Art on the Street 2009

The morning after…….is there such a thing as ‘hangover’ from an arts & crafts fair? Always feel a bit odd the 1st day after a show, maybe from the high concentration of good connections, laughs & fun all infused in a 3-day period! Art on the Street has grown incredibly & the opportunity to participate was a great gift for me. Still one of the best ways to gamble I’ve ever come across, erecting, filling and manning a booth is quite an undertaking, but rewarding just the same, in so many ways. Friends I don’t normally see stop in for quick hugs & updates, fellow artists drop by with good wishes & personal insights on the fairs & biz, customers & browsers chat & give their uplifting reactions to my work…..it’s all just FUN! The yearly piping school at North Idaho College had just concluded, & Spokane’s annual Highland Games took place on Saturday, so a sprinkling of Celtophiles, pipers and Scots enthusiasts added to the already enjoyable mix of visitors and conversations. All in all, a GREAT fair, and a lovely weekend!

Summer Art Fair

It’s art fair time in Coeur d’Alene…..and THIS year the weather’s going to be perfect – I can feel it in my bones! A double-booth at Art on the Street and a heavy summer thunderstorm several years ago made me resolve NEVER to do an outdoor show again….never is obviously too long a time! I’ll be showing originals, cards & limited editions in a booth in front of Bella Rose (between 2nd&3rd on Sherman) this coming weekend, & there will be NO sign of inclement weather!!

I do anticipate a bit of heat, but standing among paintings containing chill salt water & gray Scottish skies will help to offset that melting feeling one gets at summer art fairs! ‘Dunnottar Castle from the Sea’ will hang within easy glance to provide ‘cool’ at a moment’s notice! Dunnottar is, so far, my favourite castle. A bit over a mile south of Stonehaven on the NE coast, it is most fun to approach by the footpath from town, walking alongside fields of waving grain (absolutely gorgeous just before harvest time) and on the edge of long, rough cliffs dropping down to the beach below. It’s a goal to paint plein air here, but it’s going to have to be on a chilly day – the stench from seabird guano on hot days is frightful!

Access to the castle is by steep cliffside stairs dropping to near-beach level. Once through the ticket gate, it’s an amazing world of stonework, human history and survival.
I could spend days wandering the grounds, learning of life as it must have been, for those who had, and for those who had aught. I’ve been fortunate to view the castle from the water side, sailing & mackerel fishing – makes quite an impression as to inaccessibility even today! More on Dunnottar Castle: Dunnottar