Broadway

"Broadway"

22" x 28"

Soft pastel

nfs

 In 2002-3 I spent an intensive year in the Post Baccalaureate program at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in Baltimore.  The post bacc candidates had studio space in a converted warehouse on the outskirts of campus.  The lighting was poor, the air circulation nonexistent, and the neighborhood none too safe.  None of that mattered because we were painting, and dogs were welcome!  This is Broadway, whom one of my studio mates, Dana, had rescued from life on the streets.  Broadway was a frequent visitor, and often kept me company into the wee hours.  True to her border collie roots, she would stare at me with intense focus until I put down my brushes to come play.  

Angel on High

Soft Pastel

22 x 26"

Sold

This is Angel. He was part of a feral litter born to a neighborhood cat that no one could catch.  One day I heard a kitten screaming, searched the yard, checked under the deck, but saw nothing. After an agonizing day searching, I finally crawled under the deck and looked down a slender standing pipe with a flashlight.  A tiny screaming face looked back. A fallen Angel.  He was only a few weeks old, and had wedged himself so he couldn't move his paws. In desperation, I lowered a rope with a rag tied to the end. He grabbed onto the rag with his teeth, and I pulled him out.  He was one wet, stinking, screaming kitten: scared but otherwise unharmed.  From that day on Angel was my constant companion until he passed away at age 14 in 2006.   

Fading Light

Mom

18 x 22"

soft pastel

Rough day.  I eventually got to the studio, painted for two hours, and wiped it out.  I know it happens, but I still find it distressing.  My hat's off to all of the daily painters who paint so beautifully, and so quickly.  I'm posting a pastel study that's preparatory for a larger oil.  This is my mom, who lives with me.  She was diagnosed with Alzheimer's three years ago.  I've finally taken leave from teaching art at the community college to care for her full time. Each day brings a new challenge. Some days I just feel flattened. And at a loss for words.  : -)

Nana Richards

Annie Richards

Soft Pastel

22" x 28"

nfs

This is my Nana Richards, my mother's grandmother.  She was Welsh, and moved to the U.S. as a young woman with my great-grandfather.  I based this on an old tinted photo from my mother's stash of keepsakes.  I've heard she came to visit when I was a newborn, and insisted on taking me out for an "airing in the pram" in a blinding snowstorm.  I was also told that she had a strong personality, and consequently great-granddad spoke little, and drank a lot of gin.  Some hat, huh!