A Happy Fall to all of you today!  The above is one of several sketches I'll be posting of my table centerpiece.  I hope you can enjoy the gorgeous weather and colors of the season! JDRF Walk Update:  We have exceeded our goal!!  It's amazing!  A huge thank you to all who have so generously … Continue reading Autumn Centerpiece

urban sprawl n. The unplanned, uncontrolled spreading of urban development into areas adjoining the edge of a city. The above definition could be easily applied to the state of my desk...perhaps even my life!  I pitch and purge, as you read here, and within weeks... no, days...it looks like the above jumble of gunk.  The … Continue reading Clutter Sprawl

At long last, I now have our fall decorations out...the wreath on the door, the table is adorned, and various pumpkins sit around the house here and there.  Not much, but it makes the home feel like fall, even if our temperatures don't! P.S. Don't forget: if you want to contribute to Maddie's Mission to … Continue reading Ready for Fall…finally!

A few weeks ago, I had a bad outdoor painting day.  I can't remember if I told you about it.  Probably not, since the three watercolors I came out with that day seemed so horrible.  This was the first of the three.  I buried all three in a pile of little watercolors on my drawing … Continue reading On Second Thought…

So, if you've been able to follow along my blog posts, you'll know that I painted this BEFORE the previous three watercolors.  I actually got OUT OF MY YARD and went to the top of our neighborhood to sit in some shade and paint a view down Silver Dapple Lane.  Isn't that a wonderful name … Continue reading Top O’ the Hill

There is a quality in certain art I really, really love.  I call it the "What is it?" quality.  I just love to approach a piece of art, small or large, and NOT know immediately WHAT it is.  I love to be taken in by the colors, the shapes, the textures, the value pattern FIRST...and … Continue reading What is it?

Another image from my front yard.  I painted a little series of 4" x 6" watercolors from one vantage point in my front yard, facing out towards the street.  My previous post is one, here's another, and my next post will be the third.  This very same day, I had actually spent the morning OUT … Continue reading Front Yard…Still

That is the question! Well, one of many questions, but one that gives me a bit of pause AFTER I've finished the painting.  Most of the other questions that bang around in my head are BEFORE and DURING a painting.  The above image is cropped to its' 4" x 6" intended size I had drawn … Continue reading To Crop or Not to Crop

I haven't left my yard yet.  I hope to venture out into the neighborhood very soon, but goodness, with beauty like this, just feet from my front door, I could hang out here for a good long while and paint and paint and be quite content.  As I go on my morning walks I see … Continue reading No Place Like Home

ME LOVE COOKIES COLOR!!  Yummy, juicy, vibrant, sparkly, unexpected, eat-it-with-a-spoon color!  Can you tell?  Just a little bit? I'm not sure what's more fun: 1) sitting outdoors painting while feeling the sun and breeze, hearing the birds sing and the leaves rustle; 2) watching the colors come alive while working on a previously watercolored surface; … Continue reading Yummy!