Thursday, June 27, 2019

over the moon with good tunes in the month of june

Hooray- it's summer!!! Things have been wonderful since my last check-in, and I hope it's the same for you. Here's what's been going on with me!

On Friday, May 31st, I had my 42nd Brushstrokes With Impact (tm) "Paint-a-Thon". It was my second time having an event like this at She Doesn't Like Guthries in Lewiston, so I called it "Second Helping!" Friday, May 31st was the last day of my month-long solo show at Guthries, and it also happened to be the first Art Walk Lewiston/Auburn of the season. What fun! The place was humming, and as I was painting, I was struck by how much of a hub Guthries really is: people of all ages and all walks of life were in and out all day long, enjoying good food and lively conversation. If you find yourself in Lewiston, stop in and find out for yourself! I had visits from friends and friendly faces, and thanks to everyone's support, we were able to raise $100 for Good Shepherd Food Bank. Here are some photos from the day:


the beginning...


progress...


working...photo credit: Rebecca Boothby Conley


"Ferns and Fiddleheads" : finished!


the winning ticket! Congratulations, Betty!


still life with chilled watermelon soup (photo credit: She Doesn't Like Guthries)



I was back at the Tontine Mall in Brunswick (just outside of Indrani's) on Saturday, June 15th for my 43rd Brushstrokes With Impact (tm) "Paint-a-Thon," which I called "Wonders of Nature!" This time, I was raising money for Maine Audubon and their conservation efforts. That space at Tontine Mall is definitely one of my favorite places to spend a day painting: it's a raised up platform, so I'm right in the middle of things while not being in anyone's way; my "pop-up" show always goes up and down quickly, because it's a small wall and the picture hangers are already there; there's always a good flow of foot traffic (and friends and/or family often stop by to say hello); plus, Indrani herself is just so lovely and welcoming...I feel very "at home" there. Here are some photos from the day:


the "pop-up" show!

my sign!

the beginning...

progress...

"Purple Poppy" : finished!


the winning ticket! 


The winner of "Purple Poppy" was Erich Lopez, who lives in sunny California! It's always exciting when my work ends up in far-flung places and with new people. Congratulations, Erich, and thank you for your support! $132 was raised for Maine Audubon that day, which brings my running total to nearly $6200 for local and national causes. Hooray! 

I'll close out this blog post with a little story that might make you smile (because it certainly makes me smile). If you're an artist, you might know what it's like to get inspiration while you're showering or meditating or dreaming. Well, in mid-May, I had a dream that I needed to make a CATS Yantra painting (in case you don't know, "CATS" stands for Circles Around The Sun, one of my favorite bands...and in case you're new to this blog, yantra painting is one of the things I learned on my retreat at the Ghost Ranch in New Mexico with Mavis Gewant and the ShivaShakti School of Yoga). This dream also told me that I needed to give the painting to Circles Around The Sun when I went to see them perform on June 5th at Higher Ground in South Burlington, VT. When a dream is that specific, I pay attention, so I got to work. I finished the CATS Yantra on the morning of June 5th, I brought it to the show, I managed to give it to the band before they went onstage, and that night, it ended up as the Circles Around The Sun icon on Instagram, where it remained for two weeks (it's since been changed), and it made an appearance on drummer Mark Levy's "my story". Needless to say, I was over the moon...and on the following Tuesday, the band put it up as their profile picture on Facebook (where it still is as of the writing of this blog post), putting me even further over the moon than I was before. Yay!!! If you don't know the music of Circles Around The Sun, please check them out...you will likely find yourself in a most pleasant dance trance before too long...and with that, I will sign off! Until next time...

"CATS Yantra," 6" x 6", acrylic on wood panel

there's my signature!

Instagram screenshot taken after the show

      Instagram "my story" screenshot       

Facebook "profile picture" screenshot...

...and another one, just because it makes me grin like a fool.