A few more from yesterday's roadtrip. We ate lunch at the Cascadia Inn in Skykomish where I had a good opportunity to shoot Phil and David. That little inn doesn't look like much but the food was quite wonderful. It was rustic, simple and pretty groovy.

Scarecrows and sunflowers in Skykomish.

In celebration of autumn, today was a road trip to Stevens Pass filled with...

pumpkins
crispy apples
barns
rivers
woods
hints of snow on mountain peaks
scarecrows
evergreens
strawberry rhubarb pie
laughter
friends.





More photos in the next few days.

Last Saturday, after a very late lunch we walked down Broadway. Right at the end of the block there was a band with a tin pan alley feel. It felt like the first perfect autumn day. It was 4 pm, the shadows getting long, a hint of color in the trees and music filled the street. We enjoyed it so much that we spent a fabulous hour listening to them. Stephen was walking down the street and we called to him. He joined us for the rest of this little street concert filled with jazz, blues and swing.

At some point, 4 of the musicians stopped playing and did some tap. And a couple other times, folks would get up and dance. All very talented and much fun. So much so that I needed to get to an ATM, and then grab a coffee across the street so I'd have bills to tip them. Street musicians have a very special place in my heart.

I could imagine having them come to a First Thursday and set up in the hallway outside of my studio. Before they packed up I asked them for their card but they had run out. Instead, I was given the website of the guy on the saxophone...KevinBuster.com.

It was one of those perfect afternoons, with the combination of weather, light, music and energy.

Today was a do nothing day although I still have a nagging feeling that there was supposed to be something on my calendar. But when I checked...it was a free day. After the very full week, it was time for some major downtime. This evening, just on the tail of sunset I went for a walk to the park. Fresh air and leg stretching was in order. It was a wonderful autumn sky. There is nothing like the skies in Oct/November. The clouds are richer and the air has a comforting smell.

Last night's art walk was a wonderful evening. I wanted to attend a few openings but didn't make it. Instead, after dinner I rushed to the studio to open up and was busy for the next 3 hours. There were some pretty fantastic conversations with various folks. One man was sitting in the comfy chair that Matt left me before he moved. He sat for a very long time. After a bit I walked over. "If you have any questions..." came out of my mouth with a smile. He began talking about the paintings and so I pulled up the rocker and sat next to him. We chatted...and then both immersed ourselves in the paintings, in quiet. It was a really pretty moment.

In addition to the same work I showed last month, there were 4 in progress pieces. And on the extra wall and in the alcove I decided to go back in time and show about 15 b&w drawings that I did in Dec07/Jan08. It was interesting looking at them at the same time as the newer work. You could see the beginnings of the paintings in those drawings.

The drawings were done in black watercolor, charcoal and sometimes graphite.

Here are four of the pieces that were hanging. These photos were shot at that time and aren't very good. Now that the work is out again, I need to reshoot the drawings.

It's been an incredibly busy week between work and the art. Each day busier than the last.

Yesterday was nonstop and therefore no blogging.

It began when I overslept and didn't get in until 6:20 (which for me is late).

When I came in the computer wouldn't come on, and my desk lamp didn't work. Still half asleep I walked into J's office.
"The electricity is busted in my office."

He laughed, walked into my office and flipped the switch on my power strip. Yes I felt like a dork.

When the light came on I noticed the middle shelf of my bookcase had broken and everything was on the floor.

Looked at the time I remembered I had a 7 am phone/web interview meeting with developers from our donor software. I was assisting with some beta development/testing and wasn't yet clear-headed enough to be extra logical. Hadn't really entirely woken up, finished my coffee or eased into my day.

It was the first day of our Fall phonathon which is always very busy for me. After the meeting with the software folks I began entering new pledges to only realize I hadn't written off last fall's unpaid pledges so needed to stop what I was doing to work on the write-offs which took all day. It was the first time in 9 years I'd forgotten to do that crucial step.

