did you say spring is coming??

 

here's a little peek at what i'm cookin' up in the studio

sketchsketchsketch for my next painting

 which color combo to choose????

red and pink

 

valentine's day is almost here :) can't wait, can't wait, can't wait

Hello Kitchen

 Hello green kitchen with yellow chair!

 Is every utensil in your kitchen yellow? Uh, yep!

Have a seat in my yellow chair.

Using water freely

I am loving using lots of water like in the above watercolor sketch. I plan on continuing to explore this with watercolors in my sketchbook and soon move to the 30 x 30 in blank canvas I have on my easel. Oh the excitement!

Above are a few sketches I created while on the phone with my mom. Happy Birthday Mom!!!

Watercolor sketches

 As I begin to think about my next painting on canvas, I am continuing to do 11 x 17 inch watercolor sketches. I am playing around with using more water, and I'm trying to sketch less before I begin painting. You can see the results in the above painting. I'm loving this direction. I want to do a few more sketches before attempting this on a larger scale.

detail of couch in above watercolor

 I am also playing around with a pale palette.

detail

Tennessee

I am really enjoying spending time at my parent's home in TN (above are a few views of their land). Sadie, Eli and I arrived last week to a relaxing and creative environment. This is where I grew up, and I always feel centered when I am here.  Best of all, my parents are letting me play in their pottery studio and woodworking shop. So far, I have thrown pots with my mom's assistance, and I have been brainstorming furniture ideas with my dad. It's so fun to try another media and work in 3-d.

pottery studio/woodworking shop

 inside pottery studio

 hard at work on my 2nd attempt

such a great place for the kids to play

Temporary Studio (a.k.a. dining room table)

 Work is being done in my studio (the top floor of our house). At first, I thought it would only be a few weeks. Well, a few weeks have turned into a few months. To keep from going insane with no place to work, I have taken over our dining room table. With a small space, my work has gotten smaller. I have been doing a series of seemingly unrelated watercolors. It has been fun to play for a while. Here are some images of what I have created.

last but not least is my new favorite shoe from the j.crew spring collection

How many paintings are underneath one painting?

It's finished, right? This one was titled Dreaming of You- that was in April (see last pic below). 

Now, I'm thinking of calling this Bedroom.

I have been working on this canvas for about 7 months now. There are many, many layers of paint on this one! I was frustrated at times- especially during the shoe rack phase, but it was fun to document. It was freeing to allow myself to transform this canvas over time. To keep me from feeling a little insane or just plain indecisive, I had to keep reminding myself that Matisse did this with many of his canvases. The images below capture the painting over the last several months.

 early nov.

 oct.

sept.

aug.

 april

I was happy with this painting at the time. It hung in my bedroom all summer and just didn't feel right. So, in August I put it back on my easel...

Living

 I just finished my largest painting to date- it's 4ft x 5ft. The blank canvas has been sitting in my studio for 3 months. After a great conversation with my friend, Karen (see her blog here), I was unleashed from the fear of working on a large surface.

chandelier detail 

(i am loving chandeliers lately and i've just started creating on out of fabric)

 flower detail

books/ottoman detail

a pic of the painting in my studio- to get a sense of the scale