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.