There's No Place Like Home - Holiday Show!

Happy Holidays, everyone!

I really missed out on blogging these past few months by not being able to go with Doug on all of his little adventures across the country and most disappointly, my own stomping grounds in Escalante!  He spends a week down there and I didn't get to go.  Sadness.  But much goodness came out of his trips!  He took his three-week adventure back to Wisconsin as I talked about in my last blog.  He then taught a class in Torrey in September and then headed to Escalante for the plein air competition.  Then another week at Zion's National Park.  The body of work that he created is beyond words.  I know, I have no words.  Weird, huh?  We decided that we absolutely should do a holiday show and put this body of work together, even if for just a short time.  Close to 70 original paintings in our gallery and then a lit pathway leading you to the Braithwaite Open Studio in our back yard where we have 30+ giclee prints of some of our favorite paintings, beautifully framed and hanging in his studio.

The whole fam damily has pitched in and helped put this little shindig together.  As we started putting work together, we realized that Doug has been quite prolific this year, with having Wesley "apprentice" for him by making all of his frames, prepping his boards, etc.  Doug has really had more time to paint!  and golf . . . 

So we assigned him the task of doing a painting for our invitation and this is what he came up with.  Fell in love with it!  A little holiday scene just a couple of doors down from our home!  Frank and Gayla's awesome snowman created by their granddaughter, Amanda!  Doug came up with the perfect theme for our show: There's No Place Like Home!  Our life this past year is so much about our home . . . first off, Doug being on the road so much, he said quite often "I can't wait to get home!"  The painting of Frosty - painted from our front yard looking south on our street!  And then, lastly, the show being here at our home - where we work.  Pretty sweet deal - and truly, there is no place like home.  

"Frosty"
9x12

I feel so fortunate to be working so close to home as well.  I'm just 2 miles from home so, on occasion, I get to dash home for lunch!  What a treat!  Doug, of course, loves his commute - two doors down to the gallery / frame shop and then a quick meander to the back yard to his studio.

He absolutely loves getting the little studies back to the studio and creating larger works there.  Here are some larger pieces he did in the studio from his summer ventures:

This one is Iceberg Lake up at Glacier National Park:

"Iceberg Lake"
18 x 24

These were for the Zion's Plein Air Invitation - studio pieces:

"Ranch on the Road to Kolob"
18 x 24

This one is of Angel's Landing in Zion's:

"First Light in the Grotto" (Angel's Landing)
18 x 24

And lastly, also from some references from Zion's:

"Desert Candy"
18 x 24

Speaking of Desert . . . I'm going to take this opportunity to digress - I mean, it's my blog, right?  I can digress whenever I want.  So we are sitting at a restaurant the other night and Wesley mentioned that one of his professors had given them a "trick" to remember how to spell "dessert" and "desert."  He said "you deserve desert!"  I said "No, one S is the dry, dusty desert.  The "treat" of dessert is spelled with 2 S's."  This is shocking I know, but he had the nerve to question me on it!!  Are you kidding?  I said "What??  You're questioning your mother on spelling?  Seriously?  How long have you been my son?"  Doug shook his head, "Dude, you should never question your mother when it comes to spelling."  Being the stubborn little soul that he is, however, he proceeded to confirm this by asking Siri and she ALSO said "don't question your mother on spelling, dude!  What the hell is wrong with you?"  I love Siri!!  It's kinda one of the few things I'm really pretty damn good at - spelling.  Oh, and typeing.   haha, just kidding!  I know there's no E!   

Anywho, there's no place like home, and we would be honored to have you come visit ours--we promise tons of fun, an amazing showing of work that will take your breath away, and my own collection of favorite foods have been created in my kitchen!  It is also my birthday and I can't think of a better way to celebrate than to see all of you!!  Additionally, a beautiful "snow" painting that just came off the easel that he hasn't even photographed yet is hanging at the gallery - it's a 28 x 22 -- and this Yellowstone piece also came from his travels through the Tetons.  

"Crossing"
18 x 24

Yes, those are buffalo, yet another first for Doug!   

Address is 461 West 1800 North in Sunset.  Park on 475 West rather than 1800 North.  Seriously would love to see you.  

Hoping to get a painting for my birthday!! 

