love you more

love 'ya, mean it!!

happy valentine's day, sweet bloggy friend!

xox

{supplies:  strathmore 400 series 140 lb. CP w/c paper,

daniel smith watercolor, .3 graphite pencil}

an artsy 2018 to you!

happy 2018!  

i've been thinking about some of the fun things that 

i'd like to accomplish this year.....

some of those things are related to art,

and some....well, not so much.

(but spoiling my sweet grandson sounds like so much fun,

even if it's not art related!  :))

but whatever i end up doing,

i'll always try to follow my heart.....

because when i follow my heart,

i always end up in the most wonderfully unexpected places!

❤️

i hope your artsy heart leads you 

to all kinds of fabulous, creative stuff

this beautiful new year!!

xox

{supplies:  canson moulin du roy w/c paper, 

daniel smith watercolors, .3 and .5 mechanical pencils}

elliot lee

about two weeks ago, 

something happened to me 

that's never happened before.....

a sweet little blessing that weighs almost 9 pounds....

came into my life and has completely stolen my heart!

(and i'll let him keep it forever!)

meet Elliot Lee, my very first grandchild!!

(oh my gosh, he is SO precious!!)

xox

{supplies for announcement:  strathmore 500 series 140 lb. CP paper,

sennelier watercolor,  .3 mechanical pencil, embroidery floss, needle}

love lives here

in my search to add a new twist to my artwork,
i decided to begin a new series that includes only the things i love to do.
i definitely love to draw, so i did lots of drawing....

and i love to paint, so i added some happy painting.

and i love to stitch, too, so why not add some stitching....on paper!
(it's not just for fabric anymore.... :))

and the result is a fun piece of artwork that includes all the
things that are near and dear to my heart!


here are some other pieces in this new series....

if you're looking for a way to add some creative zing to
your journal pages or art canvas,
think about the things you really love to do, and then add it to
your artwork.  you never know what you might discover!

xox


you can also see other artwork on instagram and FB!

{supplies:  strathmore 500 series 140 lb. CP paper,mechanical pencil,
daniel smith watercolors, DMC embroidery floss, needle}

flowers and a smile

here's to the days of giving our mom a big smile

and a handful of picked wildflowers as a kid....

and getting a big smile and a big mom-hug in return!

wishing you a very happy mother's day, sweet bloggy friends!

{p.s.  i love you, mom!  xoxox}

[supplies:  strathmore 500 series 140 lb CP paper, 

daniel smith watercolor, .3 mechanical pencil]

four days of art bliss

last week i drove to donna downey studios in charlotte, north carolina

for a very long-awaited four day workshop.

i joined a room full of very sweet, talented and eager artists,

and our instructor was creativeGIRL danielle donaldson!

i will tell you right up front.....

it was four days of pure art bliss, danielle-style!

we started the weekend by drawing some fun art supplies....

and after danielle showed us how she paints her fabulous multi-color flowers

and her sweet little illustrations, it was our turn to dip our brush

in the watercolors and give it a try.

then danielle gave us a wonderfully detailed lesson in 

drawing one-point and two-point perspective objects.

this instruction was probably the most important (and the most difficult!)

of the entire weekend, as it's the foundation for all good drawing.

to be honest, drawing ellipses, determining vanishing points, 

and figuring out two-point-perspective boxes

 started to play with my head by the end of the day,

but i was so thankful to danielle for her willingness to dive in

and give us this essential instruction.  she taught it beautifully!

then danielle set up a still life that was as long as our work table....

it was fantastic, and i wish i could have spent another week there 

trying to capture it in my journal!

but for now i'm very happy to have these little objects 

as a reminder of a wonderfully creative workshop with one of my 

all-time favorite instructors!

many big hugs and heartfelt thanks to danielle for traveling

across the country to share her beautiful creativeGIRL-self with us.

i learned SO much,  i drew art that i didn't think i could draw,

and discovered new reasons why watercolor is so stinkin' cool.

(and i will forever smile when i think of her "grandpa story"!)

and thanks so much to donna and the group of talented art gals who were

also in the the classroom.....getting to know you and laughing with you

for four days did my creative spirit more good than i could ever say!

hope to see you again soon!

xox

{supplies:  newsprint, .3 mechanical pencil, 

strathmore 400 series CP paper, daniel smith watercolor}

happy 2017!

wishing you an artful, chocolate-covered,

laughter-filled new year!

happy 2017 to you, 

my sweet bloggy friends!!

xoxox

{supplies:  canson moulin du roy w/c paper, micron pens,

watercolor, 5B graphite pencil, .3 mechanical pencil}

oh night divine

thank you SO much for all your heartfelt comments and holiday wishes!

i hope your Christmas is filled with love and sweet blessing,

and your 2017 overflows with creativity and inspiration.

big love,

xoxox

{supplies:  canson moulin du roy w/c paper, 

daniel smith watercolor, .3 and .5 mechanical pencils}

hear/how the bells

the vienna boys choir has been singing this in my head 

for the past week.  and then as i was writing this post,

i happen to see the lyrics and 

realized i've been singing it completely wrong my entire life!

(and now have the artwork to prove it!)

i guess the correct version is "hark how the bells...."

looks like i've been "hearing" it differently all along....hahaha!

ding-dong-ding-dong.....  :))

{supplies:  canson moulin du roy w/c paper,
daniel smith watercolor, .3 and .5 mechanical pencils}

lovely branches

pop some popcorn and pour the eggnog....

it's time to decorate the Christmas tree!  yay!

xox

hap-happy

celebrating the most wonderful time of the year

and the hap-happiest season of all!

xox

{supplies:  canson moulin du roy 140 lb. w/c paper, 

daniel smith watercolor,  .3 mechanical pencil}

color blox

several months ago i posted about my fabulous 

weekend workshop with danielle donaldson ,  

as well as inspiration taken from mimi robinson's book "Local Color".....

and as it turns out, my in-the-box-grid-girl has been

so very happy painting these colorful little squares ever since!

it's such a great way to document the loveliness of a day.....

as well as some of the not-so-lovely.

so, i decided to create a little journal for these color gems

so they could celebrate all their blocky splendor together in one place.....

and here's a peek inside!

(you can watch this video in larger format here)

these are the supplies i used to create my journal:
canson moulin du roy cold press w/c paper,
daniel smith and sennelier watercolor,
pilot .3 mechanical pencil


xox

insta-bug

my blog has been a little silent lately,

but my pencil and watercolor brush have still been busy.

and while i wasn't looking,

i was bitten by the instagram bug!

to see more of my little illustrations,

please join me over at instagram here!

p.s.  i'm over at Facebook, too! 

xoxoxox