I’m so enjoying illustrating food and kitchen items for my latest course A Painted Palate We have so much time on our hands now as activities are limited with our current Global Pandemic so I have found it relaxing to pull things out of my pantry and refrigerator and just sketch! I’m handwriting recipes in both journals and on cards and …
A Painted Palate – My Latest Online Course
I believe that every family weaves their stories around the kitchen and dinner table. Most of my memories are wrapped around a traditional holiday meal, cooking with my grandmother and even shoulder to shoulder talks with my sisters as we dried the dishes every evening. The kitchen is the HEART of the home and if you’re like me, you have …
The Corona Chronicles
Art in the time of Corona . . . These are unprecedented times. As I sit writing this article, I am on Day 42 of “social distancing,” a new, and likely never to be forgotten phrase that defines the state of our world right now. We are in the midst of a global pandemic. It almost sounds like the beginning …
Marrakech, Morrocco- Part One
“Africa was the most exotic place I could conceive of—the end of the world—and I knew I would go there one day.” ~ Henning Mankell Ever since I was a teenager in the late 70’s, the desire to visit Morocco has been strong. The exotic countercultural appeal to artists, writers, rock stars and adventurous travelers always stirred an urge to …
Travel Sketching Tips
I am often asked about my process when sketching during my travels. Although it varies depending on the time I have or the places I go, I do have some basic guidelines I follow. To help you get started “sketching on the go,” I have outlined a few tips to send you on your way to creating treasured journals of …
I am a Guest on A Maker’s Story Podcast!
I loved being interviewed on this Podcast by Rachel McGough and Linda Barutha from A Maker’s Story! We had a fun conversation about gathering creative tribes together. I hope you will listen in! You can find more episodes of A Maker’s Story HERE!
25 Days of Holiday Art Complete!
I really enjoyed creating during the holiday season! It was fun to share art with everyone amidst the busy hustle bustle this time of year. I just wanted to share my completed book with you – I think I will put it out every year for my family to flip through. Who knows, maybe this will become an annual event!
25 Days of Holiday Art!
Who’s up for a Fun Holiday Art Challenge? Give the artist in you a gift of just a few minutes a day to nurture your creative self! Join me in creating and sharing one piece of holiday-themed art every day starting December 1st! No rules – create what speaks to you using the prompt list as just a suggestion. Share …
Christmas Stories Art Journal On Sale!
Half Priced for a Limited Time Only Join me in my studio for “Christmas Stories.” This class consists of over 8 hours of videos where I will teach you to make a treasured journal. Previously sold for $59, this workshop is now being offered for a very brief time at the exclusive price of $29!!! Although this book is designed …
Tiny Sketches
Reminiscing over Italy and enjoying a new tiny sketchbook from Sugarboo & Co. Love the size and rough rag paper. Perfect for when you just have a “small” amount of time! What are you working on these days?
Food, Glorious Food!
I’m so enjoying illustrating food and kitchen items for my latest course A Painted Palate We have so much time on our hands now as activities are limited with our current Global Pandemic so I have found it relaxing to pull things out of my pantry and refrigerator and just sketch! I’m handwriting recipes in both journals and on cards and …
The Corona Chronicles
Art in the time of Corona . . . These are unprecedented times. As I sit writing this article, I am on Day 42 of “social distancing,” a new, and likely never to be forgotten phrase that defines the state of our world right now. We are in the midst of a global pandemic. It almost sounds like the beginning …
25 Days of Holiday Art Complete!
I really enjoyed creating during the holiday season! It was fun to share art with everyone amidst the busy hustle bustle this time of year. I just wanted to share my completed book with you – I think I will put it out every year for my family to flip through. Who knows, maybe this will become an annual event!
25 Days of Holiday Art!
Who’s up for a Fun Holiday Art Challenge? Give the artist in you a gift of just a few minutes a day to nurture your creative self! Join me in creating and sharing one piece of holiday-themed art every day starting December 1st! No rules – create what speaks to you using the prompt list as just a suggestion. Share …
Tiny Sketches
Reminiscing over Italy and enjoying a new tiny sketchbook from Sugarboo & Co. Love the size and rough rag paper. Perfect for when you just have a “small” amount of time! What are you working on these days?