With love from the birthday girl!

Feel free to call if you have questions or need directions!

801-668-3409 

Plein Air Trippin' and "Campground Roulette!"

Oh man, what a great adventure this has been for Doug!  Door County treated him very well.  They had some great food, great weather and Doug rubbed shoulders with some amazing artists!  With no mountains to block the morning sun, he would get up and get out at 6ish, come back and have a quick bite before heading out again to a specific location where art lovers and collectors could watch them paint!  Then out again in the evening.  It was killing me all week because the internet was soooo slow that he couldn't send the images!  Ugh . . . The wait was brutal!

So when he finally got some service, here's the beauties that came through!  I was in awe!

"Tug Boat"
11 x 14
SOLD

Next came this one . . . gorgeous.

"Veil"
9 x 21
SOLD

The one I posted last week of the boat dock also sold and then this was the quick paint on Saturday morning.  This was done in 90 minutes.

"Boat Dock" (I don't know the title--I made that up . . . clever, yes?)
8 x 10
SOLD

The Peninsula School of Art, who sponsors the event, did take some pictures of the artists painting so I did get to see him in action!  Thanks, Cathy Hoke and staff, for posting some awesome pics of the artists!

Our dear friend, Scott Shearer, also went up and hung out for a couple of days.  He lives in Milton, WI (Did I get that right, Scott?) and Doug was very excited to see him!!  They had a nice steak back at the trailer one evening and, if I heard Doug right, they talked a little religion!!  haha  A favorite topic around our house!!

The rest of the paintings from the event, well, they really blew my mind.  I mean, I know, this is all called "from my perspective" and I'm a little partial to this guy, but GOOD LORD (yes, I'm going to go ahead and throw in a little religion!) talk about incredible.  He would post them on facebook and the comments that came back were so . . . RIGHT ON!  The guy's got a few fans, and not just with the last name Braithwaite either!!  And then he smiles his "ah-shucks-guys-stop-it-already" smile and we all love him a little more!

Okay - here's what I mean:

"Orange Buoy"
(how DO you spell that?  I know that's wrong but I haven't got time to figure it out!  Someone correct me please!)
8 x 10

Next one . . .

"Tapestry"
8 x 10

I guess there's a pretty cool story behind these quilts or quilt blocks on the barns - it's a very old tradition!  Yeah, true story - look it up!!  http://barnquiltinfo.com/history.html

Last but not least, okay - I think this is the winner of my heart!!  Seriously - I'll stop talking it up - just tell me it's not spectacular!!

"Gill's Rock Geometry"
10 x 10

Yep - I can hear you all now.  It's killer!  Zoom in and look close - the poles under the dock . . . the reflection out of the water - the water itself!  Damn, Braithwaite.  Daaaaay-uummmm!!  These are still at Door County and will be up till about the 16th of August.  I've already had people ask for some small giclee prints of these - we're going to get some and frame them up.  Can't wait!!

The trip back has been exciting!!  Remember my stalker-app "Find My Friends?"  Yeah - well, it's seriously our best friend!!  I map out a route for the day, find and reserve him a place to stay, stalk him on FMF, and then call him just as he's just about there to direct him to the campground.  Seriously, what would he do without me??  haha

I've done pretty well with getting decent campgrounds, but dang, in some of these small places, there's slim pickins!!  First night he stayed just east of Minneapolis in Woodbury.  That was okay.  I think he was able to send a few paintings at that point - here's a few more he did - don't ask me where he painted them - "along the way" is my best guess!  haha

"Wild Flowers"
8 x 10

"Reverence"
10 x 8
I think he probably was thinking just how awesome his wife is as he named this little beauty . . . probably said a little prayer here too . . yeah pretty sure!  

"Last Stop in Wisconsin"
6 x 8

And, as my dear Grandma Griffin would say "fare-thee-well" to Wisconsin.

