Images also help me find and realize ideas. I look at hundreds of very different, contrasting images and I pinch details from them, rather like people who eat from other people’s plates. ~ Francis Bacon

I am back in the studio today. Two weeks before my next show in South Portland, ME. I said goodbye to some favorite pieces this past weekend.  Here  is one of them.

A few people at Manchester By The Sea Show. 

I am back in the studio today. I finally cleaned it too!  I found things I haven't been able to locate in months.   Two weeks before my next show in  South Portland, ME. 

 

"Wild Blue Yonder " more new work.

It's a good afternoon.  Our backyard has been a great source of inspiration for me lately.  This piece is 16x20 painted on stretched canvas.  Sides have been painted so no frame is needed. 

Strike A Pose

This is the first of three new paintings I will  be posting before my show on Saturday.   My thoughts were all over the place when I started this piece.  I knew I wanted to do something with red in it and a Tonkinese cat.  I decided  not to  paint a lot of things on the walls, as I tend to do, because I wanted the wallpaper itself to tell a story.  The size is 11x14 painted on stretched canvas.  For sale in my Etsy Shop. 

Summer Art Show

So I've been working on three paintings at once.    Considering  I'm the type of person who can only eat one thing on my plate at a time this is uncharted  territory for me!  However,  Saturday I am showing my work at Manchester By The Sea  and feeling a bit overwhelmed which is causing me to jump from one thing to another.  Maybe that's a good thing?    This will be my second year participating in this exhibit.  The town is absolutely beautiful.  If you are in the North Shore area of Massachusetts stop by.  The show is Saturday, July 23rd from 9 am to 6 pm.  Rain date Sunday. 

http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=195623510483377

Quote Of The Day

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.Scott Adams


I will be posting a couple of new paintings over the next few of days!
                                                                                                            

                                                      Catherine

                                                                                                               

                                                                                                              

It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.

I don't take smiles for granted.

     Although this blog is a place for me to post and talk about my art work today it’s sort of a personal diary. I’m getting a bit off track but actually not.    As some of you know, this week my youngest son Sam has been home every day for his school vacation.    Sam, now 17 years old, has profound autism.  He lives at a wonderful residential school right in our home town.     He is nonverbal, and when not feeling well exhibits some self abusive behaviors that can be heart breaking.  It’s the only way he knows how to communicate at times.   The fact that something is wrong and he cannot tell me, (even point to where it hurts) is the hardest part of all as a parent.  I would do anything to know what he is feeling and thinking inside.

 Having him home this week has really put things into perspective for me once again.   It forces me to really be in the moment. I don’t take smiles for granted.   This week, so far, has been a roller coaster ride. I never know what to expect when I go to pick Sam up in the morning.  I can tell as soon as I see him what my day is going to be like   .   Some days have been great with him.    When Sam has a good day,  I cannot express the joy and peace in my heart.    He is calm, happy with his crooked smile and engaging.  Other days have been very difficult and I‘ve cried the whole way home after dropping him off.  Saturday is the last day of his vacation and I feel that I always do gain something from this experience.  One thing I have realized is that I am getting older and he is getting much bigger and it takes its toll on my body.  I need to get in shape and stay healthy but, also that I need to become a little more accepting of whatever the day brings.  As a parent (of a special needs child)  you want to fix everything therefore, you spend all your time trying to figure out how to help them,  instead of trying to just be with them.  Perhaps I  will have some better insight into his world if I simply do that for today.     I will never give up trying to help Sam move forward so that he has a better life,  but for today I will just be here now.                           

                                                      Catherine

Quote Of The Day

Sit in reverie and watch the changing color of the waves that break upon the idle seashore of the mind. ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

For Now

  For the remainder of this week,  I will leave you with some favorite quotes paired with my art work.  I'll be posting new painting next week!

Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter. ~Oscar Wilde