Yay! It's finally finished, and printed, and colored and ready to sell. My new Cape Cod Treasure map measures 18"x24" and can be hand colored or just sold as a black and white map.
This morning was soooo beautiful I just had to skip work for a while and go for a walk on the beach. I walked from where this photo was taken all the way to where you can see the land end. It was about 72 degrees, sunny and perfectly calm. By the way, that's not ice, it's foam. The tide was really high and I think the dry, airy sand makes the water foam (not sure though). 
I also saw a hawk on the dune side of the beach! He swooped down and landed on a pine tree- then just sat there looking down at me for the longest time. I love seeing wild things! Anyway, I did remember to bring along a plastic bag for picking up rocks (and the occasional trash) along the beach. The bag was pretty heavy by the time I got to my car.  |
| http://stores.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist |
The Police K-9 Unit ride was yesterday. It went from Dennis to Provincetown- complete with police escorts all the way. There were a lot of bikes even though the weather started out as really 'iffy'. I didn't bring my camera because I couldn't run the risk of it getting wet, but Brenda, a friend of mine posted these pics on Facebook. 
She happened to be riding on the back of a bike and was able to snap them off as we rode. Luckily we never got a drop of rain on us and it got even nicer as the day progressed. All the exits were closed for us on Route 6 and we got to go through all the stop lights so that was a lot of fun. 
Cops from all over the Cape escorted us. The one on the left is from Dennis.
Ahhh this is my favorite view - coming over the hill when you can see all of Provincetown. (It's even better when it's not foggy) I think I always breathe a happy sigh when I get to this spot. 
All the bikes lined up on the pier. It was kind of fun to see what everyone was riding. Most were Harley's, with their more 'mature' riders. (like me- only I don't happen to own a Harley). Once we got to Ptown we had hamburgers and hot dogs at the end of the pier. 
Look what I found on Facebook! My new friend Carla saw this while driving in Barnstable Ma. (a couple of towns over from me). It's pretty amazing!
Angels will very often show themselves in clouds. All you have to do is keep your eyes to the sky. I see them a lot (because I'm constantly day dreaming) and every once in a while I happen to have my camera handy. Thanks for the great shot Carla!!
Outside they have a display of some cannons that were raised from the actual ship. They were so encrusted with stuff that they were hardly recognizable. 
I have the Whydah treasure on my new Cape Cod Treasure Map- which is all finished!! I just have to get it to the printers and then I will list it for sale. 
On Sept. 16th I turned the big 5-0. It's hard to believe that all those years just flew by and now I'm half way through my life. (Yes, I plan to live to at least 100). Maybe I should be thinking of it as the beginning of the 2nd half of my life and I'm just a baby again. Yes, I think I like that idea better. Well, in our family tradition, the women have a birthday-tea party and this was no different. 
My lamby, Brielle, came home just for the occasion. Her presence was definitely my birthday present! So we ladies had tea and my mother and sister thought I needed a Keruig coffee maker because I have just recently started drinking coffee. I was resistant about the expensive piece of machinery at first, but now that I've used it a few times, I really like it! 
The day after my birthday we celebrated Quince AND Qena's birthdays (18 &24th). My sister, Grethe had the whole family over for cake and a fire pit. 
Qena (now 2years old) was adorable as usual. (My baby Sienna (16) was too) |
| My 2nd cousin Lauren and Qena roasting marshmallows |
Quince (7) was out of his mind with excitement over - I don't even know what they were-some new toys. That goes to show how old I am! He and Qena had a wonderful birthday party. It was kind of a birthday weekend for all of us. Personally, I'm glad it's over, except for the fact that now I AM officially 50. 
Provincetown was alive with the Regatta this past weekend. I rode my motorcycle up there (again!) to see it and take lots of reference photos for future paintings. The sailboats were pretty far out there and my little camera was pushed to it's limits to get any kind of clear shots. 
I got a lot of pictures of this sailboat with the Black Dog flag. It was a pretty boat- one that may show up in some of my paintings. Here it is going around Long Point- which is the very tip of Cape Cod. This is Long Point Lighthouse. 
I love watching the ships pass each other. It's quite a sight, and the wind was blowing pretty hard so they were really moving. I was standing at the end of the pier taking this photo. They were also having an antique car show there. It seemed like there were only a handful of spectators for the boat race, the rest were there for the cars and food. 
But there was this little ferry boat that kept getting in all of my photo's. Maybe that's where all the spectators were- and they were probably getting much better photo's than I was. 
I have been really busy this week. Half of my time has been devoted to left brain art, the other to right brain art. This nautical chart of Boston Harbor is one of those things that I just have to color without any creativity. I really have to settle down and block off that creative flow when I paint the maps and charts. Luckily, it gives me time to listen to my Blogtalk or Hayhouse radio shows (usually learning something). http://www.hayhouseradio.com/index.php
When painting my angels however, I have to shut down my brain and totally go with my intuition! It's not always an easy task to switch from one to the other. This is a commissioned angel of a very sweet woman all the way in Australia! 
Provincetown last weekend was crazy as usual. I rode up there again on my motorcycle then sat on the benches in the center of town to be entertained. I saw these guys all dressed in white- all looking fresh as a daisy. (click to enlarge)
I sat right next to this gentleman who was leisurely making balloon animals and giving them away -for tips. In a slow moment he pulled out a wad of cash (his tips) and started counting it. I couldn't help myself; I counted right along with him. He had made approx. $50 and it was only 12:30pm! Now I'm thinking, maybe I should learn how to make balloon animals?! 
On the way home I took my favorite winding roads from Truro into Welfleet Harbor and snapped off a couple of photo's. 
What a great day! Now that it's Sept. 7th there won't be too many more great riding days here on the Cape, so every chance I get, I will be riding!  |
| Me and my girls, Sienna and Brielle |
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| Leon and Mom (Avis) |
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| Sister Grethe in the foreground, brother Treg directly behind her |
My girls had a great time goofing around and seeing (most of) their cousins. Oh, and of course, eating all the yummy food. 
There's my happy girl! I took her back to college today. I miss her already! |
| Pretty much the whole gang |
For the past couple of weeks I've been working on this treasure map of Cape Cod. It's almost finished. You will notice that I've put Great White sharks around Chatham, since there are so many there these days, I've also put a treasure chest off of Welfleet where the Whydah is located. The Whydah is a pirate ship that went down loaded with treasure. I've also put all the lighthouses on Cape Cod and the Islands on the map. I'm not sure if I will put more of them towards Boston yet.... |
| Bass River Windmill 11"x14" |
