What's Goin' On?

House on Route 52, 2010, Oil on Panel, 18"x18"

OK, well, spring break is over (finally!) the kids are back in school and my days are my own again. And despite this last two week blip of constant interruptions here, I do feel like I am pretty much back on track. Doing a public to do list and charting my progress helped so I will be keeping that little trick in mind in case I go off the rails again. Um, train metaphors, anyone?????

Anyway, for awhile there it was feeling like I had NOTHING going on, which was kind of messing with my productivity. However, in the last few days I have been adding things up and it looks like things are picking up. Can't give a lot details yet on some things but this is what I have going on:

This week I am finishing up a portrait that I did about a year ago and never really resolved. I am planning to enter it in a regional competition at our local arts organization and the deadline is Saturday. Not really worried about NOT getting in, although it is certainly possible that I won't, but I just want to make sure and enter something since I missed the deadline for the last two years. I have decided to enter a portrait, a LARGE portrait (40x30) for purely egotistical reasons;in the past the paintings that I have entered have been small and rather quiet and this year I want a flashy entry for once. Heh.

Today I am packing up four paintings from the 'People You Know' series that I did in Vermont, and am shipping them off to one of my galleries. This gallery does very well with my landscapes and it will be interesting to see how these go over. They will be at The Harrison Gallery if anyone out there is in the area (Williamstown MA) and would like to see these paintings in person. Way better in real life if I do say so myself.....

I am just finishing up a bunch of paintings to send to Chrysalis Gallery in the Hamptons soon. The two that I sent last year have NOT sold but the owner said she is not giving up on me yet and will be giving me a good space on the wall this season for a whole grouping of paintings, which is really the best way to present my work. They seems to make more sense when seen in a grouping. She also prefers my more abstract color field type landscapes which are not really included in my current burn out on landscapes.

I have been invited to have a solo show at The Main Street Gallery in Groton, NY in September. This was the first gallery to give me a solo show back in 2005 just a few years after I had started painting again and it will great to be there again. I will be showing small scale landscapes in the back area and portraits in the main room, so YAYY! Pretty excited about that!

And I just heard yesterday that the proposal for an exhibition that an artist that I met at the Vermont Studio Center applied for has been accepted. I'll be learning more details in the next few days and will post about it soon. I will say however, that I am very, VERY excited about this because it involves me being able to show work from the Black Painting series that I worked on in Vermont.

Black painting #99, 2010, 9"x6" Oil on Panel
Sales have improved somewhat, two large paintings have sold in the last month or so; very happy they found their "people" and of course the surprise income is good too. This also makes me feel a bit more confident that not everything I paint will just be sitting around, gathering dust in my studio.

Also, I have a possible commission for a very large scale painting. Not confirmed yet, and I may be jinxing the whole thing by even mentioning it, but hey, I feel like living dangerously today, heh.

So there you go. Another step back to my previously busy self and it feels really good!

Monday, Monday

Aunt Bettie Looks Just Like Margaret Thatcher, 2009, Oil on Birch Panel, 16x20

Wow, I have been a bit neglectful concerning this blog. Not intentionally but the last part of last week got pretty hectic with a variety of different things and I just didn't have the time or energy to come up with anything for you folks here. Will try again this week to get back on a more regular blog writing schedule. Not only for all you lovely readers but also for me, I tend to feel a bit out of sorts if I don't post regularly too.

I have also actually been pretty busy in the studio. Soon you will be seeing landscapes here again, I have several that are nearly done and will start posting them as soon as they are photographed. It was actually quite nice to slide back into the landscape work. I hadn't done any (with the exception of the very small pieces for my sales blog) in over six months and so really wasn't sure what would happen. But it's all good so far; only one for the sand down pile in this batch, not bad odds really.

The above painting is the most recent portrait in the People You Know series. It was looking a bit blah until out of desperation I added a transparent green glaze and then: zowie! Pulled it all together and gave it some zip to boot. I still have two larger portraits to add color to and hope to get to them this week.

