“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson Want to learn more about my 365 day project?  Click here for more information ....
Just the neighborhood llama. Quick one minute sketch. What do you call a very fast llama?... a Llamagini...
Imperial Camera in Mint for my upcoming show at Powells. Want to learn more about my 365 day project?  Click here for more information ....
Don't go chasing waterfalls. Want to learn more about my 365 day project?  Click here for more information ....
Quick floral study. Want to learn more about my 365 day project?  Click here for more information ....
Fan-tastic. Want to learn more about my 365 day project?  Click here for more information ....
1 minute sketch in my car. When you don't have time, you make time .. Want to learn more about my 365 day project?  Click here for more information . ...
yellow yellow yellow. painting for my upcoming show at Powells. Want to learn more about my 365 day project?  Click here for more information ....
country road that goes on forever and ever. Want to learn more about my 365 day project?  Click here for more information ....
His and hers coffee Want to learn more about my 365 day project?  Click here for more information . ...
quick sketch. trying to take small breaks from painting on panels since I have so much work to do for my upcoming show at Powells. Want to learn more about my 365 day project?  Click here for more information....
More oranges... to go along with a painting from the other day. Want to learn more about my 365 day project?  Click here for more information....
Quick sketch and Happy Friday! Want to learn more about my 365 day project?  Click here for more information....
“It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.”  ―  Paulo Coelho ,  The Alchemist   Late night reading with my sick kids. I always try reading one of my books and a book with out pictures. I try to get them to close their eyes and see the story.. and hopefully fall asleep. Want to learn more about my 365 day project?  Click here for more information....
Want to learn more about my 365 day project?  Click here for more information....
Quick sketch. About all I had time for, since Nora has a case of strep throat. Maybe Ill get a few moments tomorrow to get into my studio. Want to learn more about my 365 day project?  Click here for more information. ...
Dealing with Nora being sick and just laying on the couch all day. It's one of the few moments she isn't going at full blast and isn't invincible for a moment. She is light as a feather. Headed to the pediatrician tomorrow morning. 1 minute sketch. Want to learn more about my 365 day project?  Click here for more information....
Always had me at Rollei... the best dual lens camera around. Want to learn more about my 365 day project?  Click here for more information....
“I have dreamt in my life, dreams that have stayed with me ever after, and changed my ideas; they have gone through and through me, like wine through water, and altered the color of my mind. And this is one: I'm going to tell it - but take care not to smile at any part of it.”  ―  Emily Brontë ,  Wuthering Heights Before having my first baby, the one piece of advice that was always given to me was that I better get some sleep because once the baby arrives I wouldn't be getting any sleep at all! I didn't anticipate how challenging a newborn baby's sleep really was and how little rest that I actually got. Nora was up every 2 to 3 hours to eat and I don't even think I got 5 hours of sleep in a row until maybe she was around 3 months old. Having little sleep, I realized I was able to catch my dreams easier or at least I was able to remember my dreams.  This is when I started keeping a dream journal because I was having some really odd dreams like dreams when Nora...
Friendship giggles are the best especially when you can't hold it in any longer and have to let it out. thinking about being loser with the flow of paint through my brush to the paper. portraits really make me let it all go. Want to learn more about my 365 day project? Click here for more information. ...
Painting for my upcoming show at Powells. This Portland weather has been so gray and its been that true Portland gray. A deep gray that covers the city with no peak of sunshine. Experiments in color. Want to learn more about my 365 day project? Click here for more information....
First floral practice of the year! I feel like a lot of my sketchbook lately has been filled with a lot more practice then exploring which is something I need to think about. Floral sketch if mainly washes. A wash is when you thin out the oil paint. It's an easy to paint with oil quickly especially on paper because the paper soaks up the paint. The great thing about washes is that you can paint a lot thicker over the top to develop layers. Feeling rusty with my sketchbook. Want to learn more about my 365 day project? Click here for more information. ...
Everything is everything. Working on several painting up for an upcoming show at Powells Books.  IF you have ever been to Portland, its one of the oldest places around. Totally exciting about this one.! Want to learn more about my 365 day project? Click here for more information....
