Well my first art opening is coming up this Friday at the Main Street Caffe in Cheshire and I'm a bit nervous. I sent out the invites, posted it on Facebook and started to panic that I didn't have enough artwork to show. I know silly me... but this is how my mind works. I got up at 3:30am headed for the refrigerator and there was a fresh package of strawberries just screaming out "paint me, paint me!"
Really? It's the middle of the night should everyone be sleeping?
Well... needless to say.... I wash the strawberries arranged them on the new pink striped kitchen towel Veronica and I picked out at Ikea on Friday night... and the rest was history.

I'll be bringing this painting to the show on Friday even if the paint doesn't dry in time... how much fresher can it be off the easel....;)

Hope you can join us... it's from 5-7pm 
209 W. Main Street, Cheshire CT
It's a little tricky to find but look for the clock out front that says "Coffee" on it ...
by the way... Main Street Cafe not only has great food and coffee but the gifts - jewelry, scarfs, coffee mugs are worth checking out!
Hope to see you there!

I rescued these flowers from our garden today. We had a terrible rain storm and the peonies bush just flattened to the ground. The flowers lost their familiar bowl shape and the petals bent back to the point I couldn't even recognized that they were peonies!
I've been waiting anxiously for the cherries to appear in the produce section of our local Big Y and sure enough, yesterday they were on sale for only $ 45 a pound! Just kidding... It just felt that expensive when the cashier rang them up and the total was at least $15 more than what I usually pay!
Just a little side note: When I was a kid I loved the humor of Erma Bombeck. Not really sure why? Maybe it helped mold me into the mom I am today. Her wit and humor about family life, raising kids and living in the suburbs made me laugh... even if I was only 12 years old. One book she wrote titled " If Life is a bowl of Cherries, what am I doing in the pit? was a favorite of mine.
Here's another quote that so fits my life today... just ask my step daughter Allison....

“The odds of going to the store for a loaf of bread and coming out with only a loaf of bread are three billion to one.” 
― Erma Bombeck

Erma Bombeck is timeless and her wit is priceless.. (in my opinion)

Pink ribbon, pink grapefruit and pink depression glass... so many different shades of pink coming together on one canvas.

The inspiration for this painting came from a visit to the gym yesterday. It was late in the afternoon, I ran into my friend Hannah, we chatted for a few minutes and off I went to workout on the elipical... that’s when the creative ideas started circulating....

If you’ve been following my journal/blog I create six paintings at the beginning of March in honor of Hannah. I met Hannah over a year ago at our church and it was just this January Hannah was diagnosed with breast cancer. What shocking news, especially consider that Hannah is only in her 30’s and in excellent physical condition (she’s a runner). 

A large group of women at our church got together after service and prayed for Hannah and I have to say it was such a powerful experience. It touched me in a way that I wanted to reach out to Hannah, let her know how much I cared, but didn’t have the words to say it... so I painted it instead. One painting lead to the next with the pink ribbon woven into each still life..... it just felt happy, joyful and hopeful.. well, at least that’s what I was trying convey.

My thoughts and prayers are with you Hannah.

This painting reminded me of a colorful umbrella outside on a rainy, gloomy grey day. I love mixing up greys and neutrals on my palette. It's really just mixing a pinch of this color and dab of that but the swirling and mingling of colors to create new ones... makes my heart sing... yes it's the simple things that make me happy but that's ok, life is so overly complicated as it is... why not simply color and singing in the rain.

We just can't help it, color influences and effects our everyday life even on grey days. The background color in this painting was inspired by the Pantone 2012 Color of the Year Tangerine Tango.(see Pantone page below)

 Years ago when I was a graphic designer I carried a Pantone color book around in my purse. Why you ask? First to check printing jobs when on the printing press but second I just loved having access to so many colors all in one fan book. I would take it out, fan through the tabs and make dozens of difference color combinations. 

I LOVE COLOR... no, really? 
Even as a child I would walk around with my box of crayons or package of rainbow markers and couldn't put enough color on the page.

I love exploring new ways to combine colors on the canvas. 
Below is another favorite art website called Colourlovers.com.
I'm not an active member in their color community but I find it so much fun to go on create new color palettes, change patterns around, etc. It's more a game than an artist's tool for me... but then again...isn't art suppose to fun.:)

On my way into the grocery store on saturday to purchase just coffee, I glanced over at the flower shop and there was a cart in the middle of floor that said “manager’s special”... so of course I had to look.... and what a surprise... these beautiful bouquets for just $3.00! Well, I just had to pick up two... how often do you find such a great bargain!