A Cape Cod Artist

Stage Harbor Lighthouse, Chatham

2012-02-08T12:30:00.000-05:00

I was in Chatham the other day and snapped off a few photo's. This is the landing down by Harding's Beach. What usually is a bustling harbor, was very quiet, and yet there were still boats tied up and being used year round (mostly oyster men/clam diggers and fishermen).

It was a beautiful day and the sun was sparkling on the water. I had brought lunch since is was going to be a long day (made myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich) and for a treat, I bought myself a Dunkin Donuts coffee. Ok, AND a donut.

This is Stage Harbor Lighthouse, which I believe, is a private residence now. You can click on the photo for a larger view. It's a really nice walk from Harding's Beach out to the lighthouse, but maybe not in the winter on a windy day.

BrydenArt.com

2012-02-05T22:43:00.000-05:00

Brielle just helped me revamp my website! It think it looks sooo much better. Check it out:
http://www.brydenart.com/

We totally redid the whole thing in one day- something that would have taken me many days to complete. It was so good to have some help! I love my lamby. I don't know what got into her, but she ALSO helped me put all my customers into an excel spread sheet. I got so much work done this weekend it's unbelievable.
Yay!!!

Cultural Center Yarmouth, MA

2012-02-02T10:37:00.000-05:00

Bass River Bridge looking towards Yarmouth, MA.

Although it's February, the white on the bridge is NOT ice- it hasn't been cold enough for here yet! (today it's hovering a little below 50 when it should be around 20 degrees) And for those of you who are not familiar with our landscape, that is NOT a real lighthouse. It is attached to an inn. But hey, it looks nice in this photo!

This is where I was taking the photo from. Right across the bridge is the Cultural Center- a place that has lots of activities for artists and performers all year long, even Salsa dancing! I went there last Friday eve for the Community Connections art show opening. I was invited by Beth (I take care of her) and her mom.

Here she is in front of some work she did. They painted little skulls (I wonder where they got those?!) and made all kinds of collages etc.. What a fun job that art director has! I wish I was doing that when I worked there. The Cultural Center was packed because they do several show openings at the same time. I even ran into my sister, Odin! She's also an artist and was there for another show.

Beth and her mom, Gail

We all had a nice time. I guess you could say it was a big night out.

Sea Turtle Painting

2012-01-30T10:08:00.000-05:00

24"x36"

At last! My beautiful turtle is finished! It was a very long process with this one. I started it before Christmas as a gift for Brielle (since she will be saving the turtles in Costa Rica this summer! ) Somehow I just got stuck and the inspiration ran out. Then all of a sudden about a week ago it came back and in a few days it was finished.

I started with no coral on the bottom- which I kind of liked- plain and simple, but Brielle wanted the coral to match her bed spread so....

I added a 'smidgen'...still not good enough.

Finally I just went all out. Oh and I snuck in a few hearts just because it was for my daughter and I wanted it to be a reminder of how much I love her and that she's always in my heart.

*I have another turtle on my website It's a little smaller, for anyone who is interested in turtle paintings...

www.brydenart.com

Angels and MSPCA

2012-01-24T20:39:00.000-05:00

This past week I got a lot of painting done. Here are just some of the paintings that I did.They are listed on Ebay as 'buy it now' or 'make an offer' (!) and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the MSPCA. How does it get any better than that? My angels work awfully hard!

Hope you check them out.

http://stores.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist

Large Angel Abstract Painting in blue tones

2012-01-21T09:19:00.000-05:00

24"x36" http://stores.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist

I just finished this abstract painting. Can you see the 2 angels in it? The one on the right came into view first- she looks as if she is hovering over something/one then I noticed a second angel on the top left had come in to join her! This painting was really fun to create because I don't usually do abstracts, but I go where the flow leads me. Also, you will notice that this is a huge canvas- compared to the tiny baseball card sized ones I do most of the time. It's fun to do something different!

Cat and Kitten Paintings

2012-01-12T12:48:00.000-05:00

2.5"x3.5" http://stores.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist

It's winter and once again I am painting cats. A lot of cats! Can you blame me? They are so cute and cuddly.

2.5"x3.5" http://stores.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist

Here are a few of my latest little paintings.
I've been doing 2 different styles: one like this, detailed and fine, and the other kind of funky and fun.

My girls keep pestering me to get another cat to keep Kiya company since Simba died, and I would love nothing more than rescuing another kitty at the MSPCA, but.....I think I'm done with having any more animals for the time being.

2.5"x3.5" http://stores.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist

I mean, I rent my house, I'm single, I'd like to be able to travel someday, I'm sick of cleaning the cat box...you know how it goes.

But even so, I still donate regularly to the MSPCA through Ebay, so keep an eye out for auctions that have the little ribbon on them for that and you can help out too.

Beautiful angel paintings to start off 2012

2012-01-10T18:39:00.000-05:00

5"x7" http://stores.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist

Sorry for not blogging sooner. Between Christmas, New Years and then Brielle's 21st birthday on the 7th, it's been a hectic few weeks, not to mention I've been selling more angel paintings than ever! This week I was asked by 2 people to do some larger angels (5x7) so I did. Here is one of them (above). I like doing the large ones because I can play with the background.

2.5"x3.5" art card http://stores.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist

I absolutely LOVE this one! It came through me so fast and so pure- like just a few strokes and it was finished. How beautiful! (In case you don't know, I channel the angels- they come through me). In fact, I'm not a very good people painter at all so it's probably a good thing! lol

2.5"x3.5" art card http://stores.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist

This is another one of my favorites that I painted this week. I don't get a lot of men/boy angels coming through, so when I do I'm always excited. And the colors that I was 'directed' to use were so soft and subtle (not any colors that I normally use) so it was really neat. I love to see how the angels present themselves. I have so much fun doing what I do! I feel like I find 'treasure' every time I pick up the paint brush!

Sea Street Beach Break

2011-12-29T10:02:00.000-05:00

Sunset from Sea Street Beach in Dennisport, Ma. (Cape Cod)

It had been a very busy day- a lot of running around and getting things done with my oldest daughter, Brielle, when all of a sudden she said- let's go to the beach! I thought that was really neat that she thought of just dropping everything for a moment and taking a break to see the water and the sky. (Luckily, on Cape Cod the beach is only 5 or 10 minutes away in any direction!) So we veered off to a little beach in Dennisport where the sun was about to set. In two minutes we felt renewed and revived, and recharged.

Sometimes we get so wound up and stressed out with our daily 'stuff' that we need to stop a moment - snap out of it almost- and refocus on what is REALLY important- like being grateful for the earth and the sky and all the beauty of nature around us. Being in gratitude is one of the closest states to being one with the All. Once you're in that 'zone' everything realigns and the energy can flow freely again. How does it get any better than that?!

Summer on Cape Cod

2011-12-27T21:14:00.000-05:00

I was just going through some photo's that never quite got on my blog this summer. I know it's a little late, but here they are anyway! I love this one of the blimp. We don't see too many of them around here so it was kind of neat. (Sesuit Harbor Dennis Ma. )

This one is in Truro at Pamet Harbor. What a beautiful spot. I try to stop by there whenever I'm headed to Provincetown.

Here's another one of Sesuit Harbor as the sun was getting low in the western sky. You can always find a Boston Whaler in the mix of sailboats and fishing boats mulling around the harbor. If I ever had a boat that's what I would want...just something to tool around on, but now that I think about it, my kayak works just as well for that. There's just something so serene about being on the water.
Well, that's all I have for right now. I have so many photo's for painting references and some just for fun. I need to really go through them all and clean out. I have a 6 year old computer that has very limited memory so the photo's always gum it up. There's always something to do...never an empty moment.

Dec. 25, 2011

2011-12-25T22:59:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas from my family to yours!

We had this photo taken at the Cape Codder hotel in Hyannis. After going to the mall for some last minute shopping on Friday night we weren't quite ready to go home so we stopped off at the Cape Codder to see the lights. Parents take their little kids there to get in the Christmas spirit because they have a (semi) big light show in their court yard. Well, I took my kids AND their boyfriends- so what if they are in their 20's and teens!

Angel Rocks that Sparkle

2011-12-20T18:35:00.000-05:00

I've been at it again. I love those sparkles, especially around the holiday season! I think I get that from my mother. She loves things that sparkle, shine and -animal prints. Yes, you know the type- very outgoing and a little bit over the top. I don't go quite that far, in fact, personality wise I'm just the opposite but it's funny, I get all happy when I look at my latest 'batch' of Pocket Angels because they are so sparkly.

Maybe it's from lack of sparkly things on my fingers. Hmmmm

Anyway.... Here's a few of my Cape Cod painted rock angels.

All of the Pocket Angels are around the size of a quarter. It takes a teeny tiny brush and a steady hand to paint them, especially since the surface isn't flat or perfectly smooth. But, I love a good challenge.

These are all on my Ebay Store right now. If you are reading this in the future you will probably find others like them there. http://stores.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist

Wishing you many blessings!

Snow, Angel, Hydrangea paintings

2011-12-12T12:11:00.000-05:00

Just finished up a few new paintings. I have been enjoying painting snow covered landscapes lately so I thought I'd see how I'd do on a bigger canvas. (Bigger than my miniature aceo's of 2.5"x3.5") So here is an 8"x10"on wrapped canvas. I like how it came out. It's like the first few hours after a heavy snow, when the sky clears up and everything looks like it has been kissed by purity. I'm not sure if there's a market for winter paintings, but what the heck. I have to paint what I feeeeeel like painting when I feel like painting it or else I'll stop the flow.

