Monument

All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or part without the express written permission of the page author. atlanticmo@yahoo.com

Oh and by the way here is a painting of the Provincetown Pilgrim Monument

Falling Into Place

It's officially Fall now although, around here Fall begins right after Labor Day. The kids are back at school, the tourists numbers start to dwindle and it's time to prepare for Winter.

For me Fall means a return to the studio. I am back to the drawing board both literally and figuratively. Here is an update of what I've been up to. I left out the status of the laundry intentionally.


I am working on increasing my portfolio for the fine art as well as the illustration. I am also working on the marketing of both, which continues to be a learning experience.

I am excited that the music CDs for the book, "Clouds" are in the process of being produced. Kathleen Healy and I will be hitting the street with those as soon as we can.

Here is some more good news. Thanks to artist, Russell Vujs and gallery director, Bruce Cook I will now be showing at the Chatham Village Gallery in Chatham, Mass. I look forward to being a part of such a great group of artists.

"Fall for the Arts, Cape Cod" is the weekend of October 2 -4, 2009. If you are going to be in the area check out some of the great events happening at most of the Arts venues on the Cape.


I will be posting pictures of the new work soon. I have four painting started right now. I'll keep you posted.




All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or part without the express written permission of the page author. atlanticmo@yahoo.com

Walking My Baby

16 x 20 acrylic on canvas

This painting was inspired by my neighbors and their little dog too. The three of them have such a close bond. The humans of the group walk the beach just about every day, even in the winter. Their little "Baby" is getting too old to join them. I have never been much of a dog person and I didn't used to understand the strong bond some folks have with their pets. Over the years I have come to realize that love is love .

Some find it in nature or with God or their work or pets or if they are really lucky with other human beings.

All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or part without the express written permission of the page author. atlanticmo@yahoo.com

Red Heads

11 x 14 acrylic on canvas


Rest in peace, Lucinda Wagner, fellow redhead, artist, mom.
I gave my daughter some things from your art room yesterday. She said, "I wish could say, 'Thank You'."
Me too.

Thanks for being my friend and supporter, Lu. You will always be in my heart.



All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or part without the express written permission of the page author. atlanticmo@yahoo.com

Sunshine

Sunshine 8 x 10 acrylic on canvas

My little boy is always asking me why I don't put a round yellow sun in the sky of my pictures.

So this one is for him. I put the sun and the son in the sky this time.

All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or part without the express written permission of the page author. atlanticmo@yahoo.com

Cloud Book (video)

All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or part without the express written permission of the page author. atlanticmo@yahoo.com

I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends

I was at a mini reunion last night of some of my old art school friends . I was so happy to see everyone, some folks I hadn't seen since I left campus my graduating year. My friend J.Q. joined the festivities. As I was giving him a hug he told me that he had something for me. I knew right away that it was the book I had illustrated.

J.Q. has been going way out of his way to help me "self"-publish it. "Self" is in quotes because I hardly did it on my own.

I sent him right out to the car to get a copy.

About a year ago I decided that I wanted to have a printed book that I could use as a promotional piece. I asked my songwriter friend if I could use one of her children's songs to illustrate. Once I got the illustrations done, I realised that I didn't know anything about publishing.

I sent a general message to all my friends that I thought could give me a clue.

J.Q. took the ball and ran with it. He brought the originals to our friend, C.R.'s oversize scanner (thanks C.R.) because I made the images too big for my standard scanner. Then he took the images and uploaded them to his computer, cleaned them up and put them in a book form layout that the printer could use. He also did some cut and paste magic to created the cover which looked much better than the one I had made using scissors and glue.

We have been communicating back and forth since September and last night I got to see the finished product and show it to my art school buddies.

I am very happy with the finished product, much better than I would have done on my own.

All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or part without the express written permission of the page author. atlanticmo@yahoo.com

Looking Forward

Looking Forward II 18 x 24 acrylic on canvas

Looking Forward I 18 x 24 acrylic on canvas











When my dad moved here he thought it was strange that the locals only referred to two seasons, summer or winter. I knew that after he lived here a while he start to understand.
Winter is the time for school, repairs and visiting out of town relatives. But most of that time is spent preparing for summer. Retail shops are ordering goods. Landscapers are lining up jobs. Cottages are being booked. Summer stock is being cast. Artists, like myself are preparing for shows and doing their best to be securely in some galleries by Memorial Day.
Summer is the time to make the most out of the warm weather, good company and hope business stays steady into Labor Day and on through to Columbus Day. Then it's time to take the Boogie Boards out of the trunk of the car, dust off the winter coat and start the cycle again.



All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or part without the express written permission of the page author. atlanticmo@yahoo.com

Living in the Future

Black Ink & Colored Pencil 8.5" x 11"



A friend of mine in New York asked me to do some back-drops for a play she had written, called "Are We Freaks". It was going to be part of the "Frigid Festival" in New York City.

