Northwest corner of Connecticut open studio tour! It's my favorite kind of weekend road trip. The studios ate fantastic, the wirk is thought provoking and the artists are inspiring. #daniellemailer.com
#constanceold.com
#peterbusby
#davidcolbert
#ellenmoon
To name a few!
Openyoureyes.org
Cornwall, west Cornwall, cornwallbridge, Goshen and Warren

The Pace of a Journey Home

It is inevitable after so much time on the highways, I get nabbed on a country road with variable speed limits. The officer was very friendly and gave me a warning.

Nothing made me happier than pulling into the farm driveway soon after!

Now it will be time to slow down.
All artwork done in my sketchbook with pencil, pen, and acrylics.

Underpass at Night

I am inspired by the distortion of night lights, movement and massive highway constructions. Also the side view mirror is almost it's own universe, and pretty fun to paint too.

Series of rear view mirrors. There is a part of me that is always restless, thinking of the past, moving towards the future. (I think the only time I sit still is on an airplane. Does that count?)

Had a nature bathing experience driving along the Blue ridge parkway in North Carolina that helped me feel peaceful and content in the Maryland traffic jam that came later!

Road tripping north, and painting the path as we move. Traveling and sketching have to be my favorite summer pastimes. Left Miami on a major expressway, went to blue highways and over undulating bridges, and arrived on the oak canopied one lane road of my youngest son's home in coastal Alabama

News of Piccowso in Southhampton

Piccowso just made his annual move to the summer pasture! He's looking fine! ❤️❤️❤️

Portraits of classrooms

...and of teachers who inspire! This series in progress was started as I said goodbye to some colleagues for the summer. Many of them, who are returning, will be relocating to new classrooms (so lucky) and leaving the Art Compound region of the campus. We have been located in trailers, "portable classrooms",  since the 1995 Hurricane Andrew. I wanted to document their spaces before they packed up and left.

I've depicted a Math teacher, a History teacher and a Spanish language teacher. I tried to capture some of the magic of their classroom. In addition I painted a painting of my colleague and partner.

For a year we worked in classrooms side by side. Hired at the last minute to replace an outgoing art teacher, Michael rose to the occasion and really taught. I loved watching how he prepped his classroom, and worked his critiques. We were pretty busy every day and often this painted moment, on the porch of the trailer, unlocking our doors, was the last we saw of each other, till closing down at the end of the day. He will be missed in the fall. (That darn glass aquarium that he dragged over from the science junk pile will still be there, I am sure)

That makes FIVE murals at the Yoga Studio

Peter, theyogawarrior.org, has commissioned me for 5 murals since 2013.
I started outside on the side of the house with a painting of him in warrior pose at the sea.

Then I painted the OM symbol inside, on the large studio-facing wall.

I remember chanting Om while I did it! It was a fun vibration to paint with.
Then, I collaborated with Michael for the next two murals... the body chakras, and a large Buddha head.

The giant Buddha head was done in oil, applied and wiped off.

And today... a Lotus on the backboard! It is mostly spray paint with a little brush work.

The first art marks of summer!

Whenever I am about to paint someone else's wall, I swear my heartbeat sounds like my parents footsteps running down the hall. It was a big deal when I was little and took it upon myself to draw directly onto the furniture or the door or the drywall...

But now, I am so gratefully inspired by my friend Peter, TheYogaWarrior, yoga master at his own studio @13950 100th Place, Palmetto Bay, FL, and at Five Sisters, among other places!  He commissioned me to do something, "anything", with the existing hoop backboard in his waiting courtyard. It is the first couple days of official summer, and I am doing what I love best!

Taking a plane white surface...

and making a mark on it.

My first summer project! Done in spite of the rains. Thank you Yoga Peter @ theyogawarrior.org

Mango Season

Right now it is the prime season for mangoes in Florida.

During the rest of the year we are lucky enough to be able to get one or two varieties in the stores, but NOW, there are 50 to 60 varieties dangling from trees in the neighborhoods, and 500 different strains at Fairchild Tropical Garden! This July 14th and 15th the annual Mango festival at Fairchild Tropical Botanical Gardens will feature the mangoes from Haiti!
A google search of "mangoes from Haiti" turns up this:
The Haitian variety, is called the Francis or Francique. It has a bold flavor, which is both sweet and slightly spicy. Haiti grows mangoes year round. However, peak harvesting season for the Francis, which features yellow-green skin and a bright orange flesh, is typically from March to June.
Right NOW.
My personal favorite mango is the Kent variety, dark green with a little red bluch, it is sweet and rich with hardly any fibers. I can't get enough of them.
All the varieties, with the range of textures and sweetness, can be very inspiring.

I'm cooking a heavenly Mango and chicken stove top dish tonight...

How to studio without a.c. in a concrete jungle

I remember when I first moved down to Miami, I thought it would be hot like it was hot in Haiti. "I don't need air conditioning", I proclaimed. After all, I was used to houses with nothing more than a veranda and a ceiling fan capturing the breezes moving through the large trees...
That was before I realized a concrete box without cross ventilation is the architectural style that fits in my city living budget. And the giant trees are hardly to be found; most were blown over or chopped down back in the Hurricane Andrew era.
So the still humid heat that builds up in my ARTHouse studio between the months of April and October can, in under 3 hours, turn my brain to mush, bring out pink welts on my skin and drip off pounds of sweat. What's an artist to do?

I've been known to paint in my bathing suit, keeping myself hydrated and cooled by taking showers under the sole existing faucet by the sink. It was not pretty, but in that way I could endure 5 or 6 hours painting practice.
But I don't ALWAYS feel like prancing around in nearly nothing... so yesterday I am pleased to announce that I temporarily moved my paints and tools to the front of the studio and there, with the open garage door, I caught some fresh air, an afternoon shower and even a visit from some recording studio artists in the neighborhood. Ever heard of Stoned White Elephant? Their song on the Stampede  album called, Boiling Point, can conjure up where you may go with out a.c. in a concrete jungle. (explicit)

My laughing paintings

I can't bake very well in the kitchen YET I have been whipping up this batch of cakes with my bare hands- finger painting with the joy of moving color and feeling the paint ooze between my fingers and under my nails. Life is about the small things: a candle, some frosting, memories, gatherings and laughter.
June is a time for transitions and celebrations. My school job is wrapping up and presenting me with a much needed break. My sisters children have all graduated with honors from their institutions making their grandparents especially proud. Gatherings have been festive. Unfortunately, I have also, recently, lost a couple friends who were sick with incurable cancer. It's a miracle any of us get very far. With that in mind, I just fell into the painting. I hope anyone who needs one, comes forward to get some!

Cant have cake without the milk!

Show at Aster deFonseca Gallery

Michael and I officially hanging together

 Up through June 16th, nine aviation-enthused paintings of mine are hanging at the Da-Fonseca Contemporanea gallery in Wilton Manors, FL. Inspired by the peaceful feeling I get when I am between where I was and where I am going, the paintings present a surreal perspective and are executed with a riot of colors.
The best thing about the show is that I am hanging alongside my partner Michael Gellatly's works. His paintings are bold and fanciful landscapes inspired by our spring break trip to the south of France. One of them was started with fluid pale red wine stains from our train ride picnic. Also in the show are works by artists Marco Beria, Henry Souza, Lee Brock and Aster's own new works.

A good opening

Gallery is at 2201 Wilton Drive, Wilton Manors, 33305

caught some ones attention!

my favorite transplanted Beacon-ites!

 I hope people can stop by and see the show. It is fairly hard to keep a gallery open and running and Aster is a real sweet heart visionary. Support the arts by showing up! Thank you- Tilly