Guess what I did this evening?

I actually cooked something other than pasta or pot roast or a hamburger. Last week I went to my friend Pete's for dinner and had a super tasty meal. So I attempted (minus a couple ingredients) to recreate it. I made a braised radish, fresh green pea and mint salad. Paired it with a delightful Chardonnay. And then ended the meal with a package of Little Debbie's Swiss Rolls. lol. Okay...so I'm not totally a gourmet cook. But the radish salad, although not as good as my friend's, was pretty good. It missed the shrimp.

Another photo taken in Providence.

I now have a new phone. Although tempted, I opted to keep it simple and plain. My new phone is like my old phone. They were able to shut off the old one and give me my old number which makes things far easier than I expected. So it's charging away and this evening I'll spent the time putting in phone numbers.

Photo taken during Friday's walk in Providence. Look, Providence has houseboats too!

I made a little slideshow with captions of my adventures yesterday on Block Island.
Enjoy!

Block Island: 2 gallons of gas and a boat ride

Awesome amazing fantabulous day at Block Island. I am so going back. See this beach? Diane and I spent three hours walking it.

Down side? I lost my phone.

Last time I used it was while on the ferry to the Island when I texted a photo to family. A couple hours later I was walking on this beach and had a nagging feeling my phone was gone. Stopped. Checked my pockets and bag and nada. Tomorrow I pick up a new phone. And for those of you who I had numbers for, please email me your contact info - gagnon60 (at) gmail
Thanks!

And more photos forthcoming.

Went for a long walk by the bay at India Point. My favorite time at the water tends to be on foggier days...such as today. And tomorrow I'm looking forward to a lengthy ferry ride (about an hour) as D and I go explore Block Island.

I love being able to walk across the street from my job at lunchtime and see this.

Slowly I'm getting into a good work routine. Getting a handle on the job so I'm not too wiped after work and was able to spend two days in a row in the studio after work. This evening was a really productive painting session. Slowing down and taking my time.

We now have a third person in the apartment. A room was rented to a young woman from Lyon, France who is at Brown for a 3 month internship in physics. We hit it off pretty well and as I get more comfortable with her, I'll be practicing my french. This weekend, she and I are going to day trip down to Narragansett and if weather and finances permit, hop a ferry to Block Island for the day. We've also planned out Pride week in Providence...and I'm taking her to Ptown for a day in early June.

I'm adjusting to my new life and it's fun exploring with someone who has never even been to this country before.

While exploring Providence on Sunday I found myself frantically taking photos of two pigeons. As I downloaded the photos I was struck by how pigeons seem to be in my life at this time. (note also my photo last week). I wondered if it was my new totem. Over the years, as I continue to evolve I've watched how various animals take prominence in my world and each has become a powerful totem in the moment.

I looked up pigeon totems and found that due to pigeon's natural homing abilities, he teaches us how to find our way home again, helping us return to our roots. Potent stuff.

Art I made from art I saw.

I'm officially taking today off. No painting. No errands. No work. No appointments. I have a fun get together I've been invited to this evening by a friend...to meet new folks. Otherwise, even though it's a blue sky, 70 plus degree day, I'm holing up inside. I feel like, after a year of unknowns and packing and relocation and major changes...I'm finally crashing. Here's a photo I took while spending time at RISD's MFA Thesis exhibit.

A new painting in my series. 24"x12", oil on canvas.

Exploring more of my new hometown.

From this evening's walk in my neighborhood...

On the Broadway near my place in Providence versus Broadway near my former home in Seattle.

Photo taken in my current hood on my way home this evening.

Settling into my new job and it's the first week I'm not exhausted when I leave the office. Tomorrow I plan on getting back into my old routine of hitting the studio after work. I've also been slowly looking for an apartment of my own, hopefully for July 1. I do miss having my own private space and yet at the same time, I'm enjoying the inexpensive rent.

I had a small adventure on Sunday as I was getting ready to leave my parents' home. After placing my laundry in the trunk and slamming it shut, I realized I left my keys in there. No, I do not have a trunk latch in the car. And no, my back seats don't come down giving me access to the trunk.

It was 4:00 pm and I had planned on being home by 6pm to chill before beginning the work week.

AAA sent a locksmith out who had to take apart my passenger door to get to the lock so he could make a key. I was finally on the road by 7:30. Normally I always leave an extra key in my bag but that very morning I saw it on the dresser...hesitated...and chose to leave it there. See what happens when I don't listen to my intuition?

On the plus side, it gave me a really great couple hours with three of my nephews as we chilled on the front porch.

It was my first Mother's Day with mom in 14 years. We also celebrated her 80th birthday a little early because it was the only time her kids would be together in the next few weeks. It was a lovely time. I love my mom.

