Washington DC and Spring

                                                 World War II Memorial

It is remarkable.   Spring actually has arrived in Bittinger, Maryland.   The crocuses are up and  blooming, as well as the tete a tete daffodils.  We do still have some piles of snow here and there in shady places and on the North side of the hills. Today the temperature reached into the 70's and we ate dinner on the deck for the first time this year.
We spent last week in Washington, D.C. with grandchildren, showing them their nation's capital.  A grand time was had by all.   We were at the Smithsonian, the Lincoln Memorial, the zoo and other attractions.   We visited the World War II Memorial  for the first time.   My friend and mentor Jim McNeil had served in that war where he was captured and held as a POW.  I consider Jim the premier watercolor painter in Garrett County.  There are many watercolor artists in Western Maryland who have benefited from Jim's instruction.  Unfortunately Jim McNeil has not had the opportunity to visit that memorial.

We went to the Phillips Collection to see the Georgia O'Keefe abstract exhibit.  I had not seen most of the pieces in the show and loved it.   There were several that were watercolors on paper, which were really terrific.

And so I continue to play with abstract painting.

SKIING IN UTAH

Despite the great snow and skiing at the WISP in Garrett County, Alan and Sue Arnson ventured to the Wasatch mountains in Utah to ski this past week.   We had never skied Utah and have been wanting to ski in the west for the past couple of years.  The mountains are breathtakingly beautiful and the skiing was memorable.   One day we dropped 2,100 feet when we skied from top to bottom at Alta.    We stayed at The Cliff at Snowbird, which is a lovely resort.  Take a look at these mountains.

DANIEL HELSEL

The Garrett County Arts Council presents the Old Masters Style paintings by Daniel Helsel of Pennsylvania.  The show is in the Backroom of the Gallery Shop at 206 E Alder Street, Oakland, Maryland.  The show is titled "Simple Things Remembered".   There are 25 lovely paintings in the show.  
There will be a reception for Daniel Helsel on Saturday, March 27, 1 p.m. until 3 p.m.  

The public is invited to the wine and cheese reception and to meet the artist.

Daniel Helsel's show will be up until April 16,2010

GRAY and WHITE

 It has been snow white in Garrett County these past weeks.  Now the landscape is  gray, especially along the roads.  It is amazing to see the amount of  road grit on the snow.   So in the spirit of gray, I decided to play around painting gray buildings in a snow scene.    Gray is made by mixing complementary paints.   I used three primary colors and mixed them in various combinations to either blue the gray, red the gray etc.  This painting was done using a combination of ultramarine blue,  permanent rose and hansa yellow.     

WINTER

It may be the lst of March and only 2 weeks until Daylight Savings but it is winter in Garrett County.
The previous record snowfall was in 2002-2003 when we had 233" of snow.  The record was broken last week before the Friday snow event that dumped 22" on Garrett County.   The wind and snow were intense and everything closed including Wal Mart.   THAT is a first!!!!   Over the weekend we picked up 6-8 inches more of snow so that we are now approaching 275" of snow.  However, the roads are in good shape and we can move around the county fairly easily.

I used this weekend as an opportunity to retreat to my studio and paint.   I have not been a fan of painting on canvas with watercolor but a snowy weekend and idle time have changed my opinion on the canvas issue.  I had a great time out there creating and playing with paint. Plus sailboats made me feel like it was summer.

Art for Haiti

The reception at Garrett College to honor the Art for Haiti exhibit was outstanding.   The people came and they purchased art.   At the end of the day over $4500 was raised to benefit the people of Haiti.  Lorie and Ron Skidmore did a wonderful job of displaying the art.   The terrific food was donated by the Wil 'O Wisp. It was a really lovely afternoon spent with good people and great art.

Don Sincell and Ron Skidmore has a lengthy discussion.

  Jerry Mc Gee played his Fireside Bagpipes (next to the fireplace),much to everyone's enjoyment.  







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Contrasts

               

Sometimes life offers us huge contrasts. 

 We have been in the Turks and Caicos Islands since the 1st of February.  It was a wonderful trip with sunny days, blue skies, temperatures in the 80's.  The water is a brilliant turquoise color. It was 12 days

. of lounging on the beach with good books, great friends with lots of laughs and good times.

Then we came home to Garrett County Maryland.

We live in the mountains of Maryland and are used to snow and cold. Apparently there has been an excess of both in the past 2 weeks.  Our housesitter (henceforth known as The Prince) reported that we had 73 inches of snow while we were gone.  We were thrilled to find our driveway plowed, paths shoveled into the house and my studio. . . total accessability.  The Prince of Bittinger is my hero.   (If you need real estate assistance, call Brad Nesline at Long and Foster  . . . my hero)

From 85 degrees and turquoise water to 70 inches of snow!!!!!