at the sweeney"s....

here's our host, timmy, replete in his monogrammed bathrobe, relaxing on his porch and, in his own words.."not lacking in class"...

a

so here we are at fisher lake..in three rivers michigan - with our very old and dear friends, tim and katie. we had a great dinner at this wonderful restaurant across the lake last night and then of course some rummykub (katie's the one who taught me this game a while back)...today we have lots planned..cleaning the boat, a walk, a boatride, preparing for a dinner party tonight with old highschool buddies...can't wait. above is the view from the porch - we're sitting here having coffee and starting the day right!!!! i'll get some pix this evening and post the tomorrow!!

a very sad day....

well..the tree people came today..i was surprised to come home and find them here, working away..because i didn't know we'd set a date to have this done. but, trust me, it needed to be done because that tree was not safe. i'm just so sad because it's probably at least a hundred-year-old tree and i know it's now in pain and feeling very sheepish. i'm posting some before and after pix - some from when we came home to find one third of it in the frenchie's yard..and then one from today. very very sad....

something new...and a portrait commission

6x6 oil on canvas panel

i'm trying a new template for my blog - wanting to get some opinions - i'm wondering whether a larger font will make it easier to read? i've increased it somewhat but i'm thinking of going even bigger...maybe... - also wanted to post the first painting of my family of commisions...this is the youngest daughter - i'm really having trouble with my photoshop being able to save things for later uploading. can't seem to get the oldest daughter saved properly. we're golfing today but i may be able to squeeze in a few hours in my studio beforehand...another glorious day!

a little magnolia painting for moon...

8x10 oil on stretched canvas

so here's a little magnolia painting for my friend moon - she's a bit under the weather and i wanted to cheer her up a bit! - this is taken from a photograph moon took and had published in the republic in the section entitled "take your best shot". she really seemed excited when i told her i was going to paint this for her. i need to let it dry and then frame it and off it goes. i also started working on a couple portrait commissions - i'm doing 4 children in one family - all small vignettes and i think i may be done with the two girls. i need to get another reference photo for the youngest boy and i'm still working on the eldest boy. they are gorgeous children and so much fun to paint! my hubby worked the the ER today so i had the day to myself and it really felt good to get back to the studio! - i'm inspired to get a bit more organized up there - i can hardly turn around! - but tomorrow will be golf!@ and then tuesday is ladies day and then wednesday we travel to visit the sweeney's in michigan - busy, busy! but life is good!!!!

i'm painting tomorrow...

it's been a busy couple days - we had a pipe burst in the basement...discovered it after hearing a bunch of gurgling in the sink and couldn't figure it out and then my hubby went downstairs to work out and heard this awful sound...thank heavens we were home and it didn't cause any more damage than it did! - what's going on??? - trees falling...pipes bursting...comcast failing...pool leaking...yikes!! - but i'm definitely going to paint tomorrow - i'm planning to do a little magnolia painting for my friend moon who's a bit under the weather. hopefully i'll be able to post it late tomorrow.

in progress....

12x12 oil on canvas
so here's my latest lips painting...in progress...it still needs work, as i can see in the light of day! no time to paint today though....had computer woes - that big blue screen of death hit yesterday and i freaked! - then i needed to clear up some stuff at the bank so nells and i ran errrands this morning and then davey and i got in some golf practice this afternoon...i'm really thinking i'm finding something and i'm very excited to get to ladies' day tomorrow! - i'm planning a magnolia painting for my friend, moon...more on that later!

i have a painting...

ok - so i can't take a picture of it yet (battery issues..) but i do have a painting to post! - i've taken a couple of my "lips" paintings up to "SNIPS"...the hair salon my daughter boogie goes to in irvington. they want a few more so i finally got to the studio today. this week has been consumed with dealing with the tree woes...i'm afraid we have to take the whole thing way down if not out entirely! - it's just too dangerous. we are so lucky it went down early sunday morning a week ago and no-one was outside in the frenchies' back yard...when we got home from the lake and i actually SAW the damage..i was so shocked and felt blessed that no-one was hurt. so then we had our family reunion yesterday...so much fun - all of davey's family and all our kids and their kids...it was great food and great fun and a great weather day! - the girls and i were sneaking in a round of rummy after everyone else had gone home and the door bell rang and there appeared this police officer...asking if we had called 9-1-1-....what?????...we asked tillie - no...of course joe's too young to use the phone..but then we asked ollie...he hung his head...the culprit for sure!...he was devastated because he thought maybe he was going to jail and the funniest part was my hubby and son-in-law slept through the whole thing!...actually it's been a while since we had a cop at our front door - the last time was a christmas party many years ago and i think we were being too loud..or maybe it was a summer party...who remembers..but it's always disconcerting to open the door to a policeman, isn't it? i'll post my painting tomorrow. off to watch the playoff for the barclay's.