Might be tough though, as it turns out that this week is winter break (I learned that fact last Thursday-obviously there was a glitch in my Master Calender procedures) and so the kids are all home, all day, every day. They have however, agreed to sit quietly and watch tv for at least part of each day so that I can get some work done anyway. We'll see how THAT goes. Heh.

Last Minute, As Always

Colorful Trees, 2008, Oil on Gessobord, 6x6

Posting is going to be a bit challenging for me in the next few days. And probably a bit challenging for you readers as well, particularly if you are waiting to hear some art talk. Not much going on in my studio, well except my beloved project table will be getting some use as we all take turns wrapping our gifts tomorrow.

I am clinging to the desperate hope that I will in fact break with a 15 year tradition and actually begin wrapping gifts BEFORE 11pm on Christmas Eve. I tried to get to it all day TODAY, a whole day and a half in advance which seems ridiculously early, I know. But I kept getting distracted by things like shoveling a path in three feet of snow in order to get water to the chickens (theirs freezes at night), making cookie dough, starting a really hard puzzle with my daughter (we got the edges put together, then managed to get exactly two more pieces in the whole rest of the day), doing a bit of last minute shopping in town, and then making homemade pizza for dinner.

Now I am writing this post, and thinking that I COULD wrap all of the gifts tonight, if I stand up and start RIGHT NOW. On the other hand I am also noticing that my chair is pretty damn comfortable and it sure is nice to be sitting down.

Crap. I have a feeling that tomorrow night is gonna be a late one.

Just Like Old Times

Horizon Lines (Ten), 2008, Oil on Panel, 4x6

Well, the last few days have been much more like old times. I now have 21 very small underpaintings on deck, waiting to be painted. I am in the process of gessoing paper, as well as another batch of small birch panels. I also spent yesterday morning painting the edges of the walls in the new living room/old studio. Plus I have had to attend a few school meetings and the elementary school open house, not to mention all the usual driving around-picking kids up from their various after school sports. Good times.

I have also spent much LESS time at the computer which feels really good. And I am cautiously excited about getting back to work and about whatever direction that may take.

So have a good weekend, all. I have to go to a football game game and two soccer games on Saturday, finish painting the living room and also finish cleaning out all my old studio crap, go to the local cider mill apple harvest with the kids, work in the vegetable gardens and stack two cords of wood in the garage (the boys will do most of that).

Oh yeah and finish up my tax info for 2007! Yes, we are expert procrastinators around here....

Baby Steps

Horizon Lines (Four), 2008, Oil on Panel, 4x4

By sheer force of will, I managed to get myself going again and get back to doing some creative and productive things this weekend. It wasn't easy and I am still not my usual self, but I am getting there.

I guess this sounds as if I were sick or had some horrible event however, that is not the case. I seem to be the kind of person who truly gets more done when I am overwhelmed with things that MUST be done. Show deadlines help me organize everything else and since I haven't had any of those I have been aimless. And it's not like I haven't had things to do. I have been so busy painting in the last few years that I let some things slide, like cleaning closets, drawers, the garage, the basement. Not to mention that I have done a terrible job keeping up with paperwork and record keeping, and even correspondence. In August I was given the gift of time to do these things and I just couldn't accept that gift.

But I have decided to try and give myself a break. I have had an incredible year, filled with so much activity and a few events that I will need time to adjust to. I had a great show at the beginning of the year, while on the verge of burnout, I went to a month long residency which I loved but also rocked me a bit. I moved my entire studio into the attic (not to mention that I first painted the walls during 90 degree early summer days) and even though I have prepared for one small show in it, the new studio hasn't really been tested yet and a breaking in period is probably still necessary. We did major physical work in the vegetable garden. My daughter became ill. Sales have slowed down and I am really feeling the urge to take my work in new directions which is somewhat frightening even if it is a good time to do so. So many things converging at once, but having nothing that HAD to be done was such a relief, I suppose.

Mostly importantly though, I haven't painted for well over a month, closer to two actually, and Doug thinks THAT is what is making me feel all crazy about all of this. He might be right.

So tomorrow, my goal is to be painting within a half hour of when my kids get on their bus. I do really need to get back to it.

