I've just been notified that my two pastels, "Taxi" and "Ann Braiding Her Hair" have been selected as finalists in the Landscape and Portrait/Figurative categories of The Artist's Magazine 31st Annual Art Competition, which will be published in December 2014. Thank you, Artist's Magazine, for the honor.

A TABLE FOR TWO AIN ISLE SUR SORGUE, SOLD

"A Table for Two in Isle sur Sorgue" is a 5x7 pastel on PastelBord, and is available at auction. Click on title above to see auction. Bidding begins at $100. Thanks for looking.

"JUST OUTSIDE OF GORDES."SOLD

If you are standing at the perimeter wall in Gordes and look out across the valley, you'll see this house perched at the top of another mountain. What a gorgeous place to live.
"Just Outside of Gordes" is a 7x5 pastel on PastelBord. Bidding begins at $100. Click the title above to see the auction.

"Gordes," SOLD

Gordes is a spectacular walled village, perched on the crest of the high Plateau de Vaucluse in southeast France. Its beige stone buildings are built into the cliffs. Dating back to Roman days, It overlooks the fields, forests and small villages in the mountainous region of Provence. We climbed its winding roads and could see for miles in every direction. Here is one of the roads on the perimeter of the city on a cloudless June afternoon.

"Gordes" is a 5x7 pastel on PastelBord, at auction on ebay. Click on the title above to go to auction.

"A Brilliant Day in Cassis," SOLD

Never thought I'd be able to boast that I've swum in the Mediterranean, but I can now. Frigid at first, but within moments you're perfectly comfortable. So salty that you can stay afloat without any effort; you could fall asleep floating on the gentle waves. But the sand--or what would normally be sand--is rocks. Very uncomfortable on the bare feet. It makes you almost not want to get out of the water. I hope I never forget that day though. Just beautiful.

"A Brilliant Day in Cassis" is a 7x5 pastel on PastelBord, available at auction. Click on the title above to see the auction. Bidding begins at $100. Thanks!

"Lavender Fields," SOLD

I'm working on a series of small studies of French scenes. This one is from Provence. On our last day in Provence this June we searched for lavender fields, so easy to find from great distances, not so easy to get to. Winding hilly roads made our search a challenge. But we found some.

"Lavender Fields" is a 5x7 pastel on PastelBord, available at auction on ebay. Click on the title above or the link below to go to auction. Bidding begins at $100.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=231292287647

Back to work.

Been recovering here, from a month in France and the loss of George. My garden is keeping me occupied. I've been pulling weeds and filling my jeep with mulch, 10 bags at a time, so far 4 trips. It keeps me busy. I keep expecting George to show up though.

I've also been painting in my studio, thanks to Mike and George, who finished my ceiling and installed my air conditioner while I was gone. It's comfortable now, and lately I've spent hours up there, forgetting about the time, loving the tactile feeling of paint smearing on a canvas. I close my eyes and see beautiful brushstrokes intermingling with surprising color combinations.

I've been taking a painting class from Jim Richards an Atlanta artist; he's probably my daughter's age. But he can teach me what I need to learn -- that expressive painterly stroke. Here's one piece I worked on in class that I'm pleased with. Normally I hate my oils, but I'm thinking I'll be happily working soon.

"Red Ribbon" is an 11x14 oil on canvas.

George

I arrived home from France early Tuesday evening, pulling my heavy luggage from the train station a few blocks away, to a beautifully manicured yard and 18 inch zucchinis in the backyard garden. George, my across-the-street neighbor had mowed and trimmed my yard to perfection, like he always does. And the zucchinis were real, from the garden he had planted weeks before I left for France (unlike the not-real ones--see http://margaretdyer.blogspot.com/2013/06/i-will-talk-of-my-time-at-international.html).
All he ever wants is a thank-you. I give him more when I can. But I'm told I won't be able to thank him until he returns from his 4th of July camping trip. He had recently rekindled a relationship with his high school sweetheart; they were in the north Georgia mountains. They were going to look at houses up there on Monday.

George died in his sleep Friday night. 54 years old. I won't be able to thank him for everything he has done for me in the short time I've known him.