I was recently commissioned to paint Shallie in her element – cruising off the Connecticut coast on a beautiful summer day.  Shallie is a 10 x 10 inch oil on canvas.

As a follow-up to my previous post, here is the beautiful poem that regional poet, Patrick Norton, wrote for my painting in the Ekphrasis Exhibit:

Two Friends

Two friends, rooted close, hold fast to ground

much older, with memories of others gone by.

Older still, the silent bedrock, without sound,

holds the land and two friends up to the sky.

Though solid and blessed with the gift of years,

their friendship cannot last beyond its hour.

Trees topple, soil erodes, and foundations shear.

Time grinds slowly, but with unrelenting power.

But we live in the day and leave the tide

of fate to the contingencies of time.

For two friends who share today side by side,

time stands still;  the day is warm, the weather sublime.

Enjoy today, my friend.  It is your life.

Paint the sky blue, and forget about strife.

It was my pleasure to be asked to submit a painting for the Ekphrasis exhibit at the Merrill Memorial Library’s Art Gallery in Yarmouth.  Each work of art in the exhibit will be accompanied by a poem written by a regional poet specifically for the visual artwork.  “Tree Huggers,” my 12x12in oil on canvas will be on display and I’m excited to read what the poet who was inspired by this painting chose to write.  The opening reception is tomorrow evening, Friday, April 12th from 5:30-8:00pm.  At 6:30pm, many of the contributing poets will be reading their poems alongside a display of their inspirational artwork.  For more information and directions, click here.

The lovely and talented Interior Designer Jan Robinson designed this room which appears in the February issue of Maine Home + Design (on pg. 78 to be exact!).  It’s always a joy to collaborate with Jan and I was thrilled when she asked to use “Breaker II” (and my driftwood sculpture on the shelf above) for the photo shoot.  “Breaker II,” which is now being exhibited in Jan’s store, EcoHome Studio,  captures the Maui surf the morning after the tsunami warning that cancelled our flight home in late October.  Thankfully, the tsunami only registered 2 1/2 feet and another day in paradise wasn’t too tough to take.  As an aside, I was inspired to paint another oil from Maui which was gifted to my stepson and daughter-in-law (who had arranged the trip).  “Wailea Morning,” a 12×16 inch oil on baltic birch captures the view from our balcony as we enjoyed our breakfast of macadamia nut banana bread our first morning (YUM!).

‘Twas a creative frenzy in November and December and I’m way behind in posting artwork from that time frame.  In preparation for art exhibits and completing painting commissions, over the course of  7 1/2 weeks I painted 23 new oils, created 16 sea glass trees and 18 sea urchin trees, made two vacation photo books and a custom calendar as Christmas gifts, decked the halls, cooked, and baked, and baked, and baked.  I wonder why I rang the new year in with bronchitis?  Nevertheless, meet sweet Pumpkin, a 10×10 inch oil on canvas, and the very spirited Tooker (an 11×14 inch oil on canvas) who finally became tuckered out enough for me to photograph the image that inspired this adorable expression.

Kicking off with First Friday tonight, these new works will be included in a group show at The Salt Exchange.  Along with “Small Wonders” from Rick Green, Bob Delaney, Anne Macleod & kdb, these Penobscot Bay inspired 10x10in and 9x12in oils on canvas will be on display through the end of January.  Click here for more exhibit details.

Tree Huggers, Ellen Thayer 2012

The members of the Saccarappa Art Collective are hosting a
special opening with holiday gift-giving in mind.

We have over one hundred new works, large and small,
plus prints, cards, and pottery. 

Come celebrate the holiday season with us!

861 Main Street, Westbrook, ME 

“Works for the Season of Giving” is presented by collective members
Caren-Marie Michel, Lucy Ellen Smith, Ellen Thayer, Frank Valliere, Julie Vohs, Andy Curran, Sherry Ballou, Mary Brooking, Jody Dube and Jeremy Greene.

‘Tis the season for Sea Glass Trees!  Created from sea glass and pottery shards I’ve collected from beaches in Casco Bay, they stand 6 inches and 9 inches tall.   As a member of the Five Rivers Arts Alliance, I’m participating in the 15th annual Arts Downtown and All Around Holiday Art Exhibit and Sale next weekend. These trees and others, plus original coastal-inspired oil paintings and Love Rocks Maine t-shirts, magnets, prints and cards will all be available at Blessings Home & Garden store, 11 Mason Street in Brunswick.  I’ll be there on Saturday, December 1st along with artists kdb-Karen Dominguez and Sara Cox of Delilah Pottery  and, of course, Diane Vella, proprietor of Blessings – a lovely home and design store with one-of-a-kind furniture and accessories.

If you haven’t yet visited Tao Restaurant in Brunswick, you’re in for a treat for your eyes and for your palette.  In their recent publication, DownEast magazine’s Nancy Heiser has written a glowing review and provides the back story in the article here.  On the walls of this relaxing and zen-like dining establishment you’ll find several of my water reflection paintings as well as the vibrant, coastal-inspired encaustic works of kdb – Karen Dominguez.  kdb is the curator of this venue and provides interior photographs and more details in her blog here.  Enjoy!

Inspired by the great seascapes hanging in Kennebunkport’s Captain Lord Mansion and in Portland’s Cumberland Club, Sea Swells, a 30 x 40″ oil on canvas was commissioned by an out-of-state collector.  While it was gratifying to complete this detailed painting, seeing the owner’s overjoyed response was equally as gratifying!