$350 Price is for unframed work. Framing and shipping extra.

One of my favorite places to paint is in Acadia National Park - Maine.  Each year I travel there to paint with my artist friend, Cindy Nixon. She shows at Argosy Gallery in Bar Harbor.  We stay at Robbin's Motel - which is inexpensive, comfortable and clean. Cindy and I get our own rooms so we can have time out and alone to ponder our thoughts and plans.

Many of my paintings of this part have been featured in American Artist's Watercolor Magazine.  Here I'll post a few of them: Somes Sound, The Beehive, and The Bubbles at Jordan Pond.

My jet lag is finally fading, and I'm back to work!  Next on the agenda: write and paint for Summer Issue of Watercolor Magazine. The magazine's editors asked if I would write about how to paint from photographs, and being a compliant person, I agreed. The spring issue - now in larger bookstores has the first article of this series on painting the still life. The feature article I'll be working on for the next few weeks, will show step by step how I paint landscapes from photographs.  I'll most likely feature work from my trips to Tucson and the coast of Maine.

I'll be posting my latest paintings of the desert on later blogs, and this year I hope to incorporate Javelina into my landscapes. They are the cutest little wild pigs... although scientifically, they are not really pigs, but they sure look like and smell like pigs! Anyway, even though they look as gentle as puppies, they are indeed wild and hide huge tusks under their furry little lips.

Thanks to the folks who bought my paintings this year at Hacienda Del Desierto -- it is such a joy to get to know you all and see "in person" how you respond to my work. I have made many friends at the Brown's B&B over the years and I'm truly grateful to have the opportunity to get to know you.

My mind and heart is still in Tucson, but since I love my husband too and he missed me - I must return to New England. It is getting warmer here now and I look forward to spring. Our first Putney Painter session will be held this Saturday - we will be painting our own still life setups. If you would like to see the work of our mentors, visit Richard Schmid's website and Nancy Guzik's.

Here's looking forward to sunny and warmer days!
Sincerely,
Lori

Painted from life at Village Arts of Putney. This is the daughter of artist John Potter.
If you are interested in adding this piece to your collection, please email me at: lori@lwsimons.com
or send an inquiry from my website.

Oil On Linen 8x6
Painted entirely from life
Priced at $450 unframed - custom framing extra.

Every winter, I love to get away from the snow and cold by spending a month in Tucson - usually February. While I'm there, I do three things... walk daily in the national park, Sabino Canyon or Catalina State Park... secondly, I visit my many friends who are mostly artists, and thirdly, I spend time painting.

I stay at the most beautiful spot - Hacienda Del Desierto - a B&B surrounded by desert and wildlife. In fact, when walking at dusk, I have to watch out for stray coyotes, and during the morning, I often see Javelina. They're so cute, but you wouldn't want to touch one. The B&B owners have what they affectionally call "pig pokers" handy just in case one approaches you. However, they are quite skittish and usually keep their distance.

One time I was painting outside of my room -- my husband was sitting nearby with a good book. The usual family of Javelina slowly passed by us, single file. Then my husband suddenly sneezed! I've never seen any creature scatter so fast. They were gone in all directions in an instant.

I hope to post my paintings and photos of my surrounds while in Tucson this year. If you'd like to follow my journey, you can click on the RSS tab at the top of my blog and store this page in your bookmark or favorites section of your browser.

Thank you for your time, and I hope you tune in often. If you'd like to see where I stay:
 www.tucson-bed-breakfast.com

Until next blog...
Lori