in the world today.
All in all, the day was stellar.

Thank you, Couleur Collection!!!

The show is up until mid November.....if you are in the area and have a chance check out the show....it is all about "Women In Motion"..........

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

A Connection With Couleur Collection

"Shades Of Gray #8" Oil on copper panel 22 x 22"

Last week I headed down to Falmouth, Maine to deliver art work for a neat art show that is opening this week in an equally neat gallery and store. Couleur Collection is a gallery that is ALSO a women's clothing store, where all the clothes are displayed in sections by color...blue in one section, green in another,yellow in yet another......The store is a visual cornucopia of color and a treat for the eye. Add to that a unique gallery display of fine art......How neat is that?!!!
I was invited to take part in their upcoming show "Women In Motion", along with other artists, photographers and the Portland Ballet Company. I am looking forward to a fun opening reception to be held this Sunday , October 14th at 1:00 to 3:00 pm.!!! Come on out!!

Fall is here at Cob Cottage Farm....the colors in full display and leaves are falling fast.I am enjoying that color display too each day as I try and keep up with the gardens and walk Nell in the frisk fall air and waning fall sunshine.

Only one watercolor to show this week......."The Chestnut Pony" done on Arches watercolor paper. It is already up on my website....and I am starting an rather large fall landscape. I am starting it with casein.....and then I will finish it in oil. I can work faster that way!! So to work......

But don't forget the show this coming Sunday!! Falmouth, Maine.... here I come!

"The Chestnut Pony" watercolor 9.25 x 16"

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Waxing Poetic And Painting Too

Nell and I took a walk to the back of our fields today.We have had a rash of gray days with rain, rain,rain....so today's sun beckoned, so we enjoyed a longer walk and the sunshine. The horses are grazing in the back fields, and will until deer hunting's gun season. I took my camera with me and succeeded in capturing some wonderful photos that I can use to compose a painting I am planning. Nell had fun smelling all the wild animals smells that cover our farm.

Now ,back in the studio, I have to get back to work. Nell sleeps under my drawing board. I have finished an oil painting of the ripe grapes on our arbor.....it took me a while.

During the recent rainy spell I spent time walking in the wet woods....and on one of Nell and my walks, I composed this poem......

The Woods Today

The woods today, seemed dark and gray

Until I stepped inside.

Then orange and red

Covered green moss bed

Of paths I walked beside the upright trees

That dropped their color, bold and bright.

Though rain had wet the fields from skies above, all dark and gray,

The woods were decked in colors that brightened up my day.

Now I need to get to work, while Nell sleeps. Paperwork is waiting for an invitational art exhibit I have been invited to participate in. It opens next week!..I will write it a bit later!! I am stoked to be invited!!! AND it IS in MAINE!!

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Pondering.....and Two New Paintings

When the days get shorter, my studio time seems to get longer. It doesn't really compute, but it seems to be the norm. I am sitting here now looking around my studio and trying to figure out how I can get more room in the studio that I was sure was "big enough". It now seems to have shrunk. Funny how that happens. So as daylight shrinks by the minute....my studio shrinks by the day. I need to get more creative on how I use the space available to me. So I sit here pondering.......

I love where we live. Periodically I need an ocean fix. Maine's coast calls to me, maybe because I was born in a water sign month.....or because I was born on the coast. I need to be near water. And lately I also have been feeling the need to paint work depicting the ocean too. Luckily, I am near it.....inspiration is only a short ride away. Pictured above is one of my latest works, a small gem of a painting depicted our rocky coast of Downeast Maine.

And then after I picked the very last of our pears from our small orchard....I set up and did a small still-life painting. It seemed only fitting. Small and small....!

And NOW I am thinking that my studio is small........

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Still Studying - After All These Years

My vegetable garden is in fall mode.My perennial gardens are growing rampant. I have been busy painting and drawing .....and studying.Yes ,studying. I recently bought several books in my never ending quest to tweak my artwork and stretch as an artist. I strongly feel that if I want to grow as an artist, I need to read and learn from artists past and present.So I study!!

