the princess tried

Went into the archives for this photo, sorry. It's from '09. Happy Halloween. Off to go stack firewood today, then see what trouble I can get up to tonight. I've been pre-gaming by consuming candy at a most alarming rate, more than I eat in an entire year. It's the snack sizes that do me in, and the extra hours in the car.
In this photo I'm an ersatz Halloween princess in my orange prom dress from a hundred years ago.. all right, 17 years, which qualifies as half my lifetime..

classics

Breaking out the classics for these Halloween cookies I made for Homespun (a cafe in Beacon). Nothing too scary here.

 

 From the car show a couple of weekends ago. More classics, lining Main St. All the hoods are up, so my pics were for general inspiration rather than direct reference, though I can adapt, and may.

 My 'installation' in the gallery window. Possibly the only thing I painted last week (besides cookies).

Ah, here's an actual painting (oil, 9"x12"). I did most of this one in August, but needed to finish it. This building was farther up (or down) the road from the cabin I stayed in. I suppose it was open for business at one time.

rounding up

I know I've shown this already, but now it's a little different- it's from the lightbulb cutout I painted for  Newburgh Illuminated in June. Jon did one too, and he cut both of our lightbulbs into circles featuring the top parts of the designs (30" in diameter?). I kind of really like this now. I liked it before, and it made sense for that project, but it needed to stand as a new piece. Second time a round.

sign work

I've had my sign-painting hat on the past week or so- that is, actual signs, not paintings of signs, which is a different hat- and just finished these two for a couple of beloved establishments on Main St in Beacon. They are each 4'x4' painted on wood, both sides, and of course it took a bit longer than I thought, because I do it the freehand sketch-it-out way. I think they were seeking the handmade look, so I'm all right. I do this sort of work enough to be reasonably good, but not frequently enough as to be a true master of the craft, effortless and sure. (Although, two separate people who watched me paint said that my long brushstrokes relaxed them. Beats watching paint dry, I suppose.)

olana

I took a short road trip this past Saturday up to Olana, "the 250-acre integrated environment of Hudson River School painter Frederic Church: Art, Architecture, Landscape, Farm and Views", a little over an hour's drive north from Beacon on a most idyllic mid-October day. Their website and these photos describe the place, and its history and beauty, better than I ever could. Imagine the days (1860) when an artist could actually buy such property and build such an estate, with its Persian-influenced architecture, high above the Hudson River surrounded by farmland and sweeping views. I didn't even make it inside for a house tour, just walked along the trails in the sunshine, eating apples.

autumn road painting

A painting I made as a commissioned piece for a PR firm's seasonal card. Original is 8"x10" acrylic on canvas. There would have to be pumpkins in the truck's bed, I figured, or cider donuts. Then I realized the unseen driver and companion were most certainly, while enjoying the fall foliage, eating donuts and drinking cider.

new prints

These are 6 to start, open-edition, approx 11"x16". Also had them printed at 8"x10". Soon they will be for sale online ($25-35), either on my site or at a link from our gallery's page, but for now, as before, they are available by emailing me (erica@ericahauser.com) directly. 

Gray Cash Register, Cityscape with Water Tower, Ice Machine, Radio Train, Howard Johnson's, Disco Ball

Ice Machine print, 11"x14". Original is oil on panel.

keeping mum

 Sometimes this happens. Well, very rarely, in fact. I could say that I didn't notice how weak the metal rack was, but I saw it wobble at the start and proceeded anyway. Sometimes I go against my initial instinct but I'm always right, whether it's uneven earth or a flimsy frame. They weren't home so I re-stacked it directly on the patio. Who needs to see my new paintings when my life contains this kind of everyday excitement!

 Then I'll be driving along and encounter this sort of sight... vibrant mums as far as the eye can see, and fresh apple cider donuts.. and that's enough to tip the excitement scale right over.