Cottonwood Shimmer - Watercolor on Yupo, 20x28", Ruth Armitage 2010

When I was growing up, my parents ran their farm business from our kitchen table. It was not unusual to awaken to the sound of friends or strangers drinking coffee – gallons of coffee- and to have to pass them in the dining room on our way to the only bathroom in the house. It also wasn’t unusual for people to drop in, for coffee, a drink, to write or collect a check, to transact a sale, borrow equipment, fix equipment, buy or sell livestock, eat a meal, or just for the hell of it at any time of the day or night.

That’s kind of considered poor form in the suburbs, unless one is a very close friend. Also, the advent of cell phones seem to make it much easier to call first, even if you’re just in the neighborhood & want to stop in for a visit. This past weekend I hosted a ‘staycation’ retreat for our book group. I gave my family advance notice, and they all decided to clear out. It was a small sleepover, complete with crafts, games of Quiddler, pajama contests, long chats and watching the perseids meteor shower. We fed the kittens, collected eggs, rode the ‘ranger’ and walked on the golf course. But the highlights were the food & friendships. We had fresh Zucchini & Blueberry Muffins, and Emeril’s Nicoise Salad with fresh beans from the garden that was to die for!

Farm fresh & Fabulous.... Look at the color here!

Peach Mojito's and our unique hand crafted Drink Umbrellas!

Wild Women on the Farm

Reading my blog is one way you can drop in on me any time… I hope you enjoy seeing some of the things that have been keeping me away from the computer! If you’d like to schedule a visit to my studio, feel free to contact me! Leave me a comment, drop me an email or give me a call! I love to have visitors!

You can also mark your calendar for the weekend of October 8, 9, & 10, 2010. I’ll be holding an open  studio! My guest for Open Studios of Beavercreek will be Pat Wendt, who makes beautiful felted hats & scarves.  I hope you’ll come and visit us! If you don’t need a painting, maybe a hat or scarf will be just the gift you’re looking for to get a jump on your holiday shopping.

"Evening Bouquet" Watercolor & Gouache 25x35"

I’ve been working on new paintings for the Salem Art Fair and getting them framed this week. The painting above is larger than my usual work, which means it is more difficult to frame. I feel like I’ve made a breakthrough though, in that I finally figured out how to cut mat that is oversized on my mat cutter. Today I will pick up the glass, and then the whole thing can go together! This painting has taken longer than many, and gone through many versions. I took my time, though in the finishing & I’m very pleased with it. I love the creamy colors you can get with gouache!

I hope many of you will plan to come out for the art fair this weekend. Not only is it a great chance to see art & hear music in a beautiful setting, but it is a valuable fundraiser for the Salem Art Association. The art association brings such wonderful programs to the community. One way you can tell, is by the fantastic volunteers that show up each year. I’ve been doing the show for quite a few years, and made so many friendships in Salem! I’m looking forward to seeing some of you See the link above for complete information… hours, maps, etc.

I’ll leave you with a picture from yesterday morning… as I was talking to a friend on the phone, this sweet young thing pranced into the lower pasture. I barely caught it on film before it was gone

Another reason I’ve been waking early is the chickens, or more precisely, the rooster. It seems we have a rooster in the flock and my godson has named him Benny. He is becoming more proficient at crowing, and recently practices throughout the day, beginning at 5 a.m. He’s taking quite a liking to his ladies too, and I’m hoping that signifies that they are reaching the stage when they may start laying. Here is a collage of some of these lovely creatures They are really fun to watch.

I’ve still been making time to paint… Here are a couple of new images.

"New Vista" - Watercolor & Gouache 15x22

"Contented Solitude" Watercolor & Gouache, 11x15 copyright 2010

I’m deciding which new paintings will be framed, which will be entered in juried competitions, which will need more work. My next show will be the Salem Art Fair & Festival, July 16, 17 & 18, 2010. I hope to see many of you there! Mention my blog for a 10% discount My gift to you! Directions, hours and a listing of participating artists are available on their website: http://salemartfair.weebly.com/visit.html

I’m also so excited to be readying one of my paintings for shipping to the Rocky Mountain National Watermedia Exhibition. The juror this year was Judy Morris, whom I respect & admire for her beautiful watercolors. The show runs from September 11 – October 31, 2010 at the Foothills Art Center in Golden, Colorado. If you find yourself in the area, stop in & see the show. It will showcase 80 of the top watercolor entries from across the United States & beyond.

Finally, I’ve been spending lots of time in the garden. The vegetables are up and need daily weeding, and we have finally finished the gate and fence surrounding the patch. I did lots of research online until I found a gate design that I liked, and my husband built a very close replica. Here is a link to the original idea which I found on the site of Kirsch-Korff.com. They have some beautiful gates! And here is the gate we made! We still need to install the arbor above…

Now we are hard at work on the hillside below the vegetable garden. This was originally lawn, but so steep I didn’t like to take the riding mower on it. A few months ago, we had the tractor guys, Bob & John DeNino, move some of the huge boulders from our pastures to the hillside. Last week they came back (now that it is dried out finally) to do some digging.

