“A Great meal is like a fireworks display, nothing remains.” – Paul Bocuse

I beg to differ with the comment above! Last weekend I had a wonderful mini-retreat with three artist buddies: Judy Wise, Jenny Wentworth, and Melinda Bloom. We met at Judy’s house for a feast of fresh vegetables and homemade baked goods that would set your tummy rumbling if you could smell them! And we topped it off with a dessert of shared artwork, ideas, inspiration and support. What remains is a feeling of goodwill, shared dreams and motivation to get me going in the studio. Here are some photos from our get-together….

Judy presiding at the feast

Sharing our artwork

Me with my most recent project

I brought the project that has been occupying me since art camp. I’ve been mounting and varnishing a painting for my sweet client, Shirley. She had one of my paintings from the Door Show, and wanted another when she came to this year’s art fair. We discussed framing options and she mentioned how much she liked the simple presentation of the door. So I offered to mount this one on a panel in a similar way. She was so pleased! I delivered it to her home in Salem this week. Here is a photo of the painting in its new location… Shirley’s guest room.

Art that's found its home

And here’s the door “Time Traveler’s Wife” in Shirley’s powder room. I love how this large piece makes a statement in the small room. I often hear viewers wish that they had more wall space… but I think if you love a piece, you’ll always find a place to put it! Most people have more space than they think they do!

"Time Traveler's Wife" copyright Ruth Armitage

I loved that painting because of the romantic connotations of the book The Time Traveler’s Wife.  We’re getting ready to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary this month! It seems like time has flown by and we were just in college a few years ago. Now we have kids of our own in college and we’re off on an adventure. More on that in my next post!