Patti Gibbons Art

I have spent the past four+ days letting nothing rule me but the tides and my stomach. Though I understand the concept of the tides here on the Cape, I have never had to live by them. If they were low you could walk for miles on the beach. If they were high, you had plenty to swim in. I knew better than to get myself in a bad situation in the marshes by being too far out when the tide was coming in.  A few people upon hearing that we were renting on Lieutenant Island, commented that we had to be aware of the tides, that the one road in/out with the one lane bridge flooded, making travel impossible on and off the island.  But someone else told us: "oh it only happens when it is an unusually high tide".  So with that information I headed to the Island. We arrived at five, only to see the road in under water.  Larry and I looked at each other with a "it was too good to be true" look. The tide was not at its peak and it was clear that we were not getting o...

  Ethel’s Farm Stand Before leaving for Cape Cod, Karen and I had discussed what easy-to prepare, healthy, organic foods each one of us could bring.  Tuna, (ok, tuna is not that healthy but I love it) tomatoes, potatoes, rice, pasta, beans, mayo , olive oil and vinegar , red wine, white wine. There were foods from our garden;  zucchini, peppers, shallots, cucumbers, my favorite cooking seasonings: organic salt/garlic/parsley mixture, fresh lemons and limes, dill, and Italian herbs.  With these items I can make a wondrous marinara, or some mean black beans over rice,  savory eggs, and so much more. I had all that I needed.  But then it hit me about 25 miles from home:  SHIT: THERE WAS NO GARLIC.  I knew we would find some somewhere on our journey.  About five minutes after I said to Larry that I was going to be culinary handicapped if I did not have garlic, and were about to get onto the Taconic Parkway, we saw a simple ...

I just got back a first run of my greeting cards on Zazzle.  Their print quality is very good and the cards look great. But wait, how to market them? I did not think of it when I listed the name of my store on Zazzle on the back.  Not a good idea if I am going to list these cards on Etsy, which does not want the buyers to be able to find me there and order from Zazzle instead of on Etsy. Understandable, and now I have to rethink the designs of the card,  or how I am going to market them.  These are fine for my craft fairs as I can sell them the way they are.   It's a little nerve wracking that everyone wants their piece of the pie. After all, I sell lots on Etsy, and give them plenty of money, so if a scattered person or two happen to find their way over to Zazzle,  and buy a card or two from the site, what's the big deal?   I have 10 of each design for now, and if anyone is interested you can buy directly from me at 4.00 a card pl...

I spent my first TRUE vacation days (which means no little people and no family) on Perch Lake on the northern edge of the Catskill Mountains in Delaware County.  It is a 50 acre crater lake,  and at its deepest is 75'.  A friend of mine invited me to spend a few days in a lovely home 20' from the waters edge. It was three peaceful days. No wireless, no cell phone reception. I had a land line which mean I was the one in control of whom I called and when. And that was a call or two to my husband to make sure all was ok with Alanna.  He was playing Mr. Grandpa. It was one of the hottest weeks of the summer, but with the elevation and light breeze that constantly blew over the lake, I never felt the heat, and interestingly enough, I never had one hot flash. If I got warm, I  took a dip in the lake and floated around for a while on my noodle. If I felt like a workout, I did some swimming. When I felt inspired,  I drew and painted. When we were hungr...

I intended to be writing more, but I have to admit, I have been putting my energy into my granddaughter the past 10 days.  This is the third year that we take Alanna for two weeks in the summer, and indulge her in every experience that we possibly can.  I joke that her social life is better than mine, which means we move like twisters. We swim a lot as we are graced to know many people with pools, a necessary respite on hot summer days when you don't have A/C.  We've also watched the first three Harry Potter movies, and just borrowed the next three from a friend. I am hoping that one of us will take her to see the last one in 3D before she goes. I was not the perfect parent.  I loved my kids, but I was a stressed single mom who had no money, worked and went to  college to get my BS and MS so that I could have a good job with benefits to support my kids.  There price for that often took its toll in ways that make me wince.  Short tempered, always ...

The Hudson Valley is rich in the arts.  One does not have to look far to find fabulous historic sites, or galleries with amazing art.  It is the BEST when a historic site and a local artist meet on a weekday night and have an opening. Thursday afternoon I took a ride down Route 9W, past the monasteries and over the Hudson River to attend Jane Bloodgood Abrams opening "Earth, River, Sky" at Locust Grove, the Samuel B. Morse historical site .  Jane is a painter in the tradition of the Hudson River Artists, a genre of painting that I have studied over the years, a style which has been an inspiration in my own landscape painting. Jane has a gift for creating a landscape that evokes many moods, and her work has an other-worldliness to it.  Her paintings and pastels take me to a place where if there is a God, I can feel him. I am fortunate to own a small pastel painting by Jane of the Hudson River from Olana.  It was a gift from my husband to celebrate Chr...

  It was a glorious weekend. Time with family and friends. Painting time.  The mood was great, even though one day was damp and rainy. We took Alanna last night with a friend to go see the fireworks on the Walkway Over the Hudson , which is one of the areas most scenic and enjoyable walkways in the Hudson Valley.  Built in 1888 as a railroad bridge over the Hudson River, it was the longest truss span bridge in the world at the time, towering 212 feet over the water.  It has been restored and made into a 1.28 mile walkway, where pedestrians, cyclists, and wheelchairs can traverse from Highland to Poughkeepsie, with a view of the Catskills,  the Mid Hudson Bridge, and the river of course. The fireworks were great;  the Poughkeepsie fireworks were set off from a barge on the river, strategically placed between both bridges.  Behind us, on the north side, just below the walkway, Highland had its own little round of fireworks. I felt like we were surr...