I may not be the most dedicated blogger.....but I have been painting!  

Stay tuned for more.......

It's almost March!

While 2016 seemed to go on forever, 2017 is zipping right along.  The pets and myself have been doing well, watching turkeys out the back window, playing in the snow and of course painting! 

I've added three recent portraits to my pet's tab.  All my pet portraits are a unique creative experience with their own pleasures and challenges. recently I have been thinking about taking a step back and returning to the practices of abstract painting & mixed media....with a liberal number of pet portraits in the mix.  

Burdy and Jelly in a quiet moment.

Both my pets are rescues, as were those before them.  I believe in speaking for those who have no voice.  This voice speaks for wild animals that are so horribly impacted by the legal use of leg-hold traps. This voice speaks against lawmakers threatening to eliminate the Endangered Species Act. I always believe in acting locally as well as globally and so my local action is to donate 15% of any pet portrait commissioned in 2017 to Almost Home Rescue and Rehab Dog Sanctuary .  Globally I will continue to persist in any way that I can to be a voice for all species. 

Welcome 2016!

Well, you can see how well my 2015 Resolution to Blog worked!  No more resolutions....I'll blog when I'm good & ready!

2015 saw me take a 6 month hiatus from painting, due to cataracts dulling my vision.  I had them removed in December and am preparing to paint again with a vengeance!

Burdy has grown to be a big healthy house cat and for her first birthday she got a new friend, Rescue Dog Jelly Roll from Florida! It took a couple months for them to acclimate, but now we're one big happy family!

Wishing everyone all that they wish for in 2016....and I hope you enjoy my art!

Time for another Resolution!

Since the inception of this Blog I've made a yearly resolution to do more blog posting!  Though I love to write I guess I'm just not a natural Blogger....or maybe it's just connecting with other aspects of life too much to find time to connect via this medium!  2014 has been a rough year...starting when I unexpectedly lost my poor cat Smeagle in January and continuing with sad news & loss from every direction.  Sorrow often slows down my creative process....and when you're writing about that creative process....well, you get the picture.  

One very bright spot that entered my life at the end of 2014 was Burdy (aka Burdock) a feral kitten I rescued in September!  Burdy's mom, Wampus (who was actually featured in a previous post) has been wintering in my garage for four years, and this year she came back early, with kittens!  After hearing of a kitten siting, I was taking apart the garage, when I spotted Wampus under my car!  I spoke to her and she ran for the field, with me behind her.  Rather than speeding away, she kept pausing and looking over her shoulder; she could have easily lost me.    She came to a stop behind a fallen tree and turned to look at me with a put upon air about her.  Prancing across that tree, without a care in the world, was Burdy. (At that moment called Pygmy Puff)   I was able to scoop her right up, and she responded with a nip and a quick escape.  It was growing dark, and I returned to the house with thoughts of the little gray puff.  It rained all night, and I couldn't stop thinking about her, so the morning found me back at the dead tree.  Wampus was nowhere to be seen and I caught a quick glimpse of a dark kitten who quickly scooted deeper in the bracken.  Burdy was hiding under a hummock of grass with her light blue grey hair squirting out in every direction!  This time I had gardening gloves, so I scooped her up again & popped her in a crate..  Unfortunately Squatch (long known as kitten #2) was much more evasive than Burdy and I could never get close to her, though I continued to try for several weeks...and still do if I see her.

I created a safe den for Burdy in a large dog crate, with litter, hiding spaces,food, water etc.  She didn't like me at first, but we began a daily interaction with toys. (Thanks #JacksonGalaxy!) After the first couple days, her world was in the center of the action....loud music, noisy tools, people coming & going.   In just over a week she was sleeping in my lap and purring!  Burdy was around 4 weeks old when she left the wild to live inside, which I read was the perfect age for a feral cat to acclimate and she's done great!  Her mom and sis still appear in the garage, where they have cat houses and food and water to get them through.  Sometimes I wonder if Wampus knew Burdy was a handful and so led me to her....I just know I spend a lot of time typing one fingered now, paint with a furry little helper and am leapt on with greeting every time I walk through the door!  

So now I have two resolutions, Though Wampus is very "street smart" around the foolishness of humans and has avoided the trap in the past; my first resolution is to spay "my" feral cat population through Trap, Neuter and Return.., AND my second is to make more posts to this blog!

Check out some of my work from 2014 on my pets page,  And even though it's February....a Happy Healthy Art filled, Pet filled New Year to all! 

 

 

 

Creativity!

The Creative juices have been flowing this Fall...it's just a matter of finding the time to keep up with them!  I don't know if it's my upcoming show at the Barre Opera House or all the inspirational music experiences this season, but color just seems more vibrant! If you check out the two new entries on my pet page you can see for yourself!  I am also excited to be exploring my newest medium of felting at a new level by creating my first Felt Painting!  A portrait of Mizar enjoying an ice cream cone, with the base material being an old shirt of my mom's....the only 100% wool I could easily come across!  Did you know most felt these days is made of recycled plastic instead of wool?  It's a fact.

Busy, busy!

Fall is officially upon us, and the mornings have been frosty!  I recently delivered this glowing portrait of Moxie to her loving family and freed up some time to work on pieces for my upcoming Exhibit at the Barre Opera House this November!  Maybe my work will be hanging when Mavis Staples performs there....wonder if she has any pets...either way, I can't wait to see that great lady belt it out!    As for freeing up time, I am also blogging at Cow Cab Tales and creating promotional material for Montpelier's new Capital Cab & Car Service (aka: Cow Cab, due to her unique design).  And I am very excited to announce that I will be part of a pop up art gallery October 4 from 4 - midnight during Montpelier's Art Walk.  The exhibit is designed to reflect on Domestic Violence Awareness Month, which happens every October.  This happening will include Art, Poetry, Music and performance art including a 10:30 performance by friend and fellow artist James Secor on the Chora!  Can't explain it....you'll just have to come and check it out!  This theme does not fall in my pet portrait genre, and I will be showing an older Mixed Media piece from my Emotional Boundaries series, which has never before been exhibited in Central VT.  The fog is now lifting on another crisp fall day and I wish anyone reading this a Happy Harvest Season!  Hope to see you at Montpelier Art Walk! 

Labor Day Weekend!

It has been a busy Summer!  I have been taking a brief hiatus from shows while I prepare to exhibit at the Barre Opera House this Fall and catch up on my portrait list!  I also discovered a fun new art this Spring: Needle Felting!  I have created critters with my sister and shared the fun craft with my friends in a cozy cottage on Wing's Neck, MA.  It's addicting!  And of course we had to tie dye to celebrate Battle of Bennington Day!  What could be more appropriate?

 

Between that...a couple music festivals...the July 3rd Parade...perusing Petfinder...camping at Lake Willoughby...work at the WCYSB and trying to get a few things done around here....I don't know where the time's gone!  I have shared this summer's portraits on my Pets page.