What color! All week long, the small lake by our home in Pine Plains was a dull grey. It got interesting only when tossed by the strong winds that came with the rains. It looked more like winter than spring. But today, the sun shines again. The lake is a wonderful blue. Because of the color contrast (almost nothing beats yellow/yellow ochre/orange against blue), these planters just pop out.

This story begins with the image on the left. A photograph in the New York Times of a young man carrying a child out of the rubble of a bombed Syrian mosque stops my in my tracks (a). Of course, this isn't the first time I am stunned by a photo of recent, horrific events in the Times. It happens a lot these days. But this photo has a special pull. I do not turn the page; instead, I decide to make a painting inspired by the photograph. I take out my pencil, oil paints and brushes, and that special carton paper that I love to work on. The job is not about copying. It is about looking as hard as I can at the picture; and connecting with the people portrayed in order to recognize things like how that man felt in his shoulders, how he sensed the limp body of the boy in his hands, and what he thought about the child, the woman praying, and the others milling about. I put down on paper what I see and feel. The drawing and painting feel like a witnessing of events in Syria. The photograph demands this.

Sorry. Much too much time has passed since I last wrote about changes in my Pine Plains studio. Months ago, there should have been a blog that happily announced that all renovations were complete and that I was hard at work on a new painting, in the new space. But there couldn't be: All renovations ground to a halt in October.

Is a Blank Studio like a Blank Canvas?

Here are a few photographs of the nearly empty studio. Yes, the empty studio, just like the blank canvas, is both a little scary and very exciting.

Oh, My Goodness, What's Happening Here?

We just returned home from a lovely two weeks in Maine. For a very, very long time, Maine has held a special place in my heart. I love the water, the smell of all those green trees, the beautiful granite on those spectacular sweeps of cliffside, the incredible blue of the sky, the clams and lobsters for eating, the boat rides, the walks through the woods to the water, the art, the antique and crafts shops, and just simply being there. On top of all that, I paint in Maine. Many artists have painted Maine so many times, for very good reasons. Art is about seeing and learning from nature, Maine gives us lots to see and learn.

"... it is what I do that teaches me what I am looking for ..."

Pierre Soulages, 1953

And sixty years later, he continues to do, learn, and search. At 94, Pierre Soulages still paints everyday at his studio in Paris, in the Latin Quarter. His words and practice are inspirational.

Already July 2nd! How did we get to thinking about July 4th barbecues so quickly? Didn't we just celebrate Memorial Day? I am glad I have these small flower sketches to remind me of the early days of summer. Here is my only but most beautiful pale pink poppy for the summer of 2014. The oil painting on carton measures a mere 6" x 8".

This summer, we signed up for a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) share with the wonderful Sol Flower Farm. Depicted in the very small (5" x 6") oil painting on carton is a radish from this week's box of vegetable goodies. The radish's destiny was to be part of my favorite hors d'oeuvres -- radishes over herb butter on slices of dark bread and sprinkled with salt (very French). But before that, I painted it along with an old copper pot.

By Special Guest Blogger, Ula

Hey, Hey, Hey (that's barking in human speak). An important event in the studio makes me want to write again. Here I am, Ula, with my second blog for Suzanne's website.

Friends who aren't able to make the trip to Salisbury asked if they could see some of paintings in the exhibition. So, I prepared this slide show of paintings. Images are from my own studio shots (i.e., not professional shots). Hope you enjoy.

Planning and preparing for a trip can be a great part of the travel fun. That was certainly true today. To get myself in the Moroccan mood, I stopped by the Taymour Grahne Gallery on Hudson Street in Manhattan to see their exhibition of various works by Hassan Hajjaj, the Moroccan born and London based artist.

Soon after you enter the David Zwirner Gallery in Chelsea, you find yourself in total darkness.

And it was! It certainly was.

I try to spend the major part of each day in the painting studio. Not enough painting time sends me into a real funk. If I can't be painting, whatever I am doing better be good. Yesterday's theatre trip was. Yesterday's performance of the Shakespeare's Globe production of Twelfth Night did only great things for my mood.

Thanks to the wise suggestion of my visiting Canadian friend Fran Cherry, we saw a wonderful exhibit of work by the painter, Ad Reinhardt (1913-1966). On display are his satire, cartoons, photography, social and art criticism, and glorious paintings. You can visit the website (click here for that site). Better though would be to go the show and see things up close.