SOMEONE'S SWEETIE, sold

This little sweetie did not sell at the recent art sale and party at Stone Soup Kitchen, so I'm putting her up on ebay along with a few others. This is an unframed 10x10 pastel on board, ready for framing. Bidding begins at $150.

CAT ON A REFRIGERATOR, sold

My brother-in-law is part owner of a restaurant in the Cabbagetown neighborhood of Atlanta, Stone Soup Kitchen. I'm participating in a one evening art sale there--their kind efforts to help artists. So I'll be propping up small pet paintings like this one that night, Thursday, December 20. I initially did this piece for that show, but I just love this one and thought I'd see what happens if I put it up for auction. It'll also help publicize the event. This is LittleHardo on my refrigerator.

CAT ON A REFRIGERATOR is a 10x10 pastel on board. Bidding begins at $150. Click on title above to be linked to ebay. As with all my sales from my blog, 10% of the sale price goes to my favorite charity, World Vision.

Thursday, December 20, 2012
6-10 p.m.
Stone Soup Kitchen One-Night Art Event
584 Woodward Avenue 
Atlanta, GA 30312 404.524.1222
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stone-Soup-Kitchen/35358821809?fref=ts http://www.stonesoupkitchen.net/index.html

ROSZA DRYING AFTER HER BATH, sold

"Rosza Drying after her Bath" was a demonstration I did for a class I taught this fall at Greenville Arms Historic Inn, in Greenville, NY, in the beautiful Hudson Valley. I think it's a lovely little piece. Hate to see it go, but I'm living out of boxes, hoping to move soon, and want to clean out my studio as much as possible. This is an unframed 8x10 pastel on PastelBord, a masonite substrate. Bidding begins at $100. As with all my pieces up for auction, 10% of the final sale price goes to my favorite charity, World Vision. Click on the title above to be linked to ebay.

"A NEW BOX IN THE HOUSE, II, " sold

This may seem very similar to a previous pastel I did, but it has significant differences in color and pastel application, and the white cat, Little Hardo, is facing away. It is from a series I've done of my daughter's two cats inspecting a new box in the house. Invariably, within minutes of any new thing's arrival into the house, the cats are on it. This box they have claimed as their own. A NEW BOX IN THE HOUSE, II is an 11x14 pastel on PastelBord, a masonite substrate. Bidding begins at $100. As with all my pieces up for auction, 10% of the final sale price goes to my favorite charity, World Vision. Click on the title above to be linked to ebay.

ANOTHER PASTEL OF A CLASS MODEL, sold

Another pastel from the Kevin Bielfuss workshop photos. This is a 12x9 pastel on sanded paper. Bidding begins at $100.

A few spaces left in my 2-day workshop at Spruill

To register: http://www.spruillarts.org/registration.php

FIRST DAY AT THE BEACH, sold

My cat pastels sold so well, I'll give dogs a try! Meet Shane, my sister's oldest child. Or Sir Shane, as she calls him. This was Shane's first day at the beach. FIRST DAY AT THE BEACH is an unframed 12x9 pastel on PastelBord. Bidding begins at $100.

FROM A WORKSHOP, sold

I took a class from a wonderful figurative oil painter Kevin Bielfuss. My paintings were awful. I was so ashamed of what I did, I threw them away before I even left the classroom. A lesson in humility it was. But I had my camera during the workshop and came home and did a few pastels of the models. Much more in my comfort zone. Here's one. This is a 12x9 pastel on foamcore. Bidding begins at $150.

A PATIENT HUSBAND, click to bid

Here's an old one. I painted this a few years ago after attending a doll show with my friend Diane. Here is a patient husband. And a fortunate wife. A PATIENT HUSBAND is an unframed 7x5 pastel on PastelBord. Bidding begins at $100.

A NEW BOX IN THE HOUSE, sold

I live with my daughter's two cats. There is not an item I bring into the house which they do not inspect thoroughly. Within minutes of its arrival. This new box has passed their inspection. A NEW BOX IN THE HOUSE is a 12x16 pastel on Pastelbord. Bidding begins at $100.

