Years ago we rented the most wonderful cottage in Port Clyde, Maine. It was situated on the ocean, actually, rather close to the ocean. There were several cairns (sets of rocks stacked high) – I think they’re so peaceful. Some people used them as markers since way back in time. On the cottage porch railing they just looked so nice. They calm your thoughts… or perhaps that was the ocean. I want to go back, and never leave. That cottage is no longer available to rent. We feel fortunate to have rented it a few times. It was like a movie set… stunning, especially the time spent around the wonderful fireplace! It was a rustic cottage (no heat), and just a short walk to Marshall Point Lighthouse or the Port Clyde General Store!
If you build some of these along the coast, or anywhere else, be sure to knock them down after you’ve enjoyed them… part of the LEAVE NO TRACE movement to leave nature as it is, and to have only the true trail markers left behind…
To see more photos of the inside of the cottage (rustic), click HERE…
Monhegan, Maine. The most wonderful place in the world! Beauty as far as the eye can see. Good friends from years past. Hiking trails that lead you to the most remarkable areas. I could take photos there forever!
If you haven’t been there before, click on the links for more info… the Island Inn is our “home away from home” (I like to call it)… there is something familiar and wonderful about it. It’s filled with wonderful memories, and memories still to be made, more people to meet and food that I dream about until the next year!
Usually on Monday’s I post a Featured Artist, that will continue next week – This week I am posting photos! Enjoy!
Spanish moss hanging in the old oak trees… stunning! Sometimes a little erie, ha ha. I think it adds a bit to the gracefulness of these trees.
I have heard people say that it will choke the tree and the tree will suffer. I have read that’s not true, whew! It lives independently of the tree, it just uses the tree for support! Nature is so interesting… unless it ‘s a bug, my opinion ;)!
Charlie. My faithful companion… well, at least when I’m cutting up veggies. He never misses a beat. He can be in a deep sleep, and when I reach for the cutting board his head lifts… when I open the drawer to pick a knife *BAM* there he is, right by my side.
I know I have mentioned that Charlie can’t have regular dog treats (or regular food). He had pancreatitis (a few years ago) and we almost lost him. So the beast (I say that lovingly) is on special (ultra low fat) food, and no more treats… well, the old fashioned ones (I used to bake him peanut butter oatmeal cookies which he loved), now days instead of “making cookies”, we “make carrots” – I cut the baby carrots in half and he is thrilled. Frozen green beans are another daily treat with cucumber, tiny bit of broccoli, kale, loves lettuce, the crunchier the better, so there are options and he is thrilled.
Two Birds on an Orange Branch by Janice Sugg 24×24″ Oil
Unique! Janice Sugg has a great eye! She makes her paintings jump out at you and become so very interesting. I really like Janice’s paintings, and this is no exception. I love how the background colors show through. You’ve got to check out her abstracts and other paintings… they are fabulous!
Also, kudos for a great website design! So important! Love it!
I have recently relocated to Illinois from Colorado, where I was an accomplished artist for more than 25 years. My painting style builds imagery using layers. My method interleaves textures, blending color with subjective atmosphere. I paint using unpredictable palettes—a spectrum of color that often challenges well-worn clichés (the sky is blue, the land is green, etc.). The resulting layers are successively wiped and refined revealing a composite of underlying design—the result of colorful swathes of braided paint unfolding and enfolding the values within the palette. The surprising use of color has become a distinctive attribute of my work. My newer work pieces together the fragmentary; the broken; the partially concealed; a delicate improvisation; contrasting and blending modern urban life and landscape. When I organize the space in my compositions, horizontal banding and chromatic impressions built from the landscape often come into play. Soft blues, greens, golds, and whites inspire peaceful contemplation. The small squares at the bottom or the top can become as a “door”—a way to enter or leave the paintings. The increased scale of my newer work and the use of metal as a painting surface is a journey into the canvas as a continuously changing field. I am exploring the urban landscape, experiencing and studying its symbolism. My work is an exercise in personal exploration; a preparation for journeys related to inner mind. That is, a balance of empowerment and meditation, often without using recognizable symbols, encouraging the viewer to respond emotionally to abstract shapes, conceptual colors, lines and layers.
Character! Tons of it! (See a real photo at the bottom of this post). The drawings are amazing, but there is nothing like a photo to really envision what it will look like. Although, tweaking one small thing can really alter the appearance. Customize it to fit your style!
27 Cape Sans Blas house plan by Our Town Plans
The main floor has an open Great Room/Kitchen area that you enter from the generously sized porch, which is really an extension of your living area. Measuring at roughly 31′ x 10′ this is a large space, great for gathering, reading, or just chatting.
