Pansies

 

Pansies 8 X 10 Acrylic on canvas board.

I haven't been doing much painting since my hands are still very shaky. I'm grateful that my legs are still working pretty well after 3 years with Parkinsons. The medicines do help.

Life keeps me busy. I visit my husband daily in his group home and try to take him out when the weather is nice. He can walk slowly with a walker and we go to the park and sit by the water. I'm gradually adjusting to living in a small apartment. My daughter and her husband moved more stuff out of the small bedroom I'm using as an office and studio. I'm hoping I will be more motivated to paint now that it is arranged a little better. Someone ordered a cell phone case from my website so I know that is still working for anyone who wants printed materials.

Winter is coming, but it is not too severe in this part of Idaho (Boise), not like what I was used to in New Hampshire so I should be able to get out and walk every day or at least a few times a week.

I have 2 paintings on exhibit downtown at the Gem Center. They will be up for another month.

Shadowland. An oil painting from my imagination. 12 X 16.

Magnolias, acrylic on stretched canvas. 14 X 14.

Jewish New Year/Rosh Hashanah

 

The Jewish New Year starts at sundown on Monday, September 22nd this year. It is the year 5786 according to tradition. The year starts not on the first day of creation, but on the 6th day when Adam and Eve were created. 

May you be blessed with a good and sweet year. As this past year was very stressful and difficult for my family, I am praying for a better year for all, freedom for the hostages and peaceful conclusion to all the conflicts in the world. I know that is unlikely to happen, but I will continue my small part with occasional art, daily kindness to all and once in a while a new poem.

 After many months of stress, moving, and dealing with medical issues, I finally started painting again. This is a gray owl in acrylic paint on canvas, 14" X 14". I'm not sure if it's done or if I will tinker with it more.  I did enjoy painting the owl though.

We downsized from a big house to a small cottage in July.  I no longer have my art studio, just a small bedroom which is both an office and painting space. It was difficult to move, but necessary. My husband has not been well and is now in a memory care center. He fell many times, damaged his eyes and has had multiple surgeries. He is finally able to see a little bit and use a walker. He was in a wheelchair for many months. Unfortunately the original facility we were in was not adequate for him and I moved him last week to a small group home where he is getting better care. 

The emotional stress and my own aging physical issues (mostly Parkinsons tremors) made it difficult to paint. I am hoping to go out again with the plein air group this week and try some small outdoor (or indoor as it may be too cold) paintings at the greenhouse. It is fun to paint with a group of artists and uplifting to my spirit.

Wishing all a better 2025. Happy new year.

My notebook

 

I have been playing with acrylic paint in my mixed media notebook. Once the paper dried I also decided to try my calligraphy pen and ink. Unfortunately my hands are too shaky (Parkinsons)  to do the Hebrew lettering well any more. That is sad, but I can still play with the ink. I was just experimenting with colors and mark making. I used a palette knife, plastic type spatula brush, bottle top and brushes. Fun to paint while listening to "Joe Cool's Blues" with Wynton and Ellis Marsalis on an old CD.

The top letters are one of the morning blessings thanking God for freeing the captives. Unfortunately, the Israel-Hamas conflict is continuing and the captives are not free. I pray for them and all the injured souls on both sides.  The bottom letters are just me practicing the Hebrew alphabet.

I enjoy listening to music while I paint. 

Happy Spring. This is a tree in my neighborhood. I noticed it has early blossoms every spring. I don't know what kind of tree it is, but I enjoy seeing it on my afternoon walks.

This one was watercolor in my notebook. I added more ink so it looks a bit more finished now. Based on my photo from summer vacation. Coast of Norway as seen from the cruise ship.

Winter scene

 

Windy Day on the River, Oil on canvas board 8 X 10, palette knife & brush.  I am still struggling with shaky hands (from Parkinsons). I picked an easier scene to attempt. This doesn't have any real detail.  I am pleased with the outcome and I just have to get my brain to accept that I can't paint the way I used to. I'm not giving up though I will be posting fewer paintings on this blog.

Misty Day

 

Misty Morning (in Cascade Idaho). 8 X 16, oil on canvas panel. I couldn't figure out how to paint mist. I guess I will need more practice. Painted from my photo when I was at the Y camp in Cascade (see previous post).

My head has been preoccupied with health problems as my husband and I get older. I haven't been doing much painting, but when I do sit down at my easel and paint (sometimes I stand), I do enjoy it.

We only had 9 kids last night for Trick or Treat. That was sad. Now I have leftover candy to give away or eat. Looking forward to Thanksgiving at the end of the month.

Rainy Weekend at camp

 The YMCA had a Women's Wellness Weekend at their camp in Cascade, Idaho this past weekend. Unfortunately it rained most of the time. I still had an enjoyable weekend and it was nice to get away to the mountains since I live in the city. This was the dirt road to the archery site.

I could still hit the target. I did archery in high school, over 60 years ago. Many of my arrows hit, but then bounced off. One stuck in the target so I could get a photo.  Several went over the top of the target. I would definitely need more practice if I took this up again. It was fun to try it.

