Wow...November

How does it happen soo quickly??
Seems the older I get the faster the year seems to go by. Here in New England our summer is something we wait patiently for, for what seems like forever. Once here, seems like it's the shortest season ever.
Thankfully, we've been given some mild weather so far, but soon to feel the chill. I understand that by the weekend....we're into high temps in the 40's....ouch. Guess it had to happen. By the time we hit Jan...40's will feel warm!
Well....I did just recently go off to The Little Beach Gallery and take new Torn Paper Paintings to jazz up the wall for the holiday season. Along with new paintings, I also brought along a new batch of ornaments.
Now....I feel ready for the next adventure.
It's only a four day trip....but looking forward to a fun time in New Orleans.
I have an art friend there who we plan to meet up with and see the town a bit through her eyes. She's also part of a co-op gallery there and I'm sure there's a bit of shopping gonna happen!!!
We've also booked a Sunday morning Gospel Brunch at the House of Blues. YES!!
No worries.....I'll be sure to take some pics and post them here.
I have no doubt there will be a bit of NOLA inspiration in my future work.
Stay tuned :)

A new season

Not only do I now have a new website (which I hope everyone has checked out) but it's a whole new season too.
Fall is in the air. You can feel the temps drop in the evening and a chill in the air in the morning.
Time to consider bringing in the plants that spend the summer outside.
I've also been busy working on torn paper paintings to be able to give a whole new look to the wall at The Little Beach Gallery.
This red & white Sea Buoy is one of them.
I had found a book about shipwrecks that had been type written and felt this was the perfect thing for the background that has the feel of a turbulent sea. The Gelli printed pages with the blue swirls gives it a bit of a Van Gogh appearance.

Another style I've been doing is a "Birds Eye" view.
This one is my second..."Birds Eye - Beach Road". Love the look and feel of these.
The other bonus, you can hang it in any direction...vertical or horizontal.
So, it can work in almost any spot you have open for a painting.

So, with fall in the air, a new season of work is being created. Lots of time in the studio, but it feels good to have my muse working overtime.
At the same time, I'm also planning a nice extended weekend trip with my husband to New Orleans.
Yes....a short Thurs. to Mon. trip. I think it'll be a lovely break for both of us. A chance to kick back and have some fun. I also have an art friend who lives there and can't wait to get together with her as well.
The bonus...it's in Nov. So, living here in New England, I know for certain that we'll also have a bit of warmer weather there too!!

It's here!

YES....my new website for Torn Paper Paintings is up and ready!!!
Same web name....new site. Check it out... TornPaperPaintings.com
I had help from my smart and lovely daughter, Sarah, to get it started. She was the gal who created my original website. Back then, in the early days of websites, there were not so many "build it yourself" sites available. Since Sarah learned to "code" in school, she took on the job of creating something for me.
While this was wonderful, it soon became clear that the only person who could actually do anything with the site...was her. I didn't understand code, and although she tried to explain it to me, it wasn't going to happen.
NOW...I'll be able to update and change this one around all I like. Website builders have become so user friendly that it's almost fun to work on them.
So, check it out and see what you think. Fun part is...there's even a tab for my blog. Click it and it takes you here. Also spots to connect with my Facebook studio page.
If you see art there that you'd love to purchase, you can always hit the "contact" page and send me a note.
I haven't set up the site for eCommerce yet, but in time I'm sure I'll make that happen too.
Enjoy. And let me know what you think and if there's anything you'd like to see for changes.