For us, the only thing I would change, would be to remove one bathroom… keep the powder room, that’s always nice, but have a Jack & Jill bathroom between the two downstairs bedrooms, which would also add space to the bedroom on the corner. Maybe just a shower and no tub, that seems like it would allow space for a door or pocket door or something similar…
27 Cape Sans Blas house plan by Our Town Plans
The upstairs contains a Bunk Loft with bed niches (see the Our Town Plans website link at the beginning of this post to see real photos of the interior) and bathroom!
WOW! is right… I have an affinity for trees against a very blue sky. I can’t help but take photos of them. Not sure why, they’re striking I guess, and this is no exception. You can just feel how tall that tree is. Love the clouds! Such a nice painting!
Catalina Backlight by Mitch Baird 16×20″ Oil
Look at this light! This painting stood out to me for that very reason. The light highlighting the cacti – whoa! The nice light on the mountain tops and the soft wispy clouds all around. So nice! I love that he painted the cactus with the sun hitting the back. It gives the painting such nice contrast. Check out his website. Wow!
As a representational painter Mitch believes that painting is a celebration of life and the beauty that surrounds us. He is devoted to the traditions of the late 19th century artists who looked to the figure and nature for inspiration regarding light, color, and design. Seeking out this inspiration, Mitch works directly from life to capture the qualities and nuances of natural light and color harmony. He has a strong conviction that great artistic communication depends on good draftsmanship, design and vision. His artistic desire is to “portray a positive visual statement and hope the viewer will experience what I see and in some sense be inspired, uplifted, or moved by my painting, whether it is of a small intimate setting or a grandiose subject.”
Mitch resides in the desert southwest in Mesa, Arizona with his wife Emily and children Siena and Spencer. He is a Signature Member of the Oil Painters of America and is also a member of the American Impressionist Society and Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters.
Do you ever have trouble coming up with something to make for dinner? Are you running short on time, but still want something healthy and fresh. POOF! Here’s an idea, and you can customize it how you like…
Boneless/skinless chicken, coat in olive oil and toss it on the grill… yum!
Skewers with sliced (thick) zucchini, mushrooms, and sweet onion. Brushed with olive oil, tiny bit of sea salt and pepper, set on the grill (upper rack).
Corn on the cob (I heat a large pan with about 1/2″ of water, once it comes to a boil, put the corn in, and COVER, cook only a few minutes and it’ll be done)!
Slice a tomato and some fresh basil, drizzle with a wee bit of olive oil, salt and pepper.
To switch things up you could use BBQ Sauce on the chicken (homemade is so much tastier), or Tzatziki sauce, or a nice pineapple/mango salsa? Switch up the veggies, add some fresh mozzarella to the tomato and make it a caprese salad. Oh, the possibilities with a simple dinner!
Kyle Paliotto can really paint the light, can’t he? This little piggy is precious… the light coming through his ears… stunning! So loose and wonderful, such character! This knocks me out!
Summer Freckles by Kyle Paliotto 10×10″ Oil
I think it’s safe to say that Kyle can paint just about anything! From pigs to fish, they all have character, and I love that! Love his signature – very cool!
Read a bit about Kyle, from his website – he sounds like a nice guy:
Oil painter Kyle Paliotto gathers imagery from the beautiful rustic landscape of his local surroundings in North Idaho. He searches out rural settings which display a time gone by when harmony between land and man existed. His style is one that takes from impressionism without disregarding the discipline of representational art up to the early 1900′s. Painting plein air on location is essential to his process but the real meat and potatoes is in the studio.
At the age of 39, Kyle has had some great achievements, but his greatest joys are his wife Rebecca and children Vincent and Sophia.
This portion of the post is written by Charlie the wonder dog!
Dear Dad,
Happy Father’s Day! Thank you for bringing me home all those years ago, even though I had very big feet for a Jack Russell… and the fact that I didn’t like you at first, not just you, any male… I was so scared (just look at my ears) – I can’t talk about it, but you saved me… and you’re my hero!
Even when I may have been a little bit bad, you usually laugh at me first, which fills my heart with joy…
You’re fun! You take me through creepy trails and we have fun getting close to critters that move fast!!
You walk me all the time, and we go on adventures and have a blast!
Thank you for showing me the sprinkler… I am so grateful. Oh, and for driving a kiddie pool all the way from Michigan to South Carolina so I would have my very own place to get cool, you know, for the times, when the sprinkler just doesn’t cut it!
