gorgeous day. perfect weather. i want to hit the beach but instead....off to the studio. have to wrap up a few projects today. (photo from the other night when i was rewatching "Herb and Dorothy" on netflix)

I've been immersed in a bunch of deadlines this week but had to step back and look. Even though I still have much to do on some of these, looking at them makes me happy.

Super great beach afternoon. 3 hours at the beach & almost all of it was spent frolicking in the water. The water was perfect and at times, the waves were huge. And as a bonus, Horseneck Beach has some nice dune paths which meant more photos for paintings.

It's the weekend!

Unless some unnatural force takes over my body , I am taking the weekend off from painting. Canvases need to dry and I need to mull.

My roommate gave me a little table and chair that makes a perfect desk in my room. I've been happily working in my apt. I realized that even though I have a desk in the studio, after painting I need to get out of there and grab some type of people contact.

I've been working at my desk for the last hour and it's wonderful. Painting is filled with isolation and there is only so much of that I can take.

So having said that, the only work I plan on doing this weekend is working on applications at my little desk. Weather permitting, my nonwork stuff this weekend involves the ocean. I'm headed to the beach tomorrow to go swimming because my body has been very twitchy for salt water. Walking at the beach in Sandwich on Monday was only a tease. I need full immersion.

Currently working on in the studio...from my "Beach" series.

Each are 28"x22", oil on canvas.

More photos from yesterday at the Sandwich boardwalk.

This morning I enjoyed a wonderful studio visit with a friend who is a painter and a part of our Seattle studio group. I really miss that group and seeing P.Y. was pretty awesome.

A few weeks ago I learned of a boardwalk in Sandwich, MA on the Cape. It's only an hour away and so after checking tidal charts because I wanted to go at low-ish tide and grab photos, I headed out mid-afternoon for my little adventure. In addition to loving boardwalks and doing more research for paintings, I just really needed to get my feet in the ocean and smell the air.

So it was all good.

Detail of a new painting.

Two different paintings, both in progress. Each are 28"x22", oil on canvas. Yup, now pulling in more color.

Rainy day today which makes me happy. It will be the first time I work in the studio on a rainy day. Crazy, huh?

Seen in Chelsea.

Not Richard Serra

-shipweck at Monhegan Island, ME

Photo taken at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens

With the excessive heat and humidity, I don't dare work on current paintings because the weather creates a mushy head and body. But, I know I need to work. So I keep beginning new paintings. This week, I've also been working new drawings of the "beach" series. Here is one from my pile.

taken in Portsmouth, NH

Every time I look at this I think of sushi.
(photo taken while on Southport Island).

On our last night on Southport Island we ate at a wonderful little joint called The Lobster Dock. They were just in a throwdown with Bobby Flay that will air in September.

The atmosphere was delightful. The location, beautiful. The food, fantastic. And the company, perfect. We sat at a picnic table watching the setting sun over Boothbay Harbor. It was a wonderful ending to a lovely few days.

My First East Coast Open Studio!

You are all invited to pop into my open studio.

Saturday, September 8 AND Sunday, September 9
10 am - 4pm each day.
The Mills
545 Pawtucket Ave, Pawtucket, RI 02860
Studio C302 - (with the big purple doors)

This will be my first open studio since I've moved to Providence.
In addition to showing new work, I'll be clearing my storage with a painting sale
so I can make room for new work.

I'd love to see you. Come help me celebrate my new space.

The studio is right on the border of Providence and Pawtucket.



from the "Beach" series, 40"x30", oil on canvas

Yesterday I had an adventure of the magical kind.


We had a 90 minute ride on a little boat to a small island 10 miles off the coast o Maine. The island is 1.75 miles long by .75 miles wide with about 17 miles of trails with some of Maine's tallest cliffs.

There are no paved roads on the island.

About 65 residents live there year round.

It's an island of fishermen and lobstermen and artists.

No littering. It's a pack in / pack out island.

No camping allowed.

No emergency medical services on the island.

No street lights. If you stay over night, bring a flashlight.

There is one public restroom, privately owned that requests donations after use.

Walking is the only way to get around on the island. Cars are not allowed and the only few trucks are owned by the inns, used for hauling and luggage. I saw many residents carting vegetables, art supplies, and other objects up and down the paths with wheelbarrows.

There is only one safe beach for swimming. The water is cold. The beach is small. The tides run hard.

It was a very foggy day which never really lifted and assisted with creating an ethereal atmosphere on the island.


To see all 66 photos, click here.


For more information on Monhegan Island here is the wiki page and another link from the visitmaine page.

We had some very dramatic skies on our last night in Southport. There was an incoming storm and we spent a while on the landing watching the continually changing sky.

On my way home from Southport Island, ME yesterday I stopped in Portsmouth NH to meet up with my two oldest friends and my former hairdresser. Almost seven delightful hours, most of which was spent at Harpoon Willy's on the dock, laughing and catching up. At one point we turned and noticed the sky above Portsmouth's salt piles. Magical.

Liza (my NH hairdresser) grabbed this shot of me.

And speaking of magical, on Thursday I experienced the most magical place - Monhegan Island. I'm still sorting through photos but hope to put them up soon.

Some moments in Southport Island and Boothbay Harbor from Wednesday.