Summer happens

Yep...it sure does.
As you can see, I haven't been here for a while. Sorry. I do try, really.
I'm sure most of you out there are actually very much like me and when the summer comes around and you're able to be out and about more often, some things take a back seat.
Here in New England, we try to enjoy every bit of summer weather we can before we fall back into those winter months.
Here we are, about to hit Sept 1st.  Where did the time go.
Well, here's a short run down on where mine went.
First of all, I have to have lots of Torn Paper Paintings ready for The Little Beach Gallery in Hyannis. Busy season there you know.
Secondly, this year was especially busy with being part of a fund raiser to create a yearly grant for women in need, in the name of my beautiful sister-in-law who passed away from cancer just over a year ago. The event was very time consuming, but raised a great deal of money to create this self sustaining grant.
Then of course there's all the regular stuff, gardening, beetlecat races, family gatherings...etc.
So, I do hope you'll continue to check in now, knowing that I'm aware I haven't spent much time with you....but that will change.
Why will it change you ask? Because I'm finishing up my new Torn Paper Paintings website as well, and attached to it, will be this blog. Yes. One stop shopping so to speak.
So, bear with me. We're almost there. I will announce it when it's "live".
And, since we're changing things up, I'll leave you with a pic of one of my latest pieces...Birds Eye 1.
Maybe there'll be some changing up of things in my artwork as well. Stay tuned.

Creativity abounds

I love when I unexpectedly find myself surrounded by creativity.

Just recently I went away for a weekend with my husband to Vermont. We were to stay with friends one night, then tour around a bit and spend a second evening at a lovely B&B, the Henry Farm Inn.

The plan for that second day had us heading to the town of Chester. After driving through numerous barely there little towns...Chester was an unexpected and very pleasant surprise. Yes...still small, but just big enough to have charm oozing from the quaint shops and darling homes. It had a lovely little "common" area. We parked there and strolled about the shops. What I saw in one shop, a fabric store called Country Treasures, would have put to shame any large "chain" fabric store anywhere!!! Never in my life had I seen such variety, and because it was housed in what would have been a "home" otherwise, it rambled on from room to room. No surprise to me there were many ladies in this store having the time of their life.

Along with a great bookstore there was another sweet shop I discovered called Country on the Commons. I found the most beautiful shawl there made by the owner herself, Sharon. What a delightful lady...and such beautiful work. I thought right away..."if I lived here I just know we'd become friends". 

My husband and I then had a nice cup of tea at the Moon Dog Cafe and made plans to have dinner later that evening at the local Scottish pub. Yes...a Scottish pub!!

Once at the B&B I believe we discovered the ladies who had been enjoying a grand afternoon at the fabric store. Most of the inn was taken over by an amazingly talented group of quilting ladies!! Turns out that they gather together every year for a week of quilting & creativity and from what we saw, a lot of wonderful laughter. What a pleasure it was to meet them and hear about their time and their work. Each of them were thrilled to show us all the beautiful creations they'd been working on. Wow.
Looking at all this beautiful quilt work actually reminded me of my Torn Paper Paintings, only in fabric. The details and accuracy that went into creating these works of art were quite impressive.

These ladies were working when we went to bed in the evening and already back at it first thing in the morning.
Traveling, even for just a short weekend trip can present you with such fun and amazing surprises.
Keep your eyes and mind open. Meet new people and enjoy new experiences.
Whenever you can....travel.

Vegas inspiration

How could you go to Las Vegas and NOT come back inspired in some way??
I'm not a person who gambles at all and didn't have any interest in that regard. But the colors, lights, over the top themes...they all invite the imagination to work overtime.
While my daughter and I were there we toured through at least 15 of the biggest hotel/casinos on the strip. Each one was an adventure with an entire theme built around it.
The hotel we stayed at was the well known Flamingo. An icon of Vegas history. What I didn't know was that they also had a flamingo habitat on the grounds! It was like a small tropical forest with beautiful flamings along with other colorful birds and ducks of all kinds. I would not have expected to find such a thing in the middle of this city.
So, as you might imagine, some of the first pieces of Torn Paper Paintings to be done since my return are of Flamingos! One complete and another in the works.
Don't be surprised to find other colorful images coming up based on other hotel themes.
Hmm...I think I feel a series coming on!

It's time

Just a quick note.
Starting to catch up on my time at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Vegas this month.
Didn't really have an opportunity to do it during the show, so updates will keep happening on my other blog, The Official Consumer.
Just posted about the setting up of the show, but much more will be coming on the robots, VR, augmented reality, and more. Check it out, and yes, there will be plenty of pics!