Come visit us in the gallery during the holidays!

Hours: Tuesday - Saturday Noon - 6pm

Christmas Eve: 10am - 3pm

Closed beginning December 25th 

The Italian Collection

The Italian Collection is in the gallery and on my site!  As you may know, Claire and I didn't take students to Italy this past September so that Claire could relocate to Chicago with her family. She is still getting settled.  But we are gearing up for our Tuscan Journey for 2013.  Don't miss out on that!

See our C&C Tuscan Journey Site for info...

This collection of paintings is special to me and represents my time the past few years in Italy. 

It was a joy to finally put a body of work together for a show that opened on September 30th at beautiful Rivenbark & Roper Antiques in Huntsville, Alabama.  I thank Ken and Randy for an unbelievably amazing opening! It was beautiful, and I thank those who came for coming.  

There must have been 200 people there...

Two pieces have been sold from the original collection but I still have ten or eleven.  If you would like to see them, make an appointment and come see them in person or standby for upcoming events as the holidays approach. 

Each piece is for sale or you may wish to consider owning the entire collection.  

Each painting comes with a story behind each one.

Come visit the gallery!

Auburn Art Pep Rally in the Gallery!

Be ALL-IN Thursday night at the Auburn Art Pep Rally at 

Carole Foret Fine Art downtown Athens. 

6pm-8pm 

Wear your game attire and bring your Auburn spirit--other spirits may be brought and sipped from a cup. Purchase Carole's latest prints of Aubie, Nova, and Cam. Carole will be painting Aubie live, and you will have the chance to win an Aubie print just by being there. Hope to see all of the Auburn family. Let's get ready for a great season! War Eagle!!!

When Twin Artists Gather...

Last week, my identical twin sister (yes, we are twins--si siamo gimelli, if you're Italian) enjoyed the Gulf Coast together.  It was a time spontaneously planned that very much invigorated our creativity.  When you get two artists together who are indeed artists through and through, you come up with lots of scheming, dreaming, talking, picture taking, seeing beauty all around, taking it in and making memories. A bold adventure in inspiration.  Enjoy a selection of our photos as we say goodbye to summer.

When Children Create...

The children came this week.  They were amazing.  Their creative minds inspire me so...

A Beautiful Beach Shoot

I had the pleasure of working with the sweetest family while at the beach last week. We shot in beautiful Destin, and the weather couldn't have been more perfect! Sporting my new Nikon--I was really pleased with how they turned out, but what really made the images was how fun this group was. We had Mike, Theresa, their two precious daughters and their parents. These are some of my favorites at first glance.  There were lots of favorites! Thanks to a fun family for a wonderful shoot!

My Spiritual Retreat Week at the Beach

What a summer I have had. I have enjoyed time with my girls out of school. And lots of time at the beach. In fact, I spent a week alone at the beach for my birthday. You may ask, "Who does that?"

The day I arrived--when Tropical Storm Debby was trying to take over. Wildness in the waves & wind!

A spiritual time away to revive and renew my soul was what I wanted for my birthday. I admit I was a little scared that I would feel lonely on that day, especially being a twin and getting to celebrate with her most years. But God asked me to trust, and choosing to spend it alone with my Creator was the greatest gift I could have given myself. 

It was time away given to me so effortlessly--my daughters were both busy with their goings on, and the opportunity became so clear and do-able.  During my week, I just hoped for a return-to-me sort of time.  My paints, my tennis racket, and my sunscreen came along with me. Living simply--not spending hardly any money, and only eating primarily what I brought from home--and from the Green Street Market in Huntsville was more like myself.  I enjoyed a couple of movies on my laptop at night.... My week was beyond my hopes!

Stunning sunset and cloud display my first night!

God showed me truths about myself and had me to confront things in my life that were both surprising and expected, but it all worked out wonderfully and He is still doing His work in me. I feel so grateful for that time He gave me in a beautiful place. To get away to a place where you can discover, either for the first time, or to rediscover inner stillness in your soul is amazing! In that quiet and stillness is where we meet God. That place where there is no thought. That place which can be hard to achieve with the bombarding of thoughts and stress. But God invites us to rest in Him and to lay those things on His shoulders, and when we do, He shows us little by little the way He works in our lives and in our issues. It's all about letting go and trusting.

As you can expect, being the visual documenter that I am, I documented with photos my entire week. Some of them, I am sharing with you here...(all photos shot with iPhone 4S)

My morning reading and breakfast. Open Mind, Open Heart by Thomas Keating was my main read. Awesome!

Me on my birthday at sunset. 45 years old!

Painting a commission that was due a couple of days after I returned home.

Sea oats agains the setting sun

A fun day captured here. I had totally let my hair go free all week.  It's VERY curly at the beach. ;)

Alone but not lonely...

Birthday lunch.  Two forks to commemorate twinness.  Miss my sister when we can't be together.

My last night. Feeling grateful.  Wanted the moon in the background on this. :)

Running while shooting was funny

Surrender

I look like my sister in this shot

One of my favorites--felt like running with new meaning

I am home now and back to my real world where now I have new tools to work with--spiritual ones and practices that are proving to work wonders for me. Find your inner strength by being still.  My main reading was the book Open Mind, Open Heart written by Father Thomas Keating.  (Get it from Amazon here) It is about contemplative prayer--a practice that will produce more peace, faith and intimacy with God in your life. I am so grateful to my brother for encouraging me to read and apply this book at this time in my life. It's a life changer for sure.  Be blessed in your journey. My best to you!