An artist-in-residence

157 Replies

I have an artist- in – residence?  Do you?

As a way of bringing a lighter, brighter look to my house, I have let her creative spirit have free rein in my domain.  There are new paintings everywhere.  And some of her old ones, too.

They make me smile. They remind me that spring is nearly here; that the magnolia is about to bloom again. They remind me that my dreary, old soul will soon be revived by  longer hours of daylight;  longer hours of sunshine.

Here’s a look at some of my artist’s work. Do you know who she is? If you are long time reader of this blog, you have met her before.  Of course, she isn’t physically in residence, but what fun it would be if she really were.

The little girl in me

The little girl in me

Portrait of Gallivanta's Magnolia

Portrait of Gallivanta’s Magnolia

More Magnolias

More Magnolias

Just the two of us

Just the two of us

Dog in residence

Dog in residence

Jack, the perfect artist's model-in-residence

Jack, the perfect artist’s model-in-residence

I haven’t taken photos for a while. I am out of practice. It shows.  I think I need a photographer-in-residence!

 

 

© silkannthreades

 

 

 

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157 thoughts on “An artist-in-residence”

  7. womanseyeview

    Such cheerful watercolours – like to see you and your Jack together. So nice that you have art on the wall that means something special to you – me too. Spring – a season of rebirth – is always a gift.

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  8. lisadorenfest

    Both you and Lucy are talented. I love the paintings and the photos. My two favorites are the first painting and the one with you and Jack! Sending warmth your way from the tropics. You’ll have enough of it there soon.

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    1. Gallivanta Post author

      Thank goodness I checked my spam today. I can’t believe I found your comment there. The warmth is certainly coming. You are welcome to send a little more. 🙂

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  9. Bun Karyudo

    I love the way the little girl is looking up. I have a favorite photograph of my younger son when he was about the same age and he has very much the same expression on his face. 🙂

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    1. Gallivanta Post author

      Hello Bun……I had to sniff you out from the spam. But I am glad I found you and your blog. Lucy painted the little girl for me as a healing/memorial/a symbol of hope after our earthquakes. On Sept 4th it will be 6 years since our first devastating earthquake. Unfortunately, I am seeing it all again in the horrible earthquake in Italy………..recovery is long and hard. I am weeping for them.

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      1. Bun Karyudo

        Thank you for finding me in the spam folder. I have a tendency to get lost and fall into them. I was also very sorry to hear about the recent earthquake in Italy. I can imagine how much more painful it must be for you to watch given what you went through six years ago.

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  10. Leya

    I’m glad to understand spring is coming! And with such beautiful art on your walls, the very look and thought will keep you smiling. autumn is closing up on us here, and there is much to do with berries and fruit. But fun!

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    1. Gallivanta Post author

      I love the autumn harvest; and your berries look so delicious. Today a magnolia bloom started to open on my tree. It is a little damaged from recent rain and frost but it is still a lovely sight.

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  12. melodylowes

    Love the expression on that wee girl’s face! That must be how I look as I wander through my garden. (If I’m not being chased by mosquitoes!) This post makes me wish I could pop over for some baking (or candy!) and just have a chat…

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  14. Sheryl

    Your photos are wonderful; you definitely don’t need to apologize for them. Is there a candy dish in the corner of the picture with the chair? I own a candy dish that looks very similar to it.

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    1. Gallivanta Post author

      Well spotted! It is a candy dish. I am not much interested in candies but I love the dish and other people seem to love the candies! There is also a fruit bowl so people have a choice of sweet things. 😀

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    1. Gallivanta Post author

      Thank you, Marylin. What I do seem to have lost is my ability to keep track of comments and whether or not I have replied. Sorry for the delayed response.

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    1. Gallivanta Post author

      And my magnolia will soon be in full bloom again. I can usually count on the flowers being out in time for our wedding anniversary towards the end of August.

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    1. Gallivanta Post author

      Thank you Wendy. Throughout my house there are reminders in art and books and belongings of the kindness and thoughtfulness of friends and family.

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  22. Inese Poga Art plus Life

    That is something every artist should do time to time: just create art. Wonderful works, they fit in the interior so well.

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  23. Letizia

    Such beautiful work – your lucky to have parts of your life captured this way. Painting often captures more soul than photography, I find. Give a hug to Jack from me!

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  24. Steve Gingold

    I am also partial to the portrait of you and Jack. Firstly because it is very nice (Jack looks the perfect fit in your arms) and also because I now have a picture of you rather than a mind’s eye impression which wasn’t based on much of anything.