But I have been painting too. The above oil painting is of a Welsh Cob.....our Welsh Cob mare, Victoria. She does NOT like to have her photo taken and dislikes even more having me doing a painting of her. What started as a plein air painting became a studio painting as she decided that she had had enough of me.

And as the days get shorter and the afternoon sun dips lower and lower in the sky I felt the need to paint my last roses blooming in my studio garden. I just finished this 6 x 6" oil on copper......so two paintings done recently. I have been drawing too This is good!

. So what books am I reading now???? "Hensche On Painting" What have I learned? To get OUT OF THE STUDIO.....and paint outside to learn color!! And I am also reading "Childe Hassam - American Impressionist" So what am I learning there? [It is a big book!] that I need to paint more!! That being said....I am off to paint!

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Working On Memorabilia

Our home is filled with old memorabilia.... with memories of my childhood, growing up in Italy where I collected nic-nacs on any road trip we went on., and memories from before Italy, when we lived in New Hampshire and I played with doll houses and made fairy houses in the woods surrounding our farm in the granite state's forests. Over the years some of these figures and toys have gone missing, been broken, or traded for something better. But until today some of my "old friends" have remained intact and still provide me with joy. And I have been feeling a need to immortalize these friends...and so I have done two still lifes.....two casein paintings , maybe to "play again" with these old friends....?

'Jumble Of Friends'", above, depicts a bowl that now sits in my studio with some of my old figures,and after seeing it, day after day, the idea to paint it seemed appropriate. I do have other figurines that need to be highlighted in a second painting...that will come. But after doing the friends in a bowl, I decided to paint an antique watercolor paint set that I was given to me years ago by my granddaughter. Jackie saw it at a shop and thought I needed it! I love looking at it and wondering who the child was, who owned this set...?? And did they grow up to be an artist? So this has become my second still-life painting....."The Artist's Tools" .

So there will be more still-life paintings in the works.....and maybe others can relate

to my fascination with things old and memories immortalized.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Summer Is Done [Almost] And So Are Three Paintings

The past 2 weeks we have had company ...family has come.... and gone.... and the end of summer is marching by fast paced and on time !! I have picked almost all the veggies from our garden.I have bagged and frozen bags of tomatoes and am eating my fill of sweet tasting juicy fresh tomatoes.How I miss them when winter settles in and we are forced to eat tomatoes from the supermarket that taste so bland compared to our summer's bounty.
In between the farm's daily chores and gardening ...and company....I have done 3 small paintings.......and here they are.

I am so looking forward to a productive creative winter cloistered in my cozy studio ....

and singing my art's song!!

Saturday, August 25, 2012

OIl Painting of Acadia, Done

"Starting The Drive At Acadia" Oil on copper panel 12 x 12" Sold

I don't know where the days have gone! I just realized I haven't blogged in 2 weeks!! I have been busy though......I finished the painted I had started at Equidae Gallery for my demonstration on oil painting on copper...and it has been sold. And I did a self- portrait study in casein on board. Every so often I do a self-portrait as a sort of landmark of the passing of time and maybe of my growth as an artist. .

I am having trouble downloaded images to my blog....I don't know what THAT is about. So let it suffice for now, I am alive, and kicking.....but frustrated with Blogger problems..... and so I am headed outside to "play" in my gardens and maybe paint a bit!!!!. I will deal with my blog posts later!!

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Saratoga and More More More

I let the demo audience try their hand at oil painting on copper!!

It has been a while since my last post.We have gone to Saratoga Springs and back....Had a wonderful vacation of sorts. [I think they call it a bus-man's holiday??} I did a painting demonstration at The Equidae Gallery that represents me in Saratoga Springs in the summer and then in Vermont the rest of the year. I talked about how I got started in oil on copper paintings, [Thanks to artist Renee Lammers !! ] and why I work in that medium on copper and not so much in oil on canvas. I painted in the demo too, starting a new work depicting a four-in-hand in Acadia's Wildwood Stables. The Friday night Champagne Reception was packed and I was pleased to be greeted by the proverbially "red dot" that every artist hopes for when we arrived at the opening!! A good start of the race season!!

