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Its satisfying to see a body of work framed and ready to go after months and months of working in the studio. I couldn’t help but take a few pictures (below.) La Quinta is in the desert of Southern California, near Palm Springs and is a show that I have never participated in because it falls in the middle of the school year. With our daughter away at college, this is the first time we could take advantage of this well regarded event, which the Art Fair Sourcebook rated at #2 in the country in 2011. I’m excited to visit southern California, to be in this show and to get out of dodge for a while! It may be a working trip but for me I know it will feel like a vacation. Here is a link to my featured page at the La Quinta Art Festival website. The show runs from March 8-11 and all of the information you need can be found here. If you are in Southern California, check it out and come on by and see me in Booth #609. Its a beautiful show!
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TaDah!
Let’s just say, I’m a Sensitive Cancerian and its been an interesting few months, few years. The beauty of living the life of an artist is that to be in pain is to be alive and deeply felt emotion begets art. The images that I find myself compelled to paint, tell an inner story. The patterns I’ve been attracted to are an attempt to create order, the use of color is a direct reflection of mood. I continue to be drawn to dwellings and architecture as a symbol of humanity or at times an anthropomorphic entity. I just posted more original work so have a look in the New Pastels Section on the right. I’m emerging from my studio to prepare to go on the road for the LaQuinta Arts Festival, a new venue for me. I’m excited about a trip to the desert! More on that in a few days.
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Time flies…. October started with a two week road trip from one end of the California Coast to the other. This is one of the first trips where we didn’t have to take care of kids or dogs at home. Empty nesters are we. We had a great time in LaJolla and placed more than a few original works with local collectors. I have a true affinity for my San Diego patrons and have made some wonderful friends there. Also met some new artists, and in one instance an artist I should have known 10 years ago but apparently we’re both usually so busy working in our booths we don’t come up for air. This time we were right in front of each other and scratched our heads as if to say “where the heck have you been.” Dorothee Naumburg makes beautiful gold and stone jewelry the old school way. She’s a true goldsmith and her work is beautiful and special. And she’s almost as funny as I am so we became quick friends.
Then it was five days of decompressing at my wonderful sister Kitty and brother in law Jim’s house at the beach. As creative as some of you think I am as an artist, my dear sister is as accomplished and talented in the kitchen. Check out this work of art she spun out one morning – made it look as easy as making toast. She is seriously masterful and cooks all day like I paint. Of course we didn’t want to take her away
My Sister Kitty’s Apple Joulis
from her normal activities and we were treated to such brilliant offerings as pork roast wrapped in pancetta with a roasted butternut squash and arugula salad and a version of potatoes anna with bay leaf that knocked our socks off. Daily walks to the beach were invigorating and life affirming. But there is nothing like laughing with my sister. She is an epic treasure.
One of the highlights of our stay was getting a historic walking tour of Coronado led by my brother in law Jim’s mother Lois. Lois is a tireless worker in local groups and has been leading tours for years. Included in the tour was a map of Navy Aviator homes with corresponding signs distinguishing them. Most were from World War II though there are some more contemporary aviators who had lived on or still do live on Coronado island. My husband, a World War II history buff was particularly thrilled to see where Admiral William Halsey had once lived.
Lois On our Walking Tour
This trip was capped off with an evening of early bird over indulgence, pedestrian style. We all went out with our twenty somethings niece, her fiance, my nephew, on what I guess was a type of “bar crawl.” As fun as it was, I managed to make it back to the beach house by 9:30, with a headache. That’s how I fly these days!
Me and Kitty
Onward up the coast to Solana Beach to drop off some paintings at Susan Street Fine Art’s new digs. A lovely, light filled space in an enclave of creative businesses. Susan and I worked together in decades past and reacquainted last year on a project for UCSD Thornton Hospital. Wish I had installation shots of that!
A stop off for lunch with my dad in Orange County. He’s going strong at 94 and it was a precious visit. xo
Breezed through L.A. and then it was onto my old friend, author Claudia Hoag McGarry’s house in Santa Barbara. This was such a treat. Claudia and I got our first apartment together at age 18 and have known each other for 40 years. She’s the same. Smart, funny, cute and married to the sweetest man. Paul McGarry. They live at the beach – apparently everyone on this trip does! They both are college teachers and there house is filled with papers being graded in overstuffed furniture in a cozy vaulted living room that looks out on a So Cal version of a Eucalyptus forest. We took a short walk through the reserve and found ourselves looking over the ocean at this last peek of the sunset.