My adding machine gave up it's ghost after 8 faithful years of service.

After lunch I knocked over my favorite glass that I've used for the last 5 years which spilled water and broke the glass on the desk.

Couldn't make it thru one project without receiving a request for an "asap...need it yesterday" report. In mid-afternoon I had 5 report requests within a half hour from two different departments which I managed to complete but meant my current task was left incomplete.

Excessively groggy all day.

Looked down at the end of the day and noticed my index finger was sliced up in a few places…and have no idea how. No blood.

I didn't realize how ludicrously crazy the day was going until my coworker asked. After relaying the events of the day he asked "And you're still here?" With a grin I answered, "well...yeah!"

At that moment it dawned on me that I had one hour of work left and then quickly needed a few gin and tonics and a couple sushi rolls before coming home and crawling in bed wicked early. As much as I wanted to get down to the studio to paint, my body wasn't in any shape for it.

On the way home I remembered a dinner date with a really dear friend which I sadly needed to cancel because I was no longer headed downtown and much too exhausted to meet him later.

For such a zooey day, it surprisingly didn't carry any frustration. Each dilemma was met, worked on, or let go of and on to the next moment. It was quite pleasant, filled with jokes and although I couldn't finish what I really wanted to, everything else managed to get done.

Thankfully, I slept a solid 8 hours last night for the first time in over a week. Good thing because from looking at my desk, today is quite full and a short day so I can run to the studio to prep for tonight's art walk.

Today's the first day and in looking at my calendar, the month is jam-packed.

This coming weekend is half booked and I'll keep Sunday as my alone day. Between some very special out of town visitors arriving on Monday for the month and next weekend is booked with a film screening, a couple other gatherings and a weekend long event that I'll attend at various times. The following weekend is a staff/board retreat which then runs into a 2 day staff only retreat on Mon-Tues…and in the midst of all this, I'm still working book illustrations and need to paint.

I've decided to put a couple projects on hold until November…such as redoing my art blog/site and working some type of statement for the Bleeding Vessels/Sedna series. Heh. spellcheck tried to change Sedna to sedan.

It's all really good stuff yet pray I have the physical stamina for it.

In other good news, I received confirmation this morning that I've sold a larger painting and a framed drawing. Both are two of my favorites and am thrilled that they are going to the home of this particular buyer. Last month I did a trade (which I rarely do but it was perfect) of another favorite painting for one of his gorgeous creations. We'll make the actual swap this month.

My trip back east made for a good week. I managed to reconnect with 3 old friends who I hadn't seen since I'd been there last…7, 8 or 9 years ago. I can't even remember the exact time. With each of them, we picked up where we left off. It was natural. We've all changed and yet the reunions were fluid.

I met a couple new folks who I only knew online. It was a delight. There were many wonderful conversations that were healing in small ways. Most left me with a sense of wonder and awe.

Thank you.

The place I stayed was perfect. My room…delish. When I walked in, I noticed the two wing back chairs against the large window with a coffee table between them. And against the other wall was a king size bed that didn't even feel like it dominated the room. Behind the wall of the bed was another smaller room that held the dresser, desk, refrigerator, a closet and led into the bathroom.

I could sit in the chair, look out the window and had a perfect view of the water. Outside, on the hill overlooking the water there were 7 or 8 white Adirondack chairs. My favorite summer chairs.

Nothing felt cramped.

I did managed lobster for each meal except a couple breakfasts that consisted of Maine blueberry muffins.

There were two meals of lobster rolls where I enjoyed the chunky meat so much I peeled away the bread. One of those lobster roll meals came to the beach where I sat, ate, enjoyed the salt, sand, air and water. Other meals consisted of massive, jumbo shrimp stuffed with lobster, boiled lobster, lobster benedict and lobster bisque. In addition there were steamers and baked scallops where I asked them to cut back on the butter.

Seriously delicious.

