DINNER FOR ONE

THREE FOR LUNCH

New Work

I have been experiencing trouble uploading images to my blog lately, so if anybody wants to see what's new, you can go to my ebay store by clicking the title above, or by visiting http://stores.ebay.com/Margaret-Dyer-Pastels

I hope you're all enjoying the Christmas season. Me--I'm just coping on a day-by-day basis. Oy.

MICKAELA

A Shameless Plug

Click on the title up there (A Shameless Plug) and you'll see my sisters and me on Wednesday morning's Good Day Atlanta on Channel 5. We're promoting our cookbook. See www.youwantmetobringadish.com.

TWO LANTERNS

Finally got some images to upload!

Been way too busy, click for link to gallery

These New York scenes are new pieces I just delivered to Linstrum+Matre Artworks, my Atlanta gallery on Bennett Street (right next to Tula), for their December small works show. Reception is Friday, December 10, 6-9. Please come if you're in the area. The gallery is full of wonderful, colorful small works.

PAPER LANTERN and RED BOW, sold

Paper Lantern and Red Bow is a 5x7 pastel on Pastelbord.

MID-AFTERNOON IN MANHATTAN, sold

Mid-afternoon in Manhattan is a 5x7 pastel on Pastelbord.










Looks like I've been 'tagged' twice in one day. Looks like I'm going to have to find out what tagging is.

NIGHT FALLS IN TIMES SQUARE, sold

Night Falls in Times Square is a 5x7 pastel on Pastelbord.

CROSSING 42ND

PAPER LANTERN, sold

RUSH HOUR, sold

Rush Hour is a 5x7 pastel on Pastelbord.

UMBRELLAS ON BROADWAY, sold

RED BERRIES, sold

YELLOW GOWN, sold

RED HEADBAND

Red Headband is a 5x7 pastel on Pastelbord.












This is my daughter, Anna, who poses for me when she needs a little cash, or I need a model. This time it's both.

BIKES IN THE SNOW, sold

MANDY

EMPIRE DINER sold

MADAM TISSAUD'S

Madam Tissaud's is a 5x7 pastel on Pastelbord.


It was probably about this same time of year when I took the photos for this piece. I was walking back to my hotel room after an all-day art show on the grounds of Rockefeller Center. It was dusk, the city lights were beginning to blaze, the rush hour traffic was in full swing. New York does something to the senses.

I suppose I romanticize the city; maybe I wouldn't think it was such a wonderland if I had had a few years to navigate the city subways in the miserable wet winters. We left Long Island when I was a child, to move to Atlanta. But I still remember watching the Thanksgiving Parade from my father's office in the Empire State Building. I remember the city twinkling brilliantly at Christmas time, the fantastic Macy's windows with moving trains and beautiful dolls and snow, all come to life. I remember seeing the steam billow out from the grates on the sidewalks on cold days--no doubt hell. I always wondered how people could just blithely hustle over those terrifying smokey grates, knowing the suffering beneath them.

My Catholic beginnings.

Pearl Necklace,

Pearl Necklace is a 5x7 pastel on Pastelbord










And this is Anna, my oldest daughter, who, with her younger sister, Meg, has posed for me since childhood. For money, of course. I figured early on that if they got paid for their posing sessions, they'd never resent posing so much. It's worked.

A BOTTLE OF PINOT NOIR, sold

"A Bottle of Pinot Noir" is a 5x7 pastel on Pastelbord.

My new book

Self-published, of course, like my others (www.margaretdyer.com/books.html). I've chosen some of my favorite 5x7's that I did this year and compiled them into this lulu.com book. I've already ordered one for myself to make sure it's OK, and it looks great. It's amazing what you can do with today's technology.

TRIMMING THE SAILS

MOTHER'S HELPER

I've been fretting. I lost my beloved camera, a Nikon Coolpix S10 somewhere in North Carolina. I'm lost without it. I am bereft. I'm experimenting with a new one, be patient if my photos aren't what they should be (some of you view larger images of these posts) I'll work it out.

MAKING COOKIES

To help my cousin Artie.

"The Wishing Pond" is a 10x16 framed oil on board. Retail value $2700.00.




"Two Lilies" (you may remember the smaller 5x7 study of this) is a 12x16 framed pastel on Pastelbord. Retail value $1700.00.








My cousin, Art Phinney (Artie to us), served on the Albany, NY, police department for 27 years. He suffered a heart attack in June, while attending Bike Week in Laconia, NH, and underwent 5-way bypass two days later in Manchester, NH. His wife, Chris, traveled between Albany and New Hampshire for over a month, cutting into the family's savings. On July 30, Artie and Chris flew home on a medical transport helicopter that was not covered by the family's health insurance.

