I’m flying off to California tomorrow to teach my “Sketch Your Life” workshop at the Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society, but before I go, I wanted to share a few of the sketches/paintings I did last week at Canaan Valley, West Virginia. My friend Jane has a house that’s just a few miles from Canaan […]
Category: Nature Journaling
Coquina Beach Sketch
While I was in Florida last month, I only had a chance to get to the beach once, but what a perfect beach day it was! The day we were there, Coquina Beach definitely lived up to its name. As if the bright sunshine, sparkling water, and gentle waves weren’t enough, we also found millions […]
Sketching at the Gamble Plantation
When I was in Florida earlier this month, I stayed with my friend Judy, and in between workshops we managed to fit in a couple of plein air outings. We love sketching together – some things are just more fun when they’re shared. Our first field trip was to the Gamble Plantation Historic State Park […]
Santa Barbara Travel Journal – Part 7: Sea Stars
The Sea Center, part of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, is located right on Stearns Wharf, and it was a great place to visit for some onsite sketching during my recent trip to Santa Barbara. The displays are outstanding and feature a rich variety of wildlife from the Santa Barbara channel. Jelly fish, […]
Rocky Maine Beaches
The Schoodic Peninsula is the only part of Acadia National Park that’s on the mainland. It’s famous for rocky cliffs and crashing waves, but on the day we visited in June, the tide was on its way out and things were fairly calm. It was still beautiful. I mean, how can you complain about a […]
Painting a Bird’s Nest
My friend Teresa is hosting a garden party in a few weeks. Her gardens are filled with old-fashioned roses, lush perennials, and towering trees. Picket fences, birdhouses, and quirky garden sculptures act as accents, and a beautiful greenhouse built from recycled materials sits in the middle of it all. This won’t be just any garden […]
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 […]
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, […]
