painterandpoet

First Blog of 2012

2012-01-24T22:57:00.000-08:00

When we first arrived here - just before Thanksgiving, I was always talking about going back home - which meant Culver. Now when we are at the Culver house, I find myself saying - "maybe it's time to head back home."

About a week ago, Darlene came to visit, and she took several pictures of Ward and me, so I am posting one of them. It was very cold and we are in front of our Winona Lake home, and soon I will post some more inside shots, so you can get a better idea of where we now live.

Randy is working on web site changes, and those will soon be finished. In the meantime, our phone numbers are land line residence phone: 574-372-6339 and our answering service is working there. Our Painter and Poet Gallery cell phone number is 574-842-8888. If I don't return a message you left there, please call me back on our land line. I confess - I'm having trouble learning how to get my voice mail messages. I know, I know - you say it's easy. Well, let me remind you - I grew up on a farm where my Dad plowed with a team of horses - and we had no electricity and no running water (and an out-house). How can anybody expect me to be a fast whiz on a cell phone? C'mon, Give me a break!

Second Blog of the Day - Our mailing address

2011-12-05T20:54:00.000-08:00

Dear "All of You",

Just opened our mail, and there was a nice Christmas card addressed to our Culver address with a message inside that they "hoped we would receive this at our new address", so thought some of you might like to have our new mailing address. Here it is:

Ward and Esther Miller
1415 Avalon Court
Winona Lake, Indiana
46590

Back to unpacking just one more box. Fortunately, we have an attached garage with room along one side for open metal shelving and several roomy metal enclosed cabinets. Those areas are fast filling up and many of the boxes are simply labeled "memorabilia". I feel as if it will take us 5 years to sort all of this out, but it is comforting to know that we can take our time, to pitch, save, give away or sell.

I'll tell all of you a secret (and I guess then, it will not longer be a secret): Some of the memorabilia boxes were packed when my mother died in 1988 (24 years ago). Wow! Our Painter and Poet journey began in 1989, and I've been more fascinated by enjoying our wonderful art "trip" with all of the hard but enjoyable facets of envisioning, then making the painting and poetry come to life, then marketing, traveling, etc. etc., than I was by delving into the contents of those boxes - they moved along with us -
to our first condo, then to our peaceful log cabin, then to our recent beloved Culver home with attached gallery, and now on to our retirement condo - a peaceful and secure haven. I'm sure this new spot, without the gallery, the matting and framing, and with other people responsible for many of the tasks we tried to do for ourselves, will give us an easier life with more time to create and to relax. So the journey goes on..........

Ward hung a Christmas wreath near our front door, and our 45 year old nativity scene (from Marshall Field's catalog) is in its year round place, an antique commode right next to our front door. Later this next week, we will put up a few old favorite Christmas decorations.

from Esther

Still in the Midst of our overwhelming move!

2011-12-05T18:05:00.000-08:00

Hi friends -

Had hoped to be posting by now, but realty has set in, and we continue to pack, tote, and unpack - with an occasional half day off to recuperate. Shortly before Thanksgiving, I tore a tendon in my left wrist (the good news, -it was not my right hand), so am being careful and doing lots of sorting but very little lifting. Am in a fiberglass cast (waterproof) and very light weight. Relatively comfortable.

We had planned to be moved before snowy weather - the furniture and heavy boxes in our final major load was put in place about 20 minutes before Warsaw's first snow of the season - no snow in Culver. Excellent accidental timing.

Most people here seem to be kind and friendly. Our next door neighbors dropped in several days after we began sleeping here - they brought some good cookies, and a warm welcome. Tomorrow we are going to a Christmas dinner at the community building for Robin Hood Condos - dinner is being catered by Grace College.

My drawing table is still buried in boxes, but our limited edition prints are safely in order on shelves along the back wall of my studio - thanks to expert and careful handling by Chris Chambers. As soon as that area is in order, I'm determined to get a brush in my RIGHT hand- I can feel it twitching now. We'll soon take some photos of our condo to share with you. Trying to port our 842-8888 land line to our "waiting to be programmed" cell phone. As of now, the safest way to call us is on our home land line - 574-372-6339 - or email a message to us at info@painterandpoet.com

After we have our new cell phone set up, we will disconnect the Painter and Poet land line in Culver, and will have the cell phone programmed to receive messages. We'll then immediately post our correct and active phone number for Painter and Poet. Thank you all for your patience during this transition.

Hope you all are on schedule to welcome Santa. Peace. from Esther

Saturday evening - BIG SALE is progressing!

2011-10-22T22:15:00.000-07:00

We are still having the BIG 50% OFF SALE on all prints! New extended hours: 1 PM till 6 PM, Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat, & Sun. Our sale will continue until Nov. 12. The walls are getting more and more empty, but many nice bargains remain. Christmas is coming!

After we move, Gail's Shop here in Culver will be selling our prints. And we also will be selling un-matted prints on line. www.painterandpoet.com

Ward and I are sad to close our little Painter and Poet Gallery and will miss our wonderful friends and neighbors in Culver, an amazing small town. But we do look forward to our new home at Robin Hood Condos., where we will have a more stress free life and the help we are likely need as we age. If curious, check out their web site: www.gracevillage.org

After we are settled in our new digs, I will be setting up my membership in Daily Paintworks, a very active site where many artists sell their originals. And I am looking forward to working on many of the commissions some of you have requested - I will have the space and the time to paint, paint, paint! For the next few weeks, our email address and phone number will remain the same, and we will be posting on this blog www.painterandpoet.blogspot.com to let you know of changes.

Once we are settled there, we will be sending a card to each of you on our active mailing list, giving you our new address and phone number and details on how to contact us.

Now I must get back to packing. Looks like many of our "memorabilia" boxes will be unopened and transferred to shelves in our new garage. To you who have moved in the last few years, does this sound familiar?

From Esther and Ward

Working toward our Big Move!

