Away from it All...8x10 oil painting

Woke up early this morning and headed to the Studio with my coffee… I needed to paint the Beach!  I’ve spent the past week walking and absorbing the surf and sand  and watching the way the light makes the sea turn a denim blue. I ’ve taken some good pictures but I really wanted  to paint what I felt before the memory fades.  Being in my studio “Away from it all” was heavenly.  I could go for another walk on the beach now but I ’m feeling the pull to go back to paint some more. It’s pretty windy out there and I  don’t like sand blowing in my face so I think I’ll  just wait until things calm down and enjoy the shelter of solitude in my Studio for the rest of the day…

Three of my paintings will be displayed  as part of  the “Art by The Sea” Show  and Sale at the Ipswich Bay Yacht Club on Sunday September 19, 2010 from 12:00-4:00 p.m

All are invited to stop by and view work by several local artists .There will be paintings,  pottery and much more shown in a beautiful waterfront setting.  Should be fun…

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Another Day...5x7 oil painting

I went out to my studio to clean my brushes and check on a painting that I did in the afternoon but when I looked out and saw the sun setting over the fields I had to pick up my brushes and start painting again!    There was a feeling that I was channeling an “art spirit” from another world!  It’s just a small painting but it was a huge  moment of connection !

     ~”ONLY  FROM THE  HEART  CAN  YOU  TOUCH  THE   SKY”   ~ Rumi

   I took this photo late in the afternoon on a perfectly beautiful summer day.    I have a passion for painting the sky and so I’m going to my Studio today and will attempt to do a large painting using this image as well as my memory to guide me.   Not sure if  I will be able to transfer what I felt when I saw those clouds parading over the marsh …but it’s worth a try!   I’m going to put my Heart into and give it my best!                                                                                                                 

                   “How soft indeed the sound of butterflies eating!”…

                      ~Takayama  Kyoshi   (1874-1959) ` Japanese Poet

   ”Tiger Swallowtails” have been enjoying  the Buddleia Bush in my garden….     

I have been so happy taking long walks on the beach the past few days!  I like bringing the memory of the blue green water, surf and sand back to my studio where I can paint without the distraction of  the many beach goers.  And…I don’t need to worry about getting sunburned! 

Today I plan to finish this oil pastel that I began yesterday…but first I need to go back for another stroll to absorb some more ocean air and put my toes in the water!

 The cure for anything is salt water~ sweat, tears or the sea.”  ~

~Isak Dineson

I am not a “Summer Person”…the heat really gets to me and I have trouble being productive when I’m sweating.   All I want to do when it’s hot is  just be still …but yesterday was different.  I decided to take a  walk on Crane Beach at the end of the day and after walking to the end of the beach where I was pretty much all alone, I looked at the water and just had to dive in.  It didn’t matter that I had  clothes on…my white cotton skirt would dry .    Swimming underwater with my eyes opened I felt like a mermaid… it was such a freeing feeling!  I’m going back today…I’ll wear my bathing suit but I’m not sure if it wil be half as much fun !

 It’s taken a few years but the Hydrangea bush I planted in my Meditation Garden has finally blossomed and shown it’s true colors…definitely worth the wait!

There’s also some very tall pink phlox popping up where I didn’t plant it…I love when that happens!  It gives off an amazing scent everytime I brush past it’s blossoms when I go out to feed the birds in the morning…so nice! 

Hot pink Phlox

"Green Water"...Gouache Painting

~”I have seen the sea when it is stormy and wild ; when it is quiet and serene ; when it is dark and moody . And in all its moods , I see myself. “~

~ Martin Buxbaum

Monhegan Island ..oil Painting

Fields of Summer

I painted this last summer on a day just like today.  Because it was so hot I used my Gouache paints which can be mixed with water and do not require much clean up.  I’m going to go to my Studio this afternoon and get out the Gouache again and paint the feeling of Summertime as seen from the view from the windows there.  No bugs, no heat exhaustion…just some relaxing time alone on a hot summer day doing what I love.