What A Fall!

I have not posted lately due to circumstances WAY out of my control. Shortly after arriving home from Mackinac Island we had several days of pouring rain in our area. Funny thing. All of a sudden we had wet carpet in our walkout family room/game room. Horror of horrors-the walls were leaking. What a mess. Although this room is partly below grade, it is constructed with wolmanized wood. My husband knew we had to find out what was going on especially with fall and winter fast approaching. He ripped the drywall off the wall and was met with dripping wet insulation. I was met with instant asthma and allergy attacks and was exiled to live in the motorhome for a couple of weeks! Bottom line, we had to hire contractors to remove trees in our side yard, dig 5 feet down and rebuild the wall. Doing this meant destroying out front porch and front garden as well as the bulk of our front lawn. We had more vehicles in our yard than were on the street! We also lost the stairway from our second floor deck. What a mess. It is a good thing that I am not rich. I would not do well with hired help in my home all the time. I really like my privacy and found it very difficult to paint this past few weeks. Finally, we are somewhat put back together and painting the inside and laying flooring. The worst is over.
I have been able to paint a couple of pieces shown below and I am currently working on two commissions that I hope to complete this week. It feels so good to be back to my normal life. I hope!

Shalda Creek Gouache 2-1/2" x 3-1/2"

Drum and Fiddle, Acrylic, 3-1/2" x 2-1/2"

Till next time (sooner than later)

Gail

My Show on Mackinac Island

Wow, I cannot believe it has been a month since I updated my blog. To say I have been busy is an understatement. Last Saturday evening was the opening reception for my miniature show on Mackinac Island. It was a very eventful weekend.
We arrived on the island Friday as I had some framing to complete before the show. The weather was already getting nasty and was the beginning of a rough weekend on the island. The ferry ride was more like going to the amusement park and the wind was buckling our umbrellas in the opposite way they fold. Not to be deterred, we went about our business and helped the gallery owner finalize the setup of the show.
Friday evening was the opening reception for my friend Bill Murcko's show at the library that hosts art events as well. We fought our way over in the wind and driving rain (no cars on the island) and talked with Bill, Betty, his wife, and their son who had flown in from New York. I took a picture of Bill next to my favorite painting in the show. I love the expression on the girls face in this painting. One wonders what she is thinking about!


The opening reception for my show was Saturday evening and the weather again did not cooperate. I had a friend that called to say she would not be attending the show because she was not about to get on the ferry -it was so bad out. We found out later that more than one freighter heading into Lake Michigan thought better about continuing their trip and were anchored behind the island to shelter themselves from the storm. Many people did venture out, however ,and it was a great time. Below is Bill Murcko attending MY show along with the mayor of Mackinac Island (in pink) and her mother (back turned away) who is the most spry 90 year old I have met in my life.
The gentleman in the baseball cap is Rev. Vincent Carroll, pastor of Little Stone Church. I am talking with his wife Molly, who is also an artist. They were kind enough to invite us to services the following morning. We attended and we quite surprised to be sitting in front of the governor of Michigan who was up on the island for the annual Mackinac Bridge walk.

Its not polite to point! My husband was taking the pictures. Hm, This was one of the better ones.

All in all it was a great weekend in spite of the weather. It is always good to get home, however, and I am settling back into my painting routine.

I hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend and didn't get windblown wherever you were at.

Till next time,

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,