Cob Cottage On A Hot Day

Yesterday was hot, muggy and very much a July day. The air was stagnant in the studio. even with the fans running. Poor Mittens had to stretch herself out on the cooler wooden floor in be comfortable, while I worked. It is very hard to be a furry cat on hot summer days.

Addie, our resident Corgi, took her guard post on the arm of the couch [with her chewy bone close at hand] from where she could see the cottage door and all who entered ...and catch the breeze from the living-room fan. It's a hard job, but one that she nevertheless takes on as hers.



Little Nell, our homeland terrier-ist, rested herself in the big chair where there is ample room for her to stretch our her long legs and catch a breeze on her netherland's on such a muggy July day. I was stuck working upstairs in my loft studio, where the heat and mugginess collected ...and so went my day.

Today dawned sunny, but the mugginess is gone and we are all enjoying the weather that is what Maine is all about. I am working in my studio..... and some of us are still napping around the house.

The Sunbathers

The wind howls around the house, but the pups are cozy basking in the sun. Nell keeps lookout for turkeys in the yard. Addie snoozes.... Life is good.
I saw this scene and have to capture it. My good friend and fellow artist Karen Pettengill just did a painting of her Koda dog sleeping in the sun....and our scene here so reminded me of her painting!
Check out her work!

I am waiting on the farrier now, the horses' feet need trimming...another sign of spring. I don't want to get into a painting and then have to stop when he arrives..so I am posting this for my blog event of the day!

What I Do When The Snow Falls

And I have been doing a lot of it lately.. CREATE!!... as we get hit with yet another round of snow and wind and cold!! The only hope that keeps me sane is the fact that winter is almost over and under all the snow sleeps my perennial gardens...and I will be digging in dirt and transplanting soon!! [After all this snow melts!]

The above "work-in-progress painting is a 18 x 18" on canvas that was started in casein and I am into it now with pastels. It is coming along 'smashing-ly' and I can't get enough of it! The hunt reference shot was provided by a fellow EAG-er ...I just loved the way the tails of the hounds fill the air and wag throughout the composition. I have changed things a bit for my purpose..but still the tails wag!

My dogs were just walked and love the new snow....all I see of Nellie, the JRT, is her butt most of the time. She is hunting varmints under the white blanket.....Addie, our PWC , is busy rolling around in the snow.....to each their own!

Little Nell

This is the little girl who has stolen our hearts here at Cob Cottage and is filling our days with fun and frolic! Even our Addie has taken to this pup and is mothering her...teaching her how to tend to business and how to herd the cat.

So I am posting this to show everyone what I am 'doing" these days! I am painting when Nell and Addie sleep...so needless to say..I am not getting much painting done...but this a wonderful vacation from the same old...same old...........

But I am getting commissions done and have started a new casein..........

opps...got to rescue the cat!!!.......................

Sitting Pretty

After spending yet more time with no computer.........yes, my PC crashed again!! I am back on line on my NEW computer! And I am also getting commission work done and original work up on the easel ready to go. This is always a busy time of year for me, both for my artwork and for the chores that need to be done around the farm before the winter sets in. Today the temperature outside is still hovering above the normal. Thunder storms have rumbled through Morrill, but I shan't complain. The cold and snow will come quick enough!
This small casein portrait painting pictured above is of a very pampered canine that was done for his person in New York. What a life, heh? I have more canine works in the making. I keep working while "my" canine companion, Sweet Adeline, a Welsh Corgi, strikes a similar pose in our living room as she sleeps in my easy chair. I work and she sleeps. Who said dogs have a hard life?????