oh my goodness....

well...still no paintings to post but we do have a new issue...life is certainly throwing us a few curveballs lately...now we find our 2000 year old tree (at least) in the back has split and one third of it has fallen on the frenchies' shed. marie contacted us yesterday and we figured we could handle it as well from the lake as from home so, in and around golf, we've been in contact with insurance people, tree people, our daughter sent us a few pics but i won't post them because they're hard to make out. anyway - that tree is so special - it provides shade and a beautiful canopy for three families...as well as leaves to fly into the pool, a home for birds who poop on my car...but i won't dwell on that - it's an old and beloved tree and it will never be the same...it may be that it will never BE again and that would be absolutely dreadful! we'll find out more tomorrow when we get home....and i will give you a full report. and just as we're planning a huge family reunion/birthday party on saturday...so no painting for sure ...but i'm itching to get back at it!!! for sure after this weekend i will be painting again!!!!!

at the lake

so we're at the lake....and it's surprisingly cool! - we had a bit of rain last night or early this morning but no thunder-boomers over the water that scare everybody so much! arrived yesterday and played nine holes at mink lake - it was so dry that davey and i each lost 2 balls with only slightly errant shots..bummer!!..then our friends ceej and craig boated over for drinks and was it ever good to see them! - i think we totally missed getting together last summer - everyone's getting busier and busier - they're soon going to have their third grand arrive and they'll probably be busier still...craig's playing in his club championship this weekend and we're going to try and play with them tomorrow - hope the weather holds out. planning to go to this fabulous practice facility today - creekside -maybe even take boogs, greg and joe along - mexican last night, of course, and probably ribs tonight...and of course rummykub...i love the lake because there's no laundry to do...no housework to do...no meetings or luncheons to attend....life is good!!

TA DA!!!!!

well, i have no paintings to post but i do have some news...first of all, saturday morning, while taking out a big bag of recyclables in a plastic bag, i somehow got a large gash in my leg by a stray piece of bloken glass..perchance a wine bottle shard?...anyhow - i ingeniously wrapped a rubber band around my calf to form a tournaquet of sorts and drove myself to the ER where davey was working the mini shift. fortunately they weren't busy and my dear hubby took such good care of me - numbing my leg, cleaning the wound, lovingly placing 7 stitches (he should have been a surgeon, he's that good!)...all was going splendidly until tuesday when i had to play the second round of our club championship. i always have to get down behind the ball to line up my putts and tuesday was no different. i had a realy good front nine - (41)- and then started the back fairly well but ended up brutalizing 3 or 4 of the last holes and limped in with an 88. i was disappointed that i didn't finish strong but apparently it was good enough and, for the first time since we've belonged to hlcc, i am the ladies club champion. yikes!...but that's not the end of the story. later that night or maybe wednesday, davey looked at my leg and announced.."what the?....you've managed to lose 5 out of your 7 stitches!!!...you are the worst patient i've ever had!!!"...i thought i'd done it tossing and turning in bed but after playing yesterday at salt creek, i realized, that thing i do before i putt, squating down on my rightg leg...that was the culprit...so i sacrificed my perfect scar for the club championship...i will have an ugly scar but...c'est la vie!!!
we're off tomorrow for the lake...no painting for me - no time - but i will be getting back to the studio soon - i always feel so much better when i've pushed a bit of paint around!

vincent's sunflowers...am i done?

