Goodbye 2016

The idea I keep embracing that pushes me out of bed every day, is art gets us through the very worst of times. 

I've put my lovely pale yellows, pinks and blues aside for awhile and I can't stop with the deep blue. 

The cello of deep blues. 

Indigo, Cobalt, Cerulean, Linen, French, Lattier, Phthalo, Provence, Royal, St. Remy, Ultramarine and Turquoise Deep. 

Maybe I'm in mourning. 

I keep craving the lakes in Maine I visited as a child, Pemaquid, Biscay and Damariscotta.

I'll give it some time. I have a few more of these I'm working on.

The serene and innocent Pantone picks for 2016 

don't seem relevant anymore.

Pantone is putting its money on a very hopeful green for 2017.

Those picks from Pantone always seem awkward at first, 

then they find their way into our hearts,
attitudes, clothing and dishes.
So I'm going give PMS 15-0343 a chance. 

And of course, green is next to blue on the color wheel.

Sometimes all it takes is a new tool

I've been trying out some new silicone brushes. They look like thick, fancy spatulas. They've helped me discover some new blending and scraping methods. A few new oil paintings from this weekend. Poppy seed oil on panel.
Here's a link to where you can buy these very cool new brushes.

They come in a wide range of sizes and shapes

The Paper Hat book is here.

Yup really truly in my hands as I write this. Paul and I are are so happy with the results. It is beautiful. You can get a sneak peak by going to Craftside Blog and download one of my hat design patterns for free. Goodreads has a contest for the month that you can enter to win one of my books for free.

The rose hat made from coffee filters is one of our favorites.
Thanks Zoe for being our wonderful model!

Little Sammy our ferocious viking

South Coast Artist Studio Tour is coming up!

I'm prepping for South Coast Artist Studio Tour which takes place two weekends for me this year. Stop by July 19+ 20 or August 16+17 for some color therapy. What has been interesting for me is the feedback from people with a gallery visit and the tour visit is very different. I think people feel less intimidated and ready to share their reactions to my work when it's in my back yard. It might be the hay on the floor, plywood on the walls, or maybe it's the wine, but I love visiting with you. Come by.

I love this poppy seed oil paint so much, occasionally I cry little color tears.

You can wear white with any of these lovelies at Beehive Handmade

My pals over at Beehive Handmade have a new line of jewelry that I crave to wear daily. Beautifully handcrafted pieces inspired by a little Downton Abbey with some mid century thrown in. They are offering a sale this weekend to help get you spiffed up for the season. Shop till you drop here. Type in longweekend and get a 15% mark down. I may just have to own that heart with the "Hell Yes" inscribed on it.

Photos by Paul model is my Hilly.

600 lbs. of fun design

Paul shot these and
unfortunately I ate most of them.

One of my favorite projects in the last few months was creating the new logo and packaging design for a great company, 600lb Gorilla Cookies. Frozen balls of pure love. Real cream, real butter, real chocolate chips make these easy to pull off as home made. They sell them at Walmart, Stop and Shop, BJ's and are so worth picking up. My grandson's first greeting to me when he walks in my front door is "Got cookies?" You can make friends with the gorilla in the apron here.

Granny apron on this big ol' gorilla makes me smile.

This is the first hand lettering I'd done 

for a client in a long time.

 I got a lot of encouragement from my friends 

Arley and Morgan at Ladyfingers Letterpress.

My book is available on Amazon!

Yes! You can now order my Paper Hat book on Amazon by going here. The book delivery is September 1 but you'll get a price break if you order early.
20 designs to make from mostly recycled materials, the level of complication ranges from beginner to more advanced. 
Over 60 illustrations and photos, this book was a year in the making and will be a fun afternoon or weekend art project with your favorite little one.

Pink Air

It's happening. 
The air is starting to change.  
Fresh paint this week 
of how it seems to me.

A bit from Mary Oliver-

It was what I was born

for-

to look and listen,

to lose myself

inside this soft world-

to instruct myself

over and over

in joy.