Here's another different painting I did last night. I just enjoyed having all these weird things come through and I didn't want to stop the flow- so here it is. :) I feel like my angel paintings are morphing into....what- I don't know. I'm excited to see what else comes through in the coming months, and how they will evolve.

And last but not least, I painted this for a dear friend of mine who lives in Michigan. Her husband's ancestors lived in the same house that mine did in Saginaw MI. and that's how we met-via email. Since then she actually did my genealogical history on that side of the family (for free no less!) going way back- further than I've ever gotten because my grandmother was adopted at birth. We met for the first time this summer when she came out here to visit a relative and to drop off photo albums of my long lost family(!!). She and her husband are just the nicest people ever and I've truly been blessed in getting to know them.

Strange Coincidence

2011-12-11T22:07:00.001-05:00

The other day I did this little painting and I was in the middle of listing it on Ebay when I put it down for a second on a book I had on my desk. The book just happened to be a really good book (by psychic Echo Bodine) that one of my customers had sent to me. (I have the best customers!) I had just finished reading it and had it on my desk so I could discuss it with her.

(I'll bet you're wondering where this story is going)

Ok, here is where I put the painting. Do you notice that the colors are exactly the same?!! It was the weirdest thing to see this. Note: I rarely ever use that really black purple color, but here it is! What made me use that color? Why does my painting match the book? Is the Universe trying to tell me something here? Hmmmmm Very interesting.

Snow covered trees

2011-12-07T21:57:00.000-05:00

I spent a day of a painting snow covered trees on pink mat board. It was really fun to see how I could make the pink show through. I really like how they all came out (but the photo's weren't as nice as the actual paintings). You can see the others on Ebay right now.

http://stores.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist

New Stuff

2011-12-03T13:34:00.001-05:00

Here are some random photo's of things I've done recently. This is a little wooden box. The colors in real life are much more 'glowing'. Photo's just aren't capturing that effect unfortunately.

Hydrangea filled Nantucket Basket ACEO (miniature painting) I always have fun painting these!

And yet another little wooden box that says: Follow your heart. Words that I try to live by.

Here's a link to my Ebay store where you can find these;

http://stores.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-28T16:14:00.001-05:00

Me and Brielle

Thanksgiving this year was held at my mom's again. This year there were 28 people squeezed into her house! The family is growing because all most of her grandchildren have reached the age where they bring their boyfriends or girlfriends. Of course, my sister, Odin and I have reached the age where we are once again alone, so it almost evens out. lol

My mom, Grethe (back) Me and Odin (my sisters)

We all had a good time. I don't really see Odin that much or my brother so it was nice catching up with them.

This is my nephew Shaydon, who is only in 10th grade. He's 6 foot something along with 4 out of 5 of his brothers. The youngest, Fray is only 9 so he has a few years to go. These are Odin's boys.

Grethe and Odin and Quince *(Grethe's son)

My brother Treg, came down from Provincetown with his wife and 2 boys.

My lovely girls, Sienna(16) and Brielle (20)

Odin, Me and goofy Brielle

Brielle just left to go back to college. :( boo hoo. I miss her already. She had a ball cooking up a storm. She even made a whole other Thanksgiving dinner and invited her dad, her boyfriend and Sienna's boyfriend (and of course Sienna and I- it was at my house). It was great. Then today she made turkey soup with the left overs. Yum! I'm so glad someone in this house likes to cook!

Shimmering Angel paintings

2011-11-20T19:46:00.000-05:00

Here are some new angel paintings that I just listed on Ebay. Check out this one that just 'appeared' on the canvas. She seems to be meditating! I thought that was so cool. This one has a touch of gold shimmer and the word LOVE on it.

http://stores.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist

Gold shimmer and HOPE.

Yes, I was loving the gold shimmer paint. It just seems to me that the my angels need to be illuminated in anyway they can. When I visualize them, they are shimmering and glowing with the most beautiful radiant light - I mean, really- you can't even put that kind of light on canvas.

http://stores.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist

Snowmen Season!

2011-11-17T18:28:00.000-05:00

I have officially begun painting snowmen! It's still a bit warm here to be in the mood, (it hit 65 degrees here on Cape Cod last week) but I'm pretending the rain outside is snow and painting them anyway.

I'm having so much fun. I really love painting snowmen. I can give them any kind of character I want.

But for the most part they are - to me- little light filled beings, glowing and radiating love to all around them.

Facebook link, I think...

2011-11-09T10:50:00.000-05:00

I'm just trying something out. I haven't totally figured out Facebook yet and I'm floundering without my kids help (but they are pretty wrapped up in their own lives at this point), so.. I'm going to add a link that should take you to my angel paintings page. If you want you can "like" it, or 'like' my main page.
Let's see if this works!
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.208065159204668.58224.119493164728535&type=1&l=231f65fc65

Aura Reading

2011-11-08T21:39:00.000-05:00

Here's a Kirlian photograph of my aura! The camera used to take it cost $10,000! It senses energy fields around the body. Last week my mom had an 'Aura Party' and everyone got their aura read. Can you see my face in the big cloud of color? Apparently, my aura says that I'm creative, (all the orange over my head) and I was showing some worry (the dark red on my left side)- which was true because it was the day before Simby died, and I wasn't sure if he would be alive when I got home. The green thing on my right side is my spirit guide- saying something in my ear! My throat and heart chakras are open and you can see that my heart chakra is green. The aura reader (Carolyn Miller, from Provincetown) said that the heart chakra is actually green, but she rarely sees it photographed as green. Oh, and the left side is my past, the right side is my future, and since they are different that means I'm going through a period of change. That's truer than true. So anyway, those were some of the main points of my aura reading. It was a lot of fun and there were about 14 people who also had theirs read- 2 of them were my mom and sister. Interestingly enough, theirs looked a lot like mine- with the big orange creativity field, but most of the other peoples ended up being blue and purple! My mom and sister ARE very creative, so I can see that. It runs in my family.

So anyway....it was a fun night and I would like to see what Brielle and Sienna's auras read. It would make a good Christmas present....

2011-11-02T16:19:00.001-04:00

It's been a few days since I my beloved Simba crossed over. It still feels weird at my house - his little presence was bigger than I knew. I am missing him a lot, especially at night when he's not snuggled up at the foot of my bed.

So I thought I'd gather up some angels and place them next to my last entry on this blog. What else could possibly follow the news of his passing, but some beautiful healing angels.

I paint them and sell them so they will heal and give others comfort, but right now, they are giving me comfort and healing. (I'm glad I have a lot of them around my house)

Simba's crossing

2011-10-30T17:49:00.002-04:00

In case you're wondering why it's been such a tough week for me, well, for one thing my Simba is leaving us. He's been in the process of shutting down all week but still is hanging on by a thread. He was diagnosed with Kidney disease about 1 1/2 years ago and has been fine mostly but now it's time. I sitting here with him as he fades in and out but always responds to the touch of my hand. I keep touching his face letting him know Mommy's right here, and sending him healing energy. (healing can come in the form of dying too) He had one day of being violently sick and I seriously gave thought to putting him to sleep; something I never ever wanted to have to do- but now I can see why one would do it. It was torture to watch him suffer. Luckily, the next day he stopped being sick and I'm just hoping that now he'll find his own way to cross over peacefully. He's always been very slow at making decisions and this seems to be no different for him. It's been days since I thought he'd go but he's still here. I keep looking at the little yellow fleece blanket on him to see if it's still rising and falling. I've gotten the message SEVERAL times this week from my angels/guides to 'be patient, everything comes in it's perfect timing' and that, this is HIS crossing, not mine so I need to stop wanting him to do it quickly for my own selfish reasons of ME not wanting to suffer this emotional heartache.

Isn't death strange? On one hand, it's a beautiful crossing into another dimension, just a transformation of energy, like a caterpillar into a butterfly, but on the other hand, there can be such suffering, not only for the person/animal itself, but for those around them that love them. I keep trying to see the beauty in it, and not get lost in the emotional sorrow but it's been really tough. I know it won't be long now.

About an hour later......Simba just crossed over. He had his head in my hand and it was peaceful. In fact it couldn't have been any better a crossing. Thank you Simmy. About a minute before he died, I saw a vision of him floating over us, so I knew it was going to be soon. He looked happy, whole and content. It was his message to me that he's fine. I know he is. A sense of relief has come over me- like I know he is finally free. (of course, I'm bawling my eyes out as I write all this!)

Sparkles on everything!

2011-10-24T18:39:00.002-04:00

This past week has been a week of highs and lows. I don't know if that has anything to do with the fact that I've been on a creative streak or not, but I've been having a ball branching out and working with all kinds of different things.

As you can see, I'm getting in the mood for Christmas because I broke out the glitter. I just felt like I needed to see some sparkles. Maybe it's because I wasn't feeling too sparkly.

I went crazy one day and pretty much sparkled everything in my path. It was fun! You can see some of my items on Ebay right now: http://stores.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist

I not only added glitter, but I added yarn as another element to my work. Once in a while I just have to break out of my rut and let loose! I love to do more crafty things around Christmas. I wish I had more time to indulge, but.....

Blessing Boxes

2011-10-20T20:39:00.000-04:00

3.5"x3.5"x2" wooden box

I have been painting like crazy- on canvases, and even on boxes! Here are a couple of my recent works and a link to where you can find them.

http://stores.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist

http://www.etsy.com/listing/84014579/hand-painted-wooden-blessing-box-with

These little boxes come with a 'Pocket Angel' (rock) already in them . I made them with my own personal Blessing Box in mind. I keep pieces of paper in mine with names of people who need blessings and or healings of some sort. It's a container of hope, possibilities and light!