ok - just pay attention to the first and the last photo...i can't figure out how to delete the others...i've had such a hard time getting these photos to look right - they are actually very similar in brightness and color in person but for some reason, it doesn't come across in the photos. (maybe the one i posted at the beginning of the project will be better?)..i went back to the studio and worked some more...really paying attention to brushwork and color in vincent's piece...what fun! i really like how this turned out!...i need to do a few more lip paintings for a place in indy and then maybe another copy of a master. tomorrow, however, we're heading to oldenburg..where they have the best fried chicken in southern indiana and where, it just so happens, they have a golden retriever breeder we're looking at. we think it's time for a sister for nellie and we may just order us up one tomorrow!! stay tuned!

ready... set....surprise!!!!!!!!

after 23 years, davey finally got a new ride!!!!! a 2011 mustang GT 5 litre, 435 HP convertible!! -(can you say "middle-age crazies?????) he's very sad to say good bye to the old "blue goose"..a 1987...but, as i say..."it's about goldang time@!!!!!! he says, "i came in with a navy blue mustang convertible and i'm going out with a navy blue mustang convertible"!!! ( i hope he keeps this one for at least 23 years!) of course he had two mustangs in between...his new baby, MR. blue, has been on special order for a couple months - he had it specifically built for him and i'm telling you, it's been very hard not to spill the beans! there have been so many conversations about davey and his car that he'd never sell..as people got one new car after another this summer..but i was a good girl - not even my kiddoes knew. but they do now!! i am so happy for him - he deserves a good car to drive and, as my buddy AJ said.."hey davey, you're actually cool again!!"...he's personally calling himself a "chick magnet" and cranking up the beachboys as loud as they can go!! what fun!!! now i really have to get the garage shaped up and no more spraying or paint-related activities out there for me. and a lot more car washing for him!!! life is good!!!!

been a while....

i've finally got an appointment to figure out how to run my new program so i can soon present properly cropped paintings. in the meantime, my harley davidson donation brought some nice money for my friend kelli and her daughter, which delights me to pieces! i've been golfing way too much to do any painting...spent the weekend in french lick and played the donald ross course twice while the guys got on the new pete dye course...lucky dogs!!....and then we had the first round of our club championship on tuesday and got to play the brickyard in indy yesterday. i played with a charming young lady... actually my daughter's age...who's only been playing for 7 years and has a wonderful swing. lots of fun!! - there are 4 holes actually in the infield of the indianapolis motor speedway...and yesterday was so hot it felt like we were in an oven in there - almost no breeze - i'm going to try and post a few pics of the course - when they redid it several years ago, they used pieces of the old track for the sides of the waterways - i don't know if i exactly captured that...anyway...great fun..and if i'd putted better i would have been in the money!! - my swing is slowly getting there! tomorrow i have something VERY exciting to post so stay tuned......

harley davidson donation

10x20 oil on canvas
is it obvious what this is? - i hate that i haven't figured out my program to get rid of the background..i must do that!...i met the sweetest gal at the bank who's hosting a benefit ride this weekend. it's for her daughter bria and i wanted to do something to help. i plan to donate this to the auction and hopefully it will bring some bucks for their cause. there were so many images of harleys to choose from and i really wanted to do something different. is this different? too different? - i had fun doing it - it was almost too hot to be outside today so i had some time to fit this in. hoping to golf tomorrow...

close up

copy of van gogh's sunflower - done in 2002

20 x 16 oil on canvas

so here's a picture of the ongoing project...i haven't had time to get to the studio in a while - i'm still not finished with this... lots of detailed brushwork that i need to work on - one of the reasons you do these copies..so you can learn...i was able to get a picture of the first copy i did of one of van gogh's sunflowers - the one i got scolded for...i'll post that below...(ok - so it's posted above)...and i also hope you can see some of the detailed brushwork in this close up of the flower.....! - anyway - i had a delightful day - played in a south central golf outing at otis park in bedford..very hilly and tough greens but a beautiful piece of property. my playing partner was a great gal and we found we had lots in common - sort of a six degrees thing...heading up tomorrow for a lesson with a guy who's coincidentally her instructor...small world...can't wait - i know he's going to tune me up just fine!!! davey got me two surprise hybrids yesterday so i'm all set@! gotta dash - i'm trying to get some paintings reframed and ready to go to the galleries on saturday.

a bit more...