2011-10-18T18:50:00.001-07:00

HUGE SALE! Exciting news from Painter and Poet

2011-10-05T12:28:00.000-07:00

Change is in the wind! Ward and I want to let you in on our plans. We are 98% sure that we will soon be moving to a condo in Robin Hood Condominiums, associated with Grace Village Retirement Community at Winona Lake, Indiana- right next to Warsaw. While we are both "young at heart", Father Time has a nasty habit of sneaking up on us, and this move will make it easier for us to continue to pursue our creative life and our personal life. All exterior maintenance will be done by someone else, and our lives will be easier and simpler. Grace Village is lovely, and a very friendly and helpful place, and we are looking forward to happy, productive and safe years there. It is very hard for me to leave Culver - I have had a home or property here for 58 years and I appreciate all of the amazing generosity and kindness that people in this town have given first to me and my children, and then to Ward and me. Grace Village is only 45 minutes from Culver and we plan to return often!!

While living in Grace Village, we will not have a retail outlet, but you may purchase our unmatted prints, cook books and Ward's books online through our web site www.painterandpoet.com . We are delighted to report that Painter and Poet prints will be available here in Culver at Gail's Shop. And Culver Academies' Bookstore will continue to carry our Culver Academy Series of prints.

Ward and I have worked hard and lived our dream for the last 14 years operating our own small gallery housed in several locations along Main Street in Culver. It has been such a pleasure to share our artistic work. We will miss the many customers and friends we've met through our painting and poeting, but all good things (and fortunately also - all bad ones) end, and we look forward to the next chapter. Our move to Winona Lake will allow me to concentrate on painting originals, and plugging away on long delayed commissions. My studio there will be larger than the one in our Culver home. And after we are settled in our condo, I will be joining Daily Paintworks site online and posting small originals on that site. Fear not - the art gene is still strong and urgent in my innards! Ward continues with his poetic musings and years back he wrote a wonderful poem called "My Indiana Home" - I am looking forward to finishing the small watercolors needed to illustrate this poem which will then morph into a poster. That will be my first project after we settle in our new home..

We want to reduce our inventory before we move, and so are having a whopping 50% off sale only on all the framed and matted prints now in our gallery.   This sale does not include unmatted prints or any of our other gallery inventory. While we plan to stay open as much as possible, our "for sure" hours will be Fridays and Saturdays from 10 till 5. To come at other times, check our open sign or call ahead. 574-842-8888.

We will accept phone orders with credit card payment, and will be glad to mark your purchases and set them aside for pick up. If you want to pay by cash or personal check, we will mark your artwork, set it aside and hold it for up to 5 days so you can arrange to pay for it when you get it. We will accept credit cards and personal checks. All sales will be final. Sorry, because of the confusion of this move we cannot arrange shipping. More details on how to purchase items from Painter and Poet will be posted later. We hope to be settled in our new Grace Village home before Thanksgiving.
As soon as our condo lease in Robin Hood Condos is finalized, our Culver home will be for sale. I'll blog again and give you more information on our Mission style brick bungalow, a house that struck my fancy for many years before we purchased it about 13 years ago.   We have loved living in this house and hope the new owners will enjoy it as much as we have.

from Ward and Esther

Painter and Poet's Family Cookbook-fresh from the printer!

2011-07-30T21:55:00.000-07:00

A few months back, I wrote about a small edition of this cookbook, which I printed. Since I am a painter and not a printer, it was a struggle - and also way too time consuming. About a month ago, we found an outstanding printer - Brinkman Press in Indianapolis. They are knowledgeable, careful, and precise in their work - and willing to produce smaller editions. They were patient with me and helped me through the process of providing them files much better than I could ever have done without their expertise. The front and back is laminated card stock and the spiral binding allows the book to lie flat - making it easier to read as you search for ingredients. Also, we have a very good friend in Plymouth, who offered to proof read - and boy oh boy, what a good job she did ! - finding an embarrassing number of goofs made by yours truly. The bottom line is, we were able to provide a more professional cook book and/or coffee table book, at a low price of $39.00.

"Uncle John's Barn" The inspiration for this barn rumbled through my mind, for quite a few years before I finally painted it. In the meantime, the barn deteriorated to the nth degree -one section after another, until it finally collapsed! Located on 9th Road, west of Plymouth - the barn always drew my attention and I photographed it in different seasons, on sunny days and on shady days. I grew up on a dairy farm in northeastern Ohio, and the small herd of a hodge podge of heifers reminded me of my early home. So - I finally painted it, and named it in honor of my father, John Henry Scobie. And this watercolor is on the cover of our cookbook with over 100 of our favorite family recipes, almost 90 small full color illustrations from a wide variety of my watercolors, and the "icing on the cake" (pun intended) is some nifty poems by Ward.

Title Page with Ward's verse

Beginning to recover more from an annoying recurrence of shingles, I feel able to get back to active blogging. And the plan is to include info on some of the individual pages of this book. It'll be fun for me to go back into Memory Lane and share some of the details with you..

Now - let's get on with the show! After the detailed dedication, copyright, index, etc. etc. etc., here is the beginning page of the first chapter - Appetizers:

Note: Colors will vary with different monitors. They appear very saturated on my monitor, but while bright, the actual colors are not garish. These balloons are from photos taken at Plymouth's Blueberry Festival at least 15 years ago. Most of them belonged to balloon enthusiasts living within 60 or 70 miles of Plymouth. Ward and I used to get up early on the Saturday morning of "Blueberry weekend" and rush to Plymouth's municipal airport, to get there for a fund raising pancake breakfast and to watch the breath-taking sight and listen to the exciting roar of the fires igniting the gases to get those balloons up and away. Weather conditions had to cooperate and there had to be enough wind to allow them to drift away, but not too much to be dangerous. What a thrill to watch and listen to all of this. I still get goose bumps remembering.

Here is a link to our website: http://www.painterandpoet.com/
Gallery Hours: 10 till 5 on Fridays and Saturdays, and by chance or appointment. At other times, when we're available, we put our open sign out. Our gallery phone number is 574-842-8888
Our gallery email is: Info@painterandpoet.com
Here is a link to our blog address: http://www.painterandpoet.blogspot.com/

For cookbook orders, Shipping is $4.00 for the first book, and $2.00 more for each additional book. Please call or email us to place your orders. Please don't leave any credit card info on the phone or in your email. We accept all major credit cards and personal checks. With varying shipping costs, we can't set up our web site to accept book orders. If we aren't here, I'll call or email you back.