Cape Cod Collage/map

2011-10-15T09:36:00.000-04:00

Here's another Cape Cod "map" for my latest series. This one is a collage over a painting. It's kind of whimsical and fun.

The leaves are starting to fall, but we haven't really had a fall. Does that make any sense? Have a happy day!

Cape Cod Map Painting

2011-10-12T12:35:00.000-04:00

Here's my latest 'map'. Scroll down to see how it came about.

It went from this........

To this!

Seeing that I have to have about 8 completed 'maps' for an upcoming show in about 2 weeks and it takes about a month to complete ONE, I had to improvise a little. I added a map onto one of my paintings! It's actually not as bold as it looks in this photo- it's a little softer and really blends in with the painting so you can barely see it. It's kind of a neat effect I think and I'm pleased about how it turned out.

Cape Cod Houses

2011-10-11T10:47:00.000-04:00

http://stores.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist

I just finished these 3 miniature paintings; listed on Ebay right now. (2.5"x3.5") When I look at them I realize that Cape Cod does have beautiful quaint, rose covered cottages and architecture that other parts of the world just don't have. Even though my house doesn't look like this, I feel so fortunate to be able to see this beauty every day.

http://stores.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist

Scenes like these are so common around here that sometimes even I tend to take them for granted. When that happens all I need to do is get off the Cape and then I realize just how lucky I am.

It seems like almost everywhere you go you can look beyond rooftops or over white pickett fences and get a peak of the water- whether it may be the Cape Cod Bay, the Atlantic Ocean, Nantucket Sound or various other waterways and marshes along our beautiful coast.
I can't even imagine what it would be like living somewhere that I couldn't see the water every day.

Large Antique Map Collage of Massachusetts

2011-10-10T11:06:00.000-04:00

24"x36"

Here is another 'map' of Massachusetts that I just finished. It's actually a collage. I took a real antique map that was in disrepair, mounted it on a canvas then embellished it with paint and other antique elements.
Just a little something different.

Cape Cod Topographical (kind of) Map

2011-10-07T16:28:00.001-04:00

Here is my finished painting. Scroll down and see how I did it in stages.

Stage #1 laying down the base painting

Stage #2

After I laid the ground work I proceeded to take a permanent marker to make lines in the land and in the ocean- loosely symbolizing some topography. (of course, this is not to scale or exact in any way- it's an artistic interpretation). When putting permanent marker on a painting it will always bleed through the paint- this was the desired effect.

Finished painting 20"x24" wrap around canvas, painted on all sides

Then to take it a step further, I added dimension to the lines by doing some shading. I really like how it came out. I especially like the colors of the water.

This map will be shown at the Cape Cod Package Store- in the wine tasting room/gallery for the month of November (2011). Keep an eye on my blog for more maps that are going in this show.

October Angels

2011-10-04T19:59:00.000-04:00

Here are 2 new angel paintings to start off October. This one is an 8x10 and it looks even better in person. The camera just doesn't seem to pick up all the 'glowy' colors I use. Anyway...It's on Ebay right now. http://stores.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist

http://stores.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist

This is a little one (ACEO- 2.5"x3.5"). She has glitter on her wings and in real life it looks really pretty. Again, the camera doesn't photograph glitter very well. Lately I have been feeling like glittering the wings of the angels. I feel like some of them really just want to sparkle and shine.

2011-10-03T17:54:00.000-04:00

baby grapes

It looks like fall is really here on the Cape. The roads aren't as crowded and people aren't on the beaches like they used to be (except to walk them). I'm loving all that but of course the weather is starting to change too. I can't believe it's already October!

Pretty soon all the boats will be out of the Bay and the cold winds will blow. I don't even want to think about that yet though. The other day while taking a motorcycle ride I rode down Scudder Lane and snapped off these photo's. What a perfect day it was.

Those two guys were rowing out to a boat that was pretty far out there, but I'm sure it was well worth it just to take a sail on this day. You can see the dunes of Sandy Neck Beach in the background.

I was fascinated by the patterns the trees made against the afternoon sunlight so I pulled over and took this picture.

Brielle didn't come home this weekend. Sienna and I (and the cats) miss her. :(

Pirate Treasure Map of Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket

2011-09-29T21:30:00.000-04:00

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.

I'm so happy to have it all done. Now it's on to the next project!

Visit my Etsy store: http://www.etsy.com/listing/82758475/original-hand-colored-treasure-map-of

Or Ebay Store: http://stores.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist

Beautiful Beach Day

2011-09-27T21:47:00.000-04:00

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).

When I was way far away, I looked out at the water and all of a sudden I saw a big fin! At first I thought it was a shark because I had seen 3 sand sharks washed up on the shore already, but then I noticed that the fin looked -or rather- acted more like a flipper- up, down, up, down, and all around.... Then as I watched it pop up again and again I realized it must be a seal playing right under the surface! This kept up for a good 15 minutes until he was way out. It was just enjoying the day like me.

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

Now I can make more Pocket Angels. See, I really WAS working!

Motorcyle ride to benefit the Police K-9 Unit 2011

2011-09-25T10:24:00.000-04:00

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.
You won't see me in this line up because I was at the end of the line up.

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.

It was a really fun ride and I highly recommend it to anyone thinking about doing it next year!

Angels Flying over Barnstable

2011-09-22T11:59:00.000-04:00

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!!

I just read an article about someone's recently deceased relative sending them feathers- in really odd and unexpected places as a sign that they were still around. It was funny because lately I've been finding feathers in odd and unexpected places- like while I was parked in my car, one blew onto my side window right in my face as I was looking out- and even though it was really windy out- it just stayed there- looking at me! lol There was no denying it was a message at that point. I believe that my guardian angels are around me all the time and they are just saying "We're here!"

Nice to know.

The Whydah

2011-09-21T10:11:00.000-04:00

The Whydah was a pirate ship that sunk off of Welfleet here on Cape Cod, leaving a ton of treasure on the bottom of the ocean floor. (see my map below) Here's a great link that tells all about it. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/mission/real-pirates/ax/Real_Pirates_Educators_Guide.pdf

The other day I went in the Whydah gift shop. It was pretty neat. It had all kinds of fun pirate things for kids, books, maps, etc.. 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.

My (50th) Birthday

2011-09-19T22:57:00.001-04:00

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 Regatta 2011

2011-09-11T21:46:00.000-04:00

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.

It was another wonderful day at the tip of Cape Cod, and another awesome motorcycle ride.

Boston Nautical Chart

2011-09-09T20:40:00.001-04:00

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!

2011-09-07T20:31:00.000-04:00

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!

Labor Day Weekend Fun

2011-09-05T21:20:00.000-04:00

Me and my girls, Sienna and Brielle

Big family gathering on Labor Day weekend! It was actually a party for my mom's 74th birthday and her whole family actually attended! (that's a miracle in itself!) We had it at West Dennis Beach but ended up in the parking lot because it was so windy! I got tired of eating my hair and borrowed someones hat. The beach is on one side and the marsh is on the other, so you can imagine how windy that could get!

Leon and Mom (Avis)

Here's the birthday girl -sheltering herself from the wind. I asked her how it felt to be 74 and she said it feels the same as when she was 50. My mom is one of those eternally young women- she's still looks great at 74, and she just acts young and keeps up with young things. She's like a willow tree in a forest of evergreens. She's really an inspiration to all of us.

Sister Grethe in the foreground, brother Treg directly behind her

My mom brought way too much food as usual (to her, food means love- it's a Portuguese thing). It was ok though because I got to take home some of the most delicious brownies ever!

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

We sat between the cars to try and shelter the food from the blowing sand. It wasn't a very good evening for a picnic, but....what can you do? We all made the best of it and it was just nice to see everyone. My mom was thrilled to see 2 of my siblings who she doesn't see all that often (even though they live right here on the Cape. ) So she had a good time and that's what matters most. It's hard to believe my mom is 74. The years just seem to fly by.

Treasure Map of Cape Cod

2011-09-02T09:48:00.000-04:00

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....

The reason I'm doing this map is mainly because I got booked for a Nov. show at the Cape Cod Package Store (they do wine tasting and art shows at the same time) with my maps. Mapsssss? I only have one or two! So now I have to CRANK out a few more for this show.

I do think this will be a very nice map once it's finished though. I'll post it on my blog soon.

New Ebay Listings

2011-09-01T09:34:00.000-04:00

Bass River Windmill 11"x14"

2 days ago I listed a LOT of artwork on Ebay- (they were having a 1cent listing sale!) I figured, it can't sell if no one can see it. I grabbed every painting in my path and listed it there for a pretty phenomenal price, I might add. You'll find tiny paintings, and larger ones, angels and sailboats; a little something for everyone! So check out my Ebay store. http://stores.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist The prices may never be this low again.

2011-08-31T17:45:00.000-04:00

Last night I went out for a motorcycle ride just before sunset and ended up at the beach (as usual). It was realllly low tide and 'dead calm' in the Bay.The water was like glass. I even saw a porpoise swim by because it was so calm!

me, with crazy helmet head

Of course, with the beautiful calmness comes the bugs. They were even getting up inside my helmet!

This is Sesuit Harbor. Can you see the Blue Heron?

At Corporation Beach I heard music- like someone was playing the violin. So I zoomed my camera to where I thought it was coming from- right by the water and......Sure enough! There was a man serenading his wife (?). Interesting.