Back to the rest of the story . . . Wisconsin and Minneapolis campgrounds were A+.  Great job, hun. (I'm referring to me here . . .)  Then he had to drive through Fargo.  I didn't dare let him spend the night in Fargo.  Have you seen the movie??  Have you seen the short mini-series on TV?  Jeepers Creepers people!!  So yeah, we forged onward and got to Jamestown, North Dakota.  That was okay too!!  Okay batting a thousand.  From Fargo west, well, not so many towns to choose from.  So we ended up hitting Glendive, ND.  Eek.  The name should have clued me in.  But, yeah, it didn't.  Didn't fare so well there.   When I called the Green Valley campground, the little guy said "ah, hell, you don't need a reservation.  Just c'mon in and we'll hook ya up!"  Ahh, I'm thinking, this sounds nice n cozy!!    Well, cozy it was - the trailer next to Doug's was no more than 5 feet away and he played the radio all night long.  Doug texted me and said "this place sucks so bad!  There is actually a giant "swooshing" sound like a toilet flushing!"  Oops!  Soooo sorry luvvy!!  I finally found a site that had "reviews" of the campgrounds in the area.  Yeah, my bad.  That one got a 1 out of 10.

Anyway, the only good thing that came out of that state was this awesome painting!!  Doug can find something beautiful, anywhere he goes.  So "farewell" to North Dakota!  Beautiful - BUT didn't really dig the "swoosh!"

"Last Day in North Dakota"
6 x 8

He then headed west and made it over the border of Montana!  Yea!!  That feels more like "home!"  Only bad thing about Montana is that he got off the interstate and headed onto a two-lane highway through the middle of NO where!!  And with no cell phone service!  And very few towns!!  Like 2!!  So I can't find him on FMF, and I'm praying he got gas before he left . . . I followed him all morning on find my friends . . . drained my battery on my phone by 10:00 am refreshing to see if he would show up!!  Finally, a text I sent finally showed "delivered" and I found him in, what was showing as, "Grass Range!"  bahaha!!

One last painting, DAMN IT, you stopped in FARGO???  Defiant little $%*#!!  Well, he did make something pretty stinkin cool out of a damn sign!  Seriously?!!  Uh-Mazing!

"Roadside near Fargo, ND"
6 x 8

 See the distant barn?  Oh yeah, sweet!!  And the sign and the grass and shrubs match!  Nice color coordination, Fargo!

Well, my friends, Doug is heading up to Glacier National Park tomorrow and will be there for 2 or 3 days.  So excited to see what he paints for us there!  Talked to Anne Weiler-Brown this morning and she said to tell Doug "I'm so jealous of your painting venture and so inspired by all the work!"  Thanks Anne!  We need to take one of these road trips together - a whole bunch of us!!  Good time!  Oh the stories we could tell . . . and I would, of course, tell it from my perspective . . .

Good night all!

J

Braithwaite Fine Art & Custom Frame

Hi friends and fam!

We have gone non-stop and I haven't blogged for a whole month!  Holy cow - the time has flown by!  So, where should I start?

Well, we came together and made an executive decision and decided, unanimously, that we were going to start a real-live family business and we are jumping in with both feet!  YEE-HAW!  It's something we've wanted to do for many years but the timing never seemed right.  So, ladies and gentlemen, could I get a drum roll please, we present to you Braithwaite Fine Art & Custom Frame.

I mean, we already HAVE the building, it's on a busy street with about 25,000 cars driving by every day, and we already have all the equipment needed to frame.  Add to that the fact that Doug started framing pictures as a teenager in high school.  He's amazing at it.  I want to be able to continue blogging, marketing and promoting his work and classes so, well, Wesley and I are going to go into business together!  So there you go!  With Doug's help in teaching us the "framing ropes," all the stars are aligning and we're ready to take the plunge!   

We started by booting Doug out and moving him back over to his old and original studio (which he was actually thrilled about!) and moving US into the new frame shop (which we're equally thrilled about!).  It was so much work taking his easel apart, moving it piece by piece - thankfully, just two doors over!  

  

Doug's studio located in our back yard.

We wore out several pairs of shoes making the move and got a few dings and "oops" on the way, but he's finally in and working productively again!  Check out a little "before and after" action!  

 Okay, funny side note:  With all the construction and rebuilding, we easily have made 5-10 trips to Lowes every day for the past month.  The staff at Lowe's kinda know us by name and, well, I'm not sure but I think we're going to be invited to their company Christmas Party this year.  We're kinda like part of the Lowe's fam and I think are paying most of their wages!  I'm almost thinking we're going to be getting some red vests with our name embroidered on them so that we can just check ourselves out when we come and go!  Every morning I wake up singing "Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's off to Lowes we go" and then I skip and whistle all the way to the shop!   

