Beautiful Autumn Days.

This first week of Autumn has been a busy one!

We love taking out grandson out on nature walks, he could live outside all the time.

 

 

This timid visitor stopped by in the afternoon one day.

 

 

 

 

Apple picking here in the Hudson Valley is a must and this variety of

apple that we picked is called a SnapDragon and is absolutely the best 

tasting one IMHO, lol!

 

 

 

 

 Friday was prepping for a demo on collage that I was doing for 

Arts Mid-Hudson at Bethel Woods on Saturday morning. There is a festival there this weekend

called Mkng Festival and there are many workshops to attend, music to listen

to, foods to eat, and vendors to purchase from.

 

 

 

 

 There is nothing prettier than a sunny morning, in autumn, in the Hudson Valley!

You can't really get the full scope of the top two pictures,

but that is the field where the Woodstock Music Festival was held.

 

Soon the leaves in our area will be in full glorious color, time for hot toddys,

apple pies, and warm fires.

 

 

Autumn

Layers, sweaters, boots!

Reds, golds, oranges and browns!

Apples, ciders, doughnuts, figs!

A favorite time of year for me and many other people also, 

even my dog Rocky seems to be a little more excited to be outside.

The leaves are just starting to drop,

 when we went to the zoo this week we spotted a few gold and orange leaves.

Very shortly, this scene from the train will be much more colorful, but I

love the greens and golds and greys together.

 

The asters seem to be extra vibrant this year, aren't these gorgeous?

Frida Bones is especially happy to be traveling in cooler weather.

She is joining her sisters in upstate NY where the colors will be really popping 

by the time she gets there.

Hopefully by Wednesday this week, I will have these girls ready

 to be listed in my Etsy and Ebay  Shops.

Enjoy your week!

Cape Cod

A week on the Cape with family was the best medicine!

All sorts of interesting finds....

A trip to Edward Gorey Museum was on the agenda for me....

We were blessed with lovely beach weather.

 

All finished off with a lovely sunset.

On My Drawing Table

My local arts council has a members show every year in August and this year the

theme is: Flights of Fantasy

So, with my proclivity to things with wings, immediately an owl in flight came to mind. How to incorporate fantasy into my work took lots of thought and planning.

With all the vintage papers floating around in my studio I knew that I wanted to use that in my artwork and also acrylic painting. There was a cradled wood board that I had prepped earlier leaning up against the bookcase and that became my canvas.

After sketching out the barn owl I began to cut individual pieces of paper and arrange them along the wing span.

That quickly became cut and glue and put in place, I trusted that all would work out.

 

The first wing was amazing and so it continued....

Just loving this....

I was so busy painting that not many more photos got taken.

"Night Flight" can be viewed at:

Flights of Fantasy: Arts Mid-Hudson Members’ Show – AMH Gallery
August 3 – September 9
Opening Reception:
Friday, August 3, 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.

(The opening was cancelled due to loss of power and will be rescheduled.)
Art Brunch: Sunday, September 9, 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.

artsmidhudson.org

Lucky Black Cat

Never too early for Halloween Shenanigans!!!

This handsome fellow is ready to come and help celebrate Halloween with you.

 

He is a sweet celebration mate and will always laugh at any and all Halloween jokes.

 

A wire armature was used so that his arms and legs and tail can be bent to many positions,

 and to assist in helping him to stand on his own.

I made his Trick or Treat bag from a small orange bag and decorated it with one of my Halloween artworks.  It has a wire handle and can be filled with your choice of sweets.

The crepe paper covered mast that he holds is also displaying another piece of my holiday artwork the scary cats inspired by vintage ones. The mast also aids in helping Lucky to stand on his own.

He is listed in my Etsy Store and here is the link:

 

www.etsy.com/listing/629701751/halloween-black-cat-handmade-collectible?ref=shop_home_active_1

The Dog Days of Summer

It's wonderful to be near water when the weather is so terribly hot. After lunch in NewPaltz we took a ride out to Tuthilltown Distillery and walked the grounds a bit. The restaurant there overlooks this stream running under the old mill.

Time spent by the beautiful Hudson River is always rejuvenating for me, this day the Sloop was out in all it's glory!

Lunch with two very dear friends at the Culinary Institute of America in the newly revamped Apple Pie Cafe was amazing! This fountain is out in front of the building and overlooks the river.

I am busy getting ready for the fall with some new artwork and ideas, thankfully my lower level studio is so nice and cool!

On My Drawing Table

Last year I did a tiny little watercolor and ink on a small square of wood.

I loved how this came out.

I started a larger one last week and there needs to be a series of these little butterflies.

The first layer of watercolor and white ink.

 

 

I then framed it in vintage dictionary pages.

 

 

All gets covered with a layer of beeswax and a gentle sprinkling of mica flakes.The pictures really aren't capturing the lovely sheen that the beeswax adds to it.

This one is currently listed in my Etsy Shop.