Paint out Stony Creek Thursday, Nov 5

The extended forecast for next Wed and Thurs is in the mid to high 60s.  What great weather!  So we can stay on the coast for one more week.  And the four of us this past Thursday were so enchanted with the variety of fall scenes to paint farther down on Thimble Island Road heading towards Flying Point Rd that I thought it deserved another day.  Of course Stony Creek harbor is spectacular in the winter with snow and ice but let's not think about that quite yet.  ;-)

So I'm calling the paint out for Stony Creek again for those who missed it this past week.  Hope to see you there. As usual, we'll eat at Stony Creek Pizza.  (I wish they served their scrumptious thin crust pizza at noon!)

Sally

STONY CREEK (Branford) 

Heading north/east on I-95, take Exit 56. Turn right (south) onto Leete's Island Road. 

Heading south/west on I-95, take Exit 56. Turn left onto E. Industrial Road. After 0.3 mi., at the traffic light, turn left again (south) onto Leete's Island Road. 

On Leete's Island Road, go 1.6 mi to a stop sign at Rte 146. Stony Creek Package Store will be in front of you. Cross Rte 146 diagonally to Thimble Island Road, going between the package store and a shop called Taken for Granite. Go about 0.4 mile, passing under a railroad bridge. After the bridge, continue to the beach area.  If you want, continue to the little fork in the road and stay left (Thimble Island Road continues) and you can park on either side of that road all the way till it dead ends at the sea wall.  

Art event at Mercy Center

From Joan Handschumacher:

Joan Hickey was one of the original members of CTSA.  She is having her closing reception at the Mercy Center on Nov 5, 5-7 PM.  Below is her letter:

Dear friends and painting buddies,
 I've seen many of you and read book notes at my exhibit at the Mercy
Center, thank you!  I would love to have a glass of wine and a chat with any
of you who haven't been out to see my collage work, STRONG COURAGEOUS WOMEN.
It represents 20 years work, a retrospective  from 1996 through last May. I have
written a short book about this work and printed several views for note
cards.

It's been a great run and many of the benefits will be contributed  to the
non-denominational outreach work of the Mercy Center,"Nuns on the Bus".

 Recently we had a cocktail party with many sisters on a not so silent
retreat and many members of AA. It was great fun and we drank a lot of
Pellegrino water...plus!!

 Angela Clemmons of the Shoreline Gospel Singers and her brother and sisters
had everyone clapping and praising their own special Lord and singing their
hearts out.

 Don't forget that even though this work captures the exciting changes in
women's lives in the female gaze since Cave Women Painters, all brave men
drink free!

 Love to see you, Joan  (Hickey)

Stony Creek day

I just had to post a couple shots from today.  It was beautiful at Stony Creek.  At 9 AM, the SSW winds were blowing through the gazebo area where we usually paint.  The spartina grasses were golden among the dark wet rocks but it would have been impossible to keep our easels upright there.  So all four of us took off looking for a place to shield from the wind as the blue skies kept peeking out from behind the clouds.

Betsey and I used the large building at the fork of the road farther down the street from the beach gazebo as a wind breaker and had a couple of structures as subjects.  Sharon and Marge walked farther down that street to the tidal inlet and managed to keep out of the wind.

So Stony Creek plein air days have so much more to offer when we are not scorched by the summer sun and especially in the fall.

Sally

P.S. Still unsure about the venue for next week.  Depends on the weather forecast.

paint out Thursday Stony Creek

Rain is no longer in our forecast for Thursday, 69 degrees and partly cloudy.  

Looks like a perfect plein air day for the end of October on the CT shoreline.  

Sally  

Stony Creek Paint out - Thursday Oct 29

The forecast is 69 degrees next Thursday, so let's paint one more time near the water before it gets too cold and we are chased inland.  A shower is forecast at some point with periods of sun.  So let's see if it makes for a good plein air day.  If it's only a spotty shower, there are two gazebos for cover.

We will meet at our usual time of 9 AM.

STONY CREEK WATERFRONT, Stony Creek (Branford) 

Heading north/east on I-95, take Exit 56. Turn right (south) onto Leete's Island Road. 

Heading south/west on I-95, take Exit 56. Turn left onto E. Industrial Road. After 0.3 mi., at the traffic light, turn left again (south) onto Leete's Island Road. 

On Leete's Island Road, go 1.6 mi to a stop sign at Rte 146. Stony Creek Package Store will be in front of you. Cross Rte 146 diagonally to Thimble Island Road, going between the package store and a shop called Taken for Granite. Go about 0.4 mile, passing under a railroad bridge. After the bridge, continue for about 0.2 mi. to the area along the sea wall, near the gazebo by the beach.  There's another gazebo farther down by the boat taxis and tour boats.  