The best part of my dad is when I know you’re almost home! I wait patiently…
You’re a very cool dad, and I think about how lucky I am to have you in my life!!
Love,
Charlie
Back to Barbara here:
Me and my dad…
Fred and his dad…
I would like to say Happy Father’s Day to both of our dads. We are so fortunate to be blessed with the two best dads on Earth. I just wish mine was closer :)
Tragedy strikes.Lives are lost. The community pulled together. I am so proud to live in Charleston, SC. An event that could have divided our city has instead made it stronger. I have seen a difference in the way people treat each other, and it is absolutely amazing! Our hearts all break for the friends and families who lost loved ones. The fact that it happened in a church just made it more horrific. These will not be easy times for the families, the church, the community, but we need to continue to pull together and be there for each other… Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.
*If you cannot help financially, just keep on with your thoughts and prayers!
Thank YOU!
Donations for Mother Emanuel Church
For those who want to respond to the tragic event that occurred on June 17th at the Mother Emanuel Church, we ask donors to give in one of two ways:
By using the Mother Emanuel Hope Fund
This city’s fund will provide direct financial support for the funeral and burial expenses of the nine victims of the senseless tragedy. Any funds remaining after the funeral and burial expenses are paid will be donated directly to the Emanuel AME Church for use as determined by its governance board. Donations to this fund are not tax-deductible. These denotations can be made in one of two ways ….1. By sending a check to
Mother Emanuel Hope Fund
c/o City of Charleston
Post Office Box 304
Charleston, SC 294022. By stopping by any Wells Fargo Bank nationwide and making a donation to the Fund.3. Texting ‘prayforcharleston’ to 843-606-5995 or go to www.bidr.co/prayforcharleston.
Lowcountry Ministries – Reverend Pinckney Fund
This Fund will be administered by the Palmetto Project (a South Carolina non-profit dedicated to improving the lives of South Carolians). 100% of the funds donated will be used in this community to support local initiatives serving his home church, vulnerable populations and youth projects that Reverend Pinckney was so passionate about. Decisions on the use of these funds will be made a task force of stakeholders made up of a member or members of Reverend Pinckney’s family, colleagues, representatives from Emanuel AME Church and other members of our community selected for their specific expertise. These donations will be tax deductible. Donations can be made by ….1. By sending a check to
Lowcountry Ministries – Reverend Pinckney Fund
c/o The Palmetto Project
6296 Rivers Avenue #100
North Charleston, SC 294062. Or by donating online at the following web site – www.palmettoproject.org
PS/ some of you received this email yesterday… My apologies… operator error!
LOOK AT THOSE BRUSH STROKES! Fabulous! Eric Jacobsen is an artist who captivates his viewer with his paintings! Each one fabulous in its own way. I love the wild clouds, the autumn trees and the shady area in the foreground.
Glorious Aspen by Eric Jacobsen (SOLD) 44×42 Oil
I love this painting. Something about it draws me in… perhaps the fabulous color palette, interesting shadows and overall composition. I am impressed!
Read a bit about Eric, from his website:
Eric Jacobsen was born and raised in New England. He received a BA in History from Gordon College in Wenham, MA in 1989 and studied fine art at the Lyme Academy of Fine Arts in Old Lyme, CT from 1991-1995. At the Academy he received training in the Beaux Arts tradition of drawing and painting from life.
Eric’s true inspiration is the amazing beauty that he sees in nature. Jacobsen is a “Plein Air” painter. He takes his oils wherever he goes, setting up on site, working until his painting is finished.
“It is most important to me that my paintings convey a certain mood”, Eric says. “I want them to be felt by the viewer without his or her having to analyze or think about them. As a general rule, I try to find strong compositions in nature and then paint the scene accurately while leaving out any extraneous details which would only busy up the painting and detract from the strength of the piece as a whole. My painting process consists of finding a painting site and setting up to paint for a couple of hours, or until the light has changed. For larger paintings, I will return on consecutive days at the same time, under similar lighting conditions to finish a piece.”
One of the reasons I like this house so much is because it doesn’t look new, like something built in a subdivision with 100’s of homes that all look the same. It has character and class, not to mention a fabulous front porch!
The Bartlett plan by Allison Ramsey Architects
When you walk into this home there is a nice foyer space and an elegant staircase. The first room you come to is the living room with a wonderful fireplace. It seems like a majority of the plans I feature are open plans, where the living/dining/kitchen are all relatively open to one another. This plan is different, for those of you who aren’t big on the open plans. Our home now is not an open plan, they both have their pluses and minuses… One good thing about a plan that is not open… MORE ART because there are MORE WALLS!
