A few glimpses
of where I've been working lately.

I moved out of my painting studio
several months ago,
and with all the wedding to-do's and busyness,
I never got around
to setting up a new space.

It feels so good to have a studio nook
in my home again,
& the light
is perfect.


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I came up with the idea for these hearts
when I was nearing the end of the planning
for my wedding in May.
Pacific Northwest springtime ephemerals
were my greatest decor inspiration,
and I wanted a special, personal image that reflected this theme
to adorn the hand-sewn books I had created to hold our vows.

I feverishly sketched and painted two copies of my first floral heart design,
and I know that this image on our vow-books
is something that my husband and I will always treasure.

The idea of creating custom hearts for people
that are formed of flowers
that may have equally important meaning to them
as my own original heart design held for me--
I find that endlessly inspiring.

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Order a custom heart illustration for your own wedding,
and grow it out of the flowers chosen for the bridal bouquet,
or blossoms that are special to you and your loved one.

Use the Victorian Language of Flowers
to send a message to someone dear:
gardenia for sweet love,
purple heather for protection,
ferns for sincerity.

Or simply create a lovely heart from favorite blooms,
to brighten up your walls even in the dead of winter!

----

Custom heart illustrations are $135 each,
with your choice of up to 5 types of flowers/foliage to form your wreath out of.
Each heart will be completely original and unique to you.

For more information, please visit my Etsy shop!






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While it was stressful at times,
the thing that ultimately struck me so clearly
about the months that I spent planning my wedding
was how inspired I felt!

As a cubicle dweller with a fine arts degree,
it is easy for me to forget
how vital and essential art making is
to my day-to-day well-being and happiness.
Over the years, I've found many different ways
to incorporate creativity into my life,
but often my first artistic love of drawing and painting
gets put on the shelf for a different day, another time.

But painting away
on designs for invitations, decorations, and other paper details for my wedding
reminded me how good it feels to consistently illustrate
for a project that I am passionate about.

Now that the wedding is over
(passed in a lovely, springtime dream!),
I've been brainstorming ideas for ways to foster that feeling
of inspiration that sustained me so.

Which is why I am excited
to share something soon
that will hopefully help spur me on
to do just that--
follow what I love.


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Now that our wedding is passed
I'd like to share the invitation suite I designed for it!

I had so much fun working on the whole thing,
and these pieces are very special to me.

The invitation,
RSVP card,
& thank you note
feature my original watercolor illustrations.
I ordered a custom stamp from one of my drawings
to print the wildflower seed favors.
The postage stamps were created
from a few of my favorite photographs
that were taken last Spring.




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I haven’t had enough concentrated time or focus
to work on any sustained projects in the studio lately.
But I’ve been doing
quick,
single-session
self-portraits
which always make me think
of college
(does every professor,
in every studio class
have a self-portrait assignment?).
They are such good practice, though;
that direct observation
and attempt to see past
what I “know”
about my face
can be so refreshing.

A sketch for a new painting.

A summer version of this one, I think.

I am imagining it in roses and pale blues
instead of sienna and ochre,
and I am looking forward
to getting into it.

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Steeleye Span - Saucy Sailor

Jasmine, oil on canvas, 30" x 30"


Painted with a limited palette:
ultramarine blue,
cadmium red medium,
cadmium yellow medium
(& zinc and titanium white).

It felt good to limit the options,
and in doing so,
I think it opened up some new ones.

An out-take photo
from documenting my latest attempt
at rubber stamp carving
that turned into
my #1 shot.

In the studio recently:
charcoal drawings on grey paper
(with white conté crayon added to the first one,
the rest not).

I have decided,
that when it comes to charcoal,
I greatly prefer
working on grey paper
as opposed to white.

Unlike white paper,
grey encourages
to leave untouched
the spaces between
the marks being added
and the midtones already there,
reminding me
that it is usually those spaces
that are what
really make the drawing.

A gift
for a loved one
and a reminder
for me.

Trying some things.
The beginning of a new painting:
an ink sketch,
some composition cropping (my favorite part),
a wash of burnt sienna and a bit of blocking,
reductive highlights,
& darker darks.

Now:
to wait
for this to dry
enough
to go in with color!

Bread, oil on canvas, 30" x 30"

Table II, finished.

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Kevin Cooley - Svalbard

New sketches.

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I was thinking today
about how I make choices
concerning
the materials I choose to use.
Dark ranges of trees,
a cliff side,
the river I hike along:
I reach for my camera first.
I feel almost no pull at all
to translate these scenes to paint
or to sketch them down on paper.
In fact,
painting landscapes does not interest me at all.
They are,
however,
the first thing I seek out
when I am behind the lens.
Domestic moments,
the angles and patterns around my home,
the way blocks of color arrange themselves:
these things are usually
scribbled down
and later worked in oils
(though I photograph them too).
I often make these decisions
immediately,
unconsciously,
so it is interesting
to pause and examine
what I am doing
when I begin new work.

Do you have this experience?

It's been
a long week,
with some
less than wonderful
bits of news.
Time at the studio
sometimes feels like work,
but this week,
thankfully,
it has been a point of light.

Happy Friday to you.

I've been working on a new painting
(not pictured here)
that feels really exciting,
and I am energized
by working on it.
I don't like showing in-progress shots
of my work
so I think I will wait
to photograph this current painting
until it's ready.

Making progress in the studio once more.
Finally.
After a period
of frustrating inaction,
I am struck yet again
by how much of a gift it is
to simply be able
to move forward.

Two different kinds of messes, in two different kinds of places.
Taken about a week ago, and I've barely had a chance to make messes like these since--
been busy and letting things distract me.
A promise to my self: the little stresses don't need to be so important.
November is a beautiful month--
I need to reclaim it.

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Lord Huron helps
(and we are seeing Junip tomorrow!)

A painting, just barely started.
Can you tell my inspiration?

In the studio,
making progress, playing with ideas.
Tonight: stretching new canvases!