Hello everyone! It was so good to see you at Artfest! Thank for coming out! I have one more art market before I take a break in July-The Manito Art Festival at the Duncan Gardens! It’s always a great show, so I hope to see you there! I’m booth 14 on a corner!

Now back to my trip! We finally made it to Vietnam and our first stop was Ho Chi Minh City or as it is also know, Saigon. We went on a food and walking tour where we got to try many delicious things-a noodle soup that is Southern Vietnam’s answer to Pho, a banh mi (A big favorite of mine at home!), Vietnamese coffee (too strong for me in this interaction) and the big favorite-a huge rice crepe tinted yellow from tumeric stuffed with shrimp, pork and bean sprouts which you would wrap in lettuce with herbs and eat dipped in fish sauce.

Here you can se the crepes being made!

I loved the Vietnamese tendency toward open air dining-big multi-pavilion spaces festooned with lights and plants (and if you are lucky, koi ponds!). It is a smart solution to the heat and humidity because if you don’t have the air conditioning cranking, it gets suffocating in enclosed spaces FAST.

We had a very entertaining guide who made the argument that while the Vietnamese government was Communist that the Vietnamese themselves are very capitalist in how they operate and that was a theme for the rest of our time in Vietnam, along with awareness of how the government tries to control the people. On a bus excursion another guide was asked whether there was freedom of speech in Vietnam and he replied, “On this bus there is!” and our guide said that there would be spies listening to tour guides in the squares to make sure that the guides didn’t say anything too controversial. HCMC (as the city is often known) had a very cosmopolitan feel. We saw lots of other tourists, many clearly traveling as individuals rather than in tour groups and the streets were full of modern, high end shops. It felt like a place that was open to the rest of the world and with aspirations.

We returned to our ship and set sail for Da Naang!

I usually prefer to paint on location as well as draw, but this trip kept us on the move so much that I usually had to add paint once we got back to the ship.

Viking Cruises are well-known for their focus on music and every night there were multiple options to take in live music. This is the atrium where they would project beautiful paintings and photographs and we could listen to piano music or string instruments.

On one of our sea days, we took part in afternoon tea on the ship with friends as a violinist serenaded us.

Da Naang is a city that was clearly attempting to rapidly modernize and is in a bit of an awkward in between state. We took a boat tour passing under multiple bridges (including one with a decorative dragon that spits fire at night) passing by new skyscrapers as well as old temples and shanty-type houses plus quite a few abandoned Chinese investment construction properties (Another regular sight all across SE Asia). For me, the highlight was not the city itself, but visiting “Marble Mountain”, a mountain riddled with caves that were filled with statues, and pavilions to various gods, decorated with huge potted plants and elaborate tiling. The mountain was a hide out for the Vietnamese during the war and was bombed multiple times by the nearby US helicopter base.

Buddhist statue on Marble Mountain. I desperately wanted to carry off those footed flower pots. Aren’t they incredible? Shipping them home would cost a fortune though. SIGH.

On our bus ride back to the ship, we passed this incredible view of location aquaculture- I think it is mussel farming, but it could be shrimp!

The bus paused for 15 minutes for a break, I got to cracking on the drawing!

As we sailed toward Ha Long Bay, EVERYONE was out on deck to watch as we passed these incredible limestone karst islands that are a UNESCO World Heritage Site three times over. It was unworldly and contrasted strangely with the many freighters and commercial ships in the area. Only one part of this area is actually UNESCO protected and the rest is still used commercially. The humidity and fog meant that visibility dropped off quickly with distance and added to the unrealness of the scene. It reminded me of ancient ink paintings I have seen of islands rising directly out of the sea, surrounded by mist. The ancient myth is these islands are the remains of a dragon that crashed to earth thousands of years ago and honestly, that seems like a perfectly reasonable conclusion to draw when you’re face to face with them. There’s something magical about it.

The next day we took a smaller ship out among the islands, where we got to experience both wonder and the horror. The first island we stopped at was literally heaving with people, incredible hot and humid and unfortunately quite dirty. There were no formal docks and all of the boats just jammed in the landing area, jostling for position and they were unafraid to ram each other which horrified me as I kept expecting a fiberglass crunch from my years of boating in my youth, but they had metal hulls, padded with tires-well prepared for the scrum! We leapt from the landing onto the boat and zoomed away, helped by nudges from other boats eager to take our boat’s position. In my head, I named that little excursion “Escape from Tourist Island.” It was madness!

