'Judith'

 

This is a study of my friend Judith, who happily sat for me a month ago. I am pleased with the result, as is she, and I will be doing more of these character studies. If the intensity of it disturbs you, please accept that she herself is a fairly intense person and I wanted to make that clear in her picture.

 

Then I went off to Ireland and Cornwall with friends and relatives. Those images are not ready for prime time yet, though some will be coming.

 

And in the meantime, there is an article I did for Maine Boats, Homes and Harbors magazine, on my sloop, Priscilla. Fun, but it won't pay the bills.

 

more coming...

Re-connecting!

 

'Breeze on the Mill Pond'

It's been an amazingly busy spring and summer. I've been renovating several areas in the house - none of which projects are done. I am small potatoes for the guys who are doing it. But I wanted the best for this old house.

The work has called me back to my design work, which I have loved. That, plus the need to finally start being financially productive has caused me to spend a great deal of time working with my printer, making cards and small giclees of images which seem to be popular. Surprisingly enough, I sell a great deal (3) of work from the restaurant in town called 'Ports of Italy.' But mostly I sell cards from 'Tidepools' and the East Boothbay General Store, plus giclees from the Art Foundation. Though I had one major sale from the wall in the Art Foundation, one day after the painting went up. I do not even have an electronic image of that painting. So much for being organized.

So I've been doing small things, like the above image, and one large image which is still not quite done. And I have several more medium-sized things on the line...so I'll try and stay in better touch. 'Crooked Selfie' and the other self-portrait, somewhat toned down, will be in a show at River Arts that's coming up - hopefully. One can never tell though...

And I do hope to do more character sketches when I get the courage to ask for people to sit for me!

Crooked and not-so-crooked Selfies

Though this is not my final version - I have toned down the arm and the background a bit, this is my "Crooked Selfie"... I have been in a wonderful color theory class with Kris Engman, an adjunct prof at UMO, and have been learning an enormous amount from her. I've had to take in so much that I could not internalize it all, but am only now beginning to appreciate what it is that she has been trying to drum into my head.

And this is my not-so-crooked selfie in a shadow...though I am not sure this is also the final version...These are what they are and I hope to do more of these kind of character sketches - as there are so many wonderful characters in my life! You'll be seeing these on  Facebook and ArtCollector Maine, as soon as I can get to putting them up.



Logo project done!

Voila the logo for the Congregational Church of Boothbay Harbor's capital campaign. The theme was decided before this design came to me, and is "Living Stones" - from a verse in 1Peter 2:5: "Like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house." Not a simple concept to visualize!

The first idea I had was to make little stones into stick figures. But that turned into M&M's, and I did not think they would raise lots of money to renovate a church. So I finally cut off the addition to the church and set it on a pyramid of stones, that were not square but squiggly like they were alive. Then because we are a harbor, I decided that it should be rising out of water, and be like a lighthouse. It is a popular image.

I have enjoyed making the communications materials based on this logo and the theme, Living Stones. But it has been as enormous amount of work, more than I anticipated. Still, very gratifying...so if you need a logo for a difficult theme or idea, just be in touch: salgsmith@gmail.com.

A Valentine for those in Need

In a banana's arms...

Who can fail to ripen beautifully!

Happy Valentine's Day, February 2014

Frigidity!

'winterlight'

It's been the coldest, snowiest winter of my tenure here in East Boothbay, and I have been dealing with broken furnaces and frozen pipes and insurance adjusters ad nauseam. At the moment, all systems are functioning though neither the furnace in the barn nor the one in my house are in optimum condition. They are at least keeping me warmish.

The instigation of this drama involved my travelling around the holidays, first to Tennessee to visit Sloane and her parents, then to Vermont for Christmas, and Cambridge for New Year's. While in Cambridge with two young Finnish couples, the children of my old friends in Helsinki, a huge storm came in with bitter cold to follow and I was stuck there for two days. Apparently, at some point, the power went out and my house furnace refused to come back on. When Duane Pinkham arrived that Saturday morning, the house was down to 32 degrees, the pipes to the upstairs bath were burst; ice was coming out of the kitchen faucet. He reset the furnace and it came on, but was not reliable after that. There was never any guarantee that it would come back on when it was needed. After 4 different visits by men from Dead River, who all told me one way or another that I needed a new furnace, one of them put on a new igniter and the furnace has been humming along ever since - although the initial problem of the burnt out baffles remains to be fixed, or a new furnace installed.

Then, I approached the barn  fully expecting to walk into a cozy studio. It was not, and when I went to try the water, the faucet handle just popped right off in my hand! The water in the WC was frozen, and the radiant floor was not circulating.That issue remains, but there is water  for the sink and the john, and whatever is happening in the floor, at least it is now keeping the studio warm.

So I have been busy learning more about furnaces than I ever wanted to, but also learning what good help is around here. John Jicka has been a huge help, making things work again, and then replacing busted faucets and light fixtures. Steve Monroe has been huge in opening up walls so John can fix things, and then closing them up again - as if nothing had happened. Now we'll see how long it takes for the insurance money to come through!

The toll in the house: 4 poinsettias gone, 1 cactus, 1/2 Christmas cactus, a peace lily, and part of a kaffir lily, and one orchid. The rosemary and the cyclamen seem to have made it through. It was kind of a shock to check the water in the base of the peace lily and discover it was frozen! But like all green things, there will be more where these once were...and I shall turn my attention from travel this year to the house, sort out the issues that need to be addressed and those that don't, and get on with life. In the meantime, I have a logo for the church to develop, and paintings to produce. Here's an old, but hopeful one:

Sorry about the quality, but I'm still having issues with more than one image per blog...

and more...

I am still having issues with this blog...but I want to get more of these images up, so I will continue this way. Perhaps those who run Blogspot will notice, though probably not, and fix things...so on we go:

This was an early work when I was still in undisciplined mode...it's called 'off to market', and I love the light moving around and reflecting off unseen walls. Dawn in Vaison la Romaine was amazingly beautiful, with the sun coming up over the mountains in the east, and people walking down through the hill town to the markets in the valley. I was still searching for the periwinkle blue in the shutters, which I didn't find until I got home and could use white again!

This process is too tiresome...I shall wait until tomorrow to do more...