Clean Up Irene

2011-08-29T22:40:00.000-04:00

It's the day after tropical storm Irene and all was calm. We didn't have much debris to clean up in our yard- mostly just twigs and leaves, so Brielle and I decided to go to the beach at 9am for about an hour. Needless to say, it was very quiet down there. It seems like most of the tourist left the Cape and weren't back yet. Ahhhhh We even saw a seal pop it's head up right in the Bay at Cold Storage Beach!

It was so nice just relaxing in the sun after such a tense week. I had to get up at 5am and work just so I could take this time off to be with my daughter. (well worth it!) But just as the day was starting out so nice and peaceful, we went over to my sisters house which is only about 2 miles away and WOW- what a mess the storm made there!

Before

This is Quince standing on top of a pile of cut limbs from a huge branch that fell against the house and took out half of this lattice work.

After

So my girls and I - and my mom all decided to help with the clean up. We brought our rakes over and my blower, but I forgot; they still didn't have electricity! So, no blower. This photo is AFTER we cleaned up this side of the back yard.

Before

As my mother always says: Many hands make light work. It seems that sometimes things like storms can bring out the best in people. We all felt good for helping and even the neighbors came by to help. Tonight they still don't have power so they ate here because we have all of their food in my fridge. (Good thing it's always empty!) I wonder how long it will take to get the electricity back on??

Irene on Cape Cod

2011-08-28T20:39:00.001-04:00

Today was the day of the big storm. I awoke to huge scary wind gusts (between 50 and 60mph) and even now, at 8:16pm the wind is still blowing like crazy. My power keeps flickering as I write this, but so far we've had it all day- unlike my sis and many others who lost it at 11am and it's still out.

Against my best judgement I went out today to take someone home and ended up here at Nauset Light Beach in Eastham. The waves didn't seem all that much out of the ordinary for the Atlantic Ocean, but then again the wind was blowing from the South- not the east.

I had to take a photo of Nauset Lighthouse since I was right there. It was still standing in perfect condition and not an inch closer to the sea.

But let me tell you about our adventure to get to Eastham from Dennis (a 30 minute drive)....first we had to dodge downed trees and branches, then we got re-routed because of one that fell across rt. 6A. Then... as we were driving miles out of our way, we encountered a wildly sparking electric pole that looked like it was on fire, and just was we were getting up to it in our car, the wire snapped off and landed about 10 feet from us sparking all over the place. So, not only was the ride scary, it was very dangerous and I don't recommend that anyone go out if they don't have to!

Check out the trees. This is how it's been all day long (and still is tonight). This was just a mild gust.

Holding our Breath

2011-08-26T15:30:00.000-04:00

It's a countdown until Hurricane Irene arrives here on the Cape. People are flooding the stores, buying out water and batteries already. I've gotten what I need already and am as prepared as I can be, I think. One can never be really sure. I remember Hurricane Bob and the amount of trees that it took down, on top of houses, cars and roads, and how we were out of power for a week, so we may see similar results. I hate the -being out of power part. No computer! My battery only lasts for about 2 hours so that doesn't help. But thank God it's summer and warm out. Oh well, it may make us all slow down a little and spend more time doing things we don't usually do. Reading anyone? If you don't hear from me, you'll know why. I can't believe Obama is staying on Martha's Vineyard! That's like the worst place to be in a hurricane.

Who knows what is going to happen. There is an expectancy- part excitement, and part fear, but I also feel that we will be ok.

Cape Cod felt the Earthquake too!

2011-08-23T21:04:00.000-04:00

I went to Country Gardens (a landscaping shop) the other day. They have a Koi pond in the back and I snapped off a lot of reference photos of the fish, but I also caught this one of a lone frog. He looked so cute sitting under the rock. Then that same day I was at Hyannis Harbor having a snack, watching the boats sail by. (I was eating a chocolate chip cookie from a deli on Main Street) Yum!

Last night Sienna and I went to Corporation Beach for a walk but the tide was high so we couldn't walk out on the flats and walking on the soft sand would have been too hard. (I know, we are wimps) so we drove across town to West Dennis beach and walked the parking lot there.

At the very end of the 1 mile parking lot that runs between Nantucket Sound and a marsh, is Bass River. It was here that I took this photo as the sun was about to set. It looks like everyone was having a wonderful Cape Cod day. By the way, that is someones house in the background -not mine, unfortunately.

After our walk Sienna and I went to McDonalds and got a hot fudge sunday. It was a perfect evening.

Today we had an earthquake- well it was really in Virginia, but Brielle said she felt it while she sat in her beach chair. She said she thought the wind was shaking her chair but then heard the news and knew that it was the earthquake. I think I was driving at the time.
Now we are gearing up for a possible hurricane on Sunday. Hmmmmm.

2011-08-19T17:53:00.001-04:00

Today I had a yard sale so I didn't get any painting in. In case you've never had one, yard sales are hard work! I've been preparing for it for weeks, then last night I spent several hours hauling furniture up from the basement to my front lawn. Today I got up at 5am and started setting up and people arrived as early as 7am.

I'm tired.

So here are some pretty photo's I took at Sesuit Harbor the other night. The clouds reminded me of a giant shark. I'm going to sleep.... good tonight!

Ptown

2011-08-16T20:14:00.000-04:00

I took a motorcycle ride to Provincetown last weekend and look who was there! Yes, Shirley Temple. Actually these are men (older men too) dressed in drag. It's the Ptown thing to do you know. Everyone was enjoying watching them flaunt their stuff through the colorful town. (or maybe they were just stunned if they had never been there before).

I'm not sure of the occasion...the Gay Pride parade isn't until Thursday, but it was entertaining anyway. Thursday will be CRAZY in town. I'm staying as far away as possible, mostly because I hate to be stuck in traffic, but I hear it's a lot of fun.

Highland Light (aka Cape Cod Lighthouse) was on the way so I shot off a few pics here. I found out you can go to the top of the tower for $4.00, not that you really need to- the view there is incredible even on the ground. It's very high up on the Atlantic side of the Cape.

http://stores.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist

All the lighthouses I saw today inspired me to paint this one. I think this is Long Point Light in Ptown. (It's a miniature 2.5"x3.5")

My ride home was probably the highlight of my trip. I took the back roads that wind through Truro and Welfleet. They are my favorite! It's so peaceful riding on them, you forget the Cape is loaded with tourists. What a wonderful weekend I had!

2011-08-11T22:39:00.000-04:00

I had a wonderful day playing hookie from work. I needed to be inspired, so....

I rode my motorcycle along rt. 6A all the way up to the canal and stopped by the railroad bridge, which I noticed was down. I was hoping to see the train go over it but, either it had already gone, or they were just doing a drill of some sort. Anyway, I snapped of a photo of it down and one of it up.

Usually it's up like this so that the tall boats/ships can go underneath and through the Cape Cod Canal, otherwise they have to go all the way around the canal.

I had such a great day riding.

On another note, the movie filming was done all in one day. The next day all the trailers and equipment trucks were gone.

Movie Filming on Cape Cod

2011-08-09T19:30:00.000-04:00

Today they started filming the movie- that used to be known as "I Hate You Dad" in Dennis. The inside scoop is that they are changing the name but I'm not sure to what yet. Today they were at the Wixon Middle School baseball field which they made look like a mini Fenway Park field. The girls and I decided to go check it out. It had just started raining and I think they were packing it up for the night. We couldn't get anywhere near the field- they had it taped off and cops everywhere. Good thing I have a zoom on my camera.

Here's where all the trailers were set up. There probably were movie stars in them right now! Of course, I didn't see any. My daughters boyfriend is working security on the set and he said he saw Adam Sandler for the first time today. He had a spot right behind the directors chair, (and Adam is the director! )

Well, that's the most exciting news from Cape Cod right now.

More Beautiful Angels

2011-08-08T13:19:00.000-04:00

I painted more angels the other night. I use the term 'I' loosely- because I am being Divinely guided, so it's not really me at all. The angel come through me and reveal themselves on the canvas.

http://stores.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist

Here are a few that I really love. This one was quite different and you may notice she has white hair. I think she may be the first one I've painted with white hair.

I'm thinking this one may be a male figure with a hooded robe on. What do you think? I love how he's reaching out as if to help someone in need.

There are more Angels on Ebay right now- or probably whenever you may be reading this. These paintings are all very small - baseball card sized works on sturdy mat board, called 'Art Cards' priced at around $10 each. They are coated with a gloss top coat and can be sent easily in get well cards. Each one is infused with the healing energy directly from the angel that is coming through to the canvas.
I love to paint them. I feel so good after I do because of all that good energy flowing through me. I feel so lucky to be doing this.

Nautical Chart of Hyannis Harbor

2011-08-05T21:37:00.000-04:00

I've been very busy hand coloring antique maps and nautical charts for several dealers from all over the United States. This is a chart of Hyannis Harbor shown uncolored, then colored (although the photo isn't that great).

I really love doing these charts. Sometimes I feel like it's a challenge to find out just how many shades of green I can come up with- and I always love a good challenge! I mix all my own colors so most of my maps can't be duplicated exactly, (which is probably a good selling point) but I do tend to stay in the same color palette and I can usually spot my coloring from other peoples.

Who knew I'd be painting on antique maps when I grew up?! The interesting thing is, my dad really liked old nautical charts when I was a kid and he had a few laying around, which I did eventually color.

Sandwich, Ma.

2011-08-04T20:15:00.000-04:00

We went to Sandwich the other day hoping to pick some blue berries along side the road but they weren't quite ripe yet. We got about 12, and they were sour!

So instead we visited the near by salt water river that crosses under Route 6A and meanders through a beautiful marsh. There is a spot where you can park and even go swimming in the river. I don't think I would ever go in it because there were TONS of crabs .

