Still no snow

Here we are again in a beautiful new year, but we still do not have snow. I have been walking every day, but hope that we will have snow soon so I can do some cross country skiing. Meanwhile, Dorrs Pond is starting to freeze over, but the ducks are still here and haven't flown south.

Also saw some interesting cloud formations while out on my walk yesterday.

And while I'm posting photos, here are some of the millyard in Manchester. I took these in December from the garage. (Taken the same day, but at different times.) I did work on two paintings over the weekend, but my paintings are not finished yet. I'll try to finish them up this week and post them within the week. Happy new year to all.

WIP - Drake's Brook

This is a painting of Drake's Brook in Waterville Valley, NH (Acrylic painting on canvas board). We hiked there a couple of years ago. It's a beautiful area for hiking. I'm a little frustrated with my painting, but will keep working on it. I'm not happy with some of my rocks and I still need to use a glaze to make the water over the rocks look more like water. I'm going to take a break from it for a little bit and start something else. Then I can try again and hope to finish it off.

This hike involves crossing the brook several times. It's best to go when the water level is a bit low. The trail connects with the trails for Fletcher Cascade, Noon Peak, Jennings Peak and Sandwich Mountain.  I have photos of some of these on this blog in earlier posts. (5/30/2011; 8/1/2010; 7/25/2010)

Happy Holidays

May you be blessed with many happy memories and joy during this holiday season. I will be celebrating the 5th night of Chanukah tonight with friends and family. We have very little snow here (unusual for NH) and I am looking forward to seeing more in the new year.

Hungry Bluegill

I did spend a little more time painting the bluegill and I think the fish looks better now. I made some cards and sold them at the downtown Holiday Market on Thursday. Only one more to go. It has been a long day on Thursdays this month, but interesting. I met some old neighbors and friends I had not seen in a long time. I'm glad I don't have to do these fairs very often. Also happy that my children will all be here for dinner tonight. 

Chanukah starts at sunset on Tuesday, Dec. 20th this year. Happy Chanukah and a happy holiday season to all.

Small paintings

I worked on two small (6" X 6") artist panels today. Not sure if these are finished, but I had fun with them. I enjoy doing the small paintings. Top one is a hungry bluegill going for a lure. Bottom one, just some pretty water lilies.

Mosaics

I have not had time to do any painting or posting since I am busy with craft fairs. Only two more, then I should have more time. Actually, I'm hoping to get in some time to paint tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I've been working with a new group of artists, "Friends of Art". We are trying to get something organized in our city (and funded) for more street art. We hope to involve children.

This link will take you to an inspirational site in Brazil. The artists brought their ideas, designs and help to a city to make mosaics with the kids. I thought that was a great idea.

Three today

This is an acrylic painting on panel, 11" X 14" of a canal in Leuven (Louvain), Belgium. I lived there from 1969-1974. I'm not sure which year I took the photo, but probably around 1970. I had scanned in the photo from an old 35mm negative and thought it would make an interesting painting. I haven't been back to Belgium so I don't know how the city looks now.

This is also an acrylic painting on panel, but very small, 6" X 6". I enjoy painting small panels since they go much faster. These are poppies that could grow anywhere, but my photo was taken in Israel several years ago at a kibbutz that we were visiting on our tour.

And finally, just for fun, I played with my acrylic paints on 300 lb cold press watercolor paper, also 11" X 14". These were old pieces of paper that came in a sample pack. I still have one more to play with. Acrylic paint is a waterbased paint, so it can be handled like watercolor, diluted with water, or mixed with medium and used on canvases, like oil.  The painting is based on a photo taken several years ago (are you sensing a theme here? -- old photos are useful). 

This is Hopewell Rocks on the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick, Canada, a very interesting tourist site.

I am finished with my fall painting class and I think I learned a lot about handling acrylic paint. I won't be able to take another class until spring, but I'll keep on painting, drawing and taking photos. There will always be something to blog about.

Ruth and Mike's Barn

This is a small acrylic painting on 6" X 6" canvas. I enjoy working on the small canvases since they don't take as much time. I made a couple of small cards from it for our next craft show, on Saturday in Stratham, NH.  Looking forward to this show even though it is a lot of work. We have heard good reports from our friends who have done it in the past.

The painting was done from a photo I took at our friend's house when we were invited to share a meal in their sukkah last month. Their farm is in Hollis, NH which is on the border with Massachusetts. Ruth is also an artist and showed me her new studio. It is beautiful and I am a little bit jealous (but not too much). I prefer living in the city and having easy access to the library etc.

I have another view of the barn and may make another painting of it at some time. I am working on another small painting (also 6 X 6) of poppies, and a larger one (11 X 14) of a canal with buildings in Leuven, Belgium. I lived there from 1969-1974 and have some old photos. I found one that was interesting and decided to start on a painting of it. That will probably take a few weeks to finish.

Marsh in Hooksett

This is an acrylic painting I made from an old photo of a marsh in Hooksett, NH. It is on the snowmobile trail behind Dube's Pond. Acrylic on canvas board 12" X 16". I am going to make some cards with this image for the holidays.

I had done a charcoal drawing of this marsh several years ago. I like both versions.

Craft Fairs

After the October snowstorm of last weekend, we were happy to have sunshine and pleasant weather for the Brookside Church (Manchester) craft fair. We both did well with our sales and are looking forward to the next fair (in Stratham) in 2 weeks.

I hope to finish another winter scene I am working on soon and will post it when it is done. I was happy with my framing (you may notice some of the earlier work I posted is now framed), but some of the frames appear to be soft wood and damage easily. These are the frames I ordered through the internet. I will be more careful in the future, but I couldn't find the sizes and colors I needed locally. It is hard to know the quality of a frame from a picture in an online catalog.