i really like the way this is coming along...i'm trying to put myself in vincent's shoes...he uses such interesting brush strokes and i'll work on that some more - maybe tomorrow - it doesn't appear that he has any underpainting showing through and that's where i'll be original - i really think i'd like to have that happen in this painting. when i get it to a place i think it's finished (keeping in mind the old motto "it's never done til it's overdone"..and trying to avoid that!...)..i'll try and figure out my new program and get it properly sized and trimmed so you don't see all the extraneous paraphenalia in my studio (what a mess, by the way..). can't get to the studio any more today because we are gearing up for our third weddding in as many weeks - looking forward to this one because our whole gang will be there - and we have a designated driver, no less..we'll be putting our dancin' shoes on for sure!!!. (hope i feel good enough to paint tomorrow!!!!!)

a little more....

ok - so here's a bit more of the painting...is it beginning to start to look familiar??? to look like something? - to look like vincent's sunflowers?...(he always signed his paintings "vincent"..)..i did a copy of another of vincent's sunflowers..one big one that i saw in person at the chicago art institute..i was leaning over, trying to get as close as possible to see the amazing brushwork...and of course i got scolded harshly! - in fact, i can't tell you how many times i've been scolded in art galleries and museums...as if i'd ever actually touch anything...i'm an artist, for crying out loud!! - i know better - and yet they scold me! - and yet i still lean up close...anyway - i'll see if i can get a photo of the other painting and post it here. just got home from the rally for the cure golf tourney - it was hot, hot, hot and unfortunately i didn't take my A game with me but we still had fun..and now i'm trying to cool off inside for a few hours...possibly time enough to head up and work some more on vincent's sunflowers? hope so.. - somehow i always feel better when i can push a little paint around!

finally back!!

sunflowers..by vincent van gogh

i was planning to paint my sunflowers today and then i had a thought! - one of the best things an artist can do is to copy the old masters. there's so much to learn..color, design, brushwork...all of which are here in this sunflower painting. so i took a picture of his painting and then i'll take you through my process of copying him - i'm going to start with a ground that's a complimentary color to the mostly orange in this painting..so i've toned the canvas with a purplish blue...i really can't say whether vincent started with a ground color because he obliterates the canvas with paint...just like i usuallly do..but here i plan to try and let a bit of the ground peek through...makes a nice vibration...so we'll see...i tried to place the next image right here but i don't have the hang of that so it's on top...i've just started to draw the image on the purplish-blue ground...more tomorrow...

busy, busy...

i hate that i have no paintings to post but i've been busy - bills, weddings, babysitting a bit, some golf and i've been working on gathering donations for our local rally for the cure - a golf tournament to benefit the susan g kohman foundation. it's a nine-hole event held at the greenbelt golf course here in town...i donated a print of my "golfer girl" - the little 6x6 oil painting i did last year. they usually have almost as many awards, gifts and door prizes as there are people playing so that's' a good thing. i'm getting ready to mail out a long-overdue painting to my friend rick who's been patiently waiting! - and i'm hoping to head up to indy tomorrow to re-arrange stuff at the galleries up there. it's just hard in the summer to find time to spend in the studio - i figure life's too short not to grab each moment..and if the moment happens to involve golf???....or grands??????.....well.......

another interesting mouth.....

9x12 oil on stretched canvas
so here's another interesting closeup of a mouth...i find these so much fun to do! - i stopped in and got some more corn today at daley's and found out that the sunflowers were grown by a gal named karen nading. they're gorgeous! and i plan to paint them tomorrow - maybe i'll start on them right now!

sunflower studies...

i simply HAVE to get my juices going again...i don't know why this has been so hard for me - travel, golf, moving issues, grands, yard work...i haven't lifted a brush since my workshop until today. and it felt good! maybe tomorrow i can really set up a still life with these gorgeous sunflowers...feel like van gogh...or maybe i'll golf with my husband...who knows...life is too short, sometimes, huh? i still haven't figured out my new program so these photos are just raw. no editing.

geat big sunflowers!!

ok - so here's the scoop...i needed some fresh corn and veggies so i stopped in at daley's farm market on 46 today...a great place as those here in columbus already know...and what did i find but the most gorgeous HUGE sunflowers!! - they are screaming "PAINT ME, NO PAINT ME...PAINT ALL OF US...JUST PAINT!!!!!!!! so i brought seven of them home after running some other errands and recycling...stuff i needed to do. then i got orders to fill out my medicare thing and do the things you need to do to renew a passport...stuff just keeps getting in the way. it's only 4 p.m. and i'm thinking i might just head up there for some quick studies...these things are to die for...

