house on Back Cove

July 8 2011

There is a house on my road that is very appealing to me. It is a classic  one and a half story New England house,  It has been rented by various people over the years and many times it is vacant.  The barn was in such bad shape that is was taken down last year. 

 When our dog Moca was alive, I walked him every night before I went to bed. It is especially beautiful when the the landscape is lit by moon light. I have only painted two night scenes, "December Moon" being one, and also one of my favorites. I like the shadow of the house caused by the moon light  and the light reflecting from the inside of the house on the snow outside. 

December Moon  sold

"House early Summer" is a small painting, one I plan to keep. By the road is a wet area of  grass, ferns and bushes. I love ferns and these ferns are bright green.    

house early summer acrylic 8x12.

 

"Laundry Day"  The only tenants that lived there and hung the laundry out to dry on a clothes line.  This is a beautiful fall day with the laundry  being blown  by the wind. 

Laundry Day wc 10x14

 

"Leaning  Barn, Winter" I love all the seasons. I wouldn't want to live in a place where there was no snow in the winter. There have been winters when we get  a lot of snow. There is no need to plow when there is only a few inches. There must have been a car that came in and out to make the tracks in the snow. The car by the barn looks like it needs to be shoveled out .

Leaning Barn Winter wc 14x21

:Vacant House"  This was painted at a time when no one lived in the house. The sky and landscape give the scene a lonely feeling.

Vacant House 16x20  Sold

"Windswept"  This is one of my favorite paintings. Once in a while there is a storm when the snow is dry and light . After the roads and driveways have been  plowed if the wind is still strong it blows the snow into drifts back into the roads.  When that happens I have to get out as soon as possible and take some pictures because the plows come back and plow the drifts  to clear the roads. In this scene there wasn't much snow. The wind blew the snow off the ground in some places and I liked the patterns of exposed earth and snow covered ground.

windswept  sold          http://www.bechler-arts.com/audrey/paintings/newwork_fr.html

 

celebrations

It is the 4th of July. The sun 's heat is burning off the fog and the air has a salty smell from the breeze off the water. Yesterday as I drove home from the jazz jam my car broke down and had to be towed to a garage not far from where i live, so I will not be able to leave  Back Cove  until I get my car back. The Slawsons, my neighbors who spend most of their time in Rockland will be coming over latter for a picnic. 

Doug came up from Amesbury for a couple of days  this past week and he built my duck cage. I have to  put on  wire and make some doors. I had't seen Doug since my 75th birthday party  that was held at the Annex  when the April jazz jam  took place. I dressed for the celebration as you see me in the photo. Doug is behind me. The band played some of Charlie's compositions. There was good food and wonderful people there to celebrate with me. Patience baked the cake and Louise  painted my portrait from photos her husband took of me at various Tidemark openings. I read some inspirational poems after blowing out the candles on the dark, rich, chocolate cake. Everyone there  made it a momentous celebration for me. 

The balloons from the party, in the 2nd photo, are hanging from my ceiling. On this day they are still inflated and that is amazing to me. The sculpture  is by Joyce Zarine.  We had a show together at the Newburyport Art Assoc. years ago and we traded. I . I look at that sculpture every day and love it. I feel honored to have one of her pieces. 

"Beyond Reason" is another painting of the 911 series. The town, flag and myself are reflected in the storefront glass. 

May you all be together with friends and family today. 

Audrey and Doug

 

balloons

 

Beyond Reason

 http://www.bechler-arts.com/audrey/paintings/newwork_fr.html

Mira

Mira was born February 5, 2009 Her mother's name was star and all 8 puppies were named after stars.  She was 8 weeks old when I brought her home from the shelter. When I went to the cove with her she immediately went into the water. I had a swimming partner. I also found out Mira loved to fetch. She went after anything I threw and brought it back. She is smart and has more energy than any dog I have had. We go on walks every day, usually to the cove. She swims in the water in winter when the water temperature is  in the forties. 

