But I am complaining. About the weather. I find that it doesn’t do much good, but I’m doing it anyway.

Granted, I think I live in the most beautiful area in the world. The Monterey Peninsula is a fabulous place to live. To be an artist within a couple miles of Carmel by the Sea, a renowned haven for artists and art galleries galore. I am fortunate enough to be showing in one of the oldest galleries in town, not to mention, the oldest one  with the original owner, New Masters Gallery. If you visit Carmel, be sure and drop by there. It’s pretty impressive.

But we are also renowned for the “June Glooms” as well. This year, we’ve moved onto the August glooms as well.  I’m not enjoying it. As an early riser, and daily walker, I’ve been steadily adding layers these last few weeks. We had a teaser of a couple of days of very warm weather, but then, this again.

I have to admit, the sun does come out. Right about the time I am trying to sit down to paint. Of course. So, I am registering my protest in the way I communicate best, My art. Here’s my opinion.

In June last year, there was a devastating fire at New Masters Gallery, where I have shown my paintings for almost 40 years.  My paintings were safe, and a couple of months later, they moved into a temporary home, blocks away from the old location. On July 9th, they had a grand re-opening at their old spot, Dolores between Ocean and 7th, in Carmel. It is a beautiful updated gallery with the same comfortable and classy feel of the old place.

After the fire, I finished a lovely commission, and then, I stopped for a while. Well, actually, I stopped for more than a year. But, today I finished my first new painting since then. Surprise; it is an otter!

So, anyone looking for new work, it is about to commence. Here’s the first one, “Little Otter(s) 17”.

For those of you who follow my web site or my Facebook page, you may know that last year, New Masters Gallery had a terrible fire.  The made a temporary move a couple blocks down to street to a lovely location. But it wasn’t home.

They have now moved back to their original location, on Dolores between Ocean and 7th. And it is beautiful. It still feels like the original gallery but with a lovely facelift. Please stop by and see it if you get a chance. You’ll be thrilled to see it. I know I was.

In honor of the re-opening…..well, you read it.

I had every intention of beginning the new year with creating more paintings. Then my first cold in a decade hit me. And as I bounced back, I got hit with Laryngitis. So down for the count this time.  Nuts! So no new paintings just yet. There are still many on my AVAILABLE page though. And I felt like I wanted to get things moving in New Masters Gallery’s new temporary location. This was all I could come up with. It’s not as creative as I’d have prefered but, there you have it. If you haven’t stopped by there, on the other side of Ocean Avenue in Carmel, you should. They’ve all worked very hard to get their temporary home open again. If you have any questions, please let me know. Yes, I know I left it a little late, but hey, I’ve been sick

As much as I like to wait until the last minute, I am actually getting this fun project done before then. On my birthday no less.

It’s been a challenging year with the gallery fire and all. But the gallery is open in its new temporary location. So here’s to a new year with a minimum of excitement, and a maximum of joy!

For those of you interested, here is a borrowed photo of the ribbon cutting of New Masters Gallery’s new, temporary, location. By temporary, I mean, probably a year.  There was a wonderful congratulations, from the Carmel Chamber of Commerce. And what a beautiful space it is. So if you go to Carmel, California, Dolores between 5th and 6th,  please stop in and see them. Please note the lovely  little otter paintings to the left of the photo.