Come with me to Maui in February

Dreaming of Maui

Palm trees, rainbows, dancing whales.

NOT THIS YEAR.

Oh well, I decided to share Maui with everyone with a one day workshop at the Green Door Gallery in Webster Groves.

In the middle of the greyest, coldest February,

On the 21st.

From 10 am to 4 pm

There will be instruction on using watercolor and watercolor pencils in travel journals.

We will paint beaches, palm trees and maybe some dancing whales.

I will provide Hawaiian music, pineapple cake and macadamia nuts...

and we can dream as we paint.

I hope you can join me.Registration is through me.

$60 for the day.

A materials list when you register.

Call me at 314 - 780 - 8049

or email me at Paintdiva106@gmail.com

ALOHA!!

The men I love........

Dark Rose, 12 X 12 oil on paper mounted on artboard

purchase price $100 here.

Oh, the men I have been falling in love with!

Please don't tell my husband.

He just wouldn't understand (LOL)

Ok, the men I am so besotted with are artist/writers 

I am very excited about.

They are inspiring me to do better work, to work smarter and to give myself a bit of a reality check.

What more could a girl ask for?

My latest affair began while I was reading the recent issue of 

International Artist magazine.

I happened upon a James Gurney article on making videos of art.

That lead to looking him up on youtube to watch a video he had posted,

then three more videos,

Then onto his blog. 

I was falling in love!

I couldn't get enough of the man!

I was first impressed by his absolute generosity in sharing

his techniques and materials.

The videos were amazing.

I still can't figure out how he did the little steampunk style brass

tag he popped out of.

Great effect.

His hints on plein air gear and set ups had me taking notes.

I will be making some changes in my watercolor gear for sure!

Watching the videos, I learned that he achieved many of his detailed effects with watercolor pencils.

That was a real AHA ! moment

as I have had a 

passion for those pencils for some years,

using them mostly for creating small illuminations on

handouts during my meditation group.

Yes, I draw while other folks are meditating, but that is another blog post....

So I am overjoyed to learn a new use for those wonderful pencils!

What a great excuse to get a new painting started immediately.....

see why I am loving this guy!

Gurney's sense of humor and talent

just bowl a girl over!

I highly recommend his website, blog and youtube channel.

Not that I like to share my men,

but sometimes you just find something so delicious,

you kind of have to brag.

Oh, I did say MEN, didn't I.

Well yes, I am an inspiration floozy.

There is another in my life right now,

but that also is another blog post.

GRIN.

"Woodland Haiku"  watercolor

This autumn has been golden red magic.

I have underestimated the Missouri landscape terribly, thinking there wasn't much drama going on.

New Mexico and Arizona spoiled me.

I was blessed with time enough to wander,

dream and be inspired.

Inspiration came not only in packing up my

long unused watercolors and hitting the trails,

but poetry and haiku sang through my mind as I hiked.

I quickly learned to pack a journal as well as

a few apples.

Silence would surround me as a sank into

the process of using color and water.

eventually, the sound of the wind through dry leaves

began to enter.

Small animals began to come near.

I felt like I was in a Disney movie.

Enchanted.

I took the quiet home with me,

and shared it with a few precious friends.

My soulplace is so full of gratitude.

thank you

thank you

thank you.

Everything has a beginning

The beginning for the exhibit of paintings by myself and my dear friend, Jane McDowell

had a beginning almost a year ago, on my birthday!

Jane and I were having lunch in

Old St. Charles.

A birthday lunch!

After indulging in a wonderful dessert, I told her

I had a surprise for her.

so I led her off to Framations Gallery,

right there on Main Street.

Jane is an amazing artist. It's in her soul!

Years ago we had met.

She showed me some of her work:

Piggies for a children's book,

drawn beautifully,

but so lightly. No darks to balance.

but the drawing was amazing.

I knew I was looking at an artist.

Jane and I also share the same church,

the same beliefs in the power of God to guide us.

While looking at her drawings,

I literally heard a voice saying

"She needs you. You can help her"

So I did.

And had the great honor of watching

an artist unfurl her rainbow wings.

An amazing blessing for both of us to experience.

Sharing became a Duet of creating

painting after painting.

Together.

So our exhibit is titled:

Duets, Harmony in Color.

Jane it is a great honor to remind you of your wings

and an even greater one

to watch you fly.

It has been pretty darn busy in the Creve Coeur studio!

My dear friend, Jane McDowell and I will be opening an

exciting exhibit at Framations Gallery

in Old St. Charles

We are very excited.

