Viva and her Pineapple Upside Down Cake

oil on prepared vintage index card

2016

Francine has nothing more to do with the garden club

I've been busy getting ready for my summer show in Provincetown, MA.
I'll have 50 paintings on vintage BINGO cards hanging at the gallery.
Opening night is Friday July 22nd. 7-9pm
at the William Scott Gallery,
439 Commercial st. in PTown!
Hope to see you there!

Mr and Mrs Swenson love their Rhodies

Diptych. Oil on Panel. 2005ish

Regina knows she's a beauty

8x8 oil on panel.
I made a series of chicken paintings this year. I love their crazy shapes and chicken-personalities.
I have 4 chickens in my backyard, they were my inspiration.

Getting older snuck up on Rhonda.

6x6" oil on wood block. 2015

Selma is a little miffed about the wind

5 1/2 x 6" oil on wood block with gold leaf edge  2015

Selma is part of my summer show in Provincetown, MA at the William Scott Gallery.

Sparrow

When I paint people I sort of "feel" the way they are sitting or standing, and that informs the over-all image, the mood, and my understanding of the person. Birds feel awkward to me because they are armless, I have to try and figure out the balance of their little bodies in a different way.
I do love birds, especially in winter. Their songs remind me that spring is on its way. I start to dream about the garden and the magic of spring.
My 3rd grade son brought this poem home last night.

by Langston Hughes

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow. 

Charles is happy the phone is not for him

6x6" oil on card stock mounted on wood block

One of the works that will be at the Paula Estey Gallery in Newburyport, Ma. this month. 

Opal likes to relax in her housecoat and have a sip or two

6x6"  oil on panel. 

I've always liked this lady. 

She just does what she wants to. 

coffee and lipstck

6x6" oil on panel  

I'm drinking coffee and feeling "snacky" right now so I thought I'd post this lady

my sweet Buddy

Buddy

8x10 oil on panel. 

Quick little study of my dog, Buddy. I love this painting of him because I think I captured his sweetness.

George dwells on the beauty and mystery of life

(George has a little more background around him in the actual painting).
I think George is a happy fellow. He likes to keep positive thoughts in his head. He hardly ever watches the nightly news, preferring to read a good book at that hour.

It's immposible to hide anything from Jennifer

               5x4"    oil on panel    2014

Lennie fancies himself a poet

6x6" oil on panel  2014
I'm getting ready for my summer show in Provincetown, MA. at the William Scott Gallery.
This year the show is Friday July 23rd.  Hope you can come!
July 23rd is also the anniversary of my maternal grandmother's 100th birthday! She passed away 9 years ago.  You can find an image of her here on my blog that I posted back in September of 2012. Her name is Minnie
It has been a long cold winter and I am very ready to celebrate summer time and all things wonderful!

"Sometimes over coffee they were almost friends," and "Rose likes things tidy"

It is hard to write about painting, and it is especially hard to write about your own paintings. But here I sit wanting to share not only my work, but some thoughts with you too. Up untill now I have been posting just images and sizes and the occasional quick blurb.  But now I'm going to change things up a bit, at least for a while.  I've been inspired to write and share a bit more about my work.

I like to paint people who feel familiar, people I end up knowing for some reason or other.
During the painting process I have a great time thinking about their lives. I play around with composition so that there is a space around the figure that feels just right for their personality. I like the intimacy of a direct gaze, but I know sometimes people are too shy or shifty for that. When I paint a diptych, like the one above, the relationship between the two takes over. It just happens organically. I painted them as individuals and I know them both so well, but together they have their own thing.

The titles I give provide a glimpse into their lives. It is usually based on what I was thinking while I was painting. For instance, I thought about how Rose's life is about routine and hard work. I also imagine that she is Portugese and that her house smells like delicious food. I often think about smells when I paint. Her husband doesn't talk much but they get along well enough. He is gentle and kind and a litttle bit of a jokester.

My grandfather used to unplug the vacume on my grandmother when she was busy vacuuming and it would get her every time.  I'm not sure if I remember that, or just remember my grandmother telling me about it, but it is stored in my memory and was part of the inspiration here.

I enjoy the process of memory and imagination and paint and the story that happens (even if it's only in my head).

 

Grady O'Shea

1998   oil on wood block   6x6"

My Paintings relaxing before the big show a few summers ago.

                                                                                     *photo credit - Asia Kepka

This is just such a fun image,  I thought I share it with you all.

Deliberate Dignity

1996  Oil on Panel  8 x 11"

I found this image looking for a snowy picture to post. (It's a snow day today here in the North East)
I lived in Sweden form 1989-1992.  I loved it there and made many good friends.
After I got my BFA I went back for 6 months and a friend who worked with Swedish TV did a news/ lifestyle segment on me and my painting.  This is the sweet lady who posed for me for the TV show, she was very dignified. I've always loved this painting. The yellow in the background is a typical color of buildings in Stockholm.

Nellie always has the time

Oil on wallpaper on canvas   40"x 30"  2013

This piece was part of a triptych in my summer show.
3 ladies with the same vintage wall paper background.
-Nellie looks to me like she always has the time to go shopping... I think she likes to shop.

The School for the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston is having their annual sale, and Nellie is there! (along with some friends)

The show runs at these times... and its always good fun.

Thursday, November 21–Sunday, November 24, 2013 
     10 am–8 pm Thursday–Saturday
     10 am–5 pm Sunday
Opening celebration: Thursday, November 21, 5–8 pm

Throwback Thursday- a show card from 1997!

The card is from my first gallery show in Boston and the painting is of my great uncle Tommy. It was a very fun reception, my entire family came to that one - My parents and brothers and sisters and even aunts, uncles, & cousins. They filled the gallery up. It was great!