John & Bob, hard at work

Last night my husband & I took our little tractor and moved some more rocks, digging them in by hand to make steps and a path in the terraces. We have more to do, but here it is in progress:

Almost ready for planting!

It's hard to be patient till it is done!

I have been shopping for plants and have a good stash built up, but still need more This garden is keeping me fit!

Finally I’d like to thank all the new subscribers who have signed up for email updates. I’m sorry it has been so long since my last post! I guess I need to get up earlier!

Here at home, I have to prepare my own snacks. Often I reach for something sweet or salty… crackers or cookies… brain food! By the time I’ve munched a little bit, I feel restored enough to face the next decision in the saga of my painting. I lost quite a bit of weight last year, but if I keep this up, I’ll have to go on a diet all over again

Just for your entertainment though, I’m going to share a recipe that had been haunting my memory until just recently when my friend Ellen kindly shared her recipe for ‘Kin Kahn.’  Kin Kahn means Golden Treasure in Japanese, and these kumquats steeped in Sake are a true treasure.  Ellen shared these little yum-yums at our book club retreat a few years ago, and I couldn’t get them out of my mind.  Another friend tells me that in Argentina these are made with brandy and can be quite strong. Maybe I’ll try that next.

Kin Kahn – Golden Treasure – (I call them Drunken Kumquats)

About a dozen kumquats – prick each 2-3 times with a toothpick , cover with water and simmer 10 mins.

Drain & discard water

Mix 1 1/4 cup water, 5 tbsp. Sugar, 1/3 tsp. salt, 2 tbsp. sake  and simmer kumquats in this mixture for 30 mins. Refrigerate, letting the fruit rest in this liquid overnight.

Delicious served with toothpicks as an appetizer, or with a little pot-liquor poured over vanilla ice-cream. (twelve is only enough for one or two people in my humble opinion! You might want to double the recipe)

Next time you’re faced with a tough decision in your painting… try the ‘snack’ method. It works for me What do you do when you reach that point?

Very few people possess true artistic ability. It is therefore both unseemly and unproductive to irritate the situation by making an effort. If you have a burning, restless urge to write or paint, simply eat something sweet and the feeling will pass.   Fran Lebowitz.

“Oregon Dawn” 18″x15″

As promised, I’m sharing a few images that I did a couple of weeks ago in Santa Barbara. I was pretty happy with some of these paintings. It makes such a difference to be able to focus only on painting  for a whole week!

"Morning Light" 15"x22"

Try as I might, I can’t seem to get a good photograph of this painting. The colors don’t really come through. I guess I’ll need to get it professionally photographed. Trust me when I say that this is a subtle painting, but there is richer color than the photo shows.

"Evening Vista" 16"x15"

It was a busy weekend here on the farm… Our new babies are finally weaned and arrived on Saturday after we spent all morning fixing the fence. We are now the proud owners of three young kids…. Larry, Moe & Curly! Sunday was devoted to my mom… her birthday as well as Mother’s Day. We sat in the sun and ate brunch while all the kids and husbands waited on us It was a beautiful day. 

'Curly'

Larry looks like  Curly, except his ears are brown, and Moe is black with brown markings. They are so cute… and useful! Their first bites in the pasture were none other than the prolific, insidious, invasive and pervasive Himalayan blackberry! I’m so excited to get this place rid of all the noxious weeds

On Friday my sister & I took a trip up to Woodland Washington to see the Hulda Klager Lilac Garden. It was a kind of showery day, but the lilacs were gorgeous. I bought a large one and two smaller ones, one of which went to my friend Sue, who raised our goat kids.

"Glory" one of my favorite Lilacs

This particular variety has huge, softball sized flower clusters and the individual blossoms are very large and richly fragrant! I’m just sorry I couldn’t bring one of these babies home There is a waiting list for the plants! If you plan to attend next year’s lilac festival, I would recommend going early in the season when they have the most variety of plants available. I was a little disappointed that they were out of a few of my favorite types.

This year we also took time to tour the house, which is restored to period detail, just as Hulda Klager would have lived. It was a great way to escape the showers

Life here on the farm has been busy and full: fixing the fence, planting and weeding in the garden, enjoying the wildlife from our kitchen window. We’ve had abundant deer, rabbits, coyote, hummingbirds, goldfinches and this guy came strutting out one night just as we sat down to dinner.