The second island was much more pleasant, not only because the crowd situation was a little calmer, but also because it was much cooler. The limestone karst islands that populate the Ha Long Bay Area are extremely porous/hollow and many of them have caves in them. This island had a huge, atmospheric cave with paths and lights that was fascinating, especially when it opened up into an enormous high ceiling-ed cavern. It was like visiting another world.

After some more aggressive “docking” maneuvers, we re-boarded our boat and motored back through the islands with visibility dropping as the mists rose while I thought on what we had seen today. The ancient landscape, the overly touristy madness, the preponderance of “party boats” in the water full of people who were clearly there just to drink and dance to their very loud sound systems, lights shows flashing wildly-obvious to the mystique of the landscape, and our crew, working hard to ferry us visitors out and back in order to make a living. These contrasts between those with money and those with subsistence lifestyles, modern skyscrapers and ancient temples, beautiful nature, and trash piled on and around it were constant themes everywhere we went in SE Asia.

Next up Hanoi and Hongkong!

A quick announcement-I’ll be at Artfest this upcoming weekend with all of my prints, cards, puzzles and original paintings. I’d love to see you there! FYI $5 to get in also let’s you into all the exhibits in the museum which is super cool!

Ok-now back to my SE Asia sketches!

Cambodia and Bangkok were both filled with gold and gold colored things. When I was picking out paint to bring with me on this trip, I thought quite a bit about tropical blues since we were going to be on a ship in a variety of seas and bays, but I never even thought about gold and boy did I wish I had brought some gold paint! My yellows sure got a work out!

The left side of this spread is the inside of the temple with the Jade Buddha (He’s the green figure way up top). Photos were not allowed but drawing was so I drew as fast as I could until we heard our guide start counting people to leave and then we tore out of the building and sprinted for our shoes and our group so as not to be left behind in the madness of the crowds at the King’s Palace.

The image on the right is a detail from a temple in Sihanoukville, Cambodia.

Just a small amount of the gold at the King’s Palace in Bangkok. What this doesn’t show is the THOUSANDS of tourists and the 103 degree temperatures with 88% humidity. This may have been the hottest I’ve ever been in my life.

Working on location at Wat Krom in Sihanoukville, Cambodia. The flags are because of an upcoming holiday.

The finished painting!

This is a composite of two scenes. One is the beach (with a very relaxed life guard), its wavy sidewalk and the trunk of the tree whose shade we were huddled under. Why is it wrapped in cables? I don’t know. These are the mysteries of visiting new places. The vehicle is a tuk tuk, a tiny three wheeled vehicle that was very popular in Cambodia. They are richly decorated outside with stickers and decals and inside with curtains and tassels. We rode in this particular tuk tuk along with a whole fleet of other tourists from our ship and I think it was the closest I have ever been to live Mario Kart. The roads are a mad house. There are little to no street lights or directions in Cambodia and everyone just goes as fast as they can while trying to not hit anyone else. It is very alarming but also exhilarating. Our driver offered us beers for the ride-I accepted a Coke. Dad took the beer-“Angkor” brand and his favorite of all of the beer brands he tried on the trip.

We had a day at sea and enjoyed not getting on a bus. We swam in the pool, walked around the deck and, of course, I painted.

Our room was comfortable for its compact size. We were grateful for the air conditioning whenever we returned sweaty and pink from our off the boat excursions. If you read my note, you see that we had housekeeping come twice a day and boy, did I enjoy getting used to that!

On our little private deck, adding paint to sketches done on location. When traveling with a group, it is had to complete a full painting since I need to keep up. There was a lot of drawing “in the field” on this trip but not a lot of painting. I would add paint when we got back to the ship if I wasn’t too wiped out and used sea days to catch up-our schedule was packed!

Another thing I got used to very fast-having a cadre of chef cooking delicious food for me and I didn’t even have to wash the dishes! Luxurious!

As we left Cambodia and headed toward Vietnam and our first port, Ho Chi Minh City, we passed through what seemed to be a channel and it was full of barges and interesting boat traffic. This was painted just looking out the window of our ship as we sailed along-constantly changing scenery.

