If you are in the Laguna Beach area, this is an event not to be missed! Do you realize how many fabulous artists are going to be in one place painting their hearts out? Lots… this is the LIST OF ARTISTS, and it’s a doozy!
Click here to buy your tickets (for lectures and collector’s party) – I saw some great photo’s on Ken DeWaard’s website, paintings from last year at Laguna as well as images of artist painting, it’ll give you a feel for how fabulous this event is!
Each year Laguna Beach, a famous seaside community and historic artist colony, turns into an outdoor studio with the always-exciting Laguna Beach Plein Air Painting Invitational. This event showcases the nation’s top plein air landscape painters who compete for prestigious prizes and participate in the week-long festivities including public paint outs, environmental awareness activities, and educational events. Culminating with the highly anticipated Collectors’ Party and Public Sale. Proceeds from this event will benefit Laguna Plein Air Painters Association, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit art organization.
This year the Invitational will be held at the Aliso Creek Inn in the majestic Aliso Canyon – The “Yosemite” of Laguna Beach and the location of the area’s original homestead built by the Thurston family, the ancestors of current Laguna Mayor Kelly Boyd. This event celebrates the artistic legacy of Laguna Beach.
Our visit with Charlie at Vet Hospital in Mt Pleasant. This is the first day that he ate!
Written Wednesday 11:30AM
For those of you who aren’t on Facebook… Charlie has been sick. Very sick. We took him to the emergency vet at 11:30 Saturday night and had to leave him at 2:30 AM, he was such a sick dog… vomiting, weak. He hadn’t gotten in to anything that we could think of. He was his happy self on Friday night, we went to bed and he hopped right in… we all slept. Saturday morning we woke up and normally he runs to his food dish… not this morning. No food. Later in the day he vomited… and that night he started and couldn’t stop… we took him to the er vet, they said he was in pain. Ugh…??? Their thought: Pancreatitis. Normally dogs who are given fatty table scraps are the dogs that get that. Charlie gets very limited table scraps and we don’t eat fatty… he eats mainly frozen green beans, carrots, lettuce and his dog food… but he does get a little smidge of cheese now and then…
They got him through until Monday AM where he was transferred to the Internal Medicine group. They did an ultrasound on him and confirmed pancreatitis. IV fluids, pain meds, anti-nausea meds, Pepcid. He hadn’t eaten since Friday at 3PM… he took his first bite, yesterday (Oct 8/Tuesday). He seemed so great when we saw him yesterday, a big difference from the night before. They’ve done an ultrasound each day, and the vet noticed that the lymph node near the pancreas is getting larger each day… not good. We just got the pathology report back and it showed no cancer cells! However, she said that cancer cannot be ruled out, so he will still be monitored and if the lymph node doesn’t start getting smaller then they will biopsy it.
We let him know that his future diet would consist of low fat food, and he is ok with that…
He had a slight fever last night, but is otherwise doing great. Because of the fever we can’t bring him home this morning… We call at 3PM today (Wed) to see if we can pick him up!
LIFE IS GOOD!
WRITTEN THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2013 7:30AM
UPDATE: Charlie came home yesterday (WED 10/09) We all camped in the living room and he did well, he is eating on his own this morning (YAY!!) got all his meds and can feel all your well wishes!
WRITTEN THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2013 8PM
Charlie had a good first full day home! This morning he woke up raring to eat which was fabulous… then he kind of fizzled a little… no fever YAY! He rested all day and was very perky by evening… he’s now curled up sleeping unless someone walks down the street… then he needs to check things out, then goes back to sleep… he’s a happy little beast!
Thank you so much for all your good thoughts, prayers, vibes and anything else you’ve got! You’re all the best!
I love this painting! It reminds me of an area on Monhegan where there are always colorful clothes or towels hanging on a line amidst beautiful flowers… what nice work by artist Janet Ledoux! I remember one of the first few paintings I tackled on Monhegan one year involved a clothesline… if memory serves me correctly that was the only part of the painting that I liked, ha ha… this is wonderful in every way. Janet captured a delightful scene… she also captured the movement, I swear I just felt the wind! Nice job, great work… with a touch of Sovek to it. Check out Janet’s website!
