WELCOME 2024!

I relish the rituals around the new year. Do you?

I love finding a new planner, setting it up, and writing all the birthdays and anniversaries of my favorite people and events. (Okay, yes, I’ve had a new planner since September 20033, but now I get to USE it, and that excites me so much!)

Creating a new journal, in which the first page is a letter to my future self about my hopes, dreams, goals, and wishes for the next 365 days.

Cleaning the house, making donation piles, loading up the car, and making the donation. Which is, in reality, making space in our life to breathe and not be so hemmed in by stuff.

How do we accumulate so much random stuff?

I swear I didn’t buy any of it; it just appeared.

There is value in stepping away.

Value in shifting out of daily routines and habits.

It is worthwhile to exchange stories with new people

and to attempt (to the amusement and giggles of all) to speak a foreign language in a foreign country.

There is substance in trying new-to-you foods in new-to-you places, smelling unfamiliar smells, finding treasures, and breathing in the wind from a different direction.

I say all of the above, not necessarily for you, dear reader, unless you need to hear it, but more for me.

Masking fluid is a glue-like substance that you apply to your paper. Once it dries, you can paint your picture.

Then, a special rubber cement erasure removes the solid masking “fluid” that has become rubbery and goober-y.

It’s a brilliant concept!

Life has never been easier!

Especially with newer bottle designs that allow the artist to draw feather-weight lines rather than globbing it on with a toothpick or the dried-up husk of an old paintbrush.

So, what was my main takeaway from the 20-day challenge?

The fact that it took me so many days to come up with the idea of utilizing hiking boots for day-to-day wear strikes me as so comical. In my mind, the boots had a SINGULAR valiant purpose, which was so deeply entrenched in my brain that I was about to retire two pairs of footwear.

So there we were, Roxy and I, on our own for three solid weeks. I can’t recall a time that I’ve had more than a few days to myself in a long time, so three weeks felt substantial. And I was ready to steep in some alone time like a gas station tea bag stays in the bottom of a 20oz paper cut for the entire day.

The following is what I learned during this time.

September is and was adventurous and fun, and I can’t wait to show you all the photos!!

As any hobbyist knows, buying, researching, and planning for the supplies for one's hobby, passion project, or recreational pastime is a hobby in itself.

A sub-hobby.

A line of work with it's own W2 tax forms.

I had some downtime this last weekend, and while I had set out to tidy up my studio space, I didn't.

Instead, I did an art supply/audit/experiment.

A little sketch in the rain, join me for some of my favorite beach weather!

Summer wrap-up of watercolor adventures VLOG

Envy is a funny little beast.
I imagine Envy as a bug-eyed pug dressed in a pug tuxedo at a fancy party, trying to appear taller and more classy by standing on his hind legs, but his little wiener is hanging out, so that’s awkward. He’s attempting to balance a plate of hors d’oeuvres and a glass of wine in one paw while gesturing, making a point with the other, and attempting to breathe.

I feel like a metaphor for life lies in the thin spiderweb-like molds sprouting in the bottom left corner of the green pressed paper strawberry carton.

I've noticed that I do the same thing with other things, BUT there is sincerely NO good reason for it.

Maybe you do it too?

July 2023 photos

There were notebooks, backup pens, snacks, stretchy pants, and a C4 explosive device rigged to blow if anyone so much as thought about disturbing me.

I watched. I took notes. And then I scream-cried!
I watched in horror as the answer to my burning question was answered.
…

June 2023 photos

I would bellow to the crowd like a drunk seagull, "YOU ARE ALL CREATIVE!!!"
And I'd want crayons and coloring books under each seat, and I'd go full Oprah, "YOU GET CRAYONS! YOU GET COLORS! SKETCHBOOKS FOR ALL!" The lights would come up and there would be glitter cannons suspended from the ceiling that would all go off in a deafening building-shaking boom

May 2023 Photo Round-up

Navigating my early years with a host of learning disabilities made the idea of being a “lifelong learner” sound like a curse from a pile of vile, wart-ridden, broom-riding, evil-cackling, child-eating, cauldron-stirring, apple-poisoning witches.

This has been a dance in the street, playing the violin in my red suede peep toe pumps on kind of discovery, not only because my watercolor art is better but because I have spent so much time in the past admonishing myself for being too curious about other mediums.

Good morning!

Instead of writing a blog post, I recorded a 5-minute VLOG.
I enjoyed recording this!

It feels like a much more personal way to communicate with all of you rather than sitting behind a wall of text. Who knew all those hours of Zoom meetings would pay off - I felt natural and conversational talking into the camera and sharing my updates.