it's sooo hot.....

part of the country is flooded, part of the country is suffering a heatwave....it seems that whoever i talk to their state is suffering from weather...

we have been caught in this heatwave, schools are canceled, power flickers from the drainage of the town...one can only think of the cool water or snow...a cool movie theater for the day, which restaurants have a/c....a draught is upon us, restaurants may be forced to switch to paper plates, we can't spare the water...

so i've added a cooling video... sorry to my texas friends, i know you don't want to see more water...

i was raised on an island, so surfing was a part of our island life... we would love to hear that a hurricane was moving in, to us, that meant waves... having surfers in the family, now passed down to the younger generation i thought this was a fun video to watch since i can't be there myself to watch my nephew....

sara's art....

www.portraitsbysara.com

a new addition....my sara

i have a new addition to my studio.... sara bell... sara has taken on the insane task of organizing my work and home life....well, i do wish her well... but i'm finding that she can be quite bossy around the studio areas... after just one week she has been creating a notebook of all the designs, measurements and colors that i use on a piece... for 12 years now, this process was something that was always "new" whenever i sat down to start a piece... and yes, i think her way will certainly work much better... she is eyeing the shelves and i can see her mind ticking away... hmmm....

sara and my family go way back to when she was renting a room next door going to college for her design and art degrees... i remember her racing her car up the driveway just like it was yesterday. she soon became an accepted part of our daily life helping care for my youngest, running errands, doing dishes... we were so sad when she graduated and left the mountains, back to her coastal life style...

but she just missed us all to much and returned after her internship was over... we snatched her as quickly as possible, after all who loves to play on the floor with children and animals more than her? eventually she started to swing her life from our home into the studio, helping here and there where needed... and now, she is in the studio part time throughout the week....

sara is not only a gifted organizer but she is an artist as well... so this opportunity was perfect for her, she is able to continue with her highly sought after paintings... her work carries the coastal views of her childhood, fishing boats and the sea... she commissions paintings of clients homes, college portraits and pets... i've included a link to sara's site so that you can take a peek... after all, if we keep her busy in "her" art, then she will be able to afford to stay with me!

check her out at... http://www.portraitsbysara.com/ christmas is just right around the corner...

painting painting painting

i've been enjoying the week of painting...i think i have used or mixed every possible color...and yes, that does include purple....racks and racks of game boards in their final stages will be moving over to make space for another group of game boards...it is a constant process, as some are being painted, others are drying, while yet more are in the woodwork stage...

people ask me, what is my favorite part of the process....hmmmm...i really think it is just what i'm working on in the moment...because there are so many different processes and they are spread over several weeks, it's always fun to move on to a different phase of a piece...

i've also been drawing my limited edition piece and hope to have it up for you to see in a couple of weeks...the edition is limited to just 20....

we are all having the dog days of august....school continually is being canceled in the afternoons...it seems we are trapped in this heatwave....thinking of snow.....

locking down the studio....

yes, it's happened yet again...juggling, juggling, juggling... i am thrilled that last week is over and i'm starting a new week...planting zinnias in my garden which always reminds me of jennifer lanne's work (link to the left), (and check earth angels too, (link to the left), she just received a new shipment)...refilling the birdfeeders, which actually are for the squirrel family that lives in one of the oaks...and dug up some clay from the yard to make some clay art with my youngest.... still hot, but know it's much hotter everywhere else, so won't complain to loudly....and will finish up the evening with a cook out....

i'm shutting down this studio again for the week, have lots of catching up to do, many orders going out at the end of the week, and many more next week....school is starting this week so things will quiet down, that is until 3:00....

and my words of advice for the week, don't trust a cow, no matter how cute they look....(and yes, i am aware that this is a bull, but i have to admit....i just love a cowboy)

it's the saturday music show...

oh....what a week it's been.....i happily bid goodbye to it! sit back and enjoy the music show while you catch up on your reading...

featured artist at the primitive gathering....

how can it be, july already has come and gone...the excitement that the red white and blue brings marches in and marches on by....

happy to have august, however i feel that it gets a little short changed....back to school rush, dog day afternoons, new schedules, appointments...but it is one step closer to the fall change that will be here before i know it...crisp air again, colors to brilliant to describe and the beginning of the snowflakes...

i was honored to be invited by Primitive Gatherings to be a guest artist for the month of august....deena of sweet annie, researches, designs and puts the whole idea together into the wonderful final displays... as i know i am, you probably are too, always looking for other collectibles and artists that you can meet and collect their pieces... primitive gatherings is just that, a wonderful primitive group of artists... 36 to be exact....and their creations remind me of a time sitting on the steps of an old log cabin holding the doll that my mother had stitched...

please return their kindness and visit their site and their wonderful artists... i'm sure you will find something that you just have to have.

http://www.theprimitivegathering.com/
http://theprimitivegathering.blogspot.com//

another artist for you to see.... suzanne davis...

as you know i just love meeting new artists and to write about their creative process... not only do i learn so much about another field but i find that i am inspired all over again...and since we all work from our studios we can share the stories of work, family or our processes which gives us a lot to laugh about.... i was introduced to suzanne through an artist friend lana manis, honeysuckle lane, (link to the left), who i have featured on my blog before... and immediately i was taken with suzanne's work... the wonderful sense of the past merged with her own amazingly unique talent...as you can see her paintings bring thoughts of a time gone by, and suzanne explains her work in these words...

"Naive or primitive portraits have always been a fascination of mine. I am intrigued by both the subject matter and the artistic style. I admire the accessibility and lack of pretense in the work of these itinerant portrait artists of the 18th and 19th centuries who, like me, were often self-taught.

Portraits of children and their favorite toys or pets are especially endearing and enjoyable to paint. I hope that my art captures the primitive style while honoring the primitive artisans of the past.

portraits are just one of the talents of suzanne davis... you must see her floor cloths....i myself have ordered one and maybe another before the first one is done... i just love the color floor cloths bring to a hall, studio and kitchen, and the durability of using year round, even during the snows that winter brings....

you might want to pull out some of your own photographs and commission a family piece from her too...it will be a wonderful family heirloom, combining the past and the present for the future...

suzanne's company, pear tree designs, is celebrating a kick off with her new web site... be sure to browse through her pieces, and think ahead for gift giving, i know she books up fast this time of year... http://www.peartreeprimitives.com/

take a walk with me...

this morning my young son and i decided we would go on a scavenger hunt... we found this site; geocache, which is so much fun. you type in your zip code and their are 'treasures' hidden all around which you seek out, a perfect game for the end of summer. when you find the treasure you replace it with something from yourself and leave your name behind... so off we went...

the chinese maple and big rock ended up to be at the farmers market... he found his treasure and replaced it with a small gold coin for the next seeker... we then headed over to the farmers market where the beans and squash were calling us for dinner.... after lingering and carrying our dinner we decided to take a walk in the shade....and this is what we stumbled upon...