Chairs for Charity - 2011

2011-06-10T19:00:00.000-07:00

Painter and Poet's Front Yard with two "Chairs for Charity - 2011"

"Chairs for Charity" is a local project

Close up of two Chairs for Charity - 2011

where any interested Culver resident can volunteer to paint (decorate) a chair of his or her choosing, and submit it to be auctioned to raise money for a variety of good causes. The auction is this coming Sunday evening, at Culver Academies Dining Hall, and this promises to be a lively enjoyable occasion. Since we are very visible on North Main Street, with a prominent front yard, we were asked to host two chairs. This was our pleasure, and Ward was glad to carry them in and out (depending on whether or not we were open and more importantly, whether or not it was raining.) I'm attaching a second "close up" photo.   Note the bar stool on the right which features memorabilia about the Indianapolis COLTS football team, and the back of the stool is symbolic of a horse shoe. Very clever, Rhonda Anderson is the "chair artist" who thought of and created this stool. The other chair is a very attractive rocker, called ANCHORS AWAY, and decorated by Colleen Denham, who also happens to be president of Tri Kappa, the organization that sponsors this popular fundraiser. I thought each of these chairs terrific, and am sure the winning bidder of each will indeed be delighted.

It's been a long time since I've posted a blog. Had a relapse of the dread shingles, but am now on a medication that is making it possible for me to get back into creating and doing. Very grateful for that. We are almost through with our final cookbook revision and will soon be posting details.

In our last blog I wrote about our inclusion in Northern Indiana Art Earth Trail, with listings of over 150 studios, galleries, farmers markets, quaint lodging, & specialty shops across Northern Indiana. Go online ArtAndEarthTrail.com for easy details on inventory, open hours , locations, etc. There are seven loops in this routing map - each for a different county. Using this guide will help you map out your own trip in your own car - whenever you wish, and you can check out info on different possible stops. We are in the Marshall County tour, which is called "Time to Unwind". And our definite open hours are Fridays and Saturdays from 10 till 5, and also by chance, or appointment. Call us at 574-842-8888 if you want to come at another time, and we will try to be here for you. Let us know if you are on the tour, and we will be glad to invite you into part of our home to see some my watercolors in our private collection, and I will be happy to show you current "in the process" paintings - I usually work on several at a time. Remember, we have some originals and other items in our gallery, not available on our web site.

Our web address is - www.painterandpoet.com We accept orders by phone or email (painterandpoet@sbcglobal.net) and you may pay by paypal, credit card, money order or personal check.

Lots of rain here, and some severe storms, but the worst ones have skipped over or around us. Looking forward to writing more later.

Note: I'm checking on details on chair submission to be sure my info is accurate - will revise if necessary, so check the final details

Art and Earth Trail

2011-03-19T21:54:00.000-07:00

A view of the front of our gallery as it will appear in late spring!

We are thrilled to have been invited to be part of the Northern Indiana Art and Earth Trails. This is a planned "drive yourself" tour with suggestions for destinations - easy, free, and fun to follow. The photo on the left is included both in the current brochure printed by that group and on their wonderful website. There are seven Northern Indiana loops in this trail, and we are in the Marshall County segment, known as Time to Unwind loop. The web address is

Inside view of Gallery - spring, 2011

http://artandearthtrail.com/trails/index.htm Go there to find out more about these trails, and when you visit our gallery, be sure to tell us that you are following this trail. When you get on the web site, click on "stories" - we are honored to be featured on our loop - (TIME TO UNWIND).

Milestones in our lives like special reunions, weddings, graduations, etc. inspire us to undertake major and minor changes - in our bodies and in our homes. Well! Being included on this tour is a similar catalyst for us. The prospect of opening our gallery, our studio and a section of our home to visitors from this tour - has encouraged us to freshen up our gallery - we've bought some spacious baskets to hold most of our prints, rearranged some of our space, and hung more of our personal collection of my originals in our home for easy viewing. And we've gone high tech, with a wifi radio, and will have wonderful music in the gallery when I can figure out how to program the sucker.

Our kitchen has just been repainted- cabinets inside and out - utter chaos. In about a week, I hope to finish pitching and sorting - in preparation for a few minor furniture moves in the studio (the final step in readying our home/studio/gallery) Then, I myself will be planted - painting in the studio. Which reminds me - in front of a south window are twelve little glass jars containing healthy starts from our beloved old Christmas cactus. Earlier this week, we bought clay pots and saucers. And as soon as we get the right potting soil mix, I'll plant them.

Have finished proof reading our family cookbooks, and will print a short new edition. Will keep you posted on that.

Remember we have definite gallery hours on Fridays and Saturdays from 10 till 5, and other times whenever the sign is out, by chance or appointment. Call us at 574-842-8888 for an appointment and we'll do our best to be open when it is convenient for you.

Remember to check us out at our web site; www.painterandpoet.com

"Winter Wonderland" -almost spring....

2011-03-07T22:35:00.000-08:00

It's good to be back blogging and I'm pleased to present this new painting. It's my watercolor of the wonderful view from our front door looking east across the street, and I was enthralled by this winter scene. Worked on it cautiously - putting it aside frequently to "think hard" about the next brush stroke. Watercolors are not as forgiving as most other mediums - so, enough said- I hope you enjoy it. Kay, the owner, is purchasing this original and we will be making some prints for her family, and I will enjoy mailing cards with this image.

Have been feeling below par (lingering shingles symptoms) but better now and "rarin" to go. We've had our kitchen cabinets painted inside and out and only some of the contents are in place. Soon we won't have any good excuse for eating out.

Most of our snow is melted, but a few packed piles linger in shaded areas. And our Lake Maxinkuckee is still covered with thin ice.

Here's the image from one of my most successful spring flower paintings. - "Crocus, the Butterfly Flower" thus named because my quirky artist brain saw the petals of these flowers resembling the wings of tiny butterflies, and it's fun to think about both of them together.

This small watercolor is in our dining room, and prints are available on our web site: httm/www.painterandpoet.com/

All for now - I'm alternating between studio time and organizing cabinets time, and always happy to pause to answer the buzzer when any of you enter our gallery door. I'll be back soon to share paintings and news of our artistic journey.

