Craft Fair this Saturday

FYI: I'll have a table at the Harrington Court Annual Craft Fair on Saturday, November 17th (this Saturday).

It will be from 9:30-3:30

59 Harrington Court
Colchester, CT 06415
Directions

There will be raffles, a bake sale, a lunch sale, many crafters,
and Santa will be there from 10:00-2:00!

Come on and get a head start on your holiday shopping!

Cat Scans

"Holding Hands"

In a previous entry, I scanned my kitten, Tux. I was really just fooling around, but I liked the way it turned out, so last night, hopped up on too much caffeine, I began scanning away, much to Tux's dismay.

Actually, he didn't mind too much, and he was given lots of treats as payment for his contribution. I included myself in this series of images...so it takes on a sort of narrative. Boy, either I like cats way too much, or I have too much time on my hands...I think it's a little of both...

Enjoy!

"Powerful Paws"

"Sea of Polka Dots"

"Cat Kiss"

"Bouquet"

"Curtain Call"

"Creation"

"Watching Over Them"

"Cat's End"

I've gone to the dogs.

This month, some co-workers and I created a scarecrow display on the Colchester town green for their 8th annual scarecrow contest. We won 2nd place in our category!



This collaborative installation is based on the oh-so-tacky, yet wonderful work of C.M. Coolidge (dogs playing poker).



My father has a whole series of Arthur Sarnoff prints (dog playing pool) in his basement all around the pool table, so this idea really struck me as we were brainstorming for our theme. I love that sort of kitchy stuff. Like the crying Elvis Presley on velvet, or the unicorn flying through space, it's a classic tacky finished basement art. I love it!

Halloween Party

Although Tux, my new kitten has come in between me and my artwork, primarily by attacking everything that moves, including brushes, pencils, and artist's hands, I have managed to complete a full-scale work in between kitten naps. I couldn't resist inviting Tux to the party.

In case you're wondering about the "thumbs" on the kitty, that's Tux's double paws. I'm sure there will be a vast future of double-pawed cats in my artwork. Something for all of us to look forward to!

Boo!

Some friends, family, and others may find a little spookiness in their mailbox soon. I made these ghosts for a Halloween care package. Inside the package is a little card that reads:

A ghost and some candy
to brighten your day

Until the sun sets
and the light gives way

To ghosts and goblins
and witches and ghouls

Who hunt little children
and all grown up fools


I was only able to make a few this year, I may plan far sooner for next Halloween. Just think, if I start in January I could make HUNDREDS!! Wha ha ha!

(I know I'm getting way to excited about this...)

Senior Tuxedo

I got a kitten!

His name is "Senior Tuxedo", "Tux" for short.
He is very sweet, and playful. Aside from his fascination with peeing on my closet curtains, he is purrfect...pardon my pun...

His front paws are double. He has a sort-of mitten look to them. I thought scanning them would be a good way to document them. I also think it looks pretty interesting. Tux was a good sport about it, although the sounds my scanner made were a little scary to him.

Below are a couple of sketches of him. I will admit, it's been hard to draw him. If a pen or pencil is moving within a 5-foot radius of Tux, his attack instinct kicks in, and my drawing is ruined. Tux is a pest sometimes, but he sure is cute!


Tux playing with a balled-up piece of paper.
Notice the wiggly lines from his attacks.

Tux sleeping.
I tried to be very quiet while drawing him.

A "Peach" of a Beach

I am a lucky girl. While I don't yet make enough money making art, I do LOVE my day job! I am a "Recreation Aide" at Harrington Court, a health care facility in Colchester, CT.

It was this job that provided me with the opportunity to donate a mural, something I've been wanting to do for a while (you'd be surprised how many people will turn down a free mural).

Allison Valentine, a fellow graduate of UCONN and artist, was also looking to donate a mural. She recently started her own mural business, Artistic Visions, and wanted to gain experience and references. Ahh the stuff young artists will do to gain recognition!

Long story short, she and I painted the mural last week. I think it came out quite nice. Below are some pictures of the different stages of execution. Enjoy!

Blank wall, all taped up and ready to go.

Allison and I painting...

Further along...

A big mess...


Almost finished.

Some final touches...

The completed mural.

I want to thank Allison Valentine for her expertise in mural painting, her hard work, and for her long drives across the state to make this mural happen.

If you are interested in Allison's work, her email address is Allison.L.Valentine@gmail.com

Article about me appears in UCONN Magazine

Portrait of a Tired Lady

I painted this a few days ago. It's a departure from my regular style, but I like it. I painted it in about a half hour at work while running a painting program. It makes me think of Van Gogh...although I don't have much business comparing my work to his.

A June Bride

Not much to say about this piece except "opposites attract", I guess...

Writer's Block

Since I'd like to write children's books as well as illustrate them, I have been making a point to write more. I hadn't set any timeliness for myself until a couple of days ago. My goals as a writer are:

-Write one short story a week (hopefully one GOOD one a month).
-Write one poem a day.

Last night, I had a hard time writing something. This is what I came up with:

I am writing a poem,
poem, poem, poem.
It rhymes, so like it!


I can't expect it all to be gold!!!
I'll write again soon...

-Nancy

Artwork up at the Jonathan Trumbull Library

It has finally come! My artwork will be up at the Jonathan Trumbull Library in Lebanon CT for the entire month of June. Please stop by during library hours if you'd like to see it. The hours are as follows:

Monday 9-8
Tuesday 1-8
Wednesday 10-6
Thursday 1-8
Friday CLOSED
Saturday 9-2
Sunday CLOSED

Hope you will be able to stop by!