To come-Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh City, Da Naang and Ha Long Bay! To whet your appetite there is a food tour, a dragon bridge and incredibly magical karst limestone islands. See you there.

However! A few current event things to update you on! I will be at Forest to Frame, a big plein air painting event at the Finch Arboretum this Saturday, 10-4.

I am also teaching two classes next Saturday on the 23rd. One from 11-1 at the Northwest Museum of Art and Culture where we will be painting the Spokesman Tower which you can sign up for here and a plein air adventure painting at the Dishman Hills from 2-5, which will involve minimal hiking as I intend to sit down and paint as soon as I see a beautiful flower. 🤣 You can sign up for the Dishman Hills painting class by going to my shop on my website or just click HERE. The Dishman Hills class is part of my plein air painting season this summer with Katie Frey so you can also purchase our class bundle for 6 painting sessions in the shop and come to classes with both us for $27.50 per class if you think you’d like to paint outside with us more than once or twice this summer! Sign up Here.

Ok, now back to the Adventures in SE Asia!

This is the map of our route. We did the trip extension where we visited Angkor Wat (without the boat because it is inland) for a few days before flying to Bangkok to explore the city and then get on the Viking Venus!

I started my journey off flying from GEG to SEATAC to join dad and then we fly to the Narita airport in Tokyo which had a lovely rest area decorated with tons of fake flowers. We traveled for approximately 30 hours together.

We arrived in Bangkok, Thailand and barely spent the night (about 4 hours of sleep) before we had to get up and go to the airport again to fly to Siem Reap, Cambodia in a TINY prop plane that looked like it was from the 70’s. We were EXHAUSTED and jet lagged but also souped up on coffee. They appreciate the caffeinated drinks here and we appreciated that about them!

Our first restaurant in Cambodia was a sign of what was to come-gold statuary, patterned floors and food served on banana leaves.

We stayed at the beautiful Park Hyatt in Siem Reap, Cambodia. It was decorated in beautiful statues and many bouquets of lotus blooms with their petals folded in a variety of ways.

To my great entertainment, the inside of our tour bus in Cambodia had brocade valances and curtains, complete with tassels and all of the seats were covered in eyelet fabric slip covers.

This is the famous temple at Angkor Wat that is probably what most people think of when they picture Angkor Wat in their minds. Angkor Wat is actually a HUGE temple complex (the largest in the world) with many different temples spread out across the landscape, but this is the famous one. We arrived in the predawn darkness using our phones to light our way as we crossed a moat/stream to join the crowd of other people watching the sun rise behind the temple and the pink of the sky reflect in the ponds in the foreground. It was utterly magical.

As magical as our experience at the main temple was, Dad and I both agreed that our favorite was the Angkor Tom temple, which is famous for the many trees and vining fig plants that grow out of the ruins. It is incredibly atmospheric and cinematic (in fact, it was featured in the Angela Jolie version of Tomb Raider!) and frankly they can’t remove the trees without severely damaging the buildings that do still stand because they have been intertwined for 300 years!

Our guide, Sophea, lived near this particular temple and as child, it was his playground. What a magical place this must have been for a child!

We visited a local family that made rice noodles and got to see the whole process (entirely people powered in 86 degree temperatures with excessive humidity-oof!) as they ground, boiled, pounded and kneaded the rice into a dough that was then cut into noodles, boiled and served to us in a very fresh and lime-y flavored dish. I was impressed that they worked with a ball of rice dough that was about the size of a soccer ball!

We also visited a local Buddhist temple and talked with the monks. I think we tourists were rather surprised that they were all quite young-college aged if they were American. It was interesting to ask them about what inspired them to become monks. Education was a big part of the decision along with a desire to learn about how to do good in the world. I was almost knee to knee with this gentleman as I drew him so I was glad that he told me he liked the drawing when it was done!

OK, stayed tuned for the rest of Cambodia, time on the boat and our journey to Vietnam up next!