Even though it was around dinner time there were still lots of people around. Brielle actually took off her flip flops and enjoyed squishing through the 3" deep mud! (I guess the real surprising thing is that- I didn't do it. Usually I'm the first one in!)

She found a few stray, little crabs that hadn't gone down with the tide and were buried high on the bank in a little patch of wet mud trying to stay alive and not dry out in the heat. A few already didn't make it so she decided to save the rest of them. (How could she NOT save them- she's my daughter!)

Luckily she didn't get bitten by any of them before she tossed them into the refreshing river below. (Hopefully the toss didn't kill them)!

ooooo gooooshy fun!

So, all of the crabs survived (hopefully) and we had a nice day in Sandwich. It's probably one of my favorite towns on the Cape so if you visit, make sure you check it out.

Provincetown

2011-08-03T14:49:00.000-04:00

I went for a motorcycle ride to Provincetown this past weekend and shot off a few photo's. What a beautiful day! This was taken at the end of the pier. People can pay to go out on this ship and it takes you for a little ride around the harbor and back.

click to enlarge

Here's a photo of my yacht (on the right) passing Long Point Lighthouse. (I wish!) I wonder who's it was though. They are filming a movie here on the Cape ("I Hate You Dad") so it could be Adam Sandlers...? But there is a lot of money coming and going here on the Cape, so you never know who it might be.

From the visitors center I took this photo of one of the whale watch boats passing by.

And a plane taking off from the Provincetown airport. Sometimes I forget they even have an airport up there. It's just a little one. My dad actually helped build it way back when I was a kid growing up in Ptown!

Boston Whalers

2011-07-29T21:31:00.000-04:00

I took a motorcycle ride the other night and ended up here, at the end of Tonset Road in Orleans. It's such a beautiful spot, looking out towards Nauset Beach. All the Boston Whalers were tucked in for the night after a long day clamming on the sheltered inlet. It was a perfect evening- warm, no wind.....only, there's a little problem with that- the gnats were ferocious!

This sunset photo was taken a little closer to my house at a Brewster beach. The sun sets on the Cape Cod Bay, but the moon rises over the Atlantic Ocean. I generally try not to ride at night (too dangerous) so I didn't wait for the moon to rise, but I'm sure it was perfect. There's nothing like a sunset and a moon rise on the Cape.

West Dennis Sail Boats

2011-07-27T16:42:00.000-04:00

It's a beautiful summer day here on the Cape. Everyone seems to be at the beach (except me of course!). I've been busy painting most of the day except for the couple of hours doing errands and picking up more work. Doing errands is my big outing of the day. Sometimes it's the ONLY outing of my day- the only chance I get to see real humans! Ok, it's not like I live out in the deep woods or anything, but I just don't go anywhere.

This is a painting I did a few years ago and sold it to the very nice woman who's house it is. I can't remember how she ended up seeing the painting, but she found it and bought it! I was actually focusing on the boats, but her house just happened to be in the background.

Anyway, I love finding photo's of old paintings.

New Hampshire Visit

2011-07-25T10:08:00.000-04:00

I took a mini vacation to NH this week! It's about a 3.5 hr. drive from here. It just happened to be on the hottest 2 days of the year so as you can tell by my photos, the water was the main attraction! This river is in N. Conway. Here is what the locals do when it's hot. (click to enlarge) These kids had just been jumping off a rope swing down river a bit. The current was very weak so it was easy for them to kayak up and down the river.

Here is what I do when it's hot. Yes, I did go in with my clothes on, but who cares? It was in the 90's and I was on vacation. (I love being a tourist for once!) This river was so clear and mostly only a couple of feet deep. As you can see I am kneeling just to get wet. I was in river heaven! (no sharks) Oh, and while I was in the water a beautiful dragonfly landed on my arm. If you follow my Ebay paintings you will notice I painted a dragonfly this week in honor of him/her.

We saw quite a few covered bridges. This one was at the Flume Gorge in Lincoln NH. If you've never been, it's a strenuous walk up hill, and up actual stairs for about a mile along the gorge then down a steep hill for the other half. Talk about a work out! The gorge was very beautiful though.

Going along the Kancamangus Hwy. there were spots were you could stop and check out the river that ran along side of it. At this particular spot there were lots of people in the river escaping from the heat. (see the two guys?) It was so clear and beautiful -and shallow too. (I have a thing about shallow water)

This is the N. Conway scenic railroad. You ride on a train that was made in the 1800's. as it wobbled along a track for about 5 miles then back - mostly seeing woods. Once in a while though you got a peak of a mountain or a river. I never really realized that train whistles are so obnoxiously loud!

All in all, my favorite part of going to NH was the crystal clear, shallow rivers.

Pretty Angels

2011-07-24T22:32:00.002-04:00

Today I sat down to paint- sailboats and such, but I had an overwhelming urge to paint angels. I felt them and there was no denying their call. So, I just stopped with the pretty sailboats and got down to the 'real work'.

Here are a couple Angels that just HAD to be seen and get out in the world.

Here's one of the pretty sailboats that - well, isn't actually my 'real work'.

http://stores.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist

2011-07-17T23:07:00.000-04:00

It's late Sunday night and I've been so busy enjoying the weekend I forgot to blog! I did, however take photo's which I will post soon. For now I'm going to post these of my cats....Kiya- who found some crinkly plastic (she loves the sound of it)..

and Simba, who sleeps with chicken wings...

Another shot of Kiya playing in the plastic. Don't worry, I was watching her with it, then I threw it away deep in the garbage where she couldn't get it. I don't want my baby getting suffocated.

Ahhh and here is the sunset at West Dennis beach the other night. Brielle and I walked the 2 miles after dinner. It was sooo nice! Well, that's it for now. I have been working on some really large paintings, which I will reveal soon. If I only had about 5 extra hours in my day!

Chatham Ma.

2011-07-12T08:45:00.000-04:00

This weekend I went to Chatham and it was such a beautiful summer's day I thought I'd share it with you. This is Stage Harbor- this old classic wooden boat was about to go under the little rickety draw bridge. They were probably just coming back from a great day on Monomoy.

Here is Pleasant Bay. It always looks pleasant!

Then I just has to stop and take my yearly photo of this house with the hydrangeas in full bloom. What a sight! (what a house!)

This is such a typical scene in Chatham- the roses crawling up an arbor or on the house, hydrangeas and an American flag.

I couldn't leave out the Chatham Lighthouse! Right across from the Atlantic Ocean- where people love to swim and the Great White sharks play. We rarely used to see them before but now the seal population has grown so much that it's drawing the Great Whites to Cape Cod. I hear they only eat tourist though.

Cape Cod Maps

2011-07-11T13:02:00.000-04:00

http://stores.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist

This week on Ebay I listed some of my maps and map collages. Here is a little sampling. This top map is hand colored and framed. (9"x12")

The rest of these are framed ACEO (miniature) collages made from maps and my own artwork. This collage of Martha's Vineyard has a sailboat painted right on the collage.

This one of Provincetown/Truro has a print of my Long Point Lighthouse painting on it.

And this one of Nantucket has all kinds of interesting things collaged into it- local things like Lobsters and Blue Heron's. Oh, and the Brant Point Lighthouse of course.

Check them out in my Ebay store now: http://stores.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist

Red Tailed Hawk Makes Landing

2011-07-05T20:58:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I got a knock on the door from my (very excited) neighbor to come see the Hawk on his roof. I couldn't believe that a Hawk would still be sitting on his roof by the time I got over there, but here it is!

Apparently, he had been up there for about 20 minutes already -spreading his wings and panting as if to rest and cool down (it was about 80 degrees out) when a car driving by spotted this great sight. My neighbor couldn't figure out what the people in the car were gawking at until he stepped outside.

I got a couple of really nice photo's, then my camera batteries died. (Note to self: Never go out without extra batteries!!!!)

Anyway, I'm no bird expert but, I think this is a Red Tailed Hawk. (Check out it's red tail!) These were the best photo's so I thought I'd share them with you. It's not every day you get to capture such a magnificent bird just sitting there!

4th of July on Cape Cod

2011-07-04T13:40:00.000-04:00

Happy 4th of July!

I couldn't resist putting this photo on my blog for the holiday because the flag is standing so proudly in the background. It's as if the flowers represent the beauty of our country and yet the flag- waving steadily in the background, represents the core values of our wonderful country and the freedom we experience by living here.

This photo was taken on Great Western Rd. in Dennis. It's an industrial area and yet one of the warehouses has grown a little patch of sunshine. These poppies are soooo beautiful I may be painting them sometime soon! (click to enlarge).

2011-07-03T10:41:00.000-04:00

Happy 4th of July weekend! I hope you are all enjoying a fun filled few days. I have been trying to make the best of it, but when the Cape swells up with tourists and their cars, it's hard to even get around, so I'm basically just trying to stay in until Tuesday.

(Me, and most of the locals).

Anyway, I was browsing through some of my recent photo's last night and I zoomed in to see if I could find any good painting material in this photo when I spotted this... (see below)

(click on it to enlarge)

What are these people doing? At first I thought they were baptizing someone or- the worst case scenario- drowning someone and I caught it on camera. I was waaaaay across the beach in my car using a zoom lens to take the photo so it was possible. Then I had the kids look at it and they pointed out that what I thought was someones head being pushed under was probably knees with cropped brown pants on. What do you think?

2011-06-30T09:16:00.000-04:00

My daughter the cowgirl??