It's the first vacation where I returned having lost a few pounds and it's not because of all the walking. I tend to walk a lot on vacation. But I was feeling internally satiated...and therefore even when eating, there wasn't a need to gorge or even crave desserts, although a couple times I'd have a bite or two of something sweet.

A little went a long way.

There is more to write but it needs to wait for another time.

Right now I need to dive into the puzzles and problems on my desk and then rush to the studio. This is the very first Art Walk where I do not have a new completed painting. There are 4 in various stages of progress but that's it. And surprisingly, I'm not troubled by that fact. I'm learning to relax into the process.

Have a good day.

Today I return to work. It is strange because it really feels I've been in a different universe. And I have. It is going to be a very packed day. On top of it, I have an illustration to finish by tomorrow, and a couple paintings to push into better viewing stages because Thursday evening is the art walk. A full week ahead.


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Last Tuesday I left Ogunquit...somewhat sad because my stay felt cut a little short. I'll write more on that later. I headed into Portsmouth for a few hours before I needed to return to Boston to catch my flight.

After meeting with J. in Portsmouth, catching up, laughing, wandering, we parted with hugs and then I headed for Prescott Park. I craved a little quiet and stillness before the full rest of the day that awaited me.

Strolling along the water and then through the gardens and the fountain area offered a fairly smooth transition between comforting beach time and the hustle of the city.

Dunes are a wonderful thing. The dunes in Ogunquit are quite small, especially when you compare it to the amazing dunes in Provincetown or Martha's Vineyard down near South Beach. But I'm quite fond of them and always spend time in that special place.

They represent an isolation and wildness. Such a fragile environment...windswept. And yet life still flourishes.

Another Ogunquit photo. This one is from my hotel looking out during low tide.

And back to the studio yesterday for more of Inside-Outside...the bleeding vessels paintings. This painting began almost 3 weeks ago and this is the 4th or 5th working session. It's 30"x40". Much larger than the other still lifes I've been painting and so it's taking much longer to build up the paint before I can even cut loose. Although this is nowhere near complete, I'm excited about it and looking forward to seeing where it takes me. It's currently clumsy and awkward. Who knows what it'll look like once it's done.

I know I need to pull back on the color even more and loosen my mark making when the surface is richer.

High tide rushing in. My hotel was the 3 story building on the right.

In spring or summer of 1998 I went up to the top of the parking garage in Portsmouth, NH, set up my easel and painted. It was one of the few places I could paint outdoors in private.



This past Tuesday while in Portsmouth, I parked in that same parking garage and then remembered the painting. So before leaving, I walked up to the top level to shoot what I had painted from 11 years ago. The tree is definitely bigger and it looks as if the building on the left had some work done near the top. The biggest change is that the pole disappeared.

From Monday's walk on the big beach...

...there was a woman feeding the seagulls by placing a bit of food between her fingers and holding up her arm. The gulls would swoop down and grab the food from her fingers. These gulls were hanging around waiting because she had stopped feeding and they were still hoping.

I hadn't seen that in years, not since I was little when we'd make our annual jaunt to Martha's Vineyard. While on the ferry to the island we'd have corn chips and cheetos and hold our arms out over the edge of the boat so gulls could feed from our fingers.

I just returned from an early morning appointment with my shrink and am headed to the studio for the first time in over a week. I'm excited and honestly, a little anxious because I never know what will come up or happen in that special space.

Before that, here's a quick photo from Monday. It was early afternoon and the tide was rushing into the little river behind the main beach. Powerful enough that I spent a happy hour watching this guy surfing. With a paddle. At first he'd fall quite a bit but came to the point where he could actually surf in all the way without using it. He was persistent.


My Lumix TZ-1 camera is 3 years old and I still love it. It was the first generation, having come out in winter of 2006. I was surprised that the camera actually caught the guy in focus, especially while zooming in to the max and so was dealing with motion and massive light.

This is the direction I was headed yesterday morning when I began walking to the rocks. The fog was beginning to lift but it was still beautiful. And the tide was very low.

