Mystery Dog Unveiled

American Water Spaniel

9" X 12" pen-and-ink

2010

The American Water Spaniel Club has finally unveiled the portrait I drew for their 25th Anniversary Specialty Show this month. Check it out on the home page of their website. My image will adorn T-shirts (short and long-sleeved) and sweatshirts, on sale now. I've ordered mine and will model it for you as soon as it arrives. The original drawing will be auctioned off at the Specialty Show. It was a fun project and I hope the T-shirts and the auction bring in lots of money for the club.

Catching Up

You may think I’ve been goofing off all summer, swinging from a hammock between two shady trees, sipping iced tea, and reading Scandinavian mysteries. Not So! The Brooksville Farmers’ Market is up and running and I’ve had perfect attendance for the last nine weeks. One Tuesday morning I had a whole crew of assistants:

Peter (my nephew), Bella (my niece), and Bella’s best friend, Lucy

Note the new blue tent, the new PenPets banner, the new clear plastic card rack, the new "Welcome to Brooksville" T-shirts, and the new driftwood bookmark rack. It took eight markets to pay for all my expenditures, but it's all gravy now!


I’ve also mounted three exhibits of my work. In June I had a solo show, “Woodcut Critters,” at Mainescape, a Blue Hill garden center that also sells pet products, and now sells a full line of my PenPets greeting cards—like hotcakes, they say! At the end of June I showed seven woodcuts and pen-and-ink drawings at a group show, “Chosen Places,” at the Deer Isle Artists’ Association. Currently I have another solo show of 25 woodcuts and drawings at the Brooksville Free Public Library. Here are some shots from the opening.

Judy Madson (past President of the Library Board of Trustees) & Leslie

Leslie & Heather Tooker (current Co-President of the Library Board)

Leslie & Margie Van Dusen, Patron Saint of PenPets!

Speaking of the Brooksville Free Public Library, our Board of Trustees held its Annual Summer Book Sale on July 10th (I was in charge this year) and we made a whopping $1,700 selling used books from 9:00 AM until noon. Not bad!

I’ve also done two new PenPets commissions this summer:

Minnu & Dakota

8" X 10" pen-and-ink

2010

Jassie (short for Jasmine)

8" X 10" pen-and-ink

2010

And that’s not all! I carved a multi-color woodblock and I’m now illustrating a book, but more about these adventures later.

Chosen Places

Three for Three

5" X 7" pen and ink

2010

Private Mooring

5" X 7" pen and ink

2010

Seagulls in Stonington

5" X 7" pen and ink 

2010

I'm preparing for a group show at the Deer Isle Artists' Association at the end of this month. The theme is "Chosen Places." Here are three new drawings I've done for the exhibit. I love the way seabirds choose man-made places for their own purposes.

Bagaduce Lunch

My artwork has made the front page of The Brooksville Breeze again! The Bagaduce Lunch--a seafood take-out restaurant--is something of a local legend, made even more famous by winning the James Beard "American Classic" award in 2008. It's been run by the same family for over 60 years. They rebuilt the building this year. Thus, the "Grand Opening." If you're ever in town, be sure to drop by for one of their famous lobster rolls or a basket of fried clams.

Look-alikes

Some folks say that people and their pets grow to look alike. I could aid this metamorphosis by wearing my hair in pigtails to look like Kinsey's fabulous ears. Like this! I could also apply eyeliner darkly and practice my crooked smile.

Woodcut Critters & Bookmarks

Busy, busy, busy! I have an exhibit of seven woodcut critters up at Mainescape in Blue Hill. It's a fabulous garden center that also sells pet products. This winter they built a state-of-the-art greenhouse and now have a lovely corridor between the old and the new building that they will use as an art gallery. My woodcuts are their first show! I carved this woodchuck especially for the gardeners.

Then the Brooksville Farmers' Market started back up yesterday. Check out the beautiful driftwood bookmark rack Tom made for me! It was greatly admired by my fellow vendors. The crafters set up inside our Community Center because it rained yesterday. The farmers were all outside because veggies like the rain! I'll have lots more new stuff to show you soon.

Cat, Pup, & Boot

I haven't been totally twiddling my thumbs, just totally impatient with my slow-speed, dial-up connection to the internet. Here are two new woodcuts, my first in the year 2010. Yikes!

Cat's Paw

7X9 woodcut

2010

What Boot?

9X7 woodcut

2010