It seems early in the season but in the past 24 hours, 16 new inches of snow have filled our yard and totally bejeweled the trees and bushes in the woods. And the forecast is for another 6-8 inches tonight. YIKES! It’s absolutely gorgeous, but totally wet snow and heavy as sin! We are fortunate that there isn’t ice underneath all the layers, and our old dogs are loving going in and out . . . and out and in . . . all day long to inspect and taste the newly fallen flakes!
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Supposedly a mountain of snow is coming our way this afternoon, but our supplies are well stocked and there’s a pot of chili is on the stove – yummy leftovers from our Christmas celebration on Sunday with Krista’s and Jenn’s families. I love days like this – with wide open spaces in our schedule and no reason to leave the house. It’s the perfect day for painting!
This week’s painting is back to the Lilties Series – Birch Light , 4” x 6” on 300 lb. watercolor paper, was inspired by a photo from a favorite photographer, Jan Swart. She takes amazing photos of birch trees all along the North Shore of Minnesota.
It’s a lovely day of snow – fluffy flakes coming straight down – and when you live with dogs, you are always thankful for the fresh covering of new whiteness across the lawn! We’re looking forward to celebrating Christmas with part of our family on Sunday and this year feels different. For the past two years, Paul and I have been participating in a ZOOM faith study every Monday night. With 16 to 20 others, living across the country, we’ve been studying spiritual practices and disciplines to help us grow in our faith walk with Christ. Also in the past few years of walking with my Mom in her life journey, I’ve learned (usually the hard way) that I really have no control over anything except my own attitude. I think these have all worked to make a difference in the way I approach things. I don’t feel the anxiety or the need to do over-the-top preparations this year. We’re having soup for our Christmas meal along with Heggies cheese pizzas (a family favorite) for the kidsies. And we’ll just relax and enjoy the few hours of being together and celebrating Jesus’ birthday!
This week’s painting reflects my spirit today. Off the Beaten Path, 9” x 12” on 300 lb. watercolor paper, captures an early snow on an abandoned covered bridge.
It’s an honor for me to begin my third year of being represented by Plum Bottom Gallery in Door County, WI. Their three gallery locations – on Plum Bottom Road and in Egg Harbor and Fish Creek – are filled with beautiful art. And thank you to all who support and encourage artists through the purchase of original art. These original watercolors are moving to new homes this month – Evening Paddle (4x6); Blue Letter Day (4x6); and Birches in Sunlight (11x15). Thank You!
It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve shared on this blog and we have moved from lovely fall weather to cold and snow temps with ice covering the lake and this weekend, back to lovely warm weather and an open lake again. You have to hang on – the weather changes on a whim! It’s been a tough season for my mom who has been in and out of the hospital twice in the past three weeks and is now working to recover strength and health. And Paul and I are struggling to recover from flu, ear and sinus infection – to the extent that we had to cancel our family Thanksgiving gathering. So disappointing . . . but we put the tree up, got out all our Christmas movies and are looking forward to happier days soon!
This week’s painting recalls a wonderful trip to the Keweenaw Peninsula in Upper Michigan. This Liltie Series, Ontonagon Autumn, is 4” x 6” on 300 lb. watercolor paper and captures this beautiful lighthouse in its fall colors.
It was a great class today at Tin Cat Studio in Amery, WI - playing with watercolor and learning techniques for painting evening skies, watery reflections and big rocks! Thank you to these amazing artists and our one unknown, really quiet visitor! Thank you, Lisa and Randy Lee, for sharing your store classroom space with us!
We are enjoying such beautiful October days! On Sunday, October 30, we had a family pizza gathering at the Boutwell Park to celebrate Riley’s upcoming 12th birthday (on Friday, November 4) and hear about plans for the upcoming wedding of Alex and Katrina on Nov. 4. It was a “high plains” day with temps in the70’s and no wind – and the kids and grandkids had a blessed time visiting with Gr. Jan, Riley opening presents and the Carlson’s sporting their incredible T-Rex dinosaur costumes (and Mia’s pink dragon)! And today – Halloween – is again a 65 degree day with no wind and bright blue skies. I’m so grateful for this time before the long winter sets in.
