The Trailing Yew..Oil on linen...C. Kidder

I have a plan…I’m going back to Monhegan Island in June. I confirmed my reservation today and I’m already feeling the peace of the island. If  I close my eyes and take a deep breath I can smell the ocean and hear the fog horn lulling me to sleep at night….it is a place that takes me away .

I found this painting of the “Trailing Yew” in my Studio hidden behind a pile of frames. It was painted on one of my first trips to Monhegan in 1998.  I guess I wasn’t happy with the way it turned out then…so it just sort got lost in the stack.  But now I’m so glad that I have it.  It makes me remember staying at the “Yew” with a group of Artists as a part of Caleb Stone’s workshop.  The light, and  ocean views were spectacular. I was in my element.   I knew that I  needed to  return to  Monhegan again on my own to explore more and  attempt to paint it’s vistas . And  so I did.  I went home for just two weeks and then boarded the ferry at Port Clyde that took me to the Island. I was  definitely being  pulled by the place.  Almost 15 years and many return trips later  I’m still feeling the tug and I can’t wait to set foot  on the Island . Each time I go I make new memories and paint pictures that bring me back  when I can’t  be  there.  I’ve decided that some of my paintings  are just meant to be kept… they’re like photos in an album.

]]> http://ckidderstudio.com/going-back/feed/ 2 http://ckidderstudio.com/blossoming/ http://ckidderstudio.com/blossoming/#comments Wed, 18 Apr 2012 17:24:22 +0000 C.Kidder http://ckidderstudio.com/?p=2528

Stretching

“LET YOUR GARDEN OFFER YOU, MANY TIMES TO BE HAPPILY ALONE…”

~from a Garden Blessing by Welleran Poltarness

Bleeding hearts are opening. It’s happening!  One single white tulip with porcelain like skin  was looking up at the sun this morning  and it brought a big smile to my face . Spring is filling  me with inspiration to paint .  I’m bursting open  like the flowers in my little garden!

Bleeding Hearts

View of The Killarney Lakes…oil painting Colleen Kidder

“MAY THE BLESSINGS OF LIGHT BE UPON YOU  …LIGHT WITHOUT AND LIGHT WITHIN.

AND ALL YOUR COMINGS AND GOINGS,  MAY YOU EVER HAVE A KINDLY GREETING FROM THEM YOU MEET ALONG THE ROAD…”

“WHEREVER YOU GO AND WHATEVER YOU DO…

MAY THE LUCK OF THE IRISH BE THERE WITH YOU”

Happy St. Patricks Day to all…

~Colleen

I have been celebrating my Birthday this past weekend.  It began with a long lunch with my good friend Heather Atwood at a favorite local restaurants Tom Shea’s. When I arrived I was presented with a beautiful bouquet of flowers.

A ballet of blossoms...

We toasted the day with a glass of wine… actually two glasses of wine… and then shared thoughts on everything from Art and Literature to ways of staying “forever young”. It was decided that keeping a positive attitude,exercising and feeling passionate about what you do are the most important factors in holding onto youth. No  Botox for us!  But we agreed that wine is good!

The celebration continued the next day when my generous husband took me to Boston for an overnight stay at the Long Wharf Marriott.  The weather was perfect and so after parking the car we spent the afternoon walking up and down Charles St. on Beacon Hill (our old neighborhood) and then through the Boston Garden and over to Newbury St.  The Pucker Gallery is one of my favorite Boston Galleries so we stopped there and spent some time looking at the recent exhibition of paintings and pottery THE NATURE OF REFLECTION.

After a late afternoon cocktail at the very elegant but  hardly hip Hotel Fairmont we headed back to the Wharf and had  a late dinner at the Boston Harbor Hotel’s Rowes Wharf Sea Grille which was comfortable and satisfying…still not hip! Am I really getting old?

The grand finale of my Birthday weekend was going to the Opera House to see the Boston Ballet perform “Simply Sublime”

I thought that I was pretty flexible after doing Yoga for the past twelve years  until I watched the dancers on stage move effortlessly in ways I could only imagine…ethereal and very humbling especially on this particular Birthday!  I think I ‘ll  stick to painting , be grateful and keep celebrating…CHEERS!

“There is a light that shines beyond all things on Earth, beyond us all, beyond the highest, the very highest of heavens.  This is the light that shines in our hearts.”

                                                                                    ~Chandogya Upanishad 

                                 ~~~H A P P Y   V A L E N T I N E ‘ S  D A Y  to all !! ~~~

Tuscan Groves...oil on linen... Colleen Kidder

In the Autumn of 2002 I traveled with artist Caleb Stone to Tuscany to paint it’s olive groves and  many  vistas . The shades of green  were so unlike the warm and golden hues found in  New England.  We stayed at a former Romanesque monastary called Pieve Di Caminino and went out early each morning mixing paints on our palettes in an attempt to capture  the moods of the surrounding grounds. It was a challenge getting that green!…cobalt blue, yellow ochre and just a touch of white to soften the color…and then if I remember correctly I added a dab of cadmium red to indicate the olives that were hidden in the vines from a distance.