Mondays? Do you have a case of the Mondays? I love the routine that Mondays bring, everyone is back on their schedules. So I am able to retreat into my studio and clear my head as to what the week is to bring. Life hasn't slowed down since I have started this making art every day project but has only gotten busier. As you get older, that seems like that what happens, life just gets busier. Somehow Monday is tiny reset and I can clear my head and think about whats to come. How's your Monday going? Want to learn more about my 365 day project?  Click here for more information....
Making art everyday gives you the luxury of picking something new every single day. yay! So one of the subjects have been practicing for a long time is portraits. People are one of the  most complicated things to draw or paint because the amount of detail and structure and softness. So with your year long challenge, make things that you are terrible at and that you want to be better at. Isn't that the whole point? Feeling out of practice with portraits because I have so many looming projects. Quick sketch one of the teenagers in the neighborhood that flashed me a peace sign. A quick sketch of a bird because I saw some of my lady birds today....
Ok friends, time to get over my stage fright. I have had a long battle with painting in front of people, sharing photos of myself, and just showing my face. Not sure what it is, if it's my own insecurities or just plain afraid of getting out there. A quick sketch of a bird because I saw some of my lady birds today....
Its really the little things. Once a week, I pile all the plants in the tub and give them a good spray and the love it. It's these little moments that I can capture in my daily art, that I don't think I could capture anywhere else. Want to learn more about my 365 day project?  Click here for more information. ...
Where do you make your art? In a special place or perhaps a desk or even on your kitchen table? In starting a year long project, you especially deserve your own creative space.  A place you can scribble, think, browse Facebook (totally serious) and just be in your own world. A place you can make everything you imagine real. I remember when I first moved in with my boyfriend now husband and I didn't have a dedicated art space or even think about needing one. I had a bin filled with art supplies, that I wanted to use but just didn't want to go through the hassle of dragging out my supplies and then putting them away. Sounds silly but the thought of just taking it out and picking it up, made me not want to make anything at all.   I started painting out on my kitchen table and totally wrecked it and drove Tim crazy with the amount of mess, and then one day I got my own whole desk. (and I still have it) Having that little bit of space was just what I needed and didn't realiz...
I wanted to share with you on days that I don't want to make anything at all! Today is that day. This has been my first day in a while that has been a real struggle for me showing up into the studio I blame it on watching the new season of Black Mirror. Have you seen it yet? So GOOD! Watching Black Mirror makes me not want to sleep, then I start waking up in the night! So even though today was a day that I was sluggish and the furthest thing from my mind was to be present in my studio. I thought I would rather be honest in my own work, and do a quick sketch of a balloon car crash. I rebounded later in the afternoon, when I rewarded myself with a nap and now all is right in the world. Want to learn more about my 365 day project?  Click here for more information....
Coming up with a new idea or a new twist on an idea every single day can be quite challenging at times because eventually in the year you will run into some sort of creative block or simply run out of ideas. It has happened to us all, because creativity runs in waves with lots of peaks and valleys. I have learned how to navigate my creative flow over the years with a few tricks and tips. In the coming weeks, I hope to share more of how I unblock myself.  But, today I want to share how to really hold on to those ideas and save those ideas for a rainy day, especially when you need one. Find a place to keep your ideas, even the silly, crazy and stupid ones. Even the wildest or most boring ideas can turn into something out of this world. The best feeling is when I have an idea that won't go away or it just needs to live. I have heard this advice time and time again, to keep a notebook on you or in your purse and when an idea hits then just write it down. Sounds so simple right? T...
Happy New Year! I am a night owl. At least I am a reformed night owl. I love staying up late and I especially love being creative at 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning, or at least that's what I thought. I used to put my kids to bed around 7 pm and then hang out with my husband, then get to work in my studio. Having this routine, was hard because it was difficult for me to switch gears from being a mom, then a wife and then an artist. A tough day would just hang over my head and would be the hardest to shake, especially when I needed to be intense in the studio. By the time I was able to get rid of the feelings of my day, it would be already late. I would end up working away until like 3 or 4 in the morning and trying to get it done. Then, the kids would be up at around 7 and I would sleep during their nap. I was so tired and in such a brain fog most of the day. I also felt like I was being a lousy mom because all I could think about was getting sleep and wasn't able to ...