We’re already having tropical weather here in Charleston, SC – so it’s not too likely you will be sitting out enjoying the beach this weekend… so you may need this photo so you can at least imagine that you’re in a nice calm and peaceful area! (Update: Can you tell I wrote this post ahead of time? It was supposed to be horrible here… turned out to be beautiful last night… but here’s some good info for the next time it rains…)
If you’re looking for things to do… how about gallery hop in Charleston? Lots of good galleries, most are fairly close to each other… Hope to see you there!
Many of you have heard of Eric Hopkins. He’s got a fabulous gallery in Rockland, Maine. An exquisite space full of his paintings, most of which are large and a few are VERY large… If you think he seems familiar but haven’t been to his gallery perhaps you’ve seen his paintings on the cover of the LL Bean catalog? He’s got a fun element to his work. This painting is entitled FLYING OVER BLUE BAY. If you’re in Rockland, ME, you’ve GOT to go in the gallery. I LOVE how (at least last time we were there) Eric used an old door with glass panes as a palette. BRILLIANT!?
With the eyes of an artist, the words of a poet, and the mind of a scientist, Eric Hopkins has engaged numerous people through his art and with his thoughts about life on this Big Blue Planet. He captures the dynamic forces and rhythms of nature in watercolors, oils, blown glass, mixed media, and photography. His vision focuses on the Big Picture of the natural world, geological and geographical forms, and the exchange of energy between Earth, Water, and Sky. From this intimate study of nature, Eric has developed a keen awareness of light, form, color, and pattern, which is reflected in all of his work.
“I was lucky enough to spend my early days on North Haven,” says Eric, “where my worldview consisted of roaming the woods, fields, shorelines and exploring the edges where land, water, and sky meet. I was drawn to shapes, spaces, patterns, and the rhythms of nature. I was and still am fascinated by the incredible variety of life forms and forces on this Planet.”
Eric is a graduate of Rhode Island School of Design and has taught at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts and Pilchuck Glass School. He has exhibited at the Farnsworth Art Museum, Portland Museum of Art, Center for Maine Contemporary Art, Waterfall Arts Center, University of Maine Museum of Art, and a number of galleries nationally.
On our first visit to Maine, many years ago, we met a wonderful artist. We were at the fall L.L. Bean Art Show in Freeport, ME. The show was huge, with many great artists, but one stood out… her name? JULIA NICHOLS. Check out her website (click HERE). Her paintings are so DIFFERENT, so fantastic… we loved one that was of a road on Monhegan Island with two walkers. It reminded us of, well… US! We called her the following year to see if we could stop by and see some of her work, and guess what? We did and that painting was still available! We bought it, had the best visit and still love to follow her work. Check out Julia’s website, and if you’re in Yarmouth, Maine, give her a call! She’s as nice as they come!
It seems that I plug LL Bean quite a bit, but there are a few things from that store that really stand out. The LL Bean Adventure Duffle is one of those. In times where the airlines charge BOOCOO bucks for you to take luggage with you it’s time to go to extreme measures… no more wheels for us, they weigh too much, and whatever the luggage weighs you can deduct from the weight you can put IN it. One year we were stuffed to the gills in our suitcase and the zipper broke beyond repair, we were on our way to the airport and pulled into LL Bean and bought the LL Bean Adventure Duffle. AWESOME! We even had time for them to monogram it for us, ha ha… So now we both have a medium to carry on, note that it can’t be stuffed, but that’s nice, if it’s a little larger and you put stuff in it you can flatten it out to fit underneath the seat or in the overhead bin with ease. We also have the extra large duffle which is EXTRA LARGE… we don’t fill that too tight either and we haven’t gotten anywhere near our weight limit. Now… knowing that you have to carry this and not wheel it will make you pack a little lighter perhaps, but this is the ticket and we love it! AND if you want to add just a wee bit of weight you CAN get the Adventure duffle WITH WHEELS… Just wanted to share that with you!
It’s raining, it’s pouring, the old man is… JUMPING IN PUDDLES! Long ago when my husband used to show horses I had a pair of LL Bean boots, they were the best, you could walk through anything, and at horse shows you did precisely that! From the stable to the puddles your feet were safe and dry. Today it’s raining, it’s pouring at times, yet I could don these LL Bean Rubber Mocs and go skipping through puddles with no worries (which is exactly what you want to do when you have these shoes on, well, maybe not the skipping part, but…). You can get these in a variety of colors and shapes, from tall boots to shoes, from plain ones like I have to the shearling lined for winter, they’re the ticket! If you’re in the market for a good pair of rain boots/shoes that will keep your feet nice and dry, and are comfortable to boot (hee hee, pun intended), check them out! LL Bean!
Hey, I think I’m taking the weekend off… If I run into a spare few minutes I’ll pop on a post, otherwise check back on Monday… Until then…
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