The Last Page

Some two years ago now I complained to my son Coert that I couldn't find a mention of my work on internet. He suggested I start a web-log and make myself known. Coert got me started and I enjoyed regularly posting my activities for friends and family abroad, picking up a client along the way and, of course, "seeing my picture on the cover".
As time passes I look at all the posts and see I am having much fun doing pretty much the same.... but different. I feel, anyway, that it's not exciting enough to keep posting it here so I'm going to call this "The Last Page" for now.
For those who feel the urge.... you can keep up with me and my work via Facebook.

An Altogether Busy Week

This week we had a guest from The Netherlands.
Nel is the widow of one of Peter's oldest friends, Gijs van Barneveld. Nel lives in the city of lives in Dordrecht. When Nel arrived on the 2nd of October Autumn had just set in. and when she left on the 10th the season was in full glory.
Nel was awestruck by the colors of our New England season and was constantly making photo's.... Below is one I made of her.
On Tuesday we painted the grandson of Charles Grey. The photo of my painting did not do enough credit to my work, but here is one of Victoria, I liked her painting as well.
Besides playing tourist with our guest touring around, shopping at Macy's, visiting Boston, art museums, etc. etc we celebrated the 50th birthday party for a friend of ours.
Yesterday Nel left, we had a little bit of an empty nest syndrome. She was such a good guest, full of enthousiasm and joy.

North Bend Garden

Gardening this year started out as quite the challenge.

All the water this spring got me off to a late start.... and the those !@#$%^coyotes that had been taking my chickens have left and been replaced by wild rabbits that ate all of the seedlings as they came up.
Since reinforcing the garden fence with chicken wire and replanting pretty much everything the ball has been rolling in a positive direction.

In this picture you see that I have help from friends..... "crop-sharers"instead of "share-croppers".
In the third picture you can see how fast everything is growing.
Note the sunflowers, they are not blooming yet, but see how tall they are.
We have already harvested several meals of summer-squash, little tomatoes, swiss chard, cucumbers, eggplant and even a pepper. All this besides the regular herbs. The pole beans "Kentucky wonders" are blooming. I like those a lot because of the red flowers. The hummingbird visits them a couple of times a day. ... You can set your watch by it.
Last but not least note the new fence. I am enlarging the garden for next year.

Bobcat on the island

During the winter some trees had to be cut on the big island at Cooks Pond. To move the wood and concentrate slash the men decided to drive a bobcat to the island over the ice to do the work.

When the work was done and they had to return the machine it gained so much momentum going down the steep banking that went through the ice.
It took a lot of manpower, cables and winches and they succeeded to get it back on the island.
Now the motor was not working anymore.

As the bobcat was borrowed from a brother in law there was a lot of pressure and anxiety. In the meantime the ice melted, spring sprung, and the bobcat was on the island. What to do? Leave it till next winter? Build a cabin around it? Have it picked up by helicopter?

Yesterday it was decided to float it and have it pulled by a cable to shore.

All the fuel and hydraulics were emptied and sealed. Big air pillows were attached as pontoons and they pushed it down the steep banking.
We were all yelling :'pull, PULL!!!!!!!' and very, very, slowly it got pulled ashore.
Here are some photo's (sorry it was not the animal "bobcat" as you thought:)

The preparation:
The operation:
The sweet smell of success!

Ice Rings on North Bend Farm

Here are some photos of my "ice rings". They decorate our yard during the winter frost. I had a late start this year because it was not cold enough but now I have about 100 rings hanging. If it stays cold enough I will make "ice hearts" for Valentine's day. I make the rings in coffee ring containers I buy at yardsales. They freeze overnight and then I hang them the next day. The ice rings brighten up the yard, especially when the sun hits them.

