I gotta tell ya, I love art journaling.
I never thought that would happen. I feel like some people begin their art journey with journaling, but it took me over 20 years to get around to it! And once I did, I had to share the process.
My journey teaching art journaling began with one of my Artist's Way courses just about a year ago. After keeping my own art journal, I realized that art journaling was the perfect companion to my Artist's Way Creativity Course. Not surprisingly, the students loved it! And I saw such benefits that I decided to add a stand-alone art journaling class to my schedule.
The classes start the classes in April, and because of covid, they have all been on Zoom so far. It turns out it was perfect timing; keeping an art journal is a great way to process the complex feelings so many of us have right now. And, there is a strong sense of much-needed community in these classes.
We meet each and every Thursday evening and create art around a topic that I've chosen. 
The image above is one of my favorite art journal pieces, created for the word faith. In the art journaling classes I demo a technique, then it's up to each student to interpret that word into her or his own art (or they can just follow me if they like.) 
How does this image represent faith? I guess that's up to you, the viewer, to decide.
Want to get started art journaling? It's easy - you don't need any fancy supplies. You don't even need a journal (although it's a good idea if you want to keep going with it.) Just grab what you've got: some combination of paper, pencils, markers, paint, glue, images (from magazines, junk mail, wrapping paper...)

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Last year on a trip to Atlanta I found a burned piece of wood in a park. I thought it would make a good drawing tool, so I scooped it up (must have wrapped it in a napkin or something) and brought it all the way back to Denver, where I did this little sketch. 
I wasn't planning on sketching a woman and baby, it just sort of happened. But here's the thing; I don't think this particular sketch would have emerged if not for that particular piece of burnt wood that I picked up a thousand miles from home. 
It's interesting how a different drawing tool can influence one's art.

I live in Colorado, but I'm not a "Colorado girl". There is this Colorado lifestyle that people here talk about - we have tons of parks and trails in the Denver area, and of course the mountains are a short drive away. If you live here you're supposed to want to take advantage of all that stuff. You're supposed to own bikes and skis and snowshoes...but honestly? I'm just not outdoorsy - I'm a city girl at heart.
Don't get me wrong - I love sunshine, fresh air, and to look at beautiful scenery. But I don't like bugs (perhaps it's because they LOVE me) and I really don't like trekking through the wilderness with all of my painting gear!
However...I do like painting outside. If I had a backyard, I would paint outside all of the time. So this summer, I've decided to give plein air painting another chance. My BFF is an artist and is definitely outdoorsy. Happily, she found some spots where we wouldn't have to trek too far. We've gone out three times now aaaaaand...it's been awesome! We set up by a bubbling stream and paint for hours. 
Which brings me to another plein air challenge for me; all of that green!While it's ever so beautiful to look at, I find it rather dull to paint. It just doesn't move me. 
In the end I came away with a finepainting. I'm not thrilled with it. It's just...fine. It took me a bit to understand why I didn't like my painting: it just doesn't feel like me.
Getting to the crux of why I didn't like my painting was a huge aha moment! I don't like the painting because I wasn't true to myself.I did take somecreative license, but really, I was trying to paint what I saw, not what I felt.
So, it turns out plein air painting is fantastic! I just need to let go of the idea that I need to paint realistically - or that I need to paint what's in front of me. I need to be true to my own artistic vision, rather than being true to the actual scenery. 
I can't wait to get back out there and shake things up!

It's been awhile since I've written a blog post... Honestly, I've found it hard to write about the current situation the world finds itself in. It's been a lot to digest. I really wanted to have some sort of uplifting message when I did write.
And I haven't had a lot of time to write. I've been busy changing my entire business model from in-person to online. I made the decision to temporarily close my studio doors as of March 17 - it was before the 'shelter in place' order was issued, but it seemed like the responsible thing to do. 

I then scrambled to move my classes online, and keep people painting!

The Zoom app was the logical choice for virtual classes. I'm happy to report - after three weeks of trial and error - it's a great platform for art classes! I was surprised by how much I like the classes, and the students like them too - I've had several requests to continue online classes after we're able to meet in person again!

One thing that makes the classes so great: we're able to meet in community while keeping separated physically. We not only need our communities right now, but we need a place to vent, to release, and to process our feelings. And for me, that place is the canvas.
Maybe it is for you, too.

If this sounds like something you want and need, please join me for an online class!

Don't worry about the technology; Zoom is really easy to use! I include instructions in every class confirmation email. Also, my friend Marcia made this awesome video for people who are new to Zoom.

My online classes free for my studio members and Patreon supporters!

No space to paint? I made a quick video with advice on carving out your own creative space at home, and I made another one on choosing art supplies. (Please contact me if you need more info on ordering art supplies, or if you'd like me to put together a "paint at home" art supply kit for you.)
A big thanks to my patrons and studio members - for your concern and support through this time!