back home again....

and now we're home...for a while...but there's so much to do...but i'm promising myself i will get back to painting as soon as i can...one wedding down and three more to go. i've promised paintings as wedding gifts for some of these so THAT ought to get me going! first...to this house!!!

at the lake

well..it looks like i outsmarted myself!! we came up to valpo yesterday for a family wedding this weekend. i was planning to pack my paints and then decided i wouldn't really have time..what with all the golf, walks, canoeing, games, family time, etc. so we woke up this morning to rain! - and i know we need it because the heat and humidity are intense. we have at least 5 fans going and the only place you can be comfortable is sitting right smack in front of one! but really!? fortunately i've started a good book..my friend AJ brought me THE HELP to read and i started it last night. looking forward to that! - plus ..for my birthday, my hubby got me a new golf bag and some fabulous new freddie couples golf shoes!!!!! they look and feel like bedroom slippers but i can't wear them if we manage to ever get out today...too wet! anyway..with jen finally in her new home, i may finally find time to get back to the studio - i have some commission work to get to and i have to deliver a painting that i want to finalize a bit...so much to look forward to!!!

better photos from the workshop...

c.w.'s garden painting -
david slonim's "a la cezanne" lily study

my small cow study - it's so difficult to paint animals ( or children, for that matter) from life because they refuse to stand still!

my garden painting. as they say..."it's never done til it's over-done!" (see c.w.'s from above to see what i mean...see the difference?

my cows in the pasture painting. see above note about painting cows from life....

my first attempt...the view from the veranda at trader's point creamery

well - i have been so busy since my return that i haven't had time to even take these photos til yesterday. jen and james are finally safely ensconced in their new home and the little family is absolutely over the moon!!! the kids were up til midnight last night going back and forth between each-other's rooms and having a ball while their parents sat on the patio with stars in their eyes and fireworks going off over their heads.
i have to think about art again!! - i'm hardly unpacked from the workshop but i plan to get up there today for a bit - i wanted to post better pics of things - i still don't get the hang of how to arrange pictures on these posts so i just described each one. happy fourth of july to everyone!!!!!

just an update

i am so bummed...all i want to do is paint and that's the last thing i have time for! since i got home from the workshop on thursday afternoon it's been one thing after another - tackling this house - and laundry and yardwork and...a lovely evening soiree honoring two sweet young couples who get married in the next month...and a round of golf (finally!). now it's really crunch time for our ladies member/guest outing and i have much to do between now and tomorrow! hopefully i'll get to the studio or outside to paint very soon!!

albonanny gardens

this is my painting from this morning...when i get home i'll take a good photo of c.w.'s painting (see below) so you get an idea of his work..if you don't already know it

david slonim's afternoon demo - once again, i think my flash was on and the photograph is awful - rats!

we had the best day...the hottest day but oh, so good!! - it all started when we met out in the country to paint a farm. our group had c.w. for the day and we all decided it was too dang hot out in the open where we were set up so we moved. as i got in my car i realized i was dead out of gas!! - yellow light on and everything...and i had no idea how far we were traveling..so i piled my stuff into my new friend kae's car and off we went. we drove and we drove and , as they said, if they told us where we were going they'd have to kill us...ended up in a beautiful meadow with a garden - and a trellis - and immediately i had to pee! (another of the plein air perils)...but then c.w. had us paint along with him...it was sort of an experiment since he said he hadn't done it before...he'd do a part and then we'd do it - we didn't exactly copy what he was doing but he was leading us..and we of course were all painting the same thing. when he was done, he offered his painting for sale and a bunch of us threw our names in a hat. now i already had been lucky enough to be able to purchase todd reifer's demo from the first day- (at these workshops, the instructors' demos are in high demand because they offer them for a drastically reduced price because they are, after all, "demo"s and those that want to purchase throw their names in a raffle to see who the lucky buyer will be). that first day, i was disappointed because my name hadn't been drawn...or so i thought! - at the end of the day, i asked todd who purchased his painting and he said.."susie gregory...do you know her?...well he knows me now!!..so imagine my delight when my name was drawn this afternoon for c.w.'s painting!!!!! - all of a sudden i was a demo hog and i couldn't have been happier....or cared less if everyone else was mad at me.....in my mind, God was smiling on me this very day.... so we had lunch and for the afternoon - everyone in our group was too exhausted to paint ( everyone but me) so we had david slonim do a demo - a couple demos - of the day lilies in the park. he really had so much to offer and if anybody's not familiar with him, he just had a future kid's book accepted by simon and schuster ( i think) - this guys is so talented!! - and i bought a small demo of his when he was done (the one on the left) - no raffle this time - i just wanted it!!...anyway - that's it - we end up tomorrrow having some sort of critique but i don't think it's of our work so i'm not really sure what's going on - everyone else is staying for the big cocktail party tomorrow night - c.w. will be playing his banjo, quite well, i imagine, and a bunch of local art inthusiasts are invited to view the paintings and buy if they're so inclined. as for me..... i will be heading home to be with my boy..exhausted but dying to get at it!!!! i promise i will post better photos when i get home!

