CLOWN SIGHTINGS from the past

It's in the news and all over social media....there are clown sightings everywhere.  Most of the clowns are described as menacing and/or evil. Even the NewYork Times has written about this resurgence of clown appearances or visions.

 During my childhood,  clowns entertained children and families at circuses and parties. They were sort of amusing, like Clarabell on the Howdy Doody Show. But there was an intimidating quality some of these clowns possessed even then. After all,  Clarabell was intensely mute and forced to mime until the final episode of Howdy. I never was bothered by the circus clowns who seemed like harmless goofs.

There was another clown in my childhood that left such an impression that I had to paint him. This one was probably constructed of papier mâché and beckoned all to join him inside Laff in the Dark, a scary fun-house ride at Gwynn Oak Park in Baltimore, MD. And I will add that this was my favorite ride at the park.

"Laff in the Dark" oil on canvas (16" x 20") 2004

"Welcome to Gwynn Oak" oil on paper 920" x 20") 2004

IT'S HOT!

It has been a typical Baltimore July with heat and humidity. My trusty General Electric Fan has been moving the air in my studio every day. I honored its service with an oil painting last week.

"Fan: Trusty General Electric in Motion" oil on board (12" x 16") 2016

Comforting Blue Beauties of Summer

The hydrangeas in our garden are bursting forth with hues of pink, purple, lavender and blue. We have eight bushes and no two are exactly the same color. There is one that stands out with the most brilliant blue blossoms imaginable. I snipped a few flower heads to bring to the studio over the weekend. I wanted to remember how much they comforted me in my melancholia entwined with sweet memories of Thierry Jeannier who left us too soon last month. Rest in Peace dear man. You were a genuine friend and  beloved son to us and we miss you every day.

"Bluest Hydrangeas" oil on board ( 13" x 10") 2016

NORTHERN VIRGINIA FINE ART FESTIVAL

Hope to see you there!

Mind Your Beeswax

Bees are buzzing around the studio this week. Here are  my new tiny paintings of our waxy, winged pollinators. A generous friend who has a studio down the hall recently gave me a few small frames that he could not use. I decided that these little bees would look very cozy nesting in two of the beautiful gold frames. The little oils will be dry by the weekend and ready to rest in their new "hive."

"Small Busy Bee" oil on canvas (4.5" x 3.25") 2026

"Small Busy Bee with Flower" oil on canvas (2.25" x 4") 2016

ARLINGTON FESTIVAL of the ARTS

My first outdoor show of the season is in Arlington, Virginia next weekend. I will have many new oil paintings including this typewriter (featured here) that I found in the attic during the  2016 Baltimore blizzard. Since many of you have made the request, I'll bring additional paintings of vintage objects including the sewing machines and telephones. Hope everyone can stop by my booth. It would be fun to see all of you!

LONG'S PARK ROOSTER

Maybe it's the arrival of spring. I'm not sure but I painted another rooster. This one was a rescued rooster who soon became a resident at Long's Park in Lancaster, PA.

"Long's Park Rooster" oil on board, (11" x 14") 2016

GENTLE HEN

"Gentle Hen" oil on board, (8" x 8") 2016

Spring is in the air and I have chickens on my mind.  I like this quiet hen who appears to be carefully preening herself in the sunshine. I looked in my sketchbooks of hen drawings and she was there on the page in a quick dash of lines. So I did this little oil painting of her.

SEWING COMPANIONS

As teenagers in the mid to late 1960s my girlfriends and I often sewed simple dresses for ourselves. We'd shop at  Hutzler's or Brager Gutman's  to select a pattern and then choose our fabric and accessories. One item I never was able to own was a colorful pin cushion that featured cheerful Asian children encircling its circumference. The thought of having their  playful company as I hand-sewed the hem of my latest creation was reassuring. But that idea always remained a dream. A few months ago I was visiting  Renninger's, one of my favorite haunts, when I discovered a dealer with all kinds of sewing paraphernalia. Among the spools of thread, tools, zippers, buttons and needles was the darling pin cushion I had always coveted. These days I no longer sew but paint instead. So naturally I had to do a little painting of my recently realized dream of owning these little sewing companions.

"Sewing Companions" oil on wood panel (6" x 6") 2016

A Rooster Named Jackson

"Jackson Squared" oil on panel (12" x 12") 2016

Jackson was an authentic  flesh and feather rooster who I met on a hot July day at Clark's Elioak Farm in Howard County, MD. Martha Clark who owns the farm  and Enchanted Forest Museum, has a petting area where young and old patrons can see and touch most of the domestic livestock. I've continued to paint Jackson over the years. In fact he was in my first paintings of 2016.   A magnificent and very vain cock of the barnyard, he proudly took charge of his flock. We got along well because I flattered him with buttery soft words that he wanted to hear.
"Jackson, you are such a handsome man, please stand over here in the light where I can see you better," the suspicious hens would overhear me saying to him.

"Jackson Puffy and Square" oil on panel (16" x 16") 2016

In time he would come close, but not too close, and lay on his side so that he could spread his wings and show me his splendid plumage. His flirtatiousness took me quite by surprise but I snapped photos of him in that position and he loved it. One day I might share them here with everyone.
I don't know if Jackson is still strutting around his rural kingdom, but where ever he is, he will be forever remembered in oil paint many times over.
So I want to share with you the two most recent paintings of him. Here are they are still on the easel as they dry.

DARLING LITTLE CLEMENTINES

"Darling Little Clementines" oil on panel, (6" x 12") 2015

We love the fruity sweetness of clementines. My husband, a native of Provence, calls them mandarines. He reminds me every year that the crop from Morocco, located in northwestern Africa, is the tastiest. He is right. Coming in second place is the harvest from neighboring Spain. After that we just don't take any chances since too many countries have jumped on board and frankly their clementines just don't compare. The season is almost over now and we are about to purchase our final bunch from the supermarket. I adore the petite crates in which they are presented. It just makes them even more darling and fun to paint.

"My Darling Clementines" oil on canvas, (12" x 16") 2014

THE BEES' KNEES

"Bee Bombers" oil on panel (6" x 6") 2015

As summer came and went, I watched the gentle honeybees tirelessly visit the gardens in our Baltimore city neighborhood. Without grumble or protest they worked hard in the elements from dawn to dusk making sure to pollinate every flower and blossom within their range. Our buzzing friends never asked us to recognize that they were responsible for tending to the reproductive health of our fruit and flowers. In addition, they unselfishly shared their sweet bounty with the human keepers of their apiaries. For those who are curious to learn more about the life of bees, here's an explanation about life inside the hive.

I now understand the old phrase, "the bees knees." Originally, it referred to something insignificant like the knees of a bee... or perhaps as the work of the bees seems insignificant on a daily basis. But the long term effects of their work is nothing short of remarkable. And so, in more modern times the meaning changed, when we experience something fantastic we say it is the "bees knees."

 I'm taking my cues from the bees for 2016: work hard, give unselfishly and ask for nothing in return but peace.  Here are a few of my small oil paintings that they recently inspired.

"Bee Bush" oil on panel (6" x 6") 2015

"Bee Garden" oil on panel (6" x 6") 2015