Getting Winter to Flower in New England

Now that the holidays are over winter has started to get serious. This is the time of year that I start longing for flowers..... however much I enjoy the light, color and shades of winter.
I started my Amaryllis late so that is not yet blooming. The Paperwhites are budding; but the most important, the Hyacinth is blooming.
I miss the smells from outside in the winter. The earth, the sheep, fresh mown grass and the flowers blooming.
It is around this time of the year, that I dig up my paintings of flowers and hang them up all around me. The first one, of the Nasturtiums, was painted last autumn.
The Sunflowers are from last summer.
The Gladioli are from my garden some years ago. The vase they are in is my own Worcesterware.

Logging and Coyotes

The loggers are all done now, the big machines are gone. Below is a photo of them loading the forwarder... Peter is supervising; he is standing well out of the way just to the left of the big maple tree.The logger left us some firewood. It needs to be cut, split and stacked. This will be a project for Coert when he comes next month.
During their time here, the loggers have seen six coyotes at once and seven deer, does with yearlings This morning there were two coyotes in the front yard. I took the pictures out of the window as not to scare them before I had proof of them. They are about as large as my standard poodle, with faces like a cat. When you see them you know for sure that they are NOT dogs.... See for yourself in the photos.

the Chrismas Blog-Break

Since arriving home almost two weeks ago we have been either shoveling snow or preparing for Christmas..... Or even better, shoveling snow so we could get out of the driveway to prepare for Christmas.
I made it up to Princeton for my painting group last week but made no pictures.
Here's a picture of the snow...... geese. Can you find them?

North Bend Farm Logging News

Joe the logger (on the right in the photo) is doing a great job thinning our woodlot. The forester, John Clark, of Bay State Forestry Service was just here to check it out. There are no deep ruts, the slash is cut small and flattened out. The path into the back lot will be cleared of any brush by the time they are done. Joe says he will be done by the end of December. He does not work when it is raining. He observed two coyotes, they were not afraid of the forwarder (photo below). I figured it is mating season and we can expect many more soon. We are amazed by efficiency of the logging. One man cuts the trees and "limbs", another man comes and picks the 20 foot long logs up with the forwarder. In the driveway (staging area) he sorts the wood into a pile of saw wood and firewood. See Peter and our grandson Daniel next to the wood stack below. From here the hardwood is picked up by a huge logging truck. Joe says the hardwood goes to a mill in New Hampshire because there are only a few sawmills left here in New England. The firewood is hauled off to Joe's backyard, where he will cut and split it.

Pines and Foliage... the time of the season

Here are a couple of typical New England landscapes... A photograph taken a few days ago over at the pond accross from our house:

Then a painting (oil on canvas 90x40cm) I made for my son Coert a few years ago because this is one of his favorite places:
And another he "just had to have" from my studio.... this one is egg tempra on panel 30x15cm:
Have another look at my first Pines and Foliage post if you'd like to refresh your memory. You can also locate the pond on Google Earth via Coert's "Panoramio" site.

Big Trees: cutting them down and painting them

Logging started in our woodlot and there is no way we can stop it now. If they had only started way in back, but they began in my enchanted forest.... It will take a while before we go there again.
The leaves are changing and I will start to paint tall trees again. Below are a couple of paintings that were sold to a neighbor some time ago.

After Glow: Moving on....

I mentioned yesterday to my son Coert how this project has taken more out of me than I had expected. The build-up went fine but the organization of the exhibit and especially the opening, that wonderful opening, took it's toll. Added to all this excitement was the (short) visit of Peter's brother Anne and his wife Feli from Brussels. I needed a few days just to recuperate!
My friend Paul Gunnerson sent some photos he had taken of the exhibit. Lets use them to close this project down. It has been a wonderful experience for me and up to now I haven't heard of anyone who did not want their portrait.... As a matter of fact most of them have been framed by Cliff before leaving the store.

After Glow: the embers

Mixed feelings today. On the one hand still elated that my work was so well recieved and the opening was a success. On the other a touch of the "empty nest" because I had gotten used to looking at thirty-some portraits strewn about my studio these past months. The question arises: what's the next project? I'll need a couple of days to think about that.
Last night I had a nice long talk on the phone with my favorite daughter in law, Dorri. We talked about pretty much everything..... coming of couse to the grandchildren Dana and Christiaan. Dorri told me that their school had posted photos of the children. Look here for Dana, hit your back button and click here for Christiaan.

