Framing Art without Breaking the Bank
A room without art is no better than a cell. Worse, actually, because even prisoners, like Betsy Ten Boom in The Hiding Place decorated her Nazi prison cell with scarves from her suitcase. We press ourselves into the things around us. And everything on our walls tells us and our friends something about us. No […]
New Paintings for a New Gallery in Bedford, NH
One of my favorite Day of Rest activities is reading poetry. One day to read a line, take a sip of tea and then look out the window for five minutes. Ahh, yes, this is the life. Once a week my family and I practiced this resting, each in our own way. So, I was […]
Announcing a New Card Collection
I remember the first time I purchased an original painting. If you’ve been to an art museum, you know the difference. The paint and paper, the colors themselves glow in a way a print cannot. Even the pictures I take of my art, even professional photographs do not capture the way the paintings burn with color […]
From the Robert Frost Farm … to the Maine Coast
I’ve read Robert Frost’s poems and found my favorites, but moving to New Hampshire, I began reading him in earnest. A favorite line from his long poem “New Hampshire” for you, She’s one of the two best states in the Union. Vermont’s the other. And the two have been Yokefellows in the sap yoke from […]
Ready for Summer
As I shared last time, I’ve decided to stop writing about friendship to make more room to paint. You can still visit my friendship series right here. Having more time to paint has been both interesting and rewarding! Last week I got out to paint the sunshine twice. Here I set up by the Congregational […]
The Final Post on Friendship
I have been criss-crossing the state of New Hampshire to hang my paintings in new shops and galleries. This is a good problem, but the downside is that I have little time to write. This means that this month will be my last formal installment of friendship posts. Come June, I will still write updates, […]
Back Porch Conversations
When Dale and I first met, he was dating a woman in Canada and I was engaged to marry a guy in Virginia. Nevertheless, we found ourselves easy conversationalists despite our prejudices. Mine: 26?! Golly, he’s old. His: Her poor fiancé! We were thrown together over lunch to meet and talk, just an afternoon. Or so we thought. […]
How Beauty Made Me Sober
When I was in kindergarten, I remember seeing the janitor carrying a bundle of day old balloons. They didn’t look old to me at the time or my classmates. The entire class was lined up watching those balloons. In the janitor’s eyes, these balloons probably meant trash. But he must have seen the light in my eyes […]
Painting Eden
I met Robin Turnipseed on Instagram. Well, that was our official meeting. Robin had been part of my audience for years. I just didn’t know it. From her early days, Robin knew about spiritual manipulation, legalism and control. Something I’ve also survived, hearing God used as the “heavy” to enforce unnecessary, inhumane rules. God’s name […]
When Triathletes Commission a Painting
August is a month of pilgrimage for Americans. It’s the month we return to our holidays of choice, the special places we feel most alive or inspired to be free. August is when we return to places that nourish us, even if that’s just gardening at home. We enjoy that collective breath before the rush […]
