When I was a kid, I loved rocks. There were big shiny mica filled  boulders on the beach, fossil filled shales in the mountains where we vacationed. Best of all, my Grandmother lived "out west" and knew of my pebble passion and brought me back chunks of rose quartz and petrified wood. Yes, I was an unusual little girl compared to my Barbie loving pals.

At the same time as I was playing rock hound, drawing or painting was an equal passion and a little more acceptable for a young lady at that time. What the loving adults in my world couldn't see was that it was all about color, all about the way light moved and bounced around. It was all about being connected to something bigger than myself, which at the time was most of the world, but that something was Nature.

So when I discovered Daniel Smith had developed a line of watercolor paint made from rocks, minerals and gemstones, I had to check them out. I had actually been one of the test artists for Daniel Smith's Quinacridone colors, which I still use as they are transparent and beautifully strong colors. I expected much from what Daniels smith was calling their Primatek colors and was absolutely enchanted.

They started me on an entirely new series of imagery directed deeply into the magic of nature. Oh and there is magic out there. Just sit with some trees, some boulders, listen with an open heart and you will get the feeling.

So I had a bit of a challenge on my hands. How to develop a new palette with these wonderful primatek colors? It seemed that just buying handful after handful wouldn't get me where I wanted to go. I wasn't sure the old formula of two of each primary would work either. Then I found the Daniel Smith dot cards, which are listed on  "My Favorite Things" page.

​There are 66 paint dots on these cards...enough paint to do a small test painting or a series of swatches to see what the colors do as far as granulation ( I LOVE granulation), transparency and ability to lift. After playing with these for just a little while, I could make out my list of colors that I would need to start an interesting palette and then a list of colors I would want to add and or play with later...a wish list.

The best part about the dot pages is that they are VERY affordable way to test a this wide range of unique colors at home, in the way you like to use watercolors. I can even see cutting them apart and creating a lightweight travel palette with some of the most unusual paint pigments available.

This is what my palette and palette guide look like. When I get a new tube of paint, I find a well for it to go into, then on my palette guide, I paint a sample. Dry colors can look very similar and this speeds up my selection process as I work. You can see I have written some of the paint names on the edge of the palette for even faster choices where the adjacent colors may look very similar.

I just purchased a much smaller, more portable palette and will give you some infprmation on that in the near future. I am hoping to make "My favorite Things" a regular part of this blog. You can click on the image of the Daniel Smith dot pages on the blog or go to "My Favorite Things" page on this website to purchase.

I love circles. It's the sense of completeness. The sense of wholeness that makes a painting sing before I even start a sketch. This piece is a perfect example of breaking the circle. Pushing boundaries just for the fun of it. Painting a sea turtle or honu as they are known in Hawaii inside a big bubble seemed like a fun idea.

As the painting progressed, I saw that he needed more bubbles and maybe some waves. They like to play in the waves. So it was time to break that bubble with some nice swirling design. I used quite a bit of my mineral paints to get the rich textures in the water and on the turtle itself. Most were carefully layered to give me as much control as possible. I think the biggest disappointment beginner watercolorists experience is when they try to rush the process. 

The best bet is to work several pieces at a time so one can dry while you play with another painting. This is also a good time to work on any practice pieces or sketches you have on the sidelines. Those always seem to fall into the sidelines, but they are perfect for working on while a wash dries on a major piece.

This guy was actually a birthday present for a dear friend who introduced me to honus in Maui. Birthday paintings are always appreciated by the friends and family who receive them. another great practice!

Have you ever felt like you're going in circles? Not in a bad way, but in a good way. Revisiting things you enjoyed from the past but lost track of? Like your favorite ice cream cone, or maybe floating in water...just floating. Or maybe you rediscovered how fun it is to ride a bike. Circling back to the joy you had in previous times can be rewarding. It's at least worth a try, don't you think?

So here I am back at my blog, back doing watercolors. Two lost loves I had forgotten about in the rush of busyness and rushing about. It feels good to flex those imagination muscles. To reach back, like a good long stretch and catch the joy of watching the flow of watercolors on the tip of my brush. Creative yoga of the soul.

Is there some little or perhaps larger joy that's slipped through your fingers? Do you need to circle back and explore those lovelies again. Give yourself permission to do so. You are the sum of your experiences, good and bad. Much better to focus on the joyful ones from your past to lead you into future happiness.

"The Sea Queen's Treasure is available on the New Paintings page. Just click on the image for more information
#mermaids #sea treasure #watercolors #fantasy #crystals

​Dreamcatchers fascinate me. That so many early people realized the importance of capturing dreams seems to be something we are missing...perhaps something critical.

​This began as a night sky...and remained that way for quite some time. I kept asking it what else it wanted. eventually the two gold circles developed, then the dreamcatcher itself, after several others happened in other works and sketches. Finally the koi. At first I thought they wanted to be attached like feather but then I realized they needed to swim freely through the dreamcatcher...or not. The sky then appeared as water and I could see there was more to what was happening in this image. Was it a koi pond reflecting a night sky with a dreamcatcher suspended, or was in a universe of dreamcatcher and koi? I like the ambiguity as well as the art itself.