Both of us have been painting madly,

framing madly,

and just plain living madly.

I have to admit it is wonderful to see my work properly framed,

ready to find their forever homes.

So even though the laundry piles up a bit,

and the floors are pretty dusty,

I am filled with happiness!

It's like sending your children off to school for the very first time,

You hope they will get along,

be accepted,

go forth and become what they are meant to become:

Sources of beauty and peace.

I hope you can join us on June 13 from 6-8

for a fun reception.

You are all invited!

Five Studio tips for painters



Sweet surprise
11 X 14 oil
Purchase here

I have been totally overwhelmed with

the lovliest case of Spring Fever.

It caused me to reinvent my studio,

invest in some books on running an art business

and try to get serious about my time and how I spent it.

In contemplating the where and when of nesting as it

relates to being a creative person,

I focused on what I really need as an environment,

an incubater....

a sanctuary.

Artist and teacher Nancy Medina

suggests that artists

"Create a reality you can live in

without any fear"

I took that to heart as I listed the five things I require

for my studio space.

1. Space: that would be space in your house, in your day, in your head and your heart. Robert Genn said that art is the meeting of the heart and mind with certain technical skills. Technical skills can be learned, but there must be a spacious heart connected to the process. Creating art calls for a sense of generosity that can be recognized in both paint and quality.
2. Fresh air !!!! Breathe !!!! Open windows, fans, good ventilation is important no matter what your medium. Oxygen feeds the brain. the brain controls the body and we use our bodies to create art. A few yoga lessons are not a bad idea. I've been doing yoga for over 25 years. Deep, controlled breathing can lead to new perspectives and ideas. There is a yoga mat in my studio.
3. Life begets life.......Plants are a great addition to studio space. Growing things inspires growth. Tending plants can be a centering meditation at the beginning of each painting session. this can create space in your mind (see tip #1).They also make great models. On top of all that, plants absorb toxic fumes and clean the air (see tip #2). I have a few flowering plants that have reminded me time and again of the wonder and inspiration nature provides us.
4. Just say NO! Close the door. I have a cute little sign that can be hung on the door knob that says "Go Away! Leave Me Alone! P.S. I love you." It works. Closing the door is just the beginning. turn off the cell phone and the laptop. Let friends know you are not available. Gift yourself with the power of no and use it often. I had to practice in a mirror. Focus in painting is so important. Say no in your mind to the laundry and the dirty dishes and all the mundane tasks until you have finished your session
5. Use a planner. you can't get where you are going if you don't have a map. Use an app like Asana or Evernote to create the space in time that you need to create. Write down how you spend an average day then search out those precious extra hours. Count in time to read art books, blogs and magazines. Plan time to plan....a great time to do this is at the end of the day so you know what to do when you get up in the morning. Plan your success..whatever that is. Plan your creative time. Write it down. then when someone suggests a lunch date or a coffee meet up you can look at your calendar and say "No! I have plans! ( see tip #4).

Why Flowers????????

If you had told me

that I would be a flower painter,

in oils, no less

while I was in college I would have laughed at you.

Of course, I loved flowers,

but I was living life in the fast lane:

classes, work, a son to raise.

No time to smell the flowers,

let alone paint them.

But I was once rescued from a fall from a window

by a lilac bush

and I have owed something

to flowers ever since.

I lived in the Southwest for many years.

Water and flowers are a precious commodity out there.

I began to yearn for a garden,

and the smell of lilacs.

I built a fine garden on my patio

full of scented jasmine,

rosemary,

a few snapdragons.

Then I moved to the Midwest.

More rain,

more flowers.

An amazing amount flowers!

Even the trees had flowers.

They beckoned and begged.

I planted roses and poppies,

I planned for hydrangea and lilacs.

And then for  some sad reason,

I could no longer have a garden. 

Something else was planned for my space

and my heart broke.

In the mean time, I re-discovered the light and color of oil painting.

A bit more gutsy than watercolor,

more luminescent than acrylics.

I was in love.

I began to paint flowers.

The flowers I could not have.

I am painting my garden,

stealth gardening on a windowsill.

Joyfully planting all those wonderful colors and shapes

borrowed from the gardens of friends.

Discovering new to me blossoms

in garden shops and florists.

I have an entire library on gardens.

My life dream is to visit the ultimate artist's garden,

Giverny in France.

A dream I am pressing very hard to come true.

to stand in the space of another artist

who was in love with

paint and flowers,

to reach through time and say hello,

I love you.

JOY.

Visit my garden here.