August 2023

Maine … once again, I never, ever, ever want to leave. Fresh, cool, clean, crisp air. Rocky cliffs. Evergreen trees. Wildlife galore. Nice, friendly, hard working, down to earth people without a hint of pretension. Spectacular light. Amazing art community, galleries and artists. It’s everything I’ve always wanted and more.

We spent a week on the quiet island of Vinalhaven. Every time we go to Maine we test out a new area to see what life is like in that particular community. Our last visit to Deer Isle and Stonington was very quiet. Vinalhaven even more so. You have to take a car ferry from Rockland to the island and once you’re there, you instantly feel off the grid. I took my pastels and new pastel plein air box with me. I was nervous about painting with pastels all week because I don’t even really know that much about pastels, but I figured I’d certainly know them by the time I left.

Every morning I got up early, set up my easel and painted on the porch of our cottage. We’d go inside for lunch, take a little reading break in the middle of the day, then back out on the porch for an afternoon painting session. Some days we drove into town, popped into New Era Gallery or hit Greet’s Eats for a lobster roll, but most days we made tomato sandwiches and watched the hummingbirds.

We ventured over to North Haven by water taxi and visited the art galleries, had dinner at Nebo Lodge. We also had dinner a few times at Dot and Millie’s and had cocktails at Skal. But mostly we hung around the cottage, read, painted, kayaked and chatted with the cottage owners who live right next door.

 

The VRBO owners, Joel and Julie Greenberg, couldn’t have been nicer. Julie is an incredibly talented gardener with a wicked sense of humor, and Joel is a highly accomplished photographer with a brand new book out about Vinalhaven. While we were there, the 207 news crew interviewed Joel and his writing partner about the book. I can hardly wait to see the interview. 

Hygge. It was all very hygge. Beautiful sunrises and sunsets, solitude, peace and quiet. Painting in pastels was a lot of fun, only two paintings wound up in the garbage. While we were in Vinalhaven I got an unexpected message about Pastel Live, part of the Plein Air Magazine family. They asked me to record a video to encourage others to join in on Pastel Live, so Scott helped me with that recording while we were in Vinalhaven. 

Pastel Live was the following week, so I jumped in. What timing!

PAINTINGS

Here are my paintings from the month: 

 

 

 

 

PLEIN AIR

It’s been brutally hot, with heat indexes up to 113, so I haven’t scheduled any plein air outings for our group. However, we were invited by Douglas County to paint at their walk to Keep Douglas County Beautiful. Georgia and I were the only artists to attend, and I’m so glad we went. There was plenty of shade and even a nice breeze. Georgia is so funny and easy going, and I always learn something from her. 

 

EXHIBITIONS

The VHPAP crew has an exhibition up at the Douglas County Courthouse. “The Beauty of Georgia” features 24 paintings by artists in our group. The artist reception they held in our honor was easily the nicest artists reception I’ve ever attended. They interviewed Barbara, Georgia and me and really rolled out the red carpet. One of the things we discussed is that typically a courthouse is a space that causes anxiety, so to have beautiful, peaceful landscape paintings on the walls is quite soothing. I’d never really thought about that before.

I don’t expect to sell anything, and I don’t care about that. This was a different experience and it was well worth the time and energy. I love the staff at the courthouse and learned so much from them.

Our latest exhibition at Virginia Highland Books is winding down, just as a new one goes up on September 1st. As always, I’m grateful to my friend, Anne, for managing the process. I can always count on her.

We’ve been invited by the Fulton County Library on Ponce to show our work. We will be showing small works from mid-January to mid-February with a push for Valentine’s Day gifts. I’m really looking forward to this exhibition.

And lastly, First Lady Marty Kemp invited the VHPAP to paint at the Governor’s Mansion. Whenever I get a chance to tell anyone about our painting group, I jump on it. So when I met the Governor and First Lady last month, I didn’t hesitate to mention our group. Marty said, “Y’all should come over and paint the chicken coop!” And I said, “We’d love to!” Next thing ya know, I’m exchanging email addresses and now it’s all lined up for the end of October. I can hardly wait.