I’m getting ready for my daughter to move home this week. She’s the first one done with classes so she’ll get a jump on the job market and get to bond with the livestock here Also, I’m excited to be traveling to Salt Lake City on Thursday for the Western Federation of Watercolor Societies’ Annual Exhibition. I’m looking forward to seeing the show, which will include paintings from each of the eleven different watercolor groups that comprise the Federation. It’s also a great opportunity to network between the groups, sharing ideas and brainstorming about how the societies are organized and function. While I’m there I’ll get to visit my cousin Lucy & her husband Drew, and do a little research on my family tree! It’s getting harder and harder to leave home though, as the weather gets nicer & nicer!

"Spring Song" 15"x11"

It all started with the orchids

It has been such a wet week here in Oregon! We had a good start on redoing our yard over the spring break holiday: large trees and stumps came out, we moved huge boulders from the pasture to the hillside for a future terrace, the greenhouse was delivered, we prepared the site, got dump-truck loads of gravel delivered… and then everything stopped.

Cherry blossoms at the bottom of the pasture

I am becoming well-attuned to the subtle variations of morning fog… one type of light promises clearing later in the day, but this week’s has portended steady gloom, wind and storms all day. My baby chicks are chilled in their coop in the barn, when last week they were out enjoying the sun.

Native Dogwood outside my kitchen window

I’ve felt the flush of excitement over our new accomplishments contrasted with the frustration of being cooped up and stalled by weather in wild swinging moods. I see why it’s called spring fever. I got out today to see my friend Sue’s baby goats… a few may come to live with us in a month or so!  Then I spent an hour or so at a friend’s nursery picking out plants, much to the detriment of my wallet. We’ve been watching eagerly for new fawns from our resident deer, but so far haven’t seen any.

I have a project to do inside, thankfully. I’m painting my daughter’s bedroom the most beautiful shade of robin’s egg blue! I custom mixed the color. I couldn’t find the right blue… one was too cool, the other too warm. So I mixed the two gallons together Voila! I’ll try to post pictures when the room is finished.

"Forest Song" Watercolor on Yupo

 This is the last week to view my solo show at the Riversea Gallery in Astoria. If you can’t get there this month, they always have my work up… it’s just nice to see them all spread out in a large room together! Thanks Jeanine and Terrie for making the show look so great

Also, if you’ve been thinking of signing up for one of my classes, check out my new listing on TeachStreet. You can sign up for the whole six weeks, or just a few.  The class will focus on color, and it runs May 20, 2010 – June 24, 2010
Weekly on Thursdays from 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM.  I’d love to know if you’re thinking of coming though… so drop me a line! Or, you can sign up & pay on the Teachstreet website… easy-peasy! I’m including one more image from my show at Riversea below… a nurturing one!

'Forest Whispers' Watercolor & Gouache 22"x15"

Interested Patrons

Thanks to everyone who came to see my new work at Riversea Gallery on Saturday! Here are a few photos, snapped by my good friend Linda Rothchild-Ollis. Thanks Linda!

Julie, Annette and Jill from my Book Club

Dee Frank from my critique group

Diana Nadal and her husband were there

New Path - Another image from the show

The exhibit will run until April 6, so stop by if you get a chance!

part of our new flock

 I’ve been busy this past week painting, getting photos taken of the new work, planning my framing strategy, writing my artist’s statement, and generally worrying whether my paintings are looking their best. It’s kind of like the frenzy of getting ready to give birth!

Amidst all this activity, spring has arrived here on the farm. We’ve been planning our garden spaces, adding new babies to the flock, enjoying the new blossoms, building fences, and generally nesting in our new home. Here are some images to share:

An orchid shows her beautiful face in the window

Artist buddy Laura Mack's new baby at the Salem Art Association Auction

Jamee Linton and her cute husband at the auction

I’ve really been enjoying the support of my fellow artists lately. It is difficult to imagine what it’s like to put yourself out there, at an auction, exhibition or gallery unless you’ve been there yourself. It’s nice to compare notes, and realize you’re not the only one!

One of the ways I connect with fellow artists is by blogging. It was nice to meet artist and professor Jessica Burke at the Salem Art Association auction on Saturday night. We had exchanged messages via blog, but it was so much fun to meet her in person! Blogging is not just for networking, but also inspiration. Leslie Avon Miller shared a thought-provoking question on her coaching blog this weekend:

What is one of the top energy boosters in your creative practice (or life) that nourishes your creativity, your body and soul, and how can you honor that even more?

For me, it’s not just nature and life, but also music and poetry. I almost always have music on in my studio… all types. I love the random setting on my ipod, and it’s always interesting the way the songs that come up serendipitously dovetail into what I’m painting. I keep my poetry books close by, and sometimes type out parts of poems to keep on my inspiration board. These are some of the things that provide my daily inspiration, what about you?

Winter Morning View

I’d be interested in your response to this question… leave me a comment!

New work, influenced by my new surroundings!

"Private Tune" watercolor on paper 9x12"