New Painting In The Works

"The Yellow Door"  a work in progress............copyright 2012 www.kathipeters.com

Spring seems to have arrived. Nell and I have been taking walks out into the back pastures and I have been inundated with ideas for new paintings, all inspired by our farm, our horses, my world. This casein on canvas pictured above is the first .....and I have a copper panel ready for an oil landscape. I know that soon [ if the weather cooperates ] I will be called outside to prepare gardens and dig in the dirt. I can't wait! So I am driven to create more now, so I can garden later!!

My work has been invited into the American Academy of Equine Art's Invitational Exhibit "The Horse In Fine Art"  to be hung in Lexington,KY at  the historic Spindletop Hall. The show opens April 2 and hangs through May 26, 2012.

I will also be having work again in the 10th Annual "Festival of Art" in Belfast, Maine at The University of Maine's Hutchinson Center. This show opens May 10th with thier reception and then runs through the 13th. These are two are some the many shows I am particapating in this spring ...more to come this summer. So I guess I need to keep focused and painting.....   so hard when spring starts calling!!!

Spring pushes back the snow from the fields. copyright 2012   www.kathipeters.com



Changes

Snow blankets the look-in-to garden.

We thought that spring had come but winter charged back in with biting wind and snow. The horses were starting to shed, but when the weather changed, I think they now are appreciating their winter coats. Over the weekend we awoke to a fresh blanket of winter white.....lovely to look at and not so deep that we had to spend hours shoveling. If but all the storms would be like this!!!

And while the weather took a turn for the worst I Moved my office to my studio….pc and desk and files…..this change will make it easier for me to take care of business. It also allows me the use of my larger monitor for reference of images while I paint. Easier on my eyes!! My studio is finally put back together, after days of bedlam …sort of. I am working again, doing some drawing and working on some new paintings. I have my summer galleries plans laid out…..and need to get ‘to work’ on new work. This is good. I also will be doing some painting demonstrations this summer…..all in the works.

And locally in Maine, I have 2 paintings hanging in the Aarhus Gallery’s "44n 69w Radius Belfast"  show which runs March 1^st - April 1^st. The opening reception is March 2, 5-8pm. Their openings are always packed and entertaining. Aarhus is a lovely Belfast Maine Gallery. This all-encompassing show, featuring work by Maine artists, celebrates the vast creative local community. From the sales of this show, the gallery donates 20% of proceeds to food banks within a thirty-mile radius of Belfast. This is wonderful, especially this year….the way things are. I am happy to take part!!

Now.....back to my drawing.....and the changed around studio. [I think I do this every year at this time....change things around!!] Back to work!!!!

©2012 kathipeters.com

One Big Painting Done & One Sold

"A Pair And A Spare"         casein on canvas       30 x 40"        copyright 2011

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! 

 

Pondering The Small Things

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!!"

Still Life and Beautiful Maine

"Roseville and Angels"   casein on board      7 x 5"

This small casein, "Roseville and Angels" .....a quick still life depicting my Roseville vase and my clay gold painted angels from Italy, that has been floating around in my head for quite some time.The time was right finally and here it is!  I bought the wee angels as a child ,when we lived in Milan, Italy. I found them at a street market, and now in retrospect, I am sure they came out of a church at some time. I have always had them in my bedroom....along with a few other angels I brought with me, from Italy, years ago.They guarded me then and do still today!

We have been enjoying this year's spring in Maine. Our area of the state is wonderful this time of year, when the green of new growth pushes the gray woods branches back into the background,  as the yellow green takes over. I had business in Camden the other day and took time to grab some shots of the harbor and two masted schooners there.....and the yellow-green of the mountains surrounding this wonderful ocean front mid-coast village.

I am sure there will be some paintings done in the near future inspired by these shots!

But for now I need to get back into the studio working on some equine images for my Lexington,KY show coming this September.....I have so many ideas..............

and not enough hours in the day!

Only in Maine? or Merry Christmas!

I love Maine!

This photo was taken down the road from us. I have seen the folks at this certain old farm cleaning out their big beautiful red barn ,throwing 'stuff" into a big dumpster to be thrown away. Maybe the house has been sold. Maybe the farm is going to be sold.....I am sure there is a story there. But the neatest part is that they have also created a huge bomb fire pile in the middle of their snow covered field....and surrounding the pile to be burnt, is a selection of chairs, front row center....the best seats in the house!! I can just image enjoying the excitement of the huge fire, sitting in one of those seats, a glass of wine in hand....maybe on Christmas eve?.....or New Years Eve?? Oh what fun! And then at the end of the burn picking up your chair and throwing it onto the heap...leaving only the ashes in the snow of the past...sort of like clearing way for the new year! Hurrah!

