Just finished the commisssioned piece going to Ohio...when will I get to keep one of these????  I will have Dream Tide, the one on the right, for the Farms, Fields, and Foliage Art Show in September.  I'm now making two more using the new ideas of the mirrors behind the glass baubles and cheesecloth in the molding paste.  I need to build up the inventory so I can have a few on my walls....I'm used to having a bunch. It's been difficult to get these done as the weather has just been beautiful...and my garden is lovely!  It's calling now!

Enchantment is going to the Gala at the Camano Senior and Community Center on September 25, 2010.   I've donated her to the auction to help raise money for the center.  My yoga classes and Zumba classes meet at the center so I find myself there three to four times a week.  I've enjoyed her in my dining room for the last two years but think it is time for her to find a new home.  That Saturday night will be a busy one as I will be at the Harvest of Art show in Stanwood until 5 and then will have to race home to get ready for the auction.  It will be fun...we are looking forward to it!!

Another of my big paintings has found a new home. The new owners intend to place her in the master bathroom in their home on Camano.  Laurie's seems to be the place to sell my art work!  I am very grateful for the Stanwood Art Walk as this makes number 5 sold since we put up the display for that event!! My work will continue to be on display there until August 20th when the new artist, Dotti Burton, will have her pieces on display. I am busy on two new ones. One is going to Ohio and the other I am hoping to put in the juried show Farms, Fields, and Foliage.  New canvas has been ordered, and I have lots to keep me busy in the next few months!!! If they keep selling at this rate, I won't be able to keep up.....what a problem to be faced with!!!

Downtown Stanwood was alive last Friday night for the first of a series of Art Walks.  My art was/is showing at Laurie's until the middle of this month.  Here we are enjoying the people who joined us for the event...and it was an event.  We were both very happy with the numbers of enthuisiastic art lovers that came in to browse.  I had fun showing them all the hidden "stuff" in the painting I did for her shop.....and of course  it was fun talking about my big sale of the four on her brown wall and the new commission I am doing.  Another neighbor, Sue, had her handmade purses displayed; they were flying out the door like hot cakes.  Did I mention the triple cream brie???  It was a hit as well. Come by August 27th to see how Dotti Burton's art looks on that brown wall!!!

These four paintings are headed to Sugar Grove, Ohio in several weeks.  They are currently on display at Laurie's for the Stanwood Art Walk on July 30th.  This couple came in the first day they were up and decided thay just had to have them..all four.  He is a jokster; so, I thought he was kidding. This was a problem only because one of them was done just for the shop and was not for sale.  I get to do another one.....another already paid for painting experience.  Now this is fun!!!! I have to say that they do look extremely good on Laurie's dark brown wall and her lighting is very good as well.  I use a lot of metallic paint so they need light  on them to really show off.  Sue does a great job of hanging my work...I'll have to get her to hang all my shows! The other exciting thing is that as a result of this sale and the one for Laurie we were able to buy that water buffalo for Heifer International!!  I've been wanting to do that for awhile and now it's done!!! Helping Hooves..they have a great write up on their site about what one water buffalo can do to help a rice farmer...there is a link from my site to theirs.  Check it out!

Living the Dream....that is just what my friend and neighbor, Laurie, is doing.  She is happily retired but always wanted a dress shop. So, she has opened one in downtown Stanwood, Washington.  When she asked me to create a painting for her shop I was stoked!! "I want unique," said Laurie.  Forget my usual ferns and organic materials... we generated a list of collage elements that said "dress shop."  It included mirrors, a zipper, button, her labels, and if you look very closely you can find an earring back as well.  She also had colors in mind....Laurie likes to color coordinate...can you imagine??? no surprise there! I was surprised by how different it feels to create a painting that is already sold.  Talk about motivated..I had guidelines, a list of ideas, and colors to match to start.  How unusual! It was so satisfying making this painting...I knew what I wanted to create and exactly where it would hang when it was done. July 30th Stanwood is starting up their art walks again, and John and I will be at Laurie's to welcome you in to see Living the Dream as well as several of her sisters.  I am so excited and hope to visit with lots of people that evening!! Maybe someone else out there really wants a painting done just for them!! I can dream as well!!!!

Last Friday night we attended my second gallery opening this month!! It was exciting as I got to visit with many interesting people.  Found out there have been folks watching me and my art for several years now.  I even had some close friends drop in after their dinner next door.....it was a pleasant and fun evening.  None of the girls have sold ..yet..but they will.  AND..I'll keep plugging away and notifying people of my art shows in the future.

We were in Blaine last Friday for the opening of "On the Edge" a new shpw at the historic Loomis Hall in downtown Blaine.  After a really nice Thai dinner John and I spent several hours visiting with all the artists talking art.  It was great!! There were some very creative people there and mixed with the wine, music, and surrounded by art...how can you miss?? Which brings me to this Friday night in Stanwood..Gallery by the Bay is opeing "Brushes with the Land 2010" and it too will be a fun event.  A chance to mingle with very creative and interesting people...and see some great art as well.  I have two peices in this show and would love to have you come see it!!  Two Fridays in a row!!! How exciting!! My paintings love being the center of attention..wonder where that got that?

June is turning into a super month for me.  Two of my pieces, Currents Within and Inner Lagoon have been juried into Brushes With the Land 2010 at Gallery by the Bay in Stanwood, Washington.  This show opens June 18th so we have two Fridays in a row with gallery show openings.  How fantastic is that?? Tranquility is at Seagrass Gallery on Camano Island so I'm showing in three galleries in June and July!! I had made the decision to spend less time at street festivals trying to sell my art.  It is more fun for me to go to these events and look at all the cool things than it is to try to sell paintings. What I want is to have my work in several galleries all the time....lots of work to do to get there but this is a giant step in the right direction!!!

Lead by Prosperity a group of my paintings will be in "On the Edge: An Exploration of Today's Contemporary Artist" at the Loomis Hall Gallery in Blaine, Washington from June 11th until July 3rd.  Opening night John and I will be driving up to meet the other artists and see what the gallery looks like full of edgy art.  We went up this afternoon and the space on the 3rd floor of the hundred year of building is quite incredible.  I'm hoping their web site willl have art from the show on it soon.  But go check it out anyway just to look at the space.  It's cool! www.loomishallgallery.com Come on up to Blaine and have a look..or send your freinds and relatives that live close by!