One year ago tomorrow we got the news that our Maggie had been born.
When we brought her home…our family was once again complete.
Her bright spirit has lead us through a year of challenges and with every paw print along the way we have been surprised by joy.
Maggie is all heart and soul and a full tilt yearling now and our little Solstice child is the best Christmas present ever !
It’s UP !!!
The walls of the Granary Gallery are full of new paintings
and you can see them for your very own selves
from your very own living room, back porch or poolside lounge…
Click on this link to take a virtual tour … GRANARY 2022
The remarkable Granary Staff is available to answer any questions you may have about the new work and can be reached at 508-693-0455. The Granary is open daily 10-5 and Sunday 11-4.
This current group show features new paintings and sculptures by Don Wilkes, Tamalin Baumgarten, Ken Vincent, and yours truly…I know you will enjoy checking out all of our creations.
But if you can’t visit the gallery in person… I encourage you to try that virtual tour. There are many other artists represented there and it’s a fun little divertissement to wander about the place from the comfort of your …wherever.
Many thanks to all of you for the kind and generous “likes” and words of encouragement and support as I’ve rolled out this years’ show. Your reaching out means more than ever as we can’t be on the Vineyard and at the Granary for the opening this year.
You have made this artist smile…a lot.
I’ll keep you posted on the goings on with the show and stay tuned to this blog for progress reports on the NEW STUDIO build !!! Living in a construction site is interesting to say the least but the young furry whippersnapper amongst us is absolutely loving it.
Maggie says so long from her supervisory post on the porch…
I’ll just say…goodbye for now.
This is one of the rare paintings I’ve done
which qualifies for two categories.
It’s both a candidate for the Recipe Series and for the Garden Graces Series.
There have been several incarnations of initial sketches for this one over the years.
The final composition actually was spot on as a blend of them all.
My hope was to be able to grow the leeks as well as the potatoes
and strut with garden cred pride.
Alas, the Allium Leaf Miner flew into my yard a few years ago
and declared war on anything I tried to grow in the allium family.
Garlic, onions, leeks…poof.
With an organic approach there was not much in my arsenal that worked to eradicate them until …
the netting.
I’m talking serious dedicated covering.
Since garlic is planted in the fall
I leave it alone until February
then secure the netting over the entire bed.
This year’s attempt handled the snow and hail
and held up all the way to the scape harvest in May.
I had two large beds planted in garlic
and I’m that chuffed to report that 100% of those bulbs
are now seasoning in the greenhouse.
With that success behind me I am ready to tackle leeks…
next year
when all the construction is finished
and the puppy who loves to dig is under control
and I can devote time to careful planting and tending.
The Ruth Stout garden is transitioning into basically a giant potato bed.
They love the rich soil that the repeated dressing of hay mulch is building.
This year’s drought arrested their development some
but I was pleased to see that there were enough new potatoes
to make the traditional summer batch of Vichyssoise.
The easter egg hunt feel of harvesting potatoes
by simply pulling back the blanket of hay
is so satisfying
that I am on my second batch of soup
and August has just begun.
The pitcher was a funny twist the Muses threw at me.
Back when I was imaging one of the first incarnations of this composition
I wanted to represent the cream somehow
and saw one of those cow vessels and thought it would be perfect.
So late one night I surfed through Ebay and found this one
and clicked right away.
Probably paid top dollar and then some because I am an impatient auction bidder.
When it arrived
it was much bigger than I thought.
I was going for some demure cream pitcher size
but, as I say,
the Muses had other plans.
I was going to fool them and shrink it down
with some sharp pencils
and artistic license.
But when it came time to arrange the still life on my kitchen table
with the new apprentice offering suggestions
for where to place each of those spuds…
(I removed the puppy teeth marks in the actual painting)
…well
I actually did like the statement that the large format cow was making.
They seem to have gotten the balance just right
again.
PS-
Maggie wants me to tell you
that she helped tie the chives in a bundle.
(show off)
PPS –
AND… I’m suppose to tell you that the little felt heart was her contribution.
I actually was wandering the studio
looking for something that might,
if ever so loosely,
represent the chicken broth.
In the process of that Herself brought me the tiny heart
and asked what it was from.
This was the second one we found so I knew.
Maggie got a little puppy puzzle house complete with baby chicks at easter.
Yes, I know, and I’ve gotten plenty of slack for it
but it has become her favorite game…so there.
Here is a photo of the last of the fully intact chicks
and you’ll see where that precious little heart came from.
Our precious little Muse in training.
And here we go…
The first of the New Paintings for this year’s Granary Gallery show is ready for the reveal…
Hands down the happiest part of our lives right now is Maggie. She’s an amazingly fun addition to our tiny family and she certainly keeps we two old ladies on our toes and in our cups with laughter and life.
The Painter’s Notes tell the story behind the friendship between dog and sparrow and Maggie always has a favorite stick nearby. Part Tigger, part mountain goat, her joyous and helpful spirit is my constant shadow and her youthful exuberant spirit is tamed by Herself’s calming nightly massages. So it is only fitting that the first painting up on the blog should be this bright light of a companion. She sets the tone for our brighter horizons.
My New Muse – 24 x 18
This is our Maggie.
The happiest
wiggliest
friendliest
most curious
most lovable
thing in our lives.
Seven wonderful months old as I write this today…
she was two months younger
when we sat together
early one morning
in the studio kitchen
watching out the door
to see what would become of our day.
What was that ?
We both turned our heads
towards a flicker of white.
Well Maggie was the first to see it.
What caught my attention
was that she kept turning
from me
to the porch
back to me
until finally I got up to go see
what it was
that she could see.
Just beyond the porch
perched on the wire statue
of Beatrice…
who used to watch over us
on the log cabin porch…
was this little sparrow.
And,
as you can see,
in her beak
was the craziest white and wild feather
almost twice the size of the bird.
I was almost
as excited
as Maggie was.
And with her persistence
I snapped a pic
just so I could remember
the proportion
of bird to feather
and feather to bird.
Then I gave her a big pat
on that tiny furry white head
and nodded a thank you
to the chorus of Muses
watching from behind my shoulder
as they gave their new apprentice
a proud and raucous
round of applause.
That’ll do pup.
That’ll do.
