I started the ArtFoodHome.com daily (now 4 times/week) blog 1/1/11 (easy to remember, right?) and have kept it going since then. Come back each day - I share with you:
ART: featured artists, art events, workshops, etc.
FOOD: recipes, restaurants, and good finds along the way
HOME: house plans, home design, places here in Charleston...
On year 14 of artfoodhome.com - share this site with anyone who you think might enjoy it!
Monhegan, ME. Artists everywhere. I. Mean. Everywhere! Everyone is busy painting away, doing their thing, and let me tell you , there are some incredibly talented artists who’s work just blows you away! We met artist, Tim Bell (pictured) on the island years ago (I’m thinking 2006?!) and have remained friends with him through the years, and have made new friends through him. He’s such a talented, brilliant artist. Tim had so much information to share that I had to go get a pen and paper. Great, useful information. One year we watched him paint this painting… and as he walked away with it… we had to have it. So it’s pretty cool that we have this painting… good memories. We love every one of our paintings, they’re all special to us in one way or another. This is a perfect example!
Have a great Sunday! Catch you back here tomorrow!
Ahhhh, about this time every year I really get “home sick” (if you can call it that… since I’ve never lived there) for Monhegan. There is nothing like a Monhegan sunset! I would love to catch a sunrise, I’m definitely up early enough, I just haven’t been able to give up my coffee… yet! This photo was taken during dinner at the Island Inn (and I am longing for good fish dinner from that restaurant… the best ever!), I had to excuse myself during dinner to run outside and get a quick shot. How stunning is this?
Ahhh, see you just went on a mini vacation… you feel better already, don’t you? I know I do!
Shawn Fields, artist that paints the childhood imagination… Is this not a fascinating painting? Does it not conjure up wonderful childhood memories? The kinds of memories made from using your imagination (nothing in the world beats that, there is no video game that can beat a childhood imagination. Not. Ever). Do you recall the art of building a fort, riding a bike and make believe that seemed so utterly real it was hard to believe that it wasn’t! I truly think Shawn’s paintings bring us back to that happy childhood… it gives us a feeling of make believe so good and pure. Just honest fun. Fun that wore you out and made you sleep well at night! The way he captured this sweet little boy with his cape and his furry friends is nothing short of spectacular. His paintings make me smile. A big, wonderful, happy smile!
“Jousting” by Shawn Fields
All I can say is… this painting brings back fabulous memories. The longer you look at this it, the more you see… this is a creative kid, who jumped on his bike, with his bed sheet as a cape. Keep looking and your mind will create stories. How wonderful is that?! Shawn’s paintings are so original. Pure amazement is what I feel.
Shawn’s show is at Dowling Walsh Gallery, in Rockland, Maine. There is an opening reception tonight with the artist from 5-8PM. If I could be there I would be! If you’re in the area, stop by the gallery, it’s located across the street from the Farnsworth Museum and it is a gorgeous gallery! Filled with paintings that will tempt you… big time! Don’t say I didn’t warn you!
Read a blip about Shawn from the Dowling Walsh Gallery website and check out his website:
Upcoming Show: August 2-30, 2013
Shawn Fields is a representational artist, telling stories of childhood with convincing detail. Shawn reminds us of the simplicity of a childhood full of resourceful, economical play. His paintings begin centered on a particular object – a “cabbage patch kid’s” bicycle, a bathing suit, a pillow case – familiar from his own childhood and echoed in his children’s. The object becomes embedded in layers of narrative until the picture is complete.
Using practiced color, composition and anatomy, Shawn amplifies his narratives with make-believe. He has been inspired by Pixar and Spielberg, as much as by Winslow Homer and the Wyeths, in their ability to tell a story. Shawn understands that a painting can seem even more real when it takes liberties with reality. He cleverly invents ways to weigh down the mattress beneath the feet of a feather-light child, allowing it to crease and fold in a way that our mind reads as true. He billows the cape of a young boy jousting on his bike, the ribbons and grasses blowing with vigor, capturing the speed the viewer and the child have imagined. Shawn’s paintings signal to our recollection of reality.
Shawn Fields grew up in a suburb of Baltimore and also in rural Pennsylvania. His early conception of art was formed by a monthly subscription to Mad Magazine, and the Wyeth family’s presence in the Brandywine Valley. Shawn studied drawing and painting at the School of Visual Arts, at the Water Street Atelier in New York, and at the New York Academy of Art. He now lives in the Berkshires, Massachusetts with his wife and three children.