For those who want to meet for lunch, we will eat at Stony Creek Pizza (they don't serve pizza at lunchtime) around noonish.  

Sally 

Another CTSA paint out— Wednesday, October 21

CTSA (a.k.a, the Thursday plein air group) has been invited to paint with the Madison Art Society's plein air group (a.k.a., Jay's group) next Wednesday.   (Note: And CTSA will still paint at the Florence Griswold on Thursday morning to take advantage of this spectacular fall weather).

The MAS group painted at Wettemann Farm a couple of weeks ago.  The owners are simply some of the most generous, kind, and gregarious people who love farming, horses, and chicken (fresh eggs to buy).  They sell maple syrup in the spring from their own trees.  It's a magical old farm.

Directions:

From Madison area and points east—take route 80 towards Branford. Go though the junction of 80 and 77 (Dudley Farm corner). Continue on route 80 through the next light and in about a mile take a right on County Rd. It has a V shaped entrance with a grassy area in the center.

**In a half mile you will hit a fork / junction with  stop sign facing the other direction.  Go left on to West Street - clearly marked with a street sign.  In 1.2 miles Wettemann Farm will be on the left.  Horses, and a large metal rounded storage garage for equipment etc. You won't miss it. Park along the sides of the entrance along the road up to the house on the right.

From New Haven and points west—take I-91 to exit 8.  The exit ramp lands on route 80.  Head east on route 80 for ~8 miles.  Take a left onto County Road and follow the above directions from
the **.  (Agway is about 300 yards before the turn for County Road.)  

From the north, there are other options using either route 22 or route 77.

Call to Paint Florence Griswold Museum Old Lyme October 22

I discussed stopping the wrap-ups with our lunch group at Essex.  The group was fine with having no more wrap-ups and no more photos of the paintings or group shots.   Thanks to everyone who participated in wrap-ups in the past.  

There will always be a group of us stopping to eat around noon and everyone is welcome to join.  Eight of us gathered for lunch at the CT River Museum and had an impromptu critique which was helpful and fun.  

We have permission to paint at the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme next Thursday.  They asked us to park in the lot farthest from the museum as there is a Wee Fairie Event on the grounds which attracts a large paying crowd.  Since we are allowed on the grounds for free, we need to be considerate.

You can drop off your painting equipment as you drive around the circle so you don't have to lug it as far if you are painting down by the river.  And if you paint on the patio of the Krieble Gallery and are using oils or pastels, please use a drop cloth.

Thank you.

Sally 

Call for artists holiday show Branford Art Center

Announcement from Sally:


Call to Artists
Holiday  group  show at BAC

November 14^th –December 29^th, 2015

Branford Art Center will be featuring fine artists and artisan crafters from Branford and the local region. The show will offer each artist space for three  12” x 12 “  pieces per $25.00 non-refundable entry fee. There is no additional charge for replacing work that sells. Size of work including frame should not exceed 12” x 12”. Price of work should not exceed $150.00. The BAC will retain a commission of 25% for sales of work.

The opening for the event will be on Sat Nov. 14^th from 7-9 and all artists are encouraged to participate. Installation or drop off of work should take place on Wed. Nov. 11^th and Thurs Nov. 12^th between 11am and 5pm at the Gallery at 1229 Main Street Branford.

This event will be promoted by local news outlets,  internet marketing, and three Gallery Events Nov 14, Nov. 28^th, and Dec 3rd. The BAC is responsible for paying CT sales tax to the State.

To participate in the Holiday Show, please complete the form below and return it with your  non-refundable  payment as follows:

Please make checks payable to the Branford Art Center and send completed forms to the:
Branford Art Center, 1229 Main Street, Branford, CT  06405. 
Attention: Yvonne Gordon. 1229bacgallery@gmail.com   (Please contact us with any questions)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Name __________________________________ email__________________________________

Address _______________________________________________________________________

City __________________________________________________________________________

Telephone ______________________________________State ____________   Zip __________

General Release: I hereby release and forever discharge Branford Art Center LLC, all sponsoring organizations and their directors, officers, employees, agents and volunteers from any responsibility , personal liability, claims, loss damage arising out of or in conjunction with my application or participation with the Branford Art Center..  The BAC will not be responsible for any injury sustained to the exhibitors or guests while within the space designation. I understand that my art is displayed at my own risk with-out exception or limitation.