Two other little (24"x12") paintings I worked on today.

Very productive studio time. Reworked four of the six currently in the series. It was one of those really rare really great studio days where I feel I'm finally beginning to get a handle on this painting thing. I'm tracking the progress of each. Some changed drastically and others, not as much but the little made a big difference. Here is one of the majorly changed pieces...still in progress. Oil on canvas. 28"x22"

Across the street from my new job is a little park with a bike path and picnic area. It's right next to the river and the falls, with old mills and this beauty - a gorgeous remnant of what once was.

The color you see is what is there. All I did was pull out the vibrant foliage color so the structure would stand out.

On the way to work this morning.

Photo from the other night.

Things I saw within a few blocks of each other while driving home: Throop Alley (which tickles me and is a perfect name for an alley), a Megabus (Prov to NYC) at the embarking point, dead in the water with a big ass tow truck in front of it, and then the X Factor semi blocking the street next to the Civic Center forcing us to detour because Simon Cowell and friends are in town doing auditions.

Last night, while walking to India Point with my friend Matt.

Although I've now relocated to Providence RI and am slowly settling in, I'm pleased to announce a new show, "The Space Between", opening in Seattle this week on Capitol Hill. Sadly, I can't make the opening but will be there in spirit.

Thursday, May 10 - Saturday, June 9
The Blindfold Gallery
1718 E Olive Way, Ste A
Seattle, WA 98102

Opening, Thursday May 10 from 6 - 9 pm
website: www.blindfoldgallery.com







The Space Between

We are drawn to others for various reasons such as shared interests, mutual attraction or physical circumstance. No matter how well two people may appear to fit, it is the space between where the unspoken differences reside. It can be a vast chasm filled with deafening silence, grief or anger. It can be a space that permeates with restful stillness, lust, excitement, love or passion.

My ongoing meditation has been on the space between the two.

I fell in love with b&w photography back in 1982 when I was required to take a b&w darkroom course. That love pushed me into working in a custom lab for six years, spending hours in the darkroom processing work. The education I received in viewing a multitude of images was invaluable to structuring my visual sensibility.

When I left the lab, I stopped taking photos because of the expense. Every day, I'd long to capture images but didn't have the finances to engage in such a practice. In 2006 I purchased my beloved little Lumix TZ1. My camera is always with me. I'd shoot with no other intent but to take hold of a scene.

It was only when I began painting the viaduct that the camera also became a tool for painting as I'd work from the photos of the crumbling structure. And I was still taking photos simply for the love of it.

A few months ago as I was going through my photo library of over 20,000 images, I began to notice how the paintings reflected the photographs and vice versa. My imprint, my preference for light and composition played into both mediums. It didn't matter if a photo was taken four years before a certain painting. They held my mark.

Not once did I have the desire to print or exhibit these photos. When approached for this show, I feared that in doing so my photography would become self-conscious. Other than periodically capturing scenes to paint, I liken the bulk of my photography to doodling - rapidly moving pen on paper. It is my sandbox where I can play with no responsibility. But the possibility of pairing the work heightened my curiosity and so here I am.

from tonight's outing...

photo was a total accident. finger slipped. because i'm using a dropcloth in this studio (and yes, it's new so not yet spackled with paint), immediately began painting while barefoot. have yet to wear shoes while painting in this new space. it's now become part of my painting ritual.

Series slowly coming together, although none complete. I'm really enjoying the journey with this grouping. Here is the 6th in the self portrait as a youngun' series. For the first time, I'm actually numbering them and so can remember which came first, even as they can dramatically change.

Driving past RISD this afternoon and noticed Benefit Street was blocked off. They were having some type of fair. I wanted to pull over and check it out but didn't have the time.

Busy, busy week. Wed and Thursday I focused strictly on work in an attempt to get a handle on the new job (which I really like). Heavy duty concentration for 8 hours a day left me too wiped to paint after work.

Yesterday after work I needed to run errands in preparation for this weekend's tasks. Today, I needed to send the remainder of the art work express mail for my show that opens next week. I also needed to work on the show statement and other details. And...I had to finish other paperwork and mail everything out for my relocation reimbursement. Originally I planned on spreading this out over the weekend. But I locked myself in the studio and found momentum. So things that have been weighing on me for the last few months but couldn't complete without further info from others finally were completed this afternoon.

Huge load off my shoulders.

And it means that tomorrow can be a painting day. Yeah!!!

Taken at Horseneck Beach on Saturday afternoon.

First day at work. It was good. Much lower stress level that what I've had for the last decade. Came home after work instead of painting so I can slowly readjust to a full time job. Also, I only slept about two hours early this morning. Part excitement. Part nerves. And a big part noise...from my new alarm clock.

