Winter Continues And I Paint

"Ground Driving"  casein on canvas  6 x 6"  SOLD

 Each weekend of late has presented us with another major snow fall. Last weekend was no exception.But Monday morning dawn sun-filled and a brilliant white landscape delighted the eye!! I am so grateful for the sunny days where spirits are raised and snow is shoveled......preparing us for the next event!

While it snowed, I retired to my studio and I took our my casein paints and did 2 smaller works depicting scenes  from my life."Ground Driving"  has sold and been shipped to it's new home already. The second is being varnished , then it is ready to go.

"Between Drives At Acadia"  casein on canvas    10 x 8"

I love the gentle giants who pull the carriages over the carriages road at Acadia National Park.If you have been following my blog fora while you probably know that driving horses and Acadia have been a big part of my life. We are so looking forward to actually getting up to Acadia with our own new pair of  horses this spring. We are SO ready for spring!!


But until then....Nell is trudging through the snow that newly fell on our deck....wondering where a JRT can lay and bask up the sun while it is out...where?... with all this snow covering our world today!!

Nell wants sun....spring!  ©2013 www.kathipeters.com

 

Snow And Cold Covered The Land

"A Shadow Of Himself"  Oil on gessoboard   10 x 8"

 The weather has been cold...bone chilling cold.....and the last few days the horses have only gone out for a few hours each day. When the winds blow so cold and strong, they appreciate being in their stalls out of the wind that even permeates their coats of winter ........but we are so hoping that tomorrow will be warmer....so they can stay out. 

I have managed a bit of studio time,but have to admit that my forays to the studio are fragmented by the care of the horses and sweet Nell. I have moved things around a bit inside my studio sanctuary, and started getting paperwork ready for the yearly chore of taxes....and rethinking my filing system [or lack of]. One small oil painting, "A Shadow Of Himself",  has been finished and I have been capturing lovely winter shots of the horses and the farm with my new camera....but cabin fever is starting to set in! Yearning for a bit of  warm sunlight here and balmy summer breezes.

Even Nellie searches for something exciting and fun to do after days of winter"s confinement. Look out squirrels!!

Nell  is on the scent.......

New Year And New Goals

Cold Winter Winds Are Blowing

The holidays have come and gone. We enjoyed a wonderful Christmas with our family and friends. Now life is starting to get back to the daily routine of barn chores and snow shoveling.
Nell is asking for walks and paintings are asking to be painted. I enjoy the warm quietness of our small woodland cottage on winter days when the winds howl outside, the snow cloaks our farm and the tea kettle sings of the comfort and  sweet life.

Our new Morgan ginger boys, Devon and Danny, have settled into our barn and daily routine as if they have always been a part of our life.Our geriatric horses, Duster and Victoria have accepted them into the herd.....and Les and I are so looking forward to spring, and the chance to actually get back into the fun of carriage driving.

So far this new year....I have cleaned up my studio, shipped out work to Chisholm Gallery in Wellington,Florida, situated in the new Equestrian Mall; finished commissions for clients who needed for Christmas and shipped out paintings sold .New paintings have been done... The new year looks to be busy with the need for new works for  invitational art exhibits, gallery shows and commissions that are already coming in. I will try to get as much done now, while winter rages outside....for I will be busy this summer carriage driving again. I have promised that for myself......a respite of sorts. I so want my life back...parts that went missing after my stroke disrupted my life [our life] over 6 years ago. I am ready to get back to my life with our horses. Acadia here we come!!

"Color On A Gray Winter's Day"   Casein   12 x 12"

So the story continues....the Cob Cottage Farm saga....the Cob Cottage Studio blog.....!!

Our brook sleeps under winter's blanket

Not Really April Fool's

From our bedroom window.

Last week we were enjoying spring...the singing of the birds, the brook running free of it's mantle of ice and snow, bulbs peeking through the warming ground. And then this morning, April Fools Day 2011, we awoke to almost a foot of snow, covering our farm, hanging heavy on the trees and power lines. This is not nice ,Mother Nature!!

The Hawthorn tree and the sauna by the brook.

The view from our deck, or any window in the house for that matter, gifts us with a wonderful winter scene....but this is spring. It says so on the calendar.  I am ready for sun and warmth and yes, even black flies.......!!!!     

"The sun will come out ....tomorrow......!!!! Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow there WILL be sun!!!"

But today we shovel.  I am headed to the studio until spring really arrives.

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!!

In A Crabapple Tree

Outside our cottage, standing almost as tall as our house, is a crab apple tree that pleases us all year long... with spring blossoms, summer shade and fall crab apples. In the winter it also pleases the birds who flock to our feeders and the boughs of this tree with its rotten fruit that sustains them through the cold long winters in Maine. Today our resident Ruffed Grouse flew up into the branches to feed his fill of the fruit...and the buds, on the tree. My husband has named him 'Buddy". Buddy has taken to following Les around our property and has also taken up housekeeping on the edge of our lawn amongst the woods and brush. Today Buddy lit on a branch above me and I had my camera in hand...and finally he posed as I snapped away. It so brings to mind the song "A Partridge In A Pear Tree"!! I find it so amusing that this bird has adopted Les, so to speak...! Les and his 'Buddy"!!

After last night's blanket of snow, the dogs were so happy to get out and play, wrestle and run. I had the privilege of shoveling while they played.
But I did get some time to actually get into the paint and have almost finished a casein I am working on of two Blue Tick pups. Back to painting now before it is time to walk the dogs again and then batten down the hatches for the next snow storm predicted for tomorrow! Gotta love Maine winters! Actually...I think I really do love them!

And How Long Til Spring?

Lil' Nell isn't so sure that winter in Maine is the way life should be!!?? Even if you are decked out in a stylish frock.........Now Addie, our Corgi, LOVES snow!!!

It is so interesting watching the two personalities and how they cope with life. Terrier versus Corgi.

Now back to the drawing board.

Have to work to make $$$$ so the little girl can have warm winter sweaters!!!