Just thought I'd put these 2 beautiful photo's of Brielle (and her friends) in today's post. This is them last weekend at the Taylor Swift concert. She said it rained, thundered and lightninged, and of course, they were outside in it all. (that's why I just buy the cd now-a-days)

She stayed at her college roommates house (pictured above with the other hat on) and the next day they went strawberry picking. All I can think of is all those years of -me dragging my kids along to pick blueberries and them hating it, now they PAY for the entertainment of picking things. My how things have changed!

Long Day

2011-06-27T14:44:00.000-04:00

Gail (the mom) Beth and her new roommate for the week

I had a long day yesterday. I drove Beth (the mentally challenged woman I take care of) to summer camp for the week. It was over 2 hours from the Cape. She had been soooo excited to go for months now, but when she got there she barely spoke a word. Nerves, maybe? Anyway, her roomy for the week was very talkative and nice. I think they'll grow to be great friends in no time. Either that, or I'll be picking her up early! Her mom came with me and we chatted for about 5 hours straight. (This coming from a person-me- who barely talks to anyone all day!) So needless to say, I was worn out just from chatting, never mind the driving!

Anyway, when I got home from my long trek Brielle had also just gotten home from a weekend away. She and her college roommates went to see Taylor Swift up in the same area that I was. She got home only minutes before, -she could have passed me on the highway! So we both got on our 'comfy clothes', ate dinner and as I went to work in my office I heard Brielle digging for things in the kitchen. So I look around the corner and here she is- roasting marshmallow's on a candle, making smores! (and yes, my dining room table usually looks like this)

So I sat down and had one too.

2011 Habitat for Humanity Mailbox

2011-06-25T15:41:00.001-04:00

I just painted a mailbox for the Habitat for Humanity auction coming soon to the Mid- Cape area.( I can give more info about it later but right now they don't even know where it's going to be held yet.) Anyway, here's one side. This is the side with the flag which I decided I'd turn into a Lotus flower because the flag was red, stood out, and was pretty ugly. I just hope the mail carrier can see it when it's up!

Here's the top view. As you can see I painted the whole top, both sides and even the front!And what would one of my paintings be without a little sparkle of light? They are happy fish of course!

I was thinking about the mail carrier when I did the front because they need to see a little something pretty during their long and arduous route. The fish seem to be greeting the opener of the mailbox!

Well there it is. I sure would like to have this on my front lawn, especially when I see my own plain white mailbox with a dent in it. How attractive. Isn't that kind of like the saying "The shoemakers kids don't have shoes" ?

Hyannis Harbor Chart

2011-06-24T08:45:00.000-04:00

I've been pretty busy hand coloring antique maps - or more specifically antique charts, this week. My coloring work just seems to be getting bigger and bigger these days. I used to have a drafting table which worked out perfectly for me, but after 6 years of moving 7 times, I just couldn't handle moving it by myself one more time (it was huge and heavy!) and so I let it go. Now I really miss it. Boo hoo.

Anyway, just thought I'd let you see what I was working on. This is a chart of Hyannis Harbor (Cape Cod Ma.). This particular one is actually a reproduction, so if you or anyone you know would like to purchase it, just let me know and I can hook you up with the map dealer.

Sweet 16

2011-06-21T09:35:00.000-04:00

Sienna (middle) 16 years old now

We had a birthday this week...it was Sienna's Sweet 16th birthday. Sweet? Hmmmm Sometimes, and sometimes a little sour. She is after all a teenager. We had a couple of her friends and the usual family over for dinner and cupcakes. (not quite one of those TV Sweet 16 parties) Sorry Sienna.

It was too funny NOT to get a photo of everyone wearing these glasses.

We played some games, one being: on a list labeled A-Z, starting with each letter you have to think of a word that best describes Sienna. This was very interesting and fun. I mean, what do you write for Z? Quince made this mug (painted on it) especially for Sienna. It was really cute and he was so proud of it.

Qena came in the cutest little dress but I was too busy to get a photo until she had already changed out of it and put on her jammies. It was, of course past her bed time.

All in all, Sienna enjoyed her special day. Now it's on to getting the learner's permit. Gulp!

My Motorcycles from 1980-2011

2011-06-20T07:40:00.000-04:00

Look what I found! A photo of my very first motorcycle, and Honda XL250, with a little lighting bolt sticker on it (lol). I bought it brand new when I was 18yrs. old and had just moved to NC. I taught myself how to ride on the power lines, but this was an on road/ off road bike so I was good to go anywhere. It was my only mode of transportation for the 2 years I was down there. That was always fun when it was 32 degrees out and I had to ride to work at 4am. (or in the rain)

So, I thought I'd put all the bikes I've ever had in one place and tell the (quick) story of my life relating to them. I've always had a motorcycle, and these are all in order of when I had them so here goes. This Yamaha Seca 550 was my 2nd bike. I had it when I moved to CA (El Toro). My ex was a marine there. I got married when I was 20. (tooooooo young!!) Anyway, I got in an accident on this one. A car turned right in front of me and I hit it broad side. Luckily I only ended up with a concussion and my face was saved because I had a full faced helmet on, but I needed stitches in my lip where I bit through it and my chin was about double the size. I remember eating chocolate pudding for a week because I couldn't chew. (Ok, I suppose I could have eaten soup or something but...hey, I was 20).

Next I got another Honda 250 on road/ off road bike. I really liked these types of bikes because I could just take off down a dirt road and go exploring out in the woods.

And so I bought another one....moved back to Cape Cod somewhere around here..I had it when I worked at the post office in Hyannis and the other mail carriers called me Batgirl. lol

And then I bought yet another one....this one was really hard to start. All these 250's I had to kick start. I would end up with some huge bruises on the back of my leg where it would kick me back.

Then I got this Yamaha 350XT. (on /off road) My then -boyfriend bought the same one and I taught him how to ride (oh how cute, matcing bikes lol). Now he rides a Harley. We had fun though and this was a great bike. I remember exploring every dirt road in Truro.

I had that bike for a long time.

Then I got married and had kids and ended up with this Honda Interceptor 750 (made in Canada). It was fasssst. I was a little too crazy on it. So when I got divorced I gave it to my ex with the stipulation that I would have full custody of my kids. A bike for my kids. I think I won that one.

Last but not least I bought this Suzuki Marauder 800 in 2004 and still have it. I knew I better slow down a bit and get a cruiser instead of a fast bike this time. This has been a good bike except for the few times last year that the electrical system shut down and left me stranded. Other than that, I'm very happy and grateful just to have a bike to ride. Riding is one of my great pleasures in life. I feel free when I'm riding, and even though it can be very dangerous (mostly because of other drivers), the positives outweigh the negatives for me. I am here on this earth to be happy and joyful and when I ride I feel that way. Happy Happy, Joy Joy!

Snapping Turtle

2011-06-16T07:54:00.001-04:00

Guess what came to town the other day?This big guy ( over a foot long) was found walking through the neighbors yard then making it's way through ours. It was in our driveway when this was taken.

Since it's a snapping turtle everyone just stayed clear and let it go it's own way as we enjoyed it's unique presence.

We have a couple of them that cross our road to lay their eggs in the spring, then in a few months we see lots and lots of baby turtles scurrying back across the road to get to the mud hole they came from. I'm usually helping them cross quickly before the cars get them. Who can resist a baby snapping turtle?

2011-06-13T19:57:00.000-04:00

It was a weekend of graduation parties for me. In fact, I went to 3 (it should have been 4 though). They were all....fun?- I'm not sure that's the right word for it, but I enjoyed meeting new people and seeing old friends and family. With that said, I'm not really a party animal so I'm happy to back in my little house, snuggled up with my cats in the peace and quiet.

(In case you are wondering, this is NOT my house).

I hope your weekend was good too.

2011-06-08T07:33:00.000-04:00

Hey, I just realized I have 16 followers! Wow. and I thought nobody read my blog. That's a great way to start my day.
Speaking of my day.....it's going to be a hot one today -mid 80's, so I'll be riding my motorcycle to the post office across town. Yippee. (My big outing) lol Yesterday I rode it and I didn't want to come back to work. Can you blame me? Later in the day I took a ride with my guy but it's just not the same. When I ride alone I meditate. When I'm with someone I'm concentrating on: not losing them, or running into them, or if I'm going too fast, or slow, are they going to make the lights with me, etc...always aware of the outer world, never aware of the inner.

Every day I have to be in touch with my inner world. It's the most important thing I do for myself, and ultimately, for others.

2011-06-07T09:27:00.000-04:00

2.5"x3.5" Sold

Summer is slowly creeping up on us. The temps are finally getting up there and the Cape is getting more and more crowded. I'm also finding it increasingly hard to focus on work when it's so beautiful outside. I'm sitting here on my computer listening to the birds singing outside and feeling a slight warm breeze blow through the house. It's so nice to have the windows open now that the pollen has subsided. I can hear the great outdoors calling me, maybe for a walk on the beach or a long motorcycle ride in the sunshine.....

Angel Rocks

2011-06-03T21:49:00.000-04:00

http://stores.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist

I just uploaded about 6 more "Pocket Angels" on Ebay tonight. I still have more to go but I'm so tired that I'll save them for tomorrow or Sunday. In the mean time here are two of my newest favorites. This one to the right is actually quite large- about the size of my palm, but it is very flat (a good skipping rock!) and just feeeeeels really good in my hands.

I so enjoy painting them. Actually I just love rocks in general! They can be so beautiful, and then to see them with the added dimension of paint - and an angel, really makes them even more special. Yes, I love rocks. I admit it. I'm the type who would go on vacation somewhere that I could dig for gemstones or pan for gold. How fun! And this will sound weird but I actually have a collection of rocks in my plants. I usually find them on the beach, and sometimes other people give them to me. Heart rocks are an all time favorite! I have one rock going on auction soon that even has a heart on the back of it- that nature imprinted, not me! I didn't paint that side, or even gloss it because it was so unique. Check it out below.

