That is me in that party dress.  Actually it was an Easter dress.  Notice how the Dr. Seuss poem is all blurred because I took my journal on a little boating trip the other day.  The kids were boarding and when my husband did a sharp turn in the boat, a huge wave of many gallons of water came over the bow and landed on my head and in my lap, much to his delight!  Of course, he did not get wet – just me and my journal.

Oh the Places you will go!

******Note to myself and others*******  Protect your journal in a zip-locked baggie when involved with water sports and you feel compelled to take your journal along, even though you know you won’t really have time to work in it.

Here is another page from my Maine watercolor journal.   I painted this while waiting for steaming hot pop overs sitting outside at Mt. Desert’s Jordan Pond.  The chairs facing out to the pond seemed so inviting.

I am in Hood River, Oregon with nine fabulous women.  We are having fun painting all day, laughing all night and sharing the stories of our lives.  Here is a photo of the lavender field where we painted.  The sight, smells and harmonious buzzing of the bees was heavenly!

Kayaking in Maine, Mount Desert Island:  I love kayaking in the early morning right off the dock in an area called Squid Cove.  I took my camera and took a photo my view.  The sparkle of the light was what I was trying to capture in my journal entry.

We did a lovely hike up a bubble-type hill called The Beehive.  The views were spectacular looking east and north over the Atlantic Ocean.  I would love to sit up here and paint the pink granite, yellow and green lichen overlooking the ocean but my knees were shaking too much from the climb.  I have started a few paintings in my journal that I will share soon.

I am on my family vacation and of course I can’t go without exploring the local art supply stores.  One of my favorite is an Art store near Portland: Artist Craftsman I can always count on them for having exotic hand made papers from Indian and a wonderful selection of colors in any medium. Here are my new toys for this trip:  handmade papers, dip pen with inks, sea sponges, oil pastel (didn’t have this beautiful poppy orange color yet).  I did get the rub on letters at Art Mart in downtown Portland but would recommend the Artist Craftsman store if you only have time for one stop as I often do.

I am in the beautiful country side of southern Washington (state), visiting mom, my brother and sister-in-law.  Wow!  I just want to stop and paint awhile.  Here is a painting entitled  “In the Wine Country” that shows the vibrant, green rolling hills of this charming area.

My daughter, home from college, is teaching me some fantastic things about computers and the internet.  Today’s lesson is about staying in contact with fellow artists.  She showed me how to create a form so that people, like you, can sign up for my email/newsletters.  Sign up to get my newsletter.  Let me know it works!