Here is the uplifting message: We will get through this together. Lean on each other (from at least 6' apart), take care of yourself, check in on your friends and neighbors. Practice excellent self-care. Be excellent to each other.
I hope you're doing well. Big, virtual hugs to you!

Years ago, someone looked at my work and said "I can tell that you're experimenting". 

As an "established" artist (or so I thought) I found that insulting.

But as Bob Dylan and my mother have both said: I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now.
These days if you tell me that I'm experimenting, I will thank you and heartily agree. The older I get, and the more I teach, the more I know that there is always more to know.
You know?

I think that teaching what is what really has really grown me as an artist. Watching all of the different ways that painters and newbies approach the canvas is huge! People do things in ways that I would never have thought  - and often they yield great results. And watching them is what got me to embrace experimentation. 

And really, art is about experimentation. If you're going to experiment with anything in life, art is a safe place to do it.

​Above is a detail view from my latest experiment.  It's a 28"x30" oil painting. I'm just having fun with it - pushing oil paint around in a smudgy manner.  Just this simple act makes me feel good. 

The act of making art can be really enjoyable, to say the least. But... the experimentation part can be scary. It's easy to fall into a rut - sometimes you know that you can paint something well, so you keep painting the same subject or in the same style. This is not exactly conducive to growth.

Sound familiar? Maybe it's not an artistic rut - maybe you stick to the tried and true foods, music, and routines. Once again, art mirrors life. This boils down to: do the same thing, get the same results.

Where are you "playing it safe" in your life? And where are you free to experiment? Do you experiment with art? With the flavors you cook with? With the colors you wear or decorate your space with? 

I invite you to to experiment with something in your world. It doesn't have to be a big thing - you don't need to make grand, sweeping changes. Just shake things up a little bit, and see how it feels.

​Let me know how it goes!

You know what's wonderful about painting?
Well, okay, there are loads of wonderful things, really. But one of them is that a painting never has to be finished. (This is a double-edged sword because it means that a painter might not ever finish a painting.... but that's a topic for another time.)

I'm always surprised when people tell me they gave their old paintings to a thrift store or gessoed over them (basically painted them white). There are things that can be done to transform them! Many paintings that were at one time considered complete, or perhaps just unresolved, make great backgrounds.

While this is particularly true for abstract paintings, there are also ways to transform landscapes or other representational paintings using elements of the original painting.

I decided to offer a class with a few techniques to help you spruce up or completely change your old paintings. This class is not about improving your painting (you can come to a Freestyle Session and I'll help you with that.) This is about taking your painting and turning into something different.

For example: In the painting above, adding the trees and the hill was a simple fix once I turned the in the right direction. ("Before" on the left, "after" on the right.) Voila! My abstract paint pour became a background for a simple landscape silhouette.

In the pictures below, I painted over sections of each image to create new paintings. By painting in some negative space, I created a new background and brought the old background forward. Pretty cool, huh? 
These are just a couple of things that can be done to turn an old painting into something new.

If you're in the Denver area, grab some of your old paintings and join me - I'll help you breathe new life into your old canvases!

We meet on Saturday, Feb 22 at 1pm. Click here to save your spot! Or click here for a full class calendar.
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I have a secret... 

Two of my most recent paintings aren’t really mine! 
Okay that's not exactly true...

These two paintings are actually the “extra paint” canvases from my oil painting classes. After each class everyone who has paint left on their palette scoops it up with a palette knife and smears it on one of several canvases. (It's fun to do, and we end up throwing away a lot less paint with this closing ceremony!)

Normally I just let whatever happens happen with the "extra paint" canvases. Which is easy to do because most of my classes use acrylic paints - acrylics dry very quickly, so it's east to leave alone.
But oils… Well that’s another story. Oil paint dries very slowly, especially when applied so thickly. 

So here’s my secret: after my oil painting students have smeared their extra paint and have gone home, I grab a brush and start playing with the piles of paint! 

I can’t resist getting in there and moving that luscious, wet oil paint around. I do this in part because I just want to play, but honestly a bigger part is me wanting to make sense of the mess on the canvas; to bring order to the entropy. But not too much order…  that’s one of the challenges with art; having enough tension between chaos and calm. 

I suppose that's life too, right? We want enough going on to keep things interesting, and periods of rest to recharge and reflect.

And when I think about it, these paintings are also about making the best of what you've got. I added no new colors to these paintings - I just used what was left for me.  
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Life  hands you chaos? Put it in order! To much order? Go shake it up a bit!

This is what I left on the canvas after yesterday’s abstract class.
I wasn’t feeling at all upset or angry when I painted it. But looking at it reminds me of how I feel about the world right now... angry, frightened... like I’m being swallowed up.
This is what is so great about painting: all of that crap that is below the surface - that you’re walking around with every day - can come out on the canvas instead of leaking out and poisoning you and those around you.
Full disclosure- I edited the pic to intensify the reds. Don’t you just love technology?