Category: Cooper’s Farm

Painting Photo for Friday

Cooper’s Farm ©2011 Dora Sislian Themelis
14×20 Watercolor
Finished another watercolor painting! I am on a roll. Actually, I just wanted this one done with. When I am ready for something else I get antsy to finish and continue. Not like other times when I don’t even touch the paints. No, I am trying to behave and keep working.
For each painting session I was still using twenty minute segments, letting the work dry in between. And here I am painting from photographs, too. There was a time I just couldn’t do that. The subject had to be live. But the blue tractor was adorable, and I liked the scenery. So there you go.

Now I’m over it. 

Painting is Electric Energy

Another day, another painting start

What is it about painting that gets the electricity going? If I could feel like I did after starting this latest watercolor, I would bottle it and drink it every day to keep that momentum going. It is so weird.

After pulling the peach at the beach painting off the watercolor block, I hunted around for the next subject. It could take forever if I didn’t start something new immediately, and then I’d be arguing with Mr. Resistance again. You know he’d win, too, right?

Remembering the vacation we took a couple of summers ago out on the east end of Long Island, and some of the great photos I took there, I hunted them up yesterday. Of course, I had a different computer then, which crashed. The photos are in it. No worries, I looked for them here on the blog and started in.

It’s a nice, calm scene at Cooper’s Farm. I like the tractor. Okay. Something about painting just gave me a jolt that lasted into the evening. I kept thinking about it, and planning my next session wishing I could paint again at around 11PM last night. I mean, I could, but people are around and the painting is sitting in the dining room, not the studio.

Whatever. The feeling is still with me now as I write this. Today is an outside, running around day, so painting will have to wait until I return.

Funny how I decided I needed to try to work from photos rather than life, and now that’s all I’m doing. Is it like I’m on a kick or what? Also funny that I have a couple of different gourds from the vegetable share and I completely forgot about painting them. Totally out of my head.

Maybe I will have to also break with my tradition of working on one painting at a time to go ahead and paint those gourds on another block of paper? Ya think? Gee, what a concept!

Sometimes I knock myself out. Whack.

Heaven is an Empty Beach on Long Island

We’re back from our quick trip to the east end of Long Island, New York in the town of Southold near Greenport.  These few days were a great break from our normal routine and I must say it was much needed.  Do you ever realize how much you need a vacation until you actually go?  I knew it was the right idea as soon as I made the reservation for three nights out there.

To me travel is stress.  Being able to just get in the car and drive to a destination was the least amount of stress involved, unless there is traffic.  But really, if you’re on vacation with no timetable, no one expecting you, no reason to be anywhere at any time, who cares if there’s some traffic?  Yes, we had a little bit of traffic.  The usual suspects were involved, meaning people who need to see all the aspects of a three car accident.  OK, there were police cars and tow trucks, one really beat-up-from-all-sides car and two other beat up cars on the Long Island Expressway heading east.  Rubberneckers abounded.  After we passed it we had smooth sailing.

 First stop on the way was in Mattituck at Cooper’s Farm.  This is the best farm stand out east with the most vegetables you can pick on your own, or just buy what they’ve already picked.  We go all U-pick.   The most beautiful and large beefy tomatoes, long crunchy cucumbers, glossy eggplants and peppers, sweet as anything watermelon.  Delicious.


Actually, our real first stop was at Briermere Farm for the best buttery apple tart there is in New York.  We can’t visit the north fork without a stop here.  Neither can anyone else.  Every time we stop in there’s a line out the door.  Each time the door opened, out wafted the smell of butter crust and sweet fruits.  Breathe deep!  I was so excited I forgot to take pictures.

We arrived at our little hotel/motel around four o’clock in the afternoon.  The sun was behind some hazy clouds, but the air was still hot and humid.  Just how I like it.  We settled in, put our things away, donned our bathing suits and headed across the street to the almost empty beach, where we sat until well after 7 P.M.  The waters of the Long Island Sound were calm as oil, the Mr.’s phrase.  The summer air had almost no breeze, but the clouds above kept changing patterns as the sun went down over Connecticut.  




Heaven is a warm summer day and an empty beach.