Now I'm an architect!

I changed one or two architectural features of this inn in New Hampshire in the service of the painting — the original architect is long gone so he won't care. Pastel on paper, approximately 15" x 13". I'm so happy to have some time in the studio, despite the hectic seasonal activities!

New Pastel work "Red Awning"

New pastel on paper for sale

9 x 14

$375 

Holiday Open Studio this weekend!

Please plan to stop in!

Prepping for Holiday Open Studio

In between chopping onion and celery, and other kitchen tasks, I've been sneaking out to the studio to cut glass, drill holes, hang new work, and otherwise prep for my upcoming Holiday Open Studio, DECEMBER 6 & 7, 11 — 4.

Along with my own work, there will be some fabulous pottery by my friend Karen Borg.
Please plan to stop by if you're in the area. In addition to original artworks, prints and my 2015 desk calendars, there will be chocolate chip cookies made from scratch, and other goodies.
In the meantime, have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

"Wave II", Pastel on paper, 6" x 8".  $125 framed.
S O L D

Eastie!

A few months ago we celebrated a family birthday in what some might consider the rough-and-tumble side of town. Belle Isle, on Winthrop's waterfront, offers one of New England's finest lobster rolls in a casual, fun atmosphere reminiscent of the Southland's famed fish camps. En route to the festivities I spotted this neglected but colorful red and blue storefront, sporting a yellow hydrant to complete the primary-color triad.
"On Bennington Street", 9" x 12", oil on canvas.

Digital mornings

Some years, it's hard to adjust to the end of Daylight Saving Time, so I find myself having the first cup of coffee at the late hour of 7:30 or so. It's cold out there, so I delay the inevitable and don't venture out to the studio until I'm fortified enough to withstand the 50-ft hike.
Here's a little digital piece I did on the iPad the other day, my way of warming up the creative engine in the morning. 

Baby's Breath, digital painting on iPad

In Recovery

Whew! Last week's open studio event was successful and exhausting. I'm starting to recover and to put the studio back in order. Yesterday, I started two paintings, after warming up with a cup of coffee and my iPad at the kitchen table. Here's the result of the iPad effort. "Interior With Laundry Room. "

Open Studio Next Weekend!

I'm gearing up for the 10th Annual Acton Open Studio event next Saturday and Sunday, October 18 & 19, 12 — 5PM.
Here's a 16" x 16" oil of the side of my barn-turned-garage.

"Wired", Oil on museum-grade wood panel, 16" x 16"

This painting now showing at New Habitat Partners LLC, 537 Mass. Ave., West Acton, MA

November 2014 — January 2015

Mysterious Aquinnah

Who goes to Martha's Vineyard and comes home with images like this? Here's another painting, in progress, from our recent vacation on the island. Since it was after Labor Day, this Visitor's Center in Aquinnah was closed. Thus, I was able to only see into the tiny house through the screen door. This forced me to either go back another time, or take a giant leap into mystery and abstraction. This piece is almost finished. Oil on wood panel.

Extending Summer

My summer vacations are over for this year, and Real Life has begun again. Teaching school takes a lot of time but I am managing to squeeze in a little weekend time in the studio. Here's a pastel I finished this morning, from a house we stayed in, on Martha's Vineyard.

"Sunlight and Shower", pastel, 10" x 16"
S O L D

Harvest Season

Though I'm not too fond of what follows it, I do love Fall, and look forward to its arrival in just a few weeks. Cooler temperatures allow for more activity — not that I've had an idle summer, by any means!
I've spent time this year in Florida, Georgia, Santorini, Cape Cod, Maine, and Plum Island. I've taken hundreds of reference photos that will come in handy when I'm hibernating in the studio this winter. Here's one, in progress, from sunny Santorini, Greece. Oil on wood panel.

Something from something else

I just changed the photos on my Facebook page. The little profile picture is the subject of today's blog. After a recent visit to the historic canals in Lowell, MA and the mills that have long stood beside the waterways, I made an oil painting of a scene there that caught my eye.

Later, after taking a casual photo of that painting and trying to figure out what I liked and didn't like about the way it turned out, I cropped out this small section from the lower right-hand corner of the painting (using Photoshop). If it were on canvas and not a cradled wood panel, I'd probably get out the scissors and toss all but this little piece.

What I WILL do, is use this as as a starting point for a completely new painting. Ahhh, the never-ending journey of an artist!

