Projects from Squam Art Workshops

Squam Art Workshops at Rockywold Deephaven Camp

New Butterfly Collages

These are four new collages I did this week. They will be used by the VT/NH Visiting Nurse and Hospice Asssociation to promote a butterfly release event in memory of hospice patients.

Opening Reception at Cold Mountain Cafe

Cold Mountain Cafe in Bethlehem, NH, is graciously hosting an opening reception for my show with my daughter Felicity. The opening is Sunday, August 15th from 5-7 PM. The show will remain up for 6 weeks - have a look!

Loving Color

Crazy, Messy Studio - Getting ready for my upcoming show

My usually tidy studio (aka our living room) is cluttered and chaotic, as I'm getting paintings framed and ready for my upcoming exhibit with my daughter, Felicity Lingle, at the Cold Mountain Cafe in Bethlehem, NH. The show will be hung on August 14 - stay tuned for details about a possible opening reception - and stay up until the end of September, I think. Our work is very different - I haven't seen what Felicity has been working on, but she has some of her work on her blog. Check out the link on my blog list.

The orange painting of the pear is not finished, but I'm not sure what to do with it - it's so different, more like a fairy tale illustration than my usual landscapes - what do you think? There is a theory that people either love or hate purple and orange - I'm thinking the edges of the painting need to be toned down to allow the pear and the landscape to dominate. I welcome any constructive feedback.

Bleu Lavande - Fitch Bay, Quebec

Saturday morning we drove 90 minutes to Bleu Lavande, a picturesque lavender farm in Fitch Bay, Quebec. It was a perfect summer day. We have been growing lavender in our back yard, and we wanted to see how professionally grown lavender looks in comparison. It turns out, ours looks about the same - the peak intensity of color occured about a month ago. As it dries, the color of the flower fades, but the fragrance intensifies.

Bleu Lavande offers tours of the farm, a bistro, a spa with aromatherapy massage, a boutique with lavender scented bath and skin care products, a distillery, tents for weddings and social events and lavender picnic tables. It's a lovely drive and a spectaular setting with vistas all around.

Heat Wave in New Hampshire!

It's so hot that my plush tiger puss-cats flatten themselves as low as they can get. Picked mesclun and arugula from my garden and made myself a banana-peach smoothie. I found these old bottles in a box at the dump recently, which make a perfect display of my summer flowers. It's easy to be in denial about NH winters when we have this lush botanical beauty around us.

New Works in Progress

These are loosely based on photographs I took several years ago in southern "southside" Virginia. We were on our way to work, the sun was just coming up and I took the photos from a moving car.

Something Completely Different!

This is a tripych I did a few days ago. It is acrylic on gessoed panels, and is a very different style for me. I have always wanted to paint my flowers as they come into bloom, but get frustrated trying to paint them realistically, so I just decided to have fun and paint them in a whimsical, stylized manner.

New Paintings

I am finally getting back to painting after taking some time off to make jewelry and other things. I am a little rusty, but it feels good to be painting again.

Such A Busy Time!

So much has happened since my last post 2 weeks ago. I've been out painting with my friend Heidi, went to NYC to hear the Dalai Lama at Radio City Music Hall, came home to an explosion of lupines and iris in my front cottage garden, finished my syllabus and researched textbooks for my summer drawing course at Granite State College and got my garden planted!

Rhubarb - "Spring Tonic"

My mother makes rhubarb sauce and considers it spring tonic. She used to make rhubarb jam, which called for a box of strawberry Jello! I like to make rhubarb chutney, which is a great condiment with curries, as it cools down the heat. It's also good with cream cheese on crackers.
My favorite new rhubarb recipe is a torte, which I made from my frozen rhubarb. It was a hit at a couple of dinner parties we had last summer. It's a nice alternative to my standard rhubarb crisp, which I've made for many potlucks. Here it is:

RHUBARB TORTE

Combine 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup soft butter and 1/3 cup confectioner's sugar; press into a 9" pan with high sides and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. While the crust is in the oven, beat 3 eggs with 1 1/4 cups of sugar for 5 minutes till fluffy; stir in 1/4 cup of flour, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, 1 teaspooon vanilla and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Fold in 2 cups of rhubarb cut in 1/2" dice. Pour over crust and bake for 40 minutes at 350. Bon appetit!

A Beautiful Spring Day in New Hampshire

Yesterday was the perfect day! Blue skies, sunshine - a day to open all the windows and hang laundry out. The cats had fun in their big kitty prison yard - we fenced in our garden 6 feet high with a mesh overhang to keep other critters out and keep our cats in. They can observe the world, pounce after grasshoppers and be safe.

Meditations on Nature

I will be teaching a workshop - Meditations on Nature - this Saturday, May 15 from 9-12 at Littleton Studio School.

ART GIVEAWAY WINNERS!

Congratulations to Natalie, Marilinne and McKenzie Jean! I will be sending out your art prizes soon.

LOVELY SPRING

After a late blizzard on Wednesday, the sun is shining, the snow is melted and the tulips, grape hyacinths, primrose and daffodils appear to be recovering and reaching their heads to the sun. On days like today, I like to hang sheets and towels on the clothesline to dry. I open windows, and as the air current moves across the room, the dust bunnies skitter across the bare wood floors like tumbleweeds, which I go after with the dust buster.

Every spring, I vow to paint each of the flowers in my cottage garden as they bloom. My intentions are good, but by June, there are so many I can't keep up. I recently made a little 5x7 handbound book with exposed stitching that I am going to record my flowers in. I used canvas boards for the covers and collaged a color copy of a hollyhock painting on the front. I also made a larger version of the book, and used 300# watercolor paper for the covers. It is 7.5X11 - I am thinking of using it for mixed media portraits, which I don't often do, but have been inspired by some of the artists I've met at Squam Art Workshops, notably Gail Stoughton, Misty Mawn and Judy Wise (who I'm signed up with for a journal workshop in September). If I fill it with faces, I'll call it my Face Book (get it?).

Tomorrow, I will draw three names from the 15 who visited my blog, and announce the winners of three of my little collages!

Favorite Things Friday

ART GIVEAWAY DRAWING TOMORROW

These 3 mini-collages on wood will be given away to 3 winners who have left a comment on my blog. Good Luck!