I'm slogging, slogging away in the studio trying to make paintings for my fall show. This process has uncovered a major fault line in my psyche: I hate painting deadlines, especially those involving multiple pieces! I love writing deadlines, though, but this helps me not at all in the current situation. As I've said before, I'm a slow painter. The process is what it is, no matter how I might (and do) wish otherwise. Still. There we are. Out of 15 or so pieces scattered throughout the studio at the moment, I've only liked, and considered finished, 3 thus far. Yikes.

If you have any words of wisdom to share from your own painting process, please send them my way!

Soon, though,  I will be able to show some recent illustrations once they've been published.

No time for sketching until I get my big work done.  In between bouts of utter desolation in the studio, I go outside and pick weeds and just take in the colors, textures, and fragrances there. If I have any operative sanity left, I have the garden to thank for it.

Happy green season, my northern hemisphere friends!

Some of the products of my interior travels will be apparent before too long. At least, I hope so, since many of them are a response to my September art show deadline!

Back in the visible world, I  appear on the pages of a couple of magazines, with more such appearances to follow this year.

In the June 2013 issue of Watercolor Artist, I'm included in an article about urban sketching, written by noted artist and writer Cathy Johnson. It's called 'The Pulse of the City; Seven Artists from Around the Globe Share What it Means to Record Life ... .'  Cathy (or Kate, as her artist friends call her) has written 34 books and zillions of articles. She's a national treasure. I'm honored to be one of the seven artists she writes about:

I am also a contributing illustrator to a magazine called Walter; Raleigh's Life and Soul, as you may remember from  a recent post here.

Because of my painting obligations, I have not been able to accept all assignments, but a recent one was lots of fun...once I stopped being terrified at the idea of producing a map! Luckily, the map in question was small and could be done in my sketchy, quirky style! I can't wait to do more maps! If ever a subject were tailor-made for me, the wandering artist, this is it.

These daffodils and pussy willows are my first bouquet of the season from our local farmers' market. 

Here's a Flickr slideshow, just for fun, of many of the quick floral and botanical sketches I've done over the past few years:

Unfortunately, I only managed one house sketch, but am dying to go back and (see my daughter, of course) and sketch more of these little jewels. That's what they are.

Austin also has good restaurants aplenty. My new favorite is Olive and June and I thank my daughter for suggesting it for our first night together!

I travel. I sketch. I sketch gardens and the things in them. This trip was no exception. We spent parts of two afternoons at the lovely estate Laguna Gloria.

Entering the Bullock Texas Museum of State History, you see quotations carved in huge scale on the marble walls flanking the entrance to the exhibits, trumpeting the wonderfulness of Texas. This kind of boisterous self love can be endearing, but it’s also a bit off-putting, given the state’s early history of exploitation and destruction of the native people by European settlers. This is true of much, if not all, of the original European settlements in the new world, of course. Still. Note to Texas... and to self, for that matter: healthy doses of humility never go amiss.  

Illustrations by yours truly from the February 2013 issue of Walter: Raleigh's Life & Soul. It's a  new magazine about Raleigh, NC ( you guessed that part?) and its fresh and lively spirit is reflected in the title.