Anywho, the new space is working beautifully and Doug's got every corner organized and every wall space covered . . . it's all on file for future records on our "My Lowes" card, btw.  The paintings and drawings are some oldies but goodies that he did in high school and a few drawings from college (see the Ninja Turtle "self portrait" above) . . . ah, he's such a cutie . . .  

Great space, no??  24 x 30 with 12 foot ceilings. 

We are happy to have him productive and working again.  This is the first painting off the new easel.  A painting for some dear friends of ours, Nyla and David Pilkington.  We sat next to them at the Jazz Games for a couple of seasons and have stayed good friends ever since.  Thrilled to have gotten the chance to paint something for their beautiful home!  Nyla wanted "color" - David wanted "movement!"  I think he nailed it!  

"Dancing"
28 x 28
Collection of Nyla and David Pilkington

Back to the old studio and frame shop in progress and yes, back to Lowes for a little of this, and a little of that.  No offense, hon, but dang, bring on the duster, scrub brush, broom and mop!  Lowes has it all, I tell you!  Before long, we are putting a long paint brush in the ol' master's hands and letting him at it again!  And seriously, how many frame shops do you go in to that you get to FIRST, be greeted by a room full of Braithwaite paintings under some gallery lights!  In-Credible!!      

Put a different kind've brush in Doug's hands and said "paint away!"  Jeff Kennedy asked "What, no purple paint as a base first?"  bahaha  Good one!!  

Max using some tape to take on a ninja look.  Great look for you, Max! He seriously thinks he looks cool . . .  

Wesley's favorite is painting the closets.  bahaha!   What a trooper!  Hard little worker and is going to make a fabulous business partner!!  

Carpet layers came (yes, from Lowes) and did a great job laying the carpet EXCEPT for the liberties they took in scratching up my beautiful paint!  grrrr!!  Never fear, Doug gets out the mud (again!) and touches up and before you know it, he's rollin that paint back on and it blends right in and dries beautifully . . . EXCEPT for, uh, "hey hon, isn't that supposed to dry the same color as the rest of the wall?"  WTH??  Doug has some colorful expletives about now . . .  he pulls out the two gallons of paint and, as my Dad would say "well I'll be go-to-hell!  One says "primer!"  Oh, did I forget to mention we used all the light gray paint?  Never fear, Lowes has it on file!  And as Aaaaanold would say, "I'll be back . . . "

 

So, hanging paintings was so stinkin fun!!  We have a wall in front of the window so we can hang a painting there with a light shining on it at night like the cool galleries do . . . Oh man, we are so legit!!  did that paragraph even make sense?  I feel myself rambling because I'm so excited . . . you just have to come see it I guess!  

So over the years, we have taken some of our favorite paintings that have sold and had them professionally scanned at a very high-resolution so we, and our families, could have the opportunity to enjoy them as a giclee print!  (I'll ALWAYS say "there's nothing like having an original!  but a giclee (pronounced zhee-clay) print is an "okay" second!)  Try not to pronounce it like my friend, Ange Ellsworth . . . gick-lee!! tee hee  

So along with a few original paintings, you also get to see some of these beautiful giclee prints (say it with me again, zhee-clay . . . you're getting it!) in some different sizes (from original size to some post-card and greeting card sizes!) that have turned out so beautiful and we've been thrilled that some of our family and friends have been able to enjoy some "Braithwaites" in their homes and offices!  

We are going to do a "grand opening" that will be on Friday, October 4th, (hey, that's Wesley's 20th birthday!!) and invite you to come see the frame shop, gallery and Doug's new studio!  We'll give you more details very soon!

In the meantime, a few more paintings that have been done in the midst of all this moving and remodeling over the last month or two that I failed to share with you!  

"In Passing"
40 x 30

"Sculpting"
18 x 24

See you at the opening - or at Lowes.  We usually have lunch in aisle 12!  bahaha!

Find "Braithwaite Fine Art & Custom Frame" on facebook and "like" us for Pete Sake!  Can you tell we're having a blast?  

XOXO

Jeanette - da boss!!