Category: family

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We’ve found our new beach!

Anna Maria Island Beach
Anna Maria Island Beach

It was a momentous occasion today and it’s taken us two years, but I think we’ve finally found our beach here in Southwest Florida!  If you’ve followed my journey, you’ll know that in the past, I lived in Tennessee but vacationed with my husband in Florida.  We loved our time here so much that we helped destiny along by finding jobs here and moved to our lovely home along the I-4 Corridor between Tampa and Orlando last year.  It’s been quite a transition, but all the pieces came together, more or less.

  • Good, stable jobs: Check
  • Friends: Check
  • Home that we love: Check
  • Community we’re happy to be part of: Check
  • Neighbors we adore: Check

The one component missing was our beach.   It wasn’t that evident until today. When we drove over to Anna Maria Island.   I had driven through on my way home from Long Boat Key one time before David came down and found it charming.  We returned one day to check it out but the timing was poor and the weather bad.  David’s kids, who live in Somerset County, England, are coming back over for a visit this Sept. so we decided to rent a beach house there, trusting our luck.  Today we figured we’d drive over and check it out.

I wasn’t prepared for the crystal-clear turquoise water! Or the powdery soft sand! Or the pine trees gently shading beach entryways and providing some gorgeous scenery of their own!  The house we’re renting is located at the north end of the island and I’m so excited! I can envision great family beach times, yes, definitely. But I can also envision some times after they leave when Dave and I can jet over for a shorter trip. When he can chill and I can paint. And we can both feel our souls soar in the beautiful island breeze.

 

 

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Mother’s Day, 2014

Flowers from my son for Mother's Day, atop a big file cabinet... huge!
Flowers from my son for Mother’s Day, atop a big file cabinet… huge!

So, it was another emotional and joyous Mother’s day! I heard from both of my boys, my awesome stepson and stepdaughter over in England, and David treated me special as well.

Pete surprised me with an enormous, over-the-top arrangement that he had sent to my office on Friday.  To say it was stunning is an understatement, as you can see for yourself.

Needless to say, I’ll be painting these!  So, to summarize, it was a gorgeous Mother’s Day and I’m signing off to go paint.  Hope you’re all having a great one as well.

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Walsh Family Crest

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Walsh Family Crest painting by Maura Satchell

So a couple of years ago I painted our family crest for one of my brothers for Christmas. Thanks to a great photo, it’s available as notecards, prints and even acrylic and metallic prints through the online gallery I work with, FineArtAmerica.Com .  My maiden name is Walsh, my dad wore a gold ring with the Pierced Swan crest and it was always a source of mystery and pride for me.

Cut to 30 years later and my first visit to Wales.  My husband is from England and his mum, from Barmouth, Wales. We were there for an uncle’s funeral and had a little time to drive and tour the countryside which, for me, had a deep primordial draw that I couldn’t explain.  Until I entered the gift shot where, lo and behold, I spied a keyring with the Walsh crest on it.

I know the Walsh name is huge in Ireland, the fourth most common name in all of that country. But according to Wikipedia, it evolved as the name for foreigners from Wales and Britain.

So, if there are any Walshes out there in search of prints, notecards, canvas copies, here’s one option for you:  http://fineartamerica.com/featured/walsh-family-crest-maura-satchell.html

 

 

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In need of kitchen art, so what do I do?

As the title suggests, we’re in our new home and oh wow! We needed art for the walls! So what do I do? Of course, I paint!

In all honesty, I did the Market Basket trio of paintings themed around the family farm, featuring an ear of corn, watermelon, and a ripe juicy tomato, a couple of weeks ago, inspired by a ride out in the country. They’re on masonite panels rather than canvas. The Rooster and Hot Salsa were strategically planned to grace a couple of prominent blank kitchen walls in our expansive new home. We’re pretty jazzed at how they came out — the paintings and the walls, that is.

SHAMELESS PLUG MOMENT: If you have some kitchen or walls that need gracing, or are in search of a housewarming gift for a friend with a homey, folksy, country style decor, you can always visit my fun Home at the Farm gallery to buy prints or canvases at Fine Art America. There, if you find an image you like, you can order it in several formats, from a single greeting card to your own canvas print. A few originals are even listed there, too.