Front

Memorial Day on Cape Cod

2011-06-01T09:25:00.001-04:00

On Memorial Day weekend Sienna did some volunteer work helping take in donations for the service men and women overseas. There was a big event organized by her good friend, Dylan DeSilva. He started this organization when he was only 12 years old! (check out this Youtube video)http://youtu.be/T4qPHlDF2lY

Now he's graduating high school and it has turned into a huge event. They had a local radio personality hosting the whole thing live on WCOD, and tents that took up half of the Kmart parking lot! There were 2 people from the military (taking 3 hour shifts) who stood at attention for the WHOLE time-24 hours. I can't even imagine standing at attention for 3 hours straight. God bless them!

It's pretty amazing to think a 12 year old started this whole thing by making care packages from his basement, and even though I know his mom had a huge hand in it all, I can see that it is clearly Dylans thing. He was the man running the show.

They stayed there from 11:30am on Sunday until 12pm on Monday- they were 'open for business' taking donations ALL NIGHT long! Sienna wasn't allowed to stay overnight but she helped out until 10pm then was right back there on Monday morning and stayed with Dylan and the crew until all was cleaned up in the afternoon.

For more information on how you can help (year round) check out Dylans website:

http://www.capecod4thetroops.com/

Start of Summer

2011-06-01T08:18:00.000-04:00

Well, we've made it past Memorial Day Weekend. The Cape was about as crowded as it could be. It always makes me think... Ugh, summer is almost here. Of course, I love summer, just not the traffic and the way the Cape swells up with people so you really can't function normally anymore.

But enough about the negatives of summer- how about the Hydrangeas?! They haven't bloomed yet, but soon. In honor of the upcoming bursts of blue, I painted this little Hydrangea/sailboat painting.

And soon the roses will be blooming. There's nothing prettier than a rose covered arbor by the seashore!

Here's Bass River looking towards Yarmouth. It's a spot worthy of painting over and over again. Sooooo beautiful! These are all just tiny baseball sized paintings.Check out my Ebay store for these and other paintings like them: http://stores.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist

3 Birthdays in May

2011-05-26T17:21:00.001-04:00

This past weekend we had a big 3 person birthday party at my sisters Grethe's house. (Odin, Ron and Leon all have birthdays in May). It was nice seeing my sister Odin and her 5 boys. Her kids are getting older and 2 are out of the nest already so having them altogether was pretty good.

Sienna, Me, Odin, Brielle

Here is a photo of my 19 year old nephew Lukas (a marine mechanic), with my girls. Doesn't he look like the singer in Lady Antelbellum?! He was actually sitting on Sienna's lap. Now- Lukas is about 6'5" and Sienna is just a tiny thing so it was pretty funny to see.

Here are most of the kids. They all enjoyed being together. Leon was opening his birthday gift.

Here's Ron (brother in law) with the cake. Since it was a Hawaiian theme the cupcakes had flowers and bugs(!) on them.

Here is my cousin with her 2 girls, Katelin (who is graduation high school in a couple of weeks) and Lauren who is going into high school next year.

Qena and Quince

My mom brought her bubble machine. The little ones loved it! Quince kept trying to catch them with his mouth. (ewww)

Here we are with my mom. I know she loved having her (almost) whole family together.

Turkey at my window

2011-05-24T14:58:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I woke up to the sound of a Turkey gobbling outside my window! I looked outside and here was this big guy fluffing up his tail feathers, trying to attract a mate but the only other animal around was my cat who was on top of his cat perch in the window just staring at him. I think the Turkey was actually courting Simby because he was looking right at him as he gobbled away. I guess I'm not the only one who needs glasses!

What a beautiful bird though. So big with all his feathers fluffed! Finally I had to interrupt him to take Sienna to the bus stop. But it didn't totally scare him away because he was back this morning!

Martha's Vineyard Map

2011-05-19T17:54:00.000-04:00

Here's a map I just made. It is for Heather and Paul's wedding this Sat. in Martha's Vineyard. It's a gift from a friend, so if you know them don't tell. I think the map came out great but it wasn't without great pains. First of all- I had it all finished ( hand colored) then noticed that I spelled Vineyard wrong (Vinyard). Nice huh? I need a spell check implanted in my head! Then I put the heart (where they are getting married) in the wrong place. So much for Google maps! So, anyway, it's finished and in the mail now. It was fun to make though and I think I'm going to add some things to it and possibly sell it. It's small and fits into a 8x10 frame, so it's an easy size.

Now my Simby is laying on my right wrist as I'm typing this. He's purring away even though his head is going up and down with every keystroke. It's kind of funny to watch. I don't want to stop typing because then I'll have to move his head and he's so happy. Oh he moved... by for now!

Cape Cod Earthquakes

2011-05-16T20:55:00.001-04:00

Busy today working on coloring this antique city view of New Orleans. It's really very large- about 40" long by 20" high. It should take me a while but it's going to look great when it's done!

On another note, Cape Cod had 2 earthquakes last night! One was a magnitude of around 2. something and one was 1. something. So basically I didn't feel them.

Pocket Angel Rocks

2011-05-12T07:33:00.000-04:00

I have been very busy painting more angel rocks, or "Pocket Angels" as I've dubbed them. I thought I'd share with you my process:

First of all I have to walk miles and miles of Cape Cod beaches to collect them.

Going for a walk in the sunshine, on a beautiful beach, with the sound of seagulls and waves rolling in is a dirty job, but somebody's got to do it! You'll notice the beaches are bare- no tourist yet....(it's only 50 degrees out, it's no wonder!)

Then I hand select each rock, picked only when it's the ripest. Ok, well maybe not the ripest, but the flattest and best shaped. Bending over to pick them up a million times is certainly good for ... hmmm?? I don't know- all I know is I have sore muscles the day after.

Then the (other) fun part of painting begins. I hand paint each little rock then coat them with a shiny gold gloss coat. They kind of remind me of coins with the gold on both sides. I love coins, especially from other countries. (I have a little collection of them.)

I don't know if photos do these angel rocks justice- you really have to HOLD the rock in your hand to appreciate it I think. It's just a little piece of Earth with angelic energy in it. How neat!

I think that I will carry one with me where ever I go. My new motto is "What can I give today?" and the other day I overheard someone talking about an upcoming surgery and I sooo wanted to slip her a Pocket Angel for comfort, but I didn't have one on me. I'll know better next time, but really- what a great little thing to give to someone- even a perfect stranger.

Today's Quote

2011-05-11T08:35:00.000-04:00

"Each person you come into contact with expands your Universe."

Think of this when you are confronted with people that you just want to run away from. They are all here to expand our Universe, to co-create with us in one form or another, to help us grow. I think you could add to the quote and say each situation helps us expand too. I say that because I'm still looking for the positives in my address book being hijacked. I did find another good thing- I'm getting emails from people I haven't heard from in ages and it's been really fun reconnecting!

Suspicious Links

2011-05-10T20:50:00.000-04:00

Bad news... my email address book has been compromised and someone is sending out suspicious links to everyone in it. (So don't open any links from me via email!!!) How frustrating! I really hope they aren't x rated links. So far I've heard about one being a yoga studio, and one for Viagra. What else? Why must people do this? I'm not sure what to do except alert all my contacts. (People I haven't talked to in years... I guess this is one way to stay in touch!) Just trying to look at the bright side, but.... I may even have to change my email address that I've had for years. I hope not.

I guess this is just one of those little glitches on the road of life.

In honor of the upcoming Memorial Day I've posted this little painting on Ebay. It's hard to believe that May is here already. Winter seemed to fly by even though we had a lot of snow.

Happy Sailing!

Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-09T10:28:00.000-04:00

I had the best Mother's Day! It started out with my daughter Brielle going to the dump with me. Yes, that made my day because #1) she actually came with me and #2) she sat in the car patiently while I poked around at the swap shop.

Here's my sweet lamby and her little cousin Qena. My guy took us all out to lunch at a gluten free restaurant (so I could eat anything on the menu!) And that was pretty special.

Then we ended up at the mall where Sienna and Brielle were actually getting along! (the Whole day too!!) Now- that in itself -is a wonderful Mother's day present. They were goofing around holding hands for a minute or two. They gave me a gift card for Barnes and Noble so I bought two spiritual books. I'm so excited to read them!! I eat up those kind of books.

Then we came home, crashed on the couch and watched the shows that I like- HGTV. (not their shows!) The best present was that they spent the whole day with me! No friends, no boys, just a day hanging out with their Mom. I couldn't have asked for anything more.

After dinner we all went over to my sisters house to honor our mom and have dessert. Brielle made these cupcakes!

Auntie Grethe always enjoys my girls and visa-versa. She's pretty much their second mom, as well as being a mom to her own 2 cute little rugrats.

And here's my Mumma holding one of them, Qena. We all had a nice time but we couldn't stay too long because Desperate Housewives was on! I know, that's pathetic.

Knee Boarding/ Wakeskating

2011-05-06T09:20:00.001-04:00

In case you are wondering if I took up a new sport, I didn't.

But I had to show you thse photo's that my daughter Sienna took of her friends from school. These boys made a special winch in shop class that can actually pull them along so they can Knee Board or Wakeskate (one word?) without a boat!

They set it up along the shoreline of a curved pond then run back with the tow line as far as they can. Here they have set up a picnic table jump in about 2-3 feet of water. Now, I have to mention that these photo's were actually take in Feb or March when it was freeeezing out! You'll notice they have wetsuits on, but even still...

