ART IN THE BARN …ESSEX. MA.  June 11-13th 2010

I will be participating in this show again this year…always a fun event with alot of diverse art work , pottery and jewelry .   Part of the proceeds benefit the Essex County Greenbelt which is great.

The hours are  Friday, June 11th    9:30a.m-4:00p.m  with a Wine and Cheese Reception that evening from 6:30-8:30p.m. On Saturday June 12th the hours are 9:30a.m-6:00p.m and on Sunday June 13th  10:00a.m-4:00p.m

For more info. on this event you can check the Essex County Greenbelt site. ~

Had a pleasant surprise today when I stopped into ValeriesGallery  in Newburyport this afternoon and found out that one of my paintings had sold!  The painting is called “Up Hill” and it was done on Monhegan Island off the coast of Maine.   The timing couldn’t have been better because I’m headed back there next week for a few days to do some painting.   Having someone like your painting enough to purchase it is always such a great motivator.  I am so ready to get out to the Island and set up my easel!

I never planted these poppies in  my  garden … they just showed up!

I’m pretty sure that they “tagged along” with some ferns that a friend shared with me.   It makes me smile to see a burst of orange in my otherwise “all white garden” !

Ten years ago when I still owned and ran my shop “Eliza Grays Goods”  I have to admit that I was a bit stressed at times!  My boys were twelve and ten years old and my husband was traveling alot for business.  I was trying to do it all…painting, parenting, practicing Yoga, and more.  That’s when I decided that I needed a “White Garden”.  Somewhere that I could sit and decompress… embraced by a calming shroud of all white flowers to soothe my busy mind.

 Years later I still begin each day either sitting on the white Victorian bench in the garden or inside looking out at the birds perching on white petals.

Some morning  soon…when the light is just right I’m going to set up my easel and paint my white garden! 

One of my mother’s favorite songs was “Apple Blossom Time”.  She would often sing the song while she was driving in the car with her crew of six children ( how did we all fit in that wagon?)…or sometimes when she was in the kitchen putting  the groceries away.  Her eyes would gleam with a sparkle .  I like to  imagine that she was remembering romantic days with my Dad when they were “courting”.  She said it was “their song”.   Now that she is gone I find myself humming the words to the  same song when I look out the window and see the apple  tree blossoming.  “I’ll be with you in apple blossom time…”  And I truly believe that she is.

  OIL PASTEL   8×10

It was a long time coming but finally I ’m able to paint the fields with soft hues of  pinks, greens and violet.

Spring always seems to drift by way too fast.   I need to get out the next few days and paint its budding colors before it’s too late!

My neighbor Kristie left a dozen fresh eggs from her chickens in my mailbox today…such a treat!

It was perfect timing for me to find them because I was “home alone” tonight for dinner …which doesn’t happen often.  So I fried  a couple of eggs, made some wheat toast with jam and then happily sat in front of the T.V.  channel surfing.  It doesn’t take much to make me happy these days…It’s the simple things like fresh eggs and a little freedom for the night that make me feel like a new person.  Now I’m going to soak in a warm bubble bath …the perfect ending to a relaxing night by myself.

"Morning has Broken..."

It is a beautiful day…I hope that everyone will take the time to look at the sky and feel the warmth of the sun on their faces…even if it’s from a window looking out.  Happy week to all…make it a good one!

On the Easel

 This painting that I was working on before the snow started falling and the seasons changed is still sitting on my easel in the studio waiting to be completed. I’m hoping that sometime soon I’ll be able to get back to it!

I think that  I’m beginning to understand how this all works . Alot of “trial and error”  but I’m getting there!  It has been a big lesson in patience…which I really need !

And for someone who at one point was determined that she didn’t want or need a computer… having  this site up is quite remarkable.

“Never say never!”….challenges are what make us who we are.