Yesterday's Blog-What happened to the turtles?

2011-01-09T13:15:00.000-08:00

Maxinkuckee cottage watercolor - the turtles must have jumped in the water. Seriously, they are still in the painting, but my attempt to add close up views of the turtles failed. A good friend of mine emailed to say she didn't know where to click to look at the turtles. The culprit is my limited computer skill. I don't dare even think about pulling off something like that! Sorry I goofed - here's my alibi - "my little close up photos of turtle 1 and turtle 2 decided they didn't want to be in the blog."

Now it's almost 4 on Sunday afternoon, and I'm going to peel potatoes to go with our pork loin roast which is on the menu (that means thawed out) for tonight's meal. And when it's in the oven, I'll wander back to my little studio and work on the winter scene of "the house with candles in the windows." How's that for a plan?

We have serious winter weather here. South Bend - about 40 miles north of us - has had 30 inches of snow within the last day or so - that's a record! We're fortunate to have much less snow here, but one must still be very careful walking and driving. Stay warm!

Remember, comments are welcomed. I hope to have a new blog ready for you by next weekend. from Esther

Web site: http://www.painterandpoet.com/

Family Fun on Lake Maxinkuckee

2011-01-08T21:49:00.000-08:00

Am posting my most recent finally completed "house portrait." This family has many wonderful memories of time spent in this Lake Maxinkuckee cottage. The elevation from the water is ideal. Such an appealing spot with extensive porches, a yard with a large fire pit and plenty of seating for all. Welcome!

The patriarch of this family is a thoughtful man who follows his dreams with action. Admirable respect for the environment is evidenced by this fieldstone sea wall that provides easy turtle access back and forth between land and lake. It was fun for me to plant two of these critters on the sea wall. I've cropped two turtles from this watercolor, and enlarged them so you can view each of them " up close."

From our studio - After the huge Thanksgiving crash of the "Grandmother Christmas Cactus", the baby cacti are looking healthier each day. About a dozen of them are in glass jars, with their roots in the water and on a table in the south window of my studio where natural lighting is ideal.

Today, we put away Christmas ornaments, and I worked for several hours on a snow scene of another inviting home with candles glowing in its windows - which I hope to be able to finish and photograph for the next blog. We plan to use this watercolor for our belated 2010 "holiday" card. Am sorry it is emerging late, but grateful that I'm still able to share my art with you. Ward and I thank you for your many thoughtful holiday messages, and we wish you continuing peace and joy in 2011!

Winter hours: Fridays and Saturdays from 10 till 5, and whenever the open sign is out, or by appointment.
Esther Powers Miller and K. Ward Miller
Painter and Poet Gallery, 307 N.. Main St., Culver, IN 46511
Phone: 574-842-8888
email: info@painterandpoet.net

Web site: http//:www.painterandpoet.com/
Most of our prints are available on this web site. Paypal and free shipping within US.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T18:19:00.000-08:00

Sixteen years ago, I painted this watercolor of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, of Wilmette, Illinois. This was a gift for the New Year's Eve marriage of a young couple - John Anella, (son of our good friends - the Steve Anellas of South Bend) and his fiance, Margie Pelton (her family is very active in this Wilmette church). John and Margie and their five children now live in South Bend.

Each New Year's Eve, I think about that wedding, and remember the trip several weeks before the wedding, when Ward and I drove over 100 miles from our home - then in Plymouth - to Wilmette, to search out this church, and photograph so I could use the pictures for reference while working on this painting.    It was early December and we were fortunate to find that an early snow had recently fallen blanketing the ground white and leaving a fluffy snow trim on nearby trees and roofs - a simple classic scene.

On New Year's day in 1994, carrying the completed watercolor with us, we again drove to this church in Wilmette and found the wintry scene almost identical to our photos. We attended the wedding and Ward and I had fun presenting this painting to the happy couple.

The hustle and bustle of the holidays is subsiding, and now we are shifting gears and thinking about the year to come. I'm still working on the yearly holiday note card, and when we are ready to mail it, I'll post it here for all to see.

Greetings to all! May you have a joyful, peaceful and healthy new year!   from Esther and Ward

Remember, many of our Painter and Poet prints (including Wilmette Church) are available on our web site: http://www.painterandpoet.com/

Winter gallery hours: Fridays and Saturdays, from 10 till 5, by appointment, or whenever the open sign is out.
Phone: 574-842-8888. Address: 307 N. Main St., Culver, IN 46511
Email: info@painterandpoet.com

Remember - it's easy to subscribe to this blog, and also easy to unsubscribe. Follow the directions here. And if you have comments, I'd enjoy hearing them. - Esther

A Christmas Cactus "Child" survives!

2010-12-26T17:32:00.000-08:00

Hooray! My son Terry just sent me a photo of a thriving cactus "child" in the same bucket I put it in after the cactus crash! He and Dani transported it in their car when they drove back to New Orleans. I predict it will root in its water and be safely growing in dirt sometime around Easter. There are some healthy buds on many of its branches, and it is likely that it will bloom again next year. I am delighted at its recovery and congratulate Terry and Dani on their care of the "old lady cactus" survivor.

Photo emailed by Terry

We have about a dozen small starts on a table in my studio, and I am also hopeful that they will thrive. A good friend of mine gave me (for Christmas) the perfect ceramic planter for a much smaller version of this now famous cactus, and I hope to have a newer and sleeker model growing in it before summer.

This image of a Raggedy Ann Family
is available in numbered, signed prints
and as note cards. Check this out on
our web site in the "Christmas series" and the "Children's series"of prints.

I'm quite sentimental about this little
grouping. About ten years ago, we moved from a log cabin located on a
small fishing lake near Plymouth. We
loved the serenity and beauty of the
location and the cabin suited us perfectly
until......Father Time began to catch up with us, and the multiple steps became worrisome and potentially dangerous, so we moved, and are content now in our snug brick bungalow - all on one floor, with our little gallery attached.

A delightful couple, David and Janet Burke, bought our log cabin and we have the joy of visiting them in this home. David is a man of many talents, among them - making stick furniture and growing bonsai trees. The Raggedy dolls in my watercolor were made by his mother, Evelyn Chandler, and David made the chair. If interested, you can look at this print on our web site, http://www.painterandpoet.com/

Thank you for your encouragement and support. We enjoy our small gallery, and are pleased to be able to share our painting and poetry with you.

