Totem Poles of Stanley Park

 Stanley Park in Vancouver, BC. Totem Poles have always fascinated me, so it was a real treat to see these in the park. A huge windstorm devastated the park in 2006 and the poles were rebuilt by talented carvers of the Squamish Nation. They are carved from western red cedar and each tell a story of a real or mythical event. Totem poles are not idols nor are they worshipped. I stood in front of them for a long time.

Catching Up

Have had internet issues (part of RV travel) so now I’m playing  catch up. First plein air of the trip (back at the end of August) on Flathead Lake in Polson, Montana. 

I painted from a parking lot overlooking a meadow leading down to the lake owned by the Conferedated Salish and Kootenai tribes. 

Signs were posted saying this land was sacred tribal ground; I enjoyed the view of this gorgeous lake.

A view from my easel.

A little 5x5 sitting at the campsite overlooking the lake.

Don’t take yourself so seriously

One rainy day, I cut up magazines. I used some curved nail scissors and thought about negative shapes, one color next to another and Matisse.

Which made me smile and feel good about what I was doing. These are just parts of the whole- which I like just as much as the whole collage. 

It’s like that sometime, and I feel satisfied.

Figuring it all out.

I’m finding it so difficult to get anything going on this trip; it makes me wonder if my focus is off. On our travel days, I’m the navigator and when you’re 65ft long (motorhome plus Jeep) you gotta pay attention! So, unlike some artists who manage to paint while their partner does the driving, it doesn’t work that way for me. Maybe I just need to settle in with “what is” rather than “what I want it to be”.

Isn’t that the secret to happiness anyway?

Here’s a collage I made when I had some energy and time. The winning combination.

I did the gouache then the collage. Simplifying so much with the collage.

• I’m trying to figure it all out. While accepting things as they are.

How do I make art when traveling? How do you?

This is a question I always struggle with while we travel. In the motorhome for a four month trip, I’m thrilled about seeing so many new to me parts of the US. The itinerary is amazing, yet I start to stress before we even hit the road.
I can’t set up my oil paints inside the motor home and the weather isn’t always conducive to painting outside. I don’t have a studio to work in and sometimes I see the problems more than I see the solutions.
An artist friend posted on FB a quote attributed to Winston Churchill:
“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”
I need to post that one in my brain!
So... in the vein of doing things differently and truly seeing the opportunity in the perceived  difficulty, I’ve brought watercolors, gouache, scissors, a glue stick, and a nice big sketchbook with heavyweight paper.
My beginning....

I’ll paint plein air when the opportunity arises but for now- no stressing!

The Artist’s Eye or how we see things so differently

The Alley off Mill 12x24

                                                        From Trinity Square 12x16

Atop a Rock 24x24

These three paintings are part of a group show at Spring Bull Gallery in Newport, RI.  I’ve been painting Plein air with The Monday's Palette in various locations around Newport - getting ready for this show titled The Artist’s Eye. It’s extraordinary to see the diversity of our work- sometimes standing only a few feet away from each other! The show runs through the end of August, so if you’re in the area, please come in and see it!

Little Compton Summer Show

Lilacs- 6x7, one of my paintings at the Little Compton Community Center Summer Show this past weekend.

Summer Bouquet 11x14

                                        A Closer Look 6x6

                                         After the Rain, which I’ve posted before is 24x24, happily SOLD at the show and is off to live in Canada.