My sketchbook is available for online viewing

I received an email from The Sketchbook Project that my sketchbook has been digitized and is now available for viewing online in their Digital Library. How fun is that? There are thousands of amazing sketchbooks available for viewing now. Get inspired to sign up for the next Sketchbook Project!

The farmer's market is open for business

Flowers from the Farmer's Market

7" by 5"

Oil with a palette knife on canvas

There is a wonderful farmer's market in downtown Boston that is open every Tuesday and Friday during the summer and fall. I love to stroll down there at lunch time and see all of the beautiful vegetables, fruits, herbs, and especially the colorful flowers.

This painting above was done several years ago, but I'm recycling it here because it reminds me of summer and the farmer's market. Here are a few shots I took last summer that may inspire future paintings:

Catalog fun

This was just a fun Photoshop experiment. I took images of two of my paintings with their frames and wanted to see how they would look in different rooms and settings. So I found some interior shots from online catalogs and practiced my Photoshop skills by placing my images within them. Magic!

Majestic Pine

12" x 12"

Oil with a palette knife on canvas
$300 framed

Shady Maple

12" x 12"

Oil with a palette knife on canvas
$300 framed

Trees in the family room.

Trees in the living room.

Trees in the bedroom.

And if you haven't yet seen this blog called Catalog Living, you have to check out the adventures of Gary and Elaine as they tell their story through catalog photos. It's hysterical.

Catman has found a home

One of my collectors just purchased "Catman" and sent me this photo of him in his new home. Isn't it fun to see paintings in their environment? He looks pretty happy to be there overseeing all the goings on in the living room.

Sheep's clothing

Here's 2 Ewe

8" by 8"

Oil with a palette knife on cradled panel
NFS

I needed a lighthearted subject to paint during class last night and the cute face of the sheep in this photo was just inviting me to paint it. The textures of the hay, barn, and the sheep's fleece were great fun to paint with the palette knife and this worked up rather quickly for me. You can't really see it in this image, but I used a combination of many colors on my palette to create the deep dark interior of the barn to give it interest and depth.

Don't they look like fun company for lunch?

A few chunky delicious close ups....

A smart place to eat lunch

Maproom Cafe, BPL

20" by 20"

Oil with a palette knife on panel
$500 framed

I love to go to the Boston Public Library at lunch time, especially when the weather is nice and you can enjoy a sandwich out in the beautiful courtyard. This lunchspot indoors, The Maproom, is a wonderful alternative should the weather outside not be so nice. I love the feel of this room with it's beautiful tile ceiling and large windows. This painting is large for me and I painted it while we were working at the Art Gallery at Patriot Place last weekend. You can see an update on our weekend by checking out that blog.

Looking out on Lafayette

Concrete Jungle

8" x 8"

Oil with a palette knife on panel
SOLD

Another painting from my visit to NYC. This is a view out onto Lafayette Street from my friend's place on Great Jones in the lower east side. I just love painting these windows, the color of the window reflections changed from orange to blue as you moved up the building. I can't help but sing that Alicia Keys song when I think of New York. "...concrete jungle where dreams are made of, there's nothing you can't do... when you're in New York..."

New Exhibit Space

You just never know when show opportunities arise. Our painting group, The Neponset Valley Artists, just organized and hung a show at the South Shore Dermatology Practice office in North Easton, MA. Isn't it great to see an appreciation for hanging original art in such a venue? And isn't looking at art better than reading the latest about William and Kate in People Magazine? This show will be up for 4 months before they switch it out for a new exhibit.

That reminds me... I probably need to make an appointment.

Judging an art show

This past weekend I was asked if I would be a judge for the 2011 Taunton Art Association's Spring Art Show. Of course I said yes and what a great experience it was. There was a wide selection of art in each category: oil, acrylic, watercolor, pastel, drawing, photography, and mixed media.
They have a wonderful building to exhibit their work and the committee was so organized and supportive while me and the other two judges, Christina Beecher, and Jack Gannon discussed, debated, and deliberated. Picking only a few winners proved extremely challenging, but we worked well together to come to an agreement on the final prize winners.

Congratulations to all the artists on a wonderful show.

A masterpiece in frosting

Last Friday night was the reception for the Just Desserts show at Gallery 9 in Norwood. In addition to submitting a painting, artists were encouraged to bring a dessert that was inspired by their submission. I had always wanted to try my hand at "painting" a masterpiece on a cake with frosting. A logical transition for a palette knife painter, don't you think? Well, here it is...

