In  What's New? , you will find not only my new works, fresh off the palette, but also a number of sections of interesting works which are experimental for me.  New things I hadn’t tried before...new media, subject matter,  and techniques.  Some of what I now consider to be my best work were at first terrible mistakes. Through perseverance I have learned that sometimes, not always, but sometimes, I can let those mistakes “sit” for a while and then make a series of changes to those “mistakes” until occasionally a whole new piece evolves,  sometimes much better than what I had originally planned. Many of my beach rocks, especially "Dancing with Stones"  are a good example of this morphing process.

"Stonedust":  Something Really Different
“Stonedust” Color Paintings Series

All the original paintings of rocks and stones in my   “Stonedust Color” Series have been painted exclusively with watercolors which I make by extracting color from stones. The stones are dipped in water and rubbed onto a larger flat stone which becomes my palette.  The resulting watercolor paints are then used to create paintings of multi-colored stones and rocks. I have recently experimented with grinding mica from granite to add a soft sparkle to some of my paintings.

I have found that adults in general are curious about this creative process, but children are absolutely fascinated. Because teaching children has been my life’s work, I have thoroughly enjoyed sharing this creative process with them. Children are often very unfamiliar with the creative concept of making a useful item with “found gifts of the Earth” rather than going to a store to purchase the item.   Creating watercolor from a found stone to paint a picture is an interesting and exciting experience for many children.     Outdoor excursions to collect just the right stone for a painting also provides children with a new respect for the natural environment.

 Click on the fourth piece in this series, Somewhere a Dragon Flys, for information on and photos of this collaborative artistic effort by myself and a group of children at Beaver Brook Nature Center.

Click on artwork to see full size art and info on prices, sizes ,etc.

“Whose Brush Is It, Anyway?”

In 2013 I was one of a group of six artists who got together to produce six different paintings in collaborative fashion. In ”tongue-and-cheek” fashion we called ourselves the ”Not-So-Fine Artists” and we  presented a show we called “Whose Brush Is It Anyway?” at a community fundraiser in Windham, NH. Each one of us began a painting separately at home using a different resource photo and different media. We then brought our “just begun” paintings to the Windham High School. For the next 5 hours we painted at one large table, round-robin style. At the sound of a whistle every 45 minutes, we jumped up. Off we rushed to the next artist’s spot in a sometimes befuddled attempt to begin working with what often was a very unfamiliar media.   Our collective frustrations, mistakes, and laughter were open for all to see providing comic entertainment for those who passed by. At the end, our collective work was auctioned off to benefit the fundraiser. Each of us was then allowed to take the painting home and work for another 45 minutes to finish it off before the owner took possession.

Here  are the results of the finishing touches to my piece, "Orange Summer".  Prints (11x 14") are available for $30 plus shipping cost. The proceeds will be donated to Family Promise of Greater Rockingham County, Derry, NH, a community program providing services for homeless children and their families to get back on their feet. If you are interested in finding out more about this community-based group go to:   www.familypromisegrc.org 

The other five “Not-So-Fine” artists  are:

Ingeborg V Seaboyer     www.derryareaartists.com
Tina S. Gagnon    www.tinagagnon.com   
Susan Monty     www.susanmonty.com
John R. Sweeney      www.madKatstudios.com
Patricia L. Crowley  www.PLCrowley.com