I tried a new medium. I have always loved the idea of embroidery just never knew how to get started. I hoped to buy some Christmas decorations for my dinning room and decided I would make them instead. I surprised myself with how much I enjoyed working on these pieces staying up far past my bed time.
The Last of Summer in South Texas
I miss cool Fall evenings, but I will take a walk on the beach with sun anytime of the year.
Grand Haven Lighthouse
The Grand Haven Lighthouse in Grand Haven, Michigan. 8x10 watercolor
8x10 watercolor
Good friends
10x8 watercolor
Mother's Day
I have two of the best mothers in my life. My mom and mother-in-law are both strong and hard working women. They are caring and loving and just such great role models for anyone around them.
I have been a little obsessed with the fact that I can successfully grow strawberries this year so when I saw it was Mother’s day this weekend I want to share that with them. Hopefully the cards make it there on time…I am not always the best with procrastinating. I love them dearly and these are hopefully a nice reminder that I do.
When your niece turns one and you are thousands of miles away you send her baby-aviators also known as babiators and a card. I hope to paint her one every year.
I love black and white, throw in plants and these are my favorite little paintings that I got to work on for a project. The fun part is arranging them to see which work well together. Then picking pieces that will print for cards.
220 cards folded :)
6x8” Watercolor
Decorating a Baby Nursery
I love painting for babies rooms. I just have this idea that as they grow and develop my pieces are apart of their future creative sides as they learn about their worlds.
11x14 watercolor
11x14 watercolor
Painting parties can be a fun way to spend time with friends and be creative. This painting set up was for a beer festival in town where the artists would be competing to paint a piece beer related in a couple hours. I decided to have a quick go at it too.
Painting My House
When your parents come to town and your dad is the kind of guy that gets up early and sees projects and gets going on them, you get up and help out, for sure when it is painting your house and replacing old light fixtures. Our house was a kind of fading peach color that I dreaded looking at. Dads are great, they always seem to know how to find a tool box and teach you a few things about taking care of your home. Next I will be cleaning cement and those stones.
It must be a girl!
Pink everything for this special baby shower! It was fun creating a piece for the invitation and thank you notes along with a few added touches at the shower. Truly had fun working on this project.
No more Gold
When we moved into this house I thought it was going to be a temporary time, which of course turned into a much longer stay. So when I heard we would be living here for three more years I decided to finally change the paint color in the guest bedroom which was this awful gold. I never liked spending time in this room and I think a lot of that had to do with the color of the walls and how it made me feel. I have always said if you want to make a new house really feel like home the quickest way to clean it up is paint. Also, if you want to keep someone like me (a painter) occupied and happy buy me a gallon or two of paint and I will have the walls and ceiling done in a day.
Art in Norway
I never thought I would see the painting The Scream by Edvard Munch because it is located in Norway where this Norwegian Expressionist artist is from, but I was lucky to spend a couple weeks in Norway this month. I rushed to this museum before it closed during my one day in Oslo. The National Gallery has many other brilliant pieces and if you are in the area I would encourage you to go visit!
Pigs and Tea
A pink pig themed tea party. I had a little fun throwing this tea party at my house with some friends. I did a lot research on scones, sandwiches, and sweets to create this special tea party.
Julie B's Classroom
My sister is a English teacher and I received the honor of painting a little in her new room before the year started. It was actually a whole family project as we had a lot of cleaning and painting all the walls. I just got to do a little detail work. So proud of her and her new job at our families high school alma mater. All of our aunts and uncles went to this school along with our mother teaching in the district for 38 years. So we could not be more excited for her.
This Walt Whitman quote just seemed appropriate for students to reflect as they enter this wonderful room and remember as they leave and return to the world.
The tree brunch made us think of East of Eden by John Steinbeck…and we just like trees.
Julie’s favorite book of course has to be represented…Moby Dick by Herman Melville.
Summer in Michigan...and maybe my niece
I know what is important to me and it is to be wherever my family is and spend sometime with them…which this year that means a summer in Michigan.
Bouquets
The first day of summer, the longest day of the year, I had to finish these flowers!
Same flowers but two different paintings.
Every painting has a story...
They say every picture has a story. These two photos of my roommate's grandmother and great aunt, capture two women with an amazing story. I will most likely never meet them, but just from painting from these black and white photos I feel like I know a little bit of their personalities.
