Artist Renee Lammers

"Monhegan Breeze" 14x20 oil on copper  sold. Thank you!

   I was working hard yesterday on this painting.  I do not know how I painted it so fast.

I started painting it at about 10am and finished at about 1am that night.  It was good to

paint something larger.  I have a lot on my mind right now. It was just good to escape into

a larger painting.  I had a great time.  I am so grateful for this painting purchase.  Thank you!

   Here are a few more photos from my recent frightening drive to Stonington, Maine.

There was ice on the road.  It started to rain in this area so it helped my windshield visibility!

I have always admired this farm house on the right side. The farmhouse was once owned

by a well loved Doctor.  This is arriving into Deer Isle.

   The Square Deal Garage once was a dance hall.  There was a large parking lot for the patrons

across the street.  Sounded like people of Stonington had a great time here.

   I liked how the reflections of the church added to the drama of the day.  

 Lily, my golden retriever, is doing fine from having two back molars pulled and another

large stick pulled from her hard palette.  I gave her a few syringes full of chicken broth.  I wanted

to make sure she is hydrated. I think the salt from the broth might be good to prevent infection.

She stood up and drank water for two minutes!  I was very glad. She is taking antibiotics, probiotics,

and also a pain pill.  She sleeps most of the day.  I am so glad we took her to have surgery.  She

is going to feel great soon. 

Festus is starting to love snow!

Good night.  Let's paint!

"Early Spring at Mark Island Lighthouse" 5x7 oil on copper 350$ framed in gold or black with gold.

Shipping included.

"Schoodic Blueberry Path Early Spring" 5x7 oil on copper 350$ framed in gold or black with gold

Shipping included.

"Spring Day at Schoodic Point" 5x7 oil on copper 350$ framed in gold or black with gold.

Shipping included.

"Schoodic Spring" 5x7 oil on copper

   The last one I am not very pleased with.  This painting was plein air while sitting in my car.

The rest of them are ok.  I am getting back into painting after traveling from Florida to Maine.

   Good night.

   I have always admired this golden house at the intersection.  I make a right turn to

drive to Stonington, Maine.  The road conditions were hazardous!  I do not think I will drive

in snow again.  The car slid many times.  I have allweather tires and heavy painting equipment

in my trunk.  I think these two things helped!  

   Temperatures were 28 degrees in Bucksport when I left the house.  They were 33

degrees when I arrived in Stonington.  It started to rain in Deer Isle.  The rain helped

clear my windshield.  I had run out of windshield wiper fluid on the way!  The rain was a blessing.

This Green bridge is a very beautiful one.

   I drove to Greenhead to see the view.  Elmer's bookshop has been rebuilt because a rouge

wave knocked it down.  The community donated money to have it rebuilt.  It is in the center

by the edge of the water covered in tar paper.  I think it is much longer and 3 ft higher than the

last one destroyed.  I am glad for Elmer and Dundee, the Orange Maine Coon Cat.  

   Here is the front of Elmer's bookshop. It is going to be great!  I can almost imagine

Dundee sitting on the steps with Elmer at his post.  

   Here is a large house at the end of the Island.  

  Honk Island did not fair well during that Winter storm where the rouge wave occurred.

   I saw one person out walking.  Stonington does not get much snow because of the ocean

temperatures providing some warmth.  I drove back home.  Robert was clearing the

drive way of snow.  Bucksport did get many inches of snow.  

   The Yellow house was boarded up.  I had not seen that before.  Good to protect this cute cottage.

Pumpkin Lighthouse in Little Deer Isle.  

   I hope to take photos of a few 5x7 Schoodic paintings I did when the weather clears.  

I like to take photos of the paintings outside for natural light but with the rain or snow this is

more difficult to impossible.  Soon!  Thanks.  Let's paint!

   I like to snap photos of the highways while I am traveling.  

We are back home in Bucksport, Maine now!  We are glad to be home.

   There was the highest traffic through Washington and Baltimore, Maryland.

Sometimes we sat in our cars not moving for more than an hour.

Delaware!

  Nice old truck being towed.

 Delaware Bridge ahead!

   Getting on to the New York, George Washington Bridge.

  Here we go!

Approaching New York City.  

  Winslow, Maine!  

I went to Schoodic in Acadia National Park today.  I did a small 5x7 oil on copper painting.

Will share tomorrow!  Good night.

  We made it to Mt. Laurel, NJ.  These homeless people with a Lab dog named Norman

who is 12 years old are located right by my room.  I was feeding my cats, Festus and Miss Kitty.

I decided to offer the man a couple of cans of Wellness Core Chicken cans for his dog.

He was passed out.  The dog recognized the cans and was wagging his tail. What to do?

I opened both cans out onto the concrete for him to eat.  The dog ate the food while he was

wagging his tail.  I went back and told Robert about the dog.  He asked me if I could

put the dog in my car.  Well I could put him in the Toyota, Camry that is being towed but

I am not sure if it is legal.  I went back out to take a photo and a transvestdite was there too.

