Portrait Party

Sophie and I are home alone until December so we spend a lot of time together. I did this self-portrait for Friday's homework assignment. We were suppose to use pastel with music. I had just come in from a "Sophie walk" so I kept my favorite sunglasses on, which I love because not only are they oversized, but they are readers. I decided to smile because non-smiling looks so grim, dismal and UGH—old. I sketched with a brush pen before adding pastel.

Self—brush pen and pastel.

I caught Sophie resting her muzzle on her stuffed toy—sooooooooo cute! I quickly sketched her and added watercolor.

Portrait Class

I am taking a portrait class on Friday mornings at the Maine College of Art (MECA) in Portland Maine. Using materials I have never used like pastel and charcoal powder to capture the live model. It's great fun and I am pushing myself way out of my comfort zone.

Assignment to use only three colors of pastel and paint to music.

Trying to smudge and blend the pastel.

My first time using pastel. I didn't even smudge or blend.

Homework—Each week we get a homework assignment and this was a self portrait with India Ink. Night before class—tired!

Around town

Sophie and I take quite a few walks around our little in-town neighborhood. Most of the time it is because she has to go out. Sometimes when it is a nice day, I throw my sketch book in my bag and out we go. So, while she sniffs the corners of every building, kisses anyone who shows an interest in her, growls at large dogs and barks at random cars and people, I am able to do a few quick sketches.

Monument Square—a few blocks up and over.

The corner of Fore and Exchange Streets—sitting across the street from our building.

Doorways on the Old Port

Doorways on our walks around the Old Port

I sometimes think I depend too much on ink or pencil in my drawings, so I experimented with just using watercolor directly to create the images. I added a little crayon for the dog.

"Randomness"

Sketching doesn't comes so easily these days. I find I throw more away than I keep, let alone post. So I find I am in a state of ran•dom•ness—"things made, done, happening, or chosen without method or conscious". Hopefully this soon will pass...

House guests: Michael and Marcella are visiting the USA from Costa Rica. Michael is the son of an expat friend, formerly from Connecticut and a diehard Red Sox fan, who has lived with his family in Costa Rica for years. Marcella is from Buenos Aires. They own the wonderful restaurant, Salsapuedes, in Quepos Costa Rica. I loved the T-shirt she bought while here in Portland so I did of sketch of them last night. I gave it to them as a souvenir parting gift as they left for more USA adventures.

Beso: This is one of the many residents that live out at the farm that my kitties now call home. Beso is a "Schnoodle"—Standard poodle and Giant Schnauzer. When Nina throws a stick in the air, Beso goes airborne. She looks like a furry snowboarder.

Bobo: I bought the book Drawing Lab for Mixed Media Artists. When I feel like I am creatively stuck, I find some of her exercises help me work through the block. I especially like this one where you let the random paint marks "tell" what to draw. It is fun to just slop on the paint and go back later with a pen.

My kitties have a new home

We are spending more and more time in Bali because of a sustainable seafood project. Looks like it will be going on for the next five years. In January I will be going for six months—my longest time away from my home in the USA. 7 year old Sophie will be going to California to stay with my parents until we can move her to Bali. The move to Indonesia would be much harder on my 13 year old cats, so they have moved to a wonderful old farmhouse not far from here with my good friend Nina.

Bobo, my orange tabby and a dedicated flosser, has had a bit of a hard time with the transition. It seems as though Nina and her kids all have dogs that are easily 4' tall. However, recently he has decided that it is much better lying in the sun at the bay window near the crunchies then under the bed or in a closet with a dog or two between him and his food.

Nothing bothers Jazzy. She settled right in on the first day. Dogs of any size don't even faze her. She will sit on the back of a couch and just watch the dog antics on the floor then get bored and go back to sleep. As long as there is a sunny window with a comfortable place to sleep, she is a happy cat.

Jazzy is a very social cat and loves to be with people. When friends come to visit she is usually in the middle of the party. She is not a small cat and there is not much room once she spreads out. However, the night before I took them to Nina's, I scooched forward and let her share the chair with me while I painted. We all then piled into the bed for one last sleepover.

Nina's home is a good happy place with lots of love and life, however, I think she has drawn the line at letting Bobo floss with her...