Les and I had time to explore the parks and gardens of Saratoga, visit the track, enjoy the carousel in the park and the artists' retreat and wonderful gardens of Yaddo, with its lovely statuary and fountains,rose gardens and woodland walks. We also managed to have some wonderful tasty meals at Saratoga's awesome restaurants. One could say we ate our way through the city!! Indian,Thai,Italian....and of course Mrs. London's pastries extraordinaire! We met friends there and when I wasn't working we just had a great time!!

Visited Spa Gallery with friend Juliet Harrison & we called artist friend Kimberley Santini

to congratulate her on her work hanging there!!

Saratoga Springs Park

In the gardens of Yaddo

One evening I even sat on the Saratoga Lake-side and plein air painted the wonderful brilliant sunsets our B&B afforded us each night. But Saratoga was hot...and felt much hotter than Maine's hot weather feels. We were happy to be on our way back home, and travelled back taking the "high road" through Vermont and New Hampshire, where we enjoyed the beautiful landscapes of each New England state.

"Saratoga Lake Sunset" Oil on copper 6 x 6" plein air

So we are home. Nell is happy to have us home. ...and I am back working in my cool basement studio with Nell by my side....Life goes on.......and wonderfully it seems!!

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

New Oil Paintings And Distractions Galore

"In The Summer Light" Oil on gallery wrapped canvas 10 x 10"

The summer days are flying by too fast it seems. I am getting ready to head down to Saratoga Springs, N.Y. again for the reception at Equidae Gallery, and for me that always seems to be the end of my summer "busy busy" time. My boxes have already arrived there with my paintings and I will also taking two larger heavy oils on copper works with me...They will be there for the Equidae Gallery's champagne reception on the evening of August 3rd. In the morning of the 3rd, I will again be doing a painting demonstration and talk. The talk this year will be about my painting in casein versus painting in oil, and why I like painting in oil on copper panels. I hope to see new faces there, and I will be letting folks try oil painting on copper and casein painting on paper!! It should be fun!

Last week I did an oil on canvas of my horse in the summer hot sun....and our fields that are no longer green. I love the contrast of the hot yellow sun as it hits my black horse and the cool blue greens against the dark shadow of the forest background. "In The Summer Light" is on gallery wrapped canvas, sized at 10 x 10".
I also did a small landscape of a favourite scene viewed from Acadia's carriage roads. We love driving on the back of Little Long Pond and the dark forest roads that offer shade on a summer's drive.One of the stops we so enjoy looks back down on Little Long Pond's boat house and the ocean beyond.The Rockefeller family has gifted us, the American people, with such a beautiful gift of roads to drive or ride our horses on and to recapture the atmosphere of a slower and more gentle time. We should cherish this.

So I painted this Acadia scene..... this small gem of an oil painting in oil on copper,

"The Boat House From Above"

"The Boat House From Above" Oil on copper 6 x 8"

So now I need to get back to planning my gallery talk,make notes...and pack up some paintings for a new Gallery I have been invited join [More on that later]. The garden needs tending.....and all the daily chores on the farm call. I guess I need to get crackin'......Until next time!!

Friday, July 13, 2012

Busy With Boxes - The Other Part Of Being An Artist

Some of My Asian Lilies

I HAVE been busy....did a bit of painting since my last blog post....AND did take some time off to play teamster for a day in Acadia. Les and I went driving with good friends, on the carriage roads of Acadia National Park. Tom and Irene have a lovely huge pair of Clydes....the Budweiser type of horses.....so, as we were going out driving with them Les also drove a pair of Clydes. Both of us ,with our Clyde pair, leisurely drove the scenic carriage roads to my favourite spot...the Rockefeller's Little Long Pond route to the Pond House. Ah , the memories of years gone by! Seems like yesterday that we drove those roads with our Cobs.....but the sweet Clyde boys we were driving now were well behaved and gave us a lovely day in the park.

After we got home, I did a small oil on copper of one of the scenes I have wanted to paint for a long time...No time like the present! This is the view from the causeway, at the bottom of Little Long Pond, looking up the water towards the Pond House.....the mountains in the back round out a wonderful summer scene. This is the view as seen from the seat of a carriage....a bit higher than how one might see it from the ground. I think this is the BEST way to see the carriage roads. They appear differently when seen from the back of a horse or from the lofty carriage seat. This is the way they are meant to be seen.!! Try it!!

