Mobbed On Mackinac

It's hard to believe we are back home from Mackinac already! We left a week ago and camped just South of Mackinaw City for three nights. The weather was beautiful Clear skies every day. It was unusually warm and humid, however ,making walking around and picture taking a bit of work. The island was very crowded as the sailors were coming in from the Chicago to Mackinac Island race. I am told this is the longest fresh water race in the country! There were hundreds of sailboats in the race. We had a beautiful campsite with a view of the Mackinac Bridge connecting upper and lower Michigan. We could sit on the beach and watch the sailboats moving silently under the bridge on their way to the finish line. On our trip to the island on Tuesday, the above photo was the scene in the harbor! This photo was taken from the fort above the harbor. That wasn't all the boats as they were still trickling in!
We had a wonderful visit which included dinner with our artist friend Mary Lou Peters and her husband and a visit to our artist friend Bill Murcko's studio on the East Bluff of the island. Although we visit the island several times each year we hadn't toured the fort since our kids were little. We took tons of pictures of war reinactments and interiors of the school house, kitchen and living quarters. I have several paintings lined up already. We stopped by the gallery while on the island and delivered three new paintings. I was pleased to learn that two are sold. One of those paintings is an evening view of St. Anne Church. This church was quite a challenge with all the detail in the building. The blotches in the sky are not in the actual painting-don't know where they came from. I have had a request to paint a similar scene, so I am going to become real familiar with the detail of this church.
All too soon it was time to return home and we are back to work. I am currently working on another fudge maker and a porch scene from the Grand Hotel. Its hard to believe that it is August already. The summer is flying by. I hope everyone is getting out and enjoying the season.
Till next time,

Nose To The Grindstone

The last couple of weeks I have been pretty much living in my studio. Not that I am complaining! Once a day I will pop my head out the door to check the mail and remember what season it is. Also once in a while I will go outside long enough to let my neighbors know I am still alive. Our big splurge lately is to take the Wrangler out in the evening with the top down and soak in the summer night air. Um!!!
Last week we spent the day in Elk Rapids at Twisted Fish Gallery and next week we are off to Mackinac Island again. These little breaks are good for gathering reference material and recharging the batteries. I am looking forward, in particular to touring the new Manoogian Art Museum on the island that had its dedication on Wednesday evening. Mr Manoogian is well known in the Michigan area for his generosity and fabulous art collection. He also resides on the island during the summer.
The two paintings posted are only some of my completed works. The above is a view of the produce section of Doud's Grocery Store on Mackinac Island. It measures 3-1/2" x 3-1/2" and done in acrylic. The second painting is called Iroquois Autumn and is a view of the hotel patio area overlooking the ferry dock and downtown buildings. This painting measures 2-1/2" x 3-1/2" also done in acrylic.
Till next time,

Time Is Flying!

Hi all!
I just can't believe it has been so long since I updated my blog. Forgive me. We have been on the run like many of you. Had a wonderful time on Mackinac Island for a couple of days and have also been to Elk Rapids and Sugatuck, Michigan. We are currently camping a few miles from our home. We have been here for two weeks almost a necessity to get a decent campsite. In the two weeks here, we have dodging severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. I LOVE thunder storms, but not in a motorhome! Unfortunately, last week one man was killed in a campground not far from here after his motorhome was thrown into a tree, I believe. One night while sitting here, the tornado siren went off, the wind rocked the motorhome and the power went out. I looked at my husband and said "get me out of here!!!!" Unfortunately, we only had our little ranger pickup truck with us. He threw our two golden retrievers in the front seat with us (it only seats two) and struggled to drive home as our dog kept on throwing the truck out of gear by running into the stick shift. It seems funny now, but at the time quite scary.

I have been working on several pieces, but wanted to share this one with you. It is called Blessing of the Animals. This is a ceremony that takes place once a year on Mackinac Island during Lilac Festival. I couldn't resist painting these two darling girls having their dog blessed by the minister. Notice he wears gloves. He also blessed turtles and horses.

