Gratitude

I about to hop in the car to drive to Colorado, but first, I thought I would quickly list some things I am thankful for.
1.  Peanut butter
2.  hot tea
3.  Pono
4.  warm sweaters
5.  my husband (this is not in order of importance, mind you.  He would be first, if that were the case!)
6.  all the variations of the color blue
7.  the desert light
8.  good friends
9.  oil paint
10.  my family

Do you remember this painting?

Well, now it looks like this.  I was hoping to take it with me to Colorado, but it is still just a little too wet.   "Autumn Moon", oil on canvas, 60 x 48 inches.

Have a great week and a great Thanksgiving, everyone!

Monday's Roadrunner

Good morning!  The desert mornings have been fantastic.  I am thankful for my dog, Pono, because he gets me out walking and running every morning, even if I don't want to.  The thing is, once I get outside, I am so glad I did!  What a great way to start the day.  We have had a mild fall, without much wind, without much cold.  Highs are usually in the 60's.  This weather suits me just fine.  The road runners like it, too.

I head to Colorado tomorrow, to bring art to Framed Image in Denver for my show with a talented artist named Susan Harrington.  It is so exciting to have an opportunity to show with such a wonderful painter!  Here is a photo of one of her watercolor paintings.  It's called "Jubilation", and it measures 37 x 57 inches.  I can't wait to see it in person.  She also paints in oil and does monotypes.  If you are in the area, the opening reception is on Thursday, December 3rd from 4 to 7 pm.  I would love to see you!

I did get a chance to print some new monotypes last Friday.  I am hoping they dry in time for me to take them to Colorado with me.  This little monotype of mine was not printed Friday, but it is a recent one.  It measures 5 x 7 inches.   I hope to get a chance to post before Thanksgiving, but just in case I don't, Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! 

Ocean

 

 

 

Near downtown Ventura.  Ahhhh....

Ventura

Last Saturday was spent in Ventura, California, at the first Ventura Art Festival.  It was my first art festival, too.  I have attended many art festivals, but this was the first one where I was one of the artists selling my works to the crowds, so it seemed fitting that I started with the first year of Ventura's Art Festival.  It was such a magnificent day!  Tina Bluefield and I got there with a loaded up vw van at the dark, early hour of 6 am.  We unloaded and set up our booths in the cold, damp morning air.  By 8:30 am, we had things looking pretty good, and were ready for the day, and for some caffeine!  We were fortunate enough to be on the sunny side of the tent, and I was happy for the warmth of the sun.

The Ventura Chamber of Commerce did such a wonderful job of organizing this event.  There were many volunteers ready to watch our booths if we needed to escape for bathroom breaks or food.  There was food and coffee.  There was live music!  There was a steady stream of people, strolling by.  What more could we have asked for???  I feel that my first art festival was a great success.  I managed to set up a booth with my art, hang prices, engage people and tell them about my art without too much stuttering, and I even sold some things.  I also had the privilege of meeting one of the followers of this blog!  How cool is that?  (If you are reading this, Terri, "hi!")  The festival lasted until 6 pm, and then we tore it all down.  Gordita the vw van was loaded from floor to ceiling with art once more, and we went in search of some food before driving to the hotel room and collapsing in a heap.  It was a long but rewarding day.  Tina even won the Best of Show for one of her large paintings!!!   Here is a photo of Tina with her booth, which was right next to mine.  Doesn't she look great?

I would like to shout out a big thank you to the volunteers and the organizers of the Art Festival!  I was glad I came, and I hope to come back next year.

Thursday's coyote

This will just be a quick post, as I am quite tired.  Tomorrow, Tina Bluefield and I will climb into the vw van, which is packed floor to ceiling with art.  We will carefully drive to our hotel room in Camarillo, making a concerted effort not to stop or swerve suddenly.  The art will be carefully kept until bright and early on Saturday morning, when we will bring it out for display and sale in Ventura!!!  It is pretty incredible, to see so much wonderful art in our little "Gordita."  (For those of you who are new to the blog, Gordita is the name of our vw vanagon.)  I am excited, and nervous.  If you are living near Ventura, please do stop at the Ventura Art Festival and visit us!  Tina and I will be right next to each other.