This coming Sunday, there will be a benefit at the Albany Elks' Lodge at 25 S. Allen Street, Albany, NY, from noon to 6 p.m. to help defray the family's extraordinary costs. "The Wishing Pond" and a "Two Lilies" will be part of the auction.

If any of you are in the Albany area, and are interested in helping, email my niece Shannon at awp.benefit@gmail.com.

NOAH, sold

STORYBOOK

AFTERNOON WITH THE SAILBOAT, sold

SHARING THE BOAT

Sharing the Boat is a 5x7 pastel on Pastelbord. Bidding starts at $100.


These sweet little boys are Lisa's. Lisa's the model in the red chiffon. I have this sailboat, which I thought would make a wonderful prop for paintings. So I brought it over to Lisa's and placed it in her living room, knowing that her two little boys would soon discover it. Within minutes Isaiah and Noah appeared from nowhere, and silently inspected it in awe -- but not touching it. I said, go ahead, you can play with it. Thus, these charming little pieces.

THE NEW SAILBOAT, sold

"The New Sailboat" is a 5x7 pastel on Pastelbord. Bidding starts at $100, or buy now for $450.


If any of one's been wondering where I've been, I've been teaching in the Asheville area. Two full workshops (18 students each). And the whole time I'm holding these workshops I'm terrified that I'll oversleep and 18 people will be standing around tapping their feet, looking at their watches, wondering where the teacher is. So I wake up on the hour every night to check the clock. Needless to say, after 7 days I was exhausted. So I slept when I got home, dealt with 500 emails (490 of which were offers to enlarge...never mind), waded through all my mail (most of which were new credit card offers).

So I'm back, trying get some work done in the studio, trying to figure out how I can make time to get my little 4 year old grandson to come play, and trying to enjoy this beautiful fall. All of the sudden there's beautiful texture all around me. Something I never noticed all summer long. Makes me want to paint it, but I'd never be able to capture it. Better just enjoy it.

A BREAK FROM THE BOOK, sold

TWO LILIES, sold

"Two Lilies" is a 5x7 pastel on PastelBord.


I suspect you're getting pretty durned tired of this red shawl. Not to worry. A whole new series coming soon.

ADJUSTING THE SHAWL

"Adjusting Her Shawl" is a 5x7 pastel on PastelBord.


Cant think of anything to say right now. Too busy watching the world fall apart around me.

PROFILE, sold

"Profile" is a 5x7 pastel on PastelBord. Bidding begins at $100.

CHIFFON ROBE AND A SLAG GLASS LAMP

"Chiffon Robe and Slag Glass Lamp" is a 5x7 pastel on PastelBord. Bidding starts at $100.

SEQUINED ROBE, sold

"Sequined Robe" is a 5x7 pastel on PastelBord. Bidding begins at $100.

DAYDREAM BY THE WINDOW

RED SATIN DRAPE, sold

Speaking of 'artists'...a pet peeve of mine...why is it some people can't put an 's' at the end of plural words like artists. Maybe it's a Southern thing, but I've seen it for years, people writing or saying "All the artist were..." And I know it wasn't a mistake on their parts because they repeat it over and over again. Even when writing it. How do we tell these people? Why do they do that?

Forgive me. Grammar is almost an obsession with me. When a reporter on the news says, "The busted pipes...", or when Jim Morrison sings "...for you and I...", I almost have a heart attack. If it weren't for that grammatical error on his part, I might have run away from home in search of him (after first seeing him in those leather pants on the Ed Sullivan Show).

But I know you did not subscribe to my blog to hear me rant about bad grammar. So I'm sending this rant with a second pastel.

ADJUSTING THE HEM, sold

"Adjusting the Hem" is a 5x7 pastel on PastelBord. Bidding begins at $100.00.




Well, wouldn't you know it. I'm sure those of you who are artists knew this would happen. One of my last posts I was absolutely thrilled with a piece I had done, and I was so brazen as to mention it. So my work ever since has been dismal. I guess I'm paying my artist penance for my pride. This one is me getting my footing again. You should see the ones I've thrown away. You'd question my talent and skills. I do.

A Lily and a Red Robe, sold

RED ROBE, sold

"Red Robe" is a 5x7 pastel on PastelBord. Bidding starts at $100.

LISA AGAIN, sold

"Lisa Again" is a 5x7 pastel on PastelBord. Bidding starts at $100.

WRAPPED IN RED, sold

"Wrapped in Red" is a 5x7 pastel on PastelBord. Bidding starts at $100.