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12 x 16, oil on canvas

"A good newspaper,

I suppose,

is a nation talking to itself"

Arthur Miller

Word Traveler

12 x 16, oil on canvas

"There is no frigate like a book

to take us lands away,

Nor any coursers like a page

of prancing poetry.

This traverse may the poorest take

Without oppress of toll;

How frugal is the chariot

that bears a human soul!

Emily Dickinson

malleable memoir

9 x 12, oil on canvas

"Live for awhile in the books you love.

Learn from them what is worth learning, but above all love them.

This love will be returned to you a thousand times over.

Whatever your life may become, these books - of this I am certain -

will weave through the web of your unfolding.

They will be among the strongest of all threads

of your experiences, disappointments, and joys"

Rilke Viareggio

Musing with Micajah

8 x 16, oil on canvas

"Dreams, books, are each a world; and books, we know,

Are a substantial world both pure and good:

Round these, with tendrils strong as flesh and blood,

Our pastime and our happiness will grow."

William Wordsworth

kiss the cook(book)

12 x 12, oil on canvas

"Tomatoes and oregano make it Italian;

Wine and tarragon make it French.

Sour cream makes it Russian;

Lemon and cinnamon make it Greek.

Soy sauce makes it Chinese;

Garlic makes it good!"

Alice May Brock

The Big Picture

12 x 12, oil on canvas

As soon as I spotted this darling little guy in a Nashville bookstore, all settled in with his big book, I knew I had to paint him. Over the years, that bookstore became a favorite lunch destination with friends, or a cozy spot to enjoy a cup of tea while browsing for books. Sadly, the bookstore has since gone out of business. But the good news is that the store's closing spurred author Anne Patchett to open up her own little independent bookstore: Parnassus Books, aptly named for Mount Parnassus, a haven for "literature, learning and music" in Greek mythology. Anne's charm and enthusiastic voice have made it a modern-day version of Nora Ephron's ode independent bookstores ("You've Got Mail").

"Never be so focused on the thing you're looking for,

that you overlook the thing you actually find"

Anne Patchett

white tea for a rainy day

8 x 10, oil on canvas

"Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader.

Not that it is raining,

but the feeling of being rained upon"

D.L. Doctorow