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I will sleep much better tonight…

Thanks to our friend Susan who suggested we try calling the electric company to see if they would come and take down the 100 foot tall fir tree that was threatening to topple onto their wires that traverse the studio yard. I have been fretting about this tree for a couple years and this winter it began to take on a lean that was terrifying. The roots were lifting out of the ground and I layed awake through the last two nor’easters listening for a crash.

So I called, Micky came out the next morning and said yep we’ll treat it as a storm damage so we don’t have to pay for it and she actually thanked me for calling them. This morning the trucks showed up with a crew of happy hard working guys who quickly and professionally took that baby down…. AND they hauled the wood to the corner of the yard for us AND they raked and cleaned up ! I am impressed and grateful.

Pat and Finn and I watched the show with awe and when they left we sighed a big relief and crossed that chore right off the big list. Now we’re taking suggestions as to what nice shade tree we can plant there …

Here’s a slide show of the tree felling adventure… PS- after a few days I removed the slide show because it was causing the blog to open very slowly…

Zink family to the rescue…

One small step for our studio garden….one giant THANK YOU !!! to the Zink family who showed up in force yesterday to help haul two truckloads of dirt to the new raised beds out back.

These guys really know the meaning of hard work and humor and friendship and kindness. Saren, Chuck, Dana, Jim, Jake and Ryan….we are so grateful to you for making a monumental chore into an evening of fun and good company.

Here’s a little slideshow of the dirt moving party… and the snap-your-fingers-progress that has these new beds ready for planting way ahead of schedule…and a much appreciated random act of kindness… [slideshow]

And the bid goes to…

When we go to auctions I am notorious for getting caught raising my number a wee bit too enthusiastically. It ‘s just so much fun…and I really, really want that hundred year old pharmacists chest that has a locked compartment and a lost key !

Well, ok, I did go over my budget at the time but that piece of furniture has been featured in enough paintings to have paid for itself many times over…

And today the tables have been turned and it’s kinda fun to see some people bidding on my artwork…and for a good cause. Here’s a link to check out the Westtown School Online Auction where some of our new HN Studio Prints are included … WESTTOWN SCHOOL ONLINE AUCTION

Remember to bid responsibly…and often !

It’s my birthday…

and I’m taking the whole day off… from painting that is…

the easel chair is empty…

The daffodils are in bloom…

Finnegan, Pat and I have taken the first walk in the park of the season…

and there is a stack of wood in the driveway that wants to become new garden beds…

and the promise of sushi when the sun begins to set…

a fine day to turn 52.

Art Opening

Fellow Artists and dear friends Wendy Weldon and James Langlois have a show opening today at the Chilmark Public Library at 3pm,  on the island of Martha’s Vineyard.

Sending by Wendy Weldon
Berta by James Langlois

I hope all our island friends will stop by to give them a hug of congratulations and support from Pat and Me. The rest of us here on the mainland can view some of the artwork here.

I lift my brushes to them !

Ross by James Langlois
Sketches by Wendy Weldon
Embracing by Wendy Weldon
Nat by James Langlois

Finnegan’s Cousin

Something fun for all you dog lovers out there….

My brothers Mike and Ralph have a lab named Trevor who has made the big time…

Trevor was a rescue pup and his puppy photo was chosen to be on the new stamps which are also being used as a fund raiser for HALO which is buying food for shelter pets.

My sister-in-law told us that one of their new lab pups came from the same rescue in CT as Trevor…all in the family.

Congrats to the pack.

Knocking on my chamber door…

This cardinal and his mate have been tap tap tapping on my studio window incessantly for …ever.

I have tried closing the blinds, leaving them half open, open all the way, hanging strings in the window… putting up tiny signs that say hush… and still…every day…he and his mate come back a’ knockin’.

I even suspect that this is the second generation because last year the female had a strange growth on her head…probably from knocking it all day…and this year it’s gone.

One morning this winter, while I was eating breakfast, a cardinal slammed into the kitchen door. I mean kamakazi. He didn’t make it and what with the three feet of snow on the ground the best I could do for him was to throw him in the garden. He sank like a stone. Yesterday I found the bright red feathers amongst the brilliant green chives.

Perhaps he was the patriarch and the current pair are keeping up the family tradition of trying to get into the studio…or just to get my attention…

this must be the muses…

but I’m just not getting it yet.

Any thoughts ?

Art Auction

Westtown School is hosting their 2010 Art Show and Sale this weekend.

My dear friend Ellen Cryer Gilbert is Director of Advancement at the school and I’m pleased to help support her and the school by including some prints from our New Collection in this sale.   The show opens tonight with an artist’s reception from 5 – 8 pm and continues tomorrow from 10 – 3.   Following this sale there will be an online art auction which we are participating in as well.  Over 30 artists are showing their works … here’s a link to view the list of artists and their websites.