The Cotswolds, UK
We left North Cadbury just after breakfast and drove slowly through the Cotswolds admiring each little town and narrow road. Our goal that day was to find a local Pub to have our lunch! We heard that on Sundays, the neighborhood pubs serve up a “carvery” or “proper Sunday roast” for their local clientele. We passed pub after pub, town …
My Interview on Sketchbook Revival is Live Today
Happy Saturday! Today I am being interviewed and am doing a free painting lesson and demonstration with Sketchbook Revival! Hop on over to their site to see how I sketched and painted this special little place! You can watch my interview HERE Sign up for my newsletter here on my website, and you will get a free download with instructions …
Making Sketching an Everyday Practice
More and more I find my sketchbook a constant companion. At the very least, I keep a small sketchbook and pencil or pen in my bag and every free moment I pull it out. Instead of mindlessly scrolling through FaceBook, I open my book and draw. Even if I am not inspired by my surroundings, I still make notes and …
Sketchbook Revival
How are you doing with your creative practice these days? Is it consistent and strong? Sporadic and spotty? Or stuck and not happening? Well, no matter where you are at in the creative process, now is the perfect time to give yourself a creative tune up and inject some fresh inspiration into your practice. I am so pleased to have …
Plan.Journal.Play Workshop!
If you are familiar with The Documented Life Project™ you may remember the original Moleskine Planner that we used for scheduling, creating, note taking, lists and mark making! I still use this method today and make a new planner each year to document my life in a creative way! Every week I get requests to make this same book for …
A Painted Palate – My Latest Online Course
I believe that every family weaves their stories around the kitchen and dinner table. Most of my memories are wrapped around a traditional holiday meal, cooking with my grandmother and even shoulder to shoulder talks with my sisters as we dried the dishes every evening. The kitchen is the HEART of the home and if you’re like me, you have …
The Corona Chronicles
Art in the time of Corona . . . These are unprecedented times. As I sit writing this article, I am on Day 42 of “social distancing,” a new, and likely never to be forgotten phrase that defines the state of our world right now. We are in the midst of a global pandemic. It almost sounds like the beginning …
Travel Sketching Tips
I am often asked about my process when sketching during my travels. Although it varies depending on the time I have or the places I go, I do have some basic guidelines I follow. To help you get started “sketching on the go,” I have outlined a few tips to send you on your way to creating treasured journals of …
25 Days of Holiday Art!
Who’s up for a Fun Holiday Art Challenge? Give the artist in you a gift of just a few minutes a day to nurture your creative self! Join me in creating and sharing one piece of holiday-themed art every day starting December 1st! No rules – create what speaks to you using the prompt list as just a suggestion. Share …
Christmas Stories Art Journal On Sale!
Half Priced for a Limited Time Only Join me in my studio for “Christmas Stories.” This class consists of over 8 hours of videos where I will teach you to make a treasured journal. Previously sold for $59, this workshop is now being offered for a very brief time at the exclusive price of $29!!! Although this book is designed …
Tiny Sketches
Reminiscing over Italy and enjoying a new tiny sketchbook from Sugarboo & Co. Love the size and rough rag paper. Perfect for when you just have a “small” amount of time! What are you working on these days?
Orvieto, Italy – Part One
Departing from the Termini Train Station in Rome, I arrived an hour ahead of time to scope out the situation and “learn the ropes.” This was my first train trip in Europe and being alone, I was a little apprehensive. The station was deserted the first 50 minutes, then rapidly filled up as I discovered that in Italy, the platform …
Making Sketching an Everyday Practice
More and more I find my sketchbook a constant companion. At the very least, I keep a small sketchbook and pencil or pen in my bag and every free moment I pull it out. Instead of mindlessly scrolling through FaceBook, I open my book and draw. Even if I am not inspired by my surroundings, I still make notes and …
Open Air Studio
continued from previous post . . . I woke on that first day in Mexico to the smell of TORTILLAS! Remember, I told you my casita was right next to the Tortilla factory. My senses were bombarded at 6am with a pungent mixture of frying oil and salt air. Boca de Tomatlan was slowly waking up after a long night …
Casa de los Artistas – Crossing The River
continued from previous post . . . I freshened up a bit to go over to the Casa de los Artistas for the meet and greet. I was so worried about getting to my casita that I never stopped to notice my surroundings. It wasn’t until I opened the front door to leave that I looked out of the casita to …
Clean Slate
It all started with this short video . . . Though it is an ad for a community college, the message was clear and spoke LOUDLY to me . . . I could fill that board up by myself with the regrets I have . . . BUT . . . I have wiped the slate clean and will live …
That’s Where I Will Always Love You
“You know that place between sleep and awake, that place where you still remember dreaming? That’s where I’ll always love you, Peter Pan. That’s where I’ll be waiting.” He was my Peter Pan – a giant kid who never wanted to grow up. Always on the move, a big impossible idea, a grand adventure! It was exhausting at times, trying …
He is Risen
“Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song.” – Pope John Paul II
A Different Kind of Christmas . . .
