Art Work In Progress (rainbow trout)

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Jeanette Fournier

Here’s a rainbow trout painting I’m working on for a customer, who has very patiently awaited its completion.  I’ve still got to add in a nymph fly, otherwise it’s very close to being finished.  I’ll donate a limited edition reproduction giclee of this image to the MadDog Trout Unlimited chapter in Vermont for their annual fundraising effort this Spring.  It remains to be seen what sort of impact the destruction caused by Hurricane Irene last year will have had on the wild trout species of the Mad river and the Dog river.  I certainly hope this artwork will help raise funds to continue the conservation efforts to restore a healthy population of wild trout in these waterways.

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Painting Wildlife In The White Mountains (New Hampshire)

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Jeanette Fournier

When we first bought our house here, we asked the previous owner if he saw much wildlife.  His response was an emphatic “no, never”.  Being a artist who paints wildlife, I was a bit discouraged by this but we went about planting a variety of trees, plants and bushes to attract birds and encourage wildlife anyway.  I thought, this is the White Mountain National Forest I’m living in…of course there’s wildlife here!  The first weekend we spent renovating the house, I stopped to catch my breath and happened to glance out a window.  Standing in the snowy back yard were two deer, not more than 20 feet away, digging through the snow to get to the grass under it.  In the six years since then, we have observed deer, moose, black bears, porcupines, wild turkeys, ruffed grouse, grey fox, red fox, snowshoe hares, bobcat, weasel, river rat (ewww!), raccoon, numerous owls, hawks and countless varieties of birds to name a few.  OK, I’m going out on a limb here, but we have also been lucky enough to once see a mountain lion.  I know, I know…that’s like telling people I’ve seen a unicorn, but it’s true.  It was one of the most beautiful creatures I’ve ever seen and I treasure the memory of it.  Living in such close proximity to the natural world is what inspires my artwork and there’s always something new and wonderful for me to try and capture in my paintings.  No wildlife… are you kidding me?!

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New Year…New Adventures In The Studio

Posted on January 5, 2012 by Jeanette Fournier

I’m sitting here in my studio, lost in thought this morning as I look out at the woods around our home.  The ground is covered by a fresh blanket of snow and the air has a definite bite to it…winter is here in earnest.    It looks a bit like the magical land of Narnia right now.  Stepping out the front door onto the porch, I huddled down deeper into my coat before hurrying to the studio with an arctic blast of wind and snow buffeting me.  It’s the beginning of a new year and I’m thinking on new paintings to create in the coming months.   I’m a devoted “maker of lists” so I’m sipping on a cup of tea and, you guessed it, making a list of ideas for new work.  I’ve spent the past several weeks with no inspiration and not much painting getting done.  Perhaps it was the holidays and everything that goes with it… before, during and after, but with the start of the new year, I find I now have the inner peace and the solitude to concentrate on painting again.

About a month ago, I bought a colorful photo storage box and a small journal and have labeled it my “idea box”.  I’ve collected all the little scraps of paper on which I’ve jotted down ideas or made rough sketches and photos of animals that appeal to me and tossed them in there along with the journal.  In the journal, I’ve made little lists (naturally) of good ideas for titles of paintings, artwork I want to do, art shows and places to explore for viewing wildlife.  Once a month, I’m going to look through this box and pick something to work on or a place to go for inspiration.  That sounds suspiciously like a “new year resolution” doesn’t it?!  In the course of this year, I’ll make regular posts here on what comes out of the “idea box” and share the art and/or the adventures with you.  Who knows what will come out of it and or where it will take me but that’s the magical part.  Funny… I’m quite sure I just felt the walls of my studio shake from a particularly strong gust of wind…or perhaps I just heard the roar of a lion.

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Seasons Greetings

Posted on December 23, 2011 by Jeanette Fournier

Wishing you…health, harmony & happiness in this holiday season!

 

 

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Painting in Progress (black cat and adirondack chair)

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Jeanette Fournier

"Adirondack Chair Moment" (working title)

A small painting I started working on this week.  I decided to paint something fun and charming since I’ve been spending time getting all sorts of the boring year-end accounting work completed, updating the 2012 budget and my business plan.  Oh, and let’s not forget getting the filing caught up.  I’ve wanted to create this painting for quite a while and decided now was the time.  No pressure, no deadline….just me and my paints, playing around.  Kind of like the cat in this painting…
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Inns & Arts Tour (Franconia, NH)

Posted on December 8, 2011 by Jeanette Fournier

Come and join us on Saturday, December 10th at the Lovett’s Inn in Franconia, NH for the last day of the Inns & Arts Tour.  The inn is open all day to visitors and there will be another artist reception from 4pm-6pm.  I’ll have original watercolor paintings and limited edition reproductions available if you’re looking for a special piece of art as a gift (for yourself or a loved one!).