I have a lot of dog stories. The last one of interest happened Monday June 27th. The sun was out and it was hot. After working in the garden Mira and i went to Pitcher Cove to swim. The tide was coming in but not enough water for me to get in for my swim so I planed to throw the ball to Mire for a while. When I got to the bank, a duck flew up and headed for the water. Mira took after it, the duck about 20 feet in front of Mira. I noticed the duck didn't fly out of the water so I came to the conclusion it was a young duck unable to fly. In a short time the duck with Mira  in pursuit, was on the other side of the cove, my guess about a half mile away. My eye sight for distance is not good. I could hear the duck quacking. I am standing  there wondering how I am going to get her back and I can't get to where she is. Then I heard a voice behind me and turned to see  my neighbor.  I asked him if he could see my dog on the far shore and he said he could see her running between two men clamming.  Apparently she found the men more interesting then the duck. He said that was his boat in the mud in front of me and one of the clammers  close to us was his son. They were about to quit digging as the water was rising over the flats. So I asked my neighbor if  he would please help me. The son got into the boat and was over to the other side of the cove in a few minutes and my neighbor who could see what was happening said they got Mira, who was still running back and forth in the water, into the boat. The son came back slowly,  Mira  has not been in a boat but she did not jump out and they arrived without mishap to our side. Mira ran up to me and wanted to play ball. After that experience she wasn't  even tired. I thanked the guys and they left. I threw the ball into the water and played with Mira for a while. After I had my swim we when home. I call what happened synchronicity. A situation occurred  that i would have had difficulty retrieving my dog and some one showed up that could help me. I have this happen to me a lot, I am aware of it, grateful and I thank all that were involved, seen and unseen. 

Mira 10 weeks old

 

MIra and Tippy

 

The cove I live near. Mira on the rock

 

In the water

 

A beautiful face

 http://www.bechler-arts.com/audrey/paintings/newwork_fr.html

 

"911 Friendship St." acrylic 23x32

June 29 2011

The 4th is almost here, flags fireworks and picnics so i have chosen this painting as one of my favorites. It has nothing to do with the 4th. but the flags reminded me of this painting. It was painted after the towers came down September 11th 2001 and many people  at that time put flags in their windows. This is a window in a downtown store front. An artist put up this display of a row of flags and a painting of the airplane about to hit the tower. Reflected in the glass are buildings of the town, the yellow building was at that time the library, originally the customs house. Strange as it may  be, the address  is 911 Friendship Street...    Audrey

Find more paintings here  http://www.bechler-arts.com/audrey/paintings/newwork_fr.html

"Boat in the Fog" acrylic 12x16

June 29 2011

This day is foggy and wet. So far the spring weather has ben cool and wet, with a few sunny days in-between. This is an appropriate painting for the day.

Boat in the Fog

I like small boats and I have my favorites that I put into some of my cove scenes. This part of the cove I have painted many times here scene on a foggy day. 

http://www.bechler-arts.com/audrey/paintings/newwork_fr.html

June26 2011

The iris are blooming in my flower garden. It is a regal plant and a flower that artists like to paint. I have a few favorite paintings of iris.  I took a photo of the iris with the orange background  from a book and I can't remember who painted it. The garden of iris was painted by Sally Loughridge. It was in the last show at Tidemark and sold. Sally works in pastel and oil and if you like this painting look her up on the internet. Two Iris, acrylic 18x24 is my painting. One of my favorite painters is Georgia O'Keeffe. I have several art books of her paintings. This is one of the Black Iris paintings. The last painting is by Charles Reid. He paints equally well in watercolor and oil.  This  image was taken from one of the  books I have of his work and teaching method. I have many art books and I treasure them. If I had money I would be an art collector. Looking at paintings gives me great pleasure.

June 21 2011

The first day of summer and it is a beautiful day. I will be outside as much as possible.

My favorite painting for today's post is Spring. Spring does not come to Maine on March 21st. There may be snow on the ground on that date. I consider it spring when the trees start to leaf out the end of May. Spring is a slow process where I live near the water,  which is a cold 40 degrees in March. The east wind, that is the wind off the water keeps the coast cool. Now on the first day of summer the water temperature is almost 60 degrees. This painting, Spring, is more like it is now on the summer solstice. This painting is about growth, new life, feminine nurturing, softness. The woman and young girl are friends sitting on the couch. Behind them through the windows is the spring landscape. The dog is attentive.  Not long after Charlie died in May 2007 Mocha was killed by a car.