To know ME is to love ME. (ME as in the state of MAINE, that is!) The Schoodic Peninsula, Winterport, Maine Ah, Maine! That dreamy place where I cast aside all my cares, to-do lists, and obligations and just relax and absorb the wonder of it all. Merryspring Gardens, Camden, Maine We just returned from […]
Category: Sketchbook Journaling
Biding Their Time…
Do you remember the beautiful gardens I had at Summerhill? I do. I’m reminded of them every day when I look out the windows of our new house and see nothing but a sea of mud in every direction. The contrast to the views I had last spring is hard to ignore. I remember the […]
Daffodil Days
After a long winter that seemed like it would never end, I had a chance to welcome spring this week at Joe Hamm’s Daffodil Hortus, a daffodil farm set amidst the rolling hills of Washington County, PA. I met up with some of the Summerhill Sketchers for a garden tour and painting session. (Yes, we’re […]
New Lesson! How to Make Floral Monograms & Cards
I’m excited to announce that my new lesson on making floral monograms is finally READY! It’s taken me weeks to put this together for you. What started as a brief tutorial turned into a 41-page package filled with step-by-step instruction, actionable information, and creative inspiration. It’s a one-of-a-kind resource you won’t find anywhere else. This […]
Floral Watercolor Monograms – Part 2
In my last post, I showed you the floral monograms and cards I made for my sister and mother for Christmas. For the past several days, I’ve been putting together a tutorial for you about the process I used to create the monograms and print the cards at home. I’ve taken pictures, scanned images, edited […]
Floral Watercolor Monograms – Part 1
We all know the challenge of trying to find a gift for the person who has everything. How do you find something that’s personal, useful, beautiful, and/or different from anything they already have? Well, here’s a great idea that I came up with for my mother and sister this past Christmas. This project was inspired […]
Step-by-Step Watercolor: Blackwater River Sketch
It was the final afternoon of my painting getaway at Canaan Valley and I had gone for a short hike with my friends Jane and Elaine to stretch our legs and grab one final sketch before the sun set. We found a beautiful spot beside the river, quickly set up our stools, and got out our art gear.
Girlfriend Getaway
Some of my happiest memories are of girlfriend getaways, whether it’s with the girls in my family or a group of sketching buddies. Where women gather, fun happens! It doesn’t matter where you go; it’s being together that makes it special. The pandemic halted all my scheduled art retreats a year and a half ago, […]
Fall Sketches
Autumn is a great time for sketching in western Pennsylvania. Our fall foliage rivals that of New England, and we always enjoy lots of beautiful, clear, sunny days before the dreariness of late November sets in. Would you like to see what I’ve been sketching this fall in our neck of the woods? Our driveway, […]
Sketches from Oak Island
We take a family beach vacation every year, with kids, parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents all sharing a house and spending long days together hanging out at the beach. But this year, for the first time, Fred and I had a chance to spend a second week at Oak Island, NC, later in the year, […]