After Glow.... the first one.

Yes, the first one because I'm going to milk it. Here are two pictures:
the first one we'll call "the big Hug". Yes, that's me.


the second is "the wall of faces".

The official photographer, Cornalijn, has posted about 100 pics in her Kodak Gallery... Try to get at it by clicking here. If this link isn't hot please let me know via the comments..... I have an account at Kodak Gallery that automatically logs me in so I'll need this feedback to keep the ball rolling.

People of Tatnuck, finally the Show!

I'm very very happy, all rosey.... "I couldn't sleep at all last night". The opening was a big success. Everybody came to see. Old friends, neighbors of course but also the mayor of Worcester, Ms. Konstantina Lukes. In the guestbook she wrote: "wonderful, portraits of friends and neighbors, Worcester's best assets". Another, I couldn't decifer his name, wrote: "art that makes so many people happy truly shows the joy of art".

The Worcester Telegram ran an item in the local news with a picture larger than I would have expected. Try and see it here.

Thanks to all the people that helped plan, cater, serve and photograph this evening was such a success.

Here's a picture of the crowd that filled the store "Framed in Tatnuck".
On the left you'll see my daughter, Cornalijn, working the skycam. In the middle you can just see my grandson Daniel... it was all a bit crowded for him. On the right, in the dark blue shirt, one of the two responsible for serving refreshments. Kenny Day.... with his hands empty!
The second of many to follow is of Mr. Gunnerson, president of the Tatnuck Association, sitting right in the middle of Tatnuck Square.
You can click on the pictures for a larger view.
There will be more in the days to come..... We'll call it the After Glow.

Farm/Art Day unvisited and the People of Tatnuck

I decided not go to farm/art day today, because it rained all morning. In the afternoon I did not want to go anymore. My friend Jean did'nt go either, that made me feel a little better. Today there was a big article in the paper about it and that made me feel a little bad again but I'm over it. I did bring the two paintings, nicely framed, so what more do they want. Today is the big day. My exhibit, the People of Tatnuck (renamed by others "Characters of Tatnuck") will be opening this evening . Tomorrow or Wednesday I'll post pics, links and the whole article. Make sure to check back often, maybe even bookmark! You can look at previous posts by clicking on the titles in the frame on the right.

People of Tatnuck Sneak Preview 2

The clock is running, excitement is mounting and the preperations for the opening are well underway. We expect at least 100 people for the opening of the weeklong exhibit. To tell you the truth I am getting a little nervous. Maybe I should have my hair done. For more details about the show you can see the first "sneak preview" or see the page at Framed in Tatnuck.
Anyway, the painting above is of Bobby Anderson, owner of the Tatnuck Fish Market. He always brings me bluefish when it is in season. The painting below is of Mr. Smeagle in front of one if his brightly colored trucks. He's the man we call whenever we clean out our barn.

People of Tatnuck Sneak Preview

I am so much looking forward to my exhibit in Tatnuck this coming September 17th. People have been wanting to see their portraits or others that will be shown. Just to give in a little bit I've decided to show the portrait of my friend, Judy Tonelli-Brown. She is a graphic artist and does portraits as well. Have a look at Judy's site.

People of Tatnuck exhibit

More than 30 of my portraits will be featured in a one-woman art exhibit entitled People of Tatnuck.

As a Tatnuck artist, I have undertaken to capture many of the colorful people who help make this Worcester neighborhood so closely knit.

My artistic motivation is neither recognition nor profit, but rather to present a colorful record of the people and merchants that make the neighborhood such a pleasant place to live and shop. I have been working in this project since March of 2007.

This exhibit is meant as a contribution to the spirit that makes the neighborhood the place it is today, with its variety of shops, services and the personalities that own or operate them.

With the closing of the exhibit I will joyfully donate the portraits to the subjects.

For more details about this exhibit see: http://www.framedintatnuck.com/PortraitShow.htm