She was very nice and introduced me to their dog Norman.  She said they had a hotel room until

this morning. A job did not work out for her and so they were sleeping outside. I said, "I wish there

was more affordable housing."  I told her I was an artist so I could understand. She was very nice.

She told me they have a trailer but need it moved.  She needs a four wheel drive truck to move the trailer.

I told her I think you can rent one!  Later I showed her on my lap top, Turo, rents them for 81$ a day.

She was hopeful.  The dog was healthy and happy.

  This morning I was in the shower when the maid used her keys to come into our room!

I stuck my head around the door and asked for 10 minutes to put on clothes.  Five minutes 

later the maids were both inside my room petting my cars. I threw some clothes on and 

asked once more for a few more minutes.  We had overslept.  It was 11am.  Daily savings

time and the long days of moving and driving made us more tired than usual.  I packed

us up fast and fed the cats inside of the truck.  They did not like their breakfast on the fly.

Festus had two bites.  Miss Kitty did not eat.  Later on the road Festus and Miss Kitty

both ate their dry food. They know how to unzip the zip lock bag of dry food. They seemed very

pleased with themselves being so uncivilized and eating out of the bag!  

Traffic on the 495 in Washington and in Baltimore was very slow. It took us 3 or 4 hours to proceed.

Festus had the funniest look as we were stopped on the freeway.  Annoyed at this stopped traffic.

The trucks were noisy.  Let's just go!

  In Baltimore, Maryland on the 495 a couple of accidents had us at a stop.  These guys really

have a lot of expression!  I drank a Green Tea Red Bull as we were first getting on the 495 for

extra concentration!

We first stopped in Camden, NJ.  The Red Roof Inn manager told me there are NO hotels in Camden that

allow pets.  They passed an ordinance.  Surprising!  We found our hotel in Mt Laurel, NJ.

   I hope we are home by tomorrow.  I might need to think about where to park this truck with the attached

Toyota when we get home.  It would work if Penske was open.  Then I could leave the Toyota there and

drive the truck home to unload.  Yes that would work out best!  Good night.

   Two wonderful young men arrived from a moving company to load up the Penske truck.

They lifted 75 pound 27 gallon totes effortlessly. I told them they did a wonderful job!  Best 300$

I ever spent.  Penske loaded up a car tower and I drove the Toyota Camry up to be secured.

Off we went down the highway on our way to Maine!  My cats are excellent travelers.

Festus might meow for a few minutes at first.  

   Festus told me he has a Kitty Learning Permit.  I let him drive for a while.  

  Festus is such a tall cat, about 4 ft, so he feet can work the brake and gas petal!

   We made it to Jacksonville, Florida the first night.  Tonight we made it to Smithfield, NC.

We love staying at Becky's Log Cabin Motel in Smithfield, NC.  85$ for a 1500sqft room.

Where is Miss Kitty?  She leaped 7ft up into the air.  They are both exploring the room for hours!

    The trip went smoothly except for a couple of things.  Last night I put some spring water into

a hotel provided paper cup.  I put one of the tea bags in the cup.  I laid down on the bed.  The cup

of cold tea was on the nightstand. It was dark in the room.  Festus was leaping around.  He accidentally

put his back foot into the cup of tea!  Then when he realized his foot was in something cold, he threw

up his back leg.  The cup of tea was flung up into the air!  The next morning I saw more of the damage.

There was one white comforter covered with brown tea.  One large brown paw print on a sheet.  The other

bed had about 15 inches of brown tea poured down the side of the white bed.  Oh my!  I used a white

towel, now brown, to mop up the tea on the floor.  I could see Festus was very embarrassed.  I petted him

and told him it was all right.  It was dark in the room.   How could he see that small cup of tea?  He seemed

to be happier.  We may get a comforter and 2 sheet bill from Red Roof Inn.  

    We are driving slow and easy.  There is an issue with straps holding the front tires of

the Toyota Camry.  The straps keep coming down.  Festus says, "If the car falls off the towing thing,

we should just leave it behind, and later report it lost!".   Since his self confidence is still down from 

the 'tea incident' I decided it best to accept his idea.

   Here is the entire rig we are traveling with.  You can probably see Festus and Miss Kitty in the

driver's sea window.  We hope to make it home in two or three more days.  We have filled up the

truck 6 times at 78$ each!  I think we must be getting 12 mp gallon.

Wish us luck!  How exciting!

   Thank you for all the students who attended my class at the Edison Ford Winter Estate Museum.

We all had a wonderful time.  We were blessed with a great day to be painting.  I was impressed with

everyone's efforts.  I hope to teach more classes soon.  I donated my time teaching for the Museum.

The class sold out.  Thank you!  

"Stonington Summer Memories' 8x10 oil on copper 850$ framed in gold or black with gold.

Shipping and frame included.

   I love this photo I took of the stray cat named Dillon eating his dinner with Festus and

Miss Kitty watching from the screen room.  This is such an important photo.  Always keep

your indoor cats separate from stray cats.  I was always protective of Festus and Miss Kitty.

