Your Custom Text Here
Happy New Year - somewhat belatedly but it I am hoping it’s still ok to be celebrating since this year is The Year of the Dragon and who does not love a good dragon? We painted dragons in class and online and there were some fabulous dragons. I always love a good dragon, they are so helpful when it comes to lighting the candles on the a birthday cake or for persuading people to observe personal space and socially distance. Here are just a few fantastic specimens.
Sketching the coastline, a heavenly viewpoint in Napfio
Read moreConsiderating Nature.
Read moreIn October of 2023 I will be partnering with Thalassa Journeys to lead a sketching and journaling class to Greece. 10 days in the most amazing surroundings. It should be the experience of a life time. If you are interested, please do not hesitate to reach out for more information.
In addition to having about 40 paintings, large and small, in the Images show I also had giclees made of some of the images. If you are interested in a giclee you can order one from Images - at www.imagescenter.com or contact me here. Below are some of the prints to choose from.
Prints range from $80 to $600 depending on size and the quality is amazing. The Owl Butterfly, for example, looks wonderful at its full size of 22 x 30”.
How can this be? Where has the year gone to? For the past 6 months or so I have been working on a show for Images of Old Greenwich. The opening was last week, November 18th, and it was a wonderful event in spite of the freezing weather.
The show will be up until the end of December so if you are local, do please go and see it. If you are not local, the artwork can all be seen on the Images website - www.imagescenter.com
My guide to map making is published in the April issue of Leisure Painter. So fun making this map and remembering afternoons and outings to the Downs, the City Museum and the zoo. Bristol was a great city to grow up in. The article lays out an accessible step by step process. Making a personal map is always a lovely adventure.
Diana Vreeland features on the front of an Italian blog about Fashion and style. Marta Rubertelli uses this illustration for a piece on Fashion week in Milan. So fun to see..
Additional image used by Marta Rubertelli in her article on Style and fashion.
Long dark days and few daylight hours mean taking a class or two. I have found it’s the best way to get through January and February. Take a class that really interests and challenges you. So, with this in mind I signed up for a MATS (Make Art That Sells) course taught by the amazing Lila Rogers and the wonderful Tamisha Antony. The class, Redrawing Black History, consisted of 4 weekly introductions to different Black artists and the assignment was to create a portrait of each of them. In the interest of challenging myself, I decided to do the portraits digitally, instead of in paint or fabric, as I would normally do. It was fascinating and I learned so much. I decided to use the same color palette for all 4 portraits to try and give class an internal harmony. I can’t say that January raced by but I can say I am almost looking forward to next year……. Seen here: Elizabeth Catlett, Edmonia Lewid, Gwendolyn Brooks and Betye Saar.
So fun to enter the pattern challenge, PatternMood21, hosted by August Wren, Snippets of Whimsey, loriseibert.studio and michelleallenart and such a thrill to win a win a prize for my “Seasonal and Conversational” pattern which depicts squirrels sharing a pot of tea. ( Squirrels in party hats, I hasten to add.) I love creating patterns, especially based around fauna and flora or the South West. Below is a selection of some of the patterns I designed for this competition.
So pleased that my Walk in the Woods is getting a second life as Greenwich Tree Conservancy has chosen to use it for their annual appeal. Trees are definitely good friends.
Read moreThis woodland scene, based on the Greenwich Botanical Garden, just won first place in the “Walk in the Woods “ category at the Greenwich Tree Conservancy award ceremony today. During the Winter and early Spring I walked there almost every day and being there helped get me through the early months of this very strange and unusual year. I felt so fortunate to be able to walk somewhere safe and quiet and green. I could feel my blood pressure drop as I took my first steps onto the path into the woods.
Art to the Avenue is a month long event in Greenwich, CT. Stores on or near Greenwich Avenue display the work of local artists. Normally there is a wonderful opening day with concerts and bands, balloons and bubbly, when the stores host receptions for their artists and art lovers, shoppers and the curious wander from store to store, thinking about new Spring/Summer looks. This year will be very different even tho we are starting to emerge from the pandemic. No celebrations and no parties. But I am still very happy to be showing at Athleta, 350 Greenwich Avenue. With a motto like “The Power of She” my Iconic women feel very comfortable and very at home. Here are just a few of the mini portraits I have done for this project. They make a wonderful inspiration board. With many thanks to Claudia and all at Athleta for hosting me so generously.
Long after the fresh flowers fade, the painted ones remain. Anemones and Pansies on Twin rocker paper. Paintings and fabric bird can be found in my Etsy store - except that the Pansies just sold. What a nice surprise
A few weeks ago my son and daughter in law got a puppy. A Corgi named Napster. Napster is so full of life and energy. Painting him is such fun, especially when it is a cold, drab February Day. Acrylic on wood panel, 8 x 8”
A couple of weeks ago I learnt about the amazing textile collages of Ayako Miyawaki. These extraordinary collages were begun during the darkest days of World War 2. Using rags and scraps Miyawaki created a beautiful visual language documenting primarily food, fish and vegetables. Miyawaki survived the war and continued to sew. I came across her work when exploring a website devoted to this year’s “Outsider Art” fair. Since I love Vegetables and had already embarked on a personal project of sewing with my own textiles it seemed like extraordinary serendipity. Below a detail of red peppers, inspired b Miyawaki
When the going gets tough, the tough get sewing. Too many hours at home during Lockdown and even after some of the restrictions were lifted. At home, in the studio. I decided to make a conscious effort to really only use what I already had so this meant going back to the Japanese textiles I had collected during my 8 years off and on in Japan. I used to spend my weekends at the flea markets and “ rag sales” hunting for blue and white and old kimono and obi. And then I moved and moved and moved again and somehow the fabric stash stayed in its tea chest until March of this year. I began with the small birds but then slowly moved on, inspired by Sue Stone and her great slow stitching class “ Stitch your Story”. Sewing has become a delight and a mediation during the long winter evenings. I think about the excitement of getting up before everyone else and visiting a flea market. I hope those days come again but until they do I think I am well supplied. Below: 2 images recalling those days.
Post card design for Versailles Farm. A beautiful local farm in backcountry Greenwich. Amazing fresh produce and the loveliest people imaginable. So happy to be able to do their “We are Open” announcement this year.
Sewing fabric birds using vintage Japanese textiles. Song Bird pattern by Ann Wood.
