Tag: gallery 1261

Radishes, Radishes

Posted on by heather

The first handful of handgrown handpicked garden treasure.
Today I met the early dew and weeded another patch to throw in the next crop of radishes.
After reading this somewhere, I first put a spoonful of jello mix, I believe it was cherry, in my hand and then added the seeds before planting. I know… who knew. Whoever “they” was swears it will add nitrogen and other good stuff and make them even more delectable.

We shall see. In the meantime, this morning’s haul included…well was exclusively…one French Breakfast Radish and one Cherry Bell.

cherry bell

And the taste test results…Cherry Bell comes out on top.
A tad sweeter which holds the spicy bits longer on the buds.
Plus I love the deeper true red.
They both have a place in my garden and we shall see what the next “Jello” batch yields.

In the meantime, I do have an art-radish related announcement…

Gallery 1261 has a new show opening June 6th… Group X-2
I admit that I am clueless as to the origin or concept for the title, but they are still letting us old farts in on the fun. And, in honor of the current harvest…

french breakfast radish
French Breakfast Radish   Oil on Panel   24″ x 20″

Hope you can find a bunch of these springtime wonders to help welcome your morning…ta for now.

A Season of Greetings

Posted on by heather

Skating on Thin Ice

The Studio is alive with dancing muses…
The Teacups are dividing up into twos and threes
donning their mittens and warmest scarves
and the props have been hears whispering of yuletide mischief and cheer.

Our best and our brightest…
are wishing you and yours
a season of clear frosty nights,
with morning cups of steaming tea,
and afternoon walks amongst the snowy pines.

Be well,
stay safe,
and maybe we will catch up,
grab an elbow,
and walk a little ways
down the path with you.

Yours in hibernating brushes and winter wisps of Darjeeling,

Heather and Herself,

AND Finn !

 This painting is currently featured in a new CyberShow…an online exhibition hosted by Gallery 1261 …which does exist as a brick and mortar gallery in Denver, Colorado…by day…but, as with all things worth taking a second look at…
there are many layers of mystery awarding the curious “mouse” clicker…
(click on this link to view… http://gallery1261.com/html_shows/13-small-works/neill-heather-skating-on-thin-ice-12×16-oil.htm#.Uq20EXZ3vGg )

 

fixing old things

Posted on by heather

It has been a wonderful week around here.

The weather is saying…autumn is here…get out your flannel shirts, brew a pot of organic coffee, take a mug and that little woven basket, and head out to the sky chair
for a morning of spoon carving !

Spoon Carvers Tea

Galleries are calling…wanting…NEEDING new work ! And I have spent the last month doing just that. New paintings will be arriving on the Vineyard, in Denver, and the one on it’s way to Santa Fe sold even before I put the frame on it !

chamber music

So why, you might ask, is this artist sitting around sipping coffee with a knife in her hand instead of a brush ???

Well, I’m in the final countdown before I go in to the hospital on Monday to get me another of those bionic knees. The last hiatus of healing kept me out of the studio for a couple months and I’m aiming to beat that record. I have a renewed sense of purpose, and focus, and a pocket full of positive feedback and kind thoughts, that have filled my creative coffers to the brim and I’m eager to be on the other side of the hospital gown.

The order of the next few days is…. R-E-L-A-X…and the best way I know of to do that is to carve a spoon.

many spoons

And in keeping with the theme of the week, Fixing Old Things, I picked out this old mess of a spoon to start with…

old spoon frontold spoon side

It must be twenty years old and I can see why I never finished it. Been hanging around in the spoon bag for so long it has a rich dark patina and is hard as…well a hardwood.
Here’s what difference a couple hours made…

new spoon frontnew spoon side

It’s more difficult to measure what those hours did for my peace of mind, but my blood pressure cuff might tell the story.

So you all enjoy this fine weather, and the coming of the colors as the leaves and the air and the apples get good and crisp. I’ll let you know when I get back to the easel.
Meanwhile…grab someone you love and take a walk for me !

Lots of Love,
Heather

 

 

 

Disappearing Purple

Posted on by heather

green bean tea

The other day I was talking with my friend Katie and we got to comparing our gardens this year. She was excited to be growing purple beans but disappointed to discover that they turned green after being cooked….hmmmmm ?

At the time, my beans were just beginning to grow…

beans beginning

so I had to wait…and wait…

beans 1

This week they are ready to pick !
And Zoe is here to help,

zoe and beans

funny zoe and beans

So we filled up the blue box,
with purple and green beans,

picked beans

and threw them in the boiling water with the pasta…
(which I forgot to take a picture of …)
and YES, the purple ones DID turn green.
But not to worry, Zoe reports that they both taste the same and she should know because the entire box went into her belly.