Am still working on my 2010 Christmas painting, which will be considered a New Year's card, and will be sent out soon. In the meantime, peace and joy to all of you in 2011.

A warm and friendly Christmas from Culver, Indiana!

2010-12-19T22:58:00.000-08:00

This wonderful small park is located in Culver's downtown historic district - our town's post office is just behind this park and a variety of small to medium sized shops, a CVS pharmacy, offices, condos, a B & B,and other rentals, two small museums, a bustling library, a bank - across the street. A hardware store, a florist, several good restaurants and real estate sales and rental offices are all in close proximity. Our Painter and Poet Gallery is two and a half blocks north on this same Main Street of Culver, Indiana - a small town with a huge warm heart!! Welcome visitors!

Memorial bricks comprise the walkways inside this park - and benches and flowering bushes create a welcoming atmosphere in the summer and this park is a fairyland in the Christmas season. My watercolor of this scene is an attempt to capture some of the winter magic. Small matted 8" x 10" prints are available in our gallery and on our web site http://www.painterandpoet.com

Ward and I have been slow in getting our Christmas organized - it seems like Thanksgiving was yesterday and Christmas is almost tomorrow. An almost spooky and freaky incident occurred on Thanksgiving day in my studio - Our huge Christmas cactus, pictured and discussed in an earlier blog on our website - flew off its perch on a sturdy table, landed in a heap upside down on the floor, with its shattered branches underneath and its unbroken large ceramic pot bottom-up atop the fractured plant. I had admired the emerging Christmas buds several days earlier! (Maybe there's a moral here - "enjoy today"?)

This plant - almost a century old was almost three feet across - thus trapped in our home and too large to go through any of our exterior doors !! My first reaction was shock and sadness. Then I started to giggle. "Well, I guess I won't have to worry about that cactus anymore!"

My older son and his family were here visiting when this unusual event happened, and after everybody else was in bed, I sat there mulling over what to do with the "remains". Decided the damage too drastic for repotting, I settled on hauling out three large empty plastic ice cream "buckets", and cut the intact branches apart, and placed them root side first and down into water. Ward put some bricks on top of the cactus table to stabilize the weight, and I'm keeping them watered and in a south window, and attempting to get some new starts going. If any of you would like to have a cutting off this plant, just stop in with your small water container, and we'll give you a piece of that wonderful old plant! But in this frigid season, you'll have to keep the fragile branch warm so we'll need to bundle it up for you!

Here's a copy of my painting of Mother's Christmas Cactus. Prints and cards of this also available in our little shop and on our web site.

Our pleasant memories of this plant live on, and we wish you a merry, merry Christmas with happiness that will extend throughout the coming new year!

We welcome your emails and comments. Winter hours: 10 till 5 on Fridays and Saturdays, and whenever the open sign is out. Or call for an appointment 574-842-8888.
email: info@painterandpoet.com
web site: http://www.painterandpoet.com

A NEW START! November is behind us.

2010-12-09T17:07:00.000-08:00

Ward and I are back in our comfortable routine. Shortly before Halloween, Ward suffered with a
large kidney stone, and endured 2 surgeries for treatment. Everything else went on hold while we worked for his recovery. He is now almost back to normal, and we are most grateful - to his excellent doctor, and the concern and generous help from family and kind friends.

Cook Book Mode has been my computer life for the last several weeks, and 22 new spiffy spiral bound cook books - "COOKING, PAINTING & POETRY - from Painter and Poet" are piled on our dining room table. Some of these have been pre-ordered, and the master file for reprinting them is safe on our trusty Mac, and on backup files.

For background on these books - Four years ago, I composed a family cook book preserving only our very favorite recipes for family and close friends - a project I very much wanted to complete. Since then, a few more exceptional recipes have expanded our selective list of favorites , and these are also included in this new book. This cook book centers around three of Ward's and my favorite activities - cooking (and eating), painting, and poetry, so here you have it - "COOKING, PAINTING & POETRY from Painter and Poet."

Contents of this book: over 100 favorite recipes - breads, appetizers, desserts, main dishes, salads, soups and sandwiches, veggies, and turkey dinner basics; almost 90 full color illustrations of Esther's most popular watercolor prints and note cards; and a nice sampling of Ward's poetry. Along with the recipes, the poems and the watercolor illustrations are indexed, and some of the collectors are named. Where possible, we give credit to the generous people who shared their super recipes with us.

This "family" collection is dedicated to our seven children and our grandchildren (+ 2 "grands" for Ward), and the cover image is "Uncle John's Barn", named to honor my dad, John Henry Scobie, who was a fantastic father and a true "gentle man".

We've kept our cook book pricing as low as possible, but cost escalated because of all the full color print illustrations. We're holding the introductory offer price at $49.00 - boxed, autographed if you wish, and including a note card (possibly one of those included in the book's illustrations). When we sell out of our initial printing, orders will be taken, and the price then will be $59.00.

It's fun communicating with you again, and I leave to go back into the living room and into "Christmas Tree Decorating Mode."

P. S. To order our new cook book, call us. Cook book not yet added to our web site. Wide selection of prints and many note cards available on our web site.

For easy ordering, and free shipping, go to our web site: www.painterandpoet.com And for up to date Culver community info, visit www.maxinkuckee.com and www.culverchamber.com

\

Magic - Utah Mountains and Stephen Quiller Gallery

2010-10-06T20:42:00.000-07:00

WOW Look at these huge rock formations! We were overwhelmed by the majestic beauty. What an awesome sight - our first view of Utah's Arches National Park. We spent several hours driving through a small portion of this huge park, and proceeded on into Colorado, and through more gorgeous mountains, some covered with dark evergreens and others sprinkled with trees frosted in golden fall colors - an irresistible source of wonderful inspiration for a great water media artist, like Stephen Quiller. (and a great temptation to an enthusiastic lesser painter, like me).

And what a grand thrill to finally arrive at the Quiller Gallery in Creede, Colorado! Such terrific paintings! I have admired his work for years, and this was such a very special treat - and I'm most grateful to Ward for navigating all the elevations and curves in this tough by gorgeous terrain.