Watercolor Class – Tuesday, November 8 – 10 a.m.-2 p.m. – Tin Cat Studio, Amery, WI
I’m getting ready to teach a painting class next week, so this week’s painting, Evening Sky, 8” x 10” on 300 lb. watercolor paper, is what we’ll be working on! We’ll focus on learning techniques for sunset skies, water reflections and large rocks! The cost is $50 and I’ll provide all the supplies. Register by sending an email to me at dstullkinsley@gmail.com.
We just got back from a long weekend in Door County – delivering paintings to Plum Bottom Gallery and taking in the sights of this beautiful area. The trees were at peak with amazing colors under bright blue skies and surrounded by that gorgeous teal-colored water rolling in on the beaches of Lake Michigan. We stay at our favorite lodge and while Paul caught up on school issues in the evenings, it seemed the perfect time to get out the paints! This week’s painting, “Summer Fire,” 4”x 6” watercolor, captures the incredibly bold colors of Fall in these Echinacea blooms.
Although It’s a rather small space, this gallery is filled with dynamic creative thinkers and artists dedicated to making it a featured destination in this Northwoods area. And opening in May 2022, the gallery effectively doubled its available space to include a wonderful workshop/gallery/kitchen in Studio 210 – a beautifully remodeled apartment on the 2nd floor of this main street building. It’s been a busy summer there for me - teaching three full watercolor classes in May, August and September and being a featured artist in two gallery exhibits with fellow member artists Gail Threinen and Tin Cat Studio.
Thank you to all who purchase original art and a special thank you to the amazng volunteer team at Arts In Hand Gallery in Spooner! This week, one of my shadowbox Liltie Series watercolors, "Pure Bliss" moved to a new home!
One of my favorite Facebook groups is the North Shore Vibe. Its members are photographers and outdoorists who love everything about the North Shore. One of those dedicated members is Jan Swart, a talented professional photographer who posts daily – yes, every day – a new picture on the site of some fresh perspective of the incredible land, cities and lake of this region. For me, there isn’t anyone better for taking incredible photos of birch trees. She has a tremendous gift for catching the light on these incredible trees. Last week, she posted a new photo of a group of birch trees, and I messaged her to see if I could have permission to paint this amazing photograph. And she graciously said yes! This week’s painting, Birch Stand, 8” x 11” on 300 lb. watercolor paper, captures a beautiful fall moment in the midst of a northern woods.
There is a definite change in the air. Yesterday’s high was about 90 degrees and today we are closing windows and turning on the heat - with the low tonight in the 40’s! But I love this time of the year – flannel is a favorite attire, so I’m happily reaching to the back of my closet and getting out warmer shirts and pajamas! And in celebration of our 14th Anniversary yesterday, I planted 125 bulbs in our front “meadow” – alliums, daffodils, tulips and anemones will hopefully fill in that area. I’ll plant more daffodils this weekend – it makes such a joyful display in the spring.
This week’s painting is a Liltie Series, Country School, 4” x 6” on 300 lb. watercolor paper, reflects a total change of season with a remote schoolhouse in the heart of winter.
If you've followed this blog for a while, you probably know that I have a collection of photographs that I’ve carried from place to place with me for many years. A few of these photos feature incredibly beautiful windows that have piqued my attention and ignited a creative spark. This photo is one that I’ve wanted to paint for a long time – it's just so attactive and I wanted to use it to enhance my skills in painting the well-positioned logs perfectly framing this small pine log window and planter box. This week’s painting, Log Window is a 4” x 6” Liltie Series watercolor, with a window adorned with flowers and reflecting the blue summer sky.
