Carnival in Rio

Photo, REUTERS / Sergio Moraes 

Makes me smile...

French cabaret dancers from the Moulin Rouge pose
during a photo call in Rio de Janeiro February, 20, 2009.

Points of Departure

A new exhibit called Points of Departure opens today at the Gallery Della-Piana in Wenham. Looks like a fun show!

From Art Scope Magazine:

Abstract art can sometimes tap into our collective psyches and make the viewer think about life and art from a new perspective. In the new exhibition “Points of Departure” six artists take on non-objective art at the Gallery Della-Piana. Gallery owner Elissa Della-Piana explains what non-objective art means to her and the artists featured in her gallery. “It is starting literally, as it were, from nothing…Just the paint itself or the canvas itself and having that become the focus.”


The six artists featured are diverse and work in different mediums. Masako Kamiya is able to create optical illusions with her paintings. Rose Olsonpaints acrylic on wood paneling making her work appear as though and “they’re pieces of fine silk stretched over wood”, says Della-Piana. Michael Pasquale uses his architecture skills by covering self-made wooden structures with canvases of his art. Pamela C. Shaw draws with rods of metal on white surfaces leaving impressions on her art and the viewer. Robert Cipriani uses mixed materials that don’t always go together such as paint, metal and glass in an unusual but impressive symphony. Niho Kozuru is a sculptor using colored rubber, oftentimes encasing found objects in the colored rubber creating a texturally compelling piece.


These artists work can be seen at Gallery Della-Piana until April, 21. The gallery hours are Thursdays to Saturdays from 11AM-6PM. The gallery is located 152R Main St., Wenham MA.

 Photo from Gallery Della Piana

Horse country

Double the Horn  10 x 14

TALLY HO! I live in Hamilton, Massachusetts—serious horse country—which has inspired me to paint some equestrian scenes. My husband and I regularly go to the local Myopia Hunt Club events, such as their fox hunts, and snap lots of reference photos for paintings. Don't worry, they don't really use a fox, they just drag an anise-scented bag that the hounds have been trained to follow. The Thanksgiving Hunt at Appleton Farms in Ipswich last year was beautiful. In typical tradition Thanksgiving day was fabulously cold and we erroneously parked on the absolute opposite side of this enormous property, so we had to hoof it (quite briskly!) over the the river and through the woods to where the horse action was. Could have used a horse that morning! But at least we earned our Thanksgiving calories with a good walk. Anyhow, here are a few of the horse paintings that I have been working on—all oil on canvas.

Finding the Line  8 x 10

Below is an equestrian painting I did a few years ago. It's in a private collection on the South Shore.

See more of my horse and hound paintings here.

Tomaaato, Tomaahhta

Photos, Dan Ryan

Well it's that time of year... we're waist deep in record New England snow and I'm day dreaming of being barefoot in the garden, and plucking that first ripe tomato from the vine. I thought very seriously about ordering seeds and starting them inside like I did last year, with a heating pad under and and grow light overhead. But instead I just ordered a bunch of plants through the web. I have had really good luck ordering from Hirtz Gardens though Amazon. Here's what I got: Yellow Pear, Black Sea Man, Russian Black Truffel, Green Zebra, and a new rare blue tomato. Well see how they turn out. Two years ago we had nothing but drizzle and rain and mold all summer, last summer was dry and things grew well if you were good at watering. I was recovering from some intestinal surgeries and wasn't allowed to haul our heavy duty hose around, so both the veggie and flower gardens suffered a bit from neglect. Sorry guys, I promise to do better this year. Let's hope Mother Nature cooperates too. Check out those tomato photos though—the sellers must use a little Photoshop magic make their tomatoes look so super incredible with saturated colors. My favorite tomato is the common Beefsteak, which is always uncommonly fab and reliably delicious, but I'll get those at a local nursery in the spring. I always like growing some of the rare and usual varieties in the garden to visually jazz up a plate so I hope these plants do well this summer. Until then, there's more snow in the forecast.

Looking forward to eating those ripe tomatoes! Here is a Provençal stuffed tomato that I made last summer.