Recently at my annual Holiday Studio Show I displayed the  painting “Tuscan Groves”…no price…I really didn’t want to sell it! The painting was the only one  that I had left from the trip.  A local art collector saw it and said that it “brought him right back to Tuscany” and he asked if it were for sale.  I remembered that he had inquired last year too . I had said that it was part of my Private Collection and  it was not for sale. But this year I decided that he was someone who would appreciate  the painting . It was time to let it go. I offered the painting  to him and  he gratefully purchased it.  Letting go was difficult … but I know that someday I will go back to paint in Tuscany .   I will never let go of the memories of that first painting trip.

I am so filled with appreciation !  The 3rd Annual Studio Show was a huge success!! Seeing friends from long ago and welcoming first time visitors to my Studio was truly enjoyable..

The weather was unseasonably warm and the mood as people shopped and shared conversation while sipping sangria was like being at a fun party!

Studio Shopping

Pottery by Melynn Allen

 

Melynn Allen’s Pottery looked perfect displayed in the cupboards and through out the Studio. I was sad to see her beautiful pieces leave their temporary home when Melynn packed up  at the end of the show! I’m already looking forward to next years Post Thanksgiving Studio Show. It’s a far cry from “Black Friday” at the Malls…no pepper spray…no long lines…just good company. 

 Thanks to all~

Welcoming visitors to share my Studio

Recently I was asked to decorate a shoe for an upcoming Fashion Show and Silent Auction that will help the Class of 2012 of Ipswich High School raise some funds.   I agreed but wasn’t quite sure what I was going to do to make this shoe stand out at an auction!  It’s pointed toe and spiked heel looked architectural sitting on a table in my Studio.   After staring at it for a few days I decided to just pour out  some paints and see where my brush would take me.   I was sort of surprised when a seascape started to evolve.  The toe became the sky… below it I painted a band of deep blue water .  Then I added a sandy shore which led to violet shadows in the warm dunes with green sea grass.  Very abstract but definitely a beach scene.  I even added some butterflies…  

It was a fun and creative exercise …  Very different than painting on canvas!     

The event is called “Walk this Way” and will be held on November 14th at the Ipswich Country Club.  Tickets for the Fashion Show, Dinner and Silent Auction are a Donation of $35.00 ea. For more information please contact Laurie Fenton @verizon.net…it’s a “shoe in” for a good time!

Miles of Marsh ...11x14 oil pastel ...C. Kidder

For the past several years now in early autumn, Charlie Schurcliff who is a wonderful painter and neighbor has invited me to join him at his home to paint and have lunch with a  small group of artist friends.   They travel from as far away as Montreal for the opportunity to paint the  special vistas.  The setting is ideal…the back door opens up to miles of marsh . The view of Hog Island and golden fields threaded with waterways is incredible.

Miles of Marsh

Yesterday was the perfect day for our gathering. Clusters of puffy clouds raced through the very blue sky shedding shadows that highlighted the marsh . I worked with my oil pastels and tried to capture the colors.

Charles Hopkinson Self Portrait

Being with other painters sharing lively conversations at lunch about art and the world was stimulating. It felt reminiscent of the days back in the late 1800’s and early 1920’s when artists would meet at Salons to be with like minds unleashing their creative thoughts.  Charles Schurcliff’s grandfather Charles Hopkinson was an important portrait painter then . Most likely he too arranged  get togethers with his Artist companions at his Boston Salon.  I like to think that his spirit inspires his grandson.  I looked up at lunch to see a Hopkinson portrait hanging on the wall and I was instantly transported back in time…maybe a past life .

Looking Out from The Island..Oil Pastel by C.Kidder

“There are moments in our lives, there are moments in a day when we seem to see beyond the usual.”     ~ Robert Henri

Three days spent on Monhegan Island in early October was  like like taking a trip to Heaven.

The minute I boarded the “Laura B ” in Port Clyde Maine for the short trip to the Island I began to feel  an other worldly connection.

Heading towards Monhegan

The early morning ocean air was better than a second cup of coffee and the salty spray more tasty than a bacon and egg breakfast!

Choppy Surf...

Porpoises popped out of the surf and two bald eagles soared close to the boat. By the time we had docked at the Ferry Landing I was in the vortex…a HUGE smile on my face.   I settled into my room at the Island Inn…the same one I always request. It has  a view of the ocean  from a little window  which makes me feel like I’m in a cabin on a boat.

Monhegan Harbor

I ventured out for a bowl of chowder and then did some hiking until the sun began to set. I sat watching as  it illuminated the sky behind Manana. It was like viewing a Rockwell Kent painting!

Monhegan Sunset

Amazing Sunset

Sleeping on the island put me in a peaceful state…I only woke up once to look out the window.  I had to grab my camera…the water was sparkling and still under a starry sky…

Still of the night

In the morning before sunrise I watched the crew of the lobster boats garbed in orange slickers row out to their ”offices” coffee in hand ready  for a days work on the open waters.

There is a simplicity to Island life that is alluring.  It’s easy to slip into the pace…to slow down into the moment.  The difficult part is going “Off Island” and back to the mainland. It always feels like I’m leaving something behind…a little bit of Heaven.