Thankful today for those who purchase original art and the outstanding efforts of the Arts In Hand Gallery in Spooner. The dedicated volunteer staff continually ensures the space is a beautiful, state-of-the-art gallery. "Catching the Light" watercolor painting is going to a new home. Thank you!
This seems to be an ongoing theme these days – resiliency. Change is a given and sometimes it’s hard to keep up with the dynamic outcomes happening in a continual state of change. As I’m working to find new ways in the unfolding circumstances, words like “be fleet and nimble” come to mind– sometimes meant for me or other times meant as encouraging messages for loved ones around me. Through it all, we have hope, and the assurance that our God cares deeply about every hair on our heads. Think about that for a minute. We are not alone – not in the bright sunshine-y times of life nor in the depths of darkness or struggles.
And this resiliency is evident all around us – from my Mom having to adjust to new realities in her Assisted Living environment to grandchildren facing the challenges of a new school year. This week’s painting is a common theme in my paintings but every time it comes out a bit different. Liltie Series, Resolute One, 4” x 6” on 300 lb. watercolorblock, reflects a sturdy pine tree with its roots firmly grounded in a formidable rock.
Special thanks to those who purchase art at the Plum Bottom Gallery locations in Door County. These watercolor paintings are moving to new homes this month! I'm so very grateful to all who support the endeavors of local artists - Summer House; Sit a Spell; Ontonagon Light; and Copper Bay.
It’s been a busy season at the Door County galleries, so I’m having a wonderful time painting new watercolors to deliver next month. Our grandchildren are growing way too fast, and two of our oldest are now in the 11th and 10th grades, respectively. Time seems a precious thing, and we have been trying to think of how to have a special time with these tw0. And now it looks like it will work for them to travel with us for a three-day art delivery trip to Egg Harbor, Fish Creek, Sister Bay and all the other wonderful villages on this beautiful peninsula! This week’s painting, Daybreak, 4” x 6” watercolor captures the sun rising over the scenic waters of Green Bay in Lake Michigan.
It’s the last week in August which means the flowers in the gardens are giving their last hurrah. And the colors these days are spectacular! We are out in the yard most days filling feeders, pulling gigantic weeds (they must grow overnight!), and enjoying the fabulous displays of blooming flowers. One of my all-time favorites – and they just happen to thrive in our soil – are the Echinacea. This week’s painting is another Liltie Series, Dazzlers, 4x6 and captures three of these beauties blooming their hearts out!
There is something so amazing about birch trees. With their white bark, they are immediately recognizable in a panoramic forest view. And yet in reality, the bark is anything but white. The bark truly acts as a canvas and captures and reflects light from the objects around it – so it can shimmer with the shadow tones in a myriads of blues and greens or radiate the warm tones of pink, purple, orange or even red. Over the years in our Northwoods home and our ½ acre lot, we’ve planted probably more than our share of birches in addition to several Blue Spruce and White Pine. These are my favorite trees, and I love how the birches add an essential contrast to the dark blues and deep green of the pine trees.
This week’s painting includes the quintessential birches – Lake Morning, 4” x 6” captures the shoreline of a quiet lake in early morning light.
You're invited to join me for a watercolor class, “Let’s Paint . . . Fall Colors” scheduled for Thursday afternoon, September 8, at Studio 210-Arts In Hand Gallery in Spooner, WI. The class will be held from 4-8 p.m. and the cost is $50 (I’ll provide all your supplies.) We’ll focus on painting some of my favorite things - sky, rocks, water and birch trees! Along with the vibrant colors of this season! To register for this class, send an email to me at dstullkinsley@gmail.com. Hope to see you on the 8th!