Summer in Maine

The Presidential Range in the White Mountains of New Hampshire

One of my favorite places to hike and on this beautiful day we hiked the Glen Ellis Trail to the Glen Boulder. Precariously perched, this huge boulder was pushed by the glaciers and landed in this spot never to move again.

We had a spectacular day with incredible views when when got above the tree line. I swear I could see my house on the coast of Maine from where I sat and rested before we headed up to have lunch at the boulder.

Waiting for my friends gave me time to sketch.

Merideth, Terry and Jerry coming over the ridge.

Northeast Harbor on Mount Desert Island Maine.

View from OP and Martha's house at the top of School House Ridge overlooking Northeast and Southwest Harbors.

A boat ride up Somes Sound.

Late summer days

We have had such a wonderful summer here in Maine. I have lived here for many years and I have never seen the sun shine so many days in a row like it has since early July when I returned from Bali. Of course, some say this will mean a very cold snowy winter (please, no). When you live in Maine you learn to live with very unpredictable and many times disappointing weather. Someone once told me "in Maine we have 11 months of winter and one month of bad sledding". But for now, we are continuing with beautiful sunny warm late summer days through next week. How cool is that!

Harbor view

We sailed through the passage known as the "Deer Island Thorofare" which meant we would pass by beautiful Stonington Harbor on the southern tip of Deer Isle. Filled with lobsters boats, it is still a working harbor and has been for generations of lobsterman and fisherman.

Transitions—SOLD

I have lived in Cape Elizabeth Maine for many years and after selling my very old house on a beach, I moved to this sweet little neighborhood called Shore Acres on Trundy Point just down the road in 2004. I bought an old 1959 ranch house and renovated it in a mid-century modern style. New open floor plan, George Nelson lighting and furnished with a collection of mid century modern furniture.

Needing a new project, I sold that house and bought this old rundown 1958 ranch (above) across the street. A real "fixer upper"!!! Another mid-century modern renovation with Eichler triangular windows, retro atomic lighting fixtures and a wonderful modern style garden/courtyard viewed from every window in the house. I sold the house a couple of weeks ago to a wonderful family who wanted a contemporary home. After much negotiation, we settled on a price and it is now theirs. This ends another chapter in my life as I am already into the next one—Bali Indonesia and downtown Portland Maine.

Penobscot Bay cruise 2010

Map of our week long cruise

We spent a week cruising the Penobscot Bay on Zora a lovely 38 ft. center cockpit sailboat. We left Rockland Harbor the afternoon of July 31st. First stop for the night was Perry's Creek on Vinalhaven. Our daily destination was always decided in the morning after a leisurely cup of coffee or tea.

It was a busy week before we left for the cruise. Along with selling my house the day before we left, my hair had to be cut off because I managed to fry it in Bali—hair color and swimming a mile a day in a chlorinated pool don't work so well together. So before we set sail it all (or much of it) had to go. It's short and fun and the general consensus is it's a keeper, but it is still not back to it's healthy self, so every morning it looked like some Osprey had nested in it over night. Basically standing on end and going every which way. I had a kind of "Osprey nest bed-head" style the whole trip. Good thing we were mostly on the boat and there are hats!

On day 2 we sailed through the Fox Island and Deer Island Thorofares to our destination of beautiful Frenchboro Harbor, Long Island. Incredible views of the mountains of Acadia Park on Mt Desert Island.

Day 3 we sailed into Southwest and Northeast Harbors looking for showers and supplies. Then a beautiful sail to Isleford where we moored for the night and had dinner at the Islesford Dock restaurant—delish!

Glidden Point oysters for everyone but me. I don't like to eat them but love to draw them.

I had to at least have a bite or maybe two of this fresh homemade Raspberry crisp.

Penobscot Bay cruise continued

We spent the night of day 4 moored in Blue Hill Harbor. It was good to get off the boat and walk 1 1/2 miles into town for an afternoon latte, checking out the galleries and picking up a few more supplies.

After a wonderful long sail through the Eggamagin Reach we ended up a Bucks Harbor for the night of day 5. This is a wonderful protected little harbor. It was such a warm sunny evening that us brave ones jumped in the icy Maine water for a swim. If you floated on the top you could feel a warm layer of water from the sun. Other than that it is just damn cold. A warm hose down shower on the deck and drying out in the sun made it a prefect day.