The other thing they do is take the winch to an old grown in cranberry bog (which has water channels) and set it up there.Ther first time Sienna took photos of them, they spent about 2 hours chipping the ice off the channel so they could skate. It was pretty neat watching them Wakeskate through the wooded area with snow and ice on the ground. I have that video too but I'm not sure where I put it. whoops. Anyway, I really like the sparkles on the water and just the sillowhette of the Knee boarder. I can see a painting in here somewhere.

Blessing of the Bikes, Dennis Ma.

2011-05-02T15:25:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was the annual Blessing of the Bikes at West Dennis Beach, in Dennis. The girls and I always like to go and luckily it wasn't raining! It was still quite cold especially when riding, so we had to dress warm. Brielle rode on the back of my bike and Sienna came a little later with her dad on his bike.

As you can see it is a well attended event. Bikers from near and far, and from every age group, came to have their motorcycles blessed.

Even my little niece Qena came! The wind was so cold that I gave her my scarf to wear around her head.

We really like to go to this event because the energy is so high. People are really excited to be on their bikes after a cold snowy winter. It's fun to look at everyones motorcycles too- you'll see every imaginable kind there. It's a little like window shopping.

Even though my sis doesn't ride (she has rheumatoid arthritis so she can't even if she wanted to..) she and her family like to go and watch the fun. Quince (her son, 6 ) played in the sand the whole entire time. He was having a ball- in fact, he was finding rocks for me for my "Pocket Angels"!

Here comes the Deacon (I guess that's what he was), riding high on a fire truck with his big brush dipped in holy water- drenching some, missing others. I didn't get one drop on my bike :( so I had to wipe some off of my boyfriends bike.) He didn't mind sharing. Then I blessed my own bike.

All blessed and ready to go! What a fun day.

"Pocket Angels"

2011-04-28T20:51:00.001-04:00

http://stores.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist

"Pocket Angels" came to me when I was riding my motorcycle and I thought how it would be nice to 'carry' an angel with me for protection where ever I go. It had to be smaller and a little more durable than a regular painting to fit in my pocket, so I thought: what better than on a beautiful rock.

These rocks are only about the size of a Quarter and flat like one too. They fit nicely in a pocket. (Hmmmm what about putting one in the car?!)

I paint these with the same intention as my "Healing Angels". I ask the angels to come forth and infuse the tiny painting with their higher frequency energies.

Here's something else I did, I made one for Max- my sisters old black Lab who died last week. :(

Actually, I made it for her son Quince, (6years old) so he can put it on Max's grave. He is pretty sad and I think he'll appreciate it since #1) he LOVES rocks, and #2) he has actually seen his own angel several times. (!!) and #3) he'll feel better knowing an angel is right there with his MaxyMax and he's not alone.

TWA Airplane in the Distance

2011-04-28T12:18:00.000-04:00

9"x12"

I just finished up this commissioned painting. A lovely woman wanted me to paint something (a present for her mom) that incorporated several elements, including sparkly water, her mom, her mom's dog, her kids, and her mom's airplane! (seen in the clouds) Her mother is the daughter of a founder of TWA airlines, and her plane is one of the original planes that she flies all over the country to help keep the history alive.

I really like how it turned out and, as usual, the photo really doesn't do the painting justice.

Easter 2011

2011-04-26T08:55:00.000-04:00

(Grethe and Qena)

We had a really nice Easter Sunday.My sister Grethe invited the family over for lunch and we all brought something so she wouldn't have to cook so much.

My Mom made these beautiful butterfly cupcakes. They were very stunning, but really hard to transport across town as you can imagine. The butterflies were made out of colored chocolate.

Here's my mom with Qena, her youngest granddaughter (notice the 'up-do' which my girls gave her). lol My mom (with her own signature up-do) is now 73 .

(me, with a goofy look on my face, and my Brielley) She was home from college for the weekend. She's such a pleasure to have around. I really miss her when she leaves. She helped make food for the lunch- here she is posing with her chocolate (and coconut) covered strawberries. They even have m&m lady bugs on them! (Grandmom helped her with that). If you click on the photo you might be able to see them.

Sienna is like the Pied Piper with all the kids around her. She relates so well to them (I think it's that she has their same level of energy and can actually keep UP with them!)

After lunch we went down to Gray's Beach in Yarmouthport and sat on the benches. It was warm but the sun seemed to flicker on and off. This was probably the first REAL day of spring we've had.

And here is my cool photo of the day. This was taken at Grays Beach (you can see the boardwalk on the bottom right). There seemed to be a huge angel watching over Cape Cod that day!

Easter Lambs (not for eating)

2011-04-23T22:36:00.000-04:00

I entered this painting in the Cape Cod Art Association show called "Eat, Drink, and be Merry" that is running now through May 16th. To incorporate the theme with the painting, I've entitled it "Reasons to be a Vegetarian", and I guess I can rightfully use that title as I am a Vegetarian. So tomorrow when everyone is eating Lamb dinners or Ham dinners for Easter, I'll be happily having my veggies. Yum!

Happy Easter everyone. I hope your day is filled with love and laughter.

Speaking of Words...

2011-04-22T09:34:00.000-04:00

Did you know that words carry energy? It's even been scientifically proven by Dr. Emoto by taping words onto water bottles then looking at the water molecules under a microscope. Water with the words "Love and Appreciation" for instance, had beautiful crystal structures, while water with the words "You make me sick, I will kill you" had an ugly, diseased looking structures. It also worked with music! (I guess I won't be listening to heavy metal music anymore.) It's funny because when I was younger that was my favorite kind of music and now that I'm more enlightened and on my spiritual path, I rarely even want to listen to it. I'm usually listening to beautiful, ambient, meditational music - especially when I paint. Interesting.... My inner self must have known.

Anyway, the fact is, we are made up of 70% water- so you might want to pay attention to what you say and think- thinking is just internal words. Also, on a side note; did you know the Earth is made up of 70% water? What are our thoughts towards the Earth?
If you want to see the actual water crystals I just found a website that shows them all. It's really cool;
http://www.unitedearth.com.au/watercrystals.html

New Angels with Words

2011-04-21T22:15:00.001-04:00

I just uploaded a bunch of angels on Ebay tonight- and here are 2 of my newest ones. I have added a word on a few of them ...the reason being that...well.... I just felt compelled to do so! As you may know, I do everything by my intuition, so what did you expect me to say? I imagine the angels are leading me to do this for some reason, so I just go with it and 'Believe'.

And then I "Hope" people love them as much as I do!

You see, I bought these metal inspirational words several years ago and just recently found them while cleaning out my craft supplies. I always loved them, but never knew exactly what to do with them. Then I got the idea of using them in my angel paintings. The only thing is, I have to use them like a reverse stencil - I basically stipple paint around the word. But hey, it works, and I'm very happy about the results. I've already sold the first 2 that I listed!

http://stores.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist

Going Over the Bridge

2011-04-19T17:22:00.000-04:00

This is the Sagamore Bridge, one of the two bridges that connect Cape Cod to the "mainland". I put that in quotes because in actuality Cape Cod is considered a peninsula, not an island, but since they dredged out the Cape Cod Canal (from a marshy river) , it is now really an island. (and trust me, you can't swim across the Canal!)

To some of us Cape Codders, going over the bridge is a big deal. As for me, it kind of is because I don't go over it a whole lot except to pick up or drop off Brielle at college, (which I was doing yesterday so this is all fresh in my mind). It's a long drive just to get to the bridge but there's this sense of freedom I feel when I actually see it and then go over it. As if I'm escaping the old. Old what, I'm not sure, but it feels good. It almost feels like now I can be in a different space physically AND mentally -where new thoughts, and new ideas are allowed to enter my mind. Sometimes we all need to break out of that rut just to be able to think in a new way; and sometimes it takes a trip over the bridge to do that.

Have you ever had a week where everything went your way?

2011-04-17T08:57:00.001-04:00

(My turtle painting is showing now at the Cape Cod Cultural Center Show until May 24)

It's been such a great week. Everything has seemingly gone right. I love when that happens! Now I just need to hold onto it. I used to get scared when things went right and the fear quickly changed it. But now I realize that I'm creating my life with my thoughts and beliefs so I need to keep them in the positive frame of mind and release the fears. And I don't just mean positive thinking, I mean positive believing. I have to absolutely know that with whatever I'm thinking/feeling/believing in the moment, I am creating more of for my future. It's the Law of Attraction!

Angels in Surgery

2011-04-16T18:49:00.000-04:00

http://stores.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist

One of my wonderful customers is a nurse who buys my small healing angel paintings and gives them to patients in need at the hospital where she works. She, herself is a living angel! Recently she had to have surgery and when she was finished I received an email letting me know how it went. Fortunately, everything went well and her angels were looking after her.

Here's a little snippet of the email I received, which she gave me permission to share with you all:

"While I was in pre-op, I was praying to God for a sign that his angels, my angels were there with me. About twenty minutes later when my family was allowed to come in and see me before surgery, my daughter Maggie said, "Mom, just know that your angels are here with you." I started to cry and told her that was exactly what I prayed for. I knew they were there for me, I could feel them around me. I felt them around me for about a week before my surgery."

Angels in a larger format

2011-04-10T22:22:00.000-04:00

approx. 7"x9"

I finished some larger angels this week and just listed them on Ebay. I love these two.

8x10 This one is mounted on a canvas that is painted with crackle paint and has embellishments added to make it look like a frame. It's pretty neat. I did the painting specifically to go in the 'frame' and it came out just right. Of course, when one is working with the angels, things tend to go just right.

http://stores.ebay.com/Cape-Cod-Artist