You can feel it in the air – especially in the morning – and hear it in the myriad of chirping sounds coming from the woods. Fall is on its way, and this is such a pleasant time of the year. We are incredibly thankful that there have been abundant rains here this season and the flowers and garden are looking so good. Although there isn’t a whole lot of variety left in some of the gardens – all of the good “deer” delicacies are eaten down to the nub by our resident Dolly Deer and her team, but the autumn hardy ones – morning glories, rudbeckia, echinacea, cosmos, cardinal flowers and the hydrangeas are blooming like crazy.
This week’s painting reflects the changing season. Autumn Barn, 8” x 10” on 300 lb. watercolor paper, captures a remote barn surrounded by the wonderful colors of Fall.
It’s always a such a gift to discover that others enjoy your artwork – whether just viewing it or actually carrying it out the door of a gallery. It’s been a busy month at the Plum Bottom Gallery locations in Door County, and I’m thankful for those who purchase art and support the efforts of the wonderful staff in these three galleries. This month, the following “Liltie Series” 4” x 6” watercolors moved to new homes: Northwood Sky, Fall Birches, Cave Point Cliff, Big Lake Sunrise, Moonrise. Thank you!
It’s been a lovely week for being outdoors! The weather has cooled off, and we are heading into my favorite time of the year. The heavy lifting work of Spring gardening is done and now we’re into a season of enjoying the headiness of blooming hydrangeas, beautiful roses on the deck, and drifts of rudbeckia and Echinacea all around the yard. Dolly Deer and her twin fawns come through the yard most days and have trimmed all non-essential plants in the gardens – including biting off all the gladioli blooms, mowing down the hostas, and basically eating anything that bears a garden tag! The meadow that has been growing all summer in the front yard will be ready to cut in September and then it’ll be time to plant bulbs for Spring. Even though I complain about the heat of July, I truly love the rhythm of the four seasons.
I’m continuing to enjoy painting watercolor lighthouses, and this week's painting is a favorite. Although ever since I fell off the walkway in late October (several years ago) and landed on the icy rocks of Lake Superior, I have a love/hate relationship with the Artist’s Point Pier in Grand Marais! I’ll save that story for another time! “Grand Marais Light” is a unique shape at 7” x 15” but it seems to work well for this landscape - capturing the morning light on the structure as well as the contrasting deep shades of the surrounding woods.
Every summer, one of these special days is designated for going to our favorite beach at a nearby lake. It’s a lovely lake – although this year even in the August heat, it was a bit chilly – and the town takes special pride in keeping the beach and picnic area clean and beautiful. With groomed sand and a long, shallow beach area, it’s the perfect place for littles to splash in the water and for older ones who have swimming skills to face the challenge going out to the diving raft.
This week’s painting reflects a wonderful memory for me. Summer Treasures, 8” x 11” on 300 lb. watercolor paper, captures two of our grandchildren soaking up the sun and enjoying this special day at the beach! See more at my website: wildriverarts.com
I have a collection of photos I’ve gathered over the years and it has been a joy to paint so many of them over the years. This week’s watercolor is from a photo that has traveled with me for a long time – yet even after deciding that it was time to paint it, it took a while to envision how it might turn out. It’s different from some of my other traditional landscapes in that the colors were so specific and intense. So the painting challenge became a wonderful lesson in mixing paints, both in the tray and on the paper.
This week’s painting, Wooden Boat, 9” x 12” on 300 lb. watercolor paper reflects a classic boat soaking up the last rays of the day.
We’ll be heading to Door County in a few weeks to deliver more paintings to the galleries up there. You know that I love painting rocks, and the ones in western Door Co. facing the onslaught of the weather and waves of Lake Michigan are incredibly unique. Known as the Niagara Escarpment, this ancient dolomite/limestone rock ridge stretches from Wisconsin and Upper Michigan and on to Niagara Falls.
This week’s painting, Dolomite Ridge, 9” x 11” features the rock formations unique to the Cave Point Park region in Door County and speaks of the tenacity of the trees and vegetation supported by these formidable rocks.
