You know those days when it’s just too nice to stay inside? Like the middle of November and the sky is a brilliant blue, the sun is beating down, and it must be at least 50 degrees. Today was one of those days. I decided it was time to put on my work duds and […]
From the earliest, I can remember, my dad would tell tales of Australia and Papua New Guinea where he served during World War II. They were a part of the world he had come to love. So much so that he went awol in New Guinea and spent time with the natives. He did go […]
You might be wondering where I’ve been if you only check this website and blog. If, on the other hand, you follow me on Facebook or even on Instagram, you know I haven’t dropped off Mother Earth. I’ve just been a little under the radar for the last six months getting to know the newest […]
It is amazing what a deep breath will do for your body and soul. Lately I haven’t been taking the time to really breathe. Instead I have been rushing from one hot spot to another just in time to put out the fire that is starting. Or at least that is what it feels like. […]
Last year my guiding word was cultivate, and I had grand plans about how and what I wanted to learn. It made for a very busy and interesting year, running between classes and trying new techniques. As much fun as that was, by the end of the year I was feeling a bit frazzled around […]
Family members and friends waiting for their loved one in surgery at Parker Adventist Hospital will be distracted and, I hope, soothed by the art in CREATIONS. As will the cancer patients as they come from the changing rooms and head for the treatment room. In the main lobby are more pieces from the show, […]
Now that I’m six months past 55, it has started to hit me that I’m no longer in my 20s with ages and ages before me. I’m not sure how this has happened. I think someone is stealing time while I […]
A faithful companion waits at the feet of his guardian. Have the two just returned from a romp in the field? Has he finished his meal and is relaxing for the night? We sense the love and contentment between them. I completed a piece recently for a show at Adventist Hospitals (found out tonight it […]
I have a confession. Tonight I was headed to a meeting of one of the alphabet soup groups of which I am a member. It doesn’t matter which. Halfway there I made a detour to get coffee. For most of the day, I had been answering email, making calls, juggling schedules for a number of […]
Time to check in on that plan to cultivate. The third book on my reading list, The Practice and Science of Drawing, has been collecting dust. It keeps putting me to sleep. I should just skip to the next book on the list, Oil Painting Techniques and Materials, and come back to Drawing at another […]
I had the privilege to be part of a panel of jurors for a local venue. The panel of seven jurors was tasked with picking 12 artists who will show in the gallery during the next year. I have to say that my first reaction upon being asked to do this was fear. Fear […]
Do you make resolutions for the New Year? Do you choose a guiding word? Do you set goals? Or like me are you more concerned about where that bag of black-eyed peas is hiding? A typical New Year’s Day at my house is spent cooking the very important black-eyed peas and ham hocks, a tradition […]
Most of my life I have been painfully shy around people I didn’t know, and even people I did know. I was the one hiding behind my mother’s skirt at the birthday party. There was a time when walking into a room of 55 people, only four of whom I had met over dinner the […]
I like to listen to audio books while I work. The most recent books have been autobiographical about women who have hidden parts to their lives. Examples include hiding a schizophrenic mother, face blindness, and overcoming visual-spatial learning disabilities. That got me to thinking about what have I kept secret. For the longest time […]
It started with three gallons of yellow paint, rotting rafters, and a glass of lemonade. Nine years later, I sit in my studio as a full-time artist writing a blog post. I never would have guessed it would turn out this way. Knowing that we needed to paint the trim on our little 1954 brick […]
Summer of love or cashmere shawl—which comes to your mind when you hear the word paisley? Since I was only 8 years old during the summer of love and I own four shawls with paisley patterns, I tend to go back and forth on the question. A recent donation of fabric contained a treasure […]
The three “Rs” of the green movement are not new. My mother was one of the queens of recycling in her day. To set the stage for our story, it is important to remember that the Sugar Loaf area is crisscrossed with mining claims. Each claim had a shaft or tunnel. The shafts came in […]
Most of the time I’m making art for no other reason than it makes me smile. I also do commissions to make others smile. Then there are the times that a piece of artwork just sings to a total stranger, and I must send it off on a new adventure. It’s like sending off a […]
The sun greets me as a giant red ball hanging in the east. We have had such a bad fire season this summer I am afraid there is yet another fire somewhere along the Front Range whose smoke is causing this change in sunrise color. The day slowly fills with Peter rabbit joining me for […]
A scene from National Geographic unfolds in front of my breakfast table this morning. Two coyotes come from the area of the DeLonde homestead heading along the road. Both watch me warily before moving to what I have come to think of as the moose willows. There is some very intent listening and then a […]
Sitting bolt upright, I almost bang my head on the upper bunk. The door and windows are making an unbelievable noise. My first startled thought is that a bear is trying to get into the cabin and the bear spray is over by the door. I try to calm my racing heart enough to listen […]
