As 2010 comes to an end.....

Well, looking back it's been quite a year. I've gone back and highlighted some great things that happened to me in 2010. Some have been small events, but nevertheless, great significance. I couldn't imagine my life without my beloved Jason who has supported me for 13 years in the quest to become a self sufficient artist. As well as my lover and closest friend, he's my best drinking buddy and loves the music as much as I do. I hope 2011 will see more and more great things happen ....

"Black and White Farm Scene"

5x7 black watercolor

"Love Bugs"

5x7 watercolor and Prismacolor pencils

There were plenty of commissions and certificates redeemed this year to keep me busy at the art table. But, I have to admit I love it when one of my portfolio pieces sells. "Black and White Farm Scene" was sold at the New England Arts for Animals http://neartsforanimals.org/ show back in April to a woman in Cohasset MA. From what I was told, it reminded her of her horse farm when she was growing up. "Love Bugs" was sold to a man in New Orleans via http://www.etsy.com/ for a Christmas gift. Thank you so much for supporting the arts!!

Montana was the trip of a lifetime. Mum had always talked about wanted to go ride on a working ranch so back in August we went! I had never been to that part of the country before and was just simply blown away from the scenery as well as the hospitality of the people there. Coming from the uptight Northeast, this was a breath of fresh air. And I got to gallop! http://www.bonanzacreekcountry.com/

"Skull Still Life"
8x10 Watercolor

"Money Owl"

6" x 9"

paper and rubber cement

"View from the porch"

watercolor

Wednesday Night Creativity is the greatest thing ever invented! LOL!! The Museum of Fine Arts Boston is open late and free to the public (but eagerly accepts donations) on Wednesday nights. I found out through a woman that goes to my gym that there's a drawing group that meets every Wednesday with a model at the MFA. So me and some other creatives went and checked it out. And it was a great way to get together after for snacks and cocktails. The last Wednesday of every month, however, didn't have a model but a still life instead. So in lieu of trekking all the way to the MFA we decided to rotate homes and once a month set up a still life or a creative activity to work on. No rules, but I "try" to work in mediums other than watercolor to break out of the box. Or work on something (for me it was texture and painting images of glass) that you felt you wanted more practice on. And of course, drink wine, eat snacks and chat chat chat. Unfortunately, Heidi, one of the "founding members" will be moving to NYC at the end of January but I hope that she continues the WNC down there with her new friends. All 3 images above are a result of WNC.

Jason & Al (of Beneath the Stone & Dr. Enemy)

http://www.beneaththestone.com/

Gozu

http://www.myspace.com/gozu666

Scott Healey (of Gut & Give Up) at the kit

Freakin' Allston Rock City!!!

There were some definite moments of music in 2010. I spent a LOT of time going out and supporting the local scene which I love. Gut lost their space on Denby Street (which was a sad day for sure) however, before they left, I got to hang out with these great guys and other bands like Planetoid. Scott Healey joined up with Gut back in February and played some shows out (some better than others). We also saw some great local acts like Gozu (awesome!!!!!), the Force and Black Thai. I was also blessed to see Who Carries the Lantern before they brought on a guitar player and after. (Much better after BTW). The best shows out of the national acts I saw were Thom York and the Atoms for Peace (actually got weepy at one point, it was so beautiful) and The Dead Weather at the House of Blues. The scene is alive and well every time you go out and support local music.

"Boylston Black and White"

5x7 first layer of watercolor

"Boylston Black and White"

watercolor and Prisma color pencil

"Boylston Black and White" I think was my favorite piece that I did in 2010. What started out as a black and white painting ended with color added in ONLY with pencil. Expanding on a technique and then the piece comes out as nice as this, well, it's a good feeling.