This summer seems to be whooshing by! The grandkid’s sport schedules have ended and our AZ grandson already started back to school. I’m always caught off guard by how fast this season moves – especially when it’s beautiful days like today. The humidity is down and there is a soft breeze blowing across the yard. The flowers are blooming, the gardens growing, and baby birds are flocking to the feeders like crazy and it’s all lovely! We had lunch on the deck and maybe will have lemonade there later this evening – before the mosquitos come to eat us up! Paul is ramping up for the school year with a myriad of crisis situations in his charter schools, and I spent the day painting for the upcoming Watercolor Class, slated for Thursday, August 11, at Studio 210-Arts in Hand Gallery in Spooner, WI.
This week's painting is a study we’ll use in that class. Crisp Point Light, 8” x 10” on 300 lb. watercolor paper, features one of my favorite subjects – lighthouses. So looking forward to “Let’s Paint a Lighthouse!” For more info, see the website at artsinhand.com.
This time of year, my watercolors all seem to include glimpses of water. It’s a favorite place to be in the heat of summer! Whether I’m enjoying life at a lake or just filling birdbaths around our yard, it’s a joy to see the variety of wildlife who also benefit from the clear waters of this area – orioles coming in to feed babies at the grape jelly, wrens churring territorial warnings, loons calling from the lake and the errant doe who comes every night to drink all the water in our big birdbath! When painting water, I love the many effects possible with watercolors – yes, always preserving the white spaces of the paper, but then letting the colors blend to form lively currents or to reflect the deeper shades below the surface.
I just delivered three of my Liltie Series watercolors to Arts in Hand Gallery in Spooner, WI: Sunset Shadows; Pure Bliss; and Forest Stream. I call these 4" x 6" "lilties" because that's the Irish word for brief tunes, and I think of these smaller paintings as brief "watercolor songs."
There is something so endearing about baby goats – all that energy, carefree attitude and amazing antics – make them totally lovable! Every Spring I go through a desire to have goats, sheep and llamas roaming our property – and while Paul is perfectly willing to go out and pick up baby animals from nearby farms, he is also quick to remind me, “You know we have ½ an acre and it’s a long winter of chores!” And so I come to my senses and live vicariously through videos of farmyards in spring and painting them on my easel.
This week’s painting is Butterscotch, a 4” x 6” Liltie Series watercolor painting, featuring one of those rare resting moments for kid goats!
This seems to be the message of the week. Our son and his sweet family are on their way to their new home in Arizona. The move comes with a lot of angst – the rest of their families are here in Minnesota and Wisconsin – but they have considered this decision with so much thoughtfulness that it seems to be the perfect place for them right now. And it’s good to remember that life is dynamic and always changing. So with the confidence of a young family on the go, this move seems to offer them incredible possibilities.
And I’m feeling a bit of “moving on” today – not about physically moving, but about a renewed energy in my spirit. Since early Spring, it’s been a season of meeting deadlines and painting for several upcoming exhibits. Now, there is a natural pause in the schedule and a wonderful time to reflect and consider “what’s next?” We had such a grand time in the new space of Studio 210-Arts In Hand Gallery this past weekend for the Watercolors: East and West Exhibit. It is 22 steps from the sidewalk on Walnut Street to the bright, airy studio space – so we got our exercise toting art bins and supplies up and down those steps! My co-artist, Gail Threinen is a talented Chinese Brush Painter, and it became a weekend of learning (for me, too!) and a wonderful opportunity to visit with all who came to support the arts in Spooner! It is a joy to be part of a dedicated community of volunteers, management team and board members who are committed to making the Arts In Hand Gallery-Spooner a destination for art and creative learning.
This week’s painting, Bessie, is a Liltie Series 4” x 6” watercolor painting featuring one of the wonderfully friendly cows roaming the Irish countryside.
