THE BIGGEST LITTLE SHOW IN NEW YORK!

"Morning at Libby's Cove" 9x12 oil on panel

"Fog Lifting at Libby's Cove" 9x12 oil on panel

"Northeast Wind" 6x8 oil on panel

    The Annual Thumb Box Exhibit continues at the Salmagundi Club for the 108th year!  This is a REALLY BIG little show :-)  Both the Main Gallery and the Lower Gallery at the Club are filled with hundreds of small paintings no larger than 9x12 inches (image size). The show opened on Monday, November 21st and it will run until January 1st 2017.  The public is invited to a reception on Thursday, December 8th from 6:00 to 9:00PM.
   
    I am happy to say that the first painting above, "Morning at Libby's Cove" has received a "Certificate of Merit"!  I am really honored to have this painting singled out considering the number of really good paintings hanging on those walls! I am particularly pleased because these paintings were truly labors of love. 
     The first two paintings (the Libby's Cove paintings) were painted from memory. Like many of you I have "go to places" in my mind that I can image during times of stress to remind me of better days. This cove in York Maine is one such place as is the beach in front of the beach house we owned for 20 years on the Outer Banks of NC.
      The cove was my summer playground as a child. We spent our summers in a bare bones, one room cabin (camp as Mainers say) atop a hill overlooking this cove for the first 15 years of my life. This is where I first learned to oil paint and I could sit on the porch and paint the cove right from the cabin. Later in life the same would be true on the Outer Banks.  The house was much larger but the porch also afforded an unobstructed view of the ocean.

        My 15 year old dog, Lucky, was dying when I painted the upper two paintings.  I would not leave him alone during the beautiful fall weather so instead of plein air painting outdoors I painted in the studio from the images in my head while he slept next to me. I worked quickly with the palette knife and let the love of place come through as best I could. I will always think of him when I see these paintings and only I will know how much love is in them.

The 88th Grand National Exhibit!

"Jesse Waiting" 20x16 oil on panel

     I think a trip to NYC might be in order as my painting "Jesse,Waiting" has been selected for the 88th Grand National Exhibit sponsored by the American Artists Professional League!  The exhibit will open this Sunday, November 6th at the Salmagundi Club at 47 5th Avenue, NYC and will be on view until November 18th. A reception will be held on Sunday, November 13th from 12:00 until 5:00.
    
     This has become my favorite national exhibit as it includes paintings, drawings and sculpture by artists from around the country. The work is always high quality and I love that drawings are included as they so rarely are. The drawings selected in prior years have been very good but this year there are some really extraordinary pieces to see! I don't envy the awards committee as selecting winners in all categories will be a challenge. This is my 6th year participating and I am thankful the jurors have once again chosen one of my paintings, particularly this one.

     This is a painting of my eldest granddaughter painted a couple of years ago. I rarely do figurative work as it is difficult to find sitters but Jesse was a willing model and a good one!  I painted her in a wistful mood with my mother's silver sitting on the window sill. Actually the sitting was shared with three other artist friends of mine and we all contributed props and clothing. We used the main salon at a local private school as it provided a variety of views and antiques as well as a terrace.  We all did photo shoots of Jesse and created CD's of our photos which we shared with one another. I had the advantage of being able to have Jesse available to me here at home when I needed live reference for the painting :-)  I hope you like this one!