One view of Blizzard

Charcoal on paper

Another view of Blizzard

Charcoal on paper.

Il Duce, phase 1

Oil sketch on canvas. First try at painting a cat.

Birdhouses

Mudstone Studios offers open studio space, classes for kids and teens, and special workshops and events. Ellen Blomgren, one of the founders, is a wonderful ceramicist / sculptor and this show, which will feature the work of a number of artists, is the perfect way to bring some art into your life (and garden!)

Il Duce

Oil sketch on canvas. I have never painted a cat. Let's see how this goes.

Summer Reading

Still Life with Oranges and Lemons, 1633, Francisco Zurbaran

Studio time has been taken up with priming canvasses and the fits and starts of painting. Non-studio time has been spent reading some of the New Yorkers that pile up. I confess that I'm not very good at reading art reviews- embarrassing as it is to admit, I usually don't get what the reviewer is talking about and the words start to float on the page. And I've had a long running love/hate relationship with the writings of Peter Schjeldahl. But sometimes he makes me shout with joy at the absolute rightness of his phrasing, like in this review. The phrase "rhapsodic austerity" to describe Zurbaran's painting style - yes and yes! You stand in front of one of those paintings and want to swoon with the repressed beauty of it all.