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    1. Gallivanta Post author

      Thank you. 🙂 The painting was based on a photo taken in about 2008, so your impression must now include even whiter hair and a certain stoutness of figure and face. Jack is however very little changed. 😀

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  26. Lavinia Ross

    A beautiful collection of Lucy’s artwork, Gallivanta! She is a very talented artist. I’ve always loved the painting of the little girl, but the one of you and Jack is precious too.

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    1. Gallivanta Post author

      Art is Lucy’s joy and passion and, like most artists, (and writers and musicians) she works incredibly hard to perfect her art. Which reminds me, how is your wine making going? Making good wine is also a work of art. 😉

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  27. shoreacres

    I also remember that precious little girl — and I remember when you adopted some of the same sort of flowers for your hair. The expression on the girl’s face suggests she might have seen kōtuku: that beautiful bird of a single flight. Perhaps, grown up, she has become kōtuku?

    I enjoyed seeing the painting of you and Jack, too, although I think the photo of him is wonderful. His personality really does shine through. It’s a reminder to me that I need to take more photos of Dixie Rose, while she’s still relatively healthy and happy. Her vet told me on our last visit that she’s 81 in human years — no wonder both of us have arthritis!

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    1. Gallivanta Post author

      I am sure Dixie Rose wouldn’t mind being photographed more. And I would enjoy seeing more of her on your blog! Does she assist you by sitting on your keyboard? Your mention of the white heron brought to mind a vague image of trudging along a path on the West Coast in search of the herons. I may have been about 7. It was a family trip. Did we find the herons…..I don’t recall that we did but I do recall the sandflies which were horrendous. 🙂

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  28. Tiny

    It is great to have an artist-in-residence! Even in spirit! She is inspiring with her beautiful works. I have a photographer and now a digital artist too in residence 🙂 I hope you winter days are starting to get warmer and longer. Hugs!

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  31. Mrs. P

    They look beautiful and you are lucky to have such a talented friend who enjoys making your home perfect for you. 😉

    I’m glad spring is around the corner and will look forward to sharing some dirt with you…you know, the latest flowers and fruit that have come to visit or perhaps the latest dish from the monarchs! 😀 😀

    I’m a little giddy…going on vacation in two days. I think I have vacation fever.

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      1. Mrs. P

        More likely forests…I’m going to see my firs Renaissance Festival…yay! Oh well, off to work first…only two days…I can make it! 😉

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  32. Kate Johnston

    Beautiful work! My mom was a watercolor painter, and in going through her things, we found works-in-progress. My sister and I latched onto these lickety-split! 🙂 All of us 6 children have a piece or two of her work, but I kind of find the ones that she hadn’t framed and gifted to be a little more special somehow.

    I love your subject matter–magnolias and your furry friend!–true love shines through your art! 🙂 I hope you keep it up.

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    1. Gallivanta Post author

      So sorry to take so long to respond to your comment. I am not well-organised. How lovely to have watercolors painted by your mother. Have you shared any of your mother’s work on your blog? Perhaps it’s too early in your grieving process to do something like that. 🙂 Hugs.

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  33. Pingback: An artist-in-residence | Visual Fling

  34. KerryCan

    I remember seeing some of these before but not the one of you and Jack–that’s really wonderful! In our front hall, “the family gallery,” we have paintings done by just about everyone in the family, from our grandparents down to my niece–not all equal in terms of artistic merit but all special!

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    1. Gallivanta Post author

      Oh, wonderful….. an entire gallery. Yes, art by family or friends is always special. Was it you I told about finding a sketch done by my mother when she was about 26? I had no idea she sketched. I must show it to her one day and see what she has to say about it.

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  35. Julie@frogpondfarm

    Such lovely paintings … did your daughter do these? I just love the one of the little girl .. just gorgeous. And you don’t need a live in photographer either 😀 Is it raining down your way? Awful weather here in Akl.

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    1. Gallivanta Post author

      🙂 🙂 Perhaps I should have asked for a little crown to be painted on Jack’s head…..although in real life he hates anything on his head and is none too fond of a coat either.