"Ollie Cat smoking a J"

This was done for my Twitter friend @gallaghermeow. The guy cracks me up on a daily basis. Between his posts and @feeaxilla, my music friend, they have made Twitter worth while. In fact, I would not have even KNOWN about that Atoms for Peace concert had it not been for a tweet by @feeaxilla. That and the Tweet Deck. God Bless the Tweet Deck! Seriously though, if you have something to sell you should be on Twitter. A friend of mine put it best when he said, "Facebook is all the people you used to know, Linkedin is all the people you currently know, but Twitter is all the people you WANT to know." You can follow me too at @cwinship!

detail of "Untitled #1103 (Daphne)"

Petah Coyne

http://www.google.com/images?q=petah+coyne&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-Address&oe=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=DOkdTdu4N4yt8Ab2hMTUBA&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CCkQsAQwAA&biw=1259&bih=623

It's always a treat to go to the Mass MoCA http://www.massmoca.org/ out in North Adams. It's way better when you see an exhibit like "Everything That Rises Must Converge". This, simply put, was awesome. She uses waxed flowers, taxidermied birds and lots of velvet creating huge installation art that is dark, beautiful and though provoking. Clearly a highlight of my year.

Roseboom, New York

Jason and I spent some time scouting the state parks in upstate New York this past year. We camped in the state parks and had some wonderful outdoor experiences including listening to late night owl conversations and lots of deer sightings. Lots of wild red raspberries too! We were up there Fourth of July weekend and went back Labor Day weekend as well. Jason went back for the shot gun season and bagged a young buck (which I had some for lunch today). As he says, "Scouting pays off!" Upstate New York is such a beautiful place and so wild still. This is where I want to retire someday.

My J

A lot of what I do would not be nearly as much fun as it is with Jason. Thanks for a wonderful year and on to 2011!

whoo hoo!

Is there such a thing as Twitter Etiquette ???

(Winter Wren from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website)

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/netcommunity/Page.aspx?pid=1306

I put this guy's picture up because this bird is more known for being heard rather than seen and really isn't that what Twitter is all about? I believe, like most public places, that Twitter has a certain etiquette and rules you should follow.

I am, yes, a Twitterholic. I love it. But there are times that I get frustrated at the silly things that people post.

Rule 1. Don't post about the weather. Because I can get my local forecast on the radio and really that's all I need.

Rule 2. Don't post every 20 minutes where you are. Why would you consistently post about how you go to Starbucks every morning? I follow the word WINSHIP because it is my last name and I want to know, is anyone talking about me? (hope so!). So there's this dude in S. Korea who's handle is @winship and he posts CONSTANTLY about where he is ... I mean like every 5 minutes and he's always at some fast food joint. Makes me wonder about his health! But again, it's filling up my screen with 10 post in a row. "I'm at ___________" I'm at __________" Seriously dude, who cares?????? And I tried to block him but because it's under a search I don't think I can. At least I haven't figured it out yet (maybe you can help?)

Rule 3. No posts about television shows. I'm note a fan of TV, tend to maybe watch 2-3 hours weekly. I see a lot of posts about Lost, Idol, and Dancing with the Stars. Yeah, don't give a sh*t, really.

But then there's me and what I like to tweet about:

Aside from my usual tweets about my shows, events and art accomplishments....

Josh Homme

of

Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age, Eagles of Death Metal, Them Crooked Vultures

I love this guy. I follow him, his bands, and any mention of him on twitter. Very much a guilty pleasure of mine. He's a fantastic musician, bad-ass personality and yes, HoT! That being said I've noticed that when someone posts something about him and it's wrong (*gasp*) I feel that I have to correct them. Makes me feel like the Cliff Claven of Stoner Metal music and somewhere, I'm thinking, there's this person on their computer saying, "Who the hell is this b*itch??" However, in my defense I have been told by marketing experts that it is good to comment and tweet on other people's stuff out side of your "circle" in order to get more people in your "circle." That's all I'm doing right? :)

Remember Cliff from Cheers? The guy who always hung out at the bar and spewed off facts that no body really cared about? Yea, I feel like that sometimes. Is anyone listening? Does anyone care?

So let me ask you: Do you Twitter? Is there a way to block someone even if they keep posting one of your search words? Is there something on Twitter that annoys the hell out of you? Or you one of those "Oh - I'm just getting Facebook, don't get me started on Twitter"?

"Brussels Griffon" 8x10 Mixed Media

I like to read other people's tweets that have interesting links. I follow a lot of foodies, musicians, bands, artists, and art marketing experts. I have made a few friendships through twitter (shout out to @feeaxilla who consistently is sharing his music with me) and again, hoping that this will bring more people to my "circle".

So if you're not on Twitter - you should be. It's got so much potential that hasn't been tapped yet. Just don't post about what your wearing because it's raining.....