Daylight Savings Time

Whether the calendar agrees or not, we turned the clocks ahead last weekend and the Spring weather has officially arrived! After a long time of hibernation, the temps are in the 40’s-50’s and it seems like we are poised for busy months of ahead. I have three upcoming art shows – the first one at the Osceola Medical Center Gallery, April 1 through June 30; the second at artZ Gallery in Amery, May 1 through June 30; and the third one at Arts In Hand Gallery in Spooner, July 9-10. And in the midst of all this, the Earth Arts Spring Tour is slated for May 6-8, 2022! So much to look forward to!

In celebrating the return of longer daylight, this week’s painting captures a sweet moment in Spring – Blue Letter Day, a 4” x 6” Liltie Series watercolor, features a sea of blue flowers surrounding a rural mailbox.

Back to the basics!

This is an especially emotional time for our family. On Tuesday, my Mom will be moving to her new space in Assisted Living. And the ripple effect impacts all of us – with the busyness of sorting, packing, and going through all the incredible logistics inherent in moving to this new apartment. Although she’s lived in the main facility for a few years, this is a major shift from Independent to AL and involves a big effort in downsizing. Change can be hard for anyone, but I think it must be especially difficult when you’re 89. Through it all, I’m so hoping this will be a positive experience for her. After the COVID years of living pretty isolated in her apartment, this move seems to open new opportunities to gather at mealtimes with others and have access to more activities.

With much on my mind, I’m enjoying painting more of the Liltie Series. This week’s painting, Mossy Shore, 4” x 6” watercolor, features several of my favorite things – clear water, mossy rocks and an ever-changing sky. 

Sheep on the Move!

It seems that sheep are a “hit” at Plum Bottom Gallery! Three of my paintings featuring the wild sheep of Donegal have sold in the last six months. So today, I’m enjoying being back at the easel with my favorite sheep again. 

This week’s painting, Free Grazers, is a 9” x 9” watercolor painting with two of my favorite subjects – a bold mama ewe and lamb. See all my art available at www.wildriverarts.com

Painting Shadows

With a creative deadline less than two months away, I’m having a good time working on dramatic skies and creating deep shadows. It’s such an interesting exercise and allows me to experiment with blending a variety of colors in order to retain the lighter tones while laying down the darker shades. My goal is to have 20 paintings ready for the upcoming Earth Arts Spring Tour, scheduled for May 6-8, 2022. So far, I'm about halfway there and so looking forward to wonderful painting days ahead! 

This week’s painting, Evening Paddle, 4” x 6” on 300 lb. watercolor paper, captures a solitary kayaker enjoying a late evening paddle.

A Spirit of Thanks

It seems to be a good time to pause and give thanks. Since launching this blog five years ago, I’ve received amazing opportunities and had such positive experiences through my artwork. It’s been a wonderful journey of building skills, gaining confidence, taking risks, and in the process making new friends and being accepted into a vital art community. I am so grateful.

This afternoon, I got to hold a wee lamb (born this morning) and visit with dear friends at the Tin Cat Studio shop in Amery. What a spectacular treat to “talk lambing” with an expert shepherdess/fiber artist and to consider the serendipitous events that lead us to be in a particular place at this particular time.  I don’t believe in coincidences, and it’s clear to be me that God prepares the path before us. Bringing wonderful people into our lives and giving us precious moments of joy. What a gift.  

And two more paintings went to new homes – Meadow Home and Free Range Scouts – through sales at the Plum Bottom Gallery, Egg Harbor, Door County. Thank you for all the blessings, Lord. 

Spring is on the Way! Well maybe . .

In spite of the cold weather – and a major storm forecasted for later tomorrow – the sun is gaining strength and the calendar assures us that Spring is on its way. And a stop at one of my favorite garden centers today confirmed this fact with their huge racks of seed packets, display tables with joyous blooming gardens and pots of cyclamen, and pallets filled with bags of potting soil. 

It may seem early, but the 2022 Earth Arts Spring Tour is coming soon! Scheduled for the first weekend in May – May 6-8, 2022 – it promises to be a fabulous event. This year, my watercolors will be on display at the artZ Gallery in Amery, WI.

It seems to be a season of “liltie” paintings. These are my 4” x 6” sweet Liltie Series watercolors that my husband Paul frames in lovely black shadowboxes or silver frames. This week’s painting, Moonrise, captures the rising moon reflecting on beautiful Lake Michigan off the Cave Point County Park.

 

Desert Palette

After last week’s painting, the colors of the desert ignited my curiosity. This week, I began researching the blending of colors that are needed in watercolor to create the unique tones and hues of a desert landscape. It’s been an eye-opening experience, and one that’s resulted in developing a totally different palette – one that allows for the blending colors to find the right combination that results in a cactus actually looking like a cactus! And then moving beyond that to determine the appropriate values based on the particular light. It’s been an exciting exercise! I’m continuing to learn but for right now I’m enjoying playing on a whole new level with wonderful paints such as: New Gamboge, Ultramarine Blue, Quinacridone Burnt Scarlet, Lavender, Yellow Ochre, and Mineral Violet along with some of my favorite stand-by colors such a Burnt Sienna, Raw Umber and Permanent Rose.

This week’s painting is an experiment in painting small, Desert Light, 4” x 6” on 300 lb. watercolor paper, reflects a desert landscape in the evening light.