A quite moment please, in honor of Agnes Martin's B day

"My interest is in experience that is wordless and silent, and in the fact that this experience can be expressed for me in artwork which is also wordless and silent"

Agnes Martin would have been one hundred today. A Canadian by birth, she spent time in NY and settled in New Mexico. She lived a quiet life, supported local school projects in Taos where she lived, and she painted. I love these two portraits of her, seated in similar chairs. When I look at her later work, the delicate palette, perfectly proportioned and balanced grids, I hear 3-4 people, sometimes just 1 or 2, each humming there own long lovely note note. She liked to sip martinis, too. My kind of lady.

A Great Book for Beginner and Seasoned Artists

My friend, Deborah Forman really knows how to teach artists. Years ago, she was my daughter's art teacher and helped get Brin ready to apply to art school. I was on the search committee to find a teacher for the Westport high school and when Deborah came in and showed a few lesson plans it was hard not to jump out of our chairs and scream YES! She's recently written a book called Paint Lab which is a collection of 52 exercises based on practicing artists work, materials and techniques. The lessons are short and manageable for a quick change of approach but have depth enough to carry you far in another direction if you're so inclined. It's a great book for new or experienced artists and the book includes exercises based on the work of Paul Klee, Helen Frankenthaler, Gerhard Richter, Frida Kahlo, Tom Sgouros, Neal T Walsh and I'm honored to say, Alyn Carlson. It's published by the same folks that are publishing my hat book, Quarry Press and my fabulous editor, Mary Ann Hall edited it. Check it out on Amazon, here.

Quarry also publishes a series of these books for children.

Each exercise takes up only one spread.

Deb used my Landscape No. 23 as her back cover art.

My Walk Tonight

I have a crush on Westport.

Sometimes I just want to hug the place.

Nice to draw on the beach tonight

It's wonderful to use my whole body to draw.
East Beach in Westport line drawings tonight.

Huge Breathe Coming Through The Heart

I finally got back into the painting studio this past week after a few weeks dedicated to the sale of my work. It felt so good, like a gorgeous blue sigh. This is what I painted. I do love you blue. Each and every one of you blues. 

My friend Claudia came up with a brilliant description for this one-
"like a huge breathe coming through the heart"

Nice Wired Magazine Article about Alex's Latest

Alex Chen, my son-law, has made another thing of beauty to delight the eyes and ears. He's created an animated visual representation of the Beach Boy's You Still Believe In Me. Alex transcribed the harmonies note for note, and then wrote the code to render as it played. He got the idea from church bells. Just like the size of a bell corresponds to the pitch of the note it produces, Alex took circles to represent each note in the song. Cool thing is, the Beach Boy's song was inspired by a church choir. You can read the write up here at Wired and experience Alex's art here. I could watch and listen to this one for a whole afternoon.

Letting You in on a Little Secret

This past weekend, my open studio with South Coast Artists Tour was a wonderful experience. So many old and new friends stopped by. I sold 25 paintings and connected with many artists I greatly respect. One of my favorite moments was when a young woman bought two pieces and with a grin announced they were her first art acquisition. It was nice moments like that, that made it all worthwhile. 

Letting you in on a secret, sometimes I miss the applause and the audience presence from when I was performing in the theater. It's not why we make art but affirmation is a nice back rub after all the heavy lifting. This felt like the visual artist's version of it. I feel more connected to the folks who enjoy my art and this will be a annual event for me. Thanks for all the support!

With Paul's help the barn was transformed into a cozy gallery.
Photo by Paul Clancy

Photo by Paul Clancy

Photo by Paul Clancy

Open for Biz

Everything is almost hung in my wee barn for the South Coast Open Studio Tour happening this weekend, July 20-21. Take the beautiful drive, come by and meet my paintings, and support some local artists. I'll have a fun art making station for kids. You can stand by my fan and sip a cold drink while you make up your mind on an art acquisition. Southcoast Artists Open Studio Tour info here. 

What Makes Me Paint Today

I find that observing rather than recording what I see works much better for me when I paint. What's on my daily observation list today? I get lost in the water in the shower, rain coming off the roof, puddling in the driveway, little gems on the spider web and the river a walk away, as it goes back and forth to the ocean. Here's some work that's come out of past observations. Some of this will be available as prints at my sale on July 20-21.