The Beach Bungalow plan from Coastal Living… this is an exclusive design for Coastal Livingby Dennis Wedlick. My husband, Fred, found this plan years ago while looking through Coastal Living magazine while we were renting a cottage in Port Clyde, Maine. It’s a great small plan… I can’t tell you how small because that part of the site isn’t populated… hmmmm? Isn’t this the perfect beachside plan for a quiet weekend getaway, or for some empty nesters?!
I saw this plan and the first thing I said… cute… but I don’t like spiral stairs… Fred’s idea was to remove the spiral staircase, enclose the porch to make a sunroom and have part of the stairs there as well as the area to the left of the fireplace. Another good thought… pocket doors for the bedroom, saves on space! What would you do??
“The Red Hen” by Tim Kelly [image]The Red Hen is Plein Air Easton’s headquarters – what a neat painting! He captured it quite perfectly!
“Rest for the Weary” by Tim Kelly [image]Tim painted this in his car while it was pouring rain, is that dedication or what? I love the light in the trees behind the truck… awesome!
The Grand Prize Winner at the Easels event in Frederick, Maryland, at the end of June was painted in inclement weather — but the artist stayed dry. “It was a rainy day in downtown Frederick at the intersection of East and 3rd Street that paid off,” the winning artist, Russell Jewell, wrote in his blog. “I painted the scene from the front seat of my car as the rain poured down.”
Here’s a blip about Tim from his website (a good one), click HERE to read in its entirety:
In recent years I’ve taken to direct painting. This work can be seen on the FIELD STUDIES page. All of the work you’ll see here was painted on site and completed in a single session. Also in this page are interior studies. The medium is oil, usually on a masonite panel. The dimensions range from 6″ to 28″, average size is 16″ x 12″. Each painting takes 1 to 3 hours to complete. This type of painting can be a challenge for an artist. Gotta be quick, gotta get it right.
Let me tell you about the harrowing saga that filled our weekend… I was working away… attempting to write a post. Everything was painfully slow… and then all I could see is that little colorful ‘death wheel’ as I like to call it spinning around… computer unresponsive. Thankfully, I purchased the Apple Care extended warranty (adds two years on to the regular one year warranty). So I was able to call support to get some much needed help. I’m not an Apple genius. I try to keep up, but whew, some things are beyond me, and this was one of them! I got a great support person I could understand, he was clear, we went through steps and he determined I needed to wipe the hard drive and reload Mac OS X Lion. “Uuuuhhhh”, I heard myself stutter “ooooo-kkkkkk”, but really my innards were screaming NOOOOOOO! “Do you have a backup?” he asked. “Yes” I replied, without hesitation. I mean I have an external hard drive plugged in, I assume it works? I have taken a trip through the TIME CAPSULE just to see what riding in space is like… it miraculously captures your info from each day… We wiped it clean, and reloaded Lion. After that, the computer was unresponsive. We determined that we would make an appointment and take it to the ER (Apple store)… luckily we were able to take it that night. Genius Brian ran the first diagnostic on it. “Everything looks like it should”. Oh. Great. I don’t want everything to look like it should or these problems are going to keep happening, I mean I DO want everything to be ok, but not unless it really is… He said there is one more test… he ran it… and it could not recognize the hard drive. Ok… now we have a diagnosis… that’s a relief! It was scheduled to have the hard drive replaced, and I am sooooo very thankful that it was still under warranty (I LOVE YOU APPLE CARE!)! We were able to pick it up the next morning…
It was nice to have it back in our hot little hands. The backup worked like a miracle. It costed us nothing. Dropping it off we even got a parking spot in the front of the store, WHEN does that ever happen. One more thing… next week is tax free weekend… which means it would have taken MUCH longer for the computer to be worked on, because the Apple store becomes a zoo during tax free weekend! After all, that’s when we bought it a few years ago! It was worth standing in the heat for hours to not pay tax on it!
All this blah blah blah, to say… if you’re about to purchase an Apple product… do not hesitate to buy the Apple Care extended warranty. It’s worth Every. Single. Penny. We, in Charleston, SC, are so fortunate to have the Apple store right here. First class all the way.
I swear, this woman can paint ANYTHING! There were so many paintings that I fell in love with it was difficult to choose! I love the light in this landscape! How the colors compliment each other so nicely… I am drawn to that light in the sky, absolutely beautiful!