Join Megan Perkins and Katie Frey for a summer of artsy adventures. We are planning eight outdoor art meetups from May to September. Meetups will vary in location and times so we can paint all the different light, as well as both landscape and urban locations: Highbridge Park, Slavin Conservation Area, Finch Arboretum, Spokane River, and Dishman Hills just to name a few. Meetups will include instruction and discussion, but you have the choice to spend the time however you like. All mediums are welcome, though we will primarily be demoing in acrylic and watercolor.

You can sign up for meet ups individually or in a bundle.

Bundle Price (six of the eight) $165

Drop-in price (per meetup) $45

To learn more about the locations, dates, supplies, and how to sign up, join us:

Sunday May 3 from 1-2pm at Spokane art supply.

If you are unable to attend the May 3rd session, just email me at meganperkinsartstudio@gmail.com and I’ll send you the details about the when and where!

Ready to sign up RIGHT NOW? LOVE IT!

Sign up for ONE CLASS HERE

Sign up for the SIX CLASS BUNDLE HERE

Want to paint flowers inside? Scroll down!

If painting indoors is more your thing, but you still love nature come join me in May at the Corbin Art Center for Watercolor & Painting Flowers!

NEW  Watercolor & Painting Flowers                                          
4 Weeks | Ages 16+ | Megan Perkins Love flowers? Learn how to paint draw and then paint them in watercolor. We’ll break down flowers into basics shapes, paint individual “portraits” of flowers and then zoom out to depict flower plants in groups, such as a full flowerpot or garden bed. We’ll discuss painting buds, blooms, leaves, stems and seeds as well. Please bring your own photos or pictures to paint from as well. Supply list is listed at the bottom of registration receipt.  $89

                Thurs.   5/8-5/29              6-8pm 

Sign up here!

I finally managed to circle back to make some paintings inspired by the classes I taught at the Japanese Gardens last spring. The light was truly magical, as was the maple foliage!

Love a good Japanese lantern!

Inspired by the Little Spokane River and filled with love for the color green. Why do herons always look like they are glaring at you?

This is one of the HUGE old trees at our place. We had some incredible sunsets this winter. This evening, it felt like I was living in a pink and gold globe of light!

I was asked to create a couple utility box designs for the City of Liberty Lake and they requested a patriotic feel so what is more patriotic than fireworks on the 4th of July?

The daytime themed Liberty Lake Utility box wrap is all about enjoying summer at the lake shore. I thought about trying to fit a barbecue into this scene, but finally decided that it was better to leave it out. This is the biggest watercolor I’ve ever done, something in the neighborhood of 27” x 41” which is pretty darn big!

I have been following an artist online who has been making little square “diary” comics about her daily life and I found them fascinating and inspiring and decided to do a few of my own! I think I’d like to continue this. A little 2” x 2” square is totally manageable and I like how it makes me think of something interesting to document each day. As you can see, indoor flowering house plants are essential and there is high interest in what might be flowering outside!

The primroses are blooming and I am delighted. I only have three, but I am already scheming to save seed and try to grow more. I want a whole meadow! Unrealistic? Who cares.

The Hellebores are also in bloom. In fact they were the first thing to bloom on the whole property (What happened to my snow drops? Who knows.) which has made me forgive them their downward facing flowers. At this time of year, I’m desperate for signs of life!

But before you know it, the world will look like this and I’ll be trying to find some shade while I’m out sketching in the field. A little tease for the future-Katie Frey and I are going to team up to do several plein air painting sessions this summer at various places around Spokane so if you want to get out and paint on location, keep an eye out. I’ll share here once we have dates!

May your days be full of blossom and your palette full of paint!

Megan

It’s been a busy start to 2026. I spent most of January teaching a watercolor class at Whitworth University. It was an intense but fun experience. We had class every day for 3 hours for the term. It was really cool to get to spend so much time with the same group of students and everyone’s growth from the beginning to the end of the class was amazing! I also learned a lot about teaching a college class (Grading! Writing a syllabus! Using Canvas-no, not the kind you paint on.) and hope to get to do it again next year!

Once I had recovered from teaching, it was back to the studio to work on paintings that I’ve been putting off for far too long. These are a mini-series, focused on the light in downtown-specifically around Washington, Main and Spokane Falls Blvd.

I was completely caught by the way the shadow of the sky bridge cast onto the convention center.

I think it was Edward Hopper who said that he just wanted to paint light hitting a building and man, I do have to say that it is very satisfying!