Wish me luck.

More With the Garden

I know that I always say this but this time it's really true. I have been so busy. Not just my regular plain old busy, but crazy, mind-numbingly busy. The last four days have gone by in a whirlwind and thinking back, I am not even sure that they really even happened.

I won't bore you with the details, but I will say that it involved much kid stuff, new studio organization, painting (walls AND landscapes), gardening and true torture: paperwork. Ack!!

Today got off to an even more hectic start. After not having near enough sleep I woke up at 5:30AM and decided that I really had to get out to the garden and finish putting down the weed barriers. We had literally forced our kids to pull out weeds on Sunday (O, the horror on their faces! It was GREAT!) and I realized that I better get everything covered before the next batch showed up. So I spent four hours covering the sides of the beds with newspaper and then laying down the weed barrier. I also carried 9000 armfuls of rotting grass clippings (didn't feel like dealing with the wheelbarrow) and covered the beds to deter more weed growth. For awhile anyway.

I spent the rest of the day driving back and forth to town, taking the kids to various appointments then when I got back home I realized I still had to rinse off the lettuce that I had picked this morning. Two garbage bags full. Good grief. Why did I plant so much? I am one step away from opening up a roadside vegetable stand.

Tomorrow should be a bit more relaxed. I will put up some new pictures of my studio. It's looking good!

Here are a few shots of the garden today. Strawberry bed and sugar peas in the first photo. We are about a week away from eating more peas than anyone could ever want.

The potatoes are in the foreground. They look crazy and I am a little afraid of them. I am not even kidding here, they have grown at least two feet in the last week. Four beds of tomatoes are behind them. Again, what was I thinking planting so many?!

Here is a good image of the paths. The next step is to fill them with wood mulch. Hopefully we will get that done THIS summer.


And now I am off to stare blankly at the TV until I fall into a blissful sleep.

Summer Solstice Party Preparations

Yellow Dream, 2008, Oil on Panel, 9x9

I am completely exhausted this evening and I expect I will be even more so tomorrow. We are having a pretty good sized party (20 guests) tomorrow night which has been great motivation to get our house and yard cleaned up. Doug spent the day weed whacking and mowing the lawn (in between the rain showers) and I had to go out and spend like a million dollars on food and other important things for a party like citronella candles and fashionable vinyl tablecloths. Oh wait, there is no such thing as fashionable vinyl tablecloths. The best ones I could find have big images of fruit all over them.

Anyway, tomorrow I will be finishing up getting the house in order and cooking. It is a potluck but in true mom form, I am worried about not having enough food and so I suspect that I will cooking way too much.

But I just can't resist making my specialties:

roast vegetable lasagna
chicken salad
pesto pine nut potato salad
green salad (with lettuce from our garden)
strawberry shortcake with homemade whipped cream
apple cake

Oh and I have all this great cheese from a local farm that raises goats and they make the best goat cheeses ever.

I do plan to try to take a nap tomorrow afternoon though, so that I will be able to speak coherently with all of our lovely friends.

And did I mention the soccer games in the morning? Good grief, this is the season that will never end.

A Little Break

Land Fall, 2008, Oil on Panel, 12x24

I have been a bit neglectful lately concerning this blog. Mostly because I have been really, really busy the last few days, but also because I was feeling a bit out of sorts before that. For about two or three weeks I sat around doing as little as I could possibly get away with and was sliding down into a pretty decent funk. This coincided with a closing gallery, fewer sales, our house being upended during a bit of remodeling and Doug being out of town for quite awhile. None of those things have really changed, however last Thursday I saw my acupuncturist and told him how lethargic I had been and he treated me accordingly. That night I poured out my problems to Doug and told him how overwhelmed I was with everything and how I have had to give up so many things in order to keep painting. Waaaaaa....

It felt good to let it all out, to be reassured and taken seriously and when I woke up on Friday morning, I was nearly brimming with energy. The difference this time was that I had energy all day, not just until mid afternoon (if that) like before, and the best part is that I still have it. You cannot believe what I have accomplished in the last six days.