Now I am very glad I did this.  

Here is Dillon with his injured front paw.

 This morning I saw Dillon limping.  He ate his morning breakfast.  I went off to the pool.

I came home at lunch to find Dillon not using his leg.  He was hopping.  I called the vet right away.

Eastside Vet on Palm Beach Blvd told me they could see him in 5 minutes. I picked up Dillon.

He did not fight me.  He let me place him into the cat carrier.  His calico girl friend was sitting

by the door watching me.  I put Dillon inside the car.  He was quiet. I thought he might do the 

Florida to Maine trip in the car very well!  I was hopeful.  He had a hurt foot.  He needed time to heal.

At the vet they took a small amount of blood.  They did a AIDs and Leukemia blood test.  Dillon tested

a strong positive for AIDS.  AIDS in cats is the same as in humans.  Dillon was so weak he was laying

on the vet's counter.  He could not stand.  I asked the vet if they could put Dillon to sleep.  I stayed with

Dillon while they gave him medicines to make him go to heaven.  He was very relaxed.  He enjoyed me

petting him.  I think I am still in the state of shock.  Aids is very contagious.  Dillon could have transferred

AIDS in his saliva, scratching, or biting, or sex.  All other cats could have contract AIDS from him.   The vet

told me he thought AIDS from cats could also be tranferred to humans.  He told me Dillon had advanced

stage of AIDS.  I made the right decision for Dillion and the cat community here in Fort Myers. It was still

very very hard.  I came home to find Dillon's girl friend sitting by my front door.  I gave her lunch.  She

looked around.  She might have AIDS as well and if she is pregnant, all her kittens will have AIDs.  

  I am going to look into a cat center that will take care of her and her kittens tomorrow.  I knew this place

was not right for Dillon.  He loved being free.  He would not have enjoyed being in a place where thousands of

cats with AIDs were allowed to live.  The kittens might fare better.  I do not know.  I will go and inspect the place

first.  I feel like I need to do the right thing.  I cared too much for Dillon to let him suffer.  

I am sorry for the sad post tonight.  I really do try to be positive.  Thank you for C. 50$ donation.  Thank you C.H. for 200$

donation for Dillon's vet care.  I paid 278$.  I am very appreciative.  Good night.

   Festus loves the new Home Depot 27 gallon plastic totes.  They are the perfect

place to rest.  I have been resting alot.  I am allowing myself to not paint.  I paint

a lot normally.  But I think it is ok to take a break.  There are 12 plastic totes stacked

in the trailer.  I have other things bubble wrapped and ready to load.  

Here it is not finished.  8x10.  I painted an underpainting first. I let it dry. Then I started

to work on the left hand side first, sky, and then I stopped painting.

    I was almost half way finished with a new Mansard Roof night scene in Stonington

a few weeks ago.  Then I was busy answering questions about the trailer online.  

I started to pack.  I would pack a little a day.  Some days I would surprise myself!

I would touch up the trailer's wall paint.  There were a few weeks my diet consisted

of oatmeal, beans, and ocasional trip to the Golden Coral! 

 Festus, Miss Kitty, the homeless cat Dillon, and now his pregnant girlfriend, were all

eating great!  Dillon usually comes twice

a day for dinner.  One day he came three times!  I saw a female white calico cat with Dillon.  He

let her have the third dinner.  Cats can be compassionate.  Now she comes at the same time as 

Dillon to dine twice a day.  Today Dillon did not come to dinner but she arrived twice. I wonder

where Dillon is today?  Homeless cats lead a very dangerous life.

Update!  Dillon came running with his persistant baby like cry for his dinner tonight!

Festus and Miss Kitty watched him eat his dinner.  Another second later the female friend

arrived.  Dillon saw her, abandoned his dinner, went three doors down, and cried for those

people to feed him!  He really is compassionate.

Here they are eating lunch.  Dillon on the left and his lady friend on the right.  

I called the vet to ask about having Dillon neutered. They will not allow homeless cats to stay overnight.

He must not eat anything past midnight or surgery would be dangerous.  Then he would need to be 

in a clean place for a few days to recuperate.  The humane society only takes pets not homeless cats.

I have not figured out a way to help these two cats yet.  There are other people here who feed them.

What a dilemma!

Here is Dillon leaving when he saw his female friend hoping to eat.  

They must be good friends.

   I hope to get back to paint soon.  My mind is a bit distracted.  I will be driving a 16 ft Penske truck pulling

a Toyota Camry.  The expense will be great.  It is 2500 miles from Florida to Maine. I will take 4 long days to

make the journey.  Robert is taking off work Friday, March 15th to help unload the truck.  I hope it all goes well.

Thanks for continuing to follow us.  

Oh and an update on the plein air event I signed up for in Jupiter.  I had everything ready.  I woke up at 6am, looked

at the rainy weather, and decided to go back to sleep.  So I guess I am really taking a break!