Art of the American West

Innocence and Alces Borealis Forma will ship out soon, headed to The Centerpiece Gallery in Raleigh, North Carolina, where the jury for Limitless, an international art show, selected both for this year's event.

Getting a painting ready to travel is its own kind of work. Tom has built the frames out of black walnut boards that my family has held onto for over five decades. I don't send paintings out in temporary frames; the frame a collector receives is the one meant to hang. Each piece travels with a signed certificate of authenticity on the back, and because I paint on Sierra Art Panels, even the back of the painting is beautiful to look at, and it doesn't get hidden away under framing materials.

The show runs October 9 through November 6. If you're anywhere near Raleigh this fall, I'd love for you to stop in and see the paintings in person.

July was a productive month in the studio. Second Sight was started and finished, along with major work on a large moody horse painting (tune in next month to see it finished), and finishing touches and work on a number of other paintings.

I have summer heat to thank for it.

For years, my summers meant packing up and driving east to our little lake cabin in northern Wisconsin where I grew up. RozieMay, our golden retriever and I would gather our art supplies and favorite stuffed toys, and of course the kayaks, and we'd head out together, with Tom usually joining us later in the season. RozieMay and I used to joke that we were like Thelma and Louise. The tame version -- no guns, no cliff, just two road-trippers headed for the water.

Finally the cross-country haul got to be too much, and last year, with heavy hearts and regrets, we sold the cabin. Now summer means California. Hot, dry, and primarily indoor-bound.

It turns out that's very good for output. When the studio is the coolest room in the house, the paintings pile up.

Lemons into lemonade.