My first Ann Gogh:

Here is a close up after the first few bites were enjoyed:
Which masterpiece do you think would look good frosted on a cake?

Happy Mother's Day

Mother and Child, after Cassatt

7" x 5"

Oil with a palette knife on canvas
SOLD

Who is that masked kitty?

Catman

6" x 6"

Oil with a palette knife on cradled board
SOLD

I think that black and white cats often look like they are wearing a mask. Their bright eyes pearing out of the darkness. Just like Batman.

Opening weekend at our new gallery!

Within just two weeks, a group of 6 artists have met, organized, and set up a brand new art gallery at Patriot Place and we opened our doors this weekend! The Artist's Studio and Gallery at Patriot Place will have live painting, local art on display, and activities that partner with the area restaurants such as art openings. This is an amazing opportunity for us as well as the Foxboro Art Association. We will be featuring 3 new local artists each weekend to keep things fresh and interesting. I've included some photos below of our fast paced set up.

The gallery front.

Gillette Stadium, where the New England Patriots play, is our backdrop!

Polo and I contemplating our arrangement of paintings.

Our final display is shown below with our names showcased on the wall above our art!

Live painting with Polo.

At Friday night's reception.

What an exciting new venture. I will keep you posted as things develop.

Hello Kitty

Hello Kitty
6" x 6"
Oil with a palette knife on panel
$100 unframed

I once wrote on Facebook that if I wasn't so allergic, I'm pretty sure I'd be one of those cat ladies. I've always loved cats and it's so not fair that they make me sneeze and wheeze so much. I think that painting all these cat faces has been a good substitute for me. And I don't need the inhaler.

And the winner is...

Sweety Pie!

The final tally was:

3 for Say Cheesecake

13 for Sweety Pie

2 for Tiramisu For You

Thanks everyone for voting. That was fun.

Vote for your favorite

Can you help me decide?

I am planning on entering a painting into a show at Gallery 9 called Just Desserts at the end of this month. I can only enter one painting so I need your help deciding which one to enter of the 3 choices below. What better way than to create a poll? So please cast your vote in the poll at the top of the side bar to the right by 10 pm on Wed, April 27.

1. Say Cheesecake

2. Sweety Pie

3. Tiramisu For You

Oh and the gallery is offering an interesting incentive to a lucky juried prize winner. They will have an oversized image of your painting made into a store sign (see below) to display outside of the gallery. Pretty cool huh?

Thanks everyone. Vote early and often.I hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend.

Fur Person

Fur Person
6" x 6"
Oil with a palette knife on panel
SOLD

When I was a teenager and obsessed with cats, my mother gave me a book for my birthday called The Fur Person by May Sarton. I still have the book and this cat reminds me of the cat shown on the cover. It is a wonderful story told through the eyes of a cat about life with humans. I don't remember all the details about the book except that I LOVED it at the time. I should probably go back and read it again to see what my teenage brain was so obsessed with.

Pick me up

Tiramisu For You

8" x 6"

Oil with a palette knife on canvas
SOLD

I was searching for the meaning of the word Tiramisu in Italian. I liked "pick me up" the best because that's what this little dessert will do for you. Light and spongy and chocolaty goodness all in one. I tried several colors for the bottom of this painting but they all seemed to be competing with the beauty of the dark chocolate so I settled on a subtle color. I also obliterated the shadow for the same reason. Now it kind of looks like its sitting on a shiny surface. Which I don't really mind too much.

Breaking 100

Threesome

6" x 12" x .75"
Oil with a palette knife on cradled panel
$200 framed

This is not a new painting but I thought it appropriate for this post since I officially broke 100 for my number of followers. I feel so honored to have that many people (who aren't related to me) interested in my art. Thank you everyone!

I do play golf occasionally and I was trying to score below 100 for 18 holes for a long time. Now, I have been lucky enough to have done that several times. Breaking 90 is the new target I have not reached. Perhaps this year will be the one? This painting shows my mother at the left, who was a very good golfer. She had no trouble breaking 100 or even breaking 90.

I hope everyone has a lucky, breaking 100 (or whatever your goal) is day!

Sweety Pie

Sweety Pie

6" x 8"

Oil with a palette knife on canvas
SOLD

The whipped cream edging on this was especially fun to paint with the palette knife as well as that aluminum foil pie pan edging.

Now, don't you just want to grab that spoon and dig right in?