We were fortunate to be able to visit Quiller Gallery - scheduled to close for the season only several days after our arrival. Burdette Knous was a delightful hostess and Ward and I were thrilled to view so many of Stephen Quiller's marvelous paintings. My absolute favorite is pictured here. It is called "Sojourn with Red Wing Blackbirds" and my photo does not do it justice but does gives you an idea of what it looks like. Check www.quillergallery.com to learn more about him and to view this painting and many others.

Studio Update: All of this gadding around has been stimulating, but also exhausting, and I'll admit to sleeping some long hours to try to regain my energy. Am now putting the final finishing touches on my large watercolor of a Lake Maxinkuckee Home. So will sign off for now and get busy on it.

For easy ordering, and free shipping, go to our web site: www.painterandpoet.com And for up to date Culver community info, visit www.maxinkuckee.com and www.culverchamber.com

Family Ties and Inspiration

2010-10-03T03:36:00.000-07:00

We've been home now long enough to have mail opened and laundry almost finished.
Had a delightful journey to Utah where we enjoyed the warm hospitality of Ward's daughter Michelle, her husband Justin and their wonderful family - Elizabeth, Amy, Allison and Daniel.

Ward planned our travel route and navigated with precision and we enjoyed a brief visit to the campus of Kansas City Art Institute, where I studied 60 years ago. Vanderslice Hall looks almost as it did then, and we were pleased and surprised to discover that Lee Piechocki, who greeted us at the front desk, is a South Bend native transplanted in Kansas City. Check out his web site: www.leepiechocki.com

My two+ years there is a distant but very pleasant memory. I remember appreciating my freshman year where I had the opportunity to sample many art forms. Lee told us this format was abandoned for many years with a change for freshman to a simpler study program without the variety I enjoyed. The pendulum has swung back and today's first year students are enjoying the introduction to a wider variety of art forms, much like those that I appreciated long ago. Now students also are introduced to many computer applications - so many innovations with technology! I'm thrilled and challenged to be able to work with some of this wonderful new STUFF!

Will post this with several photos - a lop-sided view of Vanderslice Hall and one with a typical pose of Ward in front of it - (Take a look at the cowboy hat and the suede vest - quite the dude!). Am having a glitch downloading some of our photos from the camera to our computer, and hope we get this solved. Hopefully, I will share more trip details including a wonderful visit to Stephen Quiller's Gallery in the mountains of southern Colorado.

Ill sign off for now and be back in a few days with a photo of my latest large watercolor. Check out our web site - www.painterandpoet.com.

Darlene's Lake Home

2010-09-19T23:49:00.000-07:00

We've been bustling around - getting ready to leave for a "car voyage". And I'm within hours of completing an interesting watercolor of a Maxinkuckee lake home. Kept putting off writing a blog - so I could share that painting with you. It is on my drawing board - with a written "to do" list of minor items to correct and/or complete. So I'll send that one for you to view shortly after we return from our exciting car trip. We are (I should say - Ward is) driving us west - close to Salt Lake City to visit his daughter, Michelle, and her family. The car is packed except for last minute items. Ward is snoozing now and I'll be cat napping within 15 minutes from the time we leave ye old homestead.

The painting above is a favorite of mine - this is Darlene and Bob's inviting home on Myers Lake - she asked for a view from the road, and after several futile efforts to take photos that would lure me to paint, I FINALLY took some pictures that got me rolling. With artistic license, I raised the lake above the roof line of their house, and slightly rearranged the trees to emphasize the patterns from this view. The finishing touch was the old fashioned planter in the left foreground. This was her mother's and very dear to her. She located photos for me to use for reference.

By the way, I do have another 6" x 6" original partially done. It's another flag painting - and this time, it is OUR flag, taken from the side yard looking southerly. You'll see it here soon. Do I hear you thinking promises, promises, that's all I hear ? ? OK, I do promise.

Time for me to hit the sack for the second time tonight. Darlene is watching over our gallery while we are away. She'll open up next Friday and Saturday, and will answer your phone calls while we are enjoying our time away. Her phone number is 574-936-4431. Her number is on both of our answering services. We thank her again and again for all of her assistance.

Our web site is www.painterandpoet.com Until we return - have fun, stay well!

Our BIG anniversary

2010-08-28T15:10:00.000-07:00

Hi!

Ward and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary on Thursday. He made arrangements for us to have dinner at Tabor Hill- a bountiful vineyard with a very good restaurant about a half hour north of South Bend in Michigan. It was a charming place and we ate in an area overlooking a panoramic view of their vineyards. We passed up the wine tasting area, but each of us enjoyed a glass of their great wine with our meal. Such a special event, and such a kind and wonderful man! Am I or am I not an extremely lucky broad? Yes.

Studio Update: I've been busy ordering supplies and organizing our little gallery after the busy summer. And Randy, our computer guru, has recently installed "Snow Leopard", Mac's latest operating system. I kept putting that off, and I'm relieved to have it up and running. There have been a few hectic moments and Randy has come to the rescue. I don't want to brag about any of this because I don't want to tempt fate!

The purple tree image is from one of our larger note cards. This was so refreshing to paint , and I hope to work more in this very impressionistic style. It's usually fun to try something quite different. I'll be interested in your reaction to this "unlike Esther" approach to watercolor.

Will be back with another blog very soon.

Our web site: www.painterandpoet.com
Our blog: www.painterandpoet.blogspot.com
Phone: 574-842-8888

Excellent Culver info on our official Chamber of Commerce site: www.culverchamber.com
And visit www.maxinkuckee.com for exceptionally good Culver info.

Next weekend is Labor Day when the primary special Culver event will be the third annual Lake Maxinkuckee Film Festival.

Painter and Poet Gallery is open on Fridays and Saturdays from 10 to 5, and on Sundays by chance. We will be open over this coming Labor Day weekend. At other times, check for our OPEN sign, or call ahead for an appointment - 574-842-8888.

Uncle John's Barn

2010-08-22T17:44:00.000-07:00

It's good to be back blogging. Our summer has been busy in our gallery. Ward and I have been working hard to try to keep up on orders for our collectors, knowing that we will have plenty of time after Labor Day to work on new paintings and poetry.