The corner:

The whole painting (unfinished here):

The New Garage

When I was young and single, I moved into a cute apartment in Boston that included the requisite studio space, AND a garage for my Honda Civic! I think I paid around $250 a month for these luxurious digs. This was the only garage I ever had until a couple of years ago, when my husband of 30+ years saw my frustration at having to scrape the ice & snow off my car day after day, all winter. Not wanting to suffer the embarrassment and loneliness of my moving to a warmer climate without him, he transformed one of our barns into a single-car garage for me. I see and appreciate it daily from my studio. Here's this afternoon's quick sketch, in pastel.

Garage, Late Afternoon. 5" x 6"

A New Pastel from Santorini

Here's a pastel of a little outdoor cafe in the town of Oia, Santorini. What a place to watch the sun set over the sea! Most places aren't this colorful — a lot of buildings are whitewashed, just like in the pictures you see. But this setup caught my eye and I knew it would turn into a painting or two.
Chairs in Oia, pastel on paper, 12 x 12. Contact me for pricing.

Two on Exhibit

Opening this Sunday, 2-4 PM. "Shelter", a juried group exhibit at Post Office Gallery, 38 Shore Rd (Rt. 6A), No. Truro, MA. I'll be there, and hope to see you! Here's one of my two paintings. 

Greece

Well, I'm off to the volcanic island of Santorini for a few days. Haven't been back in 16 years. Last time, the World Cup was going on and the US was in it, and we were the only ones around who gave a hoot. 

Probably, a painting or two will materialize from this trip. Such a beautiful place!

Stone Bridge

This morning I painted a stone bridge in Andover, MA, as part of a Wet Paint event. The works will be auctioned off at a gala event next Friday, June 6, 2014. Here's my pastel, 16" x 20, framed (frame not shown). For info on the auction: essexartcenter.org

S O L D !

Numbers Game

I've never been much of a numbers person, it's just not my strong suit.

This oil of a Paris door will be finished once I paint in the number on the blue rectangle. That number will also be the title of the painting.

Number __ 

© Catherine F Meeks

Urban Sketching

I decided to leave my comfort zone and try something new. So I joined the Boston Urban Sketching Meetup Group and met some great artists in front of the State House. Despite the continuous parade of tour buses, Duck boats,  trolley tours, and camera-toting visitors and parents of graduating college students, we managed to get some sketching done on this glorious Sunday afternoon.
Here's the quickie I painted.

Upcoming events

Well, I've scheduled enough events to justify printing a postcard. There may be more, but for now this is my summer schedule. All on the East Coast, and beginning with a paint out on May 31 to benefit the Essex Art Center in Lawrence, MA.

Retreat, #4, a new oil painting

Though this may look familiar to some of my followers, it is a new painting. Oil on panel, 12" x 12", which is HUGE for me! Inching up to larger sizes and finding it more fun than expected!

On the Block

This pastel, "Six Tuscan Trees", has been accepted in to the 2014 WGBH Fine Art Auction.
9 x 11, pastel on paper, framed.

A Pastel and a Departure

Several weeks ago I heard Tuscany calling me again. Not able to travel there at this time, I went to the easel instead, and made a few paintings. Here's one that's generated a lot of comments. In a way, it's informed by my love for illustration — but it was also very liberating to just let the painting paint itself!

Paris side door

Untitled as yet, this 9 x 12 oil depicts a street scene in Paris.

As usual, the sunlight makes the scene.

Montepulciano

Here's a pastel I've been working on this week. Since it's been snowing every day, or so it seems, I'm eternally grateful to the gentlemen who clear a path through the (now thigh-deep) snow to my studio.
Pastel on paper, 9 x 13.

"Retreat #3" — a memory of summer

This little interior scene, from my summer retreat on the outer reaches of Cape Cod, is now becoming a series. This is the third time I've painted it, and there will be at least two more in the near future. A much-needed break from the relentless snow and bitter cold of this winter.

"Retreat #3", Pastel on paper, 7.5" x 9".

Available

Signed, limited edition print available

This signed giclée print is reproduced with archival inks on acid-free paper. Painted in pastel in a painterly Impressionist style, the scene depicted has long been a favorite of my collectors.

Print will NOT show copyright mark.

Image size: approximately 9" x 10.5".

Click to Bid

Work in Progress

It's Saturday, so I'm giving myself a very short break from the academic whirl. Here's an oil to be finished soon and added to my series on Doors, Windows and Portals.

Deep Freeze

As the Spring semester begins at school, I'll have a little less time to paint, but I hope to complete several pieces in the next couple of months. Here's a pastel on paper, "Winter Sunset", approx. 9 x 9.

Available for purchase.

©Catherine F. Meeks