My first thoughts were that this was going to be a big, expensive, time-consuming project. Just thinking about shipping the rolls of canvas gave me a headache. But as we discussed it further the idea for small images that I could scan and email to her came about.

She could use the jpegs to make a "slide" presentation on a white screen on stage. I was very excited about this idea and worked up some 8.5" x 11" images based on her requests.

When my seven year old saw them she said "These are too small. The people on stage are much bigger than this."

I emailed the images to my NY writer friend and a couple weeks later; there I was in a theater in New York looking at my images on stage.

It's fun living in the future.


All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or part without the express written permission of the page author. atlanticmo@yahoo.com

En Pointe

I passed by a house last summer that had a backyard clothesline full of towels. It occurred to me that this was an iconic Cape Cod image. I also liked the idea of the towel dancing in the breeze.








All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or part without the express written permission of the page author. atlanticmo@yahoo.com

Michael

This painting was inspired by the fun I had at our local lake with my brother and sisters. Now, as an adult I bring my own children to a different lake and watch the kids play similar games and have just as much fun.










All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or part without the express written permission of the page author. atlanticmo@yahoo.com

Thinking About It

This one is about making choices. The choice could be a very brave one and worth the risk or one of the stupidest

decisions ever made.

North Atlantic surfing is not for the faint of heart.

24 x 36 Acrylic on Canvas

All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or part without the express written permission of the page author. atlanticmo@yahoo.com

Book Club

24 x 36 Acrylic on Canvas

The name "Book Club" has a quaint ring to it, like "Garden Club" or "Ladies Guild". My book club, however has a much deeper meaning to me. It has been a lifeline of friendship and companionship for the members of the group and myself.

Life in a "resort" area in the off-season can be a lonely and isolating experience especially if you have young children at home. Book Club has helped me to feel more a part of a community of people who chose to live out here by the sand and water. One of my friends from Book Club wrote a song for/about us. It is a wonderful portrayal of the importance of friendship in our lives. I was inspired to make a painting for/about them.

All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or part without the express written permission of the page author. atlanticmo@yahoo.com

The Opening

All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or part without the express written permission of the page author. atlanticmo@yahoo.com

Artist Statement

Moira Birch Swiatkowski,
a Massachusetts native received her BFA from University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth.
She has lived and worked on
Cape Cod since 1994.
Her work has appeared in several group shows and can currently be seen at the W. H. Lutz Gallery in Harwichport, Massachusetts.

Moira Birch Swiatkowski
Artist Statement

Lucky enough to live and paint on Cape Cod, I am constantly amazed by our natural world and the mighty Atlantic Ocean that surrounds us. I am also amazed by how many people feel such a strong emotional connection to the Cape. Through the years I have been observing family, friends, strangers and even myself as we interact with the beautiful landscapes and seascapes.

My bright and colorful paintings capture the human response to nature at a specific time and place. Each image has a different color palette and mood depending on the seemingly endless variations in the landscape of this place I call home. The time of day, the weather, the time of year or even which beach I am at affects the color of the sky and water.

The human response has as many variables as nature, such as the person’s age, life experience and mood. I take all of these things into account as I create a new piece.

The beach is a constant source of inspiration for me that never disappoints. I could go to the same beach everyday and see something new in the sky or the water or myself.

I love living by the sea. I love having the opportunity to express all the ranges of beauty and emotion to be found here through my paintings.


All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or part without the express written permission of the page author. atlanticmo@yahoo.com

Lucky picture

OK, here's a picture that my daughter did. She's more prolific than me.

All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or part without the express written permission of the page author. atlanticmo@yahoo.com

Lucky

No picture this time, sorry.
I figured it was time for an update even without the pics.

I have been doing my best to crank out the paintings despite the "real world" responsibilities that come with family, the house and the holidays. We had a lovely time in December, parties and all. We even went out in the blizzard to celebrate the new year.

While waiting to go out on New Years I was IMing with a friend of mine who lives on the other side of the Atlantic. We were discussing new year's resolutions. I told her that I was going to keep it simple. My resolution was to put up an art show this year.

While on the computer, I checked out a link from one of my Pacific friends about "luck". It was about a study that showed that lucky people are really just more observant of opportunities when they come about. For example, a lucky person would find money on the ground whereas an unlucky person would never expect there to be money on the ground and would pass it by.

A couple of days later one of these opportunities (thanks, MDB) came along. I had two days to gather up all my work, write an artist's statement and hang the show.

So it's January 5, 2009 and I have completed my resolution. My husband thinks I should make a new resolution to finish painting the trim in our house. I don't know about that but I do know that I am keeping my eyes wide open in 2009. Maybe I'll find some money on the ground.