I've been playing Goldilocks with alarm clocks.

The first one I purchased two days ago has such a big display that it was too bright. I returned it yesterday and decided to pick up a non-digital one. The older kind. It went tick, tick, tick all night long and kept me up. I returned it today and picked up a smaller digital clock. This one should do the trick.

I'm actually really excited to begin my new job tomorrow.

The downside is less time painting. I'll have to return to painting after work and on weekends.
But...it's a regular paycheck. And hopefully leads to permanent with health insurance so I can stop paying it out of pocket.

Also...it's lilac season!

Sent out resumes. Ran a buttload of errands. Painted. Juggled simultaneous phone calls and emails from my WSDOT relocation specialist, the gallery owner about the show that opens next week and a woman from the personnel agency about a new job, beginning as temporary with a very real possibility of becoming permanent.

I thought I was going to start work tomorrow, but due to WSDOT stuff and the show stuff, tomorrow will be filled with more running around to complete details for both, including a show statement to write as well as continue working on a draft for my appeal to DOT. So I'll begin work on Wednesday.

This position has much of my wish list: a small company, casual, family-like, manufacturing (textiles/fabrics), longevity with its employees. I'll even be trained on Peachtree accounting software, which was on my must learn list. And thus far, another bonus? My studio is exactly half way between my apt and the job. It's almost a direct line. So it's a fairly short commute and convenient.

I'm thrilled to be working again and at the same time, sad that the flowing nature of my weekdays is coming to an end. Despite the anxiety about getting comfortable in a new place, not having my friends around, and no job...I've enjoyed what has felt like what was a good beginning groove to being a full time painter. I was slowly shifting my work mentality to encompass right brain work.

One day it will happen.

This morning I decided to take the day off from painting and job hunting and do nothing but go on a full day adventure, discovering more coastline. Yesterday afternoon I spent a few hours exploring the east side of the bay. Today it was the west side. I headed to Narragansett and then followed the shore road past Point Judith.

It was a very bright day and the color of the water was well...astounding.

I also enjoyed my first lobster since I've moved to Rhode Island. It was perfect. Not overly mayo-ed and had celery, onion and dill. And major chunks of lobster. A gin and tonic and an ocean view made for a pretty fabulous meal. So filling that I didn't finish the fries.

This is the fourth painting (in progress) in my new series of self portraits of little me, that I worked on yesterday. 24"x12", oil on canvas.

The light was so beautiful in my bathroom after I returned from the ocean yesterday.

Horseneck Beach. It's a gorgeous beach. Many dunes. Wild. Vast. And today, exceptionally windy. I couldn't even stare at the ocean for more than a few minutes. The sand was whipping my face and getting into my eyes. I only took a few photos because I feared getting sand in my camera. Other than the short weekend near Newport, when I was apartment hunting, I haven't allowed myself any beach time. I felt vast pressure to get the studio going, become familiar with Providence, and especially...find a damned job. Today, while painting, I knew I just needed to find the ocean. And I did. It was good.

Do you know how difficult it is to find a simple radio nowadays? I have an iPod Nano and a speaker dock for it. But I've been hankering for NPR in the studio and it took me three days to hunt down a no frills am/fm radio that I could plug into the speakers. was successful today...for under $10. LOL. I'm so high tech.

busy day. submitted more resumes. in studio early. worked on the "little me" series and now have four paintings going. four hours later left to go find the ocean. was successful. took this photo as i was leaving the studio. apparently there is an open figure drawing session every saturday for 3 hours in the studio right across from mine. i'm gonna hit it hopefully next saturday.

I'm finally getting around to going through some of the photos I took back in March during a really great afternoon at the Seattle Aquarium with a friend and her little boys.

Trying not to freak too much because I'm still looking for work. So after sending out resumes each morning, I hit the studio. It's the place where I can attempt to ground myself...while working the paintings. In my normal fashion, I have 5 paintings going, being able to pick one up while allowing others to dry before going into them again. Two of these are self portraits of little me at the beach. both the same size, about 28"x22" (I think). Being patient with them... Here is self portrait #2 after today's studio time. This one is finally starting to get somewhere. The other is still a mess.

Lots going on. Still on the job hunt. Met a good friend from NYC who is in Boston this week for work and drove down to Providence yesterday so we could hang. Today...spent all of it working on my May show, including 3 hours on the phone with the gallery director as we completed selection of the work.

Photo taken on Thayer St.

It's after 9pm and I'm bushed. Time to zone with a cuppa tea and some tv.

Some photos from yesterday's walkabout...campuses of RISD and Brown.