trader's point creamery

afternoon scene...

morning scene..you have to turn sideways to view it since i don't have my photoshop stuff going at the moment....sorry....

#1 - first painting with david slonim in the morning...see below...

#2 - done in the afternoon with todd reifers...those are cows, by the way... #3 - a little cow study i did near the end of the day

after a wild night of huge storms...there was actually a fire in zionsville that took down a strip mall where everyone's favorite mexican restaurant was located...my son and grands went out with me for dinner and we stopped by the place to wish the fellow well...there were so many people driving by - lots of good wishes going his way and lots of prayers...but back to today...i wasn't sure we'd even get to head out but the rain stopped and the sun came out and the temperature rose and it ended up a glorious plein air day. there are 30 of us so c.w. came up with the idea to split the group in thirds and each instructor take a group for each session. i had david slonim in the morning and after i had a start on my first piece he came along and promptly told me to wipe most of it...too muddy - not enough clean color, value structure not holding..i could go on and on..a workshop is not place for the faint of heart, don'tcha know...i've been in some workshops where i've completed several pieces in a day because i like to work fast and loose but in this case i needed to learn to slow down, think about color, clean my palette often and i ended up with one painting. i photographed it, bugs and all, (actually they all have bugs on them..one of the trials of working en plein air...-you just pick them off when they're dried)..and i'll try to get these in context...ok so i couldn't...but you can see each painting and i apologize for the bad photographs. i think there was too much sun at the time. i had a great time today and learned a lot. tomorrow our group will be with c.w.mundy and i'm really looking forward to that. he's a hard taskmaster but he's funny - they all are, actually, and such wonderful instructors! i think we'll have him in the morning and then back to slonim. mundy is world famous, of course, and todd reifers is fast gaining notoriety but maybe people don't know that david slonim's painting from the IHA 2009 show was purchased as a permanent part of the brown county gallery's collection - quite an honor!...one last word about the trader's point creamery. they're located on moore road in zionsville and it's a family farm - they're really trying to instill a love of the land in future generations and welcome groups, families, etc....PLUS..they have the best ice cream you ever tasted! - at the end of the long hot day in the sun, they brought out several flavors of ice cream for us to enjoy and the restaurant was jam-packed at noon. i'd recommend it on so many levels...just watching the cows is a gas!!!!....or is that greenhouse gas???...more tomorrow so stay tuned! - i'm beat and heading to bed!

tuesday morning...

oh my goodness...has it ever rained.....started around midnight here and it's still going! - rumbles of thunder...some lightening...i think it may be farther away than last night but i have no idea what will happen in the workshop. the little porch we were all sitting on yesterday will not be enough space for all of us to paint from today...maybe the early bird will get the worm so i must dash...

zionsville!!!!!

this is david slonim's completed demo - the same scene painted by the other guys - only he went last and painted it from memory instead of looking at it...a must, according to robert carlson...you need to be able to paint from memory to be an artist...

this is c.w., painting first - just as the huge thunderboomer hit - like we needed more rain?? the skies were of course very grey and luminosity was the order of the day, instead of light and shadow. you need to work on the subleties in this case....

this is todd reifers hard at work..he followed c.w., a huge task in itself...but he made a wonderful painting, looking at the same scene and interpreting it his way.

