7″x5″ pastel on sanded paper

Ghost Ranch, NM.

7″x5″ pastel on sanded paper

Ghost Ranch

I am so grateful to be painting in my favorite place.

Yes, the sky really did look like that! I am grateful for the sun, and my doesn’t it look beautiful shining against these rocks?

I still have a few spots open in my upcoming Pastel class (Dallas Feb 12-14), and I have plenty of spaces in my Ghost Ranch pastel class in May.

Learn more or sign up on my Website.

10″x8″ oil on linen panel

36″x24″ mixed media

Recreation/ RE-CREATION Series: No• 1

My younger son loves to fish. When we plan family outings he is often looking at Google maps and figuring out if he can duck away from a sibling soccer game and go check out a local creek.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the word recreation: fun or play. If you break the word apart it is: re-creation.

A couple months ago my son planned a fishing tournament. He charge five bucks a kid, with the promise of cash prizes. He told us of these grand plans, and we chuckled thinking about what most teenagers do early Saturday morning.

To our surprise, kids were walking up our gravel drive as the sun was coming up. Before 7 AM on a Saturday! It was delightful to see kids with fishing poles on shoulders, and tackle boxes and Minnow buckets in hand. There were clearly some seasoned fisherman who came. School friends brought their friends, younger siblings, and cousins. My son didn’t limit it to experienced fishermen, he invited anybody who is interested. He provided ice water, Gatorade, and a mid-morning ice cream break. His planning was spectacular, and he showed up with a servant’s heart.

Every time I looked up, my son was helping someone untangle a line, helping someone learn a knot, or bait a hook. He was, truly, his best self. His recreation had recreated him!

Our extended family got involved and we had Grandad and a friend weigh every fish and handle the judging, and my husband and his mom made a raft of homemade biscuits and scrambled farm eggs for an awards brunch. Those kids’ recreation, re-created us all that day.

And so…I start another series Recreation/ re-creation!

If you are willing to share a story, I would love to hear about your recreation. Perhaps it can become a painting.

4″ square oil on panel

This little guy makes me smile. What a little, round, ball of sunshine for a cold day! He puffed up to make himself warmer, and the effect brings joy to all who pass him.

Available – $35 message me if you are interested in purchasing this joyful bird.

10″x8″ oil on panel

I painted this in that “I wish had more time” time.

It turns out there is enough waiting time in the afternoon carpool line and during my daughter’s choir practice to finish a nice painting.

Today I packaged up some original cactus pastels. I love to make and sell original art, and I have found a practical cost effective way to do so. I slide pastels into a clear plastic sleeve that matches the size of the original art, and then slide a piece of foam core behind the artwork. This allows me a smudge free way to handle finished pastels and they are much easier to store and ship than frames.

I love working on a series, and seeing them together makes me feel happy and proud!

7″x5″ pastel on sanded paper

“Life is thickly sown with thorns, and I know no other remedy than to pass quickly through them. The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us.” -Voltaire

Pastels are my favorite medium to introduce people to making art. Pastels are saturated in color, very forgiving, and fun to work with. If you have the desire to make art, consider taking my upcoming workshop. Feb 12-14

4″ square oil on panel

The paper trail left by the production of art can be an artist’s own worst enemy. I once challenged one of my classes to make 100 works of art, and told them they could keep only the 100th piece.

Creating drafts allows for growth, experimentation, and fresh lines created by confident, muscle memory.

10″x8″ marker on Canson paper with pink acrylic

I love these little ballerinas. I previously did a pastel of them, and wanted to try again. Believe it or not, the sketch needed to come after the pastel for me. Pastels are much more forgiving than felt tip markers, so I needed to work out the lines in pastel and then try it in marker.