When I am home in Vermont, I see my little niece and family and do not get much done in the way of creating art. When I'm home in Maine, I have flourished, creatively! Maine has been a wonderful haven for me, and because I have no easy internet access, I have far less distractions.
Since January I have written a little children's book for my special niece's sixth birthday. I also invested six weeks doing eighteen pen & ink/watercolor illustrations during April and May. My book will hopefully go to print soon! Please keep your eyes peeled for Gos's Big Dreams =) !
I will explain more about this book in another post. For now, I am introducing....Gos, a little gosling:
May and June also found me home in Vermont for six weeks. I did a lot of research, reading about Print on Demand companies and how to set up graphics pages. I happily have some new tech skills as a result.
At the end of June I came home to Maine via an Art Gallery event held at Regis College in Massachusetts. I sadly missed meeting Richard Schmid because he was ill, but I really enjoyed watching Daniel James Keys demonstrate how to paint a Still Life in oil. A worthwhile weekend, I met some great New England artists.
I gained a new friend while traveling, too. My luggage contained five paintings under glass - it was VERY heavy. I knew I was at least five minutes late taking the "T" into Boston, and it didn't look as if I'd make my connection at the bus station...I cried out, aloud, on the platform, "Oh Father, help me!"...suddenly, a strong man was there beside me, asking how he might help! He then changed his train route to assist me in going from the train station to the bus station. I call him my "train angel" =). He and his wife are from the mid-west but were in Boston seeing relatives. It was a comfort to know my Father was with me that day!
At the end of June I finally completed two large acrylic paintings and varnished them. I hung a small exhibit at a little Inn/Bed & Breakfast for the month of July:
In August I moved these nine original works - two acrylics, seven watercolors - to the Wilson Museum.
I began an Artist-in Residence position here at the Wilson Museum at the beginning of July, in Castine, Maine. The Museum kindly offered me a really great place to stay, across the street from the ocean! It's been an idyllic summer, one of the most enjoyable times I've had in years!!!
The gracious museum staff, and my new painting and basketry students have really blessed me!! I've met some great folks who just stopped by to talk, too! I am grateful for those who have collected my work!
Castine is full of majestic elm trees and the stately homes here are some of the finest examples of early New England architecture I've ever seen. All around, it is a beautiful location for an artist. I have just loved it!!
Below is the Appleman/Betts home, circa 1860, where I have stayed on and off since July. This house is presently for sale. Due to the beams and foundation needing work, the museum is taking any offer as long as someone will move the building by the end of October. Otherwise this fine old home will sadly be dismantled.
Plein Air, 6-1/2 x 10-1/2 watercolor:
There is more to share. I painted a large work for an International exhibition with only two weeks to make the deadline, back in July. I will know soon if it has been accepted, or not.
I also participated in a local Library Silent Auction Benefit for the second year, and will write a different blog post with those images. Both sold within hours of my completing them.
As always, I am glad to share good news. Thank you for reading and following my creative journey!
May the rest of your summer be blessed and full of inspiration.
Your painting friend,
elise
"Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.....O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil. Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children. And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it." ~ Psalm 90:1-2, 14-17