After a career as an award-winning illustrator and art director, Janet Ledoux turned to full-time painting in 2000, working on the Maine coast and exhibiting her paintings, collages, drawings and monotypes in numerous venues. A graduate of the Paier College of Art, Ledoux is an elected member of the Ogunquit Arts Association and a recipient of a fellowship at the Vermont Studio Center. She regularly paints in Stonington.
I wish I could give credit to whoever snapped this photo, pretty darn cool, huh? EVO Pizzeria Facebook
WHAT A COOL PLACE! If you haven’t been to EVO Pizza (Extra Virgin Oven), you must go! I cannot wait to go back! We went with some friends and had the absolute best pizza and salad ever! Everything was top notch… The Farmer’s salad was so fresh, the roasted corn was delightful and the dressing was out of this world… We split the Margherita pizza and I have to say it’s the best we’ve ever had. Does TO DIE FOR explain how wonderful? I was so excited when the food came that I forgot to take a photo… that’s too sad, but it’s also a good reason to go back! Even the tea was remarkably good… No bitter taste, just pure delight!
We also went to the EVO bakery located behind the restaurant… the best looking breads you’ve ever seen! We bought a loaf of bread and a few chocolate chip cookies that were the best… just like the kind you make without all the mess! That night I made a pot of soup and had a slice of bread… heavenly!! Not expensive… better than any store bought bread could ever be!
Here is a little blip about the restaurant from their website:
About Extra Virgin Oven, LLC:
In 2005, Ricky Hacker and Matt McIntosh wheeled a cart into the Charleston Farmer’s Market, built a fire, assembled an array of ingredients: handmade dough, homemade sauce, hand-pulled mozzarella and the freshest local produce. The result seemed simple enough: Extra Virgin Oven: fresh, honest, uncomplicated Neapolitan pizza. The line in front of the pizza cart grew longer…and longer. What was happening was delicious – and different.
EVO began as a family business in 2005 baking pizzas on a mobile wood-fired oven for farmers’ markets and catering. In 2007, we opened our restaurant in lovely Park Circle to further pursue our passion with fresh, local, house-made, uncomplicated food. We’ve been passionate about supporting local farmers and visiting farms since 2005 and continue to work closely with our local producers.
In addition to pizza, Extra Virgin Oven serves an array of homemade soups, salads, cured meats and paninis on artisan breads, fresh from our wood-fired oven. Artisan beers and distinctive wines are the perfect complement to our honest food.
We make our own quality ingredients in house with the freshest local produce and meat available. We prepare and pull our own mozzarella twice daily, as well as make our pizza dough twice a day; we bake our own breads in our wood-fired oven; we slowly cook our sauces and soups daily; we make our house-made sweet sausage daily; our aioli is hand-made each day; our dressings our house-made, not from a jar. We believe it’s our job to let the essence of each ingredient speak for itself and know you will taste the difference.
Wow… after reading that you see that their food is REAL… it’s homemade and I swear you can tell the difference! EVO is located in the Park Circle area of North Charleston, SC, a very cool spot! – Check out their MENU!
There has been a lot of great press about this restaurant! I’m telling you, if you haven’t been… I would high tail it over there!!
I would like to dedicate this post to my mom… have I mentioned I have an uber cool mom? Actually, I’m very fortunate that both of my parents are really happening… they’re actually FUN to be around.
Well, today is my mom’s birthday!
H A P P Y B I R T H D A Y M O M ! ! !
Now that the weather is getting cooler in your neck of the woods, you need to come back to visit for some of this…
and this…
and this!
Wishing you the best birthday EVER!! Love you so much! xxoo, me!
I love this cool building located in Wiscasset, Maine. I would like to live there! Right in the heart of town, a short walk to Treats for a chat and a cup of soup, a tasty sandwich and maybe a treat or two!
This is currently a business, but would make one heck of a house! Do you ever have dreams of packing up and moving on? We are usually ready to jump ship in the heat of the summer… swearing that we’ll move to Maine soon! Then winter comes and the weather is beautiful and we say to ourselves… HOW could we ever leave THIS? A tad fickle perhaps?
You can spot a piece of Henry Isaacs work a long distance away. With all the fabulous artists in the world its pretty cool when an artist develops a style that’s quite different and recognizable. Henry has done just that! Isn’t this piece wonderful? Henry has an amazing website, take the time to check it out!
Gleason Fine Art has an opening reception this evening from 5-8PM featuring Henry’s new work. If you’re in the Portland, Maine area stop in and check it out. If you’re no where near Portland… check it out via their website! Henry Isaacs exhibit runs through November 30, 2013, catch it if you can! This is going to be an amazing show!
