Progress Report

My new alarm clock is programmed for a 6am feeding…no matter what.  And with that change in my morning routine I am finding myself way ahead of the game…breakfast eaten, walk taken, gardening done in the coolest part of the day and most of all…puppy played out and ready for a nap …and all by 8am.

So here’s a few pics of the last week’s worth of progress. Lots of time spent tightening up areas that I thought were finished. I reworked the dock area…there are more layers of detail in this section alone than I have hairs on my head…(I know, I know…that’s why I always wear a hat but you get my meaning)

reworking-the-dock-area

 Then I moved over to rework the upper left hand corner and added the suggestion of a boat behind the tackle shack, some clouds along the horizon, a few colorful kayak paddles, and a soaring gull to bring some life to the field of blue…

more-work-on-the-left-side

kayak-paddles

for-gully

Then down to the bottom and the decisions about what to do with the foreground. As the tide changes this area migrates from lacily raked seaweed to a carpet of small pebbles to a foamy lipped saltwater bay…I wanted to bring the seaweed in to give a gesture of some motion and to keep the eye moving around the composition but I wasn’t sure I could do justice to the complexity of the colors and fibers.Then I found a liner brush that I’d never used before which was perfect for dragging out long sinewy lines…

 liner-brush

seaweed-first-layer

seaweed-city

seawee-close-up

And, in between training the “OFF” command and teaching my apprentice the proper use of a gardening glove …

finnegan-and-the-flax

my-dandy-lion

I have completed the pile of drifted wood and ropes and chains…

drifted-wood-and-ropes

and moved back over to some more work on the dock…

more-dock-layers

Which brings us up to today… the 29th of April… and in spite of the many, many more interruptions than I anticipated this painting can now, hopefully, kick into high gear…or make that a kick in the painter’s gear box… and I can have it finished and drying by the end of next week.

Off I go…

HN

Old friends make new friends

A breakfast party !

breakfast-party

With two of our favorite girlfriends… Amy and Sue. We go waaaaaaay back and finally found a slot in all of our busy schedules to reconnect….they brought the bagels and we brought the puppy kisses.

welcoming-her-new-friends

These women have the most powerfully positive and peaceful energy and Finnegan was instantly in tune and in love…

 kisses-all-around

Amy even gave Finn her first lesson in the Art of Wi …

amy-teaching-finnegan-how-to-wi

But all this excitement was tiring out the wee one…

sues-got-the-touch1

and it was time for a flip flop nap for Finnegan…

sleeping-with-flip-flops

Angels walking among us ….

thanks gals…

love ya, H

Meeting the Pack

Yesterday was the best.

Finnegan got to meet some of her pack members for the first time and she had a blast. Saren brought Margie, the lab who survived her breeding years to be rescued by the most conscientious dog owner I know and now she is living the life of Riley getting to see the best of the rest of the world…and Susan brought her loyal pal Tag who is, as we all are, missing his big sister Emma but he is now carrying the cloak of her gentle confident manner and was the perfect gentlemen.

finnegan-meets-the-pack-members

Both were wondeful with the squirrelly little puppy and Finnegan was eager to greet everyone and kept right up with the big dogs.

is-this-how-ya-do-it

margie1

are-you-my-mother2

puppy-love1

All that excitement…AND her first puppy class…made for a very tired pup at the end of the day.

Today it’s all business and, with our morning rituals finished…like waiting to play with Jed at the fence…

where-did-he-go

and filling the bird feeders…

filling-the-bird-feeders

and taking up her post as sentry at the studio door…

sentry1

my-bodyguard

My apprentice is giving me the freckly eyeball…so it’s time for some serious painting…

freckly-finn

Next post will show some progress from the easel… I promise !

HN

The New Apprentice Arrives !!!

Time for a quick post between puppy naps and twins at play…

to document the arrival of Finnegan Loretta Neill…

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She is a trooper and greeted every visitor and neighbor with confidence and a happily wagging tail.

The sounds of gentle puppy snoring have returned to the studio at last. Gully my love, you can rest easy now…ya done great.

More to come soon … but most of the painting done in the studio this week has been with sidewalk chalk !

Birthday Flowers

5 April 09

A spectacular spring morning …

It’s my birthday and I thought I’d show you the bouquet that the gardens have offered up…

And there’s also a look at the newest addition to the studio garden…

Last week we took great advantage of the gift of Jon’s visit and used his muscles and brawn and creative stonework to help extend the very first bed we planted here. He and my nurse forbade me from lifting …anything…so all you can see of me in these shots is my shadow.

We’re going to take a picnic up to the lake in a bit …and the local ice cream shack opens today…and then some mussels, asparagus and a pinot grigiot to top off the day…

may your day be as bright and full of spring flowers… HN

Spud Detour

19 March 09

So dark this morning…but the clouds are sprinkling the newly planted potatoes and all is right with the world….at least with the garden.

Yesterday I took a detour from the big painting and played outside. Following Richard’s directions we planted our potatoes under a bed of straw and leaves. Herself did all of the heavy lifting and we took our time…but it was wonderfully healing to be out working in the gardens again…and if the sunshine and spring rains don’t make these babies grow…the healthy dose of love and laughter we shared planting them certainly will !

Tomorrow an update on what’s on the easel.

Today…. a rainy day to paint.

HN

First sign of spring

10 March 09

It’s a grey morning and, as Russell used to say…they’ve been wanting rain for days now.

As I lumbered over to the studio this morning a flash of bright green caught my eye…

in-garden

‘Neath the layer of winter wind blown leaves and frost heaved clamshells…

chives

…the life affirming growth of the first baby chives.

This always catches me off guard…and is a delicious tonic which jump starts my soul…and my taste buds…

with-eggs

So what signs of spring are growing in your gardens my friends ?

Yours in compost,

HN