Silence

I've been absent for a while, a bit of a pause with the blog posts, but still painting.  My shelter series continues to grow. For some reason, maybe because of this summer's constant heat, I have painted a couple of winter shelters.  I hope I have captured the intense quiet one hears the first night of a new heavy snow. I grew up in Mississippi where we rarely got the depth of snow that offers complete silence.  I did love to walk through the woods late on summer nights and see the forest through the moonlight - it was quiet - summer's distant relation to a late night snow.  Right now, though, I am enjoying hearing summer crickets and will appreciate their song for a little longer - until the winter brings complete silence again.

Babies love art.......

Well, I guess that may be a little presumptuous.  But, I do know from experience that parents LOVE to make their new baby’s room warm, sweet and visually interesting.  If you open some of the wonderful children’s books out there you will find the most beautiful thought provoking illustrations.  Some of my all time favorites include, Three Wishes and Zen Shorts by Jon Muth, Where’s Pup? by Dayle Ann Dodds (illustrations by Pierre Pratt) and Russell the Sheep by Rob Scotton.   I have an on-going series of Paper Lily pieces meant to celebrate the concept of art for kids, and grown-ups too.  The first piece titled, Leaving Normal may say much to a new parent who, once baby arrives, will have officially checked out of normal and into a new world!  I have recently sent this one to new parents of a baby boy, I hope they have great fun one day creating a story to go along with the frog’s trip on a bubble.  Check my Etsy site for a ‘kid’s art’ category, there will be many more to come.

End of Summer

I always feel a little guilty at this time of year because I know I have failed to eat enough of the delicious home-grown local vegetables that were so plentiful all summer.  Especially when I go to the grocery store and see the pitiful options for tomatoes - all a bit anemic and lacking the robust color and variety of summer.  And so, for all of my tomato loving friends, I have celebrated summer on paper - with a bounty of Heirloom tomatoes.  Enjoy~

Measured Drawings

I love dimension strings.  The fondness probably began when I was very young and would see the house plans and elevations my father had drawn – with the story of a home stretched around, inside, above and below.  The interest in these powerful lines and numbers to inform, to manifest a future object followed me to my education where I watched talented design, architecture and landscape architecture students create beautiful images of imagined work.  I am old enough to have experienced my design education without the aid of computer programs.  Everything was on the board, with pencil scrubbed corners to emphasize important points and dimensions strings added to tell the story of width, depth, height.  I have, for a time, been trying to reconcile the idea of stories with the natural and built environment.  My ‘measured drawings’ intend to capture a thought, to deliver an idea or a moment in time.  I hope you enjoy ~ there will be more to come….

Don't Look Down

Things Sheltered Unseen

Window Panes

Take Note

Muscadine Jubilee ~ Pelahatchie, MS

Deeply Rooted - titles this piece.







I am heading to Pelahatchie, Mississippi's Muscadine Jubilee this weekend with lots of new pieces.  If you are in the neighborhood - stop by!  It is sure to be a festive day.

http://www.pelahatchie.org/muscadine.php

Shelter Me.

Shelter.

A door

A window

A roof

A fireplace for warmth and walls to cut the wind.

The small tenant houses pictured are, I hope, still standing in Waverly, Alabama.. I passed them so many times on my drive from Mississippi to Auburn, Alabama when I was in college.  I loved their honest form and although I know little about their history, I can only assume that their inhabitants hoped for more, but were most likely also thankful for the simple shelter provided by each structure. 

I am not sure if my interest in the small dwelling started with the Waverly shelters or if it started when I was very young and spent time in the woods building structures out of cut bamboo and string or from the memories I have playing in the small house out back (which I have recently been told was actually a camper trailer that my Father parked on the hill behind our house) ~ that was a surprise.  

Here are a few of my recent shelter pieces.  The first, Silent Night,  is watercolor/pencil.  the second is a block print.  The last image is a concept sketch of a piece I will post soon. Enjoy~

A wedding gift

I was approached several months ago to paint hydrangeas as a gift for a new bride.  The bride, for her bouquet, selected award winning Limelight hydrangeas, which have an extended blooming season from midsummer through fall.  The flowers begin blooming in a chartreuse hue that is almost white, then they change to light lime in color.  As fall approaches, the flowers begin to turn pink.  The bride, the flowers and (I have heard....) the wedding were all beautiful. I hope she enjoys her hydrangeas for years to come.  To read more about Limelight Hydrangeas, visit

msucares.com/news/print/sgnews/sg09/sg090430.html