It's coming. The leaves are starting to turn. As a kid, fall held an air of excitement, once the disappointment over the end of summer had passed. It was a chance to start again...reinvent myself, if possible. I don't think I ever did succeed at becoming someone new, but hope sprung eternal.

Summer's Swan Song

Here we are again. The calendar says we are on the edge of a new season. I always struggle with this particular seasonal change. I love fall, but I'm not a fan of winter. Well, I'll just have to make the best of it. New goals are waiting to be set. My new project, Art-Startz, is on the horizon. A new sewing and photography class and... of course... new paintings. Maybe I'll be so busy I won't notice it's 20 degrees outside.

Apple a Day

Remember when about the only kind of apple you could find in the store was a Delicious--take your pick--red or yellow. I usually picked the yellow ones because they were less mushy. I so looked forward to September when the Gravensteins were ripe. Now that the stores are packed with ten different kinds of apples, Fujis are my apple of choice. What a great invention, the apple.

A pear is a pear is a pear

Ever notice how pears always look like pears? If you say something is "pear shaped", people always know the shape you're describing. I love to paint pears because they always look like pears....no awkward questions to answer, like "What is it?".

All my marbles

Some days I have to count them to make sure I'm not losing any. The ducks won't stay in their row and there are way too many loose ends. Filled to the brim and often messy. Trying to find bits of time to squeeze in more.....life.

Farmers' Market

Most people who buy produce, either at a farmer's market or the supermarket, take their food home and eat it rather directly. I can't help but see food as potential for a still life. These beautiful orange tomatoes were grown by my neighbors at the Bellingham farmer's market. After I played with my food, setting up various compositions with the little toms, I ate them. So yummy.

Good Excuses

Believe it or not, this is not an abandoned blog. I know my last post was in March, but I have excuses.... good ones. For starters, it has been summer...kind of. We had our usual 2-day scorcher, the two days out of the year that justify our slogging through endless rainy, gray days. Additionally, I have been on a quest for more secure gainful employment, which I'm happy to report I have found. The Bellingham Farmer's Market is only a few weeks from concluding for me...the end of my 9th season. Then there are all the mental artistic endeavors.... you know, all those paintings that line the inside of your mind, but never quite get to paper. I do have high hopes, however, that some of my reference photos will become paintings and not just blog posts. Stay tuned.