READING

While we were in Maine I read, Leading with the Heart, by Coach K. OMG what a book!!!! If you’ve watched The Bear, you know that Sydney read this book and that’s what prompted me to read it. This book is going on my all time favorite books list. Yes, it’s about basketball, but gah, it’s so much more than that. Coach K’s work ethic, honesty, commitment and dedication are inspiring. I also finished How to think Like Leonardo da Vinci, also very good.

PERSONAL

At nearly 60 years old (?! How am I that old?) I finally received my first jury summons and at a time when the Fulton County Courthouse is ALL OVER the news. I was called as one of 20 potential jurors on a DUI case and was one of the six jurors selected. It was intense. I felt a tremendous sense of responsibility and listened carefully to all of the evidence. At the end of the trial, the six of us deliberated in the jury room. We all did an excellent job of playing devil’s advocate, putting ourselves (as much as we could) on both sides of the case. On several occasions I said that it felt like we were missing pieces of information. There was no reference to a breathalyzer or field sobriety test. Some of the police footage was missing. The driver swerved slightly within his lane but never lost control or crossed into other lanes. He hesitated when the light turned green - but I do that all the time because drivers are nuts. Anyway, our conclusion was not guilty. 

Sketching in the jury assembly room before being called to Courtroom 3E.

Afterwards, we gathered our things and began walking towards the elevator when we ran into the Fulton County DA’s team. “What’d we do wrong????” “What could we have done better??” They were so disappointed. So we told them we felt like we didn’t have all of the facts and they said … because you didn’t. WHAT? What we learned is that previous DUIs cannot be mentioned in the courtroom unless you’ve had 4 of them. How is that even possible? Georgia law. Where were the breathalyzer and field sobriety tests? He refused to take them and the law protects him from having that mentioned in court, too. So the two things that would have sealed the deal were not permitted to be discussed. I felt tricked and frustrated. We all did. 

The other thing I learned is that the jury selection process is probably one of the most fascinating things I’ve ever seen/heard. So many people have had experiences with law enforcement, drug and alcohol abuse, car accidents and more. One person talked about their mother’s meth addiction, another discussed her ex-husband, a policeman. We were asked by both attorneys to describe drunk behavior … “How do you know someone is drunk?” One potential juror said, “Because my friend was eating shaving cream.” That response generated audible gasps from all over the room and the judge said, “That’s disgusting.” One juror talked about being high at work. She was selected as a juror and as soon as we got into the deliberation room she said, “I told them I was HIGH at work and they still picked me!?” 

I could go on, but you get the point. 

The other significant event that happened this month was on our flight from Portland back to Atlanta. We were delayed leaving Portland and as a result, we got back to the Atlanta area just in time for the afternoon summer thunder boomer. I haven’t taken a photo from an airplane window in years, but the scene outside our window was other worldly. As we descended the clouds were humongous, billowy and dark. The plane was shaking and I was a nervous wreck. I grabbed Scott’s hand and held on as tightly as I could.

But it seemed like - for a second - we were going to land without incident. And just as we got to about 2,500 ft, all of a sudden the pilot shot us right back up in the air without saying a word. The plane was shaking and sounded like it was struggggggling. I was terrified. Finally we got back up above the clouds and saw the monitors had been updated to say our new destination was Augusta, GA. Right after we landed the pilot announced that due to wind shears, we had to make a plan B. We sat on the tarmac in Augusta for a few hours until the storm passed. One passenger had more than she could handle. She was bawling and begging to get off the plane. They told her once she departed she wouldn’t be allowed back and she said she didn’t care, “GET ME OFF THIS PLANE RIGHT NOW,” she said calmly but forcefully. 

I’ve never experienced a flight like that and hope it never happens again. 

OTIS and JUJU

The boys turned 11 years old this month, and I want to cry because I want them to live forever. Yes, they’re cute, but my gosh, they’re the sweetest cats I’ve ever known. JuJu is a purring machine. Otis is a snuggle baby. Otis is not nearly the wild man he used to be. He used to love to jump from the kitchen counter to the top of the kitchen cabinets, and he hasn’t done that in probably a year or more. And while they’ve certainly calmed down, they somehow still find the energy to wrestle and fight almost every day.

 

 

 

At the risk of jinxing us, I think the worst of the summer heat is behind us. September is going to be very, very busy with plein air activities, and it’s gonna be a blast.