STILL LIFE WITH GARGOYLE, sold

One Wednesday morning I had a room full of students standing at their easels ready to work, and no model. We waited, no phone call from her to explain why, so I figured I'd demonstrate how to paint a still life with pastels. We scrounged around the closets in the classroom and found these two objects. Thus, the creative title, "Still Life with Gargoyle." Still Life with Gargoyle is an 11x14 pastel on foamcore. Bidding begins at $100.

DEMO FROM CLASS, sold

This was a demonstration I did for my class during a workshop in Highlands, NC, this past June. It's larger than my usual little 5x7's or 6x6's on my blog. It's 16x20, and when framed will have a lot of presence. I can't quite figure out why, but there are some models who inspire me. I wind up loving almost everything I do with them. This model was one was one of them. Bidding begins at $150.

EVA DANS LE BAIN, sold

For some reason I've always loved this little piece. I did it 2 years ago and refused to sell it, but I think it's time. I've gotten plenty of mileage out of it. And if it doesn't sell? I'll be happy. Thank you, those of you who responded to my last post. It really makes me warm inside to receive good wishes from people I hardly know, yet who have made such efforts to be encouraging. You're good people. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, everybody. I'll be with one of my 2 daughters, my sisters and their husbands and their children and grandchildren and a friend. There will be plenty of food and wine. And northwest Georgia is gorgeous lately. Cool weather, glorious color still left in the trees. It's a perfect Thanksgiving. EVA DANS LE BAIN is a 6x6 pastel on Pastelbord. Bidding begins at $100.

AFTER HER BATH, sold

Has it been since July that I wrote last? Life has been almost unmanageable since then... a separation, divorce, a move, an awkward dance with several mortgage companies (still dancing), hospice with my Dad and his final passing (he's in a better place) just 3 weeks ago. I'm trying to get back to living a productive life. Can't say I'm actually doing it yet, but I'm getting there. I'm cleaning out my studio again, trying to sell work that has not sold for one reason or another, and attempting to make a little money to get me through my typically slow months. Here is the first of many small works I'll be putting up on ebay the next few weeks. I've missed blogging and look forward to hearing from my subscribers again.

"After Her Bath" is an unframed 6"x6" pastel of Rosza, my model during my workshop in France this past June. It's beginning price (and most usually the selling price) at auction is $100.00.

Joy Davey

Joy Davey is from Oregon, and kept us amused continually with her demands for clean plates during our 5 course meals. Here's Joy's work...

Katie Keene

And here's Katie Keene's work. Katie's a nurse, living in Alabama, not far from the Georgia border. Katie, Alice and I roamed around France together the week before the workshop.

Alice Steinke

My magical trip to France ended almost 2 weeks ago, but I hit the ground running when I got home, and have been overwhelmed trying to catch up. Unfortunately I never got around to posting 3 students' work. They must have been seething, thinking I just didn't think it important enough. But I've been fretting about it the whole time. Here's Alice Steinke's gorgeous work. Alice teaches art at at private high school in New Jersey.

Judy Brown

Judy Brown's from Texas. I met her earlier this year at my workshop near Austin. Judy spent a week before our class here on a barge with her family and Kippy and Jerome, exploring the canals and little villages of France. Here's Judy's work from my class...