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Not three, but FOUR months later…

and I’m finally getting back into my painting.  With a full time job in social media for a major central FL company, my days are busy and free time is a luxury at this point.  The house is settled in, more or less; We’re in a groove in terms of pool, lawn and home upkeep; We’ve even got a well-stocked freezer, filled with Grouper, Tuna and Snapper thanks to my son who visited and had a successful fishing trip on the gulf side.  So, there’s little else to do but paint!

And it’s hit me: it’s time to try Flamingoes!  I can see them now, all aqua backgrounds, cheery red/salmon/pink/crimson and white bodies with graceful long necks and impossibly skinny legs and balls for knees!  How fun!  I was so motivated I already slapped the backgrounds on about five canvases of varying sizes.  The plan is, to paint and hang these (hopefully) adorable works throughout this, our “Florida” guest room.

The room was a big renovation project we tackled last month.  Long story short, the homeowner’s son was a heavy smoker and preferred dark drab colors.  Not us, that’s for sure, and after painting, carpet cleaning and furniture reworking, we love the end result.

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Transformed from drab dark blue to this, we hope our guest bedroom is inviting and welcoming.

So, stay tuned for a few froliking and fun Flamingoes!

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20 years ago today, my life became complete…

20 years ago today, my husband, a U.K. native from Reading, landed at Logan International Airport in Boston and went through Immigration as an alien for the last time.  Long story short, we met the year before and decided we didn’t want to live without each other.  I applied for a fiance visa for him and after a three-month state-department-enforced separation and hundreds of dollars in international long-distance charges, he joined me here, with the understanding we would have to marry within 90 days of his arrival.  I’ll share more about that on March 14, our anniversary.

I spied him through the double doors in immigration and as he exited, I fell into his arms, ready for whatever challenges might come our way, as long as we were together.   I had kept the Christmas tree up and had a boatload of presents awaiting him, including a pair of suede slippers, a Mets jacket and a pair of mountain bikes I’d had on layaway for months…  I can happily say there are no regrets…

Oh, and by the way, not only did he get his green card on January 5, but it’s his birthday too!

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Did I ever tell ya about my family?

It’s large.  Very.  And some serious talent there, including this wonderful nephew and his father, my brother who passed away shortly after Sept. 11.   I know this and recent posts have little to do with art, but give me some time, I’m mulling and searching for inspiration just now.  Know that it will come out one day.  It’s just still too close to the surface, believe it or not.

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Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests

Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests charged Vatican in ICC w/ crimes against humanity http://ow.ly/6twtr #notfiction.

That was my tweet today.  The thing is, it’s a subject very close to me. You see, my brother … well, after years of self-destruction, he saw it for what it was.  He processed it through a great mystery book he wrote called The Crumbling Empire.  Read it if you have the stomach for such a tough subject matter.   I worked closely with him on it but it’s his baby. The cover? That’s mine. #Thinkinpictures

Update: 10.21.12 – Here’s the book, available on Amazon.

The Crumbling Empire novel by E. Brian Walsh
The Crumbling Empire novel by E. Brian Walsh

The Crumbling Empire novel

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I love my bro’s words re: his love’s/wife’s nomination for Nashville Songwriter’s Hall of Fame

I love my brother’s words regarding his love’s/wife’s nomination for induction into the Nashville Songwriter’s Hall of Fame:  http://ow.ly/5n8fG (click news link) #yayGP #yaylove

For the record, though, he’s a great musician himself and is putting out solo album #2 now.  Check him out:  www.barrywalshmusic.com

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Enough with the tornado warnings and severe weather!

Enough with the tornado warnings & severe weather already! If I wanted to meet the Wizard, I’d have moved to Kansas! #moreontheway

That was a tweet I sent out today as I huddled in an interior bathroom with my two dogs.  Without a basement (our home’s built on a slab) this gets scary.  The poor dogs are a mess, probably sensing my anxiety as much as wondering what the blazes we’re stuck in a 6 x 8 bathroom for.