Fiddlehead Fever

It’s raining…and raining…and yes it’s April and supposed to do that so we can have those wonderful flowers in the studio garden in a couple weeks.

And yes it’s great painting weather.

Anh yes, Zoe is coming to visit today and we’ll have sweet baby toes to tickle soon…

But right about now… I’m craving a plate of Fiddlehead Ferns …

Birthday Blog

I’ve been chained to the easel for long hours and late into the night and thought I’d take a break and write a quick blog to catch you all up.

The Granary Show is coming together. This year I have decided to focus on a few core themes and explore the subject matter across several paintings. A large central work accompanied by some other takes on the theme and then including smaller sketches to add some whimsy. The frustrating part is that I’m running out of time to meet the ambitious goals I set when I came up with this idea. Back when we were still enjoying turkey leftovers and looking forward to months of snowbound studio days.

Now… I haven’t been slacking off. Those winter months were productive but I had some commission work to do and an exciting Santa Fe show to paint for…stay tuned for that announcement… but here we are with easter bunnies and ham sandwiches and the clock is ticking.

 One of the “themes” I’m working with is … Laundry. Yes, that most humble, and dare I suggest…sensual, of the household chores. Back in the early days my friend Rex Wilder, the world famous poet, wrote a poem called The Folder. It echoed perfectly the act of love that goes into the folding of a lover’s freshly washed linens  and seemed to capture what I was trying to say in this painting of the same title (circa 2000)…

Pat is, as I write, up at the laundromat …lovingly washing and folding my clothes.

And I… am getting ready to play around with these three little panels…

It’s a PERFECT painting day…dark and stormy skies and rain puddles for Finn to play in while I set up a still life with tea towels and teacups and clothespins.

And at the end of this day…the promise of a sushi birthday dinner !

Life at 53 is a blast.