Some Random Shots of Spring!

Here are some random pics of spring that were taken today. The day started out completely overcast (and awesome temp for a morning run) but turned sunny & bright this afternoon. Thanks for visiting! Enjoy!

The Same, only Different

After having been in school all winter and barely doing any art at all, I really wanted to do something before putting most of my art supplies away for the summer. The top photo is of the original idea I had: a really basic watercolor of a hummingbird & flower. The photo shows the painting partially completed.

Afterwards, I thought I would break out the colored pencils. I feel that pencil is usually my medium of choice as I have the most experience with it. The lower photo is the result of basically the same design done in Lyra Polycolor. I love blending pencil colors! Looks like I could play around with composition quite a bit more, though... :-)

New Drawing!

Here's a new drawing I've been working on. It's inspired by the hiking trip we led last February on Kauai. It's based on a photo I took when hiking the NaPali Coast. The image is about 6.5" x 11.5". I'm thinking about painting something floral, or perhaps something springy. Not sure what yet!

Old Sketchbook Drawings

Arches National Park, UT

Canyonlands National Park, UT

Yosemite National Park, CA

I dug out my old sketchbooks the other day looking for some inspiration...! Here are some drawings I found that I did between 1991 and 1993 or so. These were the little "classical" sketchbooks which were pretty easily carried on trips along with some Windsor Newton travel watercolors, kneaded eraser, pencil, black technical pen, and tiny Nalgene bottle in a small bum bag. Larger sketchbooks are awesome but I knew I would not carry one around with me! :-)

I've been enjoying several blogs lately, one that has been particularly inspirational this week is Geninne's Art Blog here.

Time Flies!

I can't believe how fast this past month has gone. Second semester at the Academy of Healing Arts is nearly complete. We graduate next week! How amazing is that!?

Things are still really up in the air for me right now as far as what's next. There are so many things I want to do -- where do I start? First of all, having a break from the intenseness of class will be great. And much needed. Although I've loved being in school and learning new things, I've had my head down in the books pretty much all winter. No skiing, even! :( No ice climbing, either. :( I have been running, though, and practicing some yoga (a challenge, as I am not naturally flexible in my body). Have been training for a half-marathon in early May. Steve's training for the full. I just want to get my legs back under me so I'm ready for hiking, biking, and hopefully some mountain time this summer!

Secondly, I'd like to do some more art. I've only managed to complete one regular drawing this winter and am working on a second one. I'm not too thrilled with it at this point. There's a blank canvas here but my easel is still in its box. I've always said, "You can have everything - just not all at once..."! And what about guiding? Well, Steve got back from leading the Kauai hike about a week ago -- I didn't get to go this year with having to be in class. Don't know what tours are up for grabs yet, but hopefully we'll find out soon.

It's kind of a struggle for me to know whether to go back on the road for the summer or not. The thing is, I don't know how long it'll take for me to register to practice Massage Therapy in Colorado. Maybe a month, maybe more or less? Don't know. So do I sit and wait or go for what I already know? Boy, it would be so awesome to spend the summer in Colorado! It would be even more awesome to be hiking the Colorado Trail! But practicality will probably prevail -- we'll most likely go on the road again for this season, putting everything in storage until the fall when we actually do sort of settle down for a bit. But who knows???

I stumbled upon a really neat art blog that you might want to check out: http://blogdelanine.blogspot.com/ I really like her carved stamp idea & can't wait to try it!

Definitely check out JuneThomsens's website at: http://www.junethomsen.ca/ !

June's painting of Tumbling Pass

In the meantime, hope your March is going well (we're getting some "lion" weather - really windy today) and you're starting to get some nice, spring weather where you live. :-)