Photos from an exhibition

Summer and her mom, Elissa

Lori Rembetski, an amazingly talented sculptor. I have three of her dog sculptures, and they make me smile every day.

On the left, Laura Maiolo, whose beautiful work shares the space with my paintings for the rest of the month

Chris Rose, Lighthouse Gallery curator, maker of large gestures. 

We had a good turnout for the opening reception! 

Chris Rose, curator, talks with friends and supporters at the opening of "Oil & Water, Sunlight & Shadow" at the Lighthouse Gallery on March 4. 

The guy in the hat is my godson and son-in-law, Jon Mowrey. He and our daughter, Erika, came to the opening.

Laura Maiolo and I had a fabulous opening reception on Friday at the Lighthouse Gallery in Groton. Chris Rose, the curator, said he thought 60 people came through during the event. 

Many friends and co-workers from Patch came to the show, and that really touched my heart. Those of us who work for Patch work alone, in our houses, in our cars, in our cluttered and often dark heads, and so to see so many come out, and get together and have fun - and see my work! - well, it was a treat indeed. 

If you didn't make the show, no worries. It will be up at the Lighthouse Gallery through the end of the month, with the minor exception of March 17 and 18, when I will be taking the bulk of the work to the Paradise City show in Marlborough, MA. 

This is a big deal show that I've gotten into, a very high-end collection of artists and craftspeople, and I am thrilled to be included. It's at the Royal Plaza Trade Center. Directions are on the website.

In the meantime, if you're in the area here, please stop in to the Lighthouse Gallery. If you have been considering buying a piece of mine or Laura's, this is a great place to buy. Commissions go to help the Lighthouse Voc-Ed program, which helps kids with developmental disabilites. It's a wonderful program run by dedicated, caring people, and I love that my sales help them. 

And if you came to the opening, thank you! You made my heart sing. 

Scenes from an Opening

Here's Chris Rose, curator of the Lighthouse Gallery, in front of a wall of dogs. 

Here's a couple of the dangerous-looking types that haunt the Lighthouse Gallery... I'm married to the one with the beard... the other is Carden Holland, my partner in crime in "Places & Pets." 

Here's Chris again, in front of the Sams. 

"Rocky," "Giles, Goat Boy" and "How Now?"

These twin teenagers came with their dad; they spent a long time with my paintings, and it was great to watch them. Here, one of the twins is clearly suspicious of the lurker. 

A wall of dogs and cows.

The Lighthouse Gallery at night. It's a gallery in a strip mall on Long Hill Road in Groton, Conn., and to me, its everyday location is a real plus. It's a friendly place that invites everyone.




The opening reception at the Lighthouse Gallery was jammed; I stopped taking photos when the place got crowded - and I still didn't get to spend as much time as I'd have liked with some of the people who came so far out of their way to attend the opening.

I am feeling a little low, this snowy morning. I find this is something that happens after openings. I stretch myself to the edges of exhaustion, always pushing right up to the very last minute - and then it's over. I'm tired, I feel painted out, my direction at least momentarily unclear. None of my pieces sold, either, and while I expected that, it adds to the malaise, as does a rejection from the Connecticut Artists Show.

So went out yesterday, in the midst of a driving snowstorm, and attempted a plein air painting - but it was just too brutal, and the snow fell so fast, I couldn't keep the canvas clear. I came in and dried off, warmed up, and cooked, which in my opinion is one of the best ways in the world to spend a snowy afternoon.

Today, the world looks good again, and I can hardly wait to get out there and paint.

At Central Bark

At Central Bark

Oil on canvas, 18x36

Call me at 860-442-0246 or email me

if you are interested in buying this painting

Well, the all-animal show has taken its initial form! Carden Holland and I delivered our work today to Chris Rose, maestro of the Lighthouse Gallery (744  Long Hill Road, Groton, Conn; click here for directions), and he arranged, and hung, and took down, and arranged and hung again - and out of the chaos, "Places & Pets" began to take shape.

Carden's work and mine could not be more different - and that's great. Her pieces - landscapes, still lifes, drawings and ceramics - are careful, quiet, subtle, elegant. Beautiful. My pieces - all animals - are loud, bright, fast, inelegant.

So our stuff really works well together.

I admit, I was very nervous about this. For starters, "real" artists don't do paintings of pets - or that's the prejudice, at any rate. Like "real" writers don't write detective novels. Second, Carden is a trained, practiced artist with a lifetime of experience and practice. I wondered whether my work would look amateurish and juvenile next to hers.

And you know what? All of the above could be true, but it really doesn't matter. The show is fun, and sprawling, and exuberant - and it has a rhythm, and a shape and a voice.

An extra, added, wonderful bit about today is that one of my paintings, "Rocky," appeared with a blurb about the show on the front page of The Day, the local newspaper. I think I have Jill Blanchette to thank for this - or maybe just the gods of journalism. 

Now about this painting... I almost called it "Playing with Myself," but, well... I took two photos of a bearded collie, playing at the local dog park, and cobbled them together into this painting. So it looks like two dogs, but actually, it's the same dog. Fun, huh?

Come to the reception of "Places & Pets"! It's Friday, from 5-7 (or 8), and it will be fun.

And thank you for reading.