0k - so the workshop started today and - wow- so much information and so much talent!! - and that's just the instructors. c.w. mundy, todd reifers and david slonim...all great artists in their own right and all here at the same workshop!! couldn't pass this up!! - we started the day with c.w. and a huge thunderstorm blew in...why not, huh????...luckily we were situated under a porch roof on the veranda of an old barn at a creamery...can't remember the name but i'll have it tomorrow. they're trying to bring back farming to the next generation. we overlooked a little pond and this was the scene all 3 of our guys painted...all very different. i'm going to post each one separately. if i could figure out how to do this right, things would be in proper order but it's late and i'm beat. really looking forward to pushing paint tomorrow!!! i'll photograph the pond tomorrow since we start the day there. can't wait!

ready for tomorrow

back home in columbus and getting geared up for tomorrow - of course i have to take everything i own...artwise and every otherwise...i'll try and post the daily stuff - especially tomorrow when all 3 of the artists are demo-ing...can't wait!!! lyb

my test is complete! - here's a picture of tillie fishing off the end of the dock...such as it is....

a test from the lake

i'm trying out my new computer and my new wifi card...i'm also trying to learn how to use my new camera so i can post from my workshop next week....hopefully the instructors won't mind if i take some photos of their demos. i'll also try to get some scenes from where we'll be working each day - plein air -. so. we're here at the cottage in valporaiso...flint lake...and there's nothing like an electrical storm over the lake for LOUD!!!!!!!! the only problem is my daughter and her 2 kids were driving in it! - then, after they arrived safely, her hubby was still driving in it -once we all were safely under the same roof, the party began!!!!! - i wanted to take a picture of this place but somebody had the nerve to clean it up before i could capture it! - the kids were having so much fun...nothing like playing with your cousins with wild abandon while the grown-ups were busy playing games (in this case rummykub) and watching tv - the us open - ..i've snapped a few pix to see if i know how to go from the camera to the computer. getting ready to head out to golf - we're moving the annual "clifty cup" to the robinhurst golf course and the battle is on...

heading out...

we're heading to the lake!! - i'm not taking my paints..they're all safely packed for my workshop next week. this will be a family trip - just for the long weekend and some golf and rummykub and eating and swimming and celebrating...i may have time to draw a bit but more than likely i'll just be hanging with my grands!!!!! if i can figure out my new camera ( a priority!) i'll take some pix of our glorious flint lake. anxious to see what the weather has done - one year we'd had so much rain that our dock floated away!...always an adventure when you go up the first time!

standing in the wifi store....

so not only do i get a new laptop...my hubby decided we'd get an aircard so we won't be at the mercy of not having wifi while on vacation. this means i'll be able to stay in touch and maybe even post some of the stuff from my workshop next week...I AM SO PSYCHED!!!!!!

IHA show

i went over to retrieve my paintings from the IHA show - i can truly see why my stuff didn't fit in, in that judges mind. most of the pieces were landscapes - brown county-type stuff - honoring the heritage of the area, as the title states. maybe 4 or 5 still-lifes, 2 roosters,one gorgeous figurative piece that won an award and the rest landscapes of some sort... i think they had 4 or 5 hundred entries and only 128 got in. it's a lovely show - lots of really good work..and as i was walking out the door with my stuff, a woman who had been in to see the show said"ooohh, i love that! - (talking about my painting of tillie in the garden titled "i want this flower"). it lifted my spirits and i walked away feeling happy!...plus, my lady from yesterday, as yet unnamed, has been spoken for! my old friend eric is buying it for his home in costa rica and i couldn't be more thrilled! i'm not sure how much i'll get to paint and post in the next week or so - we're heading to the lake thursday for the weekend and then next week i start an intensive workshop with 3 of the finest: c.w.mundy, david slonim and todd reifers...i am so psyched and i can't wait!!!

am i done? (SOLD)

24x18 oil on stretched canvas
so is this finished? - it's too bad i don't have the right program on the computer so all you see is the image and not my back yard...and another thing - all of a sudden my wonderful refurbished laptop has gone haywire - or did i mentioin that already?...anyway - i spent a while in the studio today - another day too wet to golf - so i'll post some of the other things i tweaked later....any ideas on a name for this one???

