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
DIY, Moss Winter Garden
The days are lengthening, I can already tell. The chickens, who took a break from laying for a few weeks, are sharing an egg per day. Around now the indoor greenery is keeping my spirits up. The tips of narcissus are reaching toward the ceiling, and...
A Fresh Path in the Snow
Today I took down the Christmas tree. The momentary sadness was instantly replaced with the euphoria that comes with moving the furniture around. I trimmed the rosemary plant of dry ends and woody twigs, filling the house with its piny scent, to...
Living with Blue and White
This fall I was pleased to see classic blues return to the pages of shelter magazines and in the collections I saw in Paris at Maison et Objet. As a child I collected blue willow china, and I still have a soft spot for any blue and white plates. These...
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 August 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...
- Fall Classes and Workshops open for registration. More details here.