This plan has a nice size kitchen and dining room with french doors that head out to a deck, how nice for when the weather is beautiful! I like that there is a downstairs Master Bedroom/Bathroom with a Utility room close by.
The Bartlett plan by Allison Ramsey Architects
Two bedrooms upstairs with a shared bath and sitting room – perfect!! This is a really nice plan!
Kevin Beers. He’s always a pleasure to watch paint. Fred and I have seen Kevin on Monhegan several years toting his large canvases for plein air painting. He just shows up at the same spot and same time the next day to continue working. His paintings are treasures! Especially if you love the island as much as most people who visit do!
I love nocturnes, and this one is extra special! A short walk from the wharf is a cabin called Uncle Henry’s. I love the moodiness of this painting, and those few stars make it extra special!
Kevin is fortunate to be married to one of the nicest people on the planet, Amy, who is also an artist! They have recently made the big move to Maine, and they couldn’t be happier!
Arriving at Gleason Fine Art on Thursday…
Stars ‘n Stripes by Kevin Beers
If you’re in the Boothbay Harbor, Maine area be sure to stop in to see the “View from Here” show at Gleason Fine Art. it should arrive in the gallery on Thursday! Here it is… Dennis Gleason shared some info with me about this painting… This truck painted with Old Glory – does it look familiar? You may have seen the real thing on Rte 90 just off Rte 1, where Jay Sawyer has his sculpture “garden”. This is going to be a fabulous show, don’t miss it!
The show opens TOMORROW, June 18, 2015 and runs through July 28th! The reception is on JULY 3, 2015, from 5-8PM so if you would like to meet Kevin in person, be sure to stop by Gleason Fine Art!
Painting by Kevin Beers 30×40″ Oil
Kevin can paint the lightkeeper’s house on Monhegan in the most unbelievable way, but just when you don’t think there could be another twist… POOF! A painting within a painting – Clever!
Check out Gleason’s website and see all the other fabulous paintings that Kevin has been working on!
Monhegan has come to mean a lot to Beers. It is where Beers transformed a passion for painting into his life’s work. It is also where Beers met his wife, Amy Raye, who, in a scene right out of a Hepburn and Tracy romantic comedy, literally ran into Beers while admiring a magazine article about Beers painting on Monhegan. Fittingly, Beers and Raye married on their island a couple summers after their serendipitous meeting. To his many collectors, a Kevin Beers painting represents everything they love about Maine: intense blue seas and skies, puffy white clouds, and sunlight dancing off neat clapboard houses. To Beers himself, “Monhegan is a dazzling place with incredible, beautiful light. I love to paint the buildings on the island—the color and structure of weathered buildings, the patterns of sunlight and shadow, and the sharp contrast between a red roof, white clapboards, and bright blue sky.”
See how one small change can make such a difference? This slipcover was made by Cheryl Arnold from The Slipcover Shop, her slipcovers are always beautiful, fit perfectly and she makes the process so convenient!
Just look at what a transformation these slipcovers make! (I’m going backwards here, you’ll see the “before” at the end of this post)… This is the latest slipcover, we wanted no pleats, and just plain white cotton duck fabric. It washes and dries like a dream! Simple too, no loading up your car and dragging a chair (or worse yet, a sofa!) somewhere! In most cases, Cheryl orders the fabric, once it comes in, she comes to your house, cuts out the slipcover (which amazes me!), then takes the fabric home and a week or so later, brings you back a slipcover. So the chair never left the house!
If you have a sofa or chair that is still in good condition, but you think needs an update, check out a slipcover. How can you beat it? Throw it in the washer/dryer – it’s great!
Slipcover made years ago…
We had this slipcover made years ago (10+), saw one similar in a magazine and showed it to Cheryl. We bought the fabric at ABC Carpet and Home when we were in New York City – what a great place! Cheryl made the slipcover and W O W ! What a difference it made… you’ll see why…
“BEFORE”
Here is the original chair. The fabric is in good shape, but didn’t go with our furnishings – but all that changed! If you need a slipcover, or pillows, I highly suggest Cheryl. We love it! She has also made us covers for pillows and cushions and even a dog bed! The cotton duck is amazing stuff, and the slipcover truly transformed this chair!
Here’s her card – Highly Recommend!!
UPDATE: Had a question about the weight of the fabric, trying to decide between 9oz or 14oz – I asked Cheryl, and she said that our fabric is 10oz. She said 10-12oz. would be nice. 9 oz. is a little light in her opinion and 14oz is too heavy. She does prewash the fabric. Hope that helps! I love our fabric, it’s perfect!
ARTFOODHOME.COM 