Lazy Days of August

It’s hard to believe Labor Day is around the corner, and my outdoor festival exhibitions are over for the season. I have limited the number of festivals I participate in to four because it’s so much work. New shows this year were in Madison and Sturgeon Bay. Most of my paintings have been elevated and…

Read More

Festival Season is Here!

Art Festivals and 1 day painting workshops will be keeping me busy this summer. This weekend I’ll be trying to stay warm when I exhibit at the Sturgeon Bay Fine Art Fair, looks like we will be lucky if temps warm up to 60 degrees! I’ll be featuring new encaustic paintings ranging from landscapes to…

Read More

Lunar Eclipse Re-visited

A painting of the moon in the sky.

This week was the return of the Blood Moon, a lunar eclipse event that was visible in every U.S. state. Seeing the full moon brought me back to the first time I viewed and painted lunar events. For this version, I decided to use soft pastels combined with micaceous iron oxide to give the underpainting…

Read More

Winter in Green Bay

Framed landscape paintings arranged in a grid.

I moved here 1 year ago this month, and so much has changed since acclimating from busy city life in Chicago to the relatively quiet, small town of Green Bay. How to survive the cold dark days of winter here… paint, paint, more paint, and teach! I started teaching TryIt workshops in Door County at…

Read More

Heading into Autumn

Colorful abstract painting of plants and sky.

My favorite time of year is here, my favorite colors are everywhere! It becomes a personal mission when I see an array of colors, capturing the leaves right before they fall, and to photograph the palette of Autumn. I love the tactile qualities achieved when painting with wax, and many of these new paintings use encaustic…

Read More

End of Summer

Sunset over canyon with colorful sky.

Where did the time go? I spent Labor Day finishing a painting that I’d been thinking about since returning from Arizona last week. This summer I was able to travel and see amazing National Parks; experiencing these natural wonders has impacted my creativity. First were visits to Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone. The Teton…

Read More

Wyoming

Mountain landscape painting with blue sky.

I visited Jackson Hole, Yellowstone, and the Grand Teton National Park last week and I had never been to Wyoming before. I was overwhelmed by the natural beauty everywhere, I am so inspired to paint! Landing at the Jackson Hole airport, the Tetons are right there. These mountains are dramatic like no other mountains I…

Read More

New Routines

Abstract watercolor landscape with trees and sky.

I’ve been acclimating to life in Green Bay, Wisconsin. It’s a huge change from my urban dwelling and lifestyle in Chicago (and before that Boston). Landscape inspiration is steps away from where I live now. I am still reviewing photos I took last spring, summer, fall and winter. Finally I have time to explore and…

Read More

A Plein-air Year

Watercolor mountain landscape in sketchbook on table.

Personal goals are important to me and early in 2023 I had a big one… I have always been intimidated by the idea of painting on location, En plein air, also known as plein-air painting. It is the simple act of painting outdoors. I was afraid my paintings wouldn’t be “good enough”, and that I…

Read More

Change

Canyon landscape with blue sky and rocks.

So much has changed since my last blog post…. I vacationed in Israel this past July and now there is a war that has shattered some of the communities we visited. I traveled with my best friend who is now my husband (and an Israeli citizen) and we have been glued to the news. My…

Read More