This is the sixth and last painting in my Cape Cod series. As I wrote before, I painted the first painting last year which was sold. All the others were painted this Fall. I could probably keep going with this, but I think I am ready to paint other ideas. Maybe I will come back to it. Maybe not. I change my mind often, so who knows what will happen. I've learned not to promise anything because that way the ideas flow more freely.
I can't believe Thursday is Thanksgiving. We will be traveling back to Kansas to visit our family and friends. I am really looking forward to it.
Happy Thanksgiving to you all who live here in USA!
Another work in my Cape Cod series. I will have one more to share and then on to something else. I have many ideas bouncing around in my mind right now. With the approaching Season and the beauty of Colorado, it's not hard to find inspiration. As the weather cools my walks grow more peaceful and thoughts deepen. Cozy nights listening to classical music or watching a good movie add to my growing list of ideas.
Bedroom With Harbor View oil on cradled board 9 x 12 inch
This is the third painting in my Cape Cod inspired series and there are three others in progress. Colorado is gorgeous right now, so I am a bit distracted by the outdoors.
The week before last, I got to spend some time in New Mexico. I had a wonderful time looking at some really beautiful art in Santa Fe. I also had the pleasure of meeting an artist who's work I have admired for several years now...Gigi Mills. Meeting her and seeing her art in person for the first time was absolutely delightful! Her art is so soulful to me. I just love it. She is best known as a painter, but her sculptures are very special too - take a look at the link to see some of her work at GF Contemporary.
I also got to see my dear friend in Las Cruces, Julie Ford Oliver. Julie and I first met through our blogs, then met in person in 2014 shortly after my mother's passing. Julie has a heart of gold and reached out by inviting me to her home so that I could attend a workshop she was teaching at her studio. It was medicine for my hurting heart. Then the following year she came to teach at the gallery I was in at the time Tessera Fine Art Gallery in Wichita, Kansas. Julie's art is extremely beautiful, always sells out, and her skill as a painter is very evident when you look at her work.
New England Clam Chowder oil on canvas 18 x 24 inch
Last year in the month of August my husand and I took a wonderful trip to Cape Cod. It was a getaway trip so that we could recharge ourselves and discuss what is now our reality...living in Colorado. I felt so inspired everywhere we went on the Cape...the beach...the pier walks...the walks in town...and of course the sand dunes. It is truly a wonderful place of rest and peace. I felt especially connected to it because my parents lived there in the first year of their marriage in 1954 and I remember stories of Old Cape Cod told over and over by my mother. She loved it there. The entire trip I found myself imagining my young parents just starting their lives together...my mother a Kansas girl who had never been away from home really, and my father a handsome young man in the Air Force. What a time it must have been for them. And then there we were, Vic and I, middled aged, empty nest, talking about beginning our own new adventure.
I took a multitude of photographs while there and started a painting last year with the intention of painting a series inspired by our time on the Cape. I did finish the painting below last October, just before packing for our move. I do not paint beach scenes often, so it was a challenge to paint the ocean. The sunsets were a sight on the Cape...so pastel and a soft light you could almost touch.
What They Do At Nauset oil on canvas 16 x 20 inch sold
If you are not on Instagram or Facebook I posted a short studio clip video of New England Clam Chowder in the making that you can watch below.
I am continuing to work on this series of Cape Cod-inspired stories and it feels so good to be settled and focused again.
And here's a little video in honor of my parents and especially my late mother who loved this song so much.
Hello Everyone! How have you been this summer? It has been a very active one for me, packed full of art, exploring Colorado - my new home state, and spending time with friends and family. We had 22 visitors total this summer! We have a running joke about being able to put "Bed and Breakfast Owner" on our resume. Ha ha! But seriously, it was a blessing to spend time with special people. We talked, we walked, we ate, we laughed...all the good stuff!
I did these two commission paintings for a friend this summer. They are to be gifts for two of his aunts. The boy in the painting is his father in childhood. They were so fun to do, and a challenge to get a likeness between the two paintings.
Brown Sofa
oil on panel 4 x 6 inch
sold
I have been working a on a series of interior paintings, all of them are 4 x 6 inch. I love the challenge of working small. These are available in my Etsy shop. Link isHERE.
Nina's Sleep Space
oil on panel 4 x 6 inch
sold
Library for Two
oil on panel 4 x 6 inch
Room in Yellow
oil on panel 4 x 6 inch
Room With Doll
oil on panel 4 x 6 inch
Starry Night Bedroom
oil on panel 4 x 6inch
Bedroom With Blue Flowers
oil on panel 4 x 6 inch
Kitchen With Orange Tile
oil on panel 4 x 6 inch
I think Starry Night Bedroom is my favorite of these. I started to paint some small houses the other day, but I am missing painting people, so I started them again yesterday.
my studio
My studio space has been well broken into now. :)
Besides painting and enjoying all the visits we have had, I have been taking some time to put together our new living space. I found this broken wing angel at an antique store for only $5. She HAD to come home with me and we can see her from our kitchen table out on the deck. I love seeing her out there.
And there has been plenty of hiking too! Colorado is all about the outdoors which is truly wonderful. I can't lie...it has been a BIG adjustment to move to a new state at the age of 50 after being in Kansas most our lives, but for now this feels like a gift we should take advantage of for as long as we are here. Until next time...
Sister Was Responsible
mixed media on canvas 16 x 20 inch
It felt great to work on this over the last two weeks and finally finish it. Boy was it a pain to photograph for some reason. This photo was actually take with my cell phone! Would you believe it came out more true to the colors than my fancy camera. Go figure. But here it is!
This was painted from a vintage photo of a very serious looking little girl and her what I assume to be younger brother. It got me thinking about the people I know who often had to look after their younger siblings when they were growing up. I was the youngest of six, so I have no idea what that is like. They say your birth order has A LOT to do with the personality you develop and I believe this is true. Don't you? Which reminds me of the book The Birth Order. Have you heard of it? I have never read it, but it has always interested me. If I can ever find the time I plan to read it.
Speaking of finding time, I am spending most of my time these days getting to know this new-to-us state. This is a photo of our neighborhood...a HUGE change from the gentle Kansas landscape and the old tree-lined neighborhood we lived in. This is Castle Rock and it is very open and more desert-like.
See that spiky plant? Desert. But beautiful for sure. I think this is a Yucca plant. Correct me if I am wrong.
I walk this area regularly because I love how quiet it is and it's near our house. My dog Hurley loves it too. And yes...that's a New York hat. I will probably always favor the east coast since I was born there. :)
I will show you more of Colorado soon! I am going out regularly to photograph this beautiful and lively place we now call home. I would like to get this rusty old blog up and running again if I can find the time and make the effort. Wish me luck!
