Tag Archives: Danbury

Come Bobbing Along, Already!

January 28, 2020 roxannebaldwin Leave a comment

I have a friend who visits from Thailand every couple of years. He’ll be here in March, and I was starting to make plans……………and he said, “Well that’s two months away”. I really thought it was right around the corner. Thanks for nothing, James!

As I said last post, I was going to work on a spring picture, and that’s it, in the featured picture. Or at least the preliminary sketch of it. I may work on a large one, but I may change my mind about that.

There’s an old, dated, sexist saying “It’s a woman’s prerogative to change her mind”. Alright, sexist though it is, I’ll take it.

This was my old logo, Embracing My Inner Cat.

This is my current logo, Connecticut Fantasy.

But I’m thinking of changing back.

So, it turns out I have been accepted into the art show I applied for. You remember, I was going over the no’s and the maybe’s. So, on to the yes ones. You may see that I’ve changed my mind about some of the no’s.

Of course, I may add a few small ones to it. I’ll have to see the space, I will go after the meeting on February 20…or 21st, depending on the weather.

So, I’ve been changing my mind a lot lately, and will continue to do so…………

Nothing’s off the table!

Making Peace with Winter

November 8, 2019 roxannebaldwin Leave a comment

Hello folks! I’ve mentioned before about my seasonal depression, and guess what! It’s nearly winter again. I did a series of drawings one year, making peace with each month.

For instance, this was “Making Peace with November”.

And this was “Making Peace with December”

I believe this one was “Making Peace with January”, but as I look back on my artwork, well, it sometimes is a puzzle to me, what I made when and in what context:

I also see I have a picture entitled “January 3rd”……

I think I intended it to be another year’s sequel to January 2,

These drawings did work (or maybe it was the Prozac) and I was able to see happiness and beauty in winter. Or I should say, most of winter.

What still gets to me are the grey dismal days, of dark skies and dirty slush. A couple of years ago, I tried to make peace with the grey gloom, and came up with this;

People in Danbury like this, because it’s a well known statue, here. But to me, however, it still looks like a depressingly dull winter day.

But, I still have hope….that I will find some kind of beauty in the winter days. I have an idea, we shall see if it works out. After all, some winter days are dramatic, and gorgeous.

There’s No Business, like well you know…

June 5, 2019 roxannebaldwin Leave a comment

Last Saturday was the Danbury Street Fair! In which I participated in as an artist. I was able to do this on the cheap, without investing hundreds of dollars on equipment. I was breathlessly waiting to take the tent from its case. I only paid $65 and a trip to Queens, NY, so there would not have been a big monetary loss if it was unusable. But then, I’d be without a tent. Low and behold, we set it up and it stood as high and as proudly as the American flag on July 4.

I would have had better display racks if I could, but money was certainly an object.

As for sales, I only sold three small drawings (one of which was to my sister in law).

It always surprises me what people decide to buy. A young woman, a cat lover, bought two drawings

And a small version of this one. I did put out this large, full-sized picture, which got a lot of attention. Cat pictures were the order of the day, including my brother’s cat.

Lots of lookers though. I’ve done enough of this kind of show not to expect to get rich off the sales. The main thing was to get my art in front of the public, and have fun. Yes, some people go on cruises, I do art shows.

It would have been a lot more fun if I hadn’t been fighting the flu with a fever. That’s another story.

So, now making plans for the next one. It will probably be in the fall, getting close to the holidays. With better racks. I’ll keep you posted.

Bricks

October 10, 2018 roxannebaldwin 2 Comments

A little background info….

I’ve been away for a while, in case you haven’t noticed. I needed some time to reflect, think about where I’ve been, where I’m going and most importantly, where I am.

And it all comes down to bricks…well, sort of.

When I first really got going working in colored pencil, I lived in Greenwich, CT. Somehow, and for what reason I can’t figure out, I became drawn to drawing (Ha) buildings with bricks. I sweated tears over each individual rectangle, making sure it was perfect.

Then I landed quite happily but totally unexpectedly in Manhattan. Again, loads and loads of bricks to be drawn! I still was sweating over each and every single detail.

So, then due to circumstances which are beyond explaining. I landed in Queens, a little community called Sunnyside. And much to my delight, I found bricks! By now, I was taking those little rectangles in stride.

Then after 20 years of ups and downs and all arounds in NYC, I ended up back in Connecticut in a small city called Danbury. It’s as a large of a city as I want to deal with for a while.

And whaddya think I found there? My first picture there, bricks.

And bricks and cats.

After this much needed break, guess what I start with?

And a familiar door. Yes, I know it’s October, I started this pic in May.

A Good Time Was Had By All….