Uncle John's Barn is featured today. Inspired by an old barn located on a country road several miles west of Plymouth (and about 10 miles from our home), this interesting barn with two silos fascinated me, and this scene tumbled around in my mind for a long time before I tackled this painting. The fence, flowers and weeds are from my imagination.

I've named this painting for my father, whose first name was John. He was beloved by almost everybody who knew him, and adored by me. I grew up on a farm and spent many happy hours with my father.

Last year, I was invited to submit 2 paintings for inclusion in an upcoming book, a continuation of "Hoosier Painters of the 21st Century" by Mark Butterfield of Greenfield, Indiana. Images of this painting and "Culver's Train Depot" are planned for inclusion in this book. (We have prints of the Depot for sale on our web site). Book details unclear since Mark is having difficulty getting his book printed because several printers that he has used before, have gone out of business. The purchaser of this painting will be given a free volume of this book (by me) if and when it is published.

This transparent watercolor, "Uncle John's Barn", is about 18" x 14". Overall size including the archival matting and frame is about 28" by 24". The top mat is a neutral sandy color (between light tan and gray) with a medium brown mat beneath it. Framing is a simple contemporary rustic style - very versatile. The colors will appear different on different monitors, and the picture of Ward holding this painting is included to give you a better idea of the size. Price of this custom framed painting is $1450.00 plus shipping costs. Offered for sale until September 12, 2010 to the first qualified buyer. Cash, money order, PayPal or other credit cards. Call me at 574-842-8888 to place your order and for an estimate of shipping costs. If you buy this without actually seeing it and are not satisfied, we will refund your purchase price.

Studio Update: I'm progressing slowly, but 'getting there" on the large very challenging painting I've been trying to finish, and am at the stage where I always get nervous - about 85% done. I want to be sure it has just the right amount of detail but not too much. Lots of standing back and then trying out small areas on scrap paper before adding to the BIG one. I sure don't want to spoil it now. After it's delivered, I'll post it, so you'll see what I've been up to.

For relaxation, I'm been sneaking away to work on another 6" x 6" blog painting. Subject matter of this is a corner of our house with our flag flying. Working on this one is pure pleasure. Will post it soon in another blog.

Stay cool! And in another 3 or 4 months, we'll be saying - "Stay warm". Never satisfied, but here in the midwest, we do enjoy variety !

Web site: www.painterandpoet.com Blog: www.painterandpoet.blogspot.com
Gallery Phone: 574-842-8888 email: Info@painterandpoet.com

Hello again from Esther and Ward!

2010-07-25T22:16:00.000-07:00

Hi - I've missed writing these blogs and hope that you've missed reading them. Ward and I have taken a short trip to visit his sister and her family - near Iowa City. We've been busy with the necessities of living - food, laundry, shopping, gardening, etc. We have taken many photos that will provide me with inspiration for new paintings. Most tempting of these are some local barns, pictures of flowers including breath-taking day lilies photographed in Iowa. High on our " to do" list is getting good photos of "Queen Ann's lace" growing along the country roads - great for details of fence rows.

We've enjoyed busy times in our gallery - a nice increase in traffic from last year. Thus Ward and I have been working hard to get more prints matted and framed. I've stayed busy plugging away on commissions. The painting that I am posting here was done as a study of two flags on a pole and a smaller version will be included as part of the very large and complicated watercolor on my easel at this moment. When it is finished and delivered to our client, I'll post a photo of it.

Flags furling in the wind are a challenge to paint. I wonder how you like this one with the flags "backward". I experimented with flipping it to a more conventional view, but decided that perhaps it was more interesting from this angle. This painting is sold, but I wanted to share it with you.

I promise to write more soon. From Esther.
www.painterandpoet.com

Culver Boys and Girls Club Auction!

2010-06-01T03:47:00.000-07:00

Culver's upcoming Boys and Girls Club fund raiser is almost two weeks away. And last week has found Ward and me preparing our contribution to this auction. We are donating this special signed and numbered print of Chief Menominee, a kind and wise man who in the early 1800's was driven from his tribal lands near Plymouth.

Ward wrote the eloquent and sensitive poem included with this print, and he hand cut the mat with its three openings, and is finishing the framing.

I painted the small original watercolor, an Indian family in a birch bark canoe - note the squaw doing the work- paddling, while the grizzly old father rests and supervises from the stern of the boat. The three Indian children are clustered close to Mom - with the papoose secure on her board, the little brave dangling his arm in the lake, and the little princess timidly observing. This composite - print, poem and original painting of Chief Menominee is our donation to this upcoming Boys and Girls Club Silent Auction to be held at 6:30 P M on Friday, June 18 at Lay Dining Center located on Culver Academies Campus. This auction is the major fund raiser for a terrific local group that provides support for our most important emerging asset - the youth of our community! Try to attend - not only will you help our local school kids, you will have a wonderful evening of conviviality and the opportunity to bid on many interesting items - from large to small. Tickets may be purchased at the door - $40 each or two for $75.00. Complimentary food buffet and drinks.

And on our web site, we offer standard versions of this print with Ward's poem, and my image of Chief Menominee. Click here: www.painterandpoet.com and go to prints, then to the Plymouth series to get details and order the standard Chief Menominee print.

We are also giving a framed copy of our latest print, Broad Stripes and Bright Stars, to this auction. Copies of this print are also available on our web site (listed in the paragraph above) - and in the Culver Area Series of prints.

Earlier this week, Ward and I have enjoyed a few brief country rides and have returned with some interesting photos, including an old tractor and several barns, one with a Notre Dame design in the roof shingles. I'm imagining myself painting a specific old barn with that old tractor in the foreground. The idea is there, and when it emerges as a watercolor, I'll post it here for you to enjoy and/or buy!

Culver Academies' graduation is this weekend, and we've been busy filling orders and waiting on customers. We hope the weather stays nice for graduation.

***********************************************************
Our web site is www.painterandpoet.com. We accept Pay/Pal which also includes most other credit cards. Call us at 574-842-8888 for phone orders. Free shipping within the contiguous 48 states. Email us: info@painterandpoet.com

To go directly to our blog, enter this link: www.painterandpoet.blogspot.com

Painter and Poet Gallery Hours: Thursday, Friday and Saturday 10 till 5. And by appointment or chance. We are open lots of other times - call to check.