This is the final week before a special exhibit this weekend, July 8-10, 2022, at the Studio 210-Arts In Hand Gallery in Spooner, WI. With the theme, "Watercolors: East and West" the show features the Gail Threinen (Chinese Brush Painting) and me (Landscape Watercolors), and the doors open on Friday from 4-7 p.m.; and continue through Saturday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Hope to see you up in Spooner this weekend!
This week's painting, Home to Camp, an 8” x 11” watercolor on 300 lb. paper, captures an idyllic scene on a northern lake. Photo credit (with variations) and thank you to North Shore Photographer, Don Davison.
It’s our 9th summer of living “on the lake” – actually we’re across the street from the lake and have always thought that was a blessing. We get a lovely view of the water with a space of the lakeshore for the pontoon, but also have space for my much-loved gardens and room for the two dogs and two cats to explore the woods around us. And it also offers a bit of barrier between us and the barrage of fireworks that typically assail lake communities this time of year. We did have a fabulous Saturday – wonderful weather and time on the boat – with three of our sweet families, sharing meals, catching up, enjoying the pontoon and very cold lake water, and saying goodbye. Our son and daughter-in-law and their two kidsies are relocating to their new home in Arizona and we’re going to miss them terribly. Because this was a four-day holiday, we then spent Sunday and Monday mostly sequestered in the house with the TV on and fans blowing to keep our two elderly dogs, Maddie and Kirby, from freaking out with the fireworks. I’m not against an organized fireworks display, but this year, there was four full days of chaotic noise. However, now it’s Wednesday, the birds have returned to the yard, and we’re enjoying the quiet rhythm of long summer days.
This week features a couple of paintings. I’m so happy that a favorite watercolor, Desert Glow, is moving to its new home in Arizona. It was a fun one to paint of two special grandchildren and their beloved dog, Mack, in a beautiful desert evening.
It seems a tumultuous and grievous time to be an American. Decisions about the quality of life for all individuals are being made on the national level that totally wound my spirit. I’m trying to quiet my inner rants and listen carefully for the voice of God in my life, but somedays, this is really difficult. It seems justified to just take things into my own hands … but what can I do to make a difference? And I realize, once more, that I have no ability to change anything but what I touch every day. My life and actions are humbled to this: being kind to my beloved, sitting on the floor to love up my dogs and cats, and doing my best to show love and take care of those around me. That’s my full-time job these days – along with my times to paint. There are days when I’m deep into a painting and I hear nothing around me – often to Paul’s dismay as he’s trying to tell me something important. And I surface again when the paper is saturated and the painting is done to greet his surprised expression of: “Didn’t you hear me at all?” The creative process is such an incredible mystery, and I feel tremendously blessed to have time to experience this journey!
Watercolors: East and
West
July 8-10, 2022
Studio 210-Arts In Hand
Gallery, Spooner, WI
I’m preparing for this upcoming exhibit at the Arts In Hand Gallery in Spooner. It’s an exciting opportunity and I’ll be displaying my watercolors with Gail Threinen’s Chinese Brush paintings. And it marks a celebration of the brand new studio/workspace, Studio 210, on the 2nd level of the gallery in downtown Spooner. Open: Friday, 4-7 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Gail and I will be demonstrating our art throughout the weekend. Plan now to stop by!
This week’s paintings are two in the Liltie Series: Whispering Waves and Sunset Shadows are both 4” x 6” paintings on 300 lb. watercolor paper.
We’re enjoying such lovely weather this June. It’s been a busy time of digging up and planting gardens but this past week, we celebrated a grandson’s home run at his ballgame and enjoyed a couple of days celebrating a Shakespeare Festival at the end-of-the-school-year for three other grandsons! We feel so blessed to live fairly close to several of our families and can take in some of the kidsie’s activities. And we’re near to stop in and help my Mom, too.
After the cold nights of May, the gardens are growing like crazy! We had a lovely display of daffodils, crocuses and muscari in our front meadow area and now we’re on to the big purple alliums (such fun!) and the irises are about ready to bloom.
