sep-27-2023 | open studio october 7-8

The Cape Ann Artisans Open Studio Tour for 2023 continues, and I hope you can stop by to see my space and work.

find the brochure and map PDF here

There are 17 studios on the tour this year. The tour is free and self-guided. You can download and print the brochure and map PDF to plan your trip. The brochure contains information about each artist.

Saturday & Sunday, October 7 & 8, 10:00 - 5:00

may-25-2023 | open studio june 3-4

Once again I am on the Cape Ann Artisans Open Studio Tour and I hope you can stop by to see my space and work.

find the brochure and map PDF here

There are 17 studios on the tour this year. The tour is free and self-guided. You can download and print the brochure and map PDF to plan your trip. The brochure contains information about each artist.

Saturday & Sunday, June 3 & 4, 10:00 - 5:00

179 South St., Rockport, MA

oct-7-2021 | on living with art

Creating art involves looking at the world with loving eyes. When those visions are captured in an artwork they radiate that energy wherever it lives, on those who live with it or just walk by.  An artwork looks different every day.  As we grow, experience, and age, we see art with our new eyes.

Art is a prayer, a meditation.  Every glance is a reaffirmation of the mantra.

Diebboll-MeditationInGreen_24x24_OilOnLinen.jpg

“Meditation in Green”, 24 x 24, oil on linen

oct-10-2019 | first day selected for BLUE

“First Day”, 30 x 36, was just selected for Cambridge Art Association’s “BLUE”, their annual show centered around a color. This year’s juror is Sarah Montross, Senior Curator at deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln, MA.

“First Day”, 30 x 36, oil on linen

“First Day”, 30 x 36, oil on linen

may-15-2019 | dog dance

Winter has waned, the sun is high; the dogs dance with the rising tide.

Inspired by dogs on Third Beach, Aquidneck Island.
For my exhibit this August, 2019, @jessicahagenfineart, Jessica Hagen Fine Art, Newport, RI.

“Dog Dance”, 36 x 36, oil on linen (prints available)

summer on cape hedge

I love Cape Hedge Beach for its small size, its layers of sand and popples (smooth rocks), granite “bookends”, houses, view of Milk Island, and a peak of the Twin Lights on Thacher Island. It’s especially nice to have it at the end of the street.

Hedge and Thacher, 20 x 30, oil on linen

Hedge and Thacher, 20 x 30, oil on linen

On some days the lifeguard will show up, but often the chair is empty and the warning sign is out.

Some of my pieces focus on the figures, others more so on the landscape; in both cases though it's about the simplification of shapes and their colors and the interpretation of light and feeling.

As I paint I do think about those that have inspired me, like Hopper, Avery, Diebenkorn, and Kent, for example.  Note each of these artists are very much about shape and color as well as the figure.

Rescue, 12 x 16, oil on linen

Rescue, 12 x 16, oil on linen

"Summer Circle"

"Summer Circle" is a large piece that began on my plein air easel overlooking Long Beach. This can be tricky with a 3’ wide canvas when windy, but it was a relatively calm day. I spent a few hours up there looking down on the beach and water as the sun and tide moved along. Now and then I’ll have people stop by for a look at my progress - the kids are great as they are pretty open with their comments and big smiles.

Painting “Summer Circle” at Long Beach, Rockport

With the initial image on canvas I returned to the studio for continuing work. In this case I added more figures and worked hard on rendering the water and its changing colors at various depths and reflections of the sky.

Summer Circle, 24 x 36, oil on linen

Summer Circle, 24 x 36, oil on linen

In the Garden

This summer began with the Rockport Garden Tour, in which we were one of nine Rockport gardens open to the hundreds of curious gardeners from around the region and beyond. We also had a group of plein air painters, including myself, finding inspiration in the flora. It was fun change of mindset to come home from the beach and take on the completely different subject of the garden with all of its complexities of flowers and architecture.

Painting in the garden

Painting in the garden

Garden House, 12 x 16, oil on linen

Garden House, 12 x 16, oil on linen

Garden Chair, 12 x 16, oil on linen

Garden Chair, 12 x 16, oil on linen

sand dance II

Like the first Sand Dance, I was watching the kids fall into dance as they left the land behind and touched the water. On this early spring afternoon the air is clear and the colors are bright.

Sand Dance II, 20 x 30, oil

Sand Dance II, 20 x 30, oil

dogs in fog

The tide is ebbing, leaving room for quiet chaos under the fog's blanket. This is a pretty big one at 40 x 64; I like sitting in front of it and falling in. Off season there are often many more dogs than humans on the beach.

Dogs in Fog, 40 x 64, oil

open studio sunday, october 16, 12:00 - 4:00

Last Sunday was a rain-out, but this Sunday looks lovely, so for those of you who couldn't make it, let's try again. Come see the art, the fall garden, and walk the beach. Thanks to those of you that did come last weekend. Saturday was a record turnout and, despite the rain, I appreciated those hard core fans that showed up with enthusiasm on Sunday.