I promised a photo of a new monotype.  I have others, still drying, which I am really excited about, but since they are still drying, I have not been able to scan them.  That means I cannot share them with you yet.  Sorry!  I will tell you that I had lots of fun printing them, and I wished they were dry.  I was hoping to take at least one of them with me, but I do think I have plenty of art.   This one is a brand new bird, and I called him "Once Over."  He is coming with me to Ventura! 

We've heard and seen many coyotes lately.  In fact, Pono and I were just at the window, looking into the black night, trying to see the one that was making such a racket, seemingly right outside the window.  It was too dark, even when I turned off the lights inside.  Oh well, I do have this photo of one we saw about a week ago.  I would have had more photos of this one, but Pono stuck his fuzzy head right in the middle of the lens of the camera just as I clicked the button.  So the other photo (which would have been fantastic, I'm sure) just looked like a black screen.  Darn dog! 

Oh, and don't worry about Mr. Pono this weekend.  The hubby has the weekend off, so he can take care of Pono while I am away. 

I wish you all a happy happy weekend!  I love you, dear blog readers!

Arizona

This past weekend, M and I went to visit his parents in Mesa, AZ.  They stay there in the winter months, at a place called Venture Out.  It is a retirement community, and the residents live in trailers.  It is a great place to live, if you are retired and like to stay busy.  They have all kinds of activities and social gatherings.   There is a stained glass workshop, woodworking, lapidary, art classes, hiking groups, swimming pools, etc.  Just about any activity you might be interested in can be found.  We had a really good visit, and enjoyed some pretty warm (hot) temperatures while there.  (93 degrees, in November!)

I love the drive to the Phoenix area, since we take the back roads.  There are plenty of sagauro and ocotillo cactus along the way!  I was having fun, as the passenger, clicking photos through the window of the zooming vw van.  Here are a few shots for your enjoyment.

I am busy preparing for an art festival in Ventura, California this coming Saturday, November 14th.  I will be downtown, in a tent, near Mission Park on Main Street.  The festival is from 11 to 6 pm, so if you are interested in stopping by, click on this link for more information.  I will have brand new paintings and monotypes with me - some of which I created yesterday and today!!!   Hot off the press!  I will be right next to my friend and fellow artist, Tina Bluefield.   You can also send me an email, to get more information about this event.  karine@karineswenson.com

I will have photos of some of the new monotypes for you soon.  Happy Monday, and stay tuned!

Happy 300 and the winner

Well, I know you have all been anxiously waiting to hear who the lucky winner of my latest giveaway is.  I had so many wonderful entries that I finally had to employ the help of my husband.  (Pono gave his input, too, with a tail wag.)  The lucky winner is Charmaine, a fellow blogger and author of High Desert Diva.  Her winning title for the diptych I posted was "Lake Reflections, Autumn."  Congratulations, Charmaine!!!  You are the winner of "Three Quail", the linocut.  I am also going to award Melissa, of Pugnotes an honorable mention, since her entry included part of the title.  (Reflections)  Thank you so much, to EVERYONE who entered.  I needed help with the title of that diptych, and I appreciate all of your input.  It was a difficult decision, choosing a winner.  I am thankful to have such loyal readers to celebrate post number 300 with!  Thank you, my dears!

I am still a little tired from the Studio Tours.  I think I just overdid it.  I did show again this weekend, with the life drawing group.  I delivered two framed portraits and some unframed drawings to the show, but I did not stay to talk about my art and meet people.  I kept thinking I should be down at the exhibit all weekend, but to be perfectly honest, I just didn't have it in me.  I want to thank my friend, Janis Comments, who organized the whole event, and for those artists that did stay to talk to people who came.  You did what I could not do, and I am grateful for you!

I don't have much else to write about, other than to say that our little cold snap is over, and we are back up to 75 to 80 degrees during the day, with an abundance of sunshine.  This desert living is hard to beat!  I look out at the big moon, and think about how wonderful and full my life is, and I feel gratitude.  I will now leave you to go and be with my handsome husband and freshly bathed dog.  Fond thoughts go out to all of you, dear blog readers!