I've wandered away from working with watercolor in the last few months. It's so easy to get distracted in today's world of technology, onboarding our new family member, and the extra long days of summer. I've also been deep diving into learning digital art and attempting to keep up with the demands of the cooperative gallery I am a member of.

I guess that's the beauty of autumn as things begin to cool down..

We all have things that we love to partake in but feel a little silly doing. As I take on more paid work and learning opportunities that include "design briefs" in which the art I am making is highly structured, I am finding that my guilty pleasures around making art involve not doing any of the above.

The other day a friend posted the most beautiful photo of Alaska on their Instagram, and I could not help myself. I put down all the other projects I was "supposed" to be doing and painted it. And you know what? It's my new favorite painting. I love it. I love how I captured the light on the snow at the top of the mountain. I love when the magic bit of making art shows up!

My other guilty pleasures include potato chips and British Victorian Era murder mysteries on audiobook.

I've been spending a lot of time in Montana the past few months, and in doing my best to be in two places simultaneously, I've gotten creative in where and how I work.

Before this visit to MT, I accepted a sizeable watercolor commission of 6 animal portraits, and the deadline is looming - in a good way. I work well under a bit of pressure. That being said, I needed space to work and work for extended periods, not the dining room table.

When I arrived in Missoula, the skies were clear, and the weather was stunning! So I poached my dad's outdoor shop workbench and set it up in the sun, so I could work with the best light ever.

Hello friends, I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce you to Roxy, our newest family member!

Her current nicknames include Princess Peanut, Roxy Soxy, Deep Fried Low Tied, Ro-Ro, and Pretty Princess Peanutbutter Baby.

She goes by Roxy or Ro for short.

We are so excited to have her in our home. She came to us a few weeks back and settled in well. She is so intelligent, curious, silly, and oh so sweet! She loves the beach, running full speed in the sand and splashing in the shallow water. She LOVES rolling in dead sea creatures, barnacles, wads of seaweed, and flopping in the grass at a moment's notice for a grass bath. She loves meeting new people and collecting ear scratches from all.

Roxy is a six-year-old Plott hound who needed a new home due to a tragic and life-changing medical emergency. She comes from a very loving home, and we send photos to her previous people daily.

The other week I wrote to you about purchasing some beginning printmaking supplies. I tried them out over the weekend, which was as fun and satisfying as I suspected!

It did scratch an itch for sure, so much so that I’m not sure if you will see more printmaking from me or not. I enjoyed experimentation with something new and the opportunity to make art without needing to be good or polished.

Welcome to the area well outside of my comfort zone!

Changing color palettes in watercolor, gouache, pastel, or ink does not phase me or give me pause. It's not a big deal.

Encaustic, however, is a whole new story.

Changing the color palette is a timely process. Melting the wax takes time, mixing it takes more time, and dedicating new brushes and paint tins to new colors takes time to label and track. It's its own process.

Please know it is not my intent to complain. I am attempting to explain why changing my encaustic palette falls outside my comfort zone.

And here is the hardest part. I have to limit myself. Encaustic gets muddy and messy if you try to work with too many colors at once, it is unforgiving in this way. I don't like limits, but I've learned my lesson, so I comply.

I found a beautiful sunset photo and wanted to recreate it in encaustic, so I set to work finding the two or three key colors that I could use to create the orange, yellow, pinky, and purple coastal sunsets. But! I can only use three base colors to make all of the above. So this is what I've needed up with.

There is a voice inside my head that says things like, "If you stick with one media, you will get better at it," and "Is this really what you should be spending your time and money on?"

To that voice, I say, "Shhhhhhhh, don't speak, just enjoy."

I took printmaking in college, but I wasn't very taken with it at the time. Currently, I find myself intrigued by the simple lines, the hypnotic nature of carving out the block, and the sweet possibilities. I can’t wait to show you what I come up with! And yes, we are allowing for the possibility that it might be absolute crap! Ha!

I am in Montana because my mom had some medical stuff that required a bit of extended aftercare. I am grateful that I have the flexibility in life to show up for my parents this way, to be here when they need help.

With this idea of freedom of movement in mind, I've been investigating alternative options for making my art available on cards, prints, and other products.

Why alternative options? because I need a solution.

Family is a complex and multi-layered grouping of people, none more so than when you combine families by marriage. To say that my husband has been a bad influence on my father sounds ridiculous, but here we are.

My husband is a long-standing Phish head, following the band during college and paying for these trips by setting up a burrito stand in the parking lot with his roommates. My dad is always up for some socializing and a good time.

Put these two apex extroverts together, and you get the perfect storm of Phish following hippies who could find a party on a desert island.

To enable their fun, I have designed personalized stickers for each. The stickers tell the story of their hobbies, where they live, and their love of the band.

We will have the stickers printed in large stacks for the concert sticker exchange. Yes, there are sticker exchanges, and I am thrilled to be a part of the scene.

A friend of mine woke up one morning and decided to write a book as one does.

This is my favorite illustration of the 18 illustration series because it says so much about the tone of the book!

Hello from Missoula

A few weeks ago, I lost access to my Instagram account. I was locked out for about 48 hours. I had enabled two-factor authentication, and the second factor was not factoring or authenticating! I made many attempts to log in, and then I just sat back and let the panic wash over me in an icy grip.

A good dog, who was a very bad dog, but who will be missed terribly.

Grief, death, and loss are complex topics.

In the USA, we especially don't like to talk about death, we don't like to think about it, and we certainly don't want to see it. Unless it's got a flashy soundtrack, lots of explosions, and Keanu Reeves is dancing around the screen with a bloody pencil in his hand (see John Wick 1, 2, or 3 for reference).

So why TF am I talking about it, you ask?

What is encaustic?

I get this question a lot.

The other question I get is, did I invent it.

These are not silly questions. Encaustic is not a well-known medium. Why is that? That is another good question.

I believe "talent" is a myth, it is practice, but it's also trust. Trust in oneself to find the information and then bend it to one's process. Trust to know when the rules were made to be broken.

When you are selling art in person, it is vital to engage with your customer and share enough of your story to connect with them. These meaningful connections translate into building a relationship and selling your art and products.

The words "relationship" and "genuine/meaningful connections" can be scary and intimidating, especially when, as an artist, you've already put so much of yourself out there in the world.

Ode to the Humble Glue Stick.

I think the glue stick might be the most overlooked and underrated of the art supplies. Well, to be more honest, *I* did not see it for it's value until recently. ⁠

⁠

I saw the glue stick as a holdover from grade school, something that little kids used. But when it came time to make the things I wanted to make, it was the glue stick that came to my aid and the glue stick that saved the day. ⁠