Cranberry Island artist Henry Isaacs paints with energy, passion, and self-assurance. His style—broken brushwork and a palette of delicate blues, greens, pinks, and yellows—marks him as one of the most recognizable artists painting in Maine today. In person, Isaacs is as engaging an individual as you will ever meet. He is both worldly and down to earth, both witty and self-effacing, generous with his time, and passionate about the dangers of the art world’s becoming overly commercialized.
Isaacs and his wife Donna live in the village of Islesford on Little Cranberry Island, a small island located near the larger island of Mount Desert. But island living in no way inhibits Isaacs from going wherever he’s asked to paint. Recently, this was a commission to paint on the grounds of a large Namibian estate in southern Africa. “New Work” is Isaacs’ first one-person show in Portland, and for this special occasion, he has presented the gallery with nearly 20 paintings, some of very large in scale.
Isaacs has had a varied and impressive education, including the Slade School of Art in London, the Rhode Island School of Design, and the Putney School in Vermont. Isaacs’ teaching career is even more impressive and varied, with stints teaching anatomical drawing at Dartmouth, drawing and painting at the Massachusetts College of Art, and drawing at several European colleges.
Freelance writer, and Portland Newspapers arts reviewer, Dan Kany uses high praise to describe Isaacs’ technique: “Isaacs’ approach to color is based in balancing warm and cool tones. He does this brilliantly with his ubiquitous whites and neutrals, and with his brighter colors as well. Like the French Impressionists, he doesn’t use black. [Isaacs’] handling of paint owes an unapologetic debt to the chunky boldness of the early 20thcentury Modernists and Fauves. The brushwork is strong, but primarily dedicated to the job of pushing paint around the canvas—an activity Isaacs clearly enjoys.”
“Henry Isaacs: New Work” opens October 4 and runs through November 30. Please join us Friday, October 4, from 5 to 8 pm to meet Henry Isaacs. For more information, call the gallery at 207-699-5599, email us at info@gleasonfineart.com, or check out our website gleasonfineart.com. Gleason Fine Art, Portland, is located at 545 Congress Street. Gallery hours are Wednesday – Friday, 11 am–6 pm; Saturday, 11 am–5 pm.
I would like to start by saying that Allison Ramsey Architects are brilliant. Their website is over the top fabulous for those of you thinking of building a home one day. They provide so much information, photos, links… You MUST check out their site… amazing is all I can say! AllisonRamseyArchitects.com – I would also like to thank them for use of their images… This house was built in Beaufort, SC and images of the interior are on their site at AllisonRamseyArchitects.smugmug.com. Wow, does it help to see actual images of the inside of this house. Not everyone is good at picturing the floor plan in their mind.
The windows upstairs make this the most charming house ever! I love how they open out, just like the old cottages that you see that are in pristine condition. It isn’t easy to tell if this house is old or new. It has wonderful detail and charm, something missing in a lot of today’s house plans. The Bay Point Cottage is a clear winner! It boasts a heavenly porch, screened porch, Master bedroom downstairs, and an open plan in terms of the kitchen, great room and eating area. I’m not at all concerned about having a formal dining room. It’s not a priority to me… we would rarely use it. We can always repurpose a room when the need arises instead of being saddled with an unused dining room all year long (if it’s not your thing).
This floor plan is roughly 2300 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. It is in Allison Ramsey’s “Carolina Inspiration Book I” Page 35 (C0058).
Contact the architects at info@allisonramseyarchitect.com or 843.986.0559 to verify square footage, house dimensions and additional information or to purchase a set of plans. Their house plans show how their attention to detail time after time makes them a great architect to choose!
Distant Snowfall by Tom Perkinson 10×10 oil on panel
Tom Perkinson’s paintings are magical. Each one has an element that takes it over the top. The texture in this painting is amazing… and that orange… ahhhh, that orange is the part that takes it over the top for me, well, that and the clouds… I love how that wonderful orange light is reflected in the sky a bit. This is such a striking painting!
Moonlight, New Mexico by Tom Perkinson Watercolor/mixed Media 28×38
To me, this painting is magical. The full moon, the moonlight reflecting on the tops of the clouds, the small cabin with the smoke billowing out of the chimney just makes me really wish I was there… hunkered down with some great food, a bottle of wine or two and a book… and of course Fred! It would be worth staying up to watch the moon until it faded away.