Closer to home-my living room. My aunt recently gave us the couch starring in this painting. She bought it in 1974 and it is in mint condition-I love it, but as you can see, I am not afraid of pattern. Yes, that is a zebra patterned rug on the floor and my cat (in the middle foreground) is laying on a tiger striped blanket on a foot stool.

This is Xena who is currently choosing to take a nap on my knitting instead of in the bed we bought for her (see drawing above, the maroon “soft box” on the couch) or the many blankets left out for her perusal).

Love to you and all your furry ones,

Megan

Christmas letter included below along with some favorite winter scenes. This year’s Christmas card image is the Vista House on Mt. Spokane. Suggestions for next year’s Christmas card welcome. :)

See you in the New Year, you awesome people!

Love,

Megan

Merry Christmas Friends!

It’s been a busy and full year at our new house. I can hardly believe that this time last year, I was hustling to get paintings made for my group show at the Art Spirit in Coeur D’Alene. I made the biggest watercolors I’ve ever painted for that show and really feel like I grew my skills both in terms of scale and emotive capability, which I am proud of. Despite the busy-ness, I also managed to participate a bit more in my Women Painters of WA group, showing work with them in Clarkston, Chewelah, and Twisp (upcoming) and visiting a gallery owned by a fellow member in Moses Lake. As the previous sentence implies, I’ve been beebopping around the state quite a bit. I traveled to the 3rd annual Sketcherfest in Edmonds to attend a workshop, artist talks, sketchbook tours and to meet regional and international artists. It’s so inspirational to see what other artists are making and doing! Towards the end of July I attended an overnight paddle and camping trip for the Spokane Riverkeepers as a painting instructor and had an absolute blast. A highlight was rafting all the canoes together in the middle of the river to paint the sunset followed by a starlit night paddle where the river reflecting the sky made me feel as if I was in a globe of stars. I’m already looking forward to next year.

Closer to home, I enjoyed observing our land for the first time in all the seasons-buttercups in spring, swathes of oxeye daisies in the wilder parts in summer, the ruckus of nesting season with the birds calling and flitting everywhere (thank you to the Merlin app for telling me who was in the yard each morning!), rose hips and snowberries in the hedgerows in the fall, hoarfrost on the branches in winter. I did some painting in my sketchbook to capture it but I also spent a lot of time scraping and painting outbuildings while our flock of ducks looked on and offered copious advice. After painting buildings, I focused on making garden beds; killing off grass, putting in edging and planting. Thank you to everyone who shared plants. I will be thinking of you when they come up in the spring! It will be a riot of color and shape that will be so fun to paint! 

Luke had an adventure figuring out haying this summer. Our property is a slope with a stream at the bottom so each field is a separate micro biome that required changing the settings on all of the equipment so that was a challenge. Thank goodness he is handy and has haying experience from his youth. We also had some adventures with the plumbing (ah, old houses with big trees nearby), but the most unusual and, in a way, strangely enjoyable challenge we faced was losing internet for 2 weeks when our provider’s tower got hit by lightning. Luke got a portable satellite internet for work and I attempted to make do with data, but AT & T doesn’t have great coverage for our area so I spent the two weeks feeling like I was back in the early dial up days-I could get internet if I wanted it but it was slow and limited so I lived my life like it was the 90’s and if I needed to send a photo to someone I drove to my sister in law’s house and sat on their porch to use their Wi-Fi! And yes, if you were wondering, of course I made the dial up noise whenever I opened the browser on my phone. :) I spent most of the two week period reading, painting, and being outside working on projects rather than scrolling on a device and frankly, if you can manage it, I recommend it!

Wishing you stars all around you, flames in your hearth, and peace in your soul now and in the new year,

Megan

Sketched from life at the Davenport.

Gaiser Conservatory Holiday Lights

Who doesn’t love the Garbage Goat?

Popping in with a bunch of fall art made over the past few years to celebrate my favorite season and a reminder that this Saturday is my last art market of the year-33 Artists at the Hive! Hope to see you there!

Painted sitting in a pumpkin patch at Siemer’s Farm up in Greenbluff on a glorious fall evening.

Early November, I was driving home around sunset when the hail storm I’d been driving through lifted and I saw this view. I pulled over IMMEDIATELY.

