Photo taken in Ptown in June.   This is food for part of a women series I've been slowly working on for the last few years.

From last month's trip to NYC:

this morning after working many little paintings for the upcoming holiday open studios, i began something i haven't done in many years:  this little painting.  it's going to need more work and although challenging, there is something i find incredibly restful in painting metal and glass.

In Seattle my fave theaters were the Egyptian and the Harvard Exit. I feared I wouldn't find anything as cool in Prov. But here, they are the Cable Car Cinema and the Avon. This evening I saw a film I've been excited to see. It did not disappoint. At the end I was left with tears, sadness and gentle hope. So very moved. Even now. 

Beautiful, beautiful film. And the acting, especially the main character and the priest...sublime.

While at my mailbox place to ship a painting to Seattle for a Dec. show, a man walks up to the counter to ship a package to Spokane.  We began talking and I found out he too was from Seattle and is now living in Providence.

Yesterday our landlord for our studios held a "get to know your neighbor" progressive open studio for the tenants.  With a half hour on each floor, as a group we went from studio to studio, ending in the main office where he provided munchies, beer and wine.  It was great getting to meet other artists and I met someone in the building who moved here from Seattle in May.

I've met quite a few people with Seattle connections over the last few months.

I think Providence and Seattle ought to become sister cities.

I worked some more on a painting I began a couple weeks ago.   Later this afternoon, our grey, very cold, feelin' like snow kind of day changed when the sun broke through.  I captured the photo while heading out for coffee during a studio break.

It wasn't until I was uploading photos where I noticed similarities between what I was painting and then what I photographed.

I think I've become too old to do red eye flights.  Yesterday I was a zombie and seeing I can't sleep during the day, could not wait until night to dive into bed.

For the first time in a long time I slept a solid eight hours.  Woke and then fell asleep for another two.  

Yes, it was bliss.

As was today when I stepped into the studio to get back to work.

It's been a fun-filled, profitable, and enriching Seattle visit filled with laughs, love, kindness and lots of joy.

And...it's been an incredibly whirlwind ride.  I am thoroughly exhausted.   I apologize to all of those I didn't have the time to see.  4 days is not enough time.  My flight leaves in an hour and am looking forward to crashing in my bed and more importantly, returning to the studio.   My being is overflowing with paintings waiting to be born.

Seattle will always be a big part of my heart.  I love all of you and am planning on returning at the end of April.  Until then, goodbye my beloved Seattle.

It's my first snow in New England in about 15 years.

A little snow on the stalk.

Although I miss the ease of the WA State mail in ballot, I was invigorated, moved and honored to be standing in line with such a cross section of folks, all waiting for our right to make our voice heard.   And I got a cool sticker!   The painting behind me is one I've been working on for a few weeks...of Malala who was willing to risk her 14 year old life because she would not be silenced.

Election Day 2012

Please Vote!!!!

Death and Rebirth - 

Here are some before and after photos from this past week's post-Sandy painting frenzy.  See the next entry down for a little back story.

On Thursday I reworked my Jill painting which I loved because of the light, the idea...and was totally infatuated with how the big cat was painted.  It's 30"x40".  Oil on canvas.

On Friday I took the plunge and went into my Sophia Room painting.  It was a was very emotional experience.  That space was my solace and my home.  The painting is 60"x30".  Oil on canvas.

On Saturday I touched a painting that had been featured almost full page in the March 2011 issue of Seattle Magazine.  Again, I loved the light and the geometry.  But it was time.  This painting is 36"x36".  Oil on canvas.

Now they all need to dry for a few weeks before I can go into them again. 

I have been reading up on all the devastation Sandy left in her wake.  So many stories.  

Some of the stories that struck me involved artists…not only the damage to all the galleries, but more importantly, the studios and therefore years of work destroyed.

It begged the question "what if it happened to me?"  I realized that it would hurt more to lose my creations than my personal belongings such as clothes, furniture, books, camera, etc.   

A common theme in my life, but one especially brought to the forefront by the recent storm, probably because of my proximity to affected areas, is impermanence.

I always have paintings that I hold onto because of emotional attachment.   They may not all be successful work but there are moments that keep me connected such as subject, color or paint handling.  But when I would look at them, I believed they would be wonderful grounds for new paintings yet didn't have the heart to touch them.

Sandy demonstrated to me that it is crazy to hold on to something that I know can evolve into something greater. 

So what have I been doing this week?

Painting over paintings I never thought I'd touch.  It feels good.

I'll share them in a later before and after entry.

The photo was taken on the first really cold day in the studio.  I just had to pull out my super baggy, extra comfy, paint-stained sweatshirt.

This evening's light on my way home from the studio.

Hurricane Sandy - 

The wind through my bedroom window.

I woke to an email and voice mail from United airlines.  My flight on Wednesday is cancelled.  It was from Providence to Newark to Seattle.  I'll reschedule later today.

While out to grab peanut butter, bread, beans and mini raviolis, I stopped to take a photo of the Fox Point Hurricane Barrier. The governor ordered the barrier closed about 6:30 this morning. It's wet, windy, rainy and cool. I'm settled in for a spell.

Here are a few more photos of Friday night's Iron Pour.

Last night was the Steel Yard's annual Halloween Iron Pour.  The Steel Yard and the Iron Guild create an experience of music, theater and molten metal.  Surreal and provocative.   It was a gorgeous evening.

Here are a few of the many photos I took of the Iron Pour.