So today is the very last day of my project Making Art Everyday in 2016. I did it! It's crazy to think that I made art and was creative every single day for a whole year and it's my second year. This year wasn't short of it's challenges, but I knew what to expect. I knew that if myself or one my kids were sick, I would still need to show up for art. I knew that on the days that I didn't want to make art, I had to. I knew that on days when I was uninspired, and would rather be sleeping, rather be doing about anything else but be in the studio, I had to show up and make something. At the start of this project two years ago, I did this project entirely for myself. I just had my son, Everett. and I was a working artist before I had my kids, but making art was turning less and less into a priority. I also want to be an awesome mom, and be hands on with their learning, laughter and life. I could feel art slipping away from me. When I had my son, I knew that I needed a...
this rose-y cheeked cockatiel. EEK one more day until my project is complete.! oil on paper The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 365.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...
my night stand. my dream journal for jotting down notes in the middle of the night. an old chewed up pencil and a crystal. oil on paper The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 364.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...
thinking about new years goals today. oil on paper The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 363.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...
The best thing about a 10 minute sketch- is not being able to make a ton choices and just having to create as quickly as possible. The rain and wind shook the whole house last night and this morning. oil on paper The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 362.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...
 10 minute sketch. one of my favorites for the year.  oil on paper The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 361.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...
oil on paper The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 360.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...
It's Christmas Eve! A mistletoe wreath. oil on paper The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 358.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...
  oil on paper The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 358.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...
acorns and pine cones. oil on paper The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 357.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...
We went to one of Portland's oldest Christmas time traditions Peacock Lane! It's a street that has old historic homes and every single house is bursting with Christmas lights. I particularly like it for my little kiddos because it's a good short street but they have carolers and a necessary hot coco stand. It was also a place that I used to visit when I was a kid and it brings me a lot of joy knowing I can share a memory with my kiddos.   The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 356.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...
baby its cold outside. oil on paper The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 355.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...
since the whole city is covered in crystals and ice. oil on paper The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 354.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...
My children have removed all of the ornaments that they can reach on the Christmas tree. The tree is half covered in ornaments.  oil on paper The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 353.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...
“Keep your face to the sun and you will never see the shadows.” ―  Helen Keller The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 352.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...
Snowed in Day 2- Christmas music on repeat in my house. The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 351.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...
day one of being snowed in. The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 350.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...
snowing today... but a lovely botanical to think of the warm summer sunshine oil on wood. The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 349.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...
I had a dream last night that I had x-ray vision. so an inside out house. oil on paper The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 348.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...
portrait practice.went thrifting over the weekend. and love looking through old photos.  oil on paper The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 347.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...
rainbow siting.  oil on paper The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 346.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...
feeling the Christmas spirit  oil on paper The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 345.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...
The ninth Annual Big 500 opens tomorrow night at the Ford Gallery. There are over 500 artists that participate and all artwork is the same size on 8 inch by 8 inch wood panels. I have fifteen pieces in the show but there are over 4000 pieces total available for sale! The show is hung saloon style and it's a cash and carry show. What that means is that you can literally take the art off the wall and buy it. Every piece of art is the same price at only $40. The one tip I have for this show is to go early! The best thing about the show is seeing all of the beautiful work hung together and seeing all the different types of art. The line is very long to get in and a mad house, but it is oh so worth it. Want to see more artwork from the previous years?  Big 500  // Big 400  //  Big 300  //  Big 200  //  Big 100 ...
oh you know just a couple of cockatoos in a christmas tree. oil on paper The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 344.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...
Neighbors christmas tree. oil on paper The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 343.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...
sunshine has been on point today. streaming through all the windows. supposed to be a big snow storm in the morning. I have thought about preparing for the snow storm but I know I can always order a pizza or order Prime Now if I am in a pinch for food to come to my door way. 10 minute sketch. oil on paper The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 341.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...
spent the whole day  adulting. but had the furnace fixed. check. took the kids to their pediatrician. check. took the kids to swim and gymnastics. check. ate two donuts. double check.  10 minute sketch. oil on paper The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 341.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...
a collection oil on paper The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 340.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...
oranges. oil on wood The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 339.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...
current mantle situation.  oil on paper The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 338.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...
portrait practice a quick one. or i should say portrait experiments. oil on paper The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 337.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...
turning sketchbook pages into a painting. “For whatever we lose (like a you or a me), It's always our self we find in the sea.”  ―  E.E. Cummings ,  100 Selected Poems oil on wood The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 336.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...
petit_papillon_art // jaquifalkenheim // lucindawei // lisaeks // rainyarmstrom // loveluckbliss // corinnehaigdesigns // experrinment // basakillustrates This is the very last month of #12months of paint and the theme for December is Winter! I really can't believe this project has been happening for this whole year and this month is the last month to participate. There has been over 12000 uses of the hashtag #12monthsofpaint. That's pretty incredible and there has been some beautiful art. Link below to learn more! Here are some of my favorites for November. My talented cohosts for this project are :  August Wren ,  Courtney Cerruti  and  Meighan O'Toole Want to read, learn and participate in #12monthsofpaint more info is  here....
cacti... a big one. oil on wood The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 335.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...
“Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.”  ―  Leonardo da Vinci oil on wood The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 334.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...
I am quickly approaching the completion of my second full year of making art every single day. I can't really believe it! This year has gone by so much faster than the first year. The one question that I get asked the most is what type of sketchbook do you use? Well, turns out I use a Bee Paper Super Deluxe. I am an oil painter through and through, but traditionally oil painters paint on wood panels or on canvas. I still paint on wood panels, but panels and canvas take up a lot of space, especially if you want to practice or just explore an idea. When I started my project, "Making Art Everyday," I needed something that wouldn't take up a ton of space and that could travel easily as well as be a place that I could paint whatever I wanted. Before I started my project, I was going through large waves of avoiding the studio, avoiding art and just being terribly uninspired. It may have had something to do with becoming a mother, the hormones involved with that whol...
tea for one. oil on wood The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 333.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...
10 minute sketch oil on paper The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 331.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...
sunrise, before the clouds rolled in. 20 minute sketch. The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 331.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...
I got totally absorbed into watching the new Gilmore Girls and only ended up having time for a 10 minute sketch. "People can live a 100 years with out really living for a minute." Logan Huntzberger.  oil on paper The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 330.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...
in exciting news I survived thanksgiving.  oil on paper The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 329.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...
my swan song... tomorrow is my very first thanksgiving at our house. I wasn't worried about it at all but everyone keeps asking me if Im ok and that I am going to do great. which makes me terrified. oil on paper The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 329.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...
took the kids to the museum, where there was a birds of prey exhibit. and there was a raven, who looked  right  at me oil on wood The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 327.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...
a early morning moment. oil on wood The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 326.  To read more about this awesome project click  here ...
10 minute sketch. it has been so stormy here. the clash of the ocean with the pour of the rain. oil on paper The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 325.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...
oh the ocean. 10 minute sketch. oil on paper The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 324.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...
sardines by the sea oil on paper The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 323.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...
tea oil on paper The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 322.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...
20 minute sketch. portrait practice.  “Only in the darkness can you see the stars.”  ―  Martin Luther King Jr. oil on paper The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 321.  To read more about this awesome project click  here ...
The very last painting for the upcoming show- the Big 500! at the Ford Gallery. It's pretty much one of my favorite holiday Portland shows. More City Lights. Want to see more artwork from the previous years?  Big 500  // Big 400  //  Big 300  //  Big 200  //  Big 100 The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 311.  To read more about this awesome project click  here The art (the best part) is part of my making art everyday project and this is day 320.  To read more about this awesome project click  here...