The historic trees in Browne’s Addition make for an incredible canopy of color in the fall and it is lovely when they match the color of the Campbell House!

Our new house has a lot of snow berry shrubs along the road.

The Japanese Gardens at Manito are a must to visit in the fall.

Painted on location on a cold, overcast fall day-couldn’t feel my fingers by the end, but I loved the red of the maples.

Happy Fall y’all! See you Saturday!

Here’s some of what I have coming up!

Magically Moody Watercolors with Megan Perkins

At the Spokane Art School

Saturday, October 11, 1-4 p.m.

$40, includes all materials and instruction 

Want to learn how to create expressive paintings? Megan will provide a photo of a favorite landscape and show you how to change its attitude-from sunny and cheerful to moody and dramatic, it’s all in the colors and values!

This class made possible by a Spokane Arts Grant Award.

I have three classes with the Corbin Art Center:

Painting Big Skies 4 Weeks | Ages 18yrs. & Up | Megan Perkins Skies have a huge impact on a painting, not only sometimes taking up a large amount of the paper, but also dramatically affecting the mood and atmosphere of the work. It is important that the sky is considered carefully when planning a painting. In this class students will tackle painting sky-with clouds, with mist, full of color, or as a more neutral backdrop with a focus on being expressive and allowing the medium of watercolor to do its magic. Supply list included upon confirmation of registration. $89

18700   Wed.    10/1-10/22         6-8pm

Loosen Up Your Watercolor Painting 1 Day | Ages 18yrs. & Up | Megan Perkins Feeling like your paintings are stiff or too tight? Want to embrace the flow of watercolor paint and loosen up? This is the class for you! Megan will demonstrate how to make your paintings full of energy and freshness, giving you quick and easy exercises to uncramp your style! Supply list is at bottom of class registration receipt. $69

18701   Sat.       10/18    10am-Noon

Sketchbook Habit 4 Weeks | Ages 16yrs. & Up | Megan Perkins Experience the joy of playing in your sketchbook. In this class, we will explore techniques such as Notan, blind contour, hatching, color blocking, and more as a route to making work that improves our skills while embracing fun and defeating the inner critic. The goal is to learn ways to make art in small bits of time regularly so that you can make art every day. Please note, you WILL be expected to work in your sketchbook between class sessions. How can you develop a habit without practice? Supply list included upon confirmation of registration. $89

18702   Mon.    10/27-11/17      6-8pm

Plein Air Painting: Finch Arboretum with the Northwest Museum of Art and Culture
Saturday, October 18, 20251-3 pm

Finch Arboretum
Cost: $46, $40 MAC Members 

Capture the vibrant colors and crisp energy of fall in this outdoor sketching and watercolor workshop in the stunning backdrop of Finch Arboretum. Led by local artist Megan Perkins, you'll get helpful techniques and personal tips for working outdoors amongst the trees and leaves. Bring your own supplies and drinking water. We will have cups and paintbrush water if needed. 

Sign up HERE

https://sales.northwestmuseum.org/PatronEducation.aspx?pid=59519&cal=https%3a%2f%2fsales.northwestmuseum.org%3a443%2fcalendar.aspx%3fview%3dc%26et%3dp%2bc

In other news, I also have three pieces in Terrain this year and will be at the Thursday’s ticketed Artist Preview Night. The First Friday extravaganza on the 3rd is free and open to everyone! Check them out below and good luck spotting them among the hundreds that will be on display. “Mountain Fire”, the one with the pink flowers, will be the easiest to spot I bet because it is almost 5 ft long!

See you in a week!

As usual, I’ll be at Collista’s studio-the furthest north and have tons of original art, including studies and small pieces from my studio flat files. I look forward to seeing you there and keep your eyes peeled for my next email if you’re interested in taking a class with me-I have a 5 different classes coming up in October!

This is a long one with lots of photos so the email may get cut off. Feel free to click through to read this in my blog in its entirety if so.

In bittersweet news, my aunt and uncle sold their lake house up at Priest Lake. They bought it back in 1979 and not only have I been going there my whole life but my parents have been going since they were in college. They came over with my brother and we all gathered to say goodbye to this special beloved place with my aunt and uncle.

