A Dream Vacation?

I have started a Facebook page and have been meeting tons of new friends from all over the world. Artists work in an isolated environment and so while suffering a bit from cabin fever this late winter, I got “poked” into starting Twitter and Face book.
The reason I mention this is because one new friends is from England, and she has told me about a vacation idea where one could rent a horse and wagon…a gypsy cob and Vanner wagon. What a great idea that would be. And Les could do the driving and I would just sit and enjoy the scenery!!! At a nice slow pace. A step back in time! How lovely that would be!

The lovely Gypsy Vanner’s and Cobs are so neat. I can appreciate their strength and classic confirmation. We own Cobs and I never tire looking at them. Or painting them. I did the above watercolor of this Gypsy Vanner, and threw in some tempera to do the details of the wagon. You can see a larger image of this on my website.So while I work in my studio today my imagination takes flight and I am discovering the English countryside and listening to Sting!

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.