It was really exciting to run across Tom’s work, I’m a forever fan!
Tom Perkinson was born in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1940. He was raised in the country, and developed a love for the natural landscape. He discovered that he had a talent for art while in elementary school. Art quickly became his chosen passion. During high school he studied at John Herron Institute of Art in Indianapolis. After high school, he studied at the Chicago Academy of Art.
He left Indiana to pursue an undergraduate degree in Oklahoma. Each year while attending the university, he was invited to stage an annual exhibit of his work. His early work focused on the landscape, but also included still lifes and city scenes. At that time, his favorite artists were the early American painters, like Homer, Sergeant, William Merrit Chase, Potthast, and the painters of the Boston School. Particularly influential to him were the early painters of southern Indiana who painted the landscape in which he grew up; painters like T. C. Steele, Vawter, Schultze, and Forsythe.
After graduating, he moved to New Mexico to pursue his Master’s Degree in Fine Arts at the University of New Mexico. During graduate school, he was creating large-scale works that had a foundation in Surrealism, using detailed and highly rendered images. But he still continued to paint the landscape, which now reflected his new fascination with the southwestern landscape. He found that the drama of light and shadow, and the mystery that characterizes the New Mexico landscape held great appeal to him. He recognized that he had found an infinite source of inspiration in the panorama of the southwest landscape.
He taught art at the University of New Mexico for two years after receiving his Master’s Degree. In 1970, he committed his life to painting full time. His work is included in private and public collections across the globe, and he is represented in the collections of many museums, including the Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe; the University Art Museum, Albuquerque; and the Eiteljorg Museum of Western Art in Indianapolis. He has lived in Corrales, New Mexico for over twenty years. His work is included in the May 2006 book titled “Landscapes of New Mexico, Paintings From the Land of Enchantment”, authors Suzan Campbell and Suzanne Deats, published by Fresco Fine Art Publications LLC.
This recipe is too good to be true! A perfect combination of healthy ingredients, chicken sweet Italian sausage, fresh spinach, fresh mozzarella, grape tomatoes, fresh basil and white wheat pasta… these ingredients together with a dressing of olive oil and balsamic vinegar will make you so happy… W A R N I N G : You may crave this after you’ve made it once. Don’t say I didn’t warn ya!
Pasta with Italian Sausage, Tomatoes, Fresh Mozzarella and Basil
1 – 12 oz pkg white wheat pasta (like Barilla)
1 pkg Chicken Sweet Italian Sausage (like Al Fresco), skins removed, cut into small pieces
1 container of FRESH Mozarella, cut into fairly small pieces
1 large container (or 2 small) Grape Tomatoes, cut in half
Fresh Basil (to taste)
⅓ – ½ cup Olive Oil
⅛ – ¼ cup Balsamic Vinegar
Pepper
Spinach
In a large nonstick frying pan add a small amount of olive oil. Cook cut up sausage until browned. Remove from pan and place on a plate that has a few paper towels on it.
Start a large pot of water to boil the pasta, while you’re waiting for it to boil,…
Cut the grape tomatoes in half, set aside.
Wash the basil and chop it up, set aside.
Cut the mozzarella into small bite sized pieces, set aside.
In a large bowl, add the balsamic vinegar. I never measure, I just eyeball it to see what I will need to coat the pasta well, it’s ok if it’s more on the heavy olive oil side, you’re going to put this salad on top of fresh spinach, so you will need it! Slowly whisk in ⅓ – ½ cup of olive oil. If you whisk it slowly it will emulsify (become one where it won’t separate). Add some pepper. Go ahead and toss in your cut up tomatoes into the olive oil/balsamic mixture so they can be absorbing those wonderful flavors!
Once your pasta has finished cooking to the al dente stage (firm to the bite), drain it well, and place it in the large bowl with the oil/vinegar. I give it a quick stir to coat the pasta well and then I cover the grape tomatoes with the hot pasta and let it sit for a few minutes.
After a few minutes add the fresh mozzarella, the cooked sausage and the fresh basil. Stir to coat.
You can eat it like it is, or wait until it’s chilled. I usually will take it out of the fridge for 5-10 minutes so that the olive oil will have a change to un-congeal… Place several large handfuls of fresh spinach and then a few large scoops of pasta salad… it melds together wonderfully! Enjoy!