a new beginnning

so here's what i'm working on now...i originally just wanted to put in the darks but got going in the studio until it was time to quit! this will take a while - thought it might be fun to follow the progress. meanwhile...will it ever stop raining??????? ( p.s. - i don't have a program installed at the moment to handle the photo shop stuff....)

hoosier salon entries...help!!

this, along with the bag lady, will be entered in the hoosier salon in a few weeks. never say die, eh? - i called today and found out that i can, indeed, change the names...and i've had a few very interesting suggestions....can you say casablanca???? i have a few days to think about this and i'm asking for your help - what should we name this one and what about the bag lady - is she a bag lady? - my friend janie suggested "late bus - good book", i'm also thinking "comfortably alone" or "in her own world" or "waiting for godot" or what do you think? and the lady above? - what about "you aren't going to play that, are you sam?" (ginny's idea)...i'd really like some help with this -the names i submitted are "kiss me, dahling" and "hoping for a ride"...but now i'm not so sure...

finished bag lady...maybe...

11x14 oil on stretched canvas
so here she is...i'll probably just pick over it a little bit more but i quite like the feel of this one. i'm not absolutely sure she's a bag lady...she may just as easily be a woman of indeterminant age very comfortable in her skin waiting for the bus. when i entered this in the hoosier salon (i'm not giving up, you see..) i entitled it "hoping for a ride" but now i'm not so sure. any ideas for a name?
yesterday was quite a journey! - we were having trouble with our printer and so we called some computer people to schedule a house call. within the hour we had a fine young gent here who was trying not to be rude but also was trying to get us into the year 2010!! - all our stuff was so antiquated - including this laptop - i think we bought this for boogs when she went off to lawschool but he fixed it up for me and it's just fine. we also got a new desktop which is so wonderful and now we're in the process of purging old manuals and things we don't need. my hubby dove into my cookbooks too - yikes! anyway, i was gone most of the day playing in a golf outing and then had to do chores in back so things are still a disaster. HOPE to get back to my studio but i can see that summer is going to be hard. i've heard feedback from some of you out there that you're enjoying watching the process. any thoughts? back when i was just doing 6x6 dailies, i didn't think to take photos during that process but some of the larger pieces rather lend themselves. i don't want to bore people or freak them out since a barely-started painting can look quite gruesome at times....i'd love to hear from you!

rats!!

...on several levels....#1 - i can't post the final version of my bag lady because something's wrong with the card ..or the insertion..or the printer..or something! #2 - i received word today that my entries into the IHA exhibition were not accepted. i prefer to think that, rather than being rejected, they simply didn't please this particular judge. the IHA, being a brown county group, really focuses on landscapes, paying homage to brown county artists of the past, etc. so i'm not discouraged. #3 i'm bummed that my left arm is all of a sudden going numb on me from time to time...nothing serious..only a bad disc impinging on a nerve..but i keep dropping things and it's really hard to type...i can't begin to tell you how many times i've had to edit this dialog....anyway - i got to have a good conversation with my buddy phyllie who lives in colorado for the summer...always heart-warming!...and fun!!!

i'm back....

well we had a wonderful member/guest weekend. it was so nice to see mike and ginny again and even though the guys had to give too many strokes in the golf tourney and came in dead last in the first flight...we still had fun. i even got my guy out on the dance floor saturday night...been a while!...i took three paintings over to nashville yesterday - we'll see.....i ended up not cropping the venetion red painting - i had so many opinions and ended up just giving in to ease and time constraints. i'd worked so hard to get ready for the little soiree here friday night (which was lots of fun!) that i spent the rest of yesterday on the couch watching the memorial. but it was back to work today. i think i've finished my bag lady painting. that is, i thought i'd finished it and took it out to photograph and as usual found something i needed to fix. i'm posting the nearly finished version and will post the fix tomorrow. it's late and i need to be out the door for golf very early tomorrow so i'm hitting it!!

to crop or not to crop.....

i've been agonizing about my venetian red painting....still thinking what would make the best design...so far i've only cropped it on the computer - but i have to make a decision very soon since it needs to be delivered on sunday. here are some possibilities...including the uncropped version which is on the bottom....meanwhile...mike and ginny are arriving tomorrow for the big golf tourney - and the party here friday night - it's still a madhouse but when isn't it, really?