I feel pulled away from that special place a little too soon...a few days early. There's a bit of culture shock happening.

Last night in Boston I attended a wonderful evening hosted by Mr. Don in his home. The food was delicious and the company, spectacular. Exhaustion overtook me and although I really wanted to capture the moment on film, I was fried. Then I had about 3 hours of sleep before waking at 3:30 am Boston time to catch an early morning flight. Today is pretty much a wasted day. I'll try to stay up until about 9pm and then crash.

I'm still sorting through photos and will post a few more.

Tomorrow...back to the studio and Monday back to the office.

These flowers are from yesterday's walk in Portsmouth near the Moran tugboats and Poco's deck with my painting pal. When I lived in the area that deck was the place of many, many, oh so many afternoons of marguerita grandes and nachos.

And the tugs have always been a source of great fascination. They are needed and work so hard.

Since I've stopped being a beach bunny with the constant laying in the sun about 12 years ago, I really don't need sun at the ocean. I love the shore in the fog. My time in Ogunquit has been filled with what many would consider perfect days...mid seventies, blue skies, no clouds. This morning, my last morning, I once again woke to a glorious sunrise. While watching it, I noticed a layer of fog hugging the sand. Within a half hour the shore was blanketed in fog. Excitement filled me as I went out and romped on the rocks.

It's been a busy day, including hooking up with my best old painting buddy from '96. We shared a couple wonderful hours in Portsmouth before I headed back to Boston.

And now, I'm parked at Diesel Coffee in Davis Square, grabbing some alone time before dinner this evening with some Boston folks. Tomorrow it's a 6 am flight back to Seattle.

Sunrise on the big beach about 6:30 this morning. I went to find a cup of coffee and ended up on the beach walking and enjoying the light. The morning sun almost feels painted on the sand.

It was a beautiful, lazy Sunday. Lewis and Todd met me at the hotel and after a glorious breakfast at Bintliff's which serves a vast quantity of various benedicts and french toasts, we spent the afternoon playing and resting on the rocks.

Todd ordered the creme brulee french toast which had a french vanilla custard and carmelized sugar on top. It looked like the ultimate french toast and so we all had to document it.

I became enamoured with the little pot.




The light was extremely bright and harsh which wasn't conducive to good water photos. Much too contrasty. I had to trash most of them. When shooting, I prefer cloudy skies or early morning/late afternoon hours.

Happily perched on a rock watching the water, I looked over and noticed the guys were comfortable across the way.







Lewis...I met him last year on my day trip to Boston, and we hit it off. Really great guy.

Todd...I met for the first time yesterday and yeah...we too hit it off. They are both amazing humans and a joy to spend time with. It was relaxed. Conversation flowed deep and light and silly and sexy. At times, blushing occurred. The energy emanating from both of them was soothing and comfortable. Perfect.

We saw little rock towers and so Todd went off to create one. While watching him build it I noticed the woman in the back posing for some guy who was standing behind me.



Todd's creation~

And the tide rolled in...

Last night dinner~

We shared scallops, and...



...and...

Now this is my kind of Sunday morning service...

...stepping off my deck with a cup of coffee and immersing myself in the quiet, beauty and openness of this...




When the tide rolls in, all this sand will disappear.

I arrived at the motel in Ogunquit about 45 minutes ago. It is all so very perfect. Here's a quick photo before I head out to dinner with one of my oldest friends. This is some of what I see from right outside my door. Those stairs are from our walkway and lead right down to the beach. It's low tide.

My heart really needed this little vacation. Tears fell as I drove past the tidal marshes in Kittery and York. Yeah, it all still feels like home.

I've been keeping it simple, including many salads. My favorite thus far was in Somerville the night I landed. Arugula, figs, killer blue cheese and spicy pecans with a balsamic dressing. Simple and brilliant. This isn't a photo of that.