Apple and Angel by Ann Gesinger [image: DowlingWalsh.com]AMAZING paintings by artist Ann Getsinger, I’m telling you each one is so intriguing! Ann’s show opens this Friday, October 4th, 2013 at Dowling Walsh Gallery in Rockland, Maine. It is one spectacular show! If you can’t make it to the show be sure to check out their website!
How creative is this painting? You see the angel… and the apple… the fabulous trees, the moonlit water, the rocky coast… what’s not to love about this?
Ann Getsinger grew up in Watertown, Connecticut, studied in San Francisco and has spent most of her life either in the Berkshire Hills of far western Massachusetts or in coastal Maine.
The youngest of five in a creative household, as a child she often spent time either at the dairy farm next door or in the surrounding woods where natures creativity influenced her powerfully. After attending Paier School of art in New Haven, CT, and the San Francisco Art Institute, she settled permanently in western Massachusetts where she studied with realist artist Sheldon Fink.
The coast of Maine has been a lifelong love beginning with family vacations as a child and now continuing in her family’s home near Port Clyde. The experiences of sea and shore, along with views of Mosquito Island and Head , have been incorporated into Ann’s work countless times in all weather, seasons and circumstances. From the age of twelve, exposure to the artwork seen in the nearby Farnsworth Museum in Rockland, Maine, especially the work of the Wyeth family, has been pivotal.
The artists’ home and studio, since 1988, is in the rural Berkshire town of New Marlborough, Massachusetts. Ann’s oil paintings have been exhibited in museums and galleries and hang in hundreds of homes.
Ahhh, the Carina… it’s so much more than a grocery store, it’s more of an institution… it’s a place to run into old friends after a year has gone by, a place to catch up like no time has passed. A great place to grab lunch, a snack, or groceries… End of October will be then end of the Carina as we know it… A big thumbs up to Tara Hire for making it as fabulous as she has all these years! She is moving on and following her passion… Monhegan Wellness! So check it out!!
Another thumbs up to Lisa Brackett, who will be running the new store on the island called L. Brackett & Son… A store and a diner… there has been some major fundraising going on, this is a creative, hard working bunch!
We wish them both the best in their new endevours!
“Morning… Her Chilled Breath We Feel” by Kenn Backhaus [image]October and November are fabulous times of the year to visit Charleston. There is usually a lot going on in this art-loving city, but hang on to your hat… Tomorrow the American Impressionists Society (AIS) 14th Annual National Juried Exhibition begins! It’s being held at M GALLERY OF FINE ART(soon to be renamed PRINCIPLE GALLERY) right here in beautiful Charleston, SC! This show runs from September 28 – October 30, 2013 at 125 Meeting Street. The AIS reception and awards presentation is October 3rd, from 5-8PM and a public reception will be held October 4th from 5-8PM in conjunction with the French Quarter Art Walk. This is one event you won’t want to miss!
Kenn Backhaus, AISM (American Impressionist Society Master) is the Judge of Awards and will be conducting a painting demonstration in the gallery Oct. 4. Personally, I can’t wait for that!
Here is the AIS SHOW GALLERY… just look at these paintings! It’s like a dream come true for this many wonderful paintings (and artists) to be in one city!
A few quick thoughts on American Impressionism and Contemporary Realism. As we unpack over 200(!) boxes containing the very best recent work in the genre, it occurred to us Impressionism IS the original Realism. All of these ‘isms’ aside, the thrust of the expression is on being true to the moment and leaving the viewer with an enduring mood or narrative- as does Contemporary Realism. This upcoming show celebrates the incredibly varied voices that differentiate American Impressionism from its more intellectual European counterpoint. During the rise, fall, and re-introduction of AI, American Impressionists were witness to familiar surroundings in rapid, dynamic transformation from agrarian to industrialized communities. The general malaise of wartime and the Depression led many an Impressionist to evoke a more nostalgic and familiar life. Rapid brushstrokes and dynamic color were two marked principles that contemporized the reassuring lines of a more pastoral life and expressed the inner life of the figure. M Gallery is honored to be hosting this multi-faceted show and support the enduring legacy of plein air and Contemporary American Impressionism.
HAVE SOME THOUGHTS OF YOUR OWN? STOP BY FOR A CHAT:
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