I have been in the throws of the Christmas rush....wrapping [still doing that] baking [more to be done tonight] and the arduous chore of shopping and trying to find everyone that special something. And through it all finishing up a couple of portraits that must be ready for Christmas giving. But I wouldn't want it any other way. There are some exciting happenings in the New Year for me and my art work. I will elaborate on it later...........But for now, from me and all of us at Cob Cottage,

May you have a Very Merry Christmas. and please stop for a moment remember the real meaning of this Holiday...the birth of a child, who became our Christ.

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!!!"

Art Installation!

Freeport Creative Arts and the Town of Freeport

Invite you!

"Experiencing Freeport, Maine,

Showing Our Town Through Art"

Art Installation Celebration!

Freeport Village Station
Main Street
Freeport, ME USA

Friday, September 4, 5:00PM to 6:30PM

Artwork by members of the Freeport Creative Arts

highlighting Freeport's history and natural beauty.

James Chute, Sebastian Meade, Becca Case,

Karen Pettengill, Kathi Peters, William Larkins,

Jennifer Moore, Kathleen Meade, Natalie Nye,

Petrea Noyes, and Alice Kirkpatrick.

Meet the artists, see the work!

Sponsored by an Artists In Maine Communities Grant from the Maine Arts Commission,

an independent state agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and partners – Town of Freeport, Freeport Square Gallery, LL Bean, Berenson Associates, Key Bank and Freeport Community Improvement

Refreshments by Dinner at Your Door.

Music by Not Too Shaap!

FMI: 207.865.1616

Reception sponsored by: Berenson Associates

Dragging Me Out Of The Studio

Sunday was a lovely day weatherize and Les planned that he was going to drag me out of the studio, away from the farm and off to play for a while. It didn't take much convincing, and soon I was packed with cameras and off we went. We stopped in at a farm in West Belfast where they were doing ground driving with Fjords. The demonstration was for beginners...but it was still interesting to watch...how different folks handled their first time behind a horse...not on top of one! First they worked them single, and then as pairs. The two geldings they used were more than agreeable and well behaved. I know I got some good shots of them across the fields, with the expanse of landscape surrounding them.

Then we headed into Belfast and the waterfront.

Docked beside the main pier was a lovely old Barquentine Schooner, "Peacemaker". She is a three-masted schooner made of heavy dark wood....built with beautiful tropical hardwoods. What a treat to step on board this fine old ship and imagine what it would be like to set sail with her. After her stay in Belfast, she is headed to Rockland, Maine and then slowly will wend her way back home where she stays through the winter in Savannah, Georgia.

Here I stand 'decked out' in my corgi hat on the Belfast waterfront! So Les did get me out of the studio....off the farm.....but "fool him"...I was still working! I managed to get some lovely shots for future paintings. This winter I don't plan on spending a lot of time outside!

Small Dog Equals Small Casein

This little JRT is our Little "Nell" on our deck, as she watched the comings and goings of the birds from their feeders behind the house, this past winter. It kept her occupied on warm winter days. This casein on canvas is only 4 x 4" and it will be put up on my website.

I work in my studio this Memorial Day listening to the wind whipping outside and knowing that tonight I need to cover all our annuals and veggies that have been planted due to the predicted frost. This is a common occurance in Maine....It is only spring still!!

Touring Thru Kentucky And Solo Show

May 2009 is a very month busy it seems. I feel as if it has me sort of hanging on to my hat!

Our trip to Lexington has come and gone and I am still dizzy with all the images captured in my head and on film from the whirlwind tour of Lexington, the Kentucky Horse Park, the horse farms and Keeneland and then over to Louisville and Churchill Downs…then following the Ohio River back to Cincinnati [Actually out side of Cincinnati in Ryland, KY.]

Here is a photo of Bobbye and I hamming it up at KHP! [me on left]

The opening reception at Gallery B of my solo show was fun, looked great and brought sales…. and after the opening we were taken out to dinner by the Gallery owners…to an Italian Restaurant,” Portofino”. Very appropriate for me, I am thinking!!! Portofino is one of my most favorite spots on the Mediterranean coast.

Me [a very tired me] and Marci

One wall of my show at Gallery B

On Saturday morning Marci, the director of Gallery B met us at our hotel and we headed out for a tour of Daly Farm, Sheik Mohammed of Dubai’s stud farm where I was able to get some great shots of some of the Thoroughbred industries best stallions…
[i.e. Bernardini, Hard Spun, Holy Bull, Rockport Harbor] courtesy of Gallery B! From there we headed out to Keeneland to grab a hearty breakfast at the famous racetrack restaurant. We walked around the stables and the grounds of Keeneland for more shots that I know will give me reference for future paintings. Then off we went to tour Cobra Farm and the broodmares and new foals. I also got some new JRT shots…great!! Then we headed to Louisville and Churchill Downs for afternoon races… a bit of betting …and a Mint Julep of course!

On Sunday we were back at Ryland and so went into Cincinnati and “did” the Art Museum and our hosts, Ed and Bobbye Winterberg gave us a grand tour of the city highlights. I loved the Victorian brick townhouses there along the Ohio River! We got to enjoy an art fair in a park along the riverside. And then to celebrate Mothers Day we headed to an Indian restaurant and pigged out on curry and Nan!!