Luxury camping. The cabin had some heat, bunk beds with mats (I brought my own sleeping bag), indoor toilets and showers.  There were also yurts that did not have those facilities. The campers who stayed in the yurts had to walk out to another building for the toilet and shower. I was happy to be in a cabin with only 6 campers. We all had lower bunks. It was a 10-15 minute walk to the Lodge and meals, only a few minutes to walk to the barn where I took some classes. One was a guided meditation, excellent class. I remember doing that when I was seeing a therapist many years ago. Very relaxing and helpful.

Painting experiments

 

                            Koi fish at the botanical garden, Acrylic on canvas panel 11 X 14.

I had fun painting on a black background with acrylic paint. I've always enjoyed painting fish. I have some of my earlier paintings in watercolor of Koi hanging in my house. I think these have a good sense of movement. I liked the way the bright colors appeared on the black background. I enjoyed watching them at the pond at the botanical garden.  It reminded me of our trip to Israel in 2012 when we visited the kibbutz where they were being raised for sale.  Beautiful fish.

Sitting by the Snake River. 9 X 12, mixed media on paper. This was done in my sketch book with gouache, pen and ink. I also used a brayer (a type of roller). I was just having fun without making too much of a mess.  The woman sitting on the rock was another artist painting in watercolor a couple of years ago at the Swan Falls Park along the Snake River in Murphy, Idaho.  I have done very little painting with gouache, but I had a few tubes to play with.  I actually prefer painting with oils, but they take a long time to dry and I don't always have the patience for that so I decided to do some paintings that would dry quickly.

Memorial Day

 

Although we have lived in Boise, Idaho for 6 years now, we had not visited the Warhawk Museum in nearby Nampa.  They were open on Memorial Day and advertising a flyover. This was definitely a worthwhile trip. We enjoyed looked at all the war memorabilia, the engines and the planes. It made me think how essential mechanics were to the wars (yet how many people encourage their children to study mechanics?).

I found the cut apart engines interesting even though I had no idea what I was looking at. I am not a mechanical person.  I actually enrolled in mechanical drawing in middle school (1950s) and was told that girls were not welcome.  The teacher said he never had a girl in his classes and I was intimidated so I didn't take those classes.  Now we have women engineers and pilots. I'm glad things changed.

If you are vising Idaho, this is a good place to browse. I remember we went to an airplane museum one time in Nova Scotia and got to climb aboard an actual plane and look at the displays. That was a long time ago (2003). I don't remember the name of that place, but I think it was near Halifax. Here is an old photo I found on my computer from 2003.

Painting and photos

 

We enjoyed a 2 week vacation back in NH in April. Took a ride to the beach, but it was Low Tide. Not that interesting. Anyway, I tried painting the rocks.  Low Tide, 8 X 10, oil on canvas board.

I took many photos of trees and ocean. Even though it was cold Atlantic Ocean water (42F), I saw people wading. Brrr....

And some photos from my recent visit to the Birds of Prey exhibit in Boise. The California condors in the cage are juveniles and are being raise for breeding when they reach maturity. The wing span was impressive.

This was the first time I had seen a real harpy eagle. He was quite vocal too.

Craft Fair

 My husband and I are sharing a table at this craft fair. It is a fundraiser for Women's and Children's Alliance in Boise at the Riverside Hotel.  We have not done any fairs for several years. We stopped when Covid started. I'm looking forward to it even though it is a long day for us. I will have cards and a few prints for sale. Joe has 8 or 9 books that he published. Some non-fiction, but most are thrillers (fiction). He will sign the books for buyers too.

Winter plein air

 

It was too cold for me to stand outside with my easel and paints (although the other artists did that). Instead I just sketched from inside the car. I will go back to this park (Pamela Baker park in Eagle, Idaho) when it is warmer and paint the view of the foothills.  I sketched the geese too, but did not take a photo of that sketch.

Ths snow in the park was mostly gone, but more will come soon. It is not spring here yet. This photo shows the other artists from the back. The group was having a good time despite the wind.

Working in my studio I decided to paint a small study in color from my drawing and the photo. I plan to go back to this park wen it is warmer.

City of Rocks revised

 

City of Rocks, Climbing area. Oil painting 10" X 20" on stretched canvas. 

City of Rocks. 8" X 10"

I had intended to paint these plein air with the Plein Air Painters of Idaho, but it was so windy that day that I just took photos.  We stayed overnight at the Almo Inn, but the wind conditions were just as bad the second day.  The park is on the southern border of Idaho (border with Utah). It has interesting rocks and an interesting history.

L'Shanah Tovah

 

Wishing all my readers a sweet, healthy and joyous new year 5783. The Jewish new year starts at sunset on Sunday, September 25th. The Jewish calendar is a lunar one and this is also the new moon.  The rabbis picked this from the Torah readings, first day of Tishri. It celebrates the creation of Adam and Eve and our world. The 10 holy days until Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) are a time of reflection and returning to ourselves. We listen to the call of the shofar (ram's horn) as our ancestors did in the past.

There are many videos online about the holiday and the shofar. I liked this one. Shofar blowing

Gallery acceptance

 Three of my paintings have been accepted to this gallery show. They are fall images with fall colors.

I submitted 5 images (the maximum allowed) and I'm happy three were chosen. One oil painting and two acrylic paintings. The Hebrew in the middle one may have a grammatical error. I created this one quite a few years ago and I think I may have missed a word that precedes a direct object. Anyway, the thought is there and I still like the image.