Post Numerus Quinque: Vermont LOVE
I had the extreme pleasure of traveling home to Vermont last week. If you have not been, July is the ideal time to visit if you enjoy lush green mountain landscapes and warmer weather. The week was full of refreshingly cold mountain river dips, fast-paced hikes and feasts of local food prepared slowly and with love amongst friends and family. Nature is the number one way I fill up my cup, and Vermont provides unlimited refills this time of year. It was hard to leave, to say the least, and as I get settled back into life and art in Florida, I use this blog to reflect on an experience that makes life feel so full and beautiful.
While in Vermont, I was blessed to fulfill some business of the artistic variety. The first was for Meg Schultz of Meg’s Events. Now in its 11th year, SIPtemberfest is a Vermont based fall festival that celebrates Vermont’s extensive brewers and musicians. Each year Meg asks a local artist to design an image for the event’s poster. I was so honored when she asked me! I love these kinds of projects because as a painter, versus a graphic designer, it’s a fun challenge to navigate ideas in a more graphic approach. Meg made mention of a pet portrait she saw on my website with a floral background so I took that idea and rolled with it. The finished product includes an art deco themed backdrop of hops with a cascading waterfall into a single frothing pint glass of beer. The waterfall felt appropriate as beer made in VT begins with its fresh mountain water; water that stumbles down its incline through ancient glacial till aka giant boulders (that’s right, Vermont and surrounding areas used to be covered in ice!), creating a splendor and variety of well-loved waterfalls. Here are a few progress photos to give you a taste of the final poster:
The second order of business included dropping off an order of stickers to a gorgeous new shop in downtown Burlington called Home & Garden at 206 College Street, across the street from Stone Soup (if you need lunch). Owners Jack and Jana are a lovely couple from South Carolina who moved to Vermont about a year ago to be closer to their daughter and her family. I first met them at the Burlington City Arts Artist Market last summer as a vendor. Their shop is a blooming garden of colorful and creative decor for the home and its gardens. They now carry my VT LOVE and VERMONT IS BLUETIFUL stickers. They’ll also soon carry 8×10 prints of Camel’s Hump . If you are in the market for some gifts, they are the place to go to. I bought myself a sweet little candle in green glass with the scent of “Moss”. I have it burning as I write this 🙂
That’s all from me for now. Stay tuned for some painting in the next few days! And here are a few captures from the VT trip to sooth this Florida heat.