Culver info? Go to www.maxinkuckee.com (You can check the current temperature on this site, and along with other good community info. And check Culver Chamber of Commerce whose web site is www.culverchamber.com

Almost June!

2010-05-26T15:51:00.000-07:00

Earlier this evening, Ward and I were sitting on our little patio, enjoying our fresh strawberries and watching Culver's version of "the world" ambling by. So pleasant - enjoying the new blooms of my pampered delphiniums, and the sounds of birds. We could get a glimpse of the street and sidewalk in front of our house, but we were not in clear view - and sort of spying on what was happening.

It was busy, busy here over this last weekend - with Culver Academies' reunion celebrations. Lots of customers in our little gallery, and fun connecting again with some old friends, and enjoying a nice visit with 2 friends and classmates of my children who came to celebrate a 40th anniversary of graduation from THE ACADEMY - as we natives refer to it. My son Terry came last year for his 40th. Wow - how time races by!

Studio Update:
I'm posting another 6" x 6" original watercolor, named Walkers in the Distance. I wanted to emphasize the contrast between the huge oak tree and the small walkers, with some sycamores on the right . This painting has a 2.25" cream colored archival mat & matted size is 10.5" x 10.5". To view this painting on EBay, click here: cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250639959885

Earlier this week, my helpful hubby found a large cardboard appliance box and brought it home to use in making a light box. I've been thinking about this (I hear him groaning), but this is not going to be a huge project like THE EASEL/DESK which you may remember from earlier blogs. The reason for the light box, is to control the lighting to help me to take better photos of still life setups. Over the years we have acquired or inherited, or been given, lots of "stuff" which I enjoy looking at - including my old doll, Mary Ann, who was also my mother's doll, s0 Mary Ann is probably almost 110 years old. I am itching to paint a small watercolor of her and that's just for starters. There are lots more old relics around here - including us. So keep reading these blogs - hard telling what might appear.

Remember to check out our web site, www.painterandpoet.com where you can find info on us, our prints, and a relatively new section listing some of our original watercolors.

******************************************************************************
Our web site is www.painterandpoet.com. We accept Pay/Pal which also includes most other credit cards. Call us at 574-842-8888 for phone orders. Free shipping within the contiguous 48 states. Email us: info@painterandpoet.com

To go directly to our blog, enter this link: www.painterandpoet.blogspot.com

Painter and Poet Gallery Hours: Thursday, Friday and Saturday 10 till 5. And by appointment or chance. We are open lots of other times - call to check.

Culver info? Go to www.maxinkuckee.com (You can check the current temperature on this site, and along with other good community info, you can check out activities at the Culver Public Library - mentioned above). And check Culver Chamber of Commerce whose web site is www.culverchamber.com

Mother's Day tomorrow!

2010-05-08T18:22:00.000-07:00

It's a wonderful and "blooming" season! Such a cheerful time of year and our small perennial flower garden is looking great! Ward planted a new rose bush. I've transplanted some purple flowers that will bloom all summer, and I'll be taking photos and doing some paintings of them. When I post a photo and a painting, I'm hoping somebody will identify the flower!

My younger daughter, Jennifer, will be bringing me a new rose bush next weekend - my Mother's Day gift from her. I have a spot saved for it. Last week I took some closeups of a clump of ruffled lavender tulips that she planted for me 10 years ago when Ward first prepared our perennial bed. When she was a young girl, she dug up some daisies and planted them- all by herself. Never did know exactly where she found them. Flowers make great gifts!

Several weeks ago, we were delighted when J.D. and Linda Russell, old but young friends (25 years our junior) called and came to visit. We enjoyed a good lunch at Cafe Max, and enjoyed reminiscing about our days as real estate appraisers. She took our photo and sent us a copy which I'm posting here. We've been using a photo taken about a decade ago, and I think this new one better represents us now. We are standing in front of the fireplace in our living room, and you can see a bit of our home.

Studio Update:

A few weeks ago, I posted a very similar painting of daffodils, and wanted to try it with a different approach. So, here it is - Sunny Daffodils, a 6" x 6" watercolor surrounded by an off white archival mat with a narrow gold line next to the painting. This painting will be sold to the first person to contact us with secure payment of its purchase price of $98.00 (including shipping within the U S). This offer will expire on May 18 (about 10 days from now). To purchase this painting Email us at info@painterandpoet.com or call Esther at 574-842-8888. Pay/Pal and other credit cards and money orders accepted. If desired, we can send you a PayPal invoice.

Remember, paintings look different on different computer monitors. If you purchase this painting and are not fully satisfied, you may pack it carefully and return to us at your expense and we will refund your full purchase price. No questions asked.

The new flag/porch print (from an original sold here about a month ago) is called Broad Stripes and Bright Stars. Matted and unmatted prints will be listed on our web site - www.painterandpoet.com within a few days. Image size is 6" x 6", the same size as the original. Watch for it.

Am working on 2 more small 6" x 6"'s, and also making good progress on the painting of a large watercolor of a wonderful lake cottage.

While painting, I usually listen to books on CD, and am more than half way through Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin about Abraham Lincoln - 36 CD's - enough to keep me anchored to my easel. Biography type books like this work best for "painting/listening" - no complicated plot.

I want to mention how pleased I am with our current Culver Library. They are most helpful and friendly. They even send emails to remind you when you have books that are almost due. Amazing. Here is their website: www.culver.lib.in.us/

********************************************************************************
Our web site is www.painterandpoet.com. We accept Pay/Pal which also includes most other credit cards. Call us at 574-842-8888 for phone orders. Email us: info@painterandpoet.com

To go directly to our blog, enter this link: www.painterandpoet.blogspot.com

Painter and Poet Gallery Hours: Friday and Saturday 10 till 5. Sunday afternoon 12-4. And by appointment or chance.

Culver info? Go to www.maxinkuckee.com (You can check the current temperature on this site, and along with other good community info, you can check out activities at the Culver Public Library - mentioned above).

And check Culver Chamber of Commerce whose web site is www.culverchamber.com