Semur en Auxios

We arrived in Semur en Auxios ( I want to live in Semur en Auxios), drove our van up winding narrow Medeival streets and tried to enter the parking lot of the hotel Cymaises, which was not designed for 21 st century vans, scraped our bumper trying to maneuver a sharp turn into the parking lot. After 20 minutes of shimmying back and forth, we finally decided to park at the bottom of the hill and carry our luggage uphill to the hotel. We felt Kippy deserved  a drink after our harrowing ordeal, so we settled ourselves in a rose garden and poured ourselves a couple of glasses of wine. Then we walked through the narrow 1000 year old winding streets and found a cozy restaurant. I'm sticking to salads after 2 weeks of excessive eating; I'm being good. Everybody else ordered desserts. But Kippy and I drank ours--Irish coffee for me. In a Medeival village in France? Seemed the right thing to do. After dinner, Kippy and I thought it was a good idea to continue our search for absinthe. We poked our heads into the little bars that were closing. No luck. Can't seem to find the stuff. Can't even seem to find anybody who believes it's legal.  Here's how the conversation always goes: "bonjour monsieur, avez-vous l'absinthe?" A puzzled expression ensues. Then, "Ah! Ab-santth! No!" Then somethng very French, very fast, which I have figured to mean that nobody sells it; it is illegal in France. Then we argue that no, it is legal; we've found bottles of it for sale at the liquor stores. but we just want to order a drink. Then we seem to get nowhere and we're off on our search again. Kippy promises I'll have some before I leave France. It really doesn't matter to me. I'm just enjoying the search.

I'm having a real disconnect here. I walk these cobblestone streets, peer into lace covered centuries old windows, wonder at the duration of the architecture, the simple beauty of every turn, incredulous. What's it like to live here? Where do they park their cars? What do they do for their livings? It's another world. Yet they're playing REM at our restaurant. Every place we go we hear American rock music. My simple mind can't seem to connect the two worlds -- Medeival Europe and 21st century America. I am in a quandary.

We visited Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, where Chocolat was filmed. Such a quiet town, we whispered as we explored the streets, fantasizing about buying a little home there, but were dissuaded when we considered how noisy we probably would be. Alice would want to have parties and dance to Aretha Franklin. She also entertains us regularly with songs from musicals we grew up with. We stopped for gallettes at a creperie, next door to the farm and home of Dominican Sisters. On our last night of the trip we stayed in a 1000 year old bed and breakfast in Noyers-sur-Serein (I want to live in Noyers). We left the village feeling as if we had been getting to know the locals--the pompous, maddening but amuzing owner/server of a restaurant from our previous night's dinner, the cocky, engaging server at lunch (different restaurant), the owner of our B&B, who surprised us at lunch by opening a window right next to our patio dining table. Reminded us all of the guard at the window in the Wizard of Oz. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. The whole trip was wonderful.

Auxerre, Vezelay, Beaune

SATURDAY Auxerre. I want to live in Auxerre.  We left Yael and Robin back at La Bonne Etoile with Jerome.  Yael flew home to Israel. Robin is taking some needed time off. We drove to Auxerre, parked the car and walked the twisting narrow 15th century roads, peering into windows, imagining what on earth it would be like to live in such charming surroundings, had lunch on a plaza, wandered throughout the walled city, dropped into antique shops, visited the abbey, and waited and worried about Kippy and Judy, who were 45 minutes late meeting us at the car (very uncharacteristic of them), while they we locked in a crypt (another story).

We continued our trek to Vezeley. I want to live in Vezelay. We checked into a charming chateau at the base of a steep hill, whose winding road led up to the Abbey of Mary Magdelene. We arrived in time to sit in the abbey and listen to the heavenly songs of the nuns and monks. Really. I haven't heard such beautiful music.  SUNDAY morning we woke to a brocante right at our doorstep. All the way up the steep winding road toward the abbey, venders set up their booths to sell antiques. I bought vintage posters and framable, lightweight, easy to travel with things  for people waiting for me at home. We checked out of our hotel at noon and headed north to Beaune. I want to live in Beaune. We visited the Hotel-Dieu, a magnificent hospital built for the poor  by Nicolas Rolin, Chancellor to the Duke of burgundy, and his wife in 1443, then back on the road toward our hotel in Semur en Auxios. We drove past fantastic villages, whose steeples dominated each landscape. Village after village, we passed beautiful family vegetable gardens, vineyards and hollyhock framed doorways. Sometimes it seems too beautiful to be real.