Memories Journal #2

Living in North Carolina in 1977, we lived near the beach. I would dig my own little pool in the wet sand, but couldn't figure out why the water would disappear when I poured the seawater from my bucket. When the waves came crashing in, I screamed in terror fearing that I would be swept away. Maybe I perished in a tsunami in a former life?

Memories Journal #1

My watercolor sketchbook collection won't stop growing. I just purchased another Bee Creative watercolor book now made with 100% cotton. This is far superior (IMHO) to the 25% cotton paper. It is an 8 X 8 book with 30 sheets, and feels very high quality for the price.

This new journal will focus on haikus that describe memories I have of various places traveled or lived in. Some of these memories aren't necessarily good ones, but definitely shaped me. Most of us are trying to forget those less than perfect memories that bring back pain, but as time goes on, we realize that pain made us better, stronger, or happier. 

#1 in my book takes place in 1975ish, living in rural North Carolina in an old single wide trailer with my mom, grandma and uncle who was just 10 years my senior. Money and space were tight, but I just remember having my family.

Traveling vicariously by Art Journal #3

I have been slowly filling up the Pentalic journal with places of travel that I have visited, hope to visit, or probably will never visit but still capture my fascination. 

This first image is of the Tjornon pond in downtown Reykjavik and is sketched from a photo I took in March while in Iceland. Yes, I made it there and you can see all of the beautiful places I visited on another one of my blogs. This pond was very peaceful with so many water fowl such as ducks, geese and swans. 

I don't find Australia particularly enticing to travel to especially with all of the reptiles and spiders it boasts, but I do find the Uluru rock amazing. It would seem like being in another world to see it.

The Faroe Islands are similar to Iceland without the volcanoes and tourism. It also appears to be much more isolated, which is intriguing to me. This is one country I would like to visit to see sights such as this waterfall.

Last but one of my favorites is this caldera with an acid lake that is located in Kamchatka Russia. Yes, it is this greenish aqua color due to the sulphur in it. There are a lot of places in Russia that I would like to explore by sketch.

Memories Journal #5

In 1987, my family moved from southern Oregon up to Portland to find steady work. It was a very low point in my life, but I understood it was necessary even at age 14. While the bigger city had malls and a much better selection of things for a teenager to do, it did not have the same feel of home as southern Oregon had. The Portland Oregon area has remained home for nearly 30 years since.

Finally back to sewing

This summer is the season for projects, especially sewing. A few months ago I decided I needed an Asian inspired duvet cover for my bedroom. I have always loved jades and magentas together, so this was a project of pure indulgence. I used a bed sheet for the backside (gasp! a big quilter's no-no, but I make my own rules when it comes to sewing). When I lay in my bed with this cover, I feel like a million bucks.

Another sewing project I completed in just a few weeks is a baby quilt. This was another indulgence as I love to make small quilts. Quilts for boys are totally underrated too, they are so much fun! I chose plain fabrics for the top and a cozy flannel for the backside. The pinwheel design turned out fantastic with these colors.

Watercolor landscapes

What I appreciate about watercolor painting is you can use a heavy wet media sketchbook instead of canvas being the best option for gouache, acrylic or oil. These two were done in my Bee Creative Watercolor Journal, which I absolutely love. Paints are from M. Graham & Co., as I love the vibrancy of these paints.

Hollyhocks in England

Twilight in the Outer Banks

African Violet

My dad used to create beautiful pottery which I have two pieces that I proudly display in my home. One of those pieces is a pot for a plant that has a balanced mixture of robin's egg blue and clay. In this pot, my African Violet just thrives, although I don't know how. It seems to bloom non-stop yet I don't do much but give it water once in awhile. I love the combination of earthy colors of the pot with the cheerful pink of the flowers and thought it needed it's own painting to celebrate it. Originally I was going to submit this painting to my first public display with the city of Beaverton, but I liked how it turned out I couldn't give it up. It's now sitting in my office area at work. The background was a little plain, but I happened to have gel bead paint to give it some texture.