Lots of good stuff is on the horizon, and it's shaping up to be a busy summer. I just shipped four boxes of artwork off to Martha's Vineyard for a show of new works that will open on the Summer Solstice, June 21st. The gallery is ABoDE, in Oak Bluffs, which had a showing of my work last summer, and it's so nice to have such a wonderful location for a show. Now that the Vineyard stuff is all packed up, I have a little breathing space before I pack up three more pieces to go to Lexington for a traveling show to benefit the Masters of Foxhunting Assoc. of America. I have only been to one foxhunt, ever, but I shot so many wonderful photos, and did several paintings from my experience, that I feel lucky to be able to participate in this show.
I had so much work filling the walls of the studio for my Open Studios weekend, and now half of it is being packed and sent off. As you might guess, I've been spending a lot of time as a cardboard box engineer. No one ever really mentions that aspect of being an artist, but it's a huge, time-consuming job. Every large flat box that I get something shipped in, I save. I'm still working with cardboard from our kitchen cabinet cartons when we remodeled four years ago. I could take the easy, but expensive way out and order artwork shipping cartons that have foam inserts. And I do order those sometimes, when shipping to a big juried show where the concern is as much the ease of repacking and returning the artwork as it is to protect it in transit. But I can't order 12 expensive cartons to ship everything to the Vineyard. And my husband and I will be carrying the four larger, odd-shaped pieces with us on the ferry. It's only a couple of weeks away--I really hope the New England weather improves by then!
The piece pictured is a new 15 x 30 in. oil on gallery-wrap canvas, called "Red Barn." This horse was really giving me the eye when I stopped to photograph a cow that was across the street. He was muddy and scruffy and seemed to be enjoying the winter sunshine. I liked the way his chestnut coat looked against the red barn behind him, and I loved his big, wide white blaze and the pink on his muzzle and lip.