May 21, 2017 roxannebaldwin Leave a comment

Thought I’d give you some updates and some pictures from the opening of my show. The turnout was small, but I’ve come to expect that. It was a beautiful spring day, with a of other event going on, so I’m happy with support I did get. Plus the show will be up about three more weeks.

So, first picture by my friend, and helper to whom I owe a debt of gratitude, Cathy.

One of the things that Cathy helped with, was setting up the refreshments. We had quite a spread. It also helped with traffic. Some library goers, took the food, but felt obligated to at least look at my show.

Nearly had one sale, but my work was the wrong color for the area of the viewer’s home. I don’t really expect much in the way of sales from local shows, getting my name out is the motive. Sometimes, in the future, people who have seen the show contact me for commissions.

So, it turned out well..

I should mention, the show is a part of the Accessible Arts Program, by the Artisans’ Alliance of Northwest Connecticut.

Speaking of Bob Ross…

January 30, 2017 roxannebaldwin Leave a comment

As I was working on “Sunday’s Stream of Consciousness”, Dearly Beloved looked at it, and said “You’re no Bob Ross”. I wasn’t sure what he meant by that, good or bad. Turns out he meant my trees are not happy, although they do have friends….

So, here it is, a drawing done nearly spontaneously with not a lot of prior planning. A stream of creatively, maybe, not consciousness, but a stream none the less.

So, now I’ve used my more precious than gold paper. Until I have money to restock it, I’ll be doing some note cards. See you soon!

Wasting No Time

December 23, 2016 roxannebaldwin Leave a comment

I said I was eager to get back to the rainbow drawing. As soon as I was finished with the pet portrait, I got right back on it. It looks, still, quite a bit like the smaller version, but I drew the rainbow in with a lot of white space, a la impressionism, to give it a feeling of light. I had more fun with the clouds, too. Although, still not realistic, they are tempestuous.

I realized in looking at rainbows since, they do mark a clearing. So, I pulled in some incoming yellow light underneath it. So, Dorothy, you want to go “Over the Rainbow”? Not me, that’s where the clouds are.

The idea for this drawing came to me as I passed through a forgotten railroad station on the way to Brewster, NY. So, going back to its origins, I’ve named this piece, Rainbow Over the Tracks.

Finally, I think I’ve gotten it out of my system.

Concentrate on the Rainbow…….

December 4, 2016 roxannebaldwin Leave a comment

Let me repeat that: Concentrate on the rainbow. Sounds very Zen and wise, doesn’t it?

Concentrate on the rainbow…..

Well, it makes for a pretty lousy composition for a picture, doesn’t it?

When I was doing the original drawing, that’s what I did…I concentrated on the rainbow. And thinking of it, and the context of my life at the time, that’s what I did there, too….

I kind of flubbed in a landscape in the original drawing which didn’t really complement or add any ooomph! . Also, making the move away from NYC, I concentrated on the promise of a new life, but didn’t take into account making a whole new structure…. Work, and community. It takes a while to establish such things, I realize, now. You can’t just concentrate on the rainbow, and have it all come out right.

You have to have landscape that anchors the sky and the rainbow, and leads into it. I also realize I have to work a little harder to get established in Connecticut, in much the same way I worked hard over 20 years ago, in NYC. I forgot I guess, that such things don’t come automatically, or even all that easily.

But isn’t this a much better composition for a drawing to work from?

Have Yourself a Merry, Little….thanksgiving

November 22, 2016 roxannebaldwin 2 Comments

Yes, I’ve been working on cards. Thanksgiving is coming with the whole conflicting attitude…on one hand, the original Thanksgiving story, and the fate of the Native Americans. That’s especially poignant this year, with the protests of the Dakota Pipeline.

However, the idea of a day to count the good we have in our lives, and give thanks, seems like a good idea regardless. So, I’ll take that attitude, and cook!

Thanksgiving will also be the celebration of a landmark birthday for my brother. So, I’m looking for recipes that will be healthy enough for a diabetic, with heart disease.

But back to cards…here are some more winter landscapes. The size of these is 5 by 7 inches.

Of course, not all winter is snow…some of the days have brilliant, clear, blue skies, with stark landscapes. So, I felt obligated, I tell you obligated, in the interest of fair reporting, to do such a landscape:

As you can see, there’s a red bird, a cardinal, flying into the view. I’ve been told that cardinals represent a visit from a soul who has passed on…so, I’ve been wondering, who?

Also, in the interest of cheery, seasonal views, I did this nocturne.

I’m going back to the idea of just drawing what strikes me, let my inner artist decide what is best for subject matter. Having done a year of mostly paradise themed drawings, I feel something has fallen short in my output. Maybe I’d better pay attention more to my subconscious’s input….

Roxanne Baldwin's Artsy Blog