The Tempest

It is late here in the studio.
Dark and stormy.
Outside
and Inside
our country.

We are in the throes
Ross and I
of rebuilding my website.

My job
is to load all of the paintings
up on to the site.

Every
single
one.

This major review
is forcing me
to take a long
deep dive
into my past.

Both creatively
and historically.

I just came upon this painting
and paused.

Prescient
as in 2017
we were fully engaged
in the tempest.

Not knowing
where the storm
would throw our boat.

As the seas were building.

Tonight
there is a light
on the horizon.

But the monsters
have been unleashed.

Be safe dear ones.
And hold on tight.

These were the words
I chose for the original
Painter’s Notes…

“Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door !”

From Emma Lazarus…
The New Colossus…
on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty

Now that the storm has passed…

I know, two posts in one day…and after I whined about being so far behind…

but a few minutes ago Pat called and made me come over to the log cabin because tornadoes had been reported from a storm moving in our direction…fast.

Sure enough we got two whopping doses of wicked weather… the skies have cleared and the temperature dropped 20 degrees… and the studio yard is now a carpet of ice.

It made me think of last year’s painting…

Now that the storm has passed…

I’m going back to the easel now… I promise.

Digging out…

Valentines Day 2010

Sitting here in the studio looking at mountains of snow.

Three days of hard labor with the snow shovels and monster blower machine thingy and I am so grateful that all I have to lift today is a triple ought sable haired brush.

At the height of the blizzard I took this shot from the studio window…

And here’s a look at a painting that I worked on after our first snow storm back in December…almost the same view…just pan over to the right a bit more…

And a look at the labyrinth that I have to shovel out for Finn each time it snows so her mending legs have a better than fair chance out there in the tundra…

And the Apprentice Herself tucked into the snow fort that has melted some but was well over her head a day or so ago…

The good news is that we finally got Miss Pat out of the lane and up to town. Her cabin fever was approaching the red zone so even the laundromat was looking good !

Blueberry pancakes for both of my valentines this morning to fortify another day of winter survival adventures…and I shall be more than content to paint the day away and know that I am so well loved by my two sweeties.

Studio Snowstorm

Three years ago when we bought the house next door and turned it into my studio I was worried about the coming winter and 200 more feet of driveway to shovel. We’ve lived in the log cabin home for almost 20 years now and Pat and I, two middle aged and determined women, had shoveled our quarter mile of lane and then some with gusto if not with sore backs.  But now we are older and with the additional footage it seemed time to join the rest of suburbia and buy a loud and dangerous machine that could do the work of two women.

That was the beginning of the curse. We have had no snow since. Ice yes. One or two mighty blows that could be removed with the broom. But nothing that even remotely called for the orange beast that takes up valuable floor space in the garage. Until yesterday that is.

An honest to goodness nor’easter, that most of you probably shared in your home towns, has dumped over a foot of perfect snow blower snow on our little patch of the planet. At 5:55 I was up, yes that number thing is still happening, and shoveled a path to the garage. By 9am most of the neighborhood and all of our driveways had been cleared …and on one tank of gas.

It’s 11am now, one hot shower and one warm meal later I am ready to settle in and paint. That’s IF I can hold a brush in this hand that is still shaking from holding on to that mighty machine.

Here are some pics of the studio snowstorm… from the photo I took the day before of the farm across the street that looked like a Breughal landscape to me…and the progression of snowfall recorded by the bird house Walt made to resemble the studio…to the log cabin evening festivities that included the traditional mushroom soup making and pecan puff cookie orgie (I took a pic of the Joy of Cooking to show just how popular that recipe is…I write some little journal note each time I use a recipe and this one dates back to the 80’s)…to the shots from this morning when I had the whole neighborhood to myself and the birds…and then to my apprentice who has finally had a taste of the real stuff for which she was born to glide through regally .

You all stay safe out there and have a hot toddy or two for us !

Quick Update

There’s a thunderstorm overhead so I’ll not tempt the fates by taking the time to add commentary…will just list, in chronoligical order, these recent photos of the ever-so-painstakingly-slow-progress of the painting. I can’t seem to pick up the speed or to compromise on the detail or to find enough hours in the day…but here’s some of the paint I have laid down this week…

The Ice Storm Cometh

28 January 09

The view from my easel window…view-from-easel

ice-storm

It’s not a very impressive storm…but given the lack of snow this year…which is my fault for buying a brand new snow blower two winters ago…it is notable.

If I could include an audio file it would be the sound of one long giant CRUNCH… there is a thick layer of solid ice on top of this snow and Gully and I sound like we’re inside the auditory canals of someone eating grape nuts…without milk.

So what’s the view outside of your studio windows ?????

HN