This weekend we are having our kids and their boyfriends/girlfriends out for a cookout and fireworks show put on by the campground. Hope the weather cooperates.
Happy 4th of July to everyone and stay safe.
Till next time,

Mackinac Island Bound

My husband and I are busy packing up the motorhome for a trip to Mackinac Island. We will be camping on the mainland and day tripping to the island. I will be painting outside at Victorian Summer Gallery on Saturday from 12 noon to 4pm. If you are in the area, please stop by and say hi. Look forward to seeing you there!
Till next time,

Painting At Twisted Fish

Yesterday my husband and I took a drive up to Elk Rapids, just North of Traverse City, to paint on the porch at the Twisted Fish Gallery. Two times a year the galleries of Elk Rapids have Art Beat. This is a fun Saturday gallery crawl where everyone who visits each gallery can win some really nice prizes and meet and greet artists. Well, I hate having my picture taken, but the one above is me on the porch with Bob, the gallery owner. Bob and his staff always make us feel so welcome, it is a pleasure to visit them! I had a great time yesterday and met many collectors of my work. One group of lovely ladies took pictures with me. I felt like a rock star!
On the way home we ran into steady downpours. Later we learned there were tornado watches throughout the areas we drove through.

I just finished painting this black and white beauty today. I call it Cow Attitude. This piece is acrylic and measures 3-1/2" x 2-1/2". I don't often do animals, so this was a great break from buildings.

Later this week we will be on the road again camping in Mackinaw City and visiting Mackinac Island to paint and take photos. Ahhhhhh, the kids and dogs are staying behind. Can't wait!

Till next time,

From Freezing To Frying

Has it really been over three weeks since I checked in? The calendar doesn't lie. It is amazing how time does fly. One minute I am complaining about late season snow and the next I am frying at a campground!
Although we have been away camping, I have been painting every day. It is a bit of a challenge in the heat and wind. I have worked on several painting and completed two that I have shown in this post. Below is my husband, who was not crazy about being included in my blog. We love to have a campfire every night and as you can see, our dogs also love it! Over the weekend we had both our kids and their girlfriends/boyfriends for a cookout. I would have taken pictures but it poured with rain about the time they all showed up. Isn't that the way it goes. We had a good time anyway as we all shoved together into the RV.
The painting below is called Beyond Mission Church. Mission Church is on Mackinac Island and it is listed as the oldest church in Michigan. Many weddings take place there every year. This piece is acrylic and measures 3-1/2" x 2-1/2"

The next painting is also acrylic and the same size. This painting is of the parsonage where the minister of Little Stone Church lives. Land and privacy are at a premium on the island, and as a result many residents have privacy shrubs and gates. I have always been fascinated by this house and garden and even more so after meeting Molly, the ministers wife. She is a lovely person and we had a wonderful chat last year when I painted in front of the gallery. Hope to talk to her again this year For those in the Michigan area, I will be painting at Twisted Fish Gallery in Elk Rapids, from 3:00 PM to 5:30 pm on Saturday. If you are in the area, please stop by and say hi!

Well, I need to continue to unpack the RV as we just got home a couple of hours ago.

Till next time,

Freezing On Mackinac Island

Thought I would show one of my latest paintings that I delivered to the island on Friday. This is a well loved Indian chief who is affectionately called Duck. He is a well known figure who officiates at all the parades. This painting is 4 inches by 4 inches and is painted with acrylic on ampersand gessoboard. I had a lot of fun with this piece and am considering painting some of the reinactments at Fort Mackinac.
Friday, my husband and I made our first trip to Mackinac Island for the season. The weather was horrible. The ferry ride wasn't too bad considering the windy conditions but for some reason the coast guard was sitting outside the harbor-hmmm. We walked up to Lilacs and Lace, another store owned by Jack, the gallery owner. He has just expanded his store and gave us a tour. On the way over to Victorian Summer Gallery, about two blocks away, we observed some of the horses returning to the island.

This was the best photo I could get as these big boys were moving at a fast pace. They had just taken a ferry ride from the upper peninsula and were spooking out at every noise! Just before I took this shot we had to scatter as one horse actually jumped up onto the sidewalk and almost took out the trash container in the picture. The island in season has over a hundred horses that are used for everything from taxis, trash pick up even UPS deliveries. No cars are allowed on the island.

The gallery is not open for business yet this year and looks a little bare without all the flowers in planter boxes that will be present soon. I was so busy talking with the people in the gallery I forgot to take any pictures. I get engrossed in conversation!

After leaving the gallery we walked up to the Grand Hotel to see the tulips that are on display every spring. It was so cold that every one of them was completed closed up! I can't blame them. We quickly walked back downtown and parked ourselves in one of the restaurants for lunch. We waited as long as possible before walking down to the boat docks. The weather forecast called for 2-4 inches of snow on the island.

Hopefully it will be warmer when we return next month.

Till next time,