It’s been wonderful to have an assistant in the garden and we have lots more to do before she leaves so I’ll sign off now…

Yours in red wagons and gummy bears…

wagon

 

 

 

Boomerangs…

Posted on by heather • 1 Comment on Boomerangs…

An arc
Something thrown out into the world
Where it spins and bounces off of life
Then comes sailing back to where its journey began

In this case, two people
brought together by chance…by hazard
then launched into the world
to follow separate paths
in search of creative truths
and now reunited and returning …

Rex Wilder and I started our fling in the late 70’s when we met as students of life attending Connecticut College. He, with ambitions to be a poet. Me, the fledgling artist. On the road to masterpieces, we both carried around sketchbooks and filled them with earnest, if early, scribbles and thoughts. We scoured the streets of New London in search of authentic souls to gleen for signs of intelligent life in the universe. I, the Sancho Panza to his Don Quixote. And many a windmill did we tilt.

Then our trajectories divert and almost 40 years of pursuing our separate arts flies by…Rex becomes that poet and achieves fame and book royalties…I become that artist and get to paint every day.

And now the story comes sailing back to home and we, the seasoned artistes, have collided in one act of creation…

rexs bookThis, his second published collection of poems, is poised to be launched on its own journey…and humbly holding all those precious treasures in place…if you’ll forgive me…Suspended.

suspended

On so many levels this is magical. For us both, the circles within circles are joyous and stunning to celebrate and sitting back in my easel chair and pondering how far we’ve both traveled and being reminded of the youthful ambitious dreams that we shared finds me smiling alot these days.

I’m sure there will be much ado surrounding the official book release and I will keep you all posted about that. For now, you can access more information and even pre-order the book on Amazon via this link…click here.

And the original oil painting is currently on display at Gallery 1261 in Denver and you can visit it via this link…click here.

I’m waiting until I have book in hand to read all the poems but I have peeked at a few and they are delightful divertissements… I think you will enjoy.

Now, back to the brushes.

Repeat after me…

Posted on by heather

F-R-I-E-D Motherboard

After spending the better part of two days watching the slow train wreck of my studio computer and learning that they call the window that kept popping up… the BSOD which is short for Blue Screen of Death…I filled my teacup, went to the bathroom, charged up my phone and called India.

Simon and I got right to it and I was with him…swapping out memory cards and testing and retesting the slots…listening as the fan noises got worse each time…right up until the thing started to smoke. OK he says, I’ll put you on hold and speak to my supervisor. Tap tap tap… glad I took those earlier call precautions…on hold musak…then yep we are sending out a technician to replace the motherboard. My Dell extended warranty at work.

So I left the mess in the office and as I was closing the door behind me I saw this painting which I had finished a couple weeks ago…

It’s title is The Tinker and it’s headed out to Denver next month but it’s prescient composition made me laugh…all I needed for today’s tinkering was a screwdriver and a man 5000 miles away.

And yes, that is the number 3 !!! which perplexed so many of you. I’ll get you a better shot in a day or so. For now…I’m heading back to the easel and something that does not require electricity or motherboards…although I could use a few more memory cards if you know what I mean.

 

Midwinter Details

Posted on by heather • 3 Comments on Midwinter Details

 In the early days of January, in the deep midwinter studio, when I sit down with the piles of sketchbooks and sort throught the long lists of painting ideas… I feel unfettered. Before the filters of deadlines and salability and subjectable subject choices begin to weigh me down… I take chances. I choose challenges. I tease the muses who whisper, “keep it simple” and  “No not THAT nightgown”.

I have spent the last few weeks wading in that most wonderful of seas…the sea of details. Frolicking with the tiniest brushes. Taking extra days to glaze down and bring back up entire areas of light only to glaze them back down again and slowly, slowly refine. I’ve taunted and tweaked compositions and twisted ribbons and fringes in the wind.

Here is a sneak peak of the first of these, The Mender…

It will appear in Denver in March at the Gallery 1261 Contemporary Realism Show. It’s companion, The Tinker, was finished last night and you will have to wait a bit for that pic but it shares a few elements with it’s Mender…a rug, a teacup, a pair of spectacles…and the number three.

Now, all the wheels of creativity turn to…the island. The trove of images which I’ve stored up from Martha’s Vineyard is indeed full of treasure. And before those afore mentioned weighty filters and deadlines begin to creep in…I will let only the carefree muses in from the cold. The ones who say, “Go for it” and “If not now, when”, and let them sit alongside while I turn the pages of this sketchbook…

and decide what to paint next.