And now that I am tackling the mountain of neglected chores, new ones keep getting added to the pile. Painting the new studio, gardening - both flowers and vegetables as well as a lead on a new gallery, which naturally requires work to be shipped out ASAP.

So forgive me, all you lovely readers, while I take at least the rest of the week off from posting, so I can continue to make some headway. One of the things that really slows down my days is my morning time at the computer, something I thoroughly enjoy yet is also an energy sucking activity that really messes up the rest of the day for me. I am feeling like I need to stay busy, get things in order and then figure out a better daily schedule, one that I can still enjoy and that will allow me to be more productive and energetic.

I do have plenty of new work though, so I will post a few new images here and there. Y'all will just have to get by without my pithy remarks for awhile, but feel free to leave comments anyway since I am sure not giving up on obsessively checking my emails! No sense in totally cutting myself off from the world. Heh.

I See Dead People

Heavenly, 2008, Oil on Panel, 8x10

Just a quick hello today. I am booked for the rest of the day with meetings, errands, picking up the kids, dropping them off etc. In between those things I have to fit in a quick visit to an opening reception here at the local arts organization where I have a few paintings in a show. I agreed to participate because the title "There is More Under the Water Than Fish" was pretty intriguing and I immediately thought that I could connect this subject with the figures I have been playing around with. Cause, you know, I immediately thought of dead people underwater. Heh. So in the last few weeks I have done four pieces for this show. They were fun but I can't say I am entirely happy with them, because I didn't quite get them to where I had hoped. However, Doug assured me that I would not embarrass myself by displaying them in public. How is that for a ringing endorsement? Well, I did enjoy doing them anyway.

Oh and these particular paintings were difficult to photograph so I feel that I must say yet again that they look so much better in person.

I've Dropped My Purse, 2008, Oil on Panel, 8x10

Here, There, Everywhere

Leaning Telephone Pole, 2008, Oil on Panel, 12x16

I have been trying to get a post up for the last few days but there has been so much going on that I have hardly had a minute to sit down at my desk. Well, except for the 2 hours I spent Tuesday evening researching ducks.

(A friend of mine is planning to order some ducks and when you get them through the mail you have to get a certain number so they are warm enough and since she doesn't want so many we may split the order. Um, because I actually need more to do each day. So I am trying to figure out how and where to house them which is a pesky issue, mostly because of our killer dog, Penny.)

Anyway, on Tuesday I drove to Saratoga Springs to deliver my work to Gallery 100. I had a very nice visit with Deb (the owner) and Nancy (the director) and on the drive there I was able to take some nice photos to use as reference, since the light was amazing. Oh and I have to say that I am now even more in love with my new car-the middle row of seats folds down (unlike in my old car) and it was a breeze loading it up with paintings. I hardly had to even stack anything.

Since I hadn't been able to get any painting done on Monday or Tuesday, I got right into the studio yesterday morning. I am working on a commission, which has taken me forever to get to and now finally I am at the color stage. I worked all morning, then had to go to an appointment, and then went right back into the studio when I got back home. The kids got home, took my son to his scout meeting, took the girls out to eat, picked up my son and went home, just in time to fold laundry while watching one of my favorite shows, Criminal Minds.

Today is more of the same, studio, midday appointment, studio again. And probably more laundry too.

The Hectic Life

The Very Last Minute of Winter, 2008, Oil on Panel, 20x24

Ok, the last few days have been incredibly busy. The girls had sleepovers (elsewhere, which is the only reason that I am even remotely sane today) and although it was quiet at home that evening, there was much driving around Friday, then Saturday morning. A show opening at the local art organization (more on that in another post), a Children's Book Author Festival on Saturday and the end of the season swim team party on Sunday (which I had to cook a main dish for) completed our social calendar for the weekend. Woo-hoo. And in between all of that, I am finishing up 13 pieces for Gallery 100 and despite having the most beautiful spring weather on Sunday, I had to stay inside and paint cradles. Ugh. I actually stood at the front windows for awhile yesterday afternoon, yearning for the time to go help Doug and the boys clean out the hen house. Well, not really. But I was itching to get outside and begin raking out my flower gardens. Maybe on Wednesday after delivery is complete-tomorrow I am driving to Saratoga to drop off my work.