This visit was years in the making and now we can’t wait to do it again. Claudia’s second novel was recently released. Her first one, “My Scorpio Soul” really put her on the map and is a great thriller of a read, along with witty and relatable references for any boomer. Her second, “My Aries Secrets” continues the series – this one I still have to read! The next morning our timeline was shortened and we had to be in San Luis Obispo that evening. Missed seeing my sister and her family at her incredible spanish bungalow in Santa Barbara after going by two times!!! We promise to return soon. My sister Sue’s creative gift is in renovating interiors. Can’t wait to see what she has been up to inside this gem. I want to do a painting of that house! And by the way, Santa Barbara rocks.
Who wouldn’t love this?
Paul and Claudia McGarry
On to Avila Beach near San Luis Obispo and I feel like I have entered a Disneylandesque (due to its newness and shininess) beach town. I found out later that Avila Beach had been subject to some sort of oil spill under the town and was subject to a massive cleanup and reengineering of the entire town. It rose from the ashes so to speak and is now a thriving little beach town. I can say after staying one night (midweek Autumn rates were quite low) this is a nice town to take a family and the resort is perfect for same. With vineyards nearby and the absolute beautiful beaches, its really quite nice and lovely to see businesses doing well.
The next morning we met with Maridel Salisbury at Salisbury Vineyards. Maridel has been an art dealer like her sister, Susan Street, for decades. The vineyard has a tasting room and gallery in a renovated schoolhouse in Avila Valley. They did a phenomenal job restoring the building and keeping the integrity of the space intact. I was elated to start working with Maridel and to leave her with one of my paintings, “Fall Rain” to formally introduce the central coast to my work.
From there we meandered home, the empty nesters. This is something I am still getting used to. I’m loving it but after two months of not seeing my daughter I missed her terribly. She came home last weekend and I got my kid fix. And she used all the gas in the car, left a big mess and went back to school. I love her so.
Back to the studio………I’ve got some paintings in me that are just waiting to get out! Stay tuned….
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I just wrapped up my annual open studio as part of Humboldt County’s North Coast Open Studios. I have a home based business so I’m opening my home as well as my studio. This is the 8th year I have participated in the event and by now, my husband, daughter and I have our system down to a well oiled machine. My daughter is graduating from high school in a few weeks and Saturday was senior prom so I didn’t expect to have her around to help – she has a job now and a lot of freedom to come and go so when I saw that she was up and preparing the food for the guests it warmed my heart. Taking prom pictures at 5;00 while wrapping up paintings that had sold was not easy….I had to pull in one of my neighbors who was visiting to help with my daughter’s date’s boutonniere (thank you Sue!) All in all the weekend was a success and we had a steady stream of visitors and placed a surprising amount of paintings with the locals, most of which were new collectors of my work. THANK YOU HUMBOLDT COUNTY!
I thought it might be of interest to post some images from my Open Studio Tour to give you an idea of how I do it. I showcase the framed originals in my great room and down our main hallway that leads directly to the studio which is located in two sections of our finished five car garage – a major selling point when we bought our home nearly 10 years ago. I have a separate “clean room” that is a finished one car garage with a skylight and has a door to the painting room. The clean room is used for storage, packing and shipping and will soon be divided for use as an oil painting studio as well. There is direct access to a half bath for cleanup. The pastel studio is just the right size to keep the dust contained. There is a nice big window and enough wall space for me to mount my surfaces to the acoustic panels to work on. I prefer working standing up – I always have. I think I am more the exception than the rule when it comes to how I work with pastels. I usually see the easel approach utilized. I work large sometimes and like to work on more than one piece at a time and working on the wall makes that possible. For Open Studios I showcased finished pieces on the studio walls -unframed and sold work with a discount for framing at Eureka Art and Frame – my favorite framer on the north coast. Enjoy the studio tour. Additional photos can be seen on my Facebook page which can be accessed through the tab on the right. I’m taking today to recuperate after working the last two weeks without a day off. Would love your comments.
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