Mary won the People’s Choice Award at the Easels in Frederick plein air event in June 2013 – fabulous painting!
Mary Pettis is a classically trained artist who works mostly from life, using the Alla Prima or Direct Method of oil painting. Her lifetime in art is a journey reflected in hundreds of originals and thousands of reproductions and etchings collected in nearly every state and several countries. She currently lives in the beautiful St. Croix National Scenic Riverway along the Wisconsin/Minnesota border. She shares her life with her husband, Randy, and grown children, Matt, Nathaniel, Zach and Amanda Catherine.
Mary Pettis was born in 1953 on a farm in southern Minnesota. Growing up in the country, she followed the rhythm of the seasons: barefoot before the ground was dry in Spring, baling hay, feeding chickens, tromping through the sloughs and ravines and helping “put up” food for the large farm family. At fifteen, Mary discovered that painting seemed a natural means by which she could express her enjoyment and love of nature.
While receiving a BFA in Art and in Humanities from the College of St. Benedict, Mary studied with Hungarian artist Bela Petheo at nearby St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota. She excelled in advanced courses in Modern Composition and in Abstract Art at Mankato State University during the summer. She also did extensive research abroad in art museums from Amsterdam to Rome.
Mary’s love for the traditional style emerged in 1975 when she was accepted to a three year full-time student apprenticeship in Classical Realism at Atelier Lack in Minneapolis, Minnesota. During that period, she also studied copperplate etching with C. Daniel Graves (founder and director of the Florence Academy of the Arts – Florence, Italy). Working daily from antique plaster casts and from the figure gave her a solid foundation and disciplined approach which would never leave her.
Through the years, while continuing to read and study the Masters, she opened a studio gallery, taught classes and led workshops on various topics. She spent many years painting commissions, portraits, and highly illustrative wildlife and genre pictures to the commercial specifications of various publishers. While this was a sidetrack from “following her muse”, she recognized it as an important part of her artistic journey. As she says, “There is something to be learned from every subject, every challenge, and every failed attempt. Just when I would begin despairing over my artistic growth, I would see a tiny touch of true beauty in what had come from my hands. I would recognize an edge, a square inch, a color combination that was truthful… and the passion to forge ahead would possess me all over again.”
In the mid 1990s Mary met Jim Wilcox, who introduced her to the “wet-in-wet” plein air approach. “I spent years laboring over details using layers and glazes, taking weeks or months to complete a picture. This method was totally different. It was sheer fright and utter joy to paint directly, to strive towards putting the right color in the right place in one fell swoop!” With more input and encouragement from Robert Duncan, and Zhang Wen Xin, whose tradition stems from the Russian Realist and Impressionist schools, Mary moved her studio outdoors.
Melding the experiences in her life with her artistic influences have now resulted in an authentic and powerfully lyrical style. “As I paint I get swept away by the symphony of artistic elements in front of me. It is an honor to be able to share through my work those impulses which, more often than not, feel like expressions of private worship.” Today, as she melds technical proficiency with insight and sensitivity towards her subjects, Mary’s art resonates with her deep connection to nature and her love of life.
I shouldn’t say ‘freaky’ flounder, they’re actually very cool. Flounder is a fish that is caught here in Charleston, SC. One day we were at the Shem Creek dock and watched a man catching them… I’ve never seen them (other than in a restaurant on a plate)… he told us some neat things about them…
The opposite side was a different color… did you know, as they feed on the bottom of the sea they can change color AND PATTERN to blend in… they can even resemble grains of sand! I guess this one was trying to blend in with the railing?
Read this from Wikipedia… its just what he told us!
Eye migration
In its life cycle, an adult flounder has two eyes situated on one side of its head, while at hatching one eye is located on each side of its brain. One eye migrates to the other side of the body as a process ofmetamorphosis as it grows from larval to juvenile stage. As an adult, a flounder changes its habits and camouflages itself by lying on the bottom of the ocean floor as protection against predators.[1] As a result, the eyes are then on the side which faces up. The side to which the eyes migrate is dependent on the species type.
The beauty in this tiny town is beyond comprehension. You can just feel the history. It has that feeling of days gone by, kind of like Mayberry, but quieter, more refined and certainly very special!