I have a wealth of new reference shots to create from…. and I happy to be back in the studio and working on ideas. I arrived back to several new commissions, new show invites and looks like the summer is going to be busy.

Today I delivered my above casein of my mom riding a pig...it's titled "Poor Girls Pony" to the 2009 Festival of Art at the Huchinson Center in Belfast. Maine. That show opens today May 14th through May 17. Tomorrow we got to the opening reception for Jamie Wyeth's new show at the Farnsworth in Roclkand, Me.

Yes..very busy!
I guess I wouldn’t want it any other way!!!

A Bit Over Whelmed

There has been so much happening the past few weeks...I am feeling a bit over whelmed by it all. All I need is for the snow to melt too fast and have all the gardens looking to have my care too and I will be panic-ed!! But I don't see that has happening ..seeing we still have two feet of white stuff to get rid of! I think Mother Nature is cutting me some slack!
The opening for a Belfast, Maine Art show at Aarhus Gallery was held last Friday evening to a VERY full house.I had one of my mixed media painting of My Family Series showcased there. I am working on some more of these.... a trip into my past and ancestry....and fun.

I have four shows I have been invited to....and a personal show coming up in Lexington, KY. in May titled "Finding My Voice"...at Gallery B.

The interview with me, covering my oeuvre of equine artwork, has come out in ART HORSE MAGAZINE.... and it is neat to see my work showcased so nicely..and at such a good time!

That being said....I am heading back into my paints and pastels ..yes, pastels....interesting combination..and the hunter painting....and I am starting a new driving work. If ONLY I could just paint.....and not have to do the paper work that goes with all this 'artist's life".............. a necessary evil! Heh ...the sun is out! A good omen!!!!

44N 69W:Radius Belfast

I havn't really been doing much showing in the local scene, but I did take one of my new mixed media family painting to the Belfast show “44N 69 W: Radius Belfast” yesterday.
That will hang at the Aarhus Gallery in Belfast through March 29, 2009. The opening reception is March 6th, 5 – 8 pm. I plan to be there…would love to see you all there!!!
This is the painting that I submitted…”How Ya Going To Keep Them Down On The Farm”…you know the song that asks… that after they see Paris?? [PAREE?] You have to see this one to believe it! And it is a small painting..only 8 x 6". But it is framed BIG! [ Not really!]

AND GUESS WHAT…. it’snowing OUT! Our weekly snowstorm promising 6 to 12 inches!

Being an Artist

Today I heard about a new film titled "Who Does She Think She Is ?" , that has just come out about being a woman in the arts. I am hoping that I can actually see the film some time soon, but for now I just wanted to alert my blogging visitors about the new film and how it might explain a bit how I feel being a woman artist. In my artistic life I can attest to the fact that there is a different standard for male and female artists. [I guess as there is in all aspects of career endeavor.]

I am not a feminist ...but where art is concerned ...now and throughout history...women have had a hard row to hoe to make it to the top in what is seemingly a man's world.



OK.......that being said.....take a gander at the film's website........and I would be interested in hearing how others feel about this subject?!




On another note:

My sister has been with me for two awesome weeks of bonding and talking about old times. She lives in California..and we haven't been together for two years. When she came over two years ago to spend time with me ...I had a stroke......and so Sonia, my sister, spent her vacation here in Maine taking care of my house and pets while I was in hospital in Portland, Maine. It wasn't a very good time for either of us! But this time we have spent time driving around Maine and reveling in the fall colors and eating lobster and talking, talking, talking!

I haven't been working in the studio at all...but that's good too....Now I am looking forward to getting back to the paint and canvas. I have a refreshened "brain".

Here Today Gone Tomorrow

The area of Maine that we live in is very rural. It is still a part of Maine that has open space and working farms. We drive on a back country road to get to Belfast...Belfast is where we go to shop, get our horse supplies, visit doctors,etc. We have been living here going on 6 years now, and we were drawn to this area because of the rural-ness...the dirt roads to ride horses on, and carriage drive. Now we see more houses being built...more farms being divided for development. We laugh that maybe it is time to move more north!
The old barn in this landscape graced some fields that we pass on our way to Belfast. We used to get some of our horses' hay out of this old barn from a local farmer who stored his crop in it. We watched as the old barn and out buildings crumbled....the silo leaned as the boards rotted. It was like watching an old man change with time. A reminder that we aren't getting any younger either!
And then one day we were saddened to see the old barn down....the outbuilding torned down and the huge support beams being hauled away. It was gone so fast ...Here today and then gone tomorrow.
I had started this casein while the barn was standing.....then I put it away and forgot about it.
I got it out a while ago...and now I call it done. It sort of reminds me that I need to do things now...before there is no tomorrow.

This painting is casein on board , sized at 14 x 18"......