"Looking Towards The Pond House" Oil on copper 6 x 8"

But now I need to get back to the work at hand in my studio.....packing all my art that goes to Equidae Gallery in Saratoga Springs,NY. The show opens next week.....and I will post more about that in a few days.....right now, I am busy with boxes and bubble wrap....and paintings strewn all over the studio!! See....artists don't just create....they ship too!!

Monday, July 2, 2012

Pond Lilies and Horses - New Paintings

"In Our Pond" Oil on Copper 6 x 6"

June has come and gone. The farm gardens are resplendent with color and heady with fragrance. I love it. I want to stay sequestered in the comfort of our cottage and wrapped in the atmosphere of my surroundings. But it seems lately that every summer I am called away to do painting demonstrations and attend show receptions...all away from home. I am busy now getting things done for Saratoga Spring's Equidae Gallery show that opens the end of this month. But I have been able to get a few new paintings done...One ...the small 6 x 6" oil on copper, "In Our Pond", pictured above. An afternoon was spent painting our pond lilies,,,,,sweet summer grass perfume filled the air and bugs buzzed by....a lovely humid summer day past before the thunderstorms came through

Back in the coolness of my basement studio I did a 6 x 8" oil painting of a Saratoga Race Track scene...And "Saratoga Sea Hero" and the pond lily painting "In Our Pond" are both now on my website.

Today I work in my studio, after a brief reprieve. The farrier came to trim the horses.

The skies darkened and a bit of thunder rumbled,....but no storm.

Now it is back to framing......And before I know it, the day will be here for shipping paintings. Back to work.

"Saratoga Sea Hero" OIl on copper 6 x 8"

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

New OIl Of Saratoga Race Track

"Back Fom The Track" Oil on copper 8 x 6"

I am getting ready for a new exhibit that opens at the end of July at the Equidae Gallery in Saratoga Springs,NY.,and hanging during racing season. Here in my studio there are paintings that need framing and a few that still need varnishing, but I am almost done. The weather has cooperated and it has been rainy for the most part , which keeps me in the studio and tending to business. I just finished the small painting above yesterday, and snapped photos of it today.... between raindrops. It will be headed to the Saratoga's gallery. "Back From The Track " is a 8 x 6" oil showing the backside of the track's stabling area, across from the actually race track. I loved seeing the hustle and bustle of the track's working stables. Pictured here are the outriders who accompany the nervous thoroughbreds to the track and to the gates.....their work is done now.....and they head back to the stables.Life at the races, from the backside.

More news !! ...My watercolor painting "Heading To The Pull" was picked to grace the cover of the July issue of The Equine Marketer , an equine publication the serves the Mid Atlantic area of the USA. They said that this painting was, " ...is so appropriate for all the county and country fairs that take place, at this time, in the Mid-Atlantic." Thank you Equine Marketer !!

Friday, June 22, 2012

Another Small Oil And Summer Is Here

I have been busier than a bee in spring....and now that summer is officially here, I can't see things slowing down for a long while!! The spring that brought us lots of rain, turned sunny and warm and the gardens are growing like Topsy. I can't keep ahead of it all.In fact I can't even catch up!!!! But I am enjoying each new flower that bursts open with color and scent. I know that we are thoroughly blessed here on the farm.

Rosa Rugosa just starting..how sweet the smell.

The horses are enjoying all the green that their pasture has put forth.... and we all are resting easy since their winter's hay is put into the barn and sweetly perfuming the loft air.

Clematis adorns the arbor giving us shade to enjoy.

Nell and I have taken to the cooler woods paths for our walks....and on one of those woodland walks we spied a small bird's nest hanging from a sapling, swaying in the breeze. One tiny egg lay in it, all speckled, it was safely hidden under an umbrella of the sapling's green leaves. How sweet and small a promise it is.I think it is a nuthatch egg. I had to do a small painting of it...small as the egg and nest themselves. "One Egg" is an oil on copper, 4 x 4" image size.....and will be framed in a golden wooden frame, available on my website.

"One Egg" Oil on copper 4 x 4" copyright 2012 www.kathipeters.com

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