Above photo credit: Jaylyn McFadden
My studio is the former taproom in an 1830s brick house in rural Vermont.
But my favorite studio is under the sky where I get started on most of my paintings. The French call this en plein air, meaning in the open air. My brother gave me an old easel and it accompanies me around the back roads and hillsides near my home. In 2022 I started painting from the bed of our old pickup truck (I saw the Irish artist Elizabeth Cope doing this on the pages of Faire magazine and had to try it). I spend the winter months finishing my summer paintings, and creating dreamscapes that are composites of the places I’ve been fortunate to go. I work in slow-dry acrylics by Golden Paints and use wide hardware store brushes and Rosemary artist brushes. Just love them!
From my journal
The Stars, the Moon
“You do not have to sit outside in the dark. If, however, you want to look at the stars, you will find that darkness is necessary. But the stars neither require nor demand it.” —Annie Dillard I like to sit in the dark when I can. Let my eyes adjust and see...
Irish Seaglass
Coming home from Ireland my suitcase was weighed down with bags of rocks and glass. Not Waterford crystal—mind you—but far more precious glass to me: the seaglass we picked up on numerous walks along a little pebble beach called Garretstown, a few miles from...
A Little Bit of Sweden in Soho
I have yet to travel to Stockholm. But a few weeks ago I stepped into the Soho shop of Swedish designer extraordinaire, Gudrun Sjõdén and got a tiny taste of the Stockholm vibe that must emanate from her flagship store there. It is one thing to admire...
Follow Along
Want a little blue sky in your inbox?
I send emails when the stars align (every so often).
See Original Art Here
- Flower Festival Exhibit, Artistree Gallery, Pomfret, Vermont, through July 17
- Royalton Memorial Library, South Royalton, Vermont through mid August
- Bank Street Gallery, AVA, Lebanon (New Hampshire) ongoing
- First Branch Coffee (Vermont) ongoing
- In my home studio by appointment
Where I'm Teaching...
- Summer Workshops open for registration. More details here.
