New Finished Work

This is "Moon Walk" my latest work created this month. This work was one, that left me physically and emotionally exhausted. This one took me almost a month to complete.

I will be having prints made of this one along with several others.

Instead of diving into another work I decided to take a break. I am working in the journal that I made and bound. I am doing a study of my colors, exploring color mixtures and their properties. I don't have a picture of it yet, since

I left my camera in Pauls Valley. Okla. at a family gathering.

When I finish a rather complicated piece I tend to delve back into study instead of starting another painting. I have several studies that are ongoing at the moment. I am learning the software programs Access, Powerpoint, and my new Photoshop Elements 4.0. I am also constantly learning new marketing and business management skills.

I will study a little longer then get a good nights sleep and start again.

Last 3 Journal Pages

This page depicts my dream garden. I have used it to help me plan my garden which will be accomplished in baby steps. Visualizing motivates me to carry on with my plan.

This is just one of the ways I decorate my pages to add interest to a lot of writing and encourages me to write more. Sometimes I paint the pages after I have written. The words seem to influence what I paint.


















Here is my journal in its entireity. I hope I have encouraged someone else to start their own decorated journal.

NWO Entries

These are the three works that I submitted to the

32nd National Watercolor Oklahoma Juried Art

Exhibition that will be held on October 31, 2006.

The opening reception will be at the Edmond Historical Society on November 2, 2006.

I am really getting nervous, because the notifications of acceptance will start this Wednesday, September 20th. Getting accepted into this show is a Big Deal. It will be quite an honor if one of my works is accepted.

My next post will contain a picture of my lastest work.

More Journal Pages

Sitting on my Mother and Father in-laws patio I spotted a Mourning Dove and several bright orange butterflies. In their front yard they have a beautiful Bougainvilla bush in full bloom. It was a magical morning to record.

I had a horrible headache this day and chose to record it in color.
You see, anything can be depicted in a journal.

Oh, what a beautiful morning.This is what I saw from my studio desk looking out into the back yard.

In a few days I will add the last three pages I chose to share with the world.

Pages From My Sketch Journal

I thought I would share some pages of my sketch journal and some other explorations.I do hope I inspire someone to try a sketch journal. I decorated my journal pages with pen and ink sketches and watercolor washes, gluing petals and leaves of plants and bark of trees. I often found that just writing in a journal became boring and I would eventually stop writing altogether. Being a visual artist I need more stimuli to keep me interested in journaling.When a friend showed me a book on decorated journals and papers I was hooked. I combined the decorating and sketching with my journal writing.Most of the following pages are from my vacation to Arizona. Other pages were ideas I wished to
develope or events in my life.
I hope you enjoy the pages.

This was the first day of our vacation and I got the date wrong. Story of my life.











This page is of the Nativo Hotel where we stayed in Albuquerque, New Mexico.




These two pages are my way of recording the night my Mother in-law, my son, and I played the computer games Zuma and Bejeweled. It's your fault Mom. I'm hooked now.
I will share three more pages in my next post.
I also learned how to make a book, so now I can make my own journals. I will have a picture of it in my next post as well.
My artist salon will be starting next month with five artists. We hope to learn how better to promote ourselves as artists. Alyson Stanfield provides all of the tools for the salon free of charge. Check out her website http://www.artbizcoach.com . I will record some of the things I learn, through this process, here in my blog.

Good night cyber space.

It's My Birthday!

Today is my Birthday and I am celebrating it in Peoria, Arizona with my wonderful in-laws. We decided to drive this year. I am glad we did, even though it means we have to cut short our visit to allow for travel.
I packed my studio into a bag so I could keep up with my work. I do this for a few hours after everyone has gone to bed. I might as well put my insomnia to good use instead of fretting about it. I bought a small journal with handmade paper to record daily sights, thoughts, and the usual trip logs. This is my first journal and since my husband prefers to do all of the driving, I am free to paint all day.
I believe I am hooked on journaling now for the rest of my life. A couple of years ago my dear husband bought me a beautiful leather bound watercolor journal, but I have been afraid to paint in it. I just knew that I would really mess it up. Now, I know that I should and will use it. It will be my most treasured posession and constant companion.
I have been calling it a journal, but I suppose it is more like a sketch diary. My paintings are really rough and sometimes whimsical. I use pen with watercolor washes across two pages for each day.
I would like to encourage anyone reading this to try a sketch diary. You can use colored markers or colored pencils if watercolor is not your forte. You won't realize the benefits until you experience it. I can't even put into words what it has done for me.
Well, I am going to get back to my wonderful family. We will return home on Friday, June 1st.

First Plein Aire Painting Completed in Studio

I finally finished it. I cropped my reference photo to compose my painting and took artistic license as you will probably notice. I did this to try to convey a romanticism of this particular place. The little boy was actually there and fishing off of the spillway. He inspired me to paint this scene. I didn't want the boy to be the main focus, but an arrow to lead the viewer to my point of interest which is the spill way. I hope that I have acheived this.