Fertile Ground

Today from 4:30 to 6:00 pm is the opening reception for the Norman Williams Public Library's Community Gallery exhibit, "Fertile Ground".

My painting of irises was accepted into the show.  I hope you can stop by  this afternoon for the opening!

Ansel Adams and Me...

After looking at some great Ansel Adams photographs on our southwestern adventure, I played around with a couple of photos of old wood in the desert...

 

...the bright blue sky below looked great in black and white...

...and that dead wood below took on new writhing meaning in black and white...

 It amazes me what my little iphone camera can do....

This and that...

Here's a little watercolor of tour Easter lily which is now down to two blossoms.  But in it's glory it was so beautiful...

I added some colored pencil to it and now think that was probably a mistake--the purple would have been better if it were watercolored.

On another note, yesterday I attended an all day "Artful Meditation" workshop at Artistree.  It was really great and here are two of my playful creations...

...my collaged box with the "hidden me" on the inside and the "public me" on the outside...

...and my "Island of Ball Trees", a whimsical variation on a project I used to do with my second graders.  It helped me capture the sense of playfulness we all have in childhood!

Painting Studio 33 in Woodstock Village...

Kate and I spent a recent morning in Woodstock Village, painting the studio (with a little help from a friend).  We're getting ready for Vermont Open Studios on Memorial Day weekend....

...our hard working friend...

...me on the hall wall...

...and Kate doing some touch up....

The color we used was Benjamin Moore "Glacial Till".  It makes the wall look sort of "suedesque".  There may be some more touching up after it is completely dry.  With new signage and improved studio design, it is going to look pretty spiffy!

MUD(season) at Artistree

I submitted my three pieces to the MUD(season) show at Artistree this afternoon.  Adrian was very accommodating even though I was two days LATE--thank you, Adrian.  :o)
Last weekend, not thinking of this show, I was at IKEA in New Haven, CT, looking at their frames and was motivated to (maybe) buy one or two or three and fill them with some of my--larger--Daily Artist 2016 pieces.   Mostly, everything I've done this year is square and I'm loving this constriction--it makes me look at life in a different way.  Here are the three pieces I put in the MUD(season) exhibit at Artistree this year....

"Frozen Puddles"

"Woodpile"

"Oak Leaf"

Please come by for the Opening Reception, April 1st, 5:30 to 7:30.  Hope to see you there!

Icy Puddle and...

There are such beautiful sights while I walk, even during mud season.  Like this puddle next to the sidewalk.  Some of the ice has frozen and broken, some of it remains solid and the colors are both soft and sharp...

"Icy Puddle"

photograph

The pattern of ice on the grass of the golf course creates simple abstract paintings...

"Winter Golf Course"

photograph

And the broken fence next to Middle Bridge speaks volumes to me about age, tenacity and the beauty of the worn...

"Broken Fence"

photograph

In the Studio...

Daily Artist 2016 is moving along.  March is my chosen month to complete a finished piece of work every day.  Tuesday's was a small mixed media piece based on a photograph taken on River Street...

"Stone Wall in the Snow"

watercolor, pencil and marker

I went for a very cold--14 degree--walk in the village and was struck by the shadow patterns in Middle Bridge....

"Middle Bridge"

photograph

And ice is more evident than snow since this winter has been almost snowless.  Its patterns around stones are interesting...

"Frozen Pebbles"

watercolor, colored pencil and marker

Since I am in the studio a lot these days, I stopped at the library and picked up three books on cd to listen to while I'm working.