Jonathan Trumbull Library
580 Exeter Road
Lebanon, Connecticut 06249
860-642-7763
http://www.lebanonctlibrary.org/

Me in front of "Sad Bear", 2005

For a larger view of the painting, click on the following link:

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7577/3861/1600/sad%20bear.jpg

"Owl", 2007 (top of page).

"Seals" series, 2007. For better look at the paintings, click on the following link:http://nancymichaud.blogspot.com/2007_02_01_archive.html

Happy Memorial Day!

Let's hope for peace...

I know 10,000 years of civilization

hasn't brought peace, but we can hope can't we?

Enjoy the parade...

Posters and Post-its

Today was a little scary, my first public speech in a long time...I went to my old high school (East Lyme High School) to talk about my role as an illustrator for "Heart of Stone" as part of an alumni lecture series. Fifty students were signed up, and most of them came (eeep!). They were surprisingly mature and attentive, however, which made the whole thing easier for me. They asked questions, I answered. Everything went without a hitch...except I forgot to bring my camera.

A friend of mine is a French teacher at East Lyme, so I visited her classroom and played French pictionary with one class, and sat quietly during another class and drew the students on some post-its. Here are the drawings:

So, at least, I have something to remember this day. One of [I hope] many more opportunities to talk in front of a group of young people.

That is all for today, more work is coming soon...

Where have all the bumbles gone?

In case you haven't noticed, the honey bee population is way down. There is a 30-90% decrease in wild honey bees this year, something that has been years in the making. I've read a bit about it, the causes could be pesticides, bio-engineered crops, development, and even cell phones (the cell phone signals supposedly interfere with the bee's 'navigation' system, making it impossible for them to find their way back to their hives).

Bears everywhere are distraught, as am I!

I wrote a poem about bees. Here it is:

Bees buzz
Buzz those bees
They build their hives in bumble bee trees
They shop from flower to flower, so pretty
Then, fly home to their honeycomb city
Bees buzz
Buzz those bees

I hope the best for these guys, and I will keep up with the research. If it turns out cell phones are killing them, I am getting rid of mine (oh don't take the crack from me!). A cell phone isn't a necessity, but food is, and without bees to pollinate our crops, food might actually become scarce...very scary.

If you want to read more about this, here are a few links to different publications that have written about this. Different opinions on the subject, but they all agree, the bees are dwindling...




http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/10/1005_041005_honeybees.html

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1552024,00.html

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6299480

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/04/22/vanishing.bees.reut/index.html

Tomorrow sometime, I'll have to pollinate my strawberries by hand (a feather and some patience will do it). Boy, do I miss them bees!

New artwork...YAY!!!!

Below are two paintings on oak of some sumac bushes on a grey spring day in a park near my home. I've been working on about seven pieces, these two so far have come out to my satisfaction. Hopefully, there will be more soon (among other things).

These started with some black and white photos I took that day. This was a one-of-a-kind day. That day, the veins of the forest opened up and the melting snow flowed through. The river was full of whirlpools and chunks of ice. It was a beautiful day - the first warm day of spring.

Some of the pictures I took...

Now, the grass is all green again, I've planted my garden. All that is left of that day are some photos, these two paintings, and five others in progress. The dust has collected on that day, I won't see another like that until next year.

Well, enjoy! It's some artwork on my blog, at last!

More pictures...yippee!

More press?

Here's a blurb about

Heart of Stone in Lebanon Life,
a local free newspaper in my town.

Oooo I'm so famous!

I will post artwork soon, I swear it!

Link to Article

I was Google-ing my name (coming up mostly blank as usual), but I did find a link to someone else's blog, and they posted the whole Norwich Bulletin article...with a color picture (where did he/she get it from?). Who knows? Here's the link:
http://www.norwichbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007704200325

Norwich Bulletin - Nancy Michaud in the press!

An article about me in the Norwich Bulletin.
This was printed on Friday, April 20th.

Deboulie Mt.

Every summer, if I can help it, I visit Eagle Lake Maine for a week. This is the town I am originally from, and lived in until I was six. It's a place that always feels like home, but will probably never be my home again.

Below are paintings of a day trip to Deboulie Mountain I took while in Eagle Lake last summer. I recently found the photographs and wanted to paint some of them...so here they are.

The dirt road in.

The lake (the mountain is in the background).

The tower on top of the mountain...

aka, the scariest, windiest place on earth.

My little cousin, Jared, kissing a trout he caught (the kiss of death, my friend).

I like these pieces, although they are a bit of a departure from the direction I've been going in. They've got sentimental value, which means a lot in my book. It was also a nice day, it was fun to revisit that day.

I got more work online!

www.coroflot.com/nancymichaud

www.portfolios.com/nancymichaud

Tee shirts, mugs, and other fun stuff:

www.cafepress.com/nancymichaud

The Birdzzzz....

Ahh...we have finally been able to enjoy a few nice (but wet) days of real spring weather, and the birds have all come back...actually they've been acting like it's been spring for over a month now...what a tease!

Anyway, I have been experimenting a bit, painting mostly blackbirds. Above is my most successful blackbird painting (gosh I'm stuck on purple lately), and below is a triptych, of sorts, of some chickadees.

That is all for today!

Happy spring!

I got more work online!

www.coroflot.com/nancymichaud

www.portfolios.com/nancymichaud

Tee shirts, mugs, and other fun stuff:
www.cafepress.com/nancymichaud