Art and ideas for creative living
I have been teaching the art of fabric painting for most of the last 20 years. Categorized as Surface Design, the popular trend has been to create interesting manipulations of color on cloth that could then be sewn or layered into other finished works such as quilts or wall hangings. But painted fabric has many… Continue reading Fabric painting basics
To create a work of art through another person’s Minds Eye is a difficult process. Understanding what a patron means when they try to describe a finished piece is tricky, when they themselves use a different “language” than the artist. They are, after all, asking the artist to do something that they themselves cannot do.… Continue reading The Anatomy of a Commission
This time of year is my favorite for representational fabric painting. With my love of nature there is simply so much around me begging my brushes to mimic it. Normally I am teaching classes but since I have not opened up my studio for that yet, I thought you might enjoy a simple tutorial here.… Continue reading Painting fabric tutorial; autumn apples
I’ve been enjoying that in-between feeling where the last blossoms of spring are falling and the snorts of hot air are pushing the new plantings towards the sky. Nights are sometimes still cool here and the unpredictable New England climate makes my mind wander into centuries past when creativity here was necessity to thrive. It’s… Continue reading Sliding into summer; creative projects
My studio was a cheery place this last month in December; the snow piled up outside while gardens grew inside. Inspired by my previous abstracted-nature works, my client Heather Brountas commissioned me to create a painted and quilted textile art work to grace the wall behind her Portsmouth office desk. So I painted flowers and… Continue reading Flowers in the snow; new artwork
Its fall and the gardens are winding down here at my country home and studio. This time of year is always settling to me as though the plants and I have run a long, hot race through summer and now we can rest on our laurels. Artistic inspiration always comes. Here is what I am thinking...… Continue reading Change of season creative inspirations
"How long did it take you to make that?" is the question most often asked. The honest answer? Weeks. And months. To create something original in stitched fabric - without a pattern, without a super clear direction - it does take a very long time as the piece builds upon itself before one's very eyes. It's… Continue reading The making of an art quilt
When I first moved from California to this state of New Hampshire, I was utterly startled the first time I saw the changing color of leaves in the fall. Photos I had seen of them seemed "enhanced" but here they were in real life just as brilliant and as saturated as those surrealistic photos!… Continue reading Painting fabric; autumn leaves
This sweet little leaf was picked up on my road, a harbinger, for sure, of the ne’er too soon onslaught of vivid botanical color and the excitement that comes along with it in Autumn. I can hardly wait. The reds, oranges and golds of fall are all the long wave-length colors so they literally touch us… Continue reading Harbingers
It is wonderful when it happens; that day uninterrupted, when ideas bubble up, thoughts are finished and we get the feeling of completed satisfaction when it is done. I had two days like that this week in the studio. The end of summer. Pure bliss. One of the greatest gifts we can give ourselves is… Continue reading A day in the studio; the gift of time
Painting has always been a sensual pleasure for me my entire life. My first experience using it was when my father taught me how paint woodwork, cutting in carefully at the edges, a straight line between one hue and another, then smoothing that buttery medium along the grain of the wood. Instant gratification. Years later… Continue reading Painting fabric in the sand