The images that I will be putting up for the next few weeks are from the batch of paintings for Gallery 100-ones that I have been struggling with after getting back from the residency. Today's image was painted on a day last week when there was still a bit of snow on the ground and flurries in the air, so the title seemed appropriate, especially after I decided to go with a snowy looking lavender for the field.

Busy Bee

Orange on the Left, 2008, Oil on Panel, 16x16

In a moment of complete and utter optimism in myself as well as the passage of time, I agreed to participate in a group show. Gallery 100 in Saratoga Springs wants six paintings for a show and would also like a few new ones for their inventory. Um, by April 7, the 8th at the latest. When I agreed to this LAST THURSDAY, I had about four or five pieces on hand and several more in progress. The gallery director also said that maybe one or two large scale pieces would be great, especially since the large ones have been selling well for me lately. Great. At that time, I had exactly zero finished large scale paintings on hand. Luckily though, I did have three prepared large panels and three hours before I had to pick up the kids. So I got down to business and managed to do an underpainting on each panel. (I had to start them that day so that they would be ready to glaze after we got back from our weekend in the city.)

Monday I worked on the ones that were in progress and yesterday I began the color glazes on the large scale pieces. Two of them are really working, but I am not so sure about the third one. I am going to bail on it for now, in order to focus on the ones that are working at this point. I have to finish up the big ones, plus four or five medium sized pieces by tomorrow at the latest so that I can paint the cradles, photograph them, and do the paperwork before delivering them on Monday. So even though things are hectic, this was exactly what I needed to back on track. The pressure of doing a lot of painting, fast, really helps my work.

There are benefits to not having time to think.

Letters From Home

Hi
Had a nice long day!
Was up at 6:00 Dropped J. at the school for his camping trip. I
should tell you I got to feeling guilty about his 20 degree bag. They
forecast the teens. So last night after dropping J. at the dance
and G. at a sleep over, S., K. and I went to Walmart and
got him a zero degree bag, and some new wiper blades for me. So today
he was all ready! Then I took S. to the swim meet. She had a good
meet. I should tell you about her music challenge from Friday. Well
S. is now the "First Chair" in clarinet. I guess she blew out K. then
D... She is feeling very good about it all. She spent every night
this week practicing. Anyway she swam well had fun. Everyone I saw at
the meet was wondering how you were doing. I told them you were
loving it and working on some new stuff. I spoke to B (friend) about
Sheep. He described the 10 lambs he got last summer (lots of chops).
He kept telling me how easy they were then he would talk about the
sheering, the vet, the butcher in Hartwick. lambing, fences, Coyotes,
keeping the water from freezing, burdock, finding hay.... Then it
was off to pick up G. who spent the night at E. (friend's) house.
While we were at the meet she and her friend went to the Winterfest. I
caught up with her at the pie eating contest (she didn't enter). Then
we picked up K. at the Great American because Judy had a 2:00pm
appointment with a masseuse on Railroad Ave. We then went in to the
Great American and got some groceries. Then to the video store where
I let everyone pick a movie. Sophie got Forest Gump, Kurtis got
Resident Evil Part III, G. wanted some movie that was out so it
was off to the Fly Creek General Store (didn't want to hear her cry)
to try and find her movie. Well by some stroke of luck they had it.
Then the ride home. It was snowing like mad! We got home to find two
cords of firewood dumped on the drive. So K. and I loaded it into
the garage and stacked it. Then I remembered I had not said my hello
the chickens yet. So it was out to see the chickens. 13 eggs! Then
back in the house in time to catch up with Javier (employee at the showroom in NYC) who is suffering
from food poisoning and didn't open the store today. Well I am OK
with that. then it was time to make dinner.... That reminds me, I
haven't gotten the mail yet.

So how do you do this? Anyway I am going to watch my movie Eastern
Promises and pass out!

Doug

PS: How are you?

And from my 12 year old son:

No, i have not been cooking, yes the dance was fun, and yes i improved my grades (even though intelligence should not be measured by how you do academically)

Just a Song Before I Go...