Mike has some wonderful Christmas ornaments, various sized bowls, platters and martini glasses made from a range of wood species for another gift idea.  We’ve just had a beautiful snowfall here in the north country so it’s really looking festive.  Our “peeps” here at the Inn have hot mulled cider and cookies as well as other delicious tidbits to enjoy.

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2nd Annual Inns & Arts Tour (Franconia, NH)

Posted on December 2, 2011 by Jeanette Fournier

Get your holiday cheer in hand and come out for the magical and festive Inns & Arts Christmas Tour here in the White Mountains of New Hampshire on December 2nd & 3rd and December 9th & 10th.  Once again, several local inns have paired up with local artists to make the tour a fun way to check out the holiday decorations of each inn,  look for a unique gift by a local artist and sample the food & wine specialties offered at each inn .

The Lovetts Inn will open it’s doors and offer a “gallery” of my wildlife and nature art and my husband Mike’s intricate and unique wood turnings.  Janet and Jim, the owners of the inn, will host an artist reception on Saturday, December 2nd & Saturday, December 10th, from 4-6pm.  We’ll be there to meet people, answer questions about our art and enjoy the hospitality and festive ambiance of the historic Lovett’s Inn.

For more information about the tour and where to purchase the $10 ticket, click HERE.

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A Home-grown Thanksgiving (turkey)

Posted on November 24, 2011 by Jeanette Fournier

This year we’ve decided to keep our thanksgiving close to home.  By that, I mean we’ve decided only to have food we’ve grown from our gardens or else purchased from local farms.  No packaged foods or things that come out of a can. We’re having squash, corn, green beans and carrots, which we put away in the freezer this past year.  I’m making dinner rolls from scratch using flour from the local grist mill and a raspberry pie, a traditional dessert with my family.  The turkey came from our local food cooperative since neither of us could handle raising one, getting to know it and then eating it.  I, for one, would have given it a name, begun to love it and it would have become a permanent part of our “family”.  As it is, we occasionally give names to some of the wild baby turkeys.  This big fellow is “Curly”, easily identified by us, because the beard he developed as he matured came in curled and never hung straight down.  For the past two years, he has returned each Spring to “woo” a harem of hens but none of the chicks seem to have inherited his “signature” curly beard, so he remains unique.  He also seems to have defied the odds of survival in the wild and when Spring rolls around, we’ll start watching for him again, hoping he’ll have made it through winter. Meanwhile, we’re thankful for the bounty from our garden, the local farms to give us fresh food options and a chance to spend time with family and friends on this holiday.  Happy Thanksgiving!!

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Raven Painting In Progress

Posted on November 23, 2011 by Jeanette Fournier

I’m pleased with my progress on this painting so far.  I frequently searched for ravens on my travels in and around the woods but they always proved to be very elusive and didn’t hang around long enough for me to get decent reference photos.  I ended up with lots of smudgy, blurry images that I refer to as my “big-foot photos”.  So, I went down to the Vermont Institute of Natural Sciences in Queechee, VT and took photos of the ravens being cared for there.  The various birds at this facility are unable to be returned to the wild due to injuries.  I highly recommend a trip to this center, which does a terrific job of caring for wounded birds and when possible, returning them to the wild.  It turns out my friend and fellow wildlife painter, Rosemary Conroy, (aka Raven Whisperer) also has a talent for mimicking various raven sounds, which they enthusiastically responded to.  I hope my painting will capture some of the essence of these mysterious and interesting  birds.

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Chosen For Vermont Watercolor Society Brochure (barred owl art)

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Jeanette Fournier

Following a call to member artists for submissions of artwork, I recently learned my painting, “An Apple A Day”, was chosen as one of six images to be used on the Vermont Watercolor Society’s 2012 brochure.  I’m very flattered to have been one of the artists selected to represent the group in this way.  I became a member of this dynamic arts organization this year, and due to other commitments, haven’t had a chance yet to be part of the exhibition opportunities offered; however, be on the lookout for me in 2012!!

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