The work of a Salem group of women artists has been up at the Compass Gallery this month…me, Katy Viegland, Kathy Shen, Nancy Eng, Tory Brokenshire and Dayna Collins.

We get together monthly, often to make work, sometimes for a brief road trip.  A couple of times every year we “retreat” for four or so days to work and talk…but mostly work.  And eat…going out for dinner at the end of long work days is restorative, and at the beach we chose places with a good view or with good karma.

We took over the Green’s beach house on day one and within the hour everybody was set up and working…

and the first night we ate at Kyllo’s

the sun was so bright Dayna had to go into movie star mode…

I, as usual, just kept drawing…

the first days were sunny on the deck…

but then the mist started rolling in…

with the sun breaking through at night number two’s dinner venue Tidal Raves…

…me still drawing…

and then day three the rains started in earnest causing the necessity for creative rainwear…

off to Newport for dinner number three at Cafe Mundo, a favorite of painter Rick Bartow…

we were six and couldn’t sit at one of the tables the late and lamented Bartow painted…

but we did sit across from a wonderful Bartow painting with an homage twirling in front of it…

and then I headed down the street to my own cozy cottage for an early morning get-away…