Hello from Eagle River

Having a great time up North. I am torn between working hard to finish my two paintings for my upcoming show and playing with my family. I'm doing a bit of both.  Yesterday, we went to Diane's Frame shop in Rhinelander, one of my favorite shops. She cut several mats for the newer watercolors. There is always a huge selection of precut mats at reasonable prices. I like going to her shop whenever I come up to see what's new.

We have swam everyday, enjoyed meals together and played some games at night. I am enjoying our time together. It's been seven years since we have all been up here at the same time. My son asked me why I'm not tired of seeing the bald eagles since they are so abundant here. I don't think I'll ever grow tired of watching them fish. The baby loons are something to watch too as they dive underwater then pop up to the surface with their bills full.  No, I don't think you can come to a place like this and not love watching the wildlife. We haven't seen a bear or a Pileated Woodpecker but there's still time.

So it's back to painting for this morning. I wish I painted faster but I just don't. Acceptance is the key. There's an art show in Three Lakes... to go or not to go...

Living Life at the Speed of Summer

 The Speed of Summer

What a busy summer! What's next? Today a wedding reception for my nephew Paul and his lovely wife Heather. The next two days; move my daughter out of the apartment she lived in while at college and bring her home. Then Wisconsin followed by my first gallery show on August 22nd. I'm excited about the show but I am realizing that I have a lot of work to do before it opens including finishing a painting.
So that's my excuse for the poor blog schedule. No excuses... I did miss you though.

My garden is at its peak! I have taken many new photos for lots of new paintings .

For the first time that I can remember I am longing for the cooler days when life slows down a bit and there is more time for painting. Am I nuts! Don't I remember last winter?  I just want to paint more. I will be starting another 30 in 30 on September 1st. I can't wait! Why don't you join along? There are over 350 artists from all over the world signed up already.  Join Leslie Saeta and the rest of us at http://30paintingsin30days.weebly.com/ .

I started a new painting this week. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to paint all day while Mark and Matt were at the Oshkosh air show.   

I had my trusty buddy, Cooper at my side.

I went inside when I heard the thunder. Really? Rain so hard when the sun is out? It was beautiful though, and I was able to resume painting at the kitchen table.

Coop helped pick out the colors.

Oscar Is Home!

Here he is, the rare "Oscarspaniel". Home after being lost for four months. He was living with a group of ferrell cats about a mile from his home. A kind woman who feed the cats each day noticed that Oscar had a infection on his leg and brought him to the vet. The vet found his ID chip in his ear and the rest is history. Just another reason to never give up hope. I'm glad to make Oscar the DOG? on MY BLOG.

With a Llot of Help From Terri, Mark and Matt

It was a beautiful day yesterday at Artarama in Eagle River Wisconsin. Lots of thanks goes out to my wonderful husband and son who carry all my stuff and set up and take down my booth. I couldn't have done the show without the help of my sister Terri who has helped me daily since last Saturday.  After picking up my new prints and cards from the printers on Monday we spent the rest of the week processing them. A whole week of cutting boards, framing prints and everything else that goes along with art shows. They will be posted to my web page soon. So a BIG thanks to my big sis who never complained until 5PM Saturday when she finally admitted to being exhausted... my too. (Pics to follow.)


Thanks Barbara for taking home Diane's Iris and Kruger Zebra! See you next year!

Now it's time to sit and enjoy the beautiful Northern Woods! (And maybe paint a bit.)







 

Rusty and Charlie Share Their Opinions About Their Paintings

Terri's happy with the painting but are Rusty and Charlie?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Charlie: "Do you think it makes me look fat?"
Rusty: "Of course not! You look like you spend your days chasing cars and barking at squirrels. You're  perfectly fit . I on the other hand, didn't know I spend so much time with my mouth open. What is that? What do you think of dogs who constantly walk around with their tongues sticking out? "
Charlie: "You're a lab, it's in our breeding . We're supposed to be loving, loyal, dropping fur constantly and a little slimy. It gives the humans the impression that they are more intelligent than we are. They need that reassurance everyday as they leave the house for that boring place they go to where they sit all day and never bark."
Rusty: "I guess so. How long do you think we have to sit here and act as if we're interested?"
Charlie: "Long enough to hear that click of the camera. I'm pretty sure there will be a treat in it for us when it's all over."
Rusty: "I sure hope so. Its pretty hard to get excited about something we can't chase after, bark at or eat."

Thanks for the picture Terri. It looks great!

Work to the Printer and Commission Happy - Life is Good

I'm still here. I've taken a bit of a social media vacation but I'm back.

As you know from my last post that I was extremely frustrated with my peony painting and a commission I was working on. I had a self imposed deadline of when I was bringing my work to the printers that I kept pushing back. Well, I went with the printers a week ago with four new Garden watercolors and three new Safari pastels. It felt pretty good - no titles. (Why are titles so hard?) And the person for whom I am doing the commission is happy and likes the progress so far. Life is good.

So, the end of last week was spent preparing for the weekend wedding of my goddaughter Amanda. We had a wonderful time and she had a beautiful wedding.

I was anxious to start some small watercolors of northern Wisconsin in preparation for the Artarama show in Eagle River July 19th. My work stunk.... I guess some days are just like that. Maybe I was still tired and needed some down time. Anyway, I'm back. I can't wait to do more painting! And swimming... and biking... and gardening. Love the summer, don't you? What are you looking forward to this week?

For some reason I'm having problems sending pictures from my I pad. Pictures to come as soon as I figure it out.

Obsessions Over Solving Problems in Painting

I bought a new sketch book last week in the hopes that I would do several sketches a week. My front porch makes a wonderful, cool place to draw in the afternoon when its totally in shade. I had a lot of fun just sketching and am looking forward to many more drawings.

This week the focus is on getting my work done so I can get to the printers by week's end with five new paintings. Three for sure, the last two I'm struggling with. I've been working on my peony painting for awhile now and I'm not sure if I went a bit too far and muddied up some colors. On the other hand, I'm not sure I didn't go far enough. I need to stand back from it and give it some time so I can "live with it" awhile. But I don't seem to be able to do that... I seem to be obsessed with figuring this painting out. I keep going back to it- even though I have three other projects to do and even though I know some separation would  be for the best. I want to solve this problem... now. Pictures coming soon. Maybe.

What do you do when you're at a point like this? When you need to step back a bit and yet can't do it.