I had a great time teaching a series of classes at the Japanese Gardens at the beginning of the month. We really lucked out with the weather and it was magical to get to be in the gardens during the golden hour and watch the light fade as evening came on while we painted.

We got to see koi breach to catch bugs and on the final class, an osprey dove into the pond and carried off a baby koi which was incredibly dramatic!

Doing a demo painting for classes is always challenging because I need to make a decent painting but also leave enough time for students to paint too. It can get messy but you can’t beat the high energy on the page!

Personally, I’d love to have a little stone lantern in my own garden. Any tips on a good place to get one?

Exciting news inside-my clivia bloomed and that is always worth a couple of sketches. I moved it away from it’s perch by the window to the kitchen where I could admire it more closely.

Sketching the giant willow tree around the back of our house. There was a bit of a paint pen explosion (the green below and some of the yellow above) but I managed to cope and it was nice to feel the sun on my face as I drew this anyway.

This is Deputy Dog, my husbands’s aunt’s ranch dog up in the Okanogan. When he isn’t herding cows, he is a part time model! 😂

We have Muscovy ducks and while one mom managed to successfully raise a brood of 5, the rest of the moms abandoned their eggs so my husband rescued them and has been incubating them on our kitchen table for the past month. This last past week was spent frantically trying to help the babies hatch (many had a foot over their head which made it impossible for them to hatch out on their own). He did most of the work while I supplied towels, cups to hold them while he worked, bandaids to correct straddle legs and sanitizing. Stressful! I currently have 11 adorable ducklings in a brooder in my house. Good thing they are cute. Stay tuned for sketches of them in my next bulletin.

Happy spring to you all!

April is a very busy month for me. If you haven’t already stopped by, I have a piece in the Little Spokane River Artist Studio Tour show at the Kolva Sullivan gallery this month. The show is jammed pack with art from the amazing artists from the September art market and I highly recommend stopping by before it gets packed up at the end of the month.

If you weren’t able to make it out to my show at the Art Spirit Gallery in February, then may I suggest stopping by the Central Library in downtown? Almost all of the paintings from that show (one sold and the other is at the Kolva Sullivan show) are hanging on the big wall opposite the cafe on the ground floor for this month. Thank you to Eva for the invite and for her fabulous art hanging skills (as seen above).

If you haven’t stopped by the Northwest Museum of Art and Culture lately, you should! The exhibit they have on Japanese armor and art right now is stunning!

I sketched these in pencil at the museum and added color later. I was delighted to see another person sketching while I was there. So much fun!

And speaking of Japan and the Northwest Museum of Art and Culture, I am DELIGHTED to tell you that the museum secured the rights for me to teach several sketching classes at Manito’s Japanese Gardens at the end of this month and the beginning of May. I suspect this might be a once in a lifetime opportunity so sprint on over and sign up! Here’s a link. The website can be somewhat hard to navigate so you are also welcome to reach out to the education coordinator Amanda Gardner at her number:(509-363-5357)

Classes are April 22nd and 25th 6:15-8:15

And May 1 & 2nd, 6:15-8:15-Sign up for May Classes here.

Watercolor Landscape Class starts next week on March 26th at the Corbin Art Center, 6-8 pm. Visit my.spokanecity.org to find the class and sign up! Look under “Adult Art Classes”. Or just click HERE!

Hi Guys!

Thanks to everyone who came out my show at the Art Spirit in February, especially those who came to my painting demonstration about a week and half ago! It was so great to see all of your faces. If you didn’t have a chance to come by in February about half of the pieces will still be on show upstairs for the month of March.

The snow has melted and things are starting to pick up. I’ll be at the Liberty Building (the same building as Auntie’s) for First Friday this Friday 5-7 with my co-show artist Melissa Dingfield. The Show is called “Two Views of Spokane” and showcases our paintings of the Spokane area. Melissa does these really cool gouache and oil paintings, often of interiors of local businesses which are a great contrast to my tendency to paint exteriors.

Here are a couple of the paintings that I’ll have in the show!

And here are some of Melissa’s:

As if February was not busy enough, I also made a quick trip over to the west side of the state to celebrate my brother and dad’s birthdays and to drop off new art at a boutique that carries my work in Seattle. I made a bunch of western Washington themed paintings for them and had way too much fun painting spring flowers and adorable seals.