Right now, these three days with my family are pretty much an immersion in family. It's been very wonderful spending time with them although saddened to see how age is affecting my parents. Tomorrow I head for the beach and it will be great to have much alone time on the water. And needed. There is much on my mind, and in my heart.

It's been a very busy couple days, between a full travel day into Boston, great time with Matt and Pete and then more travel before arriving at my parents' home.

Last night, my sister, her husband and I went into Northampton for dinner. Afterward we walked the streets and heard music filtering out into the night air. Heading toward the music we came upon a pizza shop that opened up right onto the sidewalk where three guys were playing sweet, hot jazz.

This...this is one of my favorite pleasures. I could have sat at a little table outside and listened to them for hours.

A b&w of a new painting not yet complete.

It began with very saturated deeper colors, including a lush red background. But, I've been in a place where I'm exploring whites and neutrals and so slowly, I've been transforming the work into something lighter. I still need to push the whites more...make it lighter. There's an emotional component because I figure if I can dive into the complex waters of whites then all that light will seep into my heart.

John Singer Sargent was a master with whites. Currently at the SAM there's a wonderful compare and contrast in the permanent collection on the second floor. There's a portrait by Sargent. Two paintings over to the left there's a portrait by Robert Henri. I love Henri's faces. But if you check out the white collars on each painting, the Henri is lifeless. It's white. Boring, plain white. Look at Sargent's and you get caught up in the variations...your eyes dance over each mark and the white offers up an abundance of color. Back in '96 during a painting fellowship I had Sargent's works strewn all over the studio. I'd make a mark on canvas and then bend over and study one of his paintings, to then return to my piece. Continually studying and painting.

I want massive color in my whites. I want them to glow and glisten and become luminescent.

Exploring whites lends itself well to these paintings...paintings of relationships, with ourselves and others, expressed thru rectangles and bottles - our interior life and what we show the world.

Yesterday while at Utrecht picking up a couple supplies for my trip, I noticed a few tubes of white in a locked case at the register. One was a flake white in a large tube for $75.00. My eyes opened and I wondered what I could do with that white. I imagined the texture to be exquisitely buttery and tried to see how it would mix with other colors. How was that flake white different than others I've used in the past?

Maybe one day I'll find out.


Today I popped into the studio to pick up some drawing pencils. Longingly, I stared at this canvas and another new very large one...aching to work on them but couldn't. They need to wait until after my trip.

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I just finished laundry. Made up a very anal packing list, dividing everything by categories. Later I'll walk to the drugstore to pick up my Imitrex. I don't expect to use it but it's better to have migraine pills on hand for just in case.

For the last week I've been checking the 10 day forecast for western MA and for the southern Maine coast. Everything looked great until yesterday when it listed showers for my 3 days in Ogunquit. Today, it's back to being fine and sunny. I'll bring my rain jacket just in case.

I bought a small tube of black watercolor and a new sketchbook in case I'm inspired to do some small ptgs. Otherwise I'm definitely working a few drawings. I also have to complete the first illustration for a book by the end of September and plan on finishing that while I'm away.

Very early tomorrow I hop a plane for Boston and will be spending the night at Pete and Matt's. Wednesday I grab my rental car and hit my folks place. And Saturday, I'll be at my beach.

I am bringing the laptop so as long as I'm feeling up to blogging, I will post.

Now I should begin packing. 3:30 am is going to come quickly.

I've needed to take a break and be quiet for a while. Thinking much. Feeling more.

Last Saturday morning a good friend gave me, unbeknownst to him, a very timely gift...a beautiful recognition of the very thing that others have thrown away and turned from. It arrived no more than an hour after I was in tears, beating myself up for who I am. His gift was a perfect reminder that there are a handful who, not only seek but are also turned on by depth. It's not empty words. Thank you again C.

Prepping for my trip to the east coast.

There are more photos to post from last Monday's shoot. Soon.

As well as being very spontaneous, Monday's shoot began innocently enough...