This week’s painting, By and Large, refers to a sailing term – “by” means into the wind, while “large” means with the wind. “By and large” is used to indicate that the sailboat handles well, both by and large, in all possible situations. This 8” x 11” watercolor painting captures two By and Large sailing vessels ready to take on the challenge of the open sea.
Sometimes a painting will take a bit longer to feel like it’s finished. And with watercolor, you can't make many adjustments before the paper is saturated and the paints swirl together in a muddy color. I did a Liltie Series painting of this picture a while ago, but it seemed the perfect subject to try again – to give me a chance to further explore the spectacular evening light and the deep shadow tones. This week’s painting, Solitude, 8” x 11” seems to capture the depth of the dark shadows along with the explosion of color in the evening sky behind the kayaker.
We are heading into Memorial Day weekend and looking forward to gathering at the beautiful Oakland Cemetery in Marine on St. Croix to celebrate the memory of my Dad and the many other loved ones who have passed on. Take care and be safe this weekend!
It’s been a little over a year since I joined the community of artists at Plum Bottom Gallery in Door County, WI, and what an exciting ride! In that short time, the PBG has celebrated the opening of two (count ‘em!), two new gallery spaces! In addition to the original gallery at the farmstead on Plum Bottom Road, owners Chad and Angela and team have successfully opened a second gallery on main street in Egg Harbor and now they are celebrating the opening of their third location on main street in Fish Creek, Door County. I’m honored and thrilled to be part of this amazing gallery! Watch this space for more information about upcoming events at plumbottomgallery.com
This week’s painting is a snapshot of Spring on the Big Lake. Another in the Lilties Series: Silver Birch, 4” x 6” on 300 lb. watercolor paper, reflects the close of day on the spring evening.
After a long winter, it’s a joy to be in the season of Green again! Although I like painting snow scenes, it’s fabulous to be surrounded by the vibrant colors of Spring. Yesterday was my first class of the year – held at Tin Cat Studio in a wonderful creative space with four enthusiastic and talented students. And we had such a good time painting skies, rocks, water and a lighthouse! In spite of my best efforts, I face these classes with some reluctance – frankly, it’s a lot of work to gather all the supplies but I also think it’s because I’ve never thought of myself as a teacher. But once the tables are set up, the supplies for each student in place, and the doors open, I’m filled with a positive anticipation and can allow my spirit to settle into the process. And the results are amazing! I’m continually amazed at the tremendous creative abilities of students – even those who haven’t painted for many years. The next class will be held at the Arts In Hand Gallery in Spooner, WI, on Thursday, June 16.
And suddenly . . . it’s Spring! We had cold weather right through the first week of May this year, so when the winds changed and the temps warmed, we have been outside almost full-time. It’s been so lovely to dig in the earth again and get some seeds planted and the pots near the house filled with annuals again. I’ll have another trip or two to the greenhouse, but it’s wonderful to see the yard change every day. And the four bareroot River Birch clumps that we purchased the end of April and then stored under mounds of straw and compost in the garden for about a week (until the ground thawed out!) are all leafing out! What a thrill!
I’m getting prepared to teach a class tomorrow at the Tin Cat Studio in Amery, WI. It should be fun and we’ll be painting one of my favorite subjects – lighthouses! It’s always an adventure – I never thought of myself as a teacher – but it has turned out to be such a rewarding experience. And I’m always amazed at the ability of students – many who haven’t painted for years.
It’s also been an extraordinarily busy time of preparing and hanging paintings in exhibit space. It is such an honor to have requests for my watercolors, and currently, my work is on display in the Osceola Medical Center Gallery (May-July); in the Amery Hospital Gallery (May-August); and I’m the featured artist in artZ Gallery in Amery (May-June). This along with the artwork on display in the Arts In Hand Gallery in Spooner and at the two Plum Bottom Galleries in Egg Harbor, Door County, WI. I’m continually astonished at how the Lord opens doors in the journey!