Inspired by a trip to the Skagit tulip fields three years ago!

Visiting the cherry trees at the University of Washington.

Apparently this pose is called the “banana pose” and means that the seal is happy and comfortable!

Ok, that’s all for now! See you Friday!

Here’s a little bit about the show in the Art Spirit team’s words:

Local Color Explodes Onto the Scene at The Art Spirit Gallery

The Art Spirit Gallery is thrilled to announce the opening of its highly anticipated new exhibition, "Local Color," on Saturday, February 1st, 2025, at 11:00 AM. This vibrant collection features the works of four exceptional local artists: Wes Hanson, L.R. Montgomery, Megan Perkins, and Teresa Rancourt.

"Local Color" is more than just a title; it's a celebration of the unique hues and textures that define our region. It's the deep blue of Lake Coeur d'Alene reflecting a sun-drenched sky, the verdant greens of the surrounding forests, the earthy browns of the rolling hills, and the fiery oranges and reds of a Northwest sunset. It's the essence of place, the spirit of the region captured on canvas.

Each artist in this collection draws inspiration from the rich palette of the Inland Northwest.

• Wes Hansons style is impressionistic, employing loose brushstrokes and transparent washes to create a sense of fluidity and movement. The colors are often subtly modulated, evoking a sense of tranquility and serenity

• L.R. Montgomery's oil paintings are known for their bold use of color and texture, often employing a vibrant and expressive palette.

• Megan Perkins' paintings, light and shadow play a significant role in creating mood and atmosphere.

• Teresa Rancourt's paintings are known for their vibrant and expressive use of color, often employing a bold and saturated palette each bring their own unique perspective and artistic vision to this exploration of local color. The resulting exhibition is a captivating tapestry of styles, techniques, and interpretations of the region’s landscape and spirit.

Join us for the opening reception on February 1st to experience the vibrancy and beauty of "Local Color."

All four of us artists will be at the gallery on the 1st from 11-112 for a Q & A session.

Each of us will also be doing a painting demonstration during the show. I am up on February 22nd, 2-4 and I’d love to see you so please mark your calendars!

Finally, since you’ve been so patient to keep reading all of this self promotion, here’s some photos of the paintings I have made for the show. The Art Spirit asked for me to “go big” and while I can’t compete with L.R. for sheer scale (his works are monumental windows of color!), I pushed myself and worked bigger than I ever have before so as you look at these tiny thumbnails on your phone, please imagine them at 2 ft x 2 ft and at the largest 52” x 27”!

If you’d like to see the rest, come by the Art Spirit sometime in February. There’s always plenty to do in Coeur D’Alene even if it is chilly and there’s certainly no off-season for Dockside sundaes in my opinion! See you in February!

Some of you may have seen a long accordion style landmark painting I’ve been using to decorate my booth with at a few shows. With the encouragement of some friends and my printer, I’ve made it into a a folding accordion card/decoration. I’m think that it could be a very fancy Christmas card-one of those ones that are a present in itself. A veritable letter can be written across the back and then the recipient (or yourself, I am totally on board with buying oneself presents) can display the card in it’s full unfolded glory on their sideboard, desk, window sill, table, etc.

It was entertaining to pick out example paintings that I felt were both loose but also have a fall vibe! I love fall (though not the season that approaches afterward) and I think Spokane has fabulous autumns. Currently delighting me are the changing colors of the leaves and the crisp morning air followed by the mellow warm ness of late afternoon. Oh and the onset of sweater season. I love me some soft, squishy knit sweaters! What are you loving about fall?

Finally, please read down to the end to get the deets on the 33 Artists show at the Hive-my one show for October and the second to last show I’m doing this year. It’s on the 26th. Hope to see you there!

A Tithonia (Mexican Sunflower), grown in my garden and painted BIG (17” x 17”-ish)

A pumpkin field painted at Siemer’s Farm up at Green Bluff a few years back on a beautiful autumnal evening.

A painting inspired by a drive home in early November where a rain/hailstorm lifted right about sunset and I saw this out my window and I immediately pulled over!

Oh and for those of you who read to the bottom-I’ll be at this show on the 26th at the Hive (a super cool library building on Sprague) and I’d love to see you!