By now, many of you know that I lost my husband recently–unexpectedly– with so many hopes and dreams and life on the horizon. But tomorrow is not promised, we know this. My two {adult} children and I are navigating the unknown territory of the holidays after a loss and dreading every . . . moment phone call text message card carol …
The Road Not Taken
June Theme Travel Journaling June 13 – Week 24 Art Challenge: Recording Memories Journal Prompt: Taking the Road Less Traveled This week, I am focusing more on my memory than on my art journal. When I read the prompt, I instantly thought of Robert Frost’s famous poem, The Road Not Taken. My Journal page ended up being a hot mess …
Oh The Places You’ll Go!
I hope you enjoy this older post as I gradually merge my three blogs into one! You can read about my travels and art journals under the Wanderer pic at the top of this page. If you want to share inspiring stories and how I intend to change the world one heart at a time – just click on my …
The Fabric of My Life
May Theme Touchy Feely (Texture) Week May 2-Week 18 Art Challenge: Fabric Journal Prompt: The Fabric of Your Life What is the fabric of my life? I had to sit and really think about this. What is it made of, what is the foundation? What does it look like? What binds it together? A recurrent theme for me this week …
Find Love . . .
Whether it is the romantic love of a couple; the unconditional love of a parent and child or the inexplicable bond of true friendship, I pray that you all experience some form of LOVE this day ♥
Love + Loss + Art – with Danny Gregory
I spent an hour with Danny Gregory talking about our similar journeys of losing our spouse and how one continues on in the aftermath. Danny’s genuine insight and perspective provided some valuable tools – most importantly being present in your art. I hope you enjoy Episode 3 of Postcards from the Road as much as I did! …
Not Afraid of the Fall
Episode 2 of The Wandering Artist Podcast is now available! I’m excited to share this conversation with my friend Kyle James, author of the #1 Best Selling travel book, Not Afraid of the Fall You can find Kyle’s book, Not Afraid of the Fall on Amazon and his Instagram feed is HERE. You can also listen to Postcards from the …
Enjoy My Podcast!
“What did a happy ending even mean in real life, anyway? In stories you simply said, ‘They lived happily ever after,’ and that was it. But in real life people had to keep on living, day after day, year after year.” –Scott Westerfeld
Travel Sketching Tips
I am often asked about my process when sketching during my travels. Although it varies depending on the time I have or the places I go, I do have some basic guidelines I follow. To help you get started “sketching on the go,” I have outlined a few tips to send you on your way to creating treasured journals of …
25 Days of Holiday Art Complete!
I really enjoyed creating during the holiday season! It was fun to share art with everyone amidst the busy hustle bustle this time of year. I just wanted to share my completed book with you – I think I will put it out every year for my family to flip through. Who knows, maybe this will become an annual event!
25 Days of Holiday Art!
Who’s up for a Fun Holiday Art Challenge? Give the artist in you a gift of just a few minutes a day to nurture your creative self! Join me in creating and sharing one piece of holiday-themed art every day starting December 1st! No rules – create what speaks to you using the prompt list as just a suggestion. Share …
Christmas Stories Art Journal On Sale!
Half Priced for a Limited Time Only Join me in my studio for “Christmas Stories.” This class consists of over 8 hours of videos where I will teach you to make a treasured journal. Previously sold for $59, this workshop is now being offered for a very brief time at the exclusive price of $29!!! Although this book is designed …
My Interview on Sketchbook Revival is Live Today
Happy Saturday! Today I am being interviewed and am doing a free painting lesson and demonstration with Sketchbook Revival! Hop on over to their site to see how I sketched and painted this special little place! You can watch my interview HERE Sign up for my newsletter here on my website, and you will get a free download with instructions …
Sketchbook Revival
How are you doing with your creative practice these days? Is it consistent and strong? Sporadic and spotty? Or stuck and not happening? Well, no matter where you are at in the creative process, now is the perfect time to give yourself a creative tune up and inject some fresh inspiration into your practice. I am so pleased to have …
Summer Deal!
