Ebb

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Ebb

I’ve been in a period of Ebb lately. Some might call it creative block, but I’m really not blocked. I’m keeping with my sketchbook practice, drawing from life daily and exploring other ways I want to draw. I also have several art projects I’m working on—some I keep up with like my moon paintings, some I’ve let go (for now) like my stitch book, and some I’ve added lately—but nothing worth sharing just quite yet.

That’s the beauty of keeping up with a practice of any kind. You do it anyway because that’s what you do.

I actually think the tide is about to turn—I feel it coming—but for the last few weeks

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Drawing and traveling

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Drawing and traveling

I’m doing a little traveling this week—first in northern Washington and.then on to L..A.. These sketches are of an abandoned “insane asylum” left to the elements in a small town outside of Bellingham. We visited it in the rain and I took lots of pictures—and then spent some downtime drawing from the photos. Super absorbing and fun to draw!

Bellow are a few of the photos - plus a few others from the trip so far. Enjoy!

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Follow what inspires

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Follow what inspires

I’ve heard it said that to be inspired is to be “in spirit.” That is, fully present and humming—alive. And part of why I love making art is that I try to follow that alive-ness. That is, follow what inspires me—what makes me come alive.

I keep thinking that I’ll “figure it out”, that if I think hard enough I’ll come to know what it is that lights me up and then I can just keep doing “that.” I think what I’m wrestling with is trying to find a path—a connecting throughline, I guess, from one piece to the next. Some people might call this “style”—but I think it’s more than simply style. I’m looking for what it’s ALL about.

Anyway, these are a few pieces I made in the last month or so and clearly I haven’t found any such connection yet. And yes, this can be frustrating and confusing…but then I have to remind myself that

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February Moon Paintings

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February Moon Paintings

The full Moon at the beginning of February found me feeling all the energies of all three of these symbols: the groundhog, the owl and the heron. Hibernating a bit, living beneath the surface, I still found myself also peering above the rim of daily life seeking balance and stability—and seeking wisdom. By new moon, I find myself stepping off the edge, I guess! Into the unknown I go!

I’m enjoying learning about the Moon and it’s cycles in the yearlong Moonshine class I’m taking with Effy Wild, creating Moon paintings each month (goauche on watercolor paper) for the new and full moons.

I have a lot to learn still about the Moon, and one good source I recommend is Moonology by Yasmin Boland. You might want to check it out. I appreciate how Boland explains that physically, the moon travels around the earth, the earth travels around the sun and it’s consistent change in shape from a sliver in the sky to a full circle to a sliver again is caused by the changing angles between the three—which I think we all understand.

What I find interesting is that

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