Remembering to Paint

Over the years, I’ve had this mantra; “Paint and all good things will follow”. Doing small works every day reminds me of this. I am …

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Small and Textural for the New Year!

Happy New Year!!! I wish all of you a peaceful, healthy, art filled 2015!!!I am so grateful to be blessed with the New Year! It …

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Do Cookies Count as Art?

I think they do. I  have been enjoying this holiday season immensely this year. I decided to make cookies for my sons and to give …

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A Summer Path

In the middle of winter, I did a little sketch of a summer pathway just to remind myself of what is just around the corner! …

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What Working Means

Many years ago, I came across a list by Eric Maisel, author of Fearless Creating, of what working means. It’s a great book and a …

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Sweetness in the Middle

Today was just one of those days…sort of. It involved a second call to the IRS, ( one hour each hold time), for a mistake …

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Sunday and Day #6 Send me your stuff!!

 A few FB friends and artists who follow my blog have expressed interest in doing this project too. If you are doing a small piece …

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108 Days

It’s the time of year for gifts and today certainly didn’t disappoint. I received a lovely phone call from one of my sons; the second …

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Collaborative Painting and Letting Go

I have a friend who I paint with pretty regularly. He’s a very good painter, but considers himself an amateur. I personally think his work …

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Something Special

I don’t usually talk about how much I like a piece that I’ve done! Not my style, exactly but today I want to! I just …

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Yesterday and Today

I got up unnaturally early, still a bit jet-lagged from my trip, but it was o.k. An early start is not so bad. I had …

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Trees, Skies & Water in Ann Arbor

This week I’m in Ann Arbor teaching a three day workshop, followed by a one day marketing seminar/workshop. I’m having a blast with the group …

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Comfort Zone in New York City

I got two calls from New York several weeks back. The first was from Jimmy Wright informing me that I’d won an award for my …

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When Doing Nothing is Doing Something

Ok, I don’t own a T.V. and haven’t for a couple of years. BUT, I do own a computer, and I subscribe to Amazon Prime. …

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Napa Valley

This morning I got up with my Dad and caught the early morning light. We took a long drive in Napa valley, I took over …

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Painting in the California wine country!

I’m on a little painting vacation, so I’ll be posting some pictures and some paintings along the way. It’s a trip with many layers of …

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Places to Paint

Why do we choose to paint certain scenes and not others? What are attracted to? I know that I’m interested in capturing more intimate views …

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Discipline and Devotion

Lately I’ve been considering discipline in my work. I am a pretty disciplined person. Being self-employed for many years very simply requires this. But just …

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Painting From Your Truth

Paint from our truth. First we have to remove our egos from the process. The minute we think about ourselves as this or that type …

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What Makes Your Hair Stand On End?

What is it that makes your hair stand on end? Chances are it’s not a new purse or even a new car. It might not …

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Pointing to the Moon

 As a teacher, that’s all I can do…point to the moon. I can’t take you there, nor can I hand it to you, I can …

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Love, love, love…..to Wichita

What an overwhelming week I, we, had! I can’t say enough about my wonderful group of students at my Loosen Up Intensive workshop in Wichita, …

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First Shot at Plein Air

Today I met some friends at Cook’s Butte in Lake Oswego for some painting. What an incredible day it was! Today was one of those …

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Awareness of Wholeness

Painting is an amazing endeavor that I learn all my life’s lesson from. When painting, if you focus attention on the details, you quickly get …

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Art Extravaganza and Trees, Skies & Water

Another very fun and full workshop was concluded on Sunday afternoon. We made the most of a quick two days; lots of information, demos and …

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Signatures

Signing a piece is a gesture of approval and an acknowledgement of finishing. It’s important. A good signature can enhance a painting and a bad …

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Sfumato

 Just a little bit of art history for the day…I think it’s so fascinating to think about how it is that we’ve come to approach …

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Edges – How I Finish Canvas Edges

Edges are big, maybe huge in painting. But let’s talk about the edges of a canvas rather than the edges within a piece! I’ve gone …

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Ok, so….

I got divorced last year. I write this because I committed myself to be more committed to this blog and with that, for better or …

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Beauty and the Golden Section

As artists and just simply humans, we strive for balance and equilibrium. One of the principles of design that I find particularly fascinating is the …

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Scaling a Sketch

ShowMe Here is a nifty program for Ipad; “ShowMe”. I did a quick little demo on how to scale a sketch without a ruler or …

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Deepening Commitments

Snow and ice are good things. I’ve been cloistered in my place for the last couple days. I did venture out briefly with my car, …

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Home Town Inspiration

Finding inspiration and beauty can be as simple as glancing out your window, a short stroll down the block or a peek around a corner. …

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Recess! Then What?

I’m taking a couple weeks off from my usual painting theme of landscape. I’m playing with some new subject matter and want to explore and …

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Ready to Sell, Ready to Give

I received a delightful lesson last week in selling art. First and foremost you have to have the work. Seems very obvious, but as artists, …

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Thinking About Thinking…from stillness to spontaneity

I’ve found that anything that applies to painting also applies to life. Anything that applies to life, applies to painting. No big surprise there! This …

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Having Everything We Need

In my last post, I suggested that we need to give ourselves the gift of abundance in painting.Since writing that post, I’ve had a few …

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Three Ways to Improve Your Painting Today!!

Ok, this sounds a little like a sales pitch. Well, to be honest it is. But not in the way you think. The pitch is …

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Done with Doing For a Bit!!

Having just come through an intense period of “doing”, I’m ready to settle into a long period of “being”. By the end of the month …

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Inviting Quiet; No Music

I’ve long been devoted to listening to music while I’m painting, but today it was time for quiet. I decided that bringing a more mindful …

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A Little Magic at Autumn Art Workshops

Sometimes a little magic just happens. Maybe it’s luck, maybe, maybe good planning, or good karma. I don’t know about any of that for sure, …

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Busy, Busy!!

After my knee surgery, I indulged in a slower pace with lots of naps and reading time. I read some books that I’ve been longing …

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New Gallery Relationship – Art Elements in Newberg

Yesterday I delivered the first group of works to Art Elements Gallery in Newberg, Oregon. I hope that these are the first of many, many …

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Small Space, Small Moves

Small Space, Small Moves Right before my ACL surgery, I moved my studio to a tiny room inside my townhouse. Giving up my luxiously large, …

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Making Time to Paint

Many of my students are women who are about to retire or have just retired and want to paint for the pleasure of it and …

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Ice Baby, Ice!!

Ok, I had my ACL repair surgery on Thursday of last week. I’m writing about it on this blog although seems as though it has …

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ACL

Ok, here goes. My ACL is indeed torn and I have some micro-fractures on top of that. The surgeon looked at me and said, “well, …

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Smooth Until the Last Moment

Well, I may have a new chapter in art making coming up. I may have to channel Freida Kahlo for a little bit. When our …

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IAPS!!!

What a fantastic week!! Pastelists are so lucky to have this society! It was such a wonderful deal to rub shoulders with all the pastel …

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Another Lovely Day!

I’m trying hard to stay busy. I’m getting pretty nervous about presenting at IAPS, so I packed up my painting gear and headed to Elk …

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