I am incredibly honored to have been an art instructor with Dirty Footprints Studio. Connie Solera is a talented, generous soul who has a gift for gathering creatives together to create a site full of diverse teaching styles for any level artist. For 3 days only, you have an opportunity to receive a generous discount on selected workshops! Click HERE for …
Plan.Journal.Play Workshop!
If you are familiar with The Documented Life Project™ you may remember the original Moleskine Planner that we used for scheduling, creating, note taking, lists and mark making! I still use this method today and make a new planner each year to document my life in a creative way! Every week I get requests to make this same book for …
Color, Color, COLOR!!!
The Secret is out – 21 Secrets, that is! I am finally happy to be able to announce that the brand new 21 Secrets 2016 Color, Color, Color! edition is available for sale NOW! I am proud, honored, and lucky to have been asked to be a teacher again this year. I not only LOVE being an instructor, the best …
WANDERLUST 2017 – A New Teaching Adventure!
I’m so happy to announce that I will be a guest instructor for Everything Art’s Wanderlust 2017 Online Art Experience! Not sure what Wanderlust is? Here’s a lovely video to explain! Introducing Wanderlust 2017 from Everything Art on Vimeo. Wanderlust is whole year long journey – an online event offering you videos from 24 guest teachers and 2 resident teachers …
Marrakech, Morrocco- Part One
“Africa was the most exotic place I could conceive of—the end of the world—and I knew I would go there one day.” ~ Henning Mankell Ever since I was a teenager in the late 70’s, the desire to visit Morocco has been strong. The exotic countercultural appeal to artists, writers, rock stars and adventurous travelers always stirred an urge to …
Travel Sketching Tips
I am often asked about my process when sketching during my travels. Although it varies depending on the time I have or the places I go, I do have some basic guidelines I follow. To help you get started “sketching on the go,” I have outlined a few tips to send you on your way to creating treasured journals of …
Orvieto, Italy – Part Two
I spent 10 days total in Orvieto; one week at the Adventures in Italy art retreat and 3 days on my own. Although I could write an entire book about this trip, I will try to sum it up with a highlight reel . . . Everywhere I turned was a sketching opportunity and I painted dozens of pictures while …
Orvieto, Italy – Part One
Departing from the Termini Train Station in Rome, I arrived an hour ahead of time to scope out the situation and “learn the ropes.” This was my first train trip in Europe and being alone, I was a little apprehensive. The station was deserted the first 50 minutes, then rapidly filled up as I discovered that in Italy, the platform …
Rome, Italy
There is something exciting, yet very surreal about falling asleep in one country and waking in another! I left Orlando late evening, sketchbook in hand, and woke as we landed in Frankfurt. Typically extremely efficient and known as a great airport for ease of connections, I had a very tight and stressful 40 minutes to catch my flight to Rome. …
Bath, UK
The next stop on our UK adventure was Bath. We were so surprised at how tiny the area was and absolutely loved our Bed and Breakfast, Gray’s Bath. Our room was lovely and though Grays was a 20 minute walk into Bath, it sat up on a hill with a beautiful view of the city. This was our gorgeous room …
The Cotswolds, UK
We left North Cadbury just after breakfast and drove slowly through the Cotswolds admiring each little town and narrow road. Our goal that day was to find a local Pub to have our lunch! We heard that on Sundays, the neighborhood pubs serve up a “carvery” or “proper Sunday roast” for their local clientele. We passed pub after pub, town …
North Cadbury, Somerset UK
Who doesn’t want to fly off to the UK for a country wedding in the Costwolds? My daughter and I jumped at the opportunity to enjoy a charming wedding of a dear friend in beautiful North Cadbury in Somerset. And since we were going all that way, we might as well spend a few days in London as well, right?! …
Asheville, North Carolina
Before heading home from Western North Carolina, I decided to stop in Asheville for a few days to celebrate the 4th of July. That’s one of the things I love most about being an accidental tourist, I can stop wherever and whenever – pulling off the highway, or making a detour. I love the unexpected, random and spontaneous types of …
Western North Carolina
In my mind, I’m going to Carolina . . . Summer begins with a few weeks in Western North Carolina, where I rented a house to find some peace and inspiration in the Smoky Mountains. There is no better cure than a little solitary time in a rocking chair on a porch surrounded by a continually moving landscape. You can’t …
