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.

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???

New Work Started or "Sunday go to Meeting"

My mother hated to get dressed up. I think I got my aversion to dressing up from her. I will go to extremes to get out of putting on a dress. And can you believe it that I used to do fashion illustration and wrote a fashion article for an American newspaper when I lived in Italy?

But now my life is simple....and on the farm, jeans are the fashion statement of my day.

This painting I am working on now is of my Mom and her big sister...all dressed-up, getting ready to go somewhere..maybe to church? I have done a quick pen and ink sketch of this scene and gone into it with a watery casein wash to get an idea of values. I am working on Crescent illustration Board, a favourite of mine for a support. I am thinking of maybe staying with casein for the first layer..and maybe will finish up with oil ...or maybe tempera.......so many choices will work with this board.

Memorial Day

Today is a day of remembering and honouring.

My family on my mother's side come from Germany originally and settled in Pennsylvania. They were farmers, painters, entrepreneurs and proud to be Americans by choice.

My father's parents came from Poland ...settled in the Boston, Mass. area and were hard working folks...........my paternal grandmother never learned English well. But she didn't need to as she did not venture out of her Polish neighborhood much throughout her life.

My husband, Les , was born in Kenya, East Africa. We met in Rome, Italy, were married in Italy and our first son was born in Italy. When we came to America...back to my home country....Les became an American citizen and he is VERY proud of his adopted country..the US of A. Our second son was born in America after we had settled here and decided to stay here.

We all are indebted to the veterans who have fought for our freedom in America and abroad, in the past and even today. Some of them were from my family.....and today is a day to take time to remember them and what they have given for us and future generations.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

BT Raspberry

Today is too cold. The sun shines bright in the studio, but it was deceiving...It is a bone chilling 9 degrees out with a windchill that makes the horses very frisky and "playful". I guess it is not a good day to ride!!! ;-)

So I have finished this 6 x8" casein of a Boston Terrier who was blowing a raspberry at the camera. This little guy is a spitting-image of the actor/comedian Marty Feldman. "Frankie" has a wall eye....and every time I look at Frankie's photo, I see Mr. Feldman. I have some other shots of dear Frankie that I will be doing in the near future....but now I need to finish the small casein of an Italian Greyhound. This is as close to Italy as I will get this week!

And I have managed to get some new works up onto my website for viewing. This is a good thing.

Media Mixed

I have been playing with mixed- media for the past few weeks, and I just finished this piece, a watercolor, casein and pen and ink work....done sort of quickly and loosely. I like the finished product, done on 300 lb cold press watercolor paper. This four-in-hand had stopped for a lunch break with the coaching crowd that met at Acadia each year to enjoy the fall scenery. I was part of this group, as a groom for a gentleman who drove a four-in-hand of Welsh Cobs.
This team depicted here are Kladruby horses. The Kladruby, a handsome coach horse similar to the Lipizzan, originated in the Czech Republic 1579. It was derived from the Spanish Horse and the Old Neopolitan Horse from Italy. There is also other breeds like the Holstein, Andalusian, and Oldenburg horses, mixed in. This breed was produced as a heavy and beautiful carriage horse, and I enjoyed watching them trot down the road, or even standing under a shade three at lunch.
I also enjoyed working with transparent watercolors mixed with opaque casein and then throwing in some pen and ink..........I am sure I will do some more of this!!

Out And About? Not!

Earlier this spring, while snow was on the ground………I vowed that I would paint outside more often this spring and summer………..I did some quick sketches this spring of surrounding landscapes, houses and Belfast’s seaside atmosphere and lovely Victorian architecture. This watercolor is of a wonderful building in Belfast that has fascinated me since we moved into this area over five years ago. You can’t miss it as you drive into Belfast on Main Street…it is in your face. A lovely building!

When I lived in Italy, I painted and sketched often in the streets and piazzas of Rome. I had the works sold on the spot, as passer-bys watched me work and asked to purchase the works as I completed them.

Today I find I can’t work for long outside……….and even though I planned on working more outside, I prefer the studio and it’s bug free environment. Guess I am a sissy in my old age!!

Looking Down A Road

At the age of 17 I was living in Italy and going to The Rome Academy Of Fine Art. I walked down this street each day on my way to painting and drawing classes. I am sure the street has changed since I walked it...but now as I painted it from my loft in Maine, it seemed as if I was there, a student again in Rome. The little VW sitting in the sun with the other two cars, made an interesting counterpoint to the narrow ancient street. They all made a statement to me.... and so I painted.

This is "Roma, Italia".

I Miss Italy

I don't know why I feel such a nostalgia for Rome, Italy lately. I spent my teen years there , painting, growing up and wishing I was somewhere else. I still have friends there whom I have somewhat kept in touch with over the years. I so want to go back and revisit it all. This longing has prompted me to start a casein painting of a street in Rome that I remember as if it was yesterday.
The sun shines here, with March winds howling around the studio. Outside the snow is melting. The brook is free of its winter cloak of ice, free to gurgle and skip through the woods, past the barn and past the horses. It is spring here in Maine, but how I long for the warmth of Italian sunshine and an espresso, sipped at a cafe by the Spanish Steps.
So I paint... and maybe I can feel as if I am there...........

I will post the work when it is done..........until then I can dream. can't I?

The Silhouette

In the past centuries silhouettes were usually portraits made of the profile of the subject and cut out of black paper mounted on white paper. Simple, and flat looking. My fascination with silhouette began in Italy, where I was studying at the Academy of Fine Art in Rome. There I was turned onto the amazing papercut works of an artist named Ugo Mochi. [1889-1977] A master at achieving the illusion of movement and drama from a simple papercut, his works were done with the skill of a sculptor.

This challenge to envision an entire picture in black and white and then to achieve depth and perception and a sense of movement all cut from one piece of paper, intrigues me and I am drawn to this challenge.

The above papercut is an example of my silhouette work. Black and white, yin and yang, design and abstract pattern at its most simple.