Cheers!

Toasting hands...

& dancing feet.

(cut paper art)

Happy New Year... Here's to joyous adventures & new discoveries!

(time marches on, don't miss a beat)

Shapes, a bloom and a pomegranate.

                    Painting what is around me & making up the rest.  What day is it again?  

                         I'm looking forward to falling back into my daily schedule soon!

Christmas abduction...

I held out pretty well this year but BIG sigh, I'm relieved it's over!  Take it away!

(Quick gouache painting in my tiny sketchbook.)

On a positive note-I will miss the twinkle lights.

Good Tidings

Merry Christmas!  

Wishing you a day of love & happiness spent with your favorite people & pets.

(or whatever makes you feel warm & fuzzy)

Christmas

Arriving at your doorstep soon... Christmas!

(Another spread from my mini sketchbook. The train is watercolor the doorstep is limited color gouache.)

Daily dose of vitamin C.

Clementines and a Christmas cactus.

Red is my favorite color.  This shade really ZINGS!

Silver Bells

One week away...Christmas bells will be ringing soon!

Are you ready?

(cut paper art)

Merrymaking!

A festive painted pattern & some Christmas hand lettering should do the trick.

Thank YOU

This felt like a vote for decency. (to me)

I'm relieved that Doug Jones won!

Happy Hanukkah Wishes...

to those who celebrate!

(mixed media spread from my mini sketchbook)

And the stockings were hung.

Painting stuff around my house.

Stockings are such a weird tradition.

Particularly hung above a fire?

I need to research this to see how it came to be.

Colors of the moment-

red & green.

Holiday Hounds

Holiday hounds tethered to trees.  Patiently awaiting their owners return.

Dogs are the best!  (Especially when the are seasonally accessorized.)

Wander the World

I like to think that even though the world is a big place filled with different people, we all come together to celebrate with the ones we love.

This concept inspired my Wander the World ornaments available through Oopsy Daisy.

Hop on over & take a closer look.  Bon Voyage!

Winter birds

Winter birds on a blush colored ground.  This is a print I worked on digitally inspired

by the arrival of December.  I seem to count the winter months down until we arrive at spring.  That said I still try to keep my eyes open to the beauty of the cold.  Like... brightly colored winter birds, warm teas & fresh snow. (Just to name a few.)

Tiny & Traditional-

or at least as traditional as my hand will go.

Hope you're enjoying the start of the holiday season!

For me this is the fun part... The imagining phase.

Once Christmas day gets closer I get a little more frantic.

(I'm sure I'm not the only one.)

Fir real (holiday pun)

The Christmas season is here... time for joy & cheer!

Hopefully that's what it brings you. 

I have mixed feelings but I like the sparkly lights so I focus on that.

Turkeys, head for the hills!

My note for poultry this week.

Fall Medley

Here's a fall pattern patchwork.  Complete with a leaf from paper that I marbled.

I'm not sure where this month is going?  It's been busy!  Seems like I just looked up & noticed Thanksgiving is next week.

Coffee & flowers-

two of my favorites!

*A spread from my mini sketchbook.  I really like working on a smaller scale. (which surprised me as I tend to work large)  I can flush ideas out quickly without investing a ton of time.

Beauty in the dark?

The extra hours of dark get to me every winter.  This year I'm taking a different approach & trying to find the beauty in the extra hours of night.  I got a new book about the stars and some lovely smelling mineral baths.  The pantry has been stocked with special teas. The fire place is flickering nightly & an orange blossom candle sits on my night stand to remind me that things will bloom again!

Feeling Grateful

Feeling fallish & grateful.

The sun came out to shine today!

(breaking a full week of gray)

Woof, Woof... it's wallpaper!

This is some wallpaper I designed for BN International (in the Netherlands)

I love how it turned out!  I'm definitely on team dog. (really allergic to cats)

Dressed Up Digits

Did you have a good Halloween?  Hope so!

I think I have a candy hangover. (ugghhh-sugar)

I made these felt finger puppets while watching the second season of Stranger Things with my son.

(Think I still prefer season 1)

Brrrrr!

Woke up to a cold, winding morning.

Dreaming about heading south.

Besides, I think the weekend is that direction!

Happy Friday!

Mini Sketchbook

Check it out!  I got a 4 x 6" Stillman & Birn softcover sketchbook.

I tend to work in stectchbooks that are much BIGGER.

Time to just play around is something I look forward to & do in the evening at least three or four

times a week.

With the next couple months being jammed packed I was looking to maintain my

sketchbook play but not make myself mental.

The solution is this mini sketchbook.  We'll see!

Cobalt Kapow!

Rows of cut flowers & a marigold.

P.S. I love this shade of blue.  I studied in Mexico for a while in art school.

This blue was everywhere & it's hard to forget.

Halloween Daydreaming

Thinking about possible costumes!

Friday the 13th

A very spooky night indeed!

I've never found this day to be unlucky for me.

(knock on wood...)

Happy Friday.

Channeling my inner Vera...

Looks like a Vera scarf to me.

If you're not familiar with Vera Neumann look her up.

(she was a wonderful textile designer)

Harvest

I was inspired to reinterpret this Josef Frank textile from the early 1900s.

(bottom image)

Thought the harvest like theme was very appropriate for this time of year.

Textiles have always held a special place in my heart.  

It's what I got my degree in at R.I.S.D.

Hello there October.

I don't do a shout out for every month but October I'm fond of you.

You're still warm, the sky swirls with falling leaves, & there's a playfulness to you.  A time when kids & adults can play dress up with the reward of candy.  Things can get a little scary but hopefully, not too frightening. (you never know anymore)

October, I'm ready for your dark delights!

X-ray Flowers...

October, I see you!

This is a floral mono print.

I thought it needed some detail so I went back in with orange & brown pen.

It reminds me of an x-ray.

Collecting Flowers

Here's a piece that I've been working on in a program called Painter.

Years ago I used it on a regular basis.  As my projects required more layers & a more universal software I eventually found my way to Photoshop.  I've missed all the textures & brush that Painter has to offer & I recently got the updated program.  (So crashing is less of an issue now- which is always a huge YAY!)  

See Ya Later Summer!

Labor day weekend is always a little bittersweet.

Summer is my favorite season but all good things come to an end.

Most of my summer check list has been completed:

1. -eat lots of watermelon
2. -add sprinkles to most things
3. -play in the sun
4. -keep the flowers alive
5. -swim like a fish
6. -gracefully let go of the season... (still working on this one)

*Now I'll start shopping for sweaters!

Toning it down.

I've been on a grey kick lately.  

This is unusual for me as I typically like to paint with 

a palette that looks like a rainbow.

What's wrong with this picture?

Looking good in all the spots she should NOT be.

(P.S. Sophie's not allowed on the couch. I can sense her inner delight!)

Solar Eclipse

Did you see it?  The Solar Eclipse was at high visibility in Kansas City.  We joined my son's 4th grade class & watched from a baseball field.  The excitement & energy of kids added to the fun of this astrological phenomenon.   Until next time! (which is in 2024)

Love without Limits

I'm ready... how about you?

Sweet & Sour

Flowers, bird & lemon.