Signature  ___________________________________________________________________

 Date  _______________________________________________________________________

Strong Courageous Women - at Mercy Center

Message from Joan Handschumacher—
I received the following from Joan Hickey, a charter member of CTSA. Joan's artwork always is loaded with symbolism and content.You're invited to look and think beyond what you see, and if you have not already seen her exhibit at Mercy Center, this would be a great opportunity.      

Dear fellow painters,

I have had a great run with my work Strong Courageous Women at the Mercy
Center. The gallery is open Monday through Saturday 8:30 to 4:30 PM, and the
show ends on November 12.

I would love to see all of you if possible at my final reception,
Thursday, November 5 from 5:00 to 7:00 PM

Love to have you come and share a glass of wine and some tapas with me.

All the best, Joan Hickey

Call to Paint—CT River Museum landing Essex October 15

There is plenty to paint in Essex from the CT River Museum with the boats and river views to the street scenes of downtown Essex.  We have permission to use the bathrooms at the CT River Museum.  If you decide to paint way up the street towards the little park, there are public restrooms next to the park.

The paint out is from 9 - noon.  We will convene at noon by the museum for the wrap up, i.e., photos of the paintings and group shot.  Bring your lunch and we can sit out and socialize afterwards.

Scroll down for directions.

Sally

P.S. The photos are what I took this past Sunday.

Directions to CT River Museum
Take I-95 to exit 65.  Head north on CT-153 and after ~5 miles, it turns into West Ave.  Follow West Ave as it curves into downtown Essex.  At the little circle, turn right onto Main St and drive to the very end.  Pull into the parking lot at the CT River Museum.

Paint out — still waiting for permission

I was at the Florence Griswold museum yesterday.  This location offers a variety of fall subjects from the gardens with the last blooms to the view upriver with a few maples at their peak to old buildings.  However, there is an event there for the month of October, The Wee Fairies Garden, and the place is packed with families and it appears there is a charge to get onto the grounds.

I tried to find someone to ask permission for us to paint there on Thursday and wound up leaving a voice mail.  So I may not hear back till the work week starts.

It often takes a full day for this posting to be sent to your email.   So if you're eager to know where we will be on Thursday, just go to the website on Tuesday.  I'll have posted the paint out location as it may have to be someplace else.

The forecast is for continued fall weather this week.

Sally

Whitfield House October 8

Another beautiful fall day was enjoyed by 10 painters (Ed, Jay, John, Isabel, Diana, Julia, Betsey, Sharon, Jane, and me).

Sharon walked the area and took some candid photos of people painting.

I want to assess the leaf situation on the CT River this weekend along with the weather forecast before deciding on next week's venue.  I'll post next week's paint out on Monday.

Sally

Call to Paint Whitfield House Guilford Thursday, Oct 8

Weather forecast looks lovely for this whole week.  We'll be painting at the Henry Whitfield House in Guilford on Thursday.  It's the oldest stone house in New England and has lovely grounds and angles to paint.  The museum will be open, but unlike the historic houses in Guilford where we often paint, this  museum is not maintained by the town historical societies and may not allow us to use the bathrooms without paying admission.  The museum opens at 10.  Otherwise, a quick car ride back to the town green to use the facilities at the town hall might be necessary.

Photos of Whitfield House

We'll meet for the wrap up behind the house in the parking lot at noon.  We can choose between Cilantro's or the new Food Market, both uptown on Whtifield St, for lunch, depending on how big a group we are.

Sally

Directions:

HENRY WHITFIELD STATE MUSEUM -  248 Old Whitfield Street, Guilford, CT

From  I-95 take exit 58 (Route 77). Turn south onto Route 77  (Church Street) and continue for approximately 0.8 mile to the center of Guilford. Turn right (west) onto Broad Street, and then take a quick left (south) onto Whitfield Street, driving along the west side of the Guilford Town Green. 

At the southwest corner of the green, continue straight on Whitfield Street. After 0.3 mile, bear left onto Old Whitfield Street. Turn left onto Stonehouse Lane. The museum is on the left.

Parmelee Farm Oct 1

There were four hardy painters at Parmelee Farm.  John, Tom, Ed, and I had a good morning painting.  The sun came out for a few seconds.  Gardeners came to work in the community garden which supplies produce to the local soup kitchens.  Several of these women were very impressed with the paintings today (I don't think mine—LOL) and talked to Tom about having the paintings at the next open house at Parmelee Farm.  One of the women took Tom's card if something does materialize.

We painted till 12:30 then went to Dunkin' Donuts for coffee.

We'll paint at the Whitfield House in Guilford next week, directions to follow.  There are a couple of nice places on the green to eat, deli style, Cilantro's or the Food Market.

Sally