The next day wasn't as perfect as the fog came in overnight. They were predicting thunderstorms so we motored and then moored in Holbrook Harbor on day 6, a sheltered cove near Castine. Sunny and warm the next day so a brisk icy swim got the day started. I usually scream when I hit the water and swim as fast as I can around the boat muttering "oh my god, oh my god" and then I'm out and totally awake.

We had lobsters on the deck that night in Holbrook Harbor. Eating the fresh juicy meat and tossing the shells over our shoulders into the water to become part of the planet again.

We had a lovely long sail of up to 8 knots to our final destination in Camden Harbor.

It was a lovely week.

Gone sailing

It has been such a busy summer and now it is time for our 3rd annual sail through the Penobscot Bay. Though I am not a sailor, I am with three very experienced life long sailors. So, I do what I am told and there always seems to be a lot of dishes to be washed. So besides being the head scullery maid, I am able to spend much of the time sketching and painting—lucky me! Now if we can just get this beautiful Maine summer to continue through next week...

Dinner party people

A business dinner/meeting about sustainable fishing. Since I was just "arm candy" I was able to some quick sketches of some of the guests between courses. Most of them thought I was taking notes—HA, fooled them!

On the waterfront

Portland Maine still maintains a working waterfront. Every morning bright and early the lobster boats set out in any weather. I can't imagine what it must be like out there in January.

Sophie and headed down to one of the piers the other day so I could sketch. I don't know why I take her, because I don't focus or concentrate as much. I am always concerned about what she is up to and having to reel her in, so these lobsters are a bit of a dark and muddy watercolor mess. It's good to have someone to blame...

Docked after a day out on the water. The seagulls go crazy, chasing after and swarming these boats. From our home we watch them swoop around the buildings squawking as they look for food and garbage along the waterfront. They often perch on our roof top near the deck or on the skylight which throws Sophie into a barking and growling frenzy. They are part of the sights and sounds of living here.

Portland Harbor night view

A hot noisy Saturday night in town—like a summer party. Sophie and I spent the evening on the deck. I painted and she was ever vigilant growling at seagulls and napping in between. I did this painting without ink or pencil. Just watching the lights and the boats in the marina across the harbor as the sun went down and the moon came up.

Hot summer days in Maine

Sea roses on my walk along the Casco Bay.

New bouquet for the table in my favorite lime green rubber vase.

Sketching potted flowers in front of one of the shops in Portland.

Using the rough watercolor paper that I bought years ago when I had no idea about watercolor paper.

Tried adding pastels to just to mix it up a bit.

This is Jazzy, the other of my two very large 13 year old cats.

She is usually sprawled on the floor like an area rug.

Settling back into Maine life

Now that I am no longer in tropical Bali, I am having to adjust my palette to capture the more grayish greens and blues of Maine.

Small bouquet from the grocery store. In Bali flowers grow all over the yard, Frangipani blossoms fall off the trees and float in the pool, orchids grow on all the trees and Bougainvillea spill over the walls so I never need to buy flowers to have in the house.

This is Bobo one of my two 13 year old cats. Being senior kitties they have slowed down quite a bit, sleep a lot and are on a big diet. Still hungry for more crunchies they meow like this "meow" and then lie down on the kitchen floor staring at the empty bowls. Eventually giving up and finding a chair to fill.

Unlike my big old American cats, my little Bali cat, Howard, couldn't weigh more than 4 lbs. When she wants something she meows like this "yeeeeoooooooow" along with serious ankle biting. She always gets what she wants!

A road trip to Georgetown Maine

Georgetown Cove

(3"x5" study in small Moleskine)

The cove at the beginning of Indian Point Rd. It was so green and I have such a hard time mixing and painting greens.

Indian Point View

(7"x9")

View from the deck of my friends house in Georgetown—Daylilies in full bloom, jagged rocks, tide pools, crashing surf and open ocean as far as the eye can see. I went up one day this week thinking I would find some relief from the heat, but along with the amazing landscape, I found giant mosquitos and man-eating deer flies. I was as hot as it was in Portland and when we took our 8 mile walk I frantically flailed my arms around my head trying to ward off the vicious beastly insects that live in beautiful Georgetown.