Deep Shadow, 2008, Oil on Panel, 24x36

Well, finally, after months of anticipation it's here. I am leaving for the Vermont Studio Center tomorrow morning, hopefully by 8am, but it will probably be more like 9am.

The last week has passed in a blur of activity, packing, organizing, kid's activities, appointments and painting. I just finished up four large scale paintings that Doug will deliver to The Harrison Gallery next week. My show there went very well, not sure what the final sales count is yet, but they want new work for their inventory, so I guess that's a good sign!

Doug and I sat down and went over the kid's schedule and I gave him all of my best tips in handling it. He says he is going to "try some different things". I give his plan a week, before it all falls apart and he has to revert back to mine. Anyway, the kids all know that he will always be late picking them up, and I have given them instructions on how to make the next month easier on Daddy. Heh. Poor guy. I'd feel sorry for him, except for the fact that all through our marriage he has always traveled A LOT and left me alone for days and weeks with the kids. When my youngest was a baby (at that time we had three kids under the age of five) he went to China for almost three weeks. Anyway, it's taken awhile but I am now exacting my revenge......

My supplies are pretty much packed up and I will finish that up today, in addition to packing my personal things. At first I was worried that I was bringing too much stuff, but after getting it all together it doesn't seem terribly excessive. I have one medium plastic bin with supplies, another that holds my paints and brushes, my drawing tackle box, plus a stack of drawing pads and primed paper and canvas. I decided to take about a dozen panels, 18x24 and smaller and then one large one for fun. I think I will do a lot of work on the primed paper and canvas, especially at the beginning. All of this will easily fit in my car, which has just been serviced and which I will also be praying makes it there and back without incident. It's a ten year old Mazda MPV and ever since we paid off the loan, it's been randomly breaking down.

I still have some things to do around the house today, most notably 57 loads of laundry and later on I have to go and get my hair done. 'Cause, you know, the hair has to look good at an artist's retreat. Heh.

I don't think I will be posting here every day, but I will try to post at least a few times per week. I want to keep track of what I am doing too and keeping the blog going will be a great way to do that. If I get wifi in my room or studio, I may post more often. So check in on me once in awhile, ok?

And please feel free to email and say hi! I am not sure if I will feel lonely there and missing my family, or if I will be the socialite of the year. Either way it will be nice to hear from friends, family and lurkers. My computer is still messed up (getting it fixed is on Doug's list of things to do while I am gone:)) and I don't have my address book on the laptop, so if you don't email me, I can't email you.

So here I go!

The Importance of Cheese

I have been rather frantically busy the last few days. In between extended hours in the studio, I have also had paperwork to do, all of the usual kid and house stuff because Doug was in the city on Wednesday and Thursday, prepping panels, and last night there was a memorable trip to the vet with a bleeding dog who got a chunk of her ear bit off while outside protecting us from intruders. AND I am still obsessed with making cheese.

This morning I waxed two cheese rounds that I made in the last few weeks. The unwaxed wedge of cheese on the plate is what's left of the very first successful (the first few tries were a disaster!) batch that I made. The cheese is supposed to age for at least 2 months for better flavor, but I had this smaller round and we were dying of curiosity so we tried it after only a week. It was really good! Anyway, I wanted to let the others age longer so they get waxed. One is cheddar and one is caraway cheddar. The cheddar round is a bit funky, I had trouble getting enough weight to press it and so it isn't as firm and solid as it should be. Then my neighbor loaned me her cheese press (yes, two people on the same road who happen to be making cheese, what are the odds of that?), and so that one, on the right, turned out much better. Today I have another batch in progress, this time with cumin.

I have also made several batches of goat cheese from milk bought at the health food store. It is incredibly easy to make and the flavor is much better than store bought especially if you press fresh herbs into it.

I know, I know, super fascinating pioneer life of a painter. I just feel that I should try to balance out all of the manufactured stuff we have with a few things that I can make myself. Making things, whether it's a painting or a sweater or cheese gives me a feeling of purpose and accomplishment.