Inlet Cottage (SL1519) An Exclusive Design for Southern Living by K2 Urban Design [image]The Inlet Cottage house plan by Southern Living House plans is a sweet floor plan that affords you the ability to downsize and still have a nice usable space! Depending what the conditions were (sun/shade and what my view was) I think I would add a side porch off the house, where you see the stairs, or even a nice deck, that would be quite nice!
Inlet Cottage (SL1519) An Exclusive Design for Southern Living by K2 Urban Design [image]If you really enjoy cooking you might want a larger space… I’m thinking, as much as I love a porch, I would sacrifice the one between the bedroom and the kitchen to expand the bedroom maybe a foot or two and expand the kitchen with the remaining space. I think it would be nice to have a bar to sit at for casual meals, so I would move the stove… but that’s me, what would you do??
The plein air event in Door County (Wisconsin) is an quite the opportunity to meet some amazing artists and see some incredible work that they put out over the next week. Here are a few of the artists who are participating this year (I hesitate to do this because they are all so darn good, but here is a glimpse at what you could be missing…) Frank Gardner, Anne Blair Brown, Marc Hanson, Larry Moore, James Richards, Jason Sacran, Dawn Whitelaw, and… and… and… check out the list, it also gives a link to their websites!
Recently a great little Mexican restaurant opened up in South Windermere shopping center… it’s a short walk away, which is the ultimate in convenience! If you haven’t ventured to YoBo Cantina Fresca yet, peruse theirmenu, then head on over!
The interior is very cool too… dress however you like…
They’re a friendly group over there… we’ve tried several items on the menu. My favorite at the moment are the chicken tacos… Next I’m trying the fish tacos… also want to try the salad… great salsa’s that are really different, and oh so fresh!
Yobo uses fresh ingredients!
Don’t miss their specials… Monday night all tacos are $2.50 starting at 4PM…
Isn’t this the sweetest painting? I love these pink flowers, the composition, the pretty light in the background… very nice! If you haven’t had a chance to see Thien-Kim’s work now’s your chance!!
Read a blip about Thien-Kim Pham from her website:
Thien-Kim Pham is an artist currently resides in Silver Spring, Maryland. She first studied music at the Saigon Conservatory of Music in VN at young age but at the same time had a passion for art. In 1995, Kim began studying art when attending the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston. In 2004, she became a full-time artist and went on to study with various local and nationally known artists. Kim won many awards in Maryland and Virginia in the past few years, including three Caruso Awards at the Maryland Federation of Arts and Best in Show at the Art League, Torpedo Factory in Va. Her work was also published in 2004 by International Artist Publishing in a book titled “How Did You Paint That? 100 Ways to Paint People”. Kim finds her inspirations in the colors of nature and the beauty in human figures.
Thien-Kim lives in Silver Spring, Maryland with her husband Peter, daughter Lisa and their maltese Jessie.
Every time we hear Nora Jones sing, we think of the Island Inn on Monhegan Island, Maine. Every. Single. Time. One of us will say “the dining room is open”. One year, they played the same Nora Roberts CD, over and over. Not complaining. We rather enjoyed it. Matter-of-fact we looked forward to it the following year, and I’m guessing someone who worked each night couldn’t take it anymore! This dining room holds lots of special memories for us. We’ve met some wonderful people over the years. We’ve had wonderful breakfasts with some and long dinner’s with others. You know that comfortable interesting conversation that lasts long into the night? It’s rare to run into cool people like that. Monhegan, ME allows you to spend time with others because there isn’t a lot to distract you… no TV, radio, spotty cell coverage. All are blessings.
Special memories indeed! This photo was taken in 2008. The paintings in the dining room that year were by Alison Hill…
!["The Red Hen" by Tim Kelly [image]](https://artfoodhome.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/timkelly-theredhen-tkfb.jpg)
!["Rest For the Weary" by Tim Kelly [image]](https://artfoodhome.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/tim-kelly-restfortheweary-outdoorpainter-com.jpg)
![Inlet Cottage (SL1519) An Exclusive Design for Southern Living by K2 Urban Design [image]](https://artfoodhome.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/hp-inletcottage-sl1519-sl.jpg)
![Inlet Cottage (SL1519) An Exclusive Design for Southern Living by K2 Urban Design [image]](https://artfoodhome.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/hp-inletcottage-int-sl1519-sl.gif)
!["Monday Morning" by Marc Hanson [Image]](https://artfoodhome.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/marc-hanson-monday-morning-mh.jpg)
ARTFOODHOME.COM 