​Oh, I do so envy the life of a mermaid. Slipping beneath salty waves, away from a world of anger and hatred sounds comforting to me right now. Last night my last thoughts were for those women who did not get comforting calls from their children, telling them they were safe and unharmed. I slipped into salty tears instead of waves.

I wanted to write something exciting and uplifting today. Something about the Jung retreat and art journaling and the utter joy of painting. It seems my fingers have turned to fins and I just can't write anything that is too shallow lest I get beached and never swim again.

​I know I will slip into the everyday-ness of life. I know the deaths will move into the back of my mind. For now, the energy of grief and hatred swirls around me like a storm. I can only give love to those around me and hope it spreads like rings of water after a diving fish. It's the only advice I have to give.

She's listing a bit to the left in this photo, but this is the mermaid that will be starring at the Jung conference in Belleville this October. She is being donated as a fund raiser so participants can have a go at winning her. I'll be there at the lovely retreat center reprising my art journaling class and attending the conference. They are using another one of my mermaids as a cover girl for the entire conference including 8 foot banners, brochure covers and advertising. I am over the moon with the entire process and happily painting away.

​Funny thing is, this has encouraged me to return to painting from deeper imagery. I'll admit to doing some pretty florals because I wanted to see if I could do them...and I did. In the long run they do remind me of my passionate connection to nature. Now the mermaids take me back to my home on the shore. I was born in a hospital on a river, called Riverview, in a town called Red Bank, all leading into New York Harbor. Beaches were where I grew up and merpeople were part of my everyday. Strong, sensual, hero creatures who could save you from......whatever.

​So now my home is decorated with huge pieces of coral, my bathroom sports all sorts of shells and sea sculptures. I may live in a land locked state, but my soul is soaked in salt water forever.

Sunnies in a jar
oil on canvas
​click here for more info
Ego is a funny thing.
The artist creates,
​Then wants to share that creation with a sense of sharing the joy
of creation and beauty.
Then that nasty little ego says
"How could you?
How could you let go of you creation,
that you worked so very hard on,
your life's blood is in that work,
​your very soul"

​This is true,
and I know of many artist who
hoard there creations,
stacking them in dark corners
or storage units,
waiting for.....?

Releasing your art work
is very much like releasing your children to the world.
There is an element of trust.
Trusting that they will bring that deep sense of joy
and perhaps a sense of beauty to someone else's life.
There is an element of faith that what inspired you, the artist
will be carried forth and inspire
those who would own the painting.

This week I realized that
I have that faith, that trust in all my work.
​I release them to you.

I think I am still decompressing from those 30 paintings!
It's been a wonderful week full of inspirations
and new plans.
The first photo is a painting I started as a demo for my oil painting class
and later finished at home.
My inspiration was a Buddha in Maui that a friend discovered
in a magical orchid garden.
The second photo is from a drawing class I am taking with
Marie Donato at the OA gallery in Kirkwood.
The little sweetie is my grand nephew.
The next photo just shows a slightly cleaner and more organized studio,
​which I spent a good chunk of the week working on,
when I wasn't working on a proposal.
The last photo are some books I am loving right now.
Yep, there's a Chicken soup book in there
and I am loving this one as it is all about reaching your dreams.
"Daily Painting" is one of my absolute favorites and I suggest it in all my classes.and 
"Dinner with Lenny" is just so inspiring. His energy and life was an wonderful example for any Creative.
Ursula LeGuinn has been a favorite since I read her stories to my son,
But then I started reading her non-fiction and discovered a woman
full of spirituality and insight.
Most of these are library books so you don't have to spend a fortune to get this wonderful
energy into your life.

WISHES FOR NEXT WEEK:

• long autumn walks at Powder Valley
• homemade pumpkin bread
• green smoothies for breakfast
• two new paintings
• pump those sales!

Fun links

My favorite planner
Leslie Saeta blog.....the 30 in 30 artist who began it all.
Kimberly Wilson, all round wise woman.
my pinterest page..yes I am a pinterest junkie.


​Have a great weekend!

Oh to relax a bit.
The challenge is over.
Well one of them anyway.
New plans are in the works.
​I'll be working on children's portraits for my Sacred Space group,
a gift and a mission.
​I actually work days photographing children,
​then I come home and want to draw them.
​I create memories for their parents and grandparents.
and I create a pathway for parents and grandparents to show their love for that child
​in a way that will last forever,
for generations.
No cell phone shot will ever do that.
So I'm working on getting a batter camera,
applying for a grant.
​Planning on showing some work at a Fall Boutique.
​There will be some new prints at the gallery in St. Charles,
​Missouri Artists on Main.
​Pease stop by if you are local.
​Check back soon for even more developments!
​