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Sunday, April 29, 2007

Visit Parrsboro, Nova Scotia

Don and I walked all the way across the exposed sandbars to get here from our cottage at Second Beach. Visit Bay of Fundy Blog for more information about the Canadian Maritime Provinces. You can drive there ;)
Check out at Destination Gallery on Main Street in Parrsboro, Nova Scotia. This wonderful 2 level space has been painstakingly restored by Artist/Owner Taylor Redmond who has an absolute gift for display. See paintings, jewelry, glass, fabric, antiques, vintage clothing and more, plus have a little something at the sweet coffee bar she hosts in the summer months. Visit my Just Painting Blog to see my work.

Friday, April 27, 2007

The Tomato Garden

My Beefsteaks, which I sprouted from seeds are almost ready to pick. Next year I'll transplant them more quickly than I did and I'll have a better crop. Such fun growing flowers and tomatoes in the winter here in Naples. I've given up on sprouting seeds at home because of the cold rainy spring weather we generally have up there. Two weeks from today we'll have begun the long drive home to Marshfield. Time flies.

Saturday, April 21, 2007

Block-in Five Little Peppers 5x5

I started this yesterday. I CAN'T do anything simple and it's my nemesis. So after a few hours I got the plate proportions right and took a break. Watch for the finished painting on Just Painting. Wasn't there a story about 5 little peppers somewhere in my childhood?

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Everglades Adventure

No Painting today. Took the grandsons for an airboat ride and afterward we drove a few miles farther to check out the Turner River, where we saw several alligators, a huge turtle sunning himself, a fabulous bird and a number of these magnificent Southeastern Lubber Grasshoppers. The longer we stayed at the site, the more we could pick out creatures who were camouflaged in the landscape. The highlight of the airboat ride was the tame pelicans ,which apart from the ride through the mangroves, accompanied us both at the beginning and the end of the ride. The guide has a little bucket of fish, of course.

Monday, April 16, 2007

Block-in Matlacha Gallery 5x7

Despite having my 8 and 12 (more like 14 and 16 if you ask me) year old grandsons here, I managed to get this little sketch done of a wonderfully colorful Gallery in Matlacha, Florida. The colors don't show up well here. The umbrella is much more red-orange and the green is intense. I'll post it on Just Painting when I finish it.

Friday, March 02, 2007

Wild Kingdom

Living here in Southwest Florida, we've got alot of company that we try not to think about, living very closely with us whether or not we like it. I saw this guy hanging out in the planter that runs the width of the front of the house under the louvered crank out windows that we , and the cats, love so much. I'm sure he and his kind were here long before we were.

Friday, February 23, 2007

Low Tide Solarized

There's a setting on the camera called solarize which separates the values in a dramatic way. This shot from 2nd beach in Parrsboro, NS. Canada is an example. It makes a dramatic scene even more so.
Visit marysheehanwinn.blogspot.com to view my latest paintings.

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Parrsboro Lighthouse

Sometimes just enough fog covers this lighthouse and the fog horn blows a high low tone, yet there is clear weather around it. Typical moody weather along the Fundy Shore.

Monday, February 19, 2007

Parrsboro, Nova Scotia

For those who came over here to see some photos of the Bay of Fundy I have some great stuff to show. I am a fanatic photo taker and digital photography has pulled out all the stops for all of us. No more wasted $$$$ on experimental or poor shots. I have been visiting Parrsboro annually for 10 years this summer. Here are some of the many moods of this special place. Depicted here: Morning, low tide, misty conditions, by mid afternoon the high tide has brought winds and clear skies. You can actually feel the wind shift at the tide change.
Check out the red in the water. That is not a photographic enhancement. Is that great or what?
All rights reserved on blog photos and content @ Not Really A Cleaning Lady
My other blog: Just Painting

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Nizzy

This is a fluff post. I 've been painting all day and stopped to take a photo of Nizzy who was jumping on the screen in pursuit of a lizard. She couldn't catch him.
I love her eyes. They morph from green to aqua green and smokey blue green.

Friday, January 19, 2007

Procrastination

Why do artists procrastinate? It's not because they don't love what they do. I've got the studio up and am dabbling in finishing a painting of cows that I started in Tiverton in September, I think. The cows are in dappled shade and it is about 90% done. It's that other 10% that's so worrisome. Maybe it will be posted on my Just Painting blog.
There are also distractions here, like the pool and shopping for house stuff.

Saturday, January 06, 2007

Going South

No one can fit more stuff in a car than I can. We're leaving at 3 AM which gets us to New Jersey by about 8AM. Then it's my turn to drive.
Until then I sleep.

Monday, December 25, 2006

Christmas Day

Anne and Colin Tommy and Ryan
Christmas Day always seems like a day that stands still in time. I figured out tonight that it's been 33 years since I've been driving to my mother's house for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
33 Christmas drives from Marshfield to Brockton and back. Really, I feel lucky to have had them.
Glad to have my family and especially glad for the new lives that Tommy's marriage to Anne (2002) brought. Ryan 3 and Colin 18 months. It was all about present overload today and two little boys who are the focal point now. It's a good thing and it was really fun.

Friday, December 22, 2006

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

My Dog Named Pooh

Since I haven't posted in so long it's now winter time and walking Pooh is a bit less strenuous (fewer people) in terms of gathering up the poo. But, it's still a minefield of risk.
We walked in pitch darkness a few nights ago but as soon as the proper time arrived so did some headlights waaay at the bottom of the street so's they'd be spotlighting us the entire time.
I'm dressed all in black fleece except my Nike shoes which glow in the dark and I carry a flashlight. Sort of invisible but not ;)
Luckily I had plentiful bags and bounties with me and Yes, I did pick it up.
These posts are dedicated to all dog lovers who cope with this several times daily.
Not for the faint of heart!
His name is Morey. There is no love like dog love.