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    1. Gallivanta Post author

      Su, like many people, I have special things full of memories tucked away in cupboards and drawers. I thought it was time to bring some of them out to the light of day. The funniest part was when I went to switch my paintings, I discovered I had so firmly earthquake proofed the current ones on display that I could scarcely prise them off the wall. These ‘new’ paintings are secured in a gentler fashion. 😀

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      1. Su Leslie

        It is a such a good idea to bring out different things that hold memories for you. You’ve reminded me that none of our paintings (or mirrors) are really earthquake strapped. I think we get too complacent up here in Auckland.

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        2. Su Leslie

          True. And being an Aucklander, I’m torn between the fear that volcanic activity will interrupt my latte supply, and the important question of what a volcano in my backyard would do to house prices? How many townhouses could I build on it? 🙂

        4. Su Leslie

          NIMBY unless there is money to be made. With all that extra land (ok, lava) generated by the volcano, I could increase site coverage, and with the new Unitary Plan, probably build a couple of apartment blocks. 🙂

  38. clarepooley33

    These are lovely paintings Ann! The use of colour in them is wonderful. I am glad spring will be with you again soon – longer and warmer days give us hope. Our days are slowly drawing in which makes me wistful.

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    1. Gallivanta Post author

      Yes, I always feel sad when the days start to draw in. I love the long summer evenings (and those after dinner excursions ;). My magnolias will flower in a few weeks, and I am looking forward to comparing the paintings with the new blooms. Today the grey sky is reflected in the grey buds. 😉

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      1. Tish Farrell

        You’ve reminded me of the lending schemes we used to have in UK schools in the 50s early 60s. As a child I found it so exciting when a new picture arrived; it was my main intro to art – Van Gogh, Raoul Dufy, Picasso. We had to copy them of course, which was interesting in its own special way.

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        2. Tish Farrell

          It may well have been, although mostly it was print copies of well known works. We did have one extraordinary modern piece of art in my all girls secondary school quadrangle. We thought our very uptight, seeming elderly headmistress had blown a fuse when she bought it. It was a large 8 foot tall abstract sculpture with 2 wavy metal arms in a sort of figure of 8 shape called ‘Feminity’.

        3. Gallivanta Post author

          Ah, yes, the elderly, uptight, upright, headmistress! I know ‘her’ only too well but I think my peers and I didn’t give her as much credit as she was due. We didn’t get an abstract sculpture out of her though. 😀

  40. utesmile

    What lovely paintings. I do remember the little girl form an earlier post. Glad you can enjoy them on your walls. Lovely the one of you and Jack together. Great to have something like that. So nice to see a post from you! Hugs Ute.

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    1. Gallivanta Post author

      Thanks GP. Putting up new paintings was a reminder to me not to get stuck with the same old, same old decor. Much as we might be comfortable and happy with a room as it is, there’s nothing like a change of pictures, ornaments, cushions, curtains, or the like, to bring a breath of fresh air to our surroundings. And the cost is minimal.

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  43. Clanmother

    I love the idea of having an “artist in residence.” It is a way to live within a creative and life-affirming environment that opens the way for new possibilities and adventures. We (Vancouver) are in the last stages of our summer months. Soon we will be seeing September colours and embracing coming of a new season. Hugs coming your way…

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      2. LucyJartz

        I have a bag Piper friend who visited my camp one day and tried to teach us a few steps of the Highland Fling. It was great fun, even for those of us who fell down at it. Ha ha. Great Fun!

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  44. Mary

    These are a lovely collection of artworks Gallivanta. Happy to read that the beautiful days of warmer weather are coming your way.

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    1. Gallivanta Post author

      I love to have artwork which has personal meaning for me. One of my favourite pieces is a watercolour which my daughter did when she was about 8. I look at it every day and every day I marvel at it. Yet, today, my daughter doesn’t paint and doesn’t even consider herself artistic.

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        1. Gallivanta Post author

          I do hope so. Actually you may have given me an idea for a blog post. My daughter did some wonderful cartoons when she was young. They still make me laugh and perhaps would give enjoyment to others via a blog post. A post would be a way of reviving her brush strokes. 🙂

  46. restlessjo

    Such a comfortable looking home, and I can see who’s master! 🙂 🙂 Spring can’t be far away, Ann. Your upside down friends are desperate to keep it at bay 🙂

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    1. Gallivanta Post author

      Jack knows he’s adored beyond all reason. 😀 And I am content that spring is coming…. there’s no rush…..hang on to the loveliness of summer as long as you can.

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  48. YellowCable

    Nice pieces of painting (water?). Those are even greater if they are you own. You have deeper relationship than from others that may just be of beauty. Good to see Jack again.

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