PineShoreStudio/Paintings by Helen Harris

  As the colder air greets me on my morning walks, I return to my studio for a hot cup of  tea. I realize that my painting has been slowly shifting from a summer palette of sea inspired colors  to the autumn golds and now a cold snap brings out a snowy image !    It seems to me that from Halloween to NewYear's Day my world just whizzes by.   I struggle to keep a daily routine of painting that is filled with a flurry of activities, family gatherings and greetings of holidays. It is so easy to be distracted by all of this activity, staying focused is so difficult.    I have posted my upcoming shows and due dates for a variety of painting assignments on my easel ..to be read and bargained with every time my eyes drift to that cozy couch and book or the pile of knitting that awaits my new grandchild. Yes...being a "working artist" is a job...not an easy one.  It has an aura of freedom to do as I please,whenever I choose. I laugh a...

This past week I enjoyed a trip away from my studio. I revisited my home in upstate New York, near Albany.  I had a wonderful time revisiting the fields I ran in as a child, the hills I flew down on my bike and the lakes where I  learned to swim. While  catching up with a childhood friend, a suggestion to go see a Van Gogh exhibit at The Clark Museum in Williamstown, MA became an exciting unexpected side trip. As we drove up Rt.43 from NY state to MA, I recalled the source of  my paintings! I had absorbed that land as a child and never left it behind.  More gently rolling mountains than the soaring ones I saw last month in New Hampshire and Maine, expanses of pastures broken by the now green swath of ski runs, with glittering lakes tucked into every turn. My head was on swivel as my hands painted the air.    I entered The Clark and walked the Van Gogh exhibit. Painting after painting I saw work of this artist that I had never seen before. Sketches w...

On October 31st, my new business venture The Cookie Cab celebrated its one year anniversary. Happily I can say it has been a success. In fact, it expanded from a bakery to a bakery /cafe, adding sandwiches & soups ! Celebrating the anniversary, we expanded to a second shop The Cookie Cab Retro Candy & Nuts that has been well received by the town. As I have stated in my blogs this venture has detoured my painting career..lol..I guess that's an understatement. Through it all I have hung on to the fact that the day would come that I would paint again ......and I am! Not as prolific as once before but the paintings are beginning to surface & I have participated in two shows. At The Cookie Cab , I created The Cookie Cab Gallery, where I feature the works of local artist. Part of our business plan is to "pay it forward". The Gallery wall is free of charge to these artist & all sales go to the artist 100% ..no commission is taken. A few sales have been made,...

Ha! I'm looking forward to the rest of this day & tomorrow. Time to myself these days has been elusive. Remembering to take time for myself is not as easy as you may think. It took an intervention by one of my 3 daughters ( I believe the other 2 thought she could get through to me best)to say ENOUGH! As a full-time painter my 12 hour days of work were tiring but not as physically exhaustive as my 12 hour work days as the owner of my own bakery & cafe. Equal attention to both has proved to be frustrating and I need to accept that one will get more attention than the other ....for now. Hopefully this way of thinking will help me not be so hard on myself and begin to enjoy each day again. The days of longer sunlight are not far off with the beginning of Spring...my gardening,as well as my painting will be renewed....balancing the work days of baking.......hmmmmm...these are my plans........ Is that the sound of God laughing?

Another show come & gone..this one was sunny and I received an Honorable Mention Award! I even sold a painting that I was working on during the show! All good ..but... I do feel I've reached a plateau at the moment. Hmmmm...change is in the air. If I hesitate ..I'll be in this same spot mentally, creatively, and financially this time next year. Time to make some changes. Learning how to market my artwork on line as well as in my daily public contact is an on going process. Taking the time to listen to a number of artists that I've come to know both on the internet as well as through art associations has resulted in a need to adapt some of my methods. Soooo.. I'm going to be busy,going over basics, readjusting ,reevaluating. It's back to the drawing board and hopefully more success! A quick note here to my followers ...I'm in the process of changing over my web site host and my site will be down for a few days.

This is the newest mixed media work that I have completed. It is also the one that I am currently featuring in " how to" discussions on my instructional site PaintersBrew . Canyon River is 18"H x 24" W and is on watercolor canvas. It features my signature texturing of papyrus, unryu papers and textured gels. It is currently available by clicking on the Fine Art America link in my left hand column. A nice feature on this site is the ability to zoom in on segments of an image for closer views. Please take a moment and click on over...and welcome!

Take 1 artist + canvas/paper wet ingredients: watercolor, gouache,acrylic and inks + dry ingredients: torn paper,papyrus, unryu papers, bark papers,mango & banana papers, ogura lace spatter with 23k gold, glass beaded gel, blended fiber gel Mix well, spread with brush ,knife & fingers let dry have great expectations & a sense of humor......... PaintersBrew ... target date March 1st!

This past week I asked the question "Is it True?" How did you do with that one? Did it make a difference? Were you surprised at your answers? Well , here is the follow up question "Is it working for you?"Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Believing in what is not true about yourself will impact how you act throughout a day. Now that you've thought about it and asked yourself this question...is it working for you? What is your answer? It is said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different outcome. January is a month of lists.All kinds of lists get written with the hopes of a different,better outcome. Be it health, wealth or love, write that list! No cheating, don't just think about it, write it down. My suggestion: Make a list of activities concerning your day as a "working artist" (I say working artist,because there is a difference to ones approach if it is how you pay the bills as opposed to an occasional art...

I'm struggling this morning with a new painting. It's cold, and rainy outside my studio window. Many of my friends are getting hit with snowstorms ...and my painting is reflecting the snowy, cold day. The problem? I was rereading " Learn Watercolor the Edgar Whitney Way"by Ron Ranson, and I came across a quote by Whitney "You make me look where nothing happens...Don't do that!" Hmmm...How often does a painting fail because the focal point ( if we even ever had one) was simply..blah. After all the the focal point is the center of interest ,the expression, the reason you painted the scene. Right? How often do you find yourself lost while painting? What do you do?Do you toss it, get discouraged? Don't do that! I go back to my basics. Over the years I've collected a library of books and reference materials. Now the internet can provide access to articles. Haven't read or reread your books lately? I paint every day. I struggle to stretch beyond...

I have been approached time and again about teaching painting /drawing. As my last post stated, I've been doing demonstrations and workshops for some time now. Teaching a large group has it's own dynamics. I guess it was a natural progression for the one on one teaching to begin. So while painting this past week ,my thoughts have turned to breaking down the different steps that I take when I begin a drawing and painting. What a surprise! The fundementals have been absorbed so long in my head that I did find it difficult to separate the basic steps into a